libertea-ronpaul-2012:

Contrary to US claims that assassination drone attacks kill only “a few innocent” people, the US unmanned aerial vehicles have taken the lives of over 2800 innocent people, spreading a climate of terror with disregard for human life, British historian, journalist and researcher, Deepak Tripathi told Press TV in an interview on Monday.

“I would say one innocent person killed is one too many, but it shows the callous disregard in Washington for the deaths of innocent people,” Tripathi said.

This comes as US terror drones and attack helicopters have killed 31 people in Yemen, Pakistan, and Afghanistan over the course of 72 hours since Wednesday.

Washington claims that its airstrikes target militants, but local sources say civilians have been the main victims of the attacks.

Tripathi criticizes the US for its ambiguous definition of a militant — “someone who possesses unique operational skills,” adding that “this definition is too imprecise and anybody of the age of 16, 16-year-old boys can be targeted under this definition.”

“Then there is a definition of militant irregular warfare activist by the international Red Cross…a member of an organized armed group which is engaged in continuous irregular warfare is a legitimate target,” Tripathi concluded.

The UN has called the US drone attacks targeted killings that flout international law.

On January 31, President Barack Obama confirmed that the US uses the unmanned drones in Pakistan and other countries.

The US has also conducted airstrikes with warplanes, attack helicopters, and drones in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen, and Somalia.

Courtesy of Presstv.ir

Brought to you by www.libertea-ronpaul-2012.tumblr.com

(via theafrosistuh)

freshboldandsodef:

LADY B is a Hip-Hop legend and the undisputed “Queen of Hip-Hop”. Starting out in hip hop fresh out of high school, hanging out at Kim Graves (Philly’s top night club at the time) she befriended the late great DJ, Lawrence Levan. Lady B became the first female MC on wax when she recorded the historic rap classic, “To the Beat Yall” in 1979. Since then, she’s been the recipient of many awards and accolades. Her pioneering radio show “Street Beat” was one of the first radio shows in the world to prominently feature rap music. Her sheer presence at events secure total Hip-Hop credibility. Almost by herself, Lady B introduced rap music to Philadelphia. While at Power 99fm she had to fight to play groups like Public Enemy. They were considered too controversial and too political for the radio at that time.” Armed with the popularity of Public Enemy and the push of Def Jam and Russell Simmons, Lady B finally convinced Power 99 to concede. Her loyal audience loves her. Lady B is a fighter and we need more fighters on the radio. On her Radio show on 103.9 WPHI, she spotlighted local artists by interviewing them on her show and playing their music. She would also find diamonds in the rough. Independent local records that pleased her ear would actually find themselves in rotation. To win in radio, you have to stay ahead of the game. If nothing else, Lady B is a winner! She is now broadcasting for the premiere satellite radio entity –Sirius Satellite Radio. Lady B received the prestigious Philly Urban Legend Award in 2002 as a pioneer in Rap Music, the World Renowned Entertainment,” Role Model of Excellence Award, two Lifetime Achievement Awards (including the Douglass” Jocko”Henderson award) and is also listed in VIBE magazine’s History of Hip-Hop as “Maybe the most influential female in hip- hop radio history.”

“Lady B was a very instrumental figure in my success”-Will Smith -

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lady-B/108760548407

(via queennubian)

37thstate:

African Women. we hail thee.

bluntlyblue:

anticapitalist:

Why Tea Party Lawmakers Are Trying to Conflate Poverty and Drug Addiction

Nationally, a new strategy has crystalized among Tea Party conservatives who wish to turn the recession into a culture war. In a growing number of states, politicians have sought to undermine the economic safety net by suggesting, in the form of law, that irresponsible behavior rather than a busted, unequal economy has kept poor families struggling. The building meme has made it to the top of Republican ranks as well. “It’s a great idea,” Mitt Romney said of the Georgia bill at a February campaign stop. “People who are receiving welfare benefits, government benefits, we should make sure they are not using the money for drugs.”

As Romney implied, the strategy is not limited to cash assistance, which is an already stigmatized and atrophied program. The drug-user canard has now shown up in debates over nearly every economic safety net program. In December, congressional Republicans pushed a bill that would have required all applicants to the unemployment insurance program submit to a drug test. That bill did not become law, but a watered down version did. 

There are currently nearly 30 states with bills in play that would implement drug testing requirements on applicants to some combination of cash assistance, food stamps, Medicaid, unemployment insurance and job training programs. It seems everyone wants a piece of the action. 

“I so want drug testing. I so want it,” South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said last September about unemployment insurance. She then spun a tale about workplace drug abuse that a journalist later exposed as a fabrication. In April, the governor of West Virginia issued an executive order requiring federally funded job-training program applicants to pee in a cup. The Tennessee House recently ended the year’s legislative session by sending the governor a bill that would require cash assistance applicants to fill out psychological reviews that are supposed to measure their likelihood of using drugs. Those who fail have to take a test.

tl;dr the Tea Party/Everyone is trying to blame the victims of the economy for the problems caused by the economy.

Yeah this piece of shit legislation has cost the state of Florida how much money? (Or should I say lined the pockets of how many of Douchebag’s cronies …) 

(via queennubian)

fantagraphics:

Black Images in the Comics (Softcover Ed.)
by Fredrik Strömberg

304-page black & white 6” x 6” softcover • $19.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-562-4

See Previews / Order Now

This book spotlights over 100 comic strips, comic books, and graphic novels to feature black characters from all over the world over the last century, and the result is a fascinating journey to, if not enlightenment, then at least away from the horrendous caricatures of yore.

The book begins with the habitually appalling images of blacks as ignorant “coons” in the earliest syndicated strips (Happy Hooligan, Moon Mullins, and The Katzenjammer Kids); continues with the almost-quaint colonialist images of the often-suppressed Tintin album Tintin in the Congo and such ambiguous figures as Mandrake the Magician’s “noble savage” assistant Lothar in the ’30s (not to mention Torchy Brown, the first syndicated black character), moving on to such oddities as the offensive Ebony character in Will Eisner’s otherwise classic The Spirit from the ’40s and ’50s.

We then continue into the often earnest attempts at ’60s integration in such strips as Peanuts (and comic books such as the Fantastic Four), as well as the first wave of “black strips” like Wee Pals, juxtaposed with the shocking satire of underground comics such as R. Crumb’s incendiary Angefood McSpade. Also investigated is the increased use of blacks in super-hero comic books as well as syndicated strips. Black Images in the Comics wraps up from the ’80s to now, with the increased visibility of blacks, often in works actually produced by blacks, all the way to the South African strip Madam & Eve, Aaron McGruder’s pointed daily The Boondocks, and more — including over a dozen new entries added to the out-of-print hardcover edition.

Each strip, comic, or graphic novel is spotlighted via a compact but instructive 200-word essay and a representative illustration. The book is augmented by a context-setting introduction, an extensive source list and bibliography, and a foreword by Charles R. Johnson, the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation fellowship and winner of the National Book Award for his 1990 novel Middle Passage.

(via queennubian)