National Archives says Glenn Beck lied about George Washington speech | Raw StoryGlenn Beck seems to have been nailed by the men and women who protected the nation's most prized political documents: The National Archives.
While speaking during his "Restoring Honor" rally Saturday, Beck said that he'd held an original speech given by George Washington.
Beck remarked, "I held the first inaugural address written in his own hand by George Washington."
Mother Jones' Stephanie Mencimer destroys the claim in an Mother Jones' Wednesday. The National Archives says Beck never held the document in his hands.
"Beck did receive a special VIP tour of the archives, arranged by an as-yet unidentified member of Congress. During that tour, he did get a peek inside the "legislative vault," which isn't open to ordinary visitors," Mencimer says.
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"But Archives spokeswoman Susan Cooper insists that Beck didn't lay a finger on any precious documents, much less George Washington’s inaugural address. That would be a major violation of policy," she adds.
"Those kinds of treasures are only handled by specially trained archival staff," Cooper said. "I'm certain it was a figure of speech," she says.
Wednesday, September 01, 2010
National Archives says Glenn Beck lied about George Washington speech
IACHR Condems Murders Of Indigenous Leaders In Colombia
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) condemns the murder of three indigenous leaders in Colombia, and the wife of one of them, over the last two weeks.
According to the information available, three leaders of the U’wa, Sikuani, and Pasto peoples, and the wife of one of the leaders, were killed by hired assassins between August 13 and 26 of this year. On August 13, Carmen Elisa Mora Uncacia was killed. A member of the U’wa people, she worked as coordinator of the Office of Indigenous Affairs in the Mayor’s Office in the town of Saravena, in the department of Arauca. The indigenous leader, who was attacked in her home, was the mother of two children and was pregnant at the time of her death. On August 14, Jaime Reyes, of the Sikuani people, was killed. He lived on the Parreros reserve and was a member of the town council of La Esperanza. The indigenous leader, who was in a situation of forced displacement, was attacked by hit men in the community of Barcelona, in the municipality of Tame, in Arauca. On August 26, Ramiro Inampues and his wife, of the Pasto people, were kidnapped; their bodies appeared two days later, with bullet wounds, in the community of El Corso, in the Guachucal indigenous reserve, in the department of NariƱo. The indigenous leader, who was known as Taita Ramiro, had been governor of the Guachucal reserve and was a council member in the municipality of Guachucal.
The IACHR condemns these violations to the individual rights of the victims and their families. The Inter-American Commission also emphasizes that attacks on indigenous leaders and authorities break down the cohesion of indigenous peoples. These murders affect not only the direct victims of violence and their families, but also indigenous societies as a whole, given the critical duties of leaders and authorities and their central role in defending, preserving, and passing down their ancestral cultures. Since attacks on indigenous leaders and authorities constitute assaults on the entire sociocultural structure, they are grave crimes that violate the integrity and collective rights of indigenous peoples as groups that have special protections under international human rights law and, in the context of internal armed conflicts such as the one in Colombia, under international humanitarian law as well.
The Commission urges the Colombian State to investigate these crimes, prosecute and punish the perpetrators and masterminds, and address the needs for protection and security of indigenous leaders and authorities in Colombia, in order to prevent these violations of individual and collective human rights.
A principal, autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), the IACHR derives its mandate from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has a mandate to promote respect for human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this matter. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who are elected in a personal capacity by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their countries of origin or residence.
5th International Black Power Conference
Wednesday, September 1, 2010 12:55 PM
From: "Pan-African Roots"
The 40th anniversary of the “Black Power Uprising” in Trinidad and Tobago is being commemorated with an international academic conference at the University of the West Indies (UWI), St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago, from Friday 17th September to Sunday 19th September 2010.
This 5th International Black Power Conference is being organized by the Department of History at St. Augustine, Trinidad. Co-sponsors include the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies and the Centre for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (both at St. Augustine campus). Other supporting organizations in Trinidad include the National Joint Action Committee (NJAC), the History Society (at UWI), the Emancipation Support Committee, the Oilfield Workers Union and the Public Services Association. The All-African People’s Revolutionary Party (A-APRP (GC)) is also a supporting organization.
This historic Conference includes a record 90 presentations on 20 panels in 2 days. Participants include professors and organizers from Trinidad, Jamaica, Canada, Britain, the United States and other countries. They represent several academic and movement schools and traditions including: History, Trinidad and Caribbean Studies, Pan-African Studies, Black Studies, Black Power Studies, Black Radical Studies, Afro-centric Studies, NJAC Studies, Black Panther Studies, etc.
The A-APRP (GC) will present two papers:
(1) Mwalimu Keita will present, on behalf of the A-APRP (GC), a paper titled Black Power: An Ideological Channel for Mass All-African Revolutionary Political Education and Organization.
This paper provides a historical analysis of the call for Black Power in the U.S. within the context of African people's generational struggle for Africa's Unity, National Independence, Liberation, and Pan-Africanism. It documents the dialectical relationship between Black Power as an intellectual and ideological force in the worldwide anti-colonial movement and as an objective in the African Revolution, of which Pan-Africanism is its highest expression. It defines, defends, and reclaims Black Power as an objective necessity and channel to teach, politically educate, empower, and organize the African Masses in Africa and throughout the African Diaspora in all-African organizations as an expression of the revolutionary African Personality and Culture.
(2) Bob Brown will present, on behalf of the A-APRP (GC), a paper titled Kwame Ture Is Still Dancing In The Fire! Towards A New Historiography.
This paper will provide an overview of Kwame’s public life, work, study and struggle from 1950, when his philosophical conscience and political conscious was awakened in Trinidad, to his transition to the Ancestors in Guinea in 1998. It will serve as the Introduction to a book by the same title that will be “the definitive political biography of Kwame Ture.” As you perhaps know, Bob has been working on this book for the past 12 years. It will be published in late 2011 or early 2012.
The Conference invites all interested parties, worldwide, to attend. Email us for contact information at paroots02@yahoo.com
Bob, as a representative of the A-APRP (GC), has also been invited to visit Venezuela to observe the Parliamentary Elections, make several presentations and attend several meetings. We hope that he can visit other countries in the Caribbean Basin while in the area.
The A-APRP (GC) needs and asks for your assistance in raising the funds needed to defray travel to and in the region, and provide modest accommodations. Tax exemption is available for those who request it. Please contact Bob directly, if you can help: paroots02@yahoo.com or (202) 239-1651.
A copy of the A-APRP (GC)’s two papers will be emailed to all who make a donation, no later than September 17, 2001, the start of the Conference. Thank you in advance for any assistance that you might offer.
As always, we remain
Ready for Revolution!
Organizers, All-African People’s Revolutionary Party (GC)
info@a-aprp-gc.org
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Saudi cleric slammed over fatwa on women cashiers
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – A conservative Saudi cleric was told to stop giving unauthorized edicts after he called for a boycott of a supermarket chain that employs women as cashiers, the office of the kingdom's most senior religious leader said Thursday.
The move is the first public reprimand of a prominent cleric following a royal decree that limits the issuance of fatwas to the country's most senior group of clerics. Fatwas are religious edicts that provide guidance in matters of everyday life to pious Muslims.
Sheik Youssef al-Ahmed had urged people not to shop at Panda Supermarket because women there work in jobs that allow for the mingling of the sexes, which the cleric said was a violation of Islamic law.
Saudi media reported that al-Ahmed's fatwa forced the supermarket management to reassign 11 of its women employees to other positions on Wednesday. The chain could not be reached for comment.
Grand Mufti Sheik Abdul-Aziz Al Sheik's office said Thursday he had summoned al-Ahmed and ordered the cleric to refrain from issuing unauthorized fatwas.
The office said it "received a pledge from al-Ahmed not to issue any fatwas" without approval.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
AP Exclusive: Japanese mayor defends dolphin hunts
TAIJI, Japan – As children in inner tubes bob on the calm waters of this small ocean cove, a 550-pound (250-kilogram) dolphin zips through the crowd in pursuit of raw squid tossed out by a trainer.
Niru, a Risso's dolphin caught locally, seems unbothered by all the people and the squeals of surprise and delight. The cove is packed — it's a bright summer Sunday and hundreds of families have come.
But in two weeks, the waters of the cove will turn blood red, as it becomes a holding pen for annual hunts that capture and kill hundreds of dolphins each year.
The ancient village of Taiji, portrayed in the Oscar-winning documentary "The Cove," has a long and complex relationship with the dolphin. The film portrays the dolphin hunts as a sinister secret, cruel and dangerous because the animals have high mercury levels.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Peace Talks in the Shadow of Demolitions
While President Barack Obama pressures Palestinians to re-engage in direct peace talks, and Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu loftily counsels President Mahmoud Abbas not to miss the opportunity, recent demolitions within the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel continue unabated and unaddressed.
According to OCHA, July and August have marked the highest number of demolitions this year. As of the end of July, OCHA reports Israeli forces have destroyed over 230 structures effectively displacing and/or affecting over 1100 Palestinians, including 400 children since the beginning of 2010. Over 50% of said destruction has taken place in July alone. OCHA further comments that the Israeli Civil Administration will be stepping up demolitions in the West Bank per orders by the Israeli Ministry of Defense.
In the Jordan Valley, Israeli forces have demolished the village of al Farisyia twice within the span of 10 days; first on July 19th and again on August 5th. These have resulted in the destruction of 116 structures and the displacement of 129 people, 63 of whom are children. In the second round of demolitions, 10 structures not previously harmed were demolished along with 27 structures and materials provided by the International Committee of the Red Cross. Israel has flagrantly disavowed its peace rhetoric by issuing additional demolition orders to be meted out on August 15th & 16th.
Moreover, Israeli authorities are proving complicit in vigilante activity among Jewish settlers in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City in Jerusalem. In the early morning hours of July 29th Jewish settlers stormed the Kirrech house, home to 9 Palestinian families, without sanction. Of these families, only one has been allowed restitution to their home by court order. The other eight families continue to be displaced while waiting for their case to be tried in court.
While UN bodies have condemned these demolitions, absent actionable measures, the condemnations alone fall short of the United Nations' obligations to maintain peace and security and to ensure respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. Under international law the State is obliged to prevent, investigate, and provide remedy, and when it fails to do so the international community becomes responsible for providing victims with effective protection. Violence by non-state actors (settlers) should not be seen merely as provocative actions; but as part of an overarching policy backed by State authority. By stopping at rhetoric, the United Nations, States, and international organizations fail to adequately respond to Israel’s human rights abuses that both fuel the humanitarian crisis and undermine the peace process.
In fact, even if Netanyahu’s recent statements were to be considered sincere, Israel's actions are a flagrant rejection of the peace process and its underlying documents including the Oslo Accords which reserve settlements as a final status issue and the Road Map which outright prohibits settlement expansion.
Under the cover of its calls for the resumption for peace talks, Israel is also infringing on the rights of its own Palestinian citizens. Israeli forces have demolished Al Araqib, a Bedouin village in the Negev, 4 times from July 27th to August 17th, displacing 300 Palestinian citizens of Israel at the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan forcing them to endure a recent heat wave living in the open air atop their cemetery. According to MK Talab al-Sana, "This is a test for democracy in Israel; and democracy is failing. Al Araqib is a test of how much Israelis can live in peace with their own Palestinian citizens; so, how can [Israel] live in peace with Palestinians [within Palestine]."
Demolitions and the denial of basic human rights, such as shelter, are features of Israel’s apartheid regime and are indicative of the root causes of the ongoing humanitarian crises in the OPT. At best, Israel's recent demolitions can be considered attempts at colonization, at worst they can be interpreted as ethnic cleansing.
Taking these actions into account, one cannot help but be confused by the good faith underpinning the most recent calls for peace' talks. We call upon States, UN bodies, international organizations, and the international community at large to reconcile peace talks with humanitarian and human rights law in an effort to create an environment where peace may actually be sought instead of paying lip service to peace in the shadow of demolitions and displacement.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
This is American White Racism in Your Face...
Beck's "Restoring Honor" rally, with former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin among the scheduled speakers, will take place on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, 47 years to the day after Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech there.
The conservative talk show host announced in November that he wanted to reveal a "100 year plan for America" at the Lincoln Memorial. More recently, he said that the purpose of his Aug. 28 event is to restore the country's "values" and to pay tribute to military families.
"There will be absolutely no politics involved," he said. "This rally will honor the troops, unite the American people under the principles of integrity and truth, and make a pledge to restore honor within ourselves and our country."
Civil rights leaders have denounced Beck's plans, questioning his motives for choosing the date and place, which they said are historically symbolic of the country's civil rights movement.
Responding to the criticism on his show June 28, Beck said he believes it was "divine providence" that the rally was scheduled on the anniversary of the King speech. He said he had initially planned the event for Sept. 12 and then realized it was a Sunday. "I'm not going to ask anyone to work on the Sabbath," he said. He rescheduled the rally for Aug. 28 because it was the best day for the schedules of the people involved, he said.
"It was not my intention to select 8-28 because of the Martin Luther King tie. It is the day he made that speech. I had no idea until I announced it and I walked offstage and my researchers said, New York Times has already just published that this is [the same day as the King speech] -- and I said, 'Oh, jeez.' "
Monday, August 16, 2010
Cambodian Woman faces prison in land-grabbing case
Dear all,
I would like to bring your close attention to a recent case of land grabbing has happened here in Cambodia. Today, Monday 16th August, Mu Sochua took part in a Press Conference organized in the context of a recent land dispute case (in Kompong Thom Province). Local representative, Lem Nath, has been physically abused and thrown into prison for stepping up in the case of local land grabbing. As Mu Sochua declared, “the Press Conference was held to shine the light on the illegal way she was arrested and the misuse of police power and court illegal mishandling of the case. [Further], the purpose is to educate the public about the law and the false practices by the court.”
Please read for full details on Mu Sochua's blog:
http://sochua.wordpress.com/
This case of human rights violation is one of many happening every day here in Cambodia. We are raising awareness about this terrible case. Please forward on this information in Cambodia and abroad.
We are raising funds for Lem Nath’s legal fees. If you would like to donate to her case, please follow this link (http://sochua.wordpress.com/donate/) to donate to Strey Khmer, our organization which arranged the press conference and handles the donations.
Also, do not hesitate to contact us for any further information.
Very best,
Strey Khmer
Arms to Israel
The UK supplies Israel with a steady stream of arms on a ‘case-by-case basis’, although none of them are supposed to be used inside the Occupied Territories. In practice there is no way of knowing what Israel does with the kit it buys, so British companies are restricted from selling things, including fighter parts and missile systems, that have been used in the Occupied Territories in the past. But under the current rules the US can still tranship this kind of hardware to Israel through the UK.
‘The UK government is keen to maintain good relations with the US defence industry so they leave it to the exporter to decide what is to be transhipped,’ Ian Prichard from the Campaign against the Arms Trade told me. ‘Since Israel is not one of the blacklisted nations for arms exports, apart from Category A and B goods which are very few, if the US considers it is OK to export something to Israel then it is OK for us.’
Category A goods include cluster munitions and equipment designed for execution and torture; Category B includes most small arms, long range missiles and unmanned air vehicles. All other military equipment is Category C, which means the US can still export to Israel the weapons that have wreaked most of the destruction in the Occupied Territories in past conflicts.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
The Obsidian Files
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