Monthly Archives: April 2013

HATEWATCH: WHITE SUPREMACISTS REACT WITH GLEE TO TEXAS PROSECUTOR MURDERS

 

White Supremacists React With Glee to Texas Prosecutor Murders

By Bill Morlin on April 3, 2013

The assassination-style killings of two prosecutors in Texas are precipitating the postings of vile, anti-Semitic, almost-gleeful public comments by assorted racists and white supremacists.

Investigators aren’t publicly commenting on who they think was responsible for last weekend’s murder of Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife, Cynthia, who were both shot repeatedly in their home, or the Jan. 31 shooting of McLelland’s assistant, prosecutor Mark Hasse, as he walked to work.  More than one gunman was believed involved in both killings, authorities say.

The two county prosecutors were involved in bringing criminal cases against members of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (ABT) and assisting federal prosecutors who brought a massive indictment last November against 34 key members of the white supremacist prison gang. The indictment accuses the ABT of carrying out murders, attempted murders, conspiracies, arsons, assaults, robberies and drug trafficking as part of an enterprise that goes back to at least 1993.

Before he was murdered, McLelland speculated in an interview with The Associated Press that white supremacists could have been responsible for Hasse’s killing. “We put some real dents in the Aryan Brotherhood around here in the past year,” McLelland told the AP, CNN reported today.

While no white supremacist gang or organization has claimed credit for the killings, there is a lot of laughing and backslapping going on in racist circles over what most people consider shocking and chilling crimes.

On Stormfront, the nation’s largest racist, neo-Nazi internet forum, a poster named “Magog” found comfort in the idea that white supremacists might be responsible.  “If so, I really like their style,” he wrote. “Covert in the shadows make sure no one sees a thing…”

Elsewhere on Stormfront and another racist site, Vanguard News Network (VNN), racists’ comments suggested Hasse “looked like a Jew.” After his killing, a poster identified only as “John from Canada” wrote: “I don’t even care so much about the dead man’s ethnicity. I would like to think that WN (white nationalists) were responsible and we’ll see more of this.”

“I believe that White traitors are a bigger enemy than the Jew,” the poster wrote.   “The Jew is just a parasite doing what nature designed him to do. The traitor is an opportunist of the lowest order, betraying his own blood for personal gain.”

After McLelland and his wife were gunned down Saturday evening in their Kaufmann County home, another VNN poster wrote: “Ten little prosecutors sitting down to dine, one opened the front door, and then there were nine!”

Other comments included antigovernment sentiments or used slurs to blame Mexican drug cartels.

“He was a prosecutor for the government,” a VNN poster said of Hasse. “In the 300-400 cases per year that he handled, I am more than confident he earned being shot down like a dog in a parking lot.”

In an earlier VNN forum discussion, a poster using the name “Brutus” suggested Hasse deserved to be killed because police and prosecutors are controlled by Jews.

“There are certain ‘gate keeper’ government jobs where the jew appoints only the loyalest (sic) of minions,” the poster wrote. “Prosecutors and police chiefs are two of these important ‘herd control’ positions. They have tacitly understood orders from the jew to seek out and destroy any White resistance.”

Other posters noted that a white supremacist, Evan Spencer Ebel, a 28-year-old Denver parolee, has been linked to the killing of Colorado prison chief Tom Clement, shot when he answered the door at his Monument, Colo., home on March 19.

Two days after the shooting in Colorado, Ebel died in a shootout with sheriff’s deputies following a high-speed chase in north Texas. That occurred about 100 miles from Kaufman County, and authorities still haven’t said why Ebel was in Texas or if he had accomplices.

A Stormfront poster, “StatesRightsLover,” noted Ebel’s connection to the white supremacy movement and said: “I’m shedding no tears. No such thing as a good government official.”

Other posters directed their Internet venom at Mexicans and Jews.

A poster identified as  “14words_of_truth,” wrote on Stormfront on Tuesday: “Mexican criminal alien invaders are in the Federal Union because of Federal Judges; it would be a real shame if those same Mexican criminals began assassinating those same Federal Judges.”

In the same Stormfront thread, poster “hang_them_high” wrote: “If your [sic] so bad ass go take out the jews in your state. Get it done no reason to wait. I would think of buying land in any state that was jew free. Tar and feather and hang jew bankers for Jesus. Freedom!”

SOURCE

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COLORLINES: HOW TO GET A BLACK WOMAN FIRED

How to Get a Black Woman Fired

In light of the Adria Richards debacle, Channing Kennedy, Colorlines.com’s white male correspondent, uses the power bestowed by his made-up title to break down a pattern of Internet harassment, racist and sexist micro-aggressions and other methods of enforcing mob rule.

Also: It’s Bigger Than Adria Richards

Mainstream Green Is Still Too White

Brentin Mock says there is congressional lobbying and corporate connections and then there’s environmental justice.

Hey Grey Lady, ‘Get With the Times’ on the I-Word

Colorlines.com has a message for the New York Times: the i-word is out.

What the DOJ Can’t Do on School Discipline Reform
The Department of Justice could push the Meridian, Miss., school district to dismantle its school-to-prison pipeline.

Undocumented Youth Pay Tribute to the Original DREAMers [Photos]
In the fight for immigration reform, the parents of undocumented youth are regularly chastised for their immigration misdeeds. An undocumented Arizona photographer wants to change the conversation.

NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly ‘Wanted to Instill Fear’ in Black and Latino Men 
State Sen. Eric Adams, a retired NYPD captain, took the stand Monday in the landmark stop-and-frisk federal trial to testify about a 2010 conversation with NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly.

Juan Williams’ Son To Run GOP Outreach To African Americans
News of the twenty-four-year-old new hire comes two weeks after the party published its 90-page blueprint to attract “minority,” gay and young voters.

Tennessee Gets Closer to Passing Bill That Ties Welfare to School Grades
The measure takes “a carrot and stick approach,” one of the sponsors of the bill said.

Magic Johnson Says He’s Proud of His Fabulous Gay Son
“Cookie and I love EJ and support him in every way,” Magic Johnson said.

HRC Apologizes for Mistreating Trans and Immigrant Activists
The Human Rights Campaign apologized for two “unfortunate incidents” at the United for Marriage event at the Supreme Court last week.

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INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR MINE AWARENESS AND ASSISTANCE IN MINE ACTION: APRIL 4, 2013

UNITED NATION’S MINE AWARENESS DAY

Quick Facts

The United Nations’ International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action is annually observed on April 4.

Local names

Name Language
United Nations’ Mine Awareness Day English
Día Internacional de información sobre el peligro de las minas Spanish

United Nations’ Mine Awareness Day 2013

Thursday, April 4, 2013

United Nations’ Mine Awareness Day 2014

Friday, April 4, 2014

The United Nations’ International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action is observed on April 4 each year. This day aims to raise awareness about landmines and progress toward their eradication.

United Nations' Mine Awareness DayMine Awareness Day aims to raise awareness about the dangers of landmines.©iStockphoto.com/manxman

What do people do

Awareness programs and activities to mark the day take place in many countries around the world on April 4 every year. Activities for these awareness-raising events include photo exhibits, press conferences, film screenings, educational displays and community chats. Public events may include public statements from land mine surivivors, mine action theatre performances and mine risk education demonstrations.

The day aims to raise awareness about landmines and progress toward their eradication. “Mine action” refers to a range of efforts to clear landmines and explosive remnants of war and to mark and fence off dangerous areas. It also includes assisting victims, teaching people how to remain safe in a mine-affected environment, advocating for universal participation in international treaties related to landmines, explosive remnants of war and their victims, and destroying landmines stockpiled by governments and non-state armed groups.

Public life

The International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action is a global observance and not a public holiday.

Background

On 8 December 2005, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly declared that April 4 of each year would be officially proclaimed and observed as International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action. It was first observed on April 4, 2006.

It called for continued efforts by states, with assistance from the UN and relevant organizations, to help establish and develop national mine-action capacities in countries where mines and explosive war remnants constitute a serious threat to the safety, health and lives of people, or hinders social and economic development at the national and local levels.

According to the Landmine Monitor Report 2005, 84 countries were affected by landmines and unexploded ordnance, which together kill or maim between 15,000 and 20,000 adults and children annually. The UN works together with countries to find and destroy these devices. It also helps to provide various mine-action services in many countries.

United Nations’ Mine Awareness Day Observances

Weekday Date Year Name Holiday type Where it is observed
Tue Apr 4 2006 United Nations’ Mine Awareness Day United Nations observance
Wed Apr 4 2007 United Nations’ Mine Awareness Day United Nations observance
Fri Apr 4 2008 United Nations’ Mine Awareness Day United Nations observance
Sat Apr 4 2009 United Nations’ Mine Awareness Day United Nations observance
Sun Apr 4 2010 United Nations’ Mine Awareness Day United Nations observance
Mon Apr 4 2011 United Nations’ Mine Awareness Day United Nations observance
Wed Apr 4 2012 United Nations’ Mine Awareness Day United Nations observance
Thu Apr 4 2013 United Nations’ Mine Awareness Day United Nations observance
Fri Apr 4 2014 United Nations’ Mine Awareness Day United Nations observance
Sat Apr 4 2015 United Nations’ Mine Awareness Day United Nations observance

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DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR (1929 -1968): FROM MONTGOMERY TO MEMPHIS

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

This day, April 4, 2013, marks the 45TH Anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He was murdered while he stood on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, where Dr. King had gone to help the Black sanitation workers in their strike against the city of Memphis.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Arrested for his murder was James Earl Ray, who was convicted after entering a plea of guilty to forgo a trial. Had he been found guilty by a  jury trial, he would have been sentenced to death. He was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He later recanted his confession and tried unsuccessfully to gain a new trial. He died in prison of hepatitis C.

Decades after the death of Dr. King, very few people remember or think of James Earl Ray.

Decades after Dr. King’s death, many still live and keep alive the works, aspirations, and accomplishments of Dr. King. From his humble risings as a young minister in Atlanta, Georgia, through his many challenges to racial segregation from the Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott, to Memphis, Tennessee where the bullet from a high-powered rifle tore his life from his body.

Martin Luther King Jr NYWTS 247x300 Eating like a Freedom Fighter: A Martin Luther King  Inspired Meal

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Photo Courtesy: Wikipedia

There have been those who have usurped Dr. King’s image and words, only to twist them into an insult to his memory.

On the other hand, there have been those who have truthfully lived by Dr. King’s words and actions and in their way have honored his belief in the Beloved Community of humankind.

There is still much to be done to make this nation a democracy in the truest sense.

There is still much to do that will give salutation to the legacy of all that Dr. King did to make this nation live up to its so-called ideals, not just on paper, but in words and deeds.

Rest in peace, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Rest in peace.

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RECORD STORE DAY: APRIL 20, 2013

 

It is that time of year again.

Yes, it is the upcoming celebration of Record Store Day, which this year occurs on April 20, 2013.

image

Record Store Day is observed and celebrated nationally and internationally on the third Saturday of April each year. Its purpose, as conceived by independent record store employee Chris Brown, is to celebrate the art of music and the independent record stores which refused to give up on the record format, or black vinyl as I like to call records. The day brings record stores, fans, record collectors, audiophiles, musicians, and record labels together in the United States and around the world in a cultural and commercial celebration of the record, be it the 45 RPM, 78 RPM, or the more well-known 33⅓ rpm microgroove vinyl record.

 

 

Record Store Day was officially founded in 2007 by Michael Kurtz, Eric Levin, Carrie Colliton, Amy Dorfman, Don Van Cleave and Brian Poehner, with April 19, 2008 as the first year the day went public. It is now celebrated globally with hundreds of recording and other artists participating in the day by making special appearances, performances, meet and greets with their fans, the holding of art exhibits, and the issuing of special vinyl (like the EP albums, the 180 gram virgin vinyl albums, some in limited music releases, or the more hard to find original master recordings of Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab releases) and CD releases along with other promotional products to mark the occasion.

 

330px-Schellackplatte_1908SOURCE

RSD honors a medium which started in 1877 (with the phonograph, aka gramophone) and the LP (long-playing record) records that started out as shellac discs, and eventually became vinyl discs.

EdisonPhonographSOURCE:  Norman Bruderhofer, www.cylinder.de

Record Store Day has music celebrations at record stores across America, with some bands appearing as scheduled, or showing up in surprise performances. There is merchandise to be bought or won as prizes. Every year there is an ambassador, often from a well-known, or not so well-known recording group. This year’s  official ambassador will be Jack White of the White Stripes. Their album Elephant will be reissued in a 10th anniversary edition LP, with black-and-red vinyl on one side, white vinyl on the other.

The list of releases for 2013 can be found  here.

Many independent record stores will offer 7″, 10″, and 12″ releases, both old and new. Also up for purchase will be very hard to find releases, some which have yet to be released on CD. Some records will be re-released to celebrate 20TH-, 30TH-, or 40TH anniversaries. Many records can be had for as little as $1.00, while some may sell for as high as $100 or more. Records of all genres will be in the bins encompassing jazz, blues, disco, rock-and-roll, big band, gospel, as well as themes and soundtracks from famous motion pictures.

Product Details

Product Details

Product Details

There will be something for everyone, be they an old pro with a respect for records, or a new convert who realizes the beauty of analog groove modulation.

So, do try to participate in Record Store Day.

The treasures you find may be momentous, and it could  be the start of a lifelong journey of a love affair with a medium that has been around since 1926.

Pastimes
Roy Smeck. 
Pastimes,

Camden, New Jersey: Victor Talking
Machine Company, July 14, 1926.
Vitaphone disc.
Motion Picture, Broadcasting
and Recorded Sound Division
 (59)

HIS MASTER'S VOICE

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WORLD AUTISM AWARENESS DAY: APRIL 2, 2013

WORLD AUTISM AWARENESS DAY

Quick Facts

World Autism Awareness Day raises an awareness of issues surrounding people, particularly children, with autism worldwide.

Local names

Name Language
World Autism Awareness Day English
Día Mundial de Concienciación sobre el Autismo Spanish

World Autism Awareness Day 2013

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

World Autism Awareness Day 2014

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

World Autism Awareness Day aims to increase people’s awareness about people, especially children, with autism. The day often features educational events for teachers, health care workers and parents, as well as exhibitions showcasing work created by children with autism.

Autism affects many children worldwide.©iStockphoto.com/ktaylorg

What do people do?

Many events are organized on World Autism Awareness Day. These include:

  • Panel discussions with autism experts, politicians and non-governmental organization (NGO) representatives.
  • Informational events for parents of children with autism.
  • Conferences and workshops for professionals working with people with autism.
  • Artistic workshops for people with autism.
  • Television and radio shows, as well as newspaper features, about people with autism and their lives.
  • The launch of educational materials for parents and teachers.
  • Exhibitions of art work by artists with autism.
  • The display of posters and banners to increase public awareness of autism.

Special clinics are also organized for families dealing with autism to obtain consultations with pediatricians, educational psychologists and social workers

Public life

World Autism Awareness Day is not a public holiday.

Background

Autism is a developmental disability that remains with a person for his or her whole life. This condition affects the brain’s functions. The first signs usually appear before a child is three years old. People with autism often:

  • Find social interaction difficult.
  • Have problems with verbal and non-verbal communication.
  • Demonstrate restrictive and repetitive behavior.
  • Have a limited set of interests and activities.

Autism affects girls and boys of all races and in all geographic regions and has a large impact on children, their families, communities and societies. The prevalence is currently rising in many countries around the world. Caring for and educating children and young people with this condition places challenges on health care, education and training programs.

On November 1, 2007, the United Nations (UN) called for one day each year to be designated as World Autism Day. On December 18, 2007, the UN General Assembly designated April 2 as World Autism Awareness Day. It was first observed in 2008.

World Autism Awareness Day Observances

Weekday Date Year Name Holiday type Where it is observed
Wed Apr 2 2008 World Autism Awareness Day United Nations observance
Thu Apr 2 2009 World Autism Awareness Day United Nations observance
Fri Apr 2 2010 World Autism Awareness Day United Nations observance
Sat Apr 2 2011 World Autism Awareness Day United Nations observance
Mon Apr 2 2012 World Autism Awareness Day United Nations observance
Tue Apr 2 2013 World Autism Awareness Day United Nations observance
Wed Apr 2 2014 World Autism Awareness Day United Nations observance
Thu Apr 2 2015 World Autism Awareness Day United Nations observance

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