Friday, December 16, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Violence engulfs Kenyan tribe just miles from royal hideaway - Survival International
A Kenyan tribe living near the area famous for its links to Prince William and Kate Middleton’s engagement has been engulfed by violence after wildlife charities arranged to buy their land.
Kenya’s Laikipia district has been part of the traditional territory of the Samburu tribe for centuries until two US-based charities – The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) – agreed to pay $2 million for their land, which was officially owned by former Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi.
Soon after, the Kenyan police began a series of brutal evictions of the tribe, burning their villages, killing and stealing their animals and assaulting men, women and children. Survival has recently received reports of an elder being shot ‘in cold blood’.
2,000 Samburu families now live in makeshift squats on the edge of the land and 1,000 others have been forced to relocate entirely.
Conditions are appalling, and resources scarce. A Channel 4 documentary caught on camera the extreme nature of these evictions in the Eland Downs.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Kansas tea party illustration draws racism claims - Democratic Underground
Hutchinson-based Patriot Freedom Alliance says on its website that like the president, the skunk is “half black, half white, and almost everything it does stinks.”
Local NAACP president Darrell Pope sees no humor in the depiction, which he calls a blatant statement of racism.
Thursday, December 08, 2011
Massive Population Drop Found for Native Americans, DNA Shows
for National Geographic News
Published December 5, 2011
The number of Native Americans quickly shrank by roughly half following European contact about 500 years ago, according to a new genetic study.
The finding supports historical accounts that Europeans triggered a wave of disease, warfare, and enslavement in the New World that had devastating effects for indigenous populations across the Americas.
(Related: "Guns, Germs and Steel—Jared Diamond on Geography as Power.")
Using samples of ancient and modern mitochondrial DNA—which is passed down only from mothers to daughters—the researchers calculated a demographic history for American Indians. (Get an overview of human genetics.)
Based on the data, the team estimates that the Native American population was at an all-time high about 5,000 years ago.
The population then reached a low point about 500 years ago—only a few years after Christopher Columbus arrived in the New World and before extensive European colonization began.
OpEdNews - Article: Understanding American Racism
If anything racism in the United States is on the upswing and threatens a social explosion that will define America in the 21st century. And it points to the fact that America has not yet confronted or come to grips with the legacy of white racism. Or maybe it's a DNA thing and it will take generations of inbreeding to "wash it out of the system." So while I am no sociologist and profess no training in race relations I crave the forgiveness of the intellectually informed for any mistake that I may make in writing this piece. But I believe that there must be a discussion on racism in American today.
Sunday, December 04, 2011
Events, News — Historic Event for Mumia to be held on Dec. 9 at National Constitution Center
* THIS EVENT WILL STREAM LIVE. TO WATCH CLICK HERE!
* ON DEC. 10 THERE WILL BE A FOLLOW UP FUNDRAISER TO THIS EVENT FEATURING PROFESSOR GRIFF, C RAYZ WALZ, REBEL DIAZ AND MANY MORE. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION!
ADMISSION/REGISTRATION IS FREE, YET REQUIRES REGISTRATION!
Reserve your ticket for pick-up at the door by 7:00 p.m. on December 9th at the National Constitution Center, by emailing december9maj@gmail.com.
FOR BUS/TRAVEL INFORMATION:
PHILADELPHIA: 267-760-7344
NYC: 212 -330-8029
FEATURING:
Cornel West, Michelle Alexander, Vijay Prashad, Immortal Technique, Mark Lamont Hill, Ramona Africa, Michael Coard, Louisa Hanoune, Amiri and Amina Baraka, IMPACT Youth Repertory Theater, African Dance Ensemble, and SURPRISE GUESTS!