Monday, June 25, 2007

Another Angle 25 - June - 2007

ANOTHER ANGLE
News others won't tell you




History was made on this day:
1933
- Dramatic soprano Matilda Sissieretta Jones joins the ancestors after succumbing to cancer in Providence, Rhode Island. Called the "the first Negro prima donna," Jones toured with the Tennessee Jubilee Singers and performed at Carnegie Hall, Madison Square Garden and at the White House in 1892. She will be dubbed "Black Patti," a name she reportedly disliked for its allusion to white contemporary, Adelina Patti.




NATIONAL:



The Faith of Seeds
When America invaded Iraq, one of the first moves that it made was to force the Iraqi farmers to turn in their seeds and buy Monsanto’s genetically modified seeds. Why did America do that and is this a sign of what she intends to do right here in America? Does she intend to make the harboring of seeds by individuals against the law? If so, who would be allowed to grow?



Which Way On Low-Power Urban FM Radio - The Next Test for the Congressional Black Caucus
This week or the next, bipartisan legislation will be introduced in the House and Senate to reopen the licensing of hundreds of nonprofit, community-owned low-power FM radio stations in urban areas across the country. After
last year's two-thirds vote to let phone and cable companies deny high speed internet access and the economic benefits that go with it to the black communities they represent, CBC members have a chance to partially redeem themselves. But will they?


Death and Texas: The Kenneth Foster case
For a decade Kenneth Foster Jr. has languished on one of the worst Death Rows in the U.S. – Texas. He now faces an execution date (of Aug. 30, 2007) despite the fact that even the trial judge, the DA and the jury that sentenced him to die admit he never killed anyone. Whoa! I know that it sounds funny – or fishy – but it’s not. It’s just a fluke of Texas law.



The Real Rudolph Giuliani
Critics often label him a fascist. Whether he's the populist hero who "took charge" on September 11, 2001, or the frightening face of a new American Reich, it appears Rudolph Giuliani will carry George W. Bush's torch into the 2008 presidential election. I guess this only makes sense, since, like Bush, Giuliani's failing political career was rescued by the terrorists that attacked New York and Washington, DC on September 11.



What you need to know now about Dick Cheney
We're reminded of the opening lines of "Dick is a Killer"



Robert Gates: CIA Drug Trafficking CoverUp Man
It may be a revelation to many people that the global drug trade is controlled and run by the intelligence agencies.

INTERNATIONAL:



Iran poses no missile threat, Russia tells US
Russia bluntly told the United States that it saw no threat from Iran’s ballistic missiles and was perplexed how Washington could use this to justify a planned US defence system in Europe. “We do not see any kind of threat from Iran,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters after a meeting in Tehran of foreign ministers from Caspian Sea states.



1967: 40 years of occupation
Forty years after Israel defeated the combined armies of Jordan, Syria and Egypt in the 1967 war, some Middle East analysts argue that the conflict has helped to fuel the rise of Islamist ideologies.

IRAQ:



Baquba: ' A kill sack'.
This culturally important area remained so, throughout the various Islamic eras, only to be rendered a 'kill sack' in 2007. Baquba has, it seems, has had its 'plentiful waters' sealed off, and electricity is cut off, as has happened in every US effort at 'pacification' (read : killing) in specific defiance of the Geneva Convention (but who cares, the US Administration now long declared itself outside the law.) In the unlikely case there is a conscience out there, here (again) is Article 54 of the Additional Protocols of 1977. 'Starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is forbidden.' Denying the civilian population water is just as illgal as denying them food. 'It is prohibited to attack, destroy, remove or render useless, objects indispensible to the survival of the civilian population.'


OP-ED:



New Jack Affirmative Action
Fifty years ago one thousand armed national guardsmen escorted 9 Black Little Rock, Arkansas teenagers through an angry mob to the doors of Central High School. No doubt Ernest Green, Melba Beals and the rest of the Little Rock 9 did not face a mob screaming for their blood in order to promote cross-racial understanding. On the contrary, their acts of bravery were an indictment of the prevailing notion that race was a sufficient rung on which to hang individual rights.



Amos Wilson was right; “We are, indeed, out of our minds.” June 2007
Prior to the most recent act of economic treason, we had the Chinese Connection, which involves the $10 million contract awarded by Black folks to a Chinese sculptor to carve the National Martin Luther King Monument, and the awarding of the project design contract to a white-owned firm. It was unconscionable that a Black organization would not see that a Black Sculptor and Designer would get those contracts. But, Amos Wilson was right; we have lost our minds. “Massa, is we sick?” “No, ‘we’ ain’t sick, but you sho is.”



The Day After We Strike Iran
What can you do when you learn that, once again--- without your permission---the U.S. has attacked a sovereign country posing no real threat to you? Generating enormous hatred for America throughout the world? What do we do the day after? I would just like to pose the question for discussion as we approach that moment.



YOUR MONEY:



Black-Owned Tea Company Offers Distinctive Teas
Realizing the growing demand for tea, mother and daughter team Ernestine Jackson and Dara Jackson Wiggins enrolled in a Specialty Tea Institute certifications course, then established their own tea business - Two for Tea. From www.shoptwofortea.com tea enthusiasts and folks who entertain may purchase tea preparation and serving accessories, gift baskets, a variety of teas derived from some of the best grade tea leaves, and other "tea things."



Untangle Your Finances Before Tying the Knot
Newlyweds are increasingly in debt from student loans, credit cards and, of course, their big wedding day. In her new book, The Big Payoff, Sharon Epperson offers advice to help them untangle their finances before they tie the knot.



Barneys, New York's style centre, bought by Dubai




FOOD&DRINK:



LAYERED CHICKEN ENCHILADAS WITH TOMATILLO-CILANTRO SAUCE
The tortillas and filling are layered (instead of rolled) to reduce prep time.


ENTERTAINMENT:



'Soul Sister #1' Has Her Day
Remaking a classic song presents a unique challenge: Covers necessitate infusing the subject with new life and personality, but the original commands respect, lest the cover devolve into a desecration. Fortunately, veteran soul singer Marva Whitney strikes just the right balance on her interpretation of Brenda Holloway's "Every Little Bit Hurts," a plaintive lament Alicia Keys revived two years ago.



BSN Interview: Queen Latifah
In “Last Holiday,” the Queen takes on a meek character by the name of Ms. Georgia May Byrd who is in a desperate need for a make over both mentally and physically. As the story progresses, the audience will find that Georgia has a love for food and wishful thinking. The combination of Latifah and LL Cool J as love interests—It really sets the film apart from the usual “same”-themed films as both these 2 established actors set a quiet fire to the big screen with a gradual love that everyone can identify with.


Old TV Is New Again, and Shorter
On its online network Minisode, Sony is making more than 500 episodes of shows such as Charlie's Angels, Starsky & Hutch and Different Strokes available free, in condensed form. Its tagline: "The shows you love. Only shorter."



Should Roberto Clemente's number be retired?
Did he not encounter the same Jim Crow injustices that were experienced by Robinson, Willie Mays and Don Newcombe? Did he not, unlike the aforementioned players, have the courage to speak up about these injustices? Must an argument really be made to retire the number of a baseball player who was called a prince?


HUMOR?:



Meet the Yoostabees!