Take Another Look w/ Ashahed M. Muhammad

Protesters, diplomats converge as 2012 NATO Summit nears

noreply@blogger.com (Ashahed Muhammad) — Wed, 16 May 2012 17:57:00 +0000

Protesters, diplomats converge as 20102 NATO Summit nears

by Ashahed M. Muhammad

CHICAGO—Thousands are converging in Chicago for planned protests during the upcoming North Atlantic Treaty Organization Summit to be held this weekend.

Protesters representing all ideological realms have been planning for this summit like it was the Super Bowl, hoping to use it as a worldwide forum to oppose NATO’s global military aggressions and imperialist expansion.

It is the first time this important gathering of diplomats has taken place in an American location other than Washington, D.C. 24 previous NATO Summits have been held, the last one in Lisbon, Portugal in November 2010.

Originally, the Group of Eight (G8) Summit was also to be held in Chicago on May 18th and 19th, however, Pres. Barack Obama in a surprise move changed the location to Camp David. While the President maintains his decision to change locations was not based on security concerns, the switch caused considerable embarrassment for Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel, and Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy.

Recently, Supt. McCarthy, still in his first year as head of the nation's second largest police force, addressed more than dozens of community leaders at Jewish United Fund's joint Government Affairs/Jewish Community Relations Council luncheon, to discuss security concerns related to the upcoming NATO Summit. Supt. McCarthy, says the Chicago police are ready for the security challenges that lie ahead.

Due to the summit, heavy parking and traffic flow restrictions have been in place and Chicago residents are already bracing for traffic problems that are sure to come, as well as disruptions in the public transportation system, which carries on an average weekday 1.64 million riders to various destinations in the Chicago metropolitan area.

Formed in 1949, NATO has acted as a worldwide security force, however, critics of the organization claim that its noble sounding ideals of “establishing peace” and constant “humanitarian intervention” during conflicts are really euphemisms for a strategy of western-backed imperialist expansion.

NATO has come under criticism for its role in Afghanistan and its role in the military aggression aimed at killing Col. Muammar Gadhafi and destabilizing Libya. According to organizers with the Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER) coalition, the movement towards war with Iran and military intervention in Syria should be vociferously and vehemently opposed, and they plan to “hit the streets to protest the warmongers at the NATO summit in Chicago.”

Monday morning, eight protesters were arrested after an active mobilization at the ‘Obama for America’ campaign headquarters downtown. Although disparate groups are planning protests all week, the date those groups and law enforcement are focusing on appears to be May 20.

I'll be keeping you up to date with the happenings via Twitter and posting images on Facebook.

Extensive FinalCall.com coverage of Farrakhan's recent HBCU Tour!

noreply@blogger.com (Ashahed Muhammad) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 20:44:00 +0000

Minister Farrakhan recently completed a tour of several historically Black colleges throughout the "Cotton South." I covered it every step of the way.

It was historic in nature, and its impact will be long-lasting.

Coverage of @LouisFarrakhan ‘Empowering the Next Generation of Leaders' at Univ. of Arkansas – Pine Bluff @ http://bit.ly/IKKLkN

Coverage of @LouisFarrakhan at LeMoyne-Owen in Memphis, TN delivering ‘Lessons in Leadership’ @ http://bit.ly/K4QLnq

Go to www.FinalCall.com to view the extensive coverage and photos.

Farrakhan's 'Cotton South' Tour Continues at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff

noreply@blogger.com (Ashahed Muhammad) — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 23:53:00 +0000

* Location: University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
* Date: Monday April 16, 2012
* Time: 7:30 pm EDT | 6:30 pm CDT | 4:30 pm PDT
* Live Stream: http://www.NOI.org/Webcast
* The event is free and open to the public. The webcast is also free!

Farrakhan continues HBCU Tour at Lemoyne-Owen

noreply@blogger.com (Ashahed Muhammad) — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 12:41:00 +0000

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan continued his speaking tour two days ago, Thursday April 12 speaking to students from Tennessee State University and Fisk University in Nashville, TN.

Minister Farrakhan was welcomed by thousands of students at Alabama A&M University, Tuesday April 10 as he made the first stop of his scheduled tour of several historically Black colleges and universities throughout the south.

He speaks tonight, at LeMoyne-Owen College. It is being presented live via internet webcast. Information is listed below.

*Location LeMoyne-Owen College, Bruce Gymnasium, 807 Walker Avenue, Memphis, TN.

* Date: Saturday April 14, 2012

* Time: 7:30 pm EDT | 6:30 pm CDT | 4:30 pm PDT

* Live Stream: http://www.NOI.org/Webcast

* The event is free and open to the public in person and via webcast!

Key Points from 'The Secret Relationship Between Blacks & Jews' Vol.1 & 2

noreply@blogger.com (Ashahed Muhammad) — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 23:02:00 +0000

This guide provides Highlights and Key Points of the books, The Secret Relationship Between Blacks and Jews Vol.1 & 2 and Jews Selling Blacks.

Every fact and quote can be found in and verified by the thousands of footnotes in the books themselves.

All three books have been sent to every leader of the Jewish world and to prominent people in media, business, and politics, including the president, congress and the supreme court.

Download your copy today!

Highlights & Key Points from The Secret Relationship Between Blacks and Jews

[New Report] President Barack Obama: Evil Spoken Of

noreply@blogger.com (Ashahed Muhammad) — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 22:46:00 +0000

GOP Republican presidential candidates Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum, leading Jewish congressional representative Eric Cantor (R-Va.), prominent Jewish congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R- Fla.), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and former U.S. President Bill Clinton are but a few whose shrill voices have contributed to a cacophonous chorus of extremism and intolerance.

This report, compiled by the Nation of Islam Research Group (NOIRG), is a brief for students, researchers, members of the media and fair-minded citizens to see how the “mask of civility” has been removed, making what appears to be escalating levels of racial conflict inevitable.

Get your copy right now! President Barack Obama: Evil Spoken Of (PDF)

NY African Film Festival Returns to Film Society of Lincoln Center 4/11 - 4/17

noreply@blogger.com (Ashahed Muhammad) — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 17:48:00 +0000

AFRICAN FILM IS IN THE SPOTLIGHT AS THE NEW YORK AFRICAN FILM FESTIVAL RETURNS TO FILM SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER APRIL 11 to 17

Highlights Include Opening Night Film Mama Africa, Celebrating the Legacy of Miriam Makeba, The Education of Auma Obama, Offering a Window into the African Family and Father of President Obama, and Centerpiece Selection Relentless, Starring Hip-Hop and Soul Singer Nneka

NEW YORK—Film Society of Lincoln Center (FSLC) and African Film Festival, Inc. (AFF) have again joined forces to present the 19th New York African Film Festival (NYAFF). Presented under the theme “21st Century: The Homecoming,” this year’s festival will explore the modern notion of home and homeland, from the legacy of music legend Miriam Makeba—subject of the Opening Night Film Mama Africa—to Diasporic visions like the New York-set Restless City. The NYAFF will also mark the 100th anniversary of the African National Congress (ANC) and the 50th anniversary of independence for Algeria, Burundi, Jamaica, Rwanda and Uganda, as well as give a unique look into the life of President Obama with the New York premiere of a film on his half-sister, The Education of Auma Obama. The NYAFF will run from April 11 through 17 at Film Society of Lincoln Center.

“This is a continuation of the discussion about the shape of Africa that has taken place since Independence and that is now not being embraced by the younger generation,” said African Film Festival, Inc. Executive Director and Founder Mahen Bonetti. “Though these young people have not in many ways been thrown a lifeline as post-Independent conflict emerged, they have somehow managed, through technology, to craft their own narrative, unconsciously drawing on the past and creating something new and very modern without having disavowed the past.”

Special events and highlights include the Opening Night film Mama Africa by Mika Kaurismäki (Special Jury Recognition—Documentary at the 2012 Pan African Film Festival) on April 11, and the Centerpiece film Relentless by Andy Amadi Okoroafor, starring internationally renowned Nigerian-German hip hop and soul singer Nneka, a U.S. premiere, on Friday, April 13. With the election year in full swing, the NYAFF will present a film that offers a window into the African family of President Barack Obama and insight into his father, with The Education of Auma Obama by Branwen Okpako; the film won the Viewers’ Choice Award at the 2011 Africa International Film Festival and the Festival Founders’ Award at the 2012 Pan African Film Festival.

“African cinema was born in the same year as the New York Film Festival—1963—and it's always been a source of great pleasure and pride for me that for 50 years our programs have provided a vital showcase for the best in African filmmaking,” said Film Society of Lincoln Center Program Director Richard Peña. “We also salute our dear friends and partners at the New York African Film Festival, which for almost twenty years has worked successfully to make African cinema a reality around the United States.”

The popular blog Africa is a Country (africasacountry.com) will present “Africa is a Country: Talking Media and Russian Archives,” a free panel discussion, on Saturday, April 14 from 1:30 pm to 4 pm in the Frieda and Roy Furman Gallery at the Walter Reade Theater. Featured bloggers and special guest will examine the relationship between Africa and the Soviet Union in the 1960s and 1970s, as is evidenced by Russia's extensive film archive of the continent, and then explore the relationship between film and social media movements on the continent.

“Africans in the Diaspora: Expatriates and the Homecoming,” a free festival preview will take place at The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space on April 5 at 6:00 pm to welcome audiences to the 19th edition of the NYAFF; the event, moderated by renowned journalist Femi Oke, will include a special performance by popular artist-emcee DJ Spooky in which he rescores Father of African Cinema Ousmane Sembene’s Borrom Sorret, filmmaker-scholar Yemane Demissie and music and African cinema critic Beatiz Leal. The festival then kicks off at the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Walter Reade Theater at 165 W. 65th Street, Plaza Level, from April 11 through 17, then heads to Columbia University’s Institute of African Studies on Thursday, April 19 for a daylong, free public program exploring the themes of the festival. It picks up on May 4 and 5 at the Maysles Cinema Institute in Harlem and culminates over Memorial Day Weekend at the Brooklyn Academy of Music BAMcinématek—part of the dance and music festival DanceAfrica. For details, visit African Film Festival online at www.africanfilmny.org.

The programs of AFF are made possible by the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, International Organization of La Francophonie, Domenico Paulon Foundation, New York Foundation for the Arts, Divine Chocolate, New York Times Community Affairs Department, The Ford Foundation, Bradley Family Foundation, South African Consulate General, SN Brussels, French Cultural Services, Bloomberg, Lambent Foundation, Columbia University’s Institute of African Studies, WNYC, 57 Main St. Wine Company, South African Airways, Hudson Hotel, Putumayo World Music, Flavorpill, Giant Step and Omnipak Import Enterprises, Inc.

On Justice for Trayvon Martin

noreply@blogger.com (Ashahed Muhammad) — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 22:09:00 +0000

(L-R) Angel, age 5, and Angelique, age 6, of the Howard University Early Learning Program, were at the Justice for Trayvon Martin rally in Washington D.C. March 24.

(Photo Ashahed M. Muhammad)

In America, an unarmed young brother can apparently be hunted down, shot and killed, with 911 recordings available and the shooter remains free.

But equally troubling is this: How many more have to die [Yusef Hawkins, Sean Bell Oscar Grant, James Byrd, Trayvon Martin, Ramarley Graham] at their hands before we decide to stop killing each other in Black communities nationwide?

As it is with any developing story, even more painfully tragic details are coming to the fore, however one thing still has not changed: Zimmerman has not been arrested.

Those calling for retaliation that are well intentioned, keep in mind your ethics and morality (2 different things) have to be at a very high level in order to carry out ‘an eye for an eye’ type law. It is more than a slogan. Those who are not well intentioned, it is reckless and irresponsible to throw those terms out carelessly. It is not advisable to pursue that course of action.

Review Minister Farrakhan's Holy Day of Atonement message delivered in Atlanta, GA on October 16, 2007. He spoke specifically about the ‘Law of Retaliation’ and the conditions that must be present prior to that type of law being enacted.

Zimmerman should be found, arrested and should stand trial. If the story is as open and shut as is claimed, why does he fear?

Ironically, Zimmerman now fears for his own life as a result of the reality he created for himself when he killed Trayvon Martin.

We have received a few emailed inquiries regarding Zimmerman's ethnicity. Clearly, we are aware the name 'Zimmerman' is prevalent amongst the Ashkenazim. We've seen reports that his father is a German Jew and his mother, Peruvian. We are still researching to get actual facts, however, none of that is as important as the fact that Trayvon is dead, primarily because he is Black. That much is clear.

I've never seen anything like this in an effort to conceal racial/ethnic identity. Media has described him as a 'White Hispanic' then said his father was Catholic. (Of course, many Jewish groups are screaming 'he is NOT Jewish!')

We're also looking very closely at the ‘socially conscious’ entertainers who quick fast jumped on #KONY2012 but have no comment on #Justice4Trayvon. To those who showed up late to the party…better late than never. On Twitter, monitor those whom you follow, and see what they are (or are not) saying regarding Trayvon.

The battle has already begun to try to demonize Trayvon Martin and elevate Zimmerman. Before you know it, the controlled media will have transformed Zimmerman into a 2nd Amendment loving American hero and patriot protecting himself from a young Black thug.

Black activists and organizations better focus all of this emotional energy into ensuring the narrative is not altered by the unscrupulous 'objective' talking heads that will 'pop up' in the media.

Farrakhan assails forces working to miseducate, distort history at UC-Berkeley appearance

noreply@blogger.com (Ashahed Muhammad) — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 18:53:00 +0000

Farrakhan assails forces working to miseducate, distort history at UC-Berkeley appearance

There are forces that would like to continue the miseducation of Black students, said Min. Farrakhan. They fear those who would uncover their misdeeds, shining the light of truth and exposing their shadowy nefarious deeds, he said.

He cited segregation as an example: The only reason White people wanted to integrate Blacks into society was to get access to Black dollars. During segregation, Black schools and businesses thrived because Black dollars circulated within the community, he said.

Min. Farrakhan then held up the book, The Secret Relationship Between Blacks and Jews Volume 2. The 512-page book should be on every college campus throughout America, he said.

The 2012 Afrikan Black Coalition (ABC) Conference was held at the Univeristy of California, Berkeley March 9-11.

When he asked how many knew about the Jewish holocaust at the hands of Adolph Hitler and his military henchmen, nearly every hand was raised. When he asked the Black students how many knew the details of the holocaust involving their ancestors significantly fewer hands were raised.

“Now why do you know the holocaust, but you don’t know yours?” the Minister asked. “You don’t know what happened to you that you are still wrestling with now! No Jewish child has to be asked about a mission! Jewish children know their history, know what has happened to them and refuse to let it happen again because their parents teach them!”

Jewish people teach their generational history to their group and the world, he said. Black parents have failed the children by not teaching them the stories of what Blacks have been through, he added.

“You should know this! You can’t build on today with no knowledge of yesterday, and who would deprive you of yesterday but somebody who wants to rob you of today and cripple your tomorrow!” said Minister Farrakhan.

Jewish organizations such as the ADL and Jewish students on campus had no interaction or interest in Black students, until they discovered Black students were interested in hearing from Louis Farrakhan, said the Nation of Islam minister.

“They only got interested in you because you got interested in me…So before you have a dialogue with them—read,” said Min. Farrakhan.

UNDER SIEGE: NDAA, Islamophobia and the Israel Lobby (PDF)

noreply@blogger.com (Ashahed Muhammad) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 15:25:00 +0000

UNDER SIEGE: NDAA, Islamophobia and the Israel Lobby

The well-financed “anti-Sharia” movement that opposes the building of mosques in the United States, fueled by acerbic rhetoric spewing from the mouths of political leaders and media personalities has been allowed to spread unchecked. Now, a dangerously Islamophobic climate exists for Muslims in the U.S. and abroad.

The leadership of the Religious Right with their symbiotic partnership with conservative elected officials makes no exceptions for any particular cultural nuances or unique belief systems. To these Apostles of Hate, Islam is the enemy.

Download your copy of this report @ http://finalcall.com/under_siege.pdf

Spread the word, email it to others. Print it out and make copies to distribute to others. Do your part to spread TRUTH!

9/11: What Really Happened & Why?

noreply@blogger.com (Ashahed Muhammad) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 15:27:00 +0000

The families of those who died on 9/11 and the American people deserve to know what really happened.

CHICAGO-Word is spreading globally regarding the major plenary session scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 25 titled “9/11: What Really Happened and Why?”

“9/11 is so important and what happened and what were the forces that were arranged for that thing to take place that allowed for everything in these last ten years of the American government’s national and international policies to be reshaped? It is all based upon this attack on 9/11,” said Ishmael R. Muhammad, Minister Farrakhan's assistant at the Nation of Islam's headquarters Mosque Maryam.

Despite movies like “Third Jihad” being shown to law enforcement officials, and Islamophobe Rep. Peter King’s hearings focused on “radicalized Muslims,” a recent report by the Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security found the terrorist threat presented from Muslims to be miniscule.

The plenary session, hosted by Southwestern Regional Representative of the Nation of Islam Robert Muhammad, will separate fact from fiction answering tough questions such as: “Was 9/11 an inside job?” and “Does America have a history of false flag operations?”

Information will be presented by members of Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth as they deliver historical narratives, and technical knowledge to those at Saviours’ Day and watching throughout the world via internet.

Richard Gage, founder of Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth told The Final Call he is looking forward to presenting the fact regarding 9/11 to those gathered.

“We’re excited to bring this information to a group of people who have already been primed for it by in this case the Minister,” said Mr. Gage. “He’s taken some very courageous stands for 9/11 truth and so we’re honored to come and speak to what I understand may be up to three thousand people at one time, which is about five times larger than any group of people we’ve ever spoken to. So we’re delighted that the information will get out all at once to that many people and live streaming as well to many times that many people.”

The group’s 15-minute documentary titled “Architects and Engineers: Solving the Mystery of WTC 7” is already being circulated throughout the Nation of Islam’s online social media networks.

The plenary session, "9/11: What Really Happened and Why?" will take place Feb. 25, 2012 at the Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL. To attend this event in person, register for Saviours' Day 2012 (http://www.noi.org/sd2012). The event will also be streamed live via the Internet.

Israeli Assassinations and American Presidents by Alison Weir

noreply@blogger.com (Ashahed Muhammad) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 14:54:00 +0000

Israeli Assassinations and American Presidents

by Alison Weir

http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/Perspectives_1/article_8558.shtml

On January 13th the Atlanta Jewish Times featured a column by its owner-publisher suggesting that Israel might someday need to “order a hit” on the president of the United States.

In the column, publisher Andrew Adler describes a scenario in which Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu would need to “give the go-ahead for U.S. based Mossad agents to take out a president deemed unfriendly to Israel.”

The purpose? So that the vice president could then take office and dictate U.S. policies that would help the Jewish state “obliterate its enemies.”

Adler writes that it is highly likely that the idea “has been discussed in Israel’s most inner circles.”

Numerous Jewish leaders quickly condemned Adler, who has now apologized for the column, resigned, and there are some reports that he plans to put the newspaper up for sale. An Israeli columnist noted that the hatred being stirred up against Obama is similar to conditions in Israel that led to the murder of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin by a Jewish extremist.

Many of those criticizing Adler claim that he had defamed Israel by suggesting that it would ever do such a thing. Abe Foxman, head of the Jewish Anti-Defamation League (ADL) proclaimed: “There is absolutely no excuse, no justification, no rationalization for this kind of rhetoric. It doesn’t even belong in fiction.”

In reality, however, Adler’s expectation that Israel’s inner circles have explored such a course of action, and would be willing to undertake it, may be entirely accurate. The fact is that Israel has killed and plotted to assassinate people throughout the world; a number have been Americans. One alleged plot was chillingly similar to Adler’s suggestion.

Secret Service warned of Israeli assassination plans

There is evidence that in 1991 an Israeli undercover team planned to assassinate a U.S. President. The intended victim was George Herbert Walker Bush.

The first person to write of the plot was a former 11-term Republican Congressman from Illinois, Paul Findley. In a 1992 article in the Washington Report for Middle East Affairs, Findley described the alleged scheme and how it was revealed.

Findley writes that the U.S. Secret Service had received a warning that elements of Israel’s spy agency might target Bush when he went to Madrid for the opening day of the peace conference to be held that year.

According to Findley, a former Mossad agent named Victor Ostrovsky who had written a book exposing Israel’s spy agency told a group of Canadian parliamentarians that he had received secret intelligence suggesting that the “the Mossad's hatred of Bush – and support for Vice President Dan Quayle – might lead to an attempt on the president's life.”

Israel considered Quayle much closer to Israel than Bush. Bush had particularly angered Israel by attempting to pressure Israel into ending its illegal settlement expansion on confiscated Palestinian land by withholding loan guarantees until Israel ended this practice.

Findley writes that Ostrovsky’s statements were relayed to Findley’s friend and former colleague Paul “Pete” McCloskey, a prominent former Republican Congressman from California who had recently been named by Bush to the National and Community Service Commission.

McCloskey, a decorated Marine veteran and graduate of Stanford law school who had at one time been considered a presidential contender, flew to Ottawa to debrief Ostrovsky in person and evaluate his information.

Findley reports that Ostrovsky told McCloskey that the Mossad wanted "to do everything possible to preserve a state of war between Israel and its neighbors, assassinating President Bush, if necessary." Ostrovsky said that a PR campaign was already underway in both Israel and the United States to "prepare public acceptance of Dan Quayle as president."

Convinced that Ostrovsky was legitimate and his information significant, McCloskey jumped on the next flight to Washington, where he reported Ostrovsky’s intelligence to the Secret Service and State Department.

The apparent plot never went forward, perhaps because Ostrovsky and McCloskey had given it away.

Ostrovsky gave more details about the plot two years later in his 1994 book, “The Other Side of Deception: A Rogue Agent Exposes the Mossad's Secret Agenda,” published by HarperCollins.

In the book Ostrovsky writes that an extremist group within Mossad was responsible for the plan. He says they kept the plan secret from then Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, though they believed that Shamir would have ordered such a hit himself if he hadn’t been constrained by politics. In the lead-up to Israel’s 1948 founding war, Shamir had headed up a terrorist group known for its assassinations.

In his review of Ostrovsky’s book, Ambassador Andrew Killgore, a retired career foreign service officer and publisher of the Washington Report, called the book an “insider's probing exposé of some Middle East realities that have been hidden too long from all but Israeli eyes.”

Ostrovsky writes that the Israelis planned a “false flag” operation in which they would pin the assassination on Palestinians. They kidnapped three Palestinian militants from Beirut who were to be the scapegoats, took them to Israel's Negev desert, and held them incommunicado.

“Meanwhile,” Killgore writes, “Mossad-generated threats on the president's life, seemingly from Palestinians, were leaked. These were designed to throw suspicion on the organization of rogue Palestinian terrorist Abu Nidal. Names and descriptions of the three terrorists were leaked to Spanish police so that, if the plot was successful, blame would automatically fall on them.”

Ostrovsky reports that after the assassination plot was eventually cancelled, the three Palestinian prisoners were “terminated.”

Targeting Americans

If the plot had gone forward, this would not have been the first time that Israel targeted Americans for death. Nor would it be the first false flag operation.

In 1954 the Mossad planned to firebomb American installations, libraries, and other gathering places in Egypt. The Muslim Brotherhood was to be blamed for the attacks, thus causing American animosity toward Egypt. An accidental early detonation of one of the devices caused the plot, known as the Lavon Affair, to unravel before it could kill or mutilate the intended Americans.

In 1967 Israeli air and sea forces perpetrated an almost two-hour assault in which they tried to sink a US Navy ship with a crew of 294. While the attack failed to sink the ship, it succeeded in killing 34 Americans and injuring 174. Some analysts have conjectured that this was also a false-flag operation; it is highly likely that Egypt would have been blamed for the attack if the ship had gone down.

In 1973 Israeli fighter pilots were ordered to shoot down an unarmed U.S. reconnaissance plane (at the time the U.S. was delivering massive weaponry to Israel to prevent it from losing the “Yom Kippur” war with Egypt and Syria). While the Israelis were unable to reach the altitude of the U.S. plane, they did manage that same year to shoot down a civilian Libyan airliner that had strayed over Israeli territory, killing 104 men, women, and children. One was an American.

In 1990 a Canadian-American scientist and father of seven, Gerald Bull, was assassinated in Belgium. All indications are that it was an Israeli Mossad hit team that drilled five bullets into the back of his head and neck. (Israel has assassinated a number of scientists of various nationalities. The most recent is a 32-year-old Iranian father with a young son.)

In 2003 it came out that Israeli leaders had officially decided to undertake assassination operations on U.S. soil. An FBI spokesman, queried about the Israeli plans, said only: "This is a policy matter. We only enforce federal laws."
In recent years a growing number of American peace activists have been intentionally killed, maimed, and injured by Israeli forces, including 23-year-old Rachel Corrie, 21-year-old Brian Avery, 37-year-old Tristan Anderson, 21-year-old Emily Henoschowitz, and 21-year-old Furkan Dogan.

All of this has been minimally reported in the U.S. press. While major news media from England to Israel to Australia covered the Jewish Times’ apparent endorsement of a possible Israeli assassination of a U.S. President, the scandal has been largely missing from U.S. media. Even Atlanta’s AP bureau inexplicably initially decided not to write a report on it, only finally sending out a story many days later.

Such news omissions concerning Israeli partisans are not rare. In 2004 a fanatic Israel loyalist wrote a letter saying that he was going to burn down Presbyterian churches while worshippers were inside (he was furious at the Presbyterian Church’s decision to divest from companies profiting from the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian land). This grisly threat also received minimal media play.

Despite Israeli violence against Americans (even while American taxpayers have given Israel far more of our tax money than to any other nation) American presidential candidates, with the exception of Ron Paul, continue to vie over who is most devoted to Israel.

It is ironic that Adler considers Obama so bad for Israel, given that Israeli analysts have rated him second only to Mitt Romney in his fidelity to Israel. And Obama has now released a seven-minute video that may catapult our first African-American president into first place in pandering to an apartheid nation.

But perhaps he’ll be safe from assassins.

[This article was originally published by Antiwar.com, Jan. 25, 2012.]

References (From: Council For The National Interest)

Adler, Andrew. "What Would You Do?" Atlanta Jewish Times 13 Jan. 2012: 3. Print. Online at https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/284979-ajt.html

"Jewish Times Publisher Resigns over Obama Assassination Column." Atlanta Journal Constitution. 23 Jan. 2012. Web. 23 Jan. 2012. <http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/jewish-times-publisher-resigns-1313944.html>.

"Jewish Publisher Is an Idiot - but His Hatred Is Shared by Many." Haaretz (blog). 21 Jan. 2012. Accessed 22 Jan. 2012.http://www.haaretz.com/blogs/west-of-eden/jewish-publisher-is-an-idiot-but-his-hatred-is-shared-by-many-1.408466

Anti-Defamation League. ADL Condemns 'Outrageous' Column By Atlanta Jewish Times Publisher. 20 Jan. 2012. Web. <http://adl.org/PresRele/Extremism_72/6224_72>.

"List of Israeli Assassinations." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. Accessed 22 Jan. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Israeli_assassinations>.

While the Wikipedia entry appeared on the day it was accessed to contain an accurate list, it is important to remember that anyone can edit Wikipedia at any moment and inaccurate changes can be made. Israeli partisans have consistently attempted to promote an Israeli agenda on the Internet. See http://www.councilforthenationalinterest.org/news/israellobby/item/1300-israeli-students-to-get-$2000-to-spread-state-propaganda-on-facebook and http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/142374 http://www.ifamericansknew.org/media/wikip.html and

Findley, Paul. "Special Report: Peril in Being President." Washington Report for Middle East Affairs (February 1992): 10. Print. Online at http://www.wrmea.com/component/content/article/137/6255-special-report-peril-in-being-president.html

Ostrovsky, Victor, and Claire Hoy. By Way of Deception. New York: St. Martin's, 1990. Print. http://books.google.com/books/about/By_way_of_deception.html?id=nKJBF8RS2LMC

Murphy, Dan. "US Says No Plan to Cut Israel Loan Guarantees, but It's Been Tried before." Christian Science Monitor [Boston] 11 Jan. 2010, Global News Blog ed.http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-News/2010/0111/US-says-no-plan-to-cut-Israel-loan-guarantees-but-it-s-been-tried-before

“Pete McCloskey Leading from the Front.” Dir. Robert Caughlan. Perf. Narrated by Paul Newman. The Video Project, 2009. Film. Web. <http://petemccloskeymovie.com/>.

Nakhleh, Issa. "Chapter Seven: Zionist Crimes and Terrorism in Palestine 1948." Encyclopedia of the Palestine Problem. Intercontinental, 1991. Online at http://www.palestine-encyclopedia.com/EPP/Chapter07_1of7.htm

MacIntyre, Donald. "Israel's Forgotten Hero: The Assassination of Count Bernadotte - and the Death of Peace." The Independent [London] 18 Sept. 2008. Print. Online at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israels-forgotten-hero-the-assassination-of-count-bernadotte--and-the-death-of-peace-934094.html

Killgore, Andrew. "The Other Side of Deception: A Rogue Agent Exposes the Mossad's Secret Agenda." Washington Report on Middle East Affairs April-May (1995): 58-81. Print. Online at http://www.wrmea.com/component/content/article/161-1995-april-may/7775-the-other-side-of-deception-a-rogue-agent-exposes-the-mossads-secret-agenda.html

Melman, Yossi. "Targeted Killings - a Retro Fashion Very Much in Vogue." Ha'aretz [Israel] 24 Mar. 2004. Print. Online at http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/targeted-killings-a-retro-fashion-very-much-in-vogue-1.117714

"Iran's Nuclear Scientists Are Not Being Assassinated. They Are Being Murdered." The Guardian. 16 Jan. 2012.<http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jan/16/iran-scientists-state-sponsored-murder?newsfeed=true>.

Curtiss, Richard H. "The Lavon Affair: When Israel Firebombed U.S. Installations Print." Washington Report on Middle East Affairs July (1992). Print. Online at http://www.wrmea.com/component/content/article/141/6852-the-lavon-affair-when-israel-firebombed-us-installations.html

Moorer, Admiral Thomas H., General Raymond G. Davis, Rear Admiral Merlin Staring, and Ambassador James Akins. "Findings of the Independent Commission of Inquiry into the Israeli Attack on the USS Liberty, the Recall of Military Rescue Support Aircraft While the Ship Was Under Attack, and the Subsequent Cover-up by the United States Government." Congressional Record October 11 (2004): E1886-1889. Print. Online at http://ifamericansknew.org/us_ints/ul-commfindings.html

"The USS Liberty - Compilation of Articles." If Americans Knew. Web. <http://ifamericansknew.org/us_ints/ussliberty.html>.

“Sharon Pattern from of Old.” United Press International, 17 Apr. 2002. Online at http://rense.com/general30/down.htm

"Who Remembers LAA Flight 114?" Washington Report on Middle East Affairs (September 19, 1983): 3. Print. Online at http://www.wrmea.com/component/content/article/56-september-1983/278-who-remembers-laa-flight-114.html

Redford, John. "Gerald Bull, Gunsmith." Apr. 1992. Web. 21 Apr. 2012. <http://world.std.com/~jlr/doom/bull.htm>.

"The Man Who Made the Supergun." FRONTLINE. PBS. 12 Feb. 1991. Television. Transcript. Online at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/programs/transcripts/911.html

"Think of the Prestige." The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction (Sept, 1992). Print. Online at http://www-spof.gsfc.nasa.gov/stargaze/SGbull.htm

Sale, Richard. "Israel to Kill in U.S., Allied Nations." United Press International 15 Jan. 2003. Print. online at http://www.rense.com/general33/trarg.htm

Some researchers suspect earlier operations on U.S. soil, one presenting evidence suggesting an Israeli connection to the strange 1949 death of U.S. Secretary of Defense James Forrestal:: Martin, David. "New Forrestal Document Exposes Cover-up." 17 Sept. 2004. Web. 2012. <http://dcdave.com/article4/040927.html>.

Sheehan-Miles, Charles. "Israel Goes Too Far." Alternet.com. Alternet, 27 Jan. 2003. Web. 21 Jan. 2012. <http://www.alternet.org/story/15028/israel_goes_too_far/?page=entire>.

Weir, Alison. "The Manufactured Controversy Over Former Senior White House Correspondent Helen Thomas." CounterPunch June 9 (2010). Web. 2012. <http://ifamericansknew.org/media/thomas.html>.

Porter, Gareth. "UN Report: American Citizen Executed By Israelis During Mavi Marmara Raid." Alternet (September 27, 2010). online at http://www.alternet.org/investigations/148314/un_report:_american_citizen_executed_by_israelis_during_mavi_marmara_raid/

"Atlanta Jewish Times Owner 'very Sorry' for Obama Column." Atlanta Journal Constitution. 20 Jan. 2012. Web. 22 Jan. 2012. <http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta-jewish-times-owner-1310454.html>.

"Atlanta Jewish Times Owner Says Sorry for Obama 'hit' Column." The Guardian. 20 Jan. 2012. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jan/20/newspaper-owner-sorry-obama-hit-column?newsfeed=true.

Shalev, Chemi. "Uproar after Jewish American Newspaper Publisher Suggests Israel Assassinate ..." Haaretz. 20 Jan. 2012. Web. 24 Jan. 2012. http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/uproar-after-jewish-newspaper-publisher-suggests-israel-assassinate-barack-obama-1.408429 .

"Editor Laments Column's Call to Assassinate Obama." Sydney Morning Herald. 23 Jan. 2012. http://www.smh.com.au/world/editor-laments-columns-call-to-assassinate-obama-20120123-1qdul.html.

Chang, Pauline J. "Arsonist ''Promises Violence'' Against Presbyterian Church over Divestment Policy." The Christian Post (Nov. 12, 2004). Print. Online at http://www.christianpost.com/news/arsonist-promises-violence-against-presbyterian-church-over-divestment-policy-3180/

"U.S. Military Aid and the Israel/Palestine Conflict." If Americans Knew. Web.<http://ifamericansknew.org/stats/usaid.html>. Contains Congressional Research Service report.

Rosner, Shmuel. "Israel Factor: Only Romney Better than Obama." Jerusalem Post 11 Nov. 2011. Online at http://www.jpost.com/Features/InThespotlight/Article.aspx?id=244925

Abunimah, Ali. "In Scandalous New Campaign Video, Obama Takes Israel Pandering to Dangerous Levels." Electonic Intifada Blog. 21 Jan. 2012. Web. <http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/scandalous-new-campaign-video-obama-takes-israel-pandering-dangerous-levels>

ReMillard, Frances H. "Is Israel an Apartheid State?" ICAHD-USA. 6 Mar. 2010. Web. 24 Jan. 2012. http://icahdusa.org/2010/03/is-israel-an-apartheid-state/.

Nat'l Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) lays foundation for targeting political dissenters, activists

noreply@blogger.com (Ashahed Muhammad) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:36:00 +0000

National Defense Authorization Act lays foundation for targeting political dissenters, activists

By Ashahed M. Muhammad

On January 22, 2009, newly inaugurated President Barack H. Obama proudly issued his first three executive orders, one of them, a directive requiring the infamous Guantanamo Bay prison facility to be closed within one year.

Nearly three years later, Guantanamo Bay remains open with prisoners being held without trial, and a new law enacted with the stroke of his pen could mean more American citizens will be joining them soon.

With people partying worldwide in naïve bliss on New Year’s Eve, December 31, Pres. Obama signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act giving the military extraordinary sweeping powers to detain United States citizens indefinitely without trial. The law has been widely condemned by civil libertarians, activists, and American citizens who see this as further evidence of the erosion human rights, which began post 9/11 under then-President George W. Bush.

“The fact that I support this bill as a whole does not mean I agree with everything in it. In particular, I have signed this bill despite having serious reservations with certain provisions that regulate the detention, interrogation, and prosecution of suspected terrorists,” said Pres. Obama in a statement.

Ironically, when Pres. Obama issued the order to close Guantanamo Bay in 2009, he said he desired to “restore the standards of due process and the core constitutional values that have made this country great even in the midst of war, even in dealing with terrorism.” His signing the NDAA into law does exactly the opposite, and critics believe America has witnessed one of the most tragic reversals of civil liberties in its history.

“President Obama’s action today is a blight on his legacy because he will forever be known as the president who signed indefinite detention without charge or trial into law,” said Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union. “The statute is particularly dangerous because it has no temporal or geographic limitations, and can be used by this and future presidents to militarily detain people captured far from any battlefield.”

During a Jan. 9 in studio interview with radio host Cliff Kelley of WVON 1690AM in Chicago, The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan delivered his thoughts on the NDAA in response to a question posed by a caller.

“That act signed into law by our president is an act that is destined to stop those of us who speak truth to power,” said Min. Farrakhan. “It’s aimed primarily at a man that they know they have not been able to control. So I warn the government—you can do what you want with me—but Farrakhan is going to be found being faithful to the truth that will free the minds of our people, and whatever the consequences, I warn you, when you come after me, God will come surely after you,” he added.

Despite the White House spin, there is no way around it, this law curtails freedoms, has disappointed his supporters, and opens the door further for abuse.

The xenophobic and islamophobic rhetoric spewed from the mouths of several leading Republican candidates for president has raised the possibility that while Pres. Obama claims he will not use the law to indefinitely detain American citizens, future presidents could use the act he signed into law, to do exactly that.

Critics cite this as a key concern because according to political analysts, Pres. Obama’s reelection in 2012 is not guaranteed.

Polling data from Real Clear Politics shows 70 percent of the American people think the country is on the wrong track. American displeasure with the economy could cause a majority of voters to vote for a change in direction. Additionally, many liberal voters who supported Mr. Obama as the candidate for “change” in 2008 have been disappointed as he has hawkishly increased America’s global militarism after winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009.

Attorney Abdul Arif Muhammad, General Counsel for the Nation of Islam and the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan read the entire bill paying special attention to the wording in sections 1021 and 1022, the most controversial parts dealing with those subject to military detention. Although the wording seems to suggest American citizens would not be covered, it leaves the door open should another president come into office with another interpretation, he added.

“It is important to note that President Obama himself upon signing the bill, issued a three page presidential policy statement specifically raising concerns about the constitutionality of those provisions, especially as they relate to American citizens. As the commander-in-chief, the bill authorized him to promulgate regulations to implement the law. He specifically says in his presidential statement that he would not promulgate and implement any rules or regulations that would specifically impact American citizens and their constitutional rights,” Atty. Muhammad continued. “The mere fact that he had to make this statement upon signing the bill is clear evidence of problems with the law.”

What also has many disturbed is that after originally saying he would veto the bill, Pres. Obama quickly signed it into law, forcing critics to wonder if he will keep his word relating to not using the law to indefinitely detain citizens.

“It’s not that I believe that the president is disingenuous, but there’s been a number of times during his presidency where he has quickly changed his position based on minimal political pressure,” said Dawud Walid, executive director of the Michigan chapter of the Council of American Islamic Relations. “If he said he was going to give people in Guantanamo Bay due process and civilian trials, and then backtracked on that, he’s already set a precedent for me to think that he could backtrack on his written promise regarding NDAA.”

In a recent opinion piece titled “Obama’s Failed Human Rights Moment,” Jonathan Hafetz, professor at Seton Hall School of Law and author of the book “Habeas Corpus after 9/11: Confronting America’s New Global Detention System wrote : “The danger, however, is that the NDAA will embolden those who wish to argue that the next terrorism suspect arrested in the U.S. can be locked away in a military jail without charge or trial. The ramifications of domestic military detention should concern anyone concerned with abuse of government power,” Prof. Hafetz continued. “Could soldiers seize and imprison a person arrested at his home in say Lincoln, Nebraska, for writing a check to a group that supported al-Qaeda? Or a doctor in New York who sent medical supplies to an organization in Kenya that provided humanitarian aid to a group in that country deemed to be affiliated with al-Qaeda? Rather than making clear that the government does not have this power, the NDAA creates more uncertainty.”

A majority of the 43 members of the Congressional Black Caucus voted against NDAA, but not all. Two Democratic CBC members from Texas, Rep. Shelia Jackson-Lee and Rep. Al Green both voted in favor of it. Inquires requesting comments from both were not returned by Final Call press time. Rep. Jackson-Lee sits on the House Committee on Homeland Security chaired by Rep. Peter King (R-NY).

Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) told The Final Call he voted against it because in his opinion, the NDAA does not represent the country’s principles.

“There was a lot of conversation about whether this was ‘Act 2’ or ‘Phase 2’ of the Patriot Act which we thought trampled on the rights of the American citizens,” said Rep. Cleaver. “We all grew up with the belief based on the Constitution that we were innocent until proven guilty and to have people detained, whether it is in this country or another country—which is another issue with this legislation—without any kind of trial, and to detain people indefinitely is not what America stands for,” he added.

Though not discussed in the mainstream media, nor by Pres. Obama’s spokesmen, in the hundreds of sections of the bill totaling over 500 pages, the NDAA contains provisions for continued funding for the war in Afghanistan.

“That war—the longest in U.S. history—has cost thousands of American lives, untold Afghan civilian deaths, and hundreds of billions of dollars. As an original cosponsor of the Responsible End to the War in Afghanistan Act, I believe the only defense money we spend on Afghanistan should be for the safe and orderly withdrawal of U.S. forces,” said Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) in a statement after voting against the NDAA. “Second, we should not be codifying post-9/11 security measures that threaten civil liberties. Everyone from the ACLU to the FBI has expressed concerns about the bill. By preventing the military from transferring detainees to U.S. prisons, the bill essentially ensures that Guantanamo Bay will never be closed,” he added.

According to the worldwide human rights organization Amnesty International, 171 detainees remain held there.

Even foreign nations weighed in criticizing America’s human rights record. Also citing the continued operation of Guantanamo Bay, Russia’s Foreign Ministry harshly criticized the Obama administration’s human rights record accusing them of hypocritically scolding other nations about rights abuses, while curtailing the freedom of its own citizens. According to news reports, the 90-page report directly slammed Pres. Obama for “legalizing indefinite and extrajudicial custody and the return of court martials.”

For months, troubling questions have been raised by Muslims as the net of those at risk of being labeled “domestic terrorists,” or having “ties to terrorists” is broadened to include just about anyone.

According to recent guidelines distributed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to military surplus stores in the state of Colorado, some legal activities could result in an overzealous, or fearful store owner reporting customers to the FBI. Under the heading: “What Should I Consider Suspicious?” things such as insisting on paying for purchases with cash, shaving off a beard or changing the color of one’s hair could warrant a phone call to the Joint Terrorism Task Force in that area.

With the terrible weather experienced in the year 2011, it would not be surprising to discover an increasing number of self-reliant and forward thinking people purchasing and storing food and supplies in the event of a weather emergency, however, according to the FBI’s guidelines, anyone purchasing weatherproof match containers, Meals Ready to Eat (MREs), flashlights or gas masks could be suspect.

Furthermore, as it relates to Muslims, the well-publicized “foiled plots” and prejudicial trials appear to be energizing a well-financed “anti-Sharia” movement that opposes the building of mosques in the U.S. To the intellectually incurious, political operatives such as GOP presidential candidates Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich, and former candidates Michele Bachmann and Herman Cain give the movement a patina of legitimacy.

Fueled by the hate-filled Islamophobic writings and rhetoric espoused by those classified by the Center for American Progress as “misinformation experts,” many Americans are victims of the virulent anti-Muslim propaganda that has been allowed to spread unchecked.

Right-wing conservative writers like Daniel Pipes at the Middle East Forum, Jewish blogger Pamela Geller and her patron, Robert Spencer of JihadWatch, along with the bloviating rhetoric espoused by media personalities such as Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck have created a dangerously xenophobic climate for Muslims in the U.S., and abroad.

When 32-year-old White blonde-hair blue-eyed Norwegian Anders Breivik gunned down dozens of youth in July, he saw himself as a soldier in the battle to prevent the “Islamic Colonization of Europe.” In his heavily footnoted manifesto, Mr. Breivik echoed the views of those spearheading the persecution of Muslims here. Mr. Spencer’s writings were cited 162 times, Ms. Geller’s blog was cited 12 times. Both denied responsibility for inciting Mr. Breivik to murder, while at the same time accusing Muslim writers, lecturers and scholars of inciting “terrorism plots” that have never even materialized.

A 2010 study released by Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill titled “Anti-Terror Lessons of Muslim-Americans” found that while a tiny number of Muslims may have been angered and possibly “radicalized” following the events of 9/11, “the vast majority of Muslim-Americans reject radical extremist ideology and violence.” The researchers did however, find a significant increase what they termed “anti-Muslim bias.”

Following the drone killing in Yemen of American citizen Anwar al-Awlaki, Mr. Mohammed Shafiq, Chief Executive of the UK-based Ramadhan Foundation spoke out against Al-Qaeda but warned against the Obama administration’s escalating number of extrajudicial assassinations.

“Al Qaeda’s ideology of violence and killing is evil and has no justification in Islam and we in the Muslim community abhor this ideology as our Islamic duty,” said Mr. Shafiq. “Human rights should not be disregarded when it comes to alleged terrorists but the process of law should be followed,” he added.

Lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union have monitored cases involving many individuals classified as “terrorist sympathizers” for their obvious First-Amendment implications as well as the potential for abuse.

Mr. Walid believes the “material support for terrorism” designation or accusing persons or groups of being “affiliates” of terrorist groups is “too ambiguous” and demonstrates a “lack of transparency” dealing with how individuals and groups are labeled by government and law enforcement officials.

“My concern in the language is in the ambiguous word ‘affilliates.’ Affiliates can be detained, and an affiliate is a very loose term like—what does that mean? That’s what really bothers me and this isn’t something that Muslims alone should be worried about—people of other faith traditions (also) because it’s very easy that someone could be put on a list and classified as a so-called ‘sympathizer,’” Mr. Walid added.

Could a scholar or researcher who has read “controversial” literature and published commentary regarding it or any author espousing views considered by some to be “radical” be snared in the net of being classified as a potential terrorist? Could an internet blogger posting what may be considered “unpopular” political views find themselves in the same situation? Any American citizen who has attended an educational facility or even a seminar overseas—especially in one of the regions considered by the U.S. to be a “haven for terrorists”— could possibly find themselves on a terrorist watch list, even if they have not been involved in anything remotely related to terrorist acts.

Analysts say jailing people simply for the power of their ideas while using circumstantial evidence such as travel habits is a slippery slope unrepresentative of the noble ideals espoused by the Obama administration. It also ignores the role of America’s unpopular foreign policy related to the Muslim world as well as unpopular military action in Muslim lands as reasons for growing angry dissent domestically and internationally.

“The Muslim world is boiling,” said editor of The Arab Journal, Ali Baghdadi. “Obama went to Turkey—which is an Islamic country—and spoke in Istanbul, he went to Egypt and spoke at Cairo University, he told the entire Muslim world that the United States is not an enemy of Islam and he promised to have change, he promised to have hope, and everything was nothing but a lie. The man may have good intentions but he doesn’t have the strength to stand up to the Israeli lobby and he does not have the power to stand up to big business and the war industry,” he said.

In a recent interview while in Saint Kitts during his Caribbean Tour, Minister Farrakhan, said it was “unfortunate” that Pres. Obama is now seen by many as an “extension of George W. Bush” and his administration’s unpopular policies.

Mr. Walid agreed, saying not only is he disappointed in Pres. Obama, he is disappointed in many of the traditional Black civil rights leaders and organizations for their failure to challenge the president on this issue and others like it.

“I’m disappointed in our Black civil rights leaders and organizations that raised a number of concerns very vocally regarding President Bush and his administration’s erosion of civil liberties in America but they’ve been deafly silent on a number of these issues as it relates to Obama,” said Mr. Walid. “If we are to be a people about justice, we have to hold people accountable.”

Citing the Gulf War under George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and most recently, the U.S.-led NATO military aggression resulting in the removal and assassination of Col. Muammar Gadhafi, Atty. Muhammad said the Minister’s consistent outspokenness on behalf of the oppressed has placed him as the sole voice of justice and therefore, a possible target of this law.

“The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan has always been a person who has exercised his first amendment constitutional right to free speech to raise a voice of dissent against America’s foreign policies that are unjust to oppressed peoples,” said Atty. Muhammad. “The question becomes, whether or not his exercise of his right to express his dissent can be interpreted under this law to be a justifiable basis to detain him in military custody without benefit of his constitutional right to trial.”

Last February, during his Saviours’ Day 2011 keynote address, Minister Farrakhan presciently and prophetically spoke about this very subject relating to the history of his teacher, the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, with direct references to events that he may experience in the near future in an attempt by the U.S. government to neutralize him.

“These are my words for our brother president, Barack Obama: In 1942, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad was sent to prison because President Franklin Delano Roosevelt issued an Executive Order to take him off the streets when America was prosecuting a war, and America needed some Black bodies to go and fight a war even though there was no benefit for us in fighting such a war. And now, the Zionists are pushing President Obama to go to war with Iran over some suspected nuclear power that the Israelis have that Iran does not have,” said Minister Farrakhan. “Do you think that they’re afraid of my voice? Yes they are! I don’t have any guns. What I have is something in my mouth that’s more powerful than guns! While most of you with “guns” can’t shoot straight anyway, with The Truth that I speak, I don’t miss a soul! Allah’s Truth finds you wherever you are! If America goes to war, President Obama, like President Roosevelt, may be forced to sign an Executive Order that he’s not fully in agreement with, to take Farrakhan off the streets; and charge him with ‘sedition’ and ‘treason.’”

[Follow Ashahed Muhammad @ http://Twitter.com/AshahedM]

(This article originally appeared in The Final Call - http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/National_News_2/article_8505.shtml)

'Fact, Fiction & Black Women' in this week's edition of The Final Call (FinalCall.com)

noreply@blogger.com (Ashahed Muhammad) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 18:46:00 +0000

WWW.FINALCALL.COM

Twitter threatened by Shurat HaDin (The Israel Law Centre)

noreply@blogger.com (Ashahed Muhammad) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 16:27:00 +0000

If you have ever posted something on Twitter, you should be interested in the article linked below.

It seems as if Twitter has been threatened with legal action by an Israeli pressure group-Shurat HaDin--the Israel Law Centre, demanding that they block access to Hezbollah, the alleged East African al-Qaeda affiliate al-Shabaab and other outlawed "Foreign Terrorist Organisations." It should be noted that Hezbollah is considered a political party in Lebanon, with seats in its Parliament and Cabinet.

If the past can be seen as any indicator, it can also be seen as an attempt to force Twitter to close other accounts run by groups deemed "objectionable" or holding viewed considered "extremist" in nature. Of course, these designations are subjective.

Read full article at:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/twitter/8984705/Twitter-threatened-with-court-over-Hezbollah-tweets.html

Report on Farrakhan's Caribbean Tour (FinalCall.com)

noreply@blogger.com (Ashahed Muhammad) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 20:18:00 +0000

www.finalcall.com

Shockingly Brutal Video from Egyptian Riots

noreply@blogger.com (Ashahed Muhammad) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 00:20:00 +0000

America Hijacked! Who loses when the country’s political reality, finances and foreign policy are dictated by lobbyists?

noreply@blogger.com (Ashahed Muhammad) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 16:08:00 +0000

America Hijacked!
Who loses when the country’s political reality, finances and foreign policy are dictated by lobbyists?
By Ashahed M. Muhammad

Minister Louis Farrakhan in a recent message to nearly 4,000 on the campus of Prairie View A&M told the naked truth about America’s corrupt political system.

“When you become a governor or a senator—somebody in political power, you don’t see the power behind the power,” the Minister said. “The real power is not what you see. The real power is the unseen reality that moves what you see.”

The unseen powers in America’s political system are the advisers and lobbyists operating in the shadowy corridors near decision-makers in Washington D.C.

In 2007, Professors Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer’s groundbreaking work titled, “The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy” opened many eyes to the powerful influence of the Israel lobby in America. Since then, more have come to the realization that like-minded groups of wealthy donors pour money into the political system with the goal of electing officials that will govern in the best interests of the moneyed few.

The rapacious greed and fraud committed by highly placed members of the global financial services industry within America’s economic hierarchy has been revealed and the Occupy Wall Street movement is a sign of the anger and dissatisfaction that is boiling just under the surface.

Recent polling data from Real Clear Politics shows that nearly 82 percent disapprove of the job being done by the U.S. Congress and over 73 percent believe the country is on the wrong track. Much of this dissatisfaction seems to arise from feelings that the American political system only benefits wealthy campaign donors and only responds to powerful lobbying groups.

One of the groups accused of hijacking the American political system is the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Leading the Israel-first lobby, AIPAC with its 100,000 members uses political leverage to shape American foreign policy. According to its website, AIPAC believes: “These efforts are critical to Israel’s security and to American interests in the Middle East and around the world.”

AIPAC also relies heavily on its contacts with the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, an umbrella group composed of 52 national Jewish organizations working on Israel’s behalf.

To AIPAC, it doesn’t matter whether the president is a Democrat or a Republican, or which political party dominates the U.S. Congress. At AIPAC’s annual conference, both parties bow in deference to the powerful lobby and will kowtow to its demands. Republicans and Democrats have been engaged in political gridlock during President Barack Obama’s entire tenure in office, but when it comes to Israel, there is total agreement. To use the president’s words, the relationship between America and Israel is “sacrosanct.”

Some activists have called for shutting down powerful lobbying groups like AIPAC and its tax-exempt appendage, the American Israel Educational Foundation (AIEF) which sponsors annual trips to Israel. During this year’s summer recess—with congressional approval ratings in the teens—instead of going back to their districts to deal with the needs of their constituents, 81 members of Congress went on a trip to Israel.

House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Maryland) led the Democrats and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Virginia) led Republicans straight to Israel. Among those making the journey was Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Illinois) along with 47 freshman congressmen who were just voted into office in 2010. Some question whether the time and resources could be better used.

According to the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, the total amount of military aid to Israel, for fiscal years 2009-2018 will reach $30 billion. The share of that financial burden for the state of Illinois is approximately $1.47 billion. In the state, that amount of money could provide 17,916 households per year with affordable housing grants, or 24,493 job seekers per year with green jobs training or, 43,627 children per year with early reading education or 1,194,940 people per year with primary health care.

In an article titled “Robbing Peter to Pay Israel,” Josh Ruebner, national advocacy director for the group took Rep. Jackson to task for the trip.

“Nearly 20 percent of the constituents of Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-Illinois) live under the poverty line, and nearly 15 percent are unemployed. Jackson’s congressional district, covering parts of the south side of Chicago and its southern suburbs, has been hit harder than many others by the crises plaguing the economy. Many of his constituents are looking at even more cutbacks in social services, higher prices for food and fuel, and ever scarcer jobs,” wrote Mr. Ruebner. “Constituents should be irate that members of Congress accept fancy trips from AIPAC-affiliates and contributions from AIPAC-inspired political action committee (PACs) that result in the United States prioritizing weapons to Israel above our basic economic rights,” he continued.

According to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Labor, the unemployment rate in America hovers near 9 percent. Black unemployment stands at nearly 16 percent.

By contrast, according to Bloomberg, Israel’s unemployment rate has reached historically low levels declining to 5.5 percent in the second quarter.

America’s national debt is heading speedily towards $16 trillion. According to economists, each U.S. citizen’s share of the national debt is approximately $48,300. The total U.S. debt, which includes households, businesses, state and local governments, financial institutions and the federal government is close to $60 trillion—approximately $180,201 per citizen, $682,827 per family.

At a recent fundraiser in Manhattan, speaking before wealthy campaign donors at the residence of Jack Rosen, chairman of the American Jewish Congress, Pres. Obama defended his administration’s policy towards Israel, and pledged his commitment to Israel’s security.

“No ally is more important than the state of Israel,” Pres. Obama was quoted as saying in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. “We don’t compromise when it comes to Israel’s security,” he added.

In 2008 Mr. Obama got over 80 percent of the Jewish vote and needs support on that level to win re-election in 2012. Despite winning the Nobel Peace Prize, critics describe Pres. Obama as being hawkish after ramping up drone attacks in Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen. All of the Republican obstructionism seems to have pulled the “change candidate” to the political right while the conservatives have become even more xenophobic and militaristic.

Alison Weir, president of the Washington D.C.-based Council for the National Interest, told The Final Call Pres. Obama’s extrajudicial assassinations, inability to obtain justice for the Palestinians, and Iran are perfect examples of how the Israel lobby—using its shadowy influence through political operatives—hinders conflict resolution and causes war.

“Obama was elected because people wanted a candidate of change. They wanted what he represented—an unbigoted nation where an intelligent African American could be and would be president without race preventing it. That’s what people voted for, but then we have that person who got that mandate then continuing policies or increasing policies that were unacceptable,” said Ms. Weir.

The same groups that pushed America towards war in Iraq have now set their sights on the Islamic Republic of Iran, she said.

“They are no threat to Israel, they don’t have any nuclear weapons and I think it’s unlikely they’re trying to develop them, (but) it’s plausible, there’s every motivation to develop them when you’ve got a neighbor (Israel) that has nuclear weapons and has a history of invading,” said Ms. Weir. “Think if you had a neighbor that had a hundred machine guns and had a habit of invading all his neighbors you’d think ‘I’d better get at least one machine gun.’”

It appears as if the efforts of the Israel-first lobby and the gay rights lobby have been successful, as many of their talking points have become central pillars of America’s foreign policy.

Pres. Obama recently issued a directive through his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ordering U.S. agencies located internationally to use foreign aid on behalf of gay rights.

In a Dec. 6 speech by Sec. Clinton delivered at the European headquarters of the United Nations (UN) in Geneva, Switzerland , she also announced that $3 million would go to establish a Global Equity Fund that would be used along with the considerable diplomatic power of the U.S. to work on behalf of LGBT rights.

The Republican Jewish Coalition held a Dec. 7 forum at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C. with six of the Republican presidential candidates all doing their best to prove they will be “Israel’s best friend” in the White House, maintaining America’s “unwavering and unshakeable” support.

Of the Republican candidates for president, only Rep. Ron Paul said he would cut all foreign aid, including aid to Israel.

“On foreign aid, that should be the easiest thing to cut,” said Rep. Paul in a televised debate two months ago. “To me, foreign aid is taking money from poor people in this country and giving it to rich people in poor countries.” As a form of retaliation, Rep. Paul was not invited to participate in the forum sponsored by the RJC.

All the other Republican presidential hopefuls are trying to outdo themselves in pledging fealty to Israel, described as America’s “special ally” and “only friend” in the Middle East.

During this time of American economic insecurity, skyrocketing debt and rising income inequality, hard questions are being asked regarding whether this “relationship” with Israel has now become a liability.

At a recent forum discussing the topic, Dr. Norton Mezvinsky, president of the Washington D.C.-based think-tank, the International Council for Middle East Studies, said the “exclusive and discriminatory” nature of Israel has a detrimental effect on America in terms of diplomacy and national security. This is especially clear when looking at the Palestinian conflict, he said.

“The Zionist character of the state of Israel is the central conflict of the Palestinian problem,” said Dr. Mezvinsky.

Many Muslim countries disagree with America’s one-sided policies designed to protect the interests of Israel, and others reject America’s global expansion and military actions. Some outspoken leaders such as Hezbollah’s popular leader Hassan Nasrallah refers to Israel as the “American project in the Middle East.”

An increasing number of foreign affairs analysts believe Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu wants the U.S. to conduct a strike on Iran’s nuclear development facilities, which they insist are being used to create nuclear weapons. Though he has taken a strong rhetorical stance against Iran, Pres. Obama’s reticence to act militarily—in this particular case—could be another reason for tense relations between the two leaders.

More than fearing attack from Iran, Dr. Mezvinsky said, Israelis should be concerned about the demographic shift taking place resulting from their low birth rates, and the high birth rates of the Palestinians.

Zionism is a political movement which began in the late 1800s with the goal of creating a Jewish homeland. In 1897, Theodor Herzl brought together the First Zionist World Congress in Basel, Switzerland and out of that came the group known as the World Zionist Organization. Through ardent advocacy, influence peddling, violence and dispossession of the indigenous people of the land, what is now known as modern Israel came into existence in 1948.

Dr. Mezvinsky says Herzlian political Zionism—“a secular brand of Jewish nationalism”—visibly manifests itself in the powerful political sway of evangelical Christian Zionists, and the lengths to which candidates will go to appease the Israel-first lobby. For example, borrowing rhetoric from intolerant Zionist settlers in Israel, surging Republican presidential hopeful Newt Ginrich referred to the Palestinians as an “invented” people in an interview with Steven Weiss of The Jewish Channel. Despite widespread international condemnation, when questioned at a Dec. 10 GOP presidential debate in Des Moines, Iowa, Mr. Gingrich stood by his comments.

Experts like Dr. Mezvinsky are not surprised by anything that comes out of the mouths of American politicians concerning Israel.

“Especially in a presidential election year, candidates go as far as they think they can—there’s almost no limit to how far they will go—with praise and support for the State of Israel.”

[Link to entire article with graphics @ http://bit.ly/tSW5hw]

(Follow Ashahed on twitter @AshahedM & via his blog @ http://ashahed.blogs.finalcall.com )

My Interview w/ Dr. Francis A. Boyle on Palestinian Statehood

noreply@blogger.com (Ashahed Muhammad) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 18:32:00 +0000

While in Rosemont, Illinois recently at the American Muslims for Palestine conference, I had the opportunity to talk with Dr. Francis A. Boyle, a scholar in the areas of international law and human rights. Dr. Boyle has written and lectured extensively in the United States and abroad on the relationship between international law and politics especially relating to the Palestinian struggle for statehood. Currently Professor Boyle lectures on international law at the University of Illinois College of Law.

*****

Ashahed M. Muhammad: I enjoyed the forum as well as the panel discussion that followed. What is the most important thing you think the people should come away with leaving this conference after listening to your words relating to Palestinian statehood?

Dr. Francis Boyle: There are many issues that I could have talked about because it’s so complex, but the matter of fact is we need to let the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah know that we want them to go for full-fledged United Nations membership despite the enormous pressure that is being put on them by the Americans, the British, the Canadians, the so-called Quartet in the United Nations—that they have to do this. I think if all the supporters weigh in with Ramallah, with (Palestinian Authority) President (Mahmoud) Abbas with the PLO Executive Committee, hopefully they’ll do it. There are no legal obstacles to their membership. The votes are there in the UN General Assembly and President Abbas just needs to take the next step.

Ashahed M. Muhammad: So with the overwhelmingly supportive UNESCO vote recently with only a few abstentions and the number of nations who voted against only in the teens, you think that portends heavily in favor of official recognition.

Dr. Francis Boyle: Right. If this UNESCO vote was a test vote by the Palestinian leadership to see how many votes they’d get in the General Assembly and they need two-thirds to vote in the General Assembly not counting abstentions, no shows or ‘no’ votes. So if you look at the UNESCO vote they had two-thirds of those states voting either yes or no. So clearly the votes are there in the General Assembly. So it really—now—I’ve done all I can as a lawyer to set this thing up. Where we’re really now is (we need) people to say to President Abbas and the PLO Executive Committee—ignore the Americans, ignore the British, ignore their flunky Ban Ki-moon and go for that full UN membership and then we can launch and wage a legal intifada against Israel all over the world. That’s the most important message.

Ashahed M. Muhammad: Tell us a bit about the book ‘The Palestinian Right of Return Under International Law’ and why you wrote it?

Dr. Francis Boyle: I wrote it because when it was announced the peace negotiations were opening again—the new round—I knew at the heart of these negotiations would be the ‘Right of Return.’ I also knew that again, the usual culprits the British, the Americans, the UN, would put enormous pressure on the Palestinians to compromise on the ‘Right of Return.’ So I wanted to write a book that would provide counter pressure and counter information so that all Palestinians could understand the legal, political and diplomatic basis to the ‘Right of Return.’ So that’s why I wrote the book the way I did.

Ashahed M. Muhammad: Any final words or thoughts you’d like to add?

Dr. Francis Boyle: I just want to express my best personal regards to Minister Louis Farrakhan and all at the Nation of Islam. We’ll be having a convention—an organization that I work with in Chicago—I think in late April where I’ll be lecturing on African-American’s right of self-determination so, maybe Minister Farrakhan would be so kind as to come. It will be at East-West University in April.

Ashahed M. Muhammad: Thank you.

NABJ Congratulates TJ Holmes on Move from CNN to BET

noreply@blogger.com (Ashahed Muhammad) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 02:31:00 +0000

NABJ Congratulates TJ Holmes on his Move to BET

College Park, MD (December 7, 2011)-Today the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) congratulates member T.J. Holmes on his decision to move to BET.

BET has announced a multi-platform deal with Holmes which includes a newly developed show hosted by the veteran journalist on BET, as well as content on BET.com in which Holmes will report on important and interesting stories for BET's growing audience.

Holmes currently anchors CNN Saturday & Sunday Morning, the weekend edition of CNN Newsroom. He joined the network in October of 2006.

"NABJ extends our sincere congratulations to T.J. on his move to BET and applaud the network for reemphasizing the importance of news as part of its programming," said NABJ President, Gregory Lee Jr. "At the same time this is a loss for CNN for whom T.J. has been at the forefront on a number of important stories. We hope that CNN is considering replacing him with a journalist who reflects the network's continued commitment to diversity."

Since joining CNN, Holmes has anchored numerous major breaking news stories, including the network's coverage of the tornadoes that destroyed Joplin, MO, the Gulf oil spill in 2010, terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India and the conflict between Russia and the former Soviet Republic of Georgia in 2008; the Virginia Tech shooting from location in Blacksburg, Virginia and the terrorist attacks at the Glasgow Airport in Scotland in 2007; and Saddam Hussein's execution in 2006.

"T.J. is a dear friend and valued member of NABJ and he always answers when called upon to assist the association, said NABJ Vice President of Broadcast, Bob Butler. "We're proud that T.J. will now have a unique opportunity to engage BET's audience .This couldn't happen to a better person and we wish him much success."

A Note To The Readers & Reflections on 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Ashahed Muhammad) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 14:20:00 +0000

As-Salaam Alaikum!

(Peace Be Unto You)

In my unique position at The Final Call, I have the opportunity to witness the activities of God’s servant, and the world’s number one news maker, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan. Minister Farrakhan is magnetic. He is bold and uncompromising as he represents truth and speaks for the voiceless challenging the corrupt powers of this world.

I have had the blessing and honor of traveling to many different cities covering him. I have watched the fulfillment of prophecies, history being made, and the future being brought into existence. When on location, I see myself as a servant with the duty of bringing you (the reader) into the atmosphere and to the location where events are transpiring. After you finish reading, it is my hope is that you feel like you were right there with all of us.

It is a blessing to be able to write and report for an independent media entity that is not muzzled because of corporate control and I thank our publisher and founder, Minister Farrakhan, for his visionary leadership in emphasizing the importance of an independent Black press.

As I looked over the many things that happened over the past year, I realized that while traveling, fulfilling deadlines, researching, reading and typing, things are happen very fast. Undoubtedly, you as readers of The Final Call experience the very same thing, so I thought it would be a good idea for a review.

Over the few weeks as we head into 2012, I will be re-posting some of the articles I’ve written in 2011. Many of you have emailed me or told me what you think about the articles and I am grateful. Some of you who have not now have another opportunity to provide me with some feedback as together, we recap some of the year’s most notable news making events.

I am grateful to all of you who continue to support The Final Call newspaper and The Final Call Inc., and I am thankful for the experienced guidance of the Final Call’s General Manager Fontaine Muhammad and Editor-in-Chief Richard B. Muhammad, for opportunities to manifest my skills and talents for the benefit of Our Nation.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the Production Staff of The Final Call responsible for designing the great covers and graphics, the great Photographers who lend their skills and talents to ensure that moments in time are captured, as well as the men of the FOI who tirelessly deliver the paper to the people. I thank the online staff, at Final Call.com and the emerging new media division that keeps our Twitter feed updated and Facebook presence fresh and the transcribers who diligently work to bring digital recordings into a text based reality, as well as the proofreaders who read thousands of words daily.

Let's see what 2012 brings.

Sincerely, your brother and servant,

Ashahed M. Muhammad

Farrakhan 'Connects the Dots' in Nov. 23 national radio interview w/ host Robert Muhammad

noreply@blogger.com (Ashahed Muhammad) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 20:50:00 +0000

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan was interviewed for "Connect the Dots" Radio Show on Nov. 23rd, 2011.

Robert Muhammad, host of "Connect the Dots" radio show on 90.1 KPFT FM in Houston interviewed The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan for one hour on Wednesday, November 23.

Minister Farrakhan delivered analysis of national and international affairs in light of history, scripture, and prophecy for the radio listeners and those tuning in nationwide via internet.

He also had some words for Mr. Abraham Foxman of the ADL.

No technical disruptions. No commercial interruptions.

Click here to listen to the replay now!

Jews and Slavery in the Caribbean & South America

noreply@blogger.com (Ashahed Muhammad) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 22:30:00 +0000

A new book released by Tony Martin which provides a comprehensive treatment of Caribbean history. Currently available only through Amazon.com.

Jews and Slavery in the Caribbean and South America

Nine out of ten captured Africans were shipped to Brazil. Jewish scholar Dr. Arnold Wiznitzer described the early Jewish presence: “[Jews] dominated the slave trade ... The buyers … at the auctions were almost always Jews, and because of this lack of competitors they could buy slaves at low prices.”

According to Jewish scholar Dr. Harold Brackman, during the 1600s “slave trading in Brazil became a ‘Jewish' mercantile specialty in much the same way it had been in early medieval Europe.” In fact, wrote Jewish scholar Jonathan Schorsch, “Jewish merchants routinely possessed enormous numbers of slaves temporarily before selling them off.” If a slave auction fell on a Jewish holiday it was postponed due to lack of buyers and sellers!

The Jewish Encyclopedia adds that “Jewish commercial activity” in this time included a “monopoly of the slave trade.” Jewish traders bought Africans in lots from the Trans-Atlantic shippers and retailed them to inland plantation owners.

The Jews of Surinam gave their slave plantations Hebrew names such as Machanayim, Nachamu, and Goshen. According to Dr. Marcus Arkin, they used “many thousands” of Black slaves. Rabbi Herbert I. Bloom added that the “slave trade was one of the most important Jewish activities ...” In 1694, Jews owned 9,000 Africans, and by 1791 there were 100 “Jewish mulattoes” in Surinam—the result of the rape of African women by their Jewish enslavers.

The prominent Jewish historian Dr. Cecil Roth wrote that the slave revolts in parts of South America “were largely directed against [Jews], as being the greatest slave-holders of the region.” Jews set up militias with the sole purpose of fighting the Black Maroons, the escaped Africans who were fighting to free their enslaved brethren.

The first Hebrew poem written in the New World was an attack on the Black Maroon leader. The Jewish militias murdered the Maroons and cut off their hands to award as trophies.

The Jews of Barbados, wrote one Jewish scholar, “made a good deal of their money by purchasing and hiring out negroes ...”

All Barbadian Jews—including the rabbi—owned Black slaves. Jews warehoused so many African slaves in Barbados that authorities moved to limit the number of captives they could possess. Jews became the major traders in “refuse slaves”—Africans who were weak and sick from the Middle Passage voyage. Jewish traders “fattened them up” and sold them at a profit.

A major Jewish shipper from France had a monopoly on trade to the notorious slave dungeon at Gorée Island—the Auschwitz of the Black Holocaust. Sugar fueled and expanded the slave trade, and according to Jewish scholars, Jews “acquired large sugarcane plantations and became the leading entrepreneurs in the sugar trade.”

Jewish scholars Isaac and Susan Emmanuel reported that in Curacao, which was a major slave-trading depot, “the shipping business was mainly a Jewish enterprise.”

(Source: Historical Research Department, Nation of Islam)

Muammar Qaddafi: A Revolutionary, A Hero, A Freedom Fighter

noreply@blogger.com (Ashahed Muhammad) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 14:48:00 +0000

Defending Farrakhan: The Campaign to Free the Real Children of Israel [Book Review]

noreply@blogger.com (Ashahed Muhammad) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 04:29:00 +0000

For nearly three hate-filled decades, Jewish organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, the American Jewish Committee, and the Simon Wiesenthal Center have written and spoken ill of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, seeking to tarnish his good name and works.

Many admirers and supporters of the work of Minister Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam have been angered by the arrogant and paternalistic attitude of the aforementioned organizations, as well as their constant attempts to hinder Black unity and progress.

Minister Farrakhan is far different from the mean-spirited, vituperative anti-Semitic specter created in the controlled media.

There are those who sincerely misunderstand and have allowed the warped caricature presented in the media to form a distorted view of who Minister Farrakhan is and what he has worked to accomplish in some 56 years at the forefront of the struggle to free the oppressed. Others in positions of influence intentionally misrepresent the Minister's words for malicious purposes. Why?

Despite their calculated words, deliberate deceptions, and conniving opposition to his mission and work, not one of them has ever accused Minister Farrakhan of being a liar. Despite their efforts, the spiritual, mental and economic growth of the Nation of Islam has continued and Minister Farrakhan remains as the last uncompromising voice of truth. Why?

Answers to the questions presented are all found within the pages of the recently released book Defending Farrakhan: The Campaign to Free the Real Children of Israel.

Page after page reveals an assortment of thematically related articles, written in various styles, which effectively repel and demolish the defamatory attacks against the Minister. Some articles offer straight news coverage, others take on the tone and tenor of detailed research documents, others are written in a more conversational style and still others are commentary. All are absorbing, thought-provoking and compelling.

To understand how a book like this came into being, you must consider the historical context.

On June 26, 2010, Minister Farrakhan announced the release of the second volume of The Secret Relationship Between Blacks and Jews: How Jews Gained Control of the Black American Economy. The predictable howls of anti-Semitism were heard from some critics; however, this time, there was a very unpredictable result. This time, their lies and cries were ignored by the masses, who continued to turn out by the thousands to hear Minister Farrakhan represent the truth!

Around that same time, individuals began writing articles, published consistently in The Final Call, defending the scholarship presented by the Minister and refuting the slanderous charge of anti-Semitism. The articles cover a wide variety of topics: Jim Crow, Zionism, sharecropping, genetics, the Talmud and ancient history, among other subjects. Out of those writings has come the book Defending Farrakhan.

When Morton Klein of the Zionist Organization of America attacked the Minister, Cedric Muhammad responded with an open letter picking apart Klein and the “oldest pro-Israel group in the U.S.”

When Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the Simon Wiesenthal Center attacked, Jackie Muhammad and Tingba Muhammad responded with missiles of truth aimed directly at the Center's body of lies.

Minister Farrakhan's critics were no longer safe to make unfounded assertions and not be met with swift retaliation. The premises upon which they built their arguments were being smashed. When Stanley Crouch and Abraham Foxman joined in a wicked union of convenience to slander and defame the Minister on Michael Eric Dyson's radio show, they were thoroughly discredited.

The Minister triumphantly took the truth to Pittsburgh, appearing at a town hall meeting hosted by legendary radio talk show host Bev Smith. The threats were so heavy that one person scheduled to appear dropped out for fear of a loss of Jewish financial sponsorship. Despite the enemy's attempts, Minister Farrakhan and the people won that battle!

The details of the skirmishes involved in this “word war” are all chronicled in Defending Farrakhan.

Minister Farrakhan took the truth to Jackson State University in Mississippi—the Deep South—then to prestigious Howard University, working to form the next generation of conscious and aware future rulers.

It was clear that the Black/Jewish “relationship” would no longer be defined by those who have benefitted from exploitation, and most importantly, the articles and the book send a signal that a discussion of this so-called relationship will no longer be framed by that which they write.

In the foreword, which eloquently sets the tone for the entire 368 pages of very valuable data, Minister Farrakhan writes:

“(T)he studious writings of these brothers and sisters should be read, analyzed and ultimately must be acted upon so that throughout America and the world wherever this false charge is raised we may have the scholarship to refute these charges.”

It makes perfect sense that after defending the downtrodden and voiceless for all these decades, those who have been impacted and inspired by Minister Farrakhan should be found on the front lines wielding the sword of truth, writing to defend him against the venomous words of the enemies of our rise.

As it is written in the front pages of the book, “The ink of the scholar is more precious than the blood of the martyr.” This is a very important and appropriate quote from Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) because we in the Black community have allowed others to tell our story and have not placed an emphasis on the importance of writing and reading. The importance of the Minister, the power of economics, the complicity of government and media in spreading falsehood are topics approached in this book, and compiled in one place. The articles can be used as a research and learning tool by students and truth-seekers alike.

This book presents another volume of important material and consider this—it only chronicles one year of The Final Call, which has now entered into its 31st year of publishing. Really, Defending Farrakhan in its own unique way demonstrates the vital role of independent Black media that are unafraid to tell and print the truth. It is also demonstrative of the power of those who write and document. This is critical to the furtherance of society, because it is from that material teachers will extract information that will be used to form new minds for the world to come.

Get this book! Do your part! Read this book and inform others of its existence.

[Defending Farrakhan: The Campaign to Free the Real Children of Israel, ISBN-13: 9780963687746, Publisher: The Nation of Islam Research Group, 368 Pages, Perfect bound.]

This entire review can be re-posted or republished in its entirety it is available @ FinalCall.com