Quite the Piece’s of Work

Yesterday Jeremy Scahill had his latest article, Blackwater Founder Implicated in Murder, published over at The Nation. Might I suggest you wander over and take a peek. Both, the article itself and Erik Prince, are quite the piece’s of work, each in their own right.

Appearing in one of the “sworn statements” Jeremy’s article is concerning;

“Mr. Prince intentionally deployed to Iraq certain men who shared his vision of Christian supremacy, knowing and wanting these men to take every available opportunity to murder Iraqis. Many of these men used call signs based on the Knights of the Templar, the warriors who fought the Crusades.”

“Mr. Prince operated his companies in a manner that encouraged and rewarded the destruction of Iraqi life. For example, Mr. Prince’s executives would openly speak about going over to Iraq to ‘lay Hajiis out on cardboard.’ Going to Iraq to shoot and kill Iraqis was viewed as a sport or game. Mr. Prince’s employees openly and consistently used racist and derogatory terms for Iraqis and other Arabs, such as ‘ragheads’ or ‘hajiis’.”

Subsequently Jeremy has made appearances, discussing what he wrote, on Countdown with Keith Olbermann and Democracy Now. While you’re at it, check them out, too…

13 Years In

As it turns out today, August 5th, 2009, marks the 13th anniversary of my accident. Oh no, unlucky 13?

But, in all seriousness, it’s days just like that of today that enable a “man” to look back and appreciate where a kid has been, and where that same individual might be headed. Frankly, it’s amazingly mind-numbing to consider.

What continues to be most noteworthy about this date is what it also represents, in conjunction with my accident — which was everything but — is the 3rd anniversary of this website’s launch. It’s been 3 years already? Damn, it oddly seems like more. Go figure…

Continue reading 13 Years In

What Are The Chances?

I received this in my inbox, courtesy of Z Nightly Commentaries, today. When Wall Street Is The Prolem, Is Bernanke The Answer? Spelling errors aside — oversights, I’m sure — this one excerpt, at least, is worthy of attention;

“In his recent press conference, after which President Obama would be called to task for lambasting the police in Cambridge Mass. for acting ‘stupidly’ — a comment he later withdrew — he also charged that Wall Street knew what they were doing when they made predatory loans. No one called him on that, not even Wall Street. […] If it was a smear, you would expect an uproar from the Wall Street-Real Estate complex responsible for millions of families losing their homes. After all, this is a mass problem, not a mere incident. Also, a large proportion of those targeted were people of color. Their lives have been handcuffed, not just their wrists. If you are looking for a case of mass racial profiling, look here…”

I wonder if CNN will consider Danny’s suggestion, to “consider this as a theme for Black In America 3?” What are the chances?

What Else Could I Possibly Add?

In this short life, an existence we’ll only ever know, we’re hopelessly stuck in this perpetual downward spiral, rife with fear, paranoia, suspicion, pain, and sadness. But every so often, much less often than is so desperately needed, I’ll stumble upon a story that will, at least for a little while, restore my hope for humanity. First some context;

“Mysterious bomb blasts, assassinations by masked gunmen, detainees denied access to their lawyers, torture and death in detention, the random arrest of critical journalists, and the banning of peaceful demonstrations are but a few of the human rights violations sweeping the Occupied Palestinian Territories…” 1

Yet despite that;

“Thousands of children smash the previous world record [for ‘kite-flying’] at event in Gaza Strip…” 2

What else could I possibly add?

Continue reading What Else Could I Possibly Add?