Beating Death Of Derrion Albert, 16, Caught On Video

Four teenagers have been charged with first-degree murder in Derrion Albert's beating death.
Silvanus Shannon, 19, Eugene Riley, 18, and Eric Carson, 16, all of Chicago, were charged as adults ordered held without bond. Eugene Bailey, 18, was also charged with first-degree murder and will appear in court Tuesday.

Prosecutors declared Albert an "innocent bystander" in the fight that led to his death.
video of the brawl.

Chicago police are still investigating the gang fight that erupted Thursday in Roseland that resulted in the death of 16-year-old Fenger High School student Derrion Albert.

Albert was killed in a melee near the school that police believe is a continuation of ongoing tensions between Fenger students that are members of rival gangs.

An amateur video of the brawl shows dozens of people punching, kicking and swinging wooden boards in the street. Albert was struck by blows from one of those boards, Fox Chicago reports, and the video obtained by Fox shows a person getting hit with a board and then stomped on after falling to the ground.

As people rush to help the injured person, a voice can be heard on the video yelling, "Derrion, get up!"

Albert's mom said witnesses told her that her son "trying to help another student and kind of got mixed in with the crowd of the fight and he was hit."

A memorial and march planned for Sunday was rescheduled for Monday at 1 p.m., the Tribune reports.

UPDATE: Police are questioning four people in connection with Albert's death, Fox Chicago reported late Sunday night.

The student who hit Albert with a board is in custody, Fox reports, as police try to figure out why Albert, an honor student whom family and friends said was not involved with a gang, was killed.

Meanwhile, police beefed up security around Fenger Monday as students returned to school the week after the melee that led to Albert's death.

"We want to provide reassurance to the public that there's a police presence and they can feel safe in the neighborhood and kids can feel safe at school," the Tribune quoted Morgan Park District Commander Michael Kuemmeth as saying.

CHICAGO - Cell phone footage showing a group of teens viciously kicking and striking a 16-year-old honors student with splintered railroad ties has ramped up pressure on Chicago officials to address chronic violence that has led to dozens of deaths of city teens each year.

The graphic video of the afternoon melee emerged on local news stations over the weekend, showing the fatal beating of Derrion Albert, a sophomore honor roll student at Christian Fenger Academy High School. His death was the latest addition to a rising toll: More than 30 students were killed last school year, and the city could exceed that number this year.

Prosecutors charged four teenagers Monday with fatally beating Albert, who was walking to a bus stop when he got caught up in the mob street fighting, authorities said.

The violence stemmed from a shooting early Thursday morning involving two groups of students from different neighborhoods, said Tandra Simonton, a spokeswoman for the Cook County prosecutor's office. When school ended, members of the groups began fighting near the Agape Community Center.

During the attack, captured in part on a bystander's cell phone video, Albert is struck on the head by one of several young men wielding wooden planks. After he falls to the ground and appears to try to get up, he is struck again and then kicked. Simonton said Albert was a bystander and not part of either group.

Prosecutors charged Silvonus Shannon, 19, Eugene Riley, 18, Eric Carson, 16, and Eugene Bailey, 18, with first-degree murder, Simonton said.

Shannon, Riley and Carson were ordered held without bond Monday. The Cook County Public Defender's Office, which represented the three teenagers in court, had no immediate comment. Bailey was due in bond court Tuesday, Simonton said.

Chicago police said they were looking for at least three more suspects, but would not discuss a possible motive for the attack.

Simonton said Albert was knocked unconscious when Carson struck him in the head with a board and a second person punched him in the face. Albert regained consciousness and was trying to get up when he was attacked a second time by five people, struck in the head with a board by Riley and stomped in the head by Shannon, Simonton said.

Desiyan Bacon, Bailey's aunt, said her nephew didn't have anything to do with the beating and was a friend of the victim.

"They need to stop the crime, but when they do it, they need to get the right person," Bacon said.

Fenger students said Albert's death intensified tensions at the school, with arguments about him breaking out in hallways all day Monday. Several blocks away, a memorial erected on the spot where he was beaten was burned down. Police also increased patrols before and after school and in the neighborhood.

"They're still trying to retaliate," said sophomore Toni Gardner, 15. She did not elaborate.

For Chicago, a sharp rise in violent student deaths during the past three school years -- most from shootings off school property -- have been a tragedy and an embarrassment.

Before 2006, an average of 10-15 students were fatally shot each year. That climbed to 24 fatal shootings in the 2006-07 school year, 23 deaths and 211 shootings in the 2007-08 school year and 34 deaths and 290 shootings last school year.

At a Monday vigil at the school, some community members said the solution lies with parents.

"It is our problem. We have to take control of our children," said Dawn Allen, who attended the vigil where a group of residents tried to force their way into the school before being turned back by police.

This month, the city announced a $30 million project that targets 1,200 high school pupils identified as most at risk to become victims of gun violence, giving them full-time mentors and part-time jobs to keep them off the streets. Some money also will pay for more security guards and to provide safe passage for students forced to travel through areas with active street gangs.

Albert's family attended a news conference Monday with school district leaders and police, but did not speak. They wore T-shirts with a picture of him in a cap and gown, with the words, "Gone too soon, too young."

But Annette Holt, mother of Blair Holt, a Chicago Public Schools student who was shot on a city bus two years ago, said Albert represented "another promising future, just snuffed out because of violence."

"Someone said he (Derrion) was in the wrong place at the wrong time," she said. "No, he wasn't. He was in the right place. He was coming from school."

Strong Indonesia quake kills hundreds,traps more

PADANG, Indonesia – A powerful earthquake that struck western Indonesia trapped thousands of people under collapsed buildings — including hospitals, a hotel and a classroom, officials said. At least 200 bodies were found in one coastal city and the toll was expected to be far higher.

The temblor Wednesday started fires, severed roads and cut off power and communications to Padang, a coastal city of 900,000 on Sumatra island. Thousands fled in panic, fearing a tsunami. It was felt hundreds of miles (kilometers) away in Malaysia and Singapore, causing buildings there to sway.

The undersea quake of 7.6 magnitude was followed by a powerful, shallow inland earthquake on Thursday morning with a preliminary magnitude of 6.8, the U.S. Geological Survey said. It hit about 150 miles (240 kilometers) south of Padang at a depth of just under 20 miles (24 kilometers).

Shallow, inland earthquakes generally are more destructive. There were reports that the second quake badly damaged dozens of additional buildings.

In Padang, the capital of West Sumatra province, the shaking was so intense from Wednesday's temblor that people crouched or sat on the street to avoid falling. Children screamed as an exodus of thousands of frantic residents fled the coast in cars and motorbikes, honking horns.

At least 500 buildings in Padang collapsed or were badly damaged, said Disaster Management Agency spokesman Priyadi Kardono, adding that 200 bodies had been pulled from the rubble there. The extent of damage in surrounding areas was still unclear due to poor communications. Indonesia, a poor, sprawling nation with limited resources, was cobbling together an emergency aid response, and the government was preparing for the possibility of thousands of deaths.

Padang's mayor appealed for assistance on Indonesian radio station el-Shinta.

"We are overwhelmed with victims and ... lack of clean water, electricity and telecommunications," Mayor Fauzi Bahar said. "We really need help. We call on people to come to Padang to evacuate bodies and help the injured."

Hundreds of people were trapped under collapsed buildings in Padang alone, including a four-star hotel, he said. Other collapsed or seriously damaged buildings included hospitals, mosques, a school and a mall.

"I was studying math with my friends when suddenly a powerful earthquake destroyed everything around me," an unidentified boy told the TVOne broadcaster. He escaped out of the top floor just as the three-story structure, used for after-school classes, crumpled.

TVOne footage showed heavy equipment breaking through layers of cement in search of more than 30 children it said were missing and feared dead.

Thousands were believed trapped throughout the province, said Rustam Pakaya, head of the Health Ministry's crisis center.

Search and rescue teams were working in heavy rain when the second strong quake struck, causing widespread panic and badly damaging 30 houses in Jambi, another Sumatran town. It was not yet clear if there were injuries, said Jambi Mayor Hasfiah, who uses only one name, like many Indonesians. Frantic parents were seen rushing to local schools in search of their children.

"This is a high-scale disaster," Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari told Metro TV, referring to the Wednesday quake.

The first quake struck just off the coast of Padang, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. It occurred a day after a killer tsunami hit islands in the South Pacific and was along the same fault line that spawned the 2004 Asian tsunami that killed 230,000 people in a dozen nations.

A tsunami warning was issued Wednesday for countries along the Indian Ocean, but was lifted after about an hour; there were no reports of giant waves.

The shaking in Padang felled trees and crushed cars. A foot could be seen sticking out from one pile of rubble. At daybreak, residents used their bare hands to search for survivors, pulling at the wreckage and tossing it away piece by piece.

"People ran to high ground," said Kasmiati, who lives on the coast near the quake's epicenter. "I was outside, so I am safe, but my children at home were injured," she said before her cell phone went dead.

The loss of telephone service deepened the worries of those outside the stricken area.

"I want to know what happened to my sister and her husband," said Fitra Jaya, who owns a house in downtown Padang and was in Jakarta when the quake hit. "I tried to call my family there, but I could not reach anyone at all."

Hospitals struggled to treat the injured as their relatives hovered nearby.

Indonesia's government announced $10 million in emergency response aid and medical teams and military planes were being dispatched to set up field hospitals and distribute tents, medicine and food rations.

Local television reported more than two dozen landslides in the province. Some blocked roads, causing miles-long traffic jams of cars and trucks.

On Tuesday, a powerful earthquake off the South Pacific islands of Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga — thousands of miles (kilometers) from Indonesia — spawned tsunami that killed at least 120 people. Experts said the seismic events were not related.

___

Associated Press writers Ali Kotarumalos and Niniek Karmini contributed to this report.

Obama addresses black caucus on health care

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama on Saturday resumed his push to overhaul the health care system, telling a Congressional Black Caucus conference that there comes a time when "the cup of endurance runs over."

"We have been waiting for health reform since the days of Teddy Roosevelt. We've been waiting since the days of Harry Truman," he said in remarks at the caucus foundation's annual dinner. "We've been waiting since Johnson and Nixon and Clinton."

"We cannot wait any longer," Obama said.

Obama spent the past week largely focused on global and economic issues in meetings with world leaders in New York and Pittsburgh.

At the G-20 economic summit that wrapped up Friday in Pennsylvania, Obama told a story about an unnamed foreign leader who privately told the president he didn't understand the at-times contentious debate over changing the health care system.

"He says, 'We don't understand it. You're trying to make sure everybody has health care and they're putting a Hitler mustache on you. That doesn't make sense to me,'" Obama said, quoting the world leader he declined to identify.

The reference to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler was to signs some people have waved outside of often testy town hall meetings around the country this summer where lawmakers discussed Obama's health care plan.

In the speech, Obama described his plan as one that would not require people with coverage to change anything but would make health insurance affordable for the millions of people who don't have any. Republicans dispute those claims.

The Senate Finance Committee is in the process of amending a health care bill introduced by Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont.

Before becoming president, Obama was the only senator in the all-Democratic caucus, which now has 42 members. He wasn't particularly active in the group and isn't especially close to many of its members.

Animosity toward the president and his policies has bubbled up in recent weeks, most notably with Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., shouting "You lie!" at Obama during the president's recent health care speech to Congress.

Democrats from former President Jimmy Carter on down have blamed the increasingly harsh criticism of Obama on racism.

Obama says it's not racism but an intense debate over the proper role of government.

Before he began to speak, Obama walked to a podium facing the audience from the right side of the stage before he was directed to another one — the one affixed with the presidential seal — on stage left.

"They don't want me to be on the right," he joked. "This is the CBC

Russell Simmons writes about Minister Farrakhan's recent visit to New York: "My Second Father"

Minister Louis Farrakhan: My Second Father by Russell Simmons...

When we think of Minister Louis Farrakhan, we often think about the man who helped guide Muhammad Ali or the man who came up together in the Nation of Islam with Malcolm X. Do we ever think he's the man who helped hundreds of thousands (or even millions) of black people to love themselves? Well, we should.

When I grew up in Hollis, Queens there was a rehab, a mosque and a “Steak n' Take” on my corner, all of which where run by the Nation of Islam. There was also a heroin epidemic on that corner that was killing off our teenagers and young adults. Our parents would tell us that when we grow up we should make a choice to either join the army or "be a Muslim or something.” The Nation of Islam secured our housing projects, promoted dignity and transformed men with criminal pasts. Those men would then, in turn, raise refined, educated black children. Hard to dispute this. It took guys off the street and created a powerful, non-violent movement. The Nation of Islam has never been associated with any form of violence and always been about uplifting our communities and making a better future for black people. If you ask anyone from my generation, from any ghetto in this country, I promise you they have roughly the same experiences regarding the Nation's presence in their communities.

Certainly some of their preachers were fiery, especially in their pointing out the evils of white supremacy. They said some things in a way that was hard for most whites and some blacks to digest. For example, “THE WHITE MAN IS THE DEVIL.” We have to remember the climate of the country during this time. It was an all out war and the Nation was not about to back-down. The Nation of Islam, which was started by Elijah Muhammad and a white man named, Master Fard Muhammad, always pointed out that one day we would all live in harmony. Although this still isn't quite true, their message under the leadership of Minister Louis Farrakhan has evolved to fit the time.

It is true that some blacks are still not “free” and stuck in a slave mentality, due to the lingering affects of 400+ years of slavery. It is the recognition of this condition that the Nation continues its important work in ghettos across America, giving steady doses of spirituality or sense of higher self to many men and women who need it.

This past week, it was my honor to host the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan at my apartment in NYC. He was joined by his sons Louis Jr., Mustapha and Joshua Farrakhan, along with their personal chef and at least 75 security personnel. It was quite a scene to see how they set up shop at my apartment. This was a week where I didn't miss my 6am prayer because I could hear them already awake and ready to start the day off right. This was a week where the word "Allah" was on the tip of everyone's tongue. And was a very special time when I got to hang with my “second dad” and my other brothers. We reminisced about the three marches where more than three million people marched on Washington. We talked about how we brought Snoop, Ice Cube and other LA rappers together with members of the east coast rap community and how he helped mediate the beef between 50 Cent and Ja Rule and countless other instances where he was there to help hip hop. And of course we talked about his keynote address at the hip hop summit that created the Hip Hop Summit Action network. We even mentioned a subject that the Minister doesn't care to discuss, his legacy. He has talked about the oneness of god for years, about the sameness of all religion and all people. He has given his followers spiritual roadmaps to happiness on Earth his whole life. I want future generations to know him as I do, so I am working to have his thoughts on this subject made into a book. I believe that his memoirs are going to be one of the most interesting and inspiring autobiographies ever written.

So that is my goal.

If America can know his heart, it will inspire millions of Americans for generations to come. It will happen with or without me, but I just thought writing this would be a good karmic expression for me, and a chance to reflect on a very special few days in my life.

courtesy of Russell Simmons
http://globalgrind.com/content/1015963/Minister-Louis-Farrakhan-My-Second-Father/

Gadhafi supporters dwarf opposition

by Richard Muhammad (Chicago, IL)
While opponents of Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi showed up at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, across the street from the United Nations headquarters, their numbers and their energy were no match for those who turned out to show support for the revolutionary leader.

A mix of Libyans, many of whom were students at American colleges and universities, was joined by Native Americans, Africans and American-born Blacks.
Nation of Islam members oversaw the huge rally that stretched for blocks down the plaza.

The Sept. 23 program, which started before UN General Assembly speeches by U.S. President Barack Obama, included young Black dancers, Chuck D and Professor Griff of the rap group Public Enemy, Native American leader Ernie Longwalker, representatives of Libyan students, and student Minister Ishmael Muhammad, national assistant to the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, and others
The speakers praised Gadhafi for his progressive leadership, which includes free education and health care in his country, support for the African Union and sub-Saharan Africa and oppressed people around the globe.

The crowd listened as a satellite feed brought
President Obama’s image and words live to the audience and projected the General Assembly proceedings on a huge screen. The crowd cheered wildly, waved pictures and waved signs when Mr. Gadhafi took the microphone. The Final Call newspaper, eadlined “Welcome to America,” featured a photo of the Libyan leader, who is also head of the African Union and was distributed to the audience. Gadhafi supporters were bussed into the event from several east coast cities.

Members of the Fruit of Islam, the men in the Nation of Islam, came in from around the country, attired on traditional suits and bowties or neck ties.

With remarks translated by an interpreter, the Libyan leader called for greater equality for the United Nations and expanded decision-making through the work of the General Assembly. The veto-wielding Security Council is a throwback to the war against the Nazis in the 1940, he noted.

The veto violates other principles contained in the UN Charter, he said. Mr. Gadhafi said the UN should respect and help meet the needs of all nations, whether big or small or rich or poor. It was his first visit to the United States.


Location: Dag Hammarskjold Plaza in New York

Black People welcome Muammar Gadhafi at the UN

OUTSIDE THE U.N., MANY WELCOME GADHAFI

NEW YORK – Yussif Ali did not mind waking up at 2 a.m. this morning to come from his native Boston to Dag Hammarskold Plaza, next to the United Nations, to support a world leader he respects.

"I set aside two doctor appointments today to come see [Moammar] Gadhafi’s first time visiting the United States. To me, he’s a hero," the union carpenter said.

While many Americans associate Gadhafi with the terrorist bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988, (Libya formally admitted responsibility for the attack in 2003), Ali and hundreds of others who gathered across the street from the U.N. on Wednesday have a very different view of the Libyan leader.

Supporters of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi watch a broadcast of his address to the United Nations General Assembly at Dag Hammarskold Plaza in New York on Wednesday.


"I’m a black American and taking lives of innocent people is wrong and unforgiveable and I see no excuses," said Ali, who has been a member of The Nation of Islam for more than 25 years. "But I don’t believe Col. Gadhafi gave anyone a direct order. You have a lot of radical people you can’t control."

An imposing phalanx of hundreds of Nation of Islam supporters dressed in dark suits flanked the walkway that led to a podium at the end of the plaza. A large JumboTron television had been set up to allow those assembled to watch Gadhafi’s speech to the U.N. General Assembly.

After the speech, many left inspired, including Abdush Shahid, a police officer from Newark, N.J. "This is the beginning of the history of Africa. Under the leadership of Gadhafi we begin to unify under one banner." Shahid was clear that he was not a member of The Nation of Islam. "I am a Sunni Muslim, and there is no separation – we are all brothers." Shahid believes Gadhafi as a leader who is unifying millions of Africans and their descendants into one community.

On the other hand Earl Dickinson, a 75-year-old retired tractor trailer driver who also traveled from Newark, had a much more practical reason for supporting Gadhafi. "He gave $2 million to [Louis] Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam." Dickinson said it was Gadhafi’s support and connections which helped Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam since 1978, expand his organization and disseminate his message.

In fact, Farrakhan met Gadhafi at Libya’s mission in New York on Tuesday to welcome him ahead of his first ever appearance at the U.N. after 40 years as the ruler of the oil-rich North African nation.

And Alonzo X, a serious and mature-looking high school senior, traveled from Connecticut to witness the Libyan leader’s U.N. speech. When asked whether they received any payment or remuneration for coming, Alonzo and others said they volunteered to come to New York as soon as they heard the news of Gadhafi’s visit. "I wasn’t paid to be here," said the young man in the somber suit. "God is paying us."
courtesy of msnbc.com

Gadhafi tells U.N.Security Council it doesn't work,

UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi on Wednesday denounced the structure of the U.N. Security Council, criticizing the permanent seats and veto power granted to a limited number of nations.

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi addresses the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday.
Speaking at the U.N. General Assembly's annual debate session, Gadhafi called for world unity in confronting global crises such as climate change and food shortages.

But he elaborated on what he believes is the unfairness of the structure of the Security Council, which has five permanent members -- the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain. Each of those nations has veto power.

"No one is objecting to the preamble [of the U.N. charter], but everything that came after that is contradiction of the preamble," he said through an interpreter. "The preamble says the nations are equal whether they are small or big. Are we equal in permanent seats? No, we're not equals."

Citing the history of colonization and persecution of Africans, he said there needs to be a permanent African presence on the body, calling that a "priority" for the United Nations.


*abridged list He also said that despite the fact that the United Nations says there should be no resorting to military force unless it is a collective decision, 65 wars broke out after the establishment of the United Nations, and the Security Council didn't do anything to stop the conflicts.

Gadhafi said the Security Council hasn't provided security, but "terror and sanctions."

He slammed U.S. military actions in places like Korea, Vietnam, and Grenada. He called the invasion of Iraq "the mother of all evils," criticizing the hanging of deposed leader Saddam Hussein and the abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

He also said there should be investigations into many incidents, such as the Afghan war, the massacre at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camp during the Lebanese civil war, Israel's Gaza offensive, and the killings in the 1960s of former President John F. Kennedy and civil rights leader Martin Luther King.

Gadhafi also broached the idea of taking the U.N. headquarters out of the United States and putting it in another location.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and President Obama made speeches before Gadhafi. Watch President Obama speak to the United Nations »

Ban, giving the annual session's opening address, urged global leaders to unite and work together to face many of the world's challenges: "Now is our time. A time to put the 'united' back into the United Nations. United in purpose. United in action."

He focused on the importance of tackling "the threat of catastrophic climate change" and expressed hope that if nations work together to deal with the problem, they will succeed.

He touched on nuclear disarmament, saying, "Let us make this the year we agreed to banish the bomb." Watch how the General Assembly works »

Ban also talked of the need to fight world poverty, citing what he said is an urgent development: that "near-poor" people are becoming "the new poor." He cited the possibility that 100 million people "could fall below the poverty line this year."

Don't Miss
At U.N., Obama calls for new era in world relations
Obama drops demand on Israeli settlements
China pledges to combat climate change
Noting the economic crisis around the world, the secretary-general said markets may be bouncing back, but incomes and jobs are not.

"People are angry. They believe the global economy is stacked against them," he said, mentioning U.N. initiatives to address such economic problems.

Other urgent issues he noted include sexual violence, child mortality, and empowerment of women.

He underscored the importance of the International Criminal Court and named trouble spots around the globe that continue to require urgent attention, including Sudan's Darfur region, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Gaza, and Afghanistan.

He also cited "significant progress" in unstable environments such as Timor-Leste, Haiti, Sierra Leone and Nepal. "We see quiet progress in Iraq ... and fresh opportunities in Cyprus," Ban said.

Obama touted strides he has made since entering office, such as prohibiting torture, and listed four challenges the world should tackle: nuclear non-proliferation, the pursuit of peace, the preservation of the planet, and the global economic crisis. He, too, encouraged world unity.

"In this hall, we come from many places, but we share a common future," he said.

As for the vision of nuclear disarmament, Obama made reference to Iran and North Korea and their nuclear aspirations.

"If they are oblivious to the dangers of escalating nuclear arms races in both East Asia and the Middle East, then they must be held accountable."

In another address Wednesday morning, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva elaborated on the ongoing economic crisis, lack of democratic world governance and the threat of climate change.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran's controversial president, was scheduled to speak early Wednesday evening. An Israeli official has called on leaders to leave the General Assembly hall when he delivers his address.


"We call on world leaders to leave plenum when Ahmadinejad begins to rant and not give legitimacy to the most dangerous anti-Semite since Hitler," Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon posted on Twitter.

Others on the agenda Wednesday were French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown
courtesy of cnn.com

Welcome to America: Gadhafi at United Nations

Welcome to America: Gadhafi at United Nations

Shared via AddThis

The Nation of Islam Welcomes Muammar Gadhafi

The Nation of Islam Welcomes Muammar Gadhafi
By The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan | Last updated: Sep 22, 2009 - 9:54:55 AM



IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, THE BENEFICENT, THE MERCIFUL.


It is a great honor and privilege for me, the Nation of Islam, and others to welcome Brother Leader Muammar al-Gadhafi, Leader of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and President of the African Union to his first visit to the United States of America to address the 64th Opening Session of the United Nations.




The greatest of his efforts, in my humble opinion, has been to foster the idea of Marcus Garvey, George Padmore, Kwame Nkrumah and Gamal Abdel Nasser to move the independent states of Africa to form the United States of Africa, thus bringing Africa fully and powerfully into the 21st century as a major contributor on the World scene in all aspects of World Affairs

You may ask why we feel honored and privileged to welcome him; it is because ever since we have known him, he has been a friend of the struggle of Black people all over the World for true liberation.

In Brother Gadhafi's Green Book, he mentions the rise of Black people to positions of prominence, eminence and power in World Leadership. He has not only written and said this, he has put the scholarship and oil wealth of Libya behind, not only raising the standard of living of the 6 million Libyan people, but also has used the scholarship and wealth of Libya to raise the condition of the poor masses throughout the earth. By his charity and the guidance he has given to so many, he has proved that what comes from his pen and his lips is deeply rooted in his heart.

In 1971, he loaned the Nation of Islam under the Leadership of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad $3 million. That money allowed us to purchase the beautiful Greek Orthodox Church which became the National Headquarters of the Nation of Islam in Chicago.

In my effort to rebuild the Nation of Islam in accord with the Teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, Brother Gadhafi loaned the Nation of Islam $5 million for our economic development then forgave the loan. Then through the Islamic Call Society, the religious arm of Libya, sponsored one the largest Islamic conferences in America bringing Islamic scholars from all over the world to Chicago. The Islamic Call Society also sponsored two of our World Friendship Tours, which allowed us to visit over 53 countries. Brother Gadhafi was and is a true revolutionary who is still evolving towards the destiny that Allah (God) has for him.

The greatest of his efforts, in my humble opinion, has been to foster the idea of Marcus Garvey, George Padmore, Kwame Nkrumah and Gamal Abdel Nasser to move the independent states of Africa to form the United States of Africa, thus bringing Africa fully and powerfully into the 21st century as a major contributor on the World scene in all aspects of World affairs.

As you may know, in 1986 the most expensive assassination attempt in the history of the World was perpetrated against Muammar Gadhafi by the Government of the United States of America under the leadership of President Ronald Reagan. In that assassination attempt, he narrowly escaped, but his adopted daughter was killed and forty-one Libyans and other foreign nationals died in the bombing raids that took place in Tripoli and Benghazi.

There is no Nation that does not desire to have a friendly and meaningful relationship with the United States of America. A promise was made that if Brother Leader Gadhafi abandoned the idea of making Libya a nuclear power and agreed to pay reparations for the unfortunate loss of life of 270 persons in the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing that took place over Lockerbie, Scotland; the sanctions placed on Libya by the United States and the United Nations would be lifted. These negotiations took place under the administration of President George W. Bush.

Many of us that followed these events thought that Libya was made the “fall guy” for this unfortunate tragedy. America first said that the perpetrators of this act were from Iran, then they said Syria and lastly they focused on Libya. Two Libyan nationals were turned over to the World Court and were tried at the World Court in The Hague under Scottish law. One of the Libyan nationals was set free (Lamin Khalifah Fhimah) and, over the protest of many, Abdelbaset Ali Al-Megrahi was found guilty and spent the past eight years of his life in prison for a crime that most Libyans never believed he was guilty of.

From what I have learned, there have never been any negotiations for business or oil deals between Libya and England or Scotland that did not involve the potential release of Abdelbaset Al-Megrahi.

A few years ago Bulgarian nurses were accused of injecting Libyan children with the HIV/AIDS virus. Over four hundred Libyan children were injected. These nurses were tried in a Libyan court, found guilty and sentenced to death. The cry came up from the West: America, England and the European Union, petitioning Muammar Gadhafi not to put these nurses to death. Then, a request was made and pressure was applied to release them to serve time in a prison in their own country.

Libya released these nurses and I understand that while the plane was carrying them from Libya to Bulgaria, a new arrangement was made by Bulgarian authorities and these nurses were received with a heroes' welcome in Bulgaria and were set free not spending one single day in jail.

Abdelbaset Ali Al-Megrahi's life imprisonment was commuted for medical reasons by the Scottish Government and he was released and sent home to Libya to die. A great hue and cry came up from America and other places condemning the release of this Brother. The Obama administration joined in condemning the Scottish government's action apparently forgetting America's request under the Bush administration to release the Bulgarian nurses to their own country and release them from the penalty of death.

Brother Leader Muammar Gadhafi has shown that Libya is ready to take its place in the family of Nations as an equal and respected partner. The sanctions, to the best of my knowledge, have been lifted and a new era in the American-Libyan relationship is now emerging. There is much that America and Europe can offer to Libya and Africa, and there is much that Libya and Africa can offer to America and Europe in an atmosphere of mutual respect.

The emergence of Libya on the World stage is now a reality in that Libya is now serving on the United Nations Security Council and a Libyan diplomat is presiding over this year's General Assembly. Brother Gadhafi's insistence on Africa's becoming one great Nation with Africans in the Diaspora assisting in the development of Africa, is probably the greatest move that Brother Leader Gadhafi has made in his forty years of Leadership of Libya.

Libya is building anew. Libya is investing tremendous resources in the development of Africa and Libya is also seeking to invest in America. While Brother Gadhafi's visit to America may attract protestors, which is the right of any American to do, however, I hope it will also attract those of us who have honored and respected Brother Gadhafi over the years for his tireless efforts in Black liberation and the struggle of the masses.

On a personal note, years ago I told some revolutionary brothers in Africa that I too am a revolutionary but the revolution that I am concerned with is not fostered by the use of carnal weapons. The revolution that I was then involved in and am involved in now is fostered by the Divine Light found in the Bible and Holy Qur'an. There is no real revolution as long as we remain mentally enslaved by our former colonial and slave masters. We must be made new and that can only happen if the veil of ignorance is removed and replaced with that knowledge that will bring up a new idea and vision. This kind of revolution will change Africa and the World.

When Brother Gadhafi saw the work of the Nation of Islam in cooperation with other Black Leaders and organizations that produced the historic Million Man March, he offered to help our people with an infusion of capital to pursue those things that would be meaningful in the building of our communities.

In the book of Isaiah (61:4), it is written that we will rebuild the wasted cities. We the Blacks, the Hispanics, the Native Americans and the poor Whites live in the wasted parts of the American cities. Among us however, is the talent, energy, gifts, skills and will to rebuild the cities and make our neighborhoods decent places for all of us to live.

We hope that in the gathering of our best and brightest minds producing a workable and mutually agreeable plan that Libya will partner with us in rebuilding the wasted cities. This would create job opportunities for our young people and help us with international trade and commerce. This would allow us to build in the West and share the richness of the wisdom we have gained from our sojourn in America with our Brothers and Sisters on the African continent. Then, from both sides of the Atlantic, we might find ourselves through our noble work worthy to be respected among all the civilized societies on our planet.

Thank you for reading these words.

—The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan

FinalCall.com News

Libya's Qadhafi and Farrakhan in NYC next week

Libya's Qadhafi and Farrakhan in NYC next week



By NAYABA ARINDE
Amsterdam News Editor
Published: Thursday, September 17, 2009 2:22 PM EDT
Libyan leader Col. Muammar Qadhafi is coming to New York next week. It is an historic first visit for the man who has governed his country for 40 years. Nation of Islam leader Min. Louis Farrakhan, who will also be in town, is hailing the visit as a new dawn for American and Libyan politics, and a wonderful opportunity for the world to see and hear a man he said is a vital participant in the African Renaissance.

“We will just be on hand to welcome our brother, the leader of the African Union, on his first visit to the United States and to the United Nations, where I am sure he will make a major speech, ” said Farrakhan. While he told the AmNews that he had “no idea what [Qadhafi] will bring to the world” in terms of his speech, he knew it would be significant and relevant and on point, and be able to “dispel many of the ugly rumors. ” He roclaimed that despite propaganda to the contrary, Qadhafi has standing all over the world. “Under Bush, he was referred to in a very ugly way, and all the propaganda had Muammar Qadhafi looking like a person the American people would not want to know, ”said Farrakhan in an exclusive interview with the Amsterdam News. “He has been a leader of liberation movements throughout the world, but our government has supported many puppet regimes in Africa and Central and South America. Muammar Qadhafi is in his 40th year, the longest leader on the continent. ”

Supporting various liberation movements throughout the world did nothing to endear him to the West, the leader of the Nation of Islam determined, but he has established his reputation “and grown as a world leader in Africa and Central and South America. The last place for him to be received is the United States of America. ” What did he anticipate the reception to be? “I am sure that when people hear him on U. S. soil, most will admire him and will learn more about him and respect him. ”

Farrakhan is set to meet with Qadhafi, who will address the 192-nation U. N. General Assembly next week. In a grand spectacle in Tripoli last month, Libyan leader Col. Muammar Qadhafi observed the 40th anniversary of the bloodless coup that brought him to power. It was not diminished in the slightest by the Western nation brouhaha that accompanied the release of Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, the convicted Lockerbie bomber just released from prison because of his advanced prostate cancer. Following an opening speech from President Barack Obama, Muammar Qadhafi, leader of the Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Great Jamahiriya, will address the United Nations’ 64th General Session in New York next week. Libya’s reputation is undergoing a Western-okayed makeover. Hundreds of millions of dollars of natural resources struggling to let go of the Big Bogeyman portrayal of Qadhafi, which the oft-berated leader has been subjected to, the media here is having to report to factual changes.

To the chagrin of the West, for decades, Qadhafi has been front and center on numerous liberation movements, such as ones focused on freeing Nelson Mandela, the anti-Apartheid movement in South Africa and the continued Palestinian struggle. Relations with the West con- tinued to go south with sanctions that wracked the North African nation of Libya. And in 1986, President Ronald Reagan ordered a U. S. military offensive that killed Qadhafi’s young daughter. But politics and capitalism being what they are means the West has swallowed hard and gone-a-calling to Libya to exploit economic possibilities. Reportedly, lucrative contracts lost during the Reagan administration were picked up again under the administration of oilman President George W. Bush. Qadhafi’s handing over of Abdel Baset al-Megrahi after the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland and eventually agreeing to pay $2 billion in compensation to the 270 victims’ families began the slow process. Qadhafi agreeing to get rid of Libya’s weapons of mass destruction programs led to America deciding to make nice in 2006.

International sanctions were eased and diplomatic relations between Libya and the West were restored. Saeed Shabazz wrote in the September 10 edition of the Amsterdam News:“The Libyans have started a multi-billion dollar building program constructing 27 new universities, airports and seaports, holiday resorts and a massive nano-filtration Wall Street for investors. ”Plus, British Petroleum, for example has over $900 million invested in drilling for oil. Libya now has a seat on the 15-nation Security Council until year-end. And the next president of the General Assembly is Ali Abdessalam Treki, a former Libyan ambassador to the United Nations.

“The Libyan government has been voted onto the Security Council this year, and I’m sure the leader will be well received by most of the members of the General Assembly, ” said Farrakhan. This year, Qadhafi was elected chairman of the African Union. Farrakhan noted that, as such, “Not only does Muammar represent the Libyan government and nation, he also represents the other 52 nations [in Africa].”

With rallies planned for next Tuesday, September 22 (48th Street at Third Avenue, 11:30 a.m.) and Wednesday 23 September 23 (United Nations, 47th Street at Second Avenue, 8:30 a. m. ), supporters, and perhaps some not so friendly faces, are expected to gather in Mid-town next week. Minister Farrakhan stated, “[The] American people have a right to protest his presence, but we know that hundreds, maybe thousands, will welcome him. He has been a friend to the Black community in general, and the Muslim community and the Nation of Islam in particular. Our friendship goes back almost as long as he has been a leader. ”

Farrakhan told the Amsterdam News that Qadhafi knew the late Elijah Muhammad, leader of the Nation of Islam, and that for years throughout his extended relationship with the NOI, he had “helped me, ” including appointing him the deputy commander of the World(WIPL). Farrakhan praised Qadhafi’s persistence in helping to bring into existence the African Union and working diligently towards creating the United States of Africa, first inspired by Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first president, who himself was influenced by Marcus Mosiah Garvey and his Back-to-Africa Movement.

The African Union replaced the 38-year-old Organization of African Unity. “Muammar took the idea of forming the African Union a little over 10 years ago and urged African leaders to consider marching towards a United States of Africa. [In July 2002] the African Union was formed, and many of us are moving steadily but slowly towards the United States of Africa. We have to give Muammar Qadhafi credit for that movement because not only did he spearhead it, but he put much of Libya’s oil wealth behind it. ” Qadhafi follows other African leaders in the belief that the development of an United States of Africa is possible and necessary for the survival and progress of the continent and the Diaspora, and for Africans at home and abroad to reach their fullest potential.

The Chicago-based leader stressed, “Muammar Qaddafi is a leading partner in the rest of the world. It has been to the advantage of some in America to keep from the American people the understanding of Muammar Qadhafi [and his significance] in the African Renaissance. ” Farrakhan said that the hear from the man himself might lend some clarity to what has been reported over the years.

There were the sanctions, he said, the bombing that killed Qadhafi’s daughter and the bringing down of flight Pan Am 103, “which they first said was Iran, then Syria, and then they settled on Libya. The sanctions which lasted 10 years or more caused great suffering for the Libyan people. Under the Bush administration, an agreement was worked out and Libya paid the Lockerbie families huge sums of money. Sanctions were lifted and relations between Tripoli and Washington [are improving]. ”

Libya desires American investment and America is eager to give it. Farrakhan predicted that Qadhafi’s visit next week should go some way to “dispel many of the ugly rumors. ” He concluded that the new Democratic government brings optimism to the probability of the dawn of productive relations that had previously been strained, saying, “President Obama is not only the hope of the 53 nations in Africa, but I read that 70 percent of the Europeans that disliked the policy of G. W. Bush are in favor of the positions [he has taken] as the president of the United States. ” As he himself prepares to meet with President Qadhafi in New York City, Min. Louis Farrakhan said, “We are hoping that under President Barack Obama, Libya can come more into the sunlight. The Obama administration can be a great help in this. ”
Posted by JUST-US at 3:51 PM

The Crucifixion of Van Jones

The Cruxifiction of Van Jones
by Jasiri X




Yall know I’m a Media Literist. (Yeah I went Keith Murray on that one.) So when Glenn “Looney Tunes” Beck started to take shots at Van Jones I watched the situation very closely. Of course Van’s old group which he co-founded but is no longer associated, Color of Change set it off on Beck costing him almost 60 advertisers and almost his job, but these Right Wing dudes do not lay down.

Beck came out swinging with the heavy lumber, and because he’s at Fox News the story just doesn’t end with him no matter how ridiculous. Once it gained traction Sean Hannity jumped in and then Bill O’ Riley now you got a digital rumble. But instead of coming to his aid the White House let him fight it out himself. (I guess that’s what you call tough love.) When I woke up Sunday Morning and found out Van had resigned I was VERY upset.

What made me so mad was Van was the closes thing to having ya partna in the White House. Now I don’t know him personally but I do know he’s a activist straight from the Hood, and everything Fox hatin on him for made him that much more real in my eyes. Plus even with his activist street cred brother has a law degree from Yale and some of the most innovative ideas to help heal our community. That being said I’ve had about enough of Fox News lynching black men (primarily) and all people who speak truth to power. I mean Michael Jacksoncouldn’t even catch a break! So since Fox is breakin out the big guns so am I, and yes I tried my best to wait to September 29 which is the This Week With Jasiri X Season 3 Premiere but I couldn’t let another brother get crucified and remain silent.

Strong Shout Out to Paradise Gray who was behind the camera and Track Fiends Production for the hot beat!

Jasiri X

In closing folks may wanna peep this speech that Van gave at the Powershift Summit in front of ten thousand people. He recieved a thunderous standing ovation. This was right before he was appointed to the White House

Serial killer targets Black women

LOS ANGELES (FinalCall.com) - Two days after Barbara Ware turned 23, she was shot in the heart and her body dumped in an alley.

More than twenty years later, her family, including her now 26-year-old daughter, learned Barbara was the victim of a serial killer targeting women in South Los Angeles. The killings have been going on for over 20 years, but police responses were lackluster and important information wasn't shared or was shared years later, activists complain. They say the failures point to a lack of concern about the lives of Black women.

“She (Barbara) was murdered in January 1987 and the police kept in touch the first year, but then nothing. What was so disturbing about the situation is after we talked to the police, they ensured us they would stay in touch with us about what was going on. The next thing I'm watching TV about this 911 tape concerning Barbara's death,” recalled her stepmother Diana Ware.

Someone had called in the night Barbara was murdered saying they saw a person dumping her body, but according to Ms. Ware, the police never informed her family, until after the LA Weekly wrote about the death last year.

Barbara would be one of 11 people killed, 10 women and one man, by a lone suspect who struck within a 40-mile radius over three time periods between 1985 and 2007. One woman survived his murder attempt in 1988.

According to police, the suspect is a Black male and his victims, at least those that have been documented so far, include Debra Jackson, killed in 1985; Henrietta Wright (1986); Thomas Steele (1986); Bernita Sparks (1987); Mary Lowe (1987); Alicia Alexander (1988); Lachrica Jefferson (1988); Princess Berthomieux (2002); Valerie McCorvey (2003); and Janecia Peters (2007).

“We were absolutely outraged that they waited until 11 women were already dead to even announce that a serial murderer was operating,” said Margaret Prescod, founder of the Black Coalition Fighting Serial Murders. When she and about four other Black women went to the LAPD for more information and to hold the authorities accountable, Ms. Prescod said they were told don't worry. She and the women were told there is nothing to worry or fear; if they weren't hookers because “he's only killing prostitutes,” Ms. Prescod said police told her.

The women didn't give up. They pressed police to rename the case the Southside Slayer instead of Prostitute Killer and as the coalition grew and tracked down some victims' families, it found out the women weren't prostitutes, Ms. Prescod continued.

One victim was a night duty nurse, another one was a PBX operator for the Los Angeles Times and several of the victims were mothers.

“To us it didn't matter if the women were sex workers or not, their lives had value. They were somebody's daughter and that didn't mean anybody should be out there murdering them and that the LAPD should have such disrespect for the lives of Black women that they're going to wait until 11 are dead. ... Everybody knew if the same thing had happened in Beverly Hills, or any other darned place, the response would be different,” Ms. Prescod said.

After the coalition held weekly vigils in front of LAPD headquarters, distributed about 150,000 fliers door-to-door and people and the media started to take interest in the murders, police offered a $35,000 reward, according to Ms. Prescod.

The killer was renamed the Grim Sleeper by a reporter for the LA Weekly, who helped to uncover how Ms. Peters' death was linked to the others.

Despite current rewards from $50,000 to half a million dollars for anyone with information leading to the killer, not enough evidence has turned up to catch the murderer.

At one point, the police arrested one of their own, a Black officer in the Sheriff's elite division by the name of Ricky Ross. Police charged him with three of the 11 murders, held a press conference announcing the arrest—but several days later released him because of insufficient evidence.

A short time later Mr. Ross, who had maintained that he was innocent and was being framed by police, died but the murders continued.

Loved ones of the victims and activists charged that police let opportunities to crack the case slip away. According to Detective Paul Coulter, a member of the current five-member task force, the case is still progressing. The early murders were linked through ballistics, he said, and the 2002-2003 and 2007 murders were linked through DNA.

“This guy's targeting people on the streets. Most of our girls have had issues with narcotics or prostitution, so it's not so much that he's creeping around, taking innocent mothers off the street. We suggest people just use caution when they're out,” Det. Coulter told The Final Call.

Family members of victims held a meeting with task force investigators to determine what else they didn't know, like police had a composite sketch of the suspect but have never released it. And the 911 tape about Barbara Ware's murder existed in the 1980s—but wasn't made public until earlier this year.

According to Atty. Nana Gyamfi, of Human Rights Advocacy, no one is completely sure when the murders first began but police have said there are an additional 33 murders that cannot conclusively be linked to the Grim Sleeper.

“They have a sketch that was done back in 1988 and that is something that normally you get out everywhere. You think about the Craig's List killer, and how they had pictures of him and his head was always down or turned to the side. They didn't care. They put that mess up and said if you have any information let us know,” she said.

There were also descriptions of two vehicles used by the suspect, a “souped up” orange Pinto with stripes on the side and a church van that was used to dump Barbara Ware's body.

“It's the difference between the valuing of Black life versus the valuing of White life. Clearly if these were White women, as opposed to being Black women, especially if these were White women sort of in the working class, there would be an all-out onslaught. It would be national news ... whether or not they were prostitutes,” said Atty. Gyamfi.

She pointed out that the Craig's List victims were sex workers, who advertised prostitution on the Internet, but they weren't blamed for the attacks and their prostitution was not held out as a negative. “Their prostitution was treated like it was a regular job and it was made clear that this man did not have the right to kill these women based upon their job description. So with Black women it should be no different,” Atty. Gyamfi said.

(The Black Coalition Fighting Serial Murders has established a hotline for anyone with tips involving any of the 12 murders: (323) 221-1698, or email info@blackcoalitionfightsback.org; www.blackcoalitionfightsback.org.)