tagged w/ Prejudice
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It only took 15 min. for third graders to become racists and discriminatory. but that's just a minor detail in this study that should be taught at every school in the nation.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6189991712636113875#
mind blowing, just: wow.
watch the whole thing before drawing conclusions, even though it may be surprisingly hard to do.
you might learn something about yourself that you did not know.
i just had my dad watch it with me, and he revealed his prejudices to me for the first time.
i had my suspicions, but it was healing to hear him say it.
he explained he does not act on them, and that he himself has been discriminated against.
he reflected on his childhood, what he learned from his community on his own, what his parents taught him directly/indirectly, and how he feels now.
i encourage you all to do the same.
please, open discussion on this.
this is how the world can be changed, in tiny steps.It only took 15 min. for third graders to become racists and discriminatory. but... more
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Mayor and city council member alienate Muslims in Lancaster
Updated 1:38 PM PST, Sat, Jan 30, 2010
The mayor of Lancaster has urged its residents to approve specifically-Christian prayers at public meetings, in an effort to "grow" the sixth-largest city in Los Angeles County into a "Christian community," it was reported today.
Lancaster residents were urged by Mayor R. Rex Parris in a state of the city speech to support a city ballot measure that would authorize daily prayers at city council meetings.
In his speech, Parris said "we are growing a Christian community, and don't let anybody shy away from that," according to the Antelope Valley Press.
In a later interview with the Daily News, Parris expressed surprise that some religious leaders object to prayers to Jesus at city meetings, and blamed opposition on activists who "want a fight," the newspaper reported. "They want their 15 minutes of fame."
Kamal Al-Khatob, head of the Islamic Institute of the Antelope Valley, told the Daily News that the mayor's belief that Lancaster is a Christian community alienates Muslims. "This is not what America is all about. America is for everybody."
One week ago, Lancaster city council member Sherry Marquez wrote on her Facebook page that the beheading murder of an Islamic woman by her husband in New York shows that vicious murders are what Muslims embrace.
"This is what the Muslim religion is all about -- the beheadings, honor killings are just the beginning of what is about to come to the USA," she reportedly wrote on the Web Jan. 23. "We are told this is a small minority of Muslim's (sic) in America, but it is truly what they are all about."
Activists were quoted as equating that murder with the tenets of Islam is as wrong as saying all Christians are murderers because an extremist was convicted of murdering an abortion doctor.
The Lancaster mayor is running for re-election, and supporting placement of the prayer ordinance on the April ballot, the newspaper reported. The city council has already placed a large "In God We Trust" motto across the wall in the city council chambers, part of a national movement by evangelists to bring religion into civic affairs.Mayor and city council member alienate Muslims in Lancaster
Updated 1:38 PM PST,... more
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Dear President Obama,
The Facts below clearly show that homicide was committed to cover up criminal acts of an organized well funded covert criminal plot to commit voter fraud.
Joseph Stalin said:
“It is enough that the people know there was an election. The people who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide everything.”
So then why are the people behind these capital crimes and, criminal acts not been prosecuted? These people today are free to walk the streets continuing their ongoing illegal activities and acts of treason against the citizens of United States.
As voters, the citizens who voted for you voted you into office for a reason... "to correct the wrongdoings and criminal acts of the past administration." Not, to continue with the covert coverups and on going status-quo of the past eight years. We expect and, also demand more.
Today, we find ourselves at a critical turning point... Our Nation is only as great the integrity of it's laws, the fairness of our Judicial System and, as strong as the pillars of our Constitution...
As citizens, we need to realize, that our nation has reached that point where our Judicial System has been twisted, bought and subverted by large corporations to where it no longer protects the rights of "All People" as was intended by our founding fathers. We have reached the point... where our country is no longer... "Our Country" anymore.
As a nation, we can't let these crimes; as mentioned by Clint Curtis and others in the attached documentary continue to go on unpunished. For the sake of justice and our credibility and our Nation. YOU, Mr. Obama were elected by the Citizens of this land to give you the power as Commander and Chief and as President " To mandate change". To act... To provide leadership to save our Democracy and our Nation from the acts of corporate and judicial misconduct and criminal corruption. A mandate given to you... to give the country back to it's people, " all its people". A clear mandate to balance the scales of Justice. A clear mandate to see that laws be enforced and crimes be punished and not overlooked with a wink and a nod to the highest bidder... as it is today.
Before you, is an opportunity to do Great Things... An historic opportunity... that should not be waisted.
Gérard Angé
President CEO,
G.A.P. International Inc. &
World Indigenous Network Corporation
(Both California Corporations)
Palo Alto, California 94306
http://www.win-tv.net
About the Author:
Gerard Ange' knows crime first hand, because, he was a victim of corporate crime. Crimes that began with Interstate Wire Fraud § FBI Case: ICC # I05071411389175 § Crimes that continued for six years, yet still these multiple crimes remain" un-punished and un-prosecuted."
For More Information about Mr. Ange's Case FBI Case:
http://www.win-tv.net/GAP_WINTV_Site/GAP_WIN-Tv_Website_Theft.html
========== HERE ARE THE FACTS: Murder Spies and Voting Lies ==========
Homicide & Murder to cover up the Criminal Acts of Voter Fraud
The Clint Curtis Story is an incredible documentary which tells the story of a computer programmer who was contacted by a private company-Yang Enterprises- who have ties to accused chinese spies, to write a program that could be used to rig elections...what follows is the breaking of a massive conspiracy in which there would be hard evidence of vote manipulation via electronic voting machines-whether using Curtis's program or the twenty year old bootloader hack which, as show by students at Princeton University, could be loaded onto any of these machines in less than a minute; the sketchy firing of two employees-one being Curtis himself- from the Florida Dept of Transportation; corrupt ties to leading members of Diebold-one of two companies responsible for vote counting in the US; and a dead Florida DOT investigator- Raymond Lemme RIP- who was privately investigating the claims made by Curtis...who conveniently commited suicide in Georgia, where autopsies are not done on suicide victims, as opposed to Florida where an autopsy would have been automatic. What really happened in 2000 to Al Gore and Ohio & Florida, and again in 2004.....now you can finally know the truth, and it ain't pretty! 7 partsDear President Obama,
The Facts below clearly show that homicide was committed to... more
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On January 21, 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that corporations are entitled to spend unlimited funds in our elections.
The First Amendment was never intended to protect corporations.
This cannot stand. Sign up to protest this decision and protect our democracy! Free speech is for people — not corporations.On January 21, 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that corporations are entitled to... more
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While walking down a street in my home town, I passed a young man half my age and heard him say, "Faggot" under his breath.
I paused, enraged about to make an angry retort, when I realized that anger and hate wouldn't change the boys mind. Instead I spoke quietly to him, "Excuse me."
He turned to me all ready for a confrontation and I raised my hand quietly letting him know I wasn't going to fight.
"I think you have a misunderstanding of what the word 'Faggot' means." I spoke to him with a smile. "A faggot is a stick about 1 foot long, 1/8th to 1/4 inch in diameter and has a burning coal at the tip.
"In Europe" I continued, "a Fag is the name many people give to a cigarette."
"I hope that clears up a misunderstanding of a word often misunderstood in this country. Have a great day. Be well"
I left him standing there (damn near scratching his head), trying to figure out whether I had insulted him or not. There was no further incident and I truely hope he thinks twice about spewing hateful words at people regardless of who they are or what they believe.
Mild humor vs anger or in-your-face humor often defuses hateful remarks and people with narrow views on the world.
Crinic001
"Hug someone today and bring a little peace to this troubled world."While walking down a street in my home town, I passed a young man half my age and... more
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Displaying sensitivity to religions in the current climate is no bad thing. But do it for just one religion, and an unhappy internet calls you out on it.
Click the link to see the search results for main religions including Christianity, Judaism and Islam.
http://www.blameitonthevoices.com/2010/01/google-serving-cowardliness.htmlDisplaying sensitivity to religions in the current climate is no bad thing. But do it... more
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richjm
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added this
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3 years ago
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“Dunny” is a dreamy, but very sad short film by Philip Van, which was a Grand Jury Finalist at the 2007 Raindance Film Festival. The film tells the story of an over-weight and bullied boy, who nonetheless is resolute in his courtship of a popular girl. It pulls no punches as Dunny attempts to give the girl a note expressing his feelings and is surprisingly invited over for dinner by her mom, which leads to even more embarrassment.
Includes a number of color photographs from the film, as well as the very sad short, “Dunny.”
Please visit my website to view the photographs, and to watch this emotionally touching short film:
http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2009/12/19/dunny-the-weight-of-a-man/“Dunny” is a dreamy, but very sad short film by Philip Van, which was a... more
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The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 made it law for schools to report ‘racist incidents’ to local authorities. A growing race relations industry has moved into schools, and even nurseries, to supposedly combat prejudice in children as young as three. In discussion with a studio audience, film-maker and anti-racist campaigner Adrian Hart argues the idea of racist kids is a myth and intervention can in fact create ethnic tensions. Should we leave the kids alone? Let us know what you think.The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 made it law for schools to report... more
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Hollywood has addressed the difficult and often destructive theme of racism and stereotypical prejudice since its early beginnings. Over the years the films themselves, the political bent, the actors and the filmmakers have changed, but the message has generally stayed the same.
Looking back at the history of the genre, I've discovered some wonderful movies, realising that race and prejudice has been the basis for some of the most powerful and brilliant films Hollywood has produced.
And, it really has been a trek through the ages of American cinema. D.W. Griffith got the fire started with his racist "A Birth Of A Nation" but then, unbeknownst to a lot of casual cinemagoers, we don't then have to wait 50 years for Sidney Poitier and Gregory Peck to put the record straight in "In The Heat Of The Night" and "To Kill A Mockingbird". Oscar Micheaux, the first African-American filmmaker, made "Within Our Gates" in 1919 as a riposte to Griffith's depiction of African-American people in the south. Micheaux, having to work outside the studio system, continued making films about the African-American struggle with mainly black actors and crew, throughout the 1920s and 1930s before his untimely death in 1951.
And even then we have to wait for Mockingbird and Heat, with Hollywood addressing various social, class, and prejudice issues in the late 1940s and 1950s. Gregory Peck actually starred in one of these - "Gentlemen's Agreement", about a journalist posing as a Jew to investigate anti-Semitism in upper-class New York city.
After the golden period of Sidney Poitier in the late 1950s and 1960s, and the introduction of the Civil Rights Act in 1964, Hollywood produced literally hundreds of movies about racial discrimination, particularly concerning African-American life in urban America. These urban films, which were shot on low-budgets and quickly made, became known as Blaxploitation.
Hollywood made some of the most exhilarating films about the subject in the 1980s and 1990s, in the sense that it tried to put a positive spin on past events without diminishing the devastating effects of racial intolerance. These films were perhaps a cathartic experience for an American audience wanting to forget its links to the slave trade.Hollywood has addressed the difficult and often destructive theme of racism and... more
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NAPLES, Fla. — Ten Naples middle school students have been suspended after participating in what they called “Kick a Jew Day,” school district officials said.
The incidents came one day before at least five attacks on red-haired students at a Southern California middle school after a Facebook group announced “Kick a Ginger Day.”
District Spokesman Joe Landon said a student told the North Naples Middle School dean of students at dismissal Thursday that she was kicked because it was “Kick a Jew Day.”
The following morning, school principal Margaret Jackson addressed the entire student body regarding the incident, and reviewed the code of student conduct, explained why what happened was wrong, stressed the need to respect one another, and described possible consequences, Landon said.
Jackson asked that anyone with information on the incident come to the office and speak with her or the assistant principal as they investigated the incident.
As a result, the district determined that 10 students should be punished. The students received a one day, in-school suspension, which was served Monday.
Parents of the students who were kicked were notified of what happened, Landon said.
School district spokesman Landon said until further notice, the school will focus the first 20 minutes of each day on character traits, beginning with respect and kindness. Homeroom teachers will speak with the students about these traits and will focus on bullying prevention, he said. Videos on the topic will be sought out and used as part of the training, he said.
In the “Kick a Ginger Day” attacks, nobody was seriously hurt and no arrests were made.
A 12-year-old boy reported being kicked and hit by classmates Friday at A.E. Wright Middle School in Calabasas, Calif. A sixth-grade girl said some fellow students kicked her in the legs from behind.
Investigators said the Facebook message may have been inspired by a “South Park” TV episode that satirized racial prejudice by portraying a campaign against red-haired, fair-skinned “ginger” people.NAPLES, Fla. — Ten Naples middle school students have been suspended after... more
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A justice of the peace in Louisiana who denied an interracial couple a marriage license has resigned, according to published reports.
Keith Bardwell, who defended his decision as being about concern for the couple's children, did not respond to requests for comment regarding his resignation. However, he told a CNN affiliate that he is unapologetic for the decision.
"It's kind of hard to apologize for something that you really and truly feel down in your heart you haven't done wrong," he reportedly said.
The Louisiana chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union called the justice's move "tragic and illegal." Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal had called for the justice's license to be revoked.
Bardwell has long had a policy of not marrying interracial couples, and admitted that Louisiana's attorney general had warned him years ago that he could "get into trouble" because of it.
http://rawstory.com/2009/11/louisiana-justice-refused-interracial-marriage-resigns/A justice of the peace in Louisiana who denied an interracial couple a marriage... more
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A Louisiana justice of the peace who refused to marry a couple because the bride was white and groom was black resigned Tuesday.
Keith Bardwell, who is white, quit the post with a one-sentence statement to Louisiana Secretary of State Jay Dardenne and no explanation of his decision: "I do hereby resign the office of Justice of the Peace for the Eighth Ward of Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, effective November 3, 2009."
Bardwell refused to perform the ceremony for Beth Humphrey and Terence McKay because they are of different races.
When questioned about his refusal, Bardwell acknowledged he routinely recuses himself from marrying interracial couples because he believes such marriages cause harm to the couples' children. In interviews, he said he refers such couples to other justices of the peace, who then perform the ceremony, which happened in this case.
Humphrey has said she and McKay received their marriage license from the parish clerk of court, where they also received a list of people qualified to perform the ceremony. When she called Bardwell's office to ask about the ceremony on Oct. 6, Humphrey said Bardwell's wife told her that the justice wouldn't sign their marriage license because they were a "mixed couple."
Bardwell didn't immediately return a call for comment Tuesday about his resignation, which followed calls for his ouster from several public officials, including Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu.
Humphrey and McKay have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Bardwell.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jy_z-Zo4fvJEf2TK1LCiiPIe9NDwD9BOB3SG1A Louisiana justice of the peace who refused to marry a couple because the bride was... more
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A Louisiana justice of the peace said he refused to issue a marriage license to an interracial couple out of concern for any children the couple might have. Keith Bardwell, justice of the peace in Tangipahoa Parish, says it is his experience that most interracial marriages do not last long.
Neither Bardwell nor the couple immediately returned phone calls from The Associated Press. But Bardwell told the Daily Star of Hammond that he was not a racist.
"I do ceremonies for black couples right here in my house," Bardwell said. "My main concern is for the children."
Bardwell said he has discussed the topic with blacks and whites, along with witnessing some interracial marriages. He came to the conclusion that most of black society does not readily accept offspring of such relationships, and neither does white society, he said.
"I don't do interracial marriages because I don't want to put children in a situation they didn't bring on themselves," Bardwell said. "In my heart, I feel the children will later suffer."
If he does an interracial marriage for one couple, he must do the same for all, he said.
"I try to treat everyone equally," he said.
Thirty-year-old Beth Humphrey and 32-year-old Terence McKay, both of Hammond, say they will consult the U.S. Justice Department about filing a discrimination complaint.
more at link...A Louisiana justice of the peace said he refused to issue a marriage license to an... more
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Men are not born stupid, but there are many political and economic interests in the world which want them to be so. Often we think that ignorance is the reason why many people support obviously inadequate governments, but in reality is something much more serious than ignorance, is education to self-destruction. Imagine a thief who enters a house to rob and destroy. The noise alarm one of its inhabitants, who immediatly tries to stop the thief.Men are not born stupid, but there are many political and economic interests in the... more
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An 18-year Counterintelligence and Counterterrorism Manager for the FBI has called for a Special Counsel to be appointed to investigate the allegations of FBI translator-turned-whistleblower Sibel Edmonds. John M. Cole, who now works as an intelligence contractor for the Air Force, made his comments during an audio interview released late last week with radio journalist Peter B. Collins.
He also offered a detailed insider's look at the concerns among high-level officials inside the Bureau as Edmonds' disturbing allegations began coming to light back in 2002, before they would be quashed for seven long years by the Bush Administration's unprecedented use of the so-called "State Secrets Privilege" to gag her.
Earlier last week, following the publication of a remarkable American Conservative magazine cover story interview with Edmonds --- detailing a broad bribery, blackmail, and espionage conspiracy said to have been carried out between current and former members of the U.S. Congress, high-ranking State and Defense Department officials and covert operatives from Turkey and Israel, resulting in the theft and sale of nuclear weapons technology on the foreign black market --- Cole had been quoted by the magazine confirming one of Edmonds' key allegations.
"I am fully aware of the FBI's decade-long investigation of" Marc Grossman, he said in response to the AmCon article/interview. Grossman had served as the third-highest ranking official in the Bush State Department and was alleged by Edmonds in the interview, and in a sworn, video-taped deposition a month earlier, to have been the U.S. ringleader for a massive Turkish espionage scandal reaching through the halls of power and into top-secret nuclear facilities around the country to the benefit of allies and enemies alike. Cole said that the FBI's counterintelligence probe "ultimately was buried and covered up," and that he believes it is "long past time" for an investigation of the case to "bring about accountability."
In his subsequent interview with Collins last week (audio and text excerpts posted below) Cole elaborated on those comments in much greater detail, noting that Edmonds has been "one hundred percent right on the money, on the mark" and confirming the existence of an "ongoing and detailed effort by Turkey to develop influence in the United States" through various illegal activities.
"Yes, I can confirm that," Cole told Collins, "That's true."
The FBI veteran executive also offered an insider's account of the panic that ensued inside the highest echelons of the bureau following Edmonds' first disclosure of information in 2002, recounting how an executive assistant director admitted to him at the time, just after the story first broke, "Well, all I know is that everything that Sibel is stating is true. I read her file. Everything she stated is, in fact, accurate."
Cole further describes how the concerns about Edmonds ultimately led to the Bush Administration's two-time use of the Draconian "State Secrets Privilege" in hopes of keeping her extraordinary information from becoming public. "Everybody at headquarters level at the bureau knew that what she was saying was extremely accurate."
"I know they didn't want her to go out and speak about it at all," Cole revealed, "and I know they were trying to figure out ways of keeping this whole thing quiet, because they didn't want Sibel to come out."
He also offered information which directly counters one of the criticisms of Edmonds' allegations as frequently offered by skeptics. Namely, that as a short time FBI contract translator --- even though she was tasked to review some seven years of counterintelligence wiretaps made from 1996 to 2002 --- she couldn't have had enough understanding of the full scope of the investigations to understand what was really going on.
More...An 18-year Counterintelligence and Counterterrorism Manager for the FBI has called for... more
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American Indians, in a racially charged move, are pushing the Dan Synder owned Redskins (which is a racial descriptor for American Indians in the United States of America) to change the team name from "Red Skins" to something more appropriate. An internet gambling spot is taking betting odds on the probability this politically correct move happens.American Indians, in a racially charged move, are pushing the Dan Synder owned... more
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Kaelos
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added this
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3 years ago
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LINK TO FULL ARTICLE: http://amconmag.com/article/2009/nov/01/00006/
Who’s Afraid of Sibel Edmonds?
GIRALDI: And Grossman received money as a result. In one case, you said that a State Department colleague went to pick up a bag of money…
EDMONDS: $14,000
GIRALDI: What kind of information was Grossman giving to foreign countries? Did he give assistance to foreign individuals penetrating U.S. government labs and defense installations as has been reported? It’s also been reported that he was the conduit to a group of congressmen who become, in a sense, the targets to be recruited as “agents of influence.”
EDMONDS: Yes, that’s correct. Grossman assisted his Turkish and Israeli contacts directly, and he also facilitated access to members of Congress who might be inclined to help for reasons of their own or could be bribed into cooperation. The top person obtaining classified information was Congressman Tom Lantos. A Lantos associate, Alan Makovsky worked very closely with Dr. Sabri Sayari in Georgetown University, who is widely believed to be a Turkish spy. Lantos would give Makovsky highly classified policy-related documents obtained during defense briefings for passage to Israel because Makovsky was also working for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
GIRALDI: Makovsky is now working for the Washington Institute for Near Eastern Policy, a pro-Israeli think tank.
EDMONDS: Yes. Lantos was at the time probably the most outspoken supporter of Israel in Congress. AIPAC would take out the information from Lantos that was relevant to Israel, and they would give the rest of it to their Turkish associates. The Turks would go through the leftovers, take what they wanted, and then try to sell the rest. If there were something relevant to Pakistan, they would contact the ISI officer at the embassy and say, “We’ve got this and this, let’s sit down and talk.” And then they would sell it to the Pakistanis.
GIRALDI: ISI—Pakistani intelligence—has been linked to the Pakistani nuclear proliferation program as well as to al-Qaeda and the Taliban.LINK TO FULL ARTICLE: http://amconmag.com/article/2009/nov/01/00006/
Who’s... more
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We'll share with you the shocking video testimony given by FBI Whistle blower Sibel Edmonds during her (under oath) video deposition in the (4) videos below.
Edmonds explains clearly the details, the times, the dates, the names, that amounts of money paid in the selling of American influence and the selling of nuclear defense secrets to the highest bidder. Her testimony has been confirmed as fact by other government agencies and, high ranking government officials. .
In the videos below you will see the names of the most trusted highest ranking US government officials. Starting with The Ex-Speaker of the House; Republican, Dennis Hastert, then on to Stephen Solarz, Bob Livingston, Tom Lantos, Roy Blunt, Dan Burton and an (Unnamed Congresswoman) ~ All whom were named (Under Oath) By an FBI Employee naming them as directly participating in ESPIONAGE, BLACKMAIL and, BRIBERY...
Please take the time to view all 4 Shocking Videos... "You won't be disappointed."
Gérartd Angé
Gérard Angé
President CEO,
G.A.P. International Satellite Broadcasting Inc.,
G.A.P. International News Service,
LIVE-WEB Mobile Broadcasting,
WIN-TV Corporation,
Gerard_Ange@win-tv.net
http://www.win-tv.net
http://LIVE-WEB.US
http://www.youtube.com/user/gerardange
http://my.media-match.com/gerard.ange
http://www.linkedin.com/in/gerardange
http://twitter.com/gerardange
------------------------------ Quoted ------------------------------
In this first break-down article, we'll look at the answers given by Edmonds during her deposition in regard to bribery and blackmail of current and former members of the U.S. Congress, including Dennis Hastert (R-IL), Bob Livingston (R-LA), Dan Burton (R-IN), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Stephen Solarz (D-NY), Tom Lantos (D-CA, deceased) and an unnamed, currently-serving, married Democratic Congresswoman said to have been video-taped in a Lesbian affair by Turkish agents for blackmail purposes.
Though Edmonds was careful to not "discuss the intelligence gathering method by the FBI," she notes in her deposition that her claims are "Based on documented and provable, tracked files and based on...100 percent, documented facts."
In further breakdown articles, we'll look at her disclosures concerning top State and Defense Department officials including Douglas Feith, Paul Wolfowitz and, perhaps most notably, the former Deputy Undersecretary of State, Marc Grossman, the third-highest ranking official in the State Department. Also, details on the theft of nuclear weapons technology; disclosures on Valerie Plame Wilson's CIA front company Brewster-Jennings; items related to U.S. knowledge of 9/11 and al-Qaeda prior to September 11, 2001; infiltration of the FBI translation department and more.
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Brad Friedman: Investigative journalist
Commonweal Institute Fellow.
LINK TO ARTICAL:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brad-friedman/fbi-whistleblower-hastert_b_277704.h...
LINK TO DEPOSITION TRANSCRIPTS (PDF):
http://www.bradblog.com/Docs/SibelEdmondsDeposition_Transcript_080809.pdf
.We'll share with you the shocking video testimony given by FBI Whistle blower... more
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Pat Davis was just 10 years old when two black men came into his father's barbecue joint in the heart of the Mississippi Delta in 1947. A huge fuss ensued, with four racists shouting every name in the book.
"My daddy went over to their table and said, 'These are people who want to eat just like you want to eat. You don't bother them. You leave them alone,' " Davis says, the incident seared in his mind six decades later. "They told Daddy he could lose his business by letting black people come in."
It's not unusual to find a barbecue restaurant in the South where the ribs are so good you want to run home and kiss your mom. But it's a rare find to discover the South's main delicacy cooked up by Lebanese immigrants in Mississippi, who defied segregation and who've been doing it since 1924.
Welcome to Abe's BBQ, a living testament to good eats and to good people, where civil rights were put to the test and won. In the end, racism took a back seat to slow-cooked pit barbecue. Today, Abe's remains one of the oldest restaurants in Mississippi.
It's named after founder Abraham Davis, who arrived in Mississippi from Lebanon in 1913 when he was 13 years old.
Abe's sits at The Crossroads, the landmark spot at Highways 49 and 61 in Clarksdale where legend has it that blues king Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil. Two giant guitars jut into the sky marking the spot where the deal went down.
You might be pausing here. Lebanese in Mississippi? Defying segregation? Sounds like something out of William Faulkner's Yoknapatawpha County.
As you sit down with a platter of ribs this Labor Day weekend, this is one barbecue story you might enjoy over cole slaw, baked beans and beer.
The town of Clarksdale is located about 70 miles southwest of Memphis, Tennessee, with a population of about 20,000 people. It was once known as the "Golden Buckle in the Cotton Belt," complete with Lebanese, Italian, Chinese and Jewish immigrants along with local blacks and white plantation owners.
Much of the immigrant population has moved on. The town these days is perhaps best known for the Delta Blues Museum and for the nearby Ground Zero Blues Club, co-owned by actor Morgan Freeman. Blues purists may point you around the corner to Red's juke joint, a ramshackle place where raw Delta blues oozes from the walls. On this night, Eli Paperboy Reed and the True Loves brought the house down.
But it's Abe's that has stood the test of time. Abraham Davis started his pit barbecue as the Bungalow Inn in 1924. It moved to its current location around 1936, and Pat Davis renamed it after his father in 1960.
Davis says being an immigrant -- or in his case, the son of immigrants -- gives one a better respect for all people. "It was a humbling feeling, and we knew how the blacks must've felt," he says. "Being Lebanese, my parents weren't truly accepted as first-class citizens when they first got here."
Andrew Clark, a 58-year-old African-American, worked at Abe's from 1962 to 1990, beginning when he was 16. He says Abe's is a symbol of great barbecue and a shrine to the civil rights struggle.
"They didn't see us as colored. They saw us customers," Clark says. "It didn't matter whether you were white or black ... I never seen them turn down anyone."
Sometimes he'd hear racist comments from white customers. When that happened, Pat Davis always stepped in. "The whole family is really, really great people," Clark says. "This place really has good roots to it."
---click above to read the rest of the article---Pat Davis was just 10 years old when two black men came into his father's... more
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