Filed under: Current Events, Eric, Middle East, Politics | Tags: al-Jazeera, al-Zeidi, Bush, Obama, Shoe throwing
I know it’s about a week old by now, but I thought it would be worth having in the ETHOS archives:
His name is Muntadar al-Zeidi and he is my hero.
Out with the old, in with the new is what they say I guess. Check out this long-ish sober (scary) assessment of what the new has to offer us from al-Jazeera English (yeah, al-Jazeera – contrary to popular belief they actually have some of the best coverage of U.S. politics and Middle East policy. Oh yeah, and they are also your one stop source for the latest Osama Bin Laden video).
The second part of the segment – a debate between Black Agenda Report’s Glen Ford and some activist preacher – can be found here.
Over and out,
Eric
Some artwork from my brother:
The Obamamobile heads to Washington
(Artwork courtesy of Danny Augenbraun, click image to enlarge)
Considering that it has been nearly a month since Obama became the presumptive Democratic nominee and at least some of the unrestrained euphoria has worn off among his supporters/fans, I figured I would take this time to do a quick recap of some of the recent developments in his campaign. It is hardly a secret that since the late 70s and early 80s the Democrats have embraced a national strategy that attempts to appeal to the same constituencies that the Republicans have been able to ride to electoral success for the last 25+ years. This, in turn, gives the Republican Party an enormous amount of leverage in setting the terms of debate in the run up to elections and also produces the inevitable rightward shift taken by every Democratic candidate over that same time period. Moreover, it should come as no surprise that the Dems are every bit as beholden to the same set of corporate interests as the Republicans which largely explains their unwillingness to reject a national strategy based on constituencies constructed by the Republicans and to attempt to create and appeal to an alternative constituency–namely one organized around a program that can be of immediate benefit to the working class.
But, without further adieu, let us take a trip back to the not so distant past:
Filed under: Current Events, Election 2008, Josh, Politics, Race | Tags: Election, Hope, Obama
When I was roughly 9 years old, i proudly declared to my older sister that after mulling it over in my head for the past decade or so, I had finally decided what I wanted to “be” when I grew up- President of the United States. It seemed like a rather glamorous position to me at the time, what with the king-like authority, cool-shaped office, 24-hour on-call posse of armed guards in black suits, etc. and besides that, it just seemed way cooler than being a paleontologist (my former dream career). Yet still, despite the amount of time, energy, and critical thought I’d put into my newfound aspiration, I was met not with praise from my eldest sibling, but rather discouragement. On the evening of my ever-so-eloquent verbal declaration of my intention to pursue the position of Commander-In-Chief, with all the careful delicacy of a falling anvil, my sister unflinchingly looked me in the eyes, and told me that no Black man would ever become President. No shot. Not a chance. Ever.
What a difference 10 years makes.
Filed under: Music, Paul, Politics | Tags: Black Nationalism, Chuck D, Conscious Rappers, dead prez
“I’m in your girl with her heels in the air n****”
~”Conscious” brotha from the Legendary Foundation
Now personally, I am not a huge fan of labels—in relationships, art and anything else people love to smack a label on. In hip hop music we can see labeling of “conscious” or “underground” emcees as a by-product of the commercialization of the genre. The irony in this assessment of rappers such as Common, Talib Kweli and Mos Def, is the seemingly commodified and packaged identity that these characters are given. I say this in the sense that while these particular artists do not box themselves into the packaged product akin to the “commercial” artist, the backpacking fans manage to pigeonhole their heroes into altruistic lights of positivity and revolutionary thought.
Let’s Get Free…How?….Well, um let’s um burn flags, um eating our vegetables like mommy said…that should work…yea and let’s disregard capitalization…just so the white man knows we don’t play his silly games.
I have major contentions with these notions for several reasons. The first comes in definition. Who was the linguistically-challenged (read: idiot) individual who decided that “conscious” was the proper adjective to describe this particular sect of artists. Most sources define “conscious” as being self-aware or general cognition…wtf?!?!?!?…Are we seriously going to put some people on a pedestal because they ostensibly maintain a level above a vegetative state? Well, in that case every rapper in the game, is conscious unless there is an unknown artist named LIFsupport, with the tentatively-titled Pull The Plug EP, coming this summer (don’t be the idiot who actually googles that ish…please) (more…)
