I somehow missed this recent (and bizarre) story about how a pan-African nationalist group called the International People's Democratic Uhuru Movement is circulating petitions in Trinidad calling the police shooting of Trey Joyner a "murder."
Currently an FBI investigation of the shooting is underway, but no conclusions have yet been reached.
26 comments:
Isn't Uhuru the name of a woman on Star Trek?!
'Uhuru' is a Swahili word for freedom.
The "International Peopl'ss[sic] Democratic Uhuru Movement (InPDUM)" is an organization seeking "Reparations and Independence" for the black community. It was founded in 1991 in Chicago by the African People's Socialist Party. They also seek "to win self determination for African people within U.S. borders and elsewhere." (As long as it's paid for by someone else apparently) According to their web-site (interesting reading it is...) they believe "...our task ultimately is not to win relief through the achievement of democracy within U.S. society but to struggle against and overthrow this colonial, bourgeois democracy that holds us in bondage." They also seem to take issue with the "...the U.S. white nationalist school system ..." and are upset that "...this war against African people takes the form of government imposed drugs in their communities and the so-called 'war on drugs,' 'war on crime' & 'war on terror' which has inflicted African communities with martial law, taking away every democratic right that was won in the 60's." Although they don't really elaborate on what rights won in the 60's have been lost, they do demand "the withdrawal of the police and all special, paramilitary, armed forces who, under the guise of fighting against drugs, gangs, crime, and immigration, actually constitute an occupying army in the African community..."
Uhura is the name of the chief communications officer in the original Star Trek series, played by Nichelle Norris.
Enlightened is right about 'uhuru' being a Swahili word. I wonder if 'Uhura' is an appropriate Swahili name. Is there a male name that comes from 'uhuru' too?
Googling her name reveals that the character's first name is "Nyota", derived from a Swahili word meaning "star." So she's literally "Star Freedom." (Nichelle apparently approved the first name too.) See http://encyclopedia.wizards.pro/index.php/Uhura
But see also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uhura regarding her first name. So the story behind the first name doesn't seem to have been verified.
And I was not able to find whether "Uhura" is an actual Swahili name. From the Wikipedia entry, it looks like that the name was an invention of Roddenberry's (Star Trek creator) who saw a book Nichelle was carrying around: Black Uhuru (can't find book info online). When she explained what 'Uhuru' meant, Roddenberry came up with 'Uhura'.
This is the most ridiculous group.
Although they don't really elaborate on what rights won in the 60's have been lost, they do demand "the withdrawal of the police and all special, paramilitary, armed forces who, under the guise of fighting against drugs, gangs, crime, and immigration, actually constitute an occupying army in the African community..."
Hmm. Where is "the African community" exactly. I'm sure most of my black neighbors are happy to know the InPDUM has got their back.
:)
...founded in 1991 in Chicago by the African People's Socialist Party..."
Ha!
"I hate Illinois Nazis" -- Jake Blues
Wow. This is exactly the type of group that Trinidad's black residents should want to associate with from an image standpoint. Kudos!
All kidding aside, I hope these people are being turned away and laughed out of the neighborhood by all involved.
There is ALOT of Labeling going on... Which really defeats the purpose of solving problems and coming together....
you all are being ridiculous. it has been common practice to assume the guilt of the accused in high profile media cases for decades now. there's even a handy phrase for it: "trial by media". this is far from a new phenomena. and every time a crime hits the news, there will ALWAYS be a group of people ready to assume the guilt of the accused party before any investigation is concluded (and even after any investigation is concluded). this is a phenomena that occurs amongst the left wing, the right wing, the apolitical, and everyone not in the above.
this is no different than all the folks who assumed the atlanta olympics bombing suspect was guilty before he was even arraigned. nothing to see here.
Oh be reasonable,
I dont think the issue here is that they are petitioning for something that the FBI is already doing and have already drawn their own conclusions.
I think the issue here is that we have nut cases walking around our neighborhood asking people to sign on to their nonsense. Since when does socialism have anything to do with neighborhood crime? And the FBI are already investigating. AND where the hell did these people come from anyway? Out of nowhere they come when police are trying to protect our neighborhood, but where were they last year when Black were shooting each other in the streets? As another poster said earlier - i hope they get laughed out of the neighborhood.
as a Trekker I have to point out that Nichelle Nichols played Uhura while Nichelle Norris is a reporter for NPR
As a listener to NPR, I have to point out that Michele Norris is a reporter for NPR (actually a host of All Things Considered). I have no idea who Nichelle Norris is.
As someone who hates both star trek and npr I have no idea who Nichelle or Michelle Norris is.
who hates npr? what's wrong with you?!?
what about kojo???
OK I like Kojo. His smooth reassuring voice makes me feel as if everything will be alright. It's just that Noah Adams and vile Linda Wertheimer that I hate with a passion.
Another NPR-hater here.
Kojo's ok when he talks about wine, or general lifestyle issues. But whenever he delves into politics, he slips into his default "centrist-bullshit" mode. He's a distillation of everything that's wrong with the NPR worldview.
As we all know, the best possible idea always lies *exactly* at the center-point between the current positions of the American political parties, and NPR hews to that philosophy with a vengeance--especially after Ken Thomlinson and CPB's very public ideological smack-down in the mid-2000s.
NPR is essentially the BBC for smug suburbanites who don't *want* to be challenged, or exposed to uncomfortable information.
From Diane Rheme's on-the-one-and-on-the-other-handism, to Ira Fladow's affected scientific illiteracy, NPR is pablum for the Middlebrow Mind, masquerading as infotainment. Hell, the most intelligent, thought-provoking commentary and original *reporting* broadcast on NPR affiliates is heard on "This American Life"--which is *not* even an NPR product.
It's no wonder the quality of American discourse is so impoverished, with NPR serving as the gold-standard of public thought. Hell, you could broadcast repeats of "All Songs Considered" 24 hours a day, and the only impact that would be felt in American society would be that middle-class dinner party conversations would be slightly less predictable, and American's musical taste slightly more eclectic.
Michele Norris, not Nichele; Diane Rehm, not not Rheme. Ira Flatow, not Fladow. Thankfully, none of you tried to spell Kojo's last name.
What a groups of dolts.
Michele Norris, not Nichele; Diane Rehm, not not Rheme. Ira Flatow, not Fladow. Thankfully, none of you tried to spell Kojo's last name.
Ah, right.
Because the inability to spell the given names of minor celebrities who you're completely apathetic too, whose domain is radio, and who you have little respect for, is an excellent measure of intelligence.
I'm not sure how to spell Brittany Spears' middle name either. Given your love for the cast of mediocrities on NPR, I'm sure you think she's one of our foremost living composers, so take my lack of knowledge for what it's worth.
Damn, make that "britney spears". I feel so woefully uninformed.
Ha, ha, NPR sucks! ibc, always love your commentary but you forgot about the smug urbanite elitists who carry their NPR mugs onto the metro and slap their NPR stickers on their 1974 Volvos next to their free Leonard Peltier stickers. These folks are screaming” Look at me I’m so above everyone else, I’m empowered, I’m informed, I’m middleclass”. Reminds of a song lyrics from the Dead Kennedy's "Some day I'll have power, Some day I'll have boats, A tract in some suburb With Thanksgivings to host". All thing NOT Considered.
It isn't about NPR; it's about being accurate. Attempting to instruct everyone on your idiotic opinion by making statements chocked full of errors makes it clear you have no idea what you are talking about.
misspelling names does not invalidate an opinion
if it did, every newspaper in the country would be worthless, as a casual perusal through any given week's worth of corrections columns will often uncover at least one incorrectly spelled name or a misnamed source (Bob Smith where it should be John Smith, etc).
In any case, I agree with IBC about NPR towing the centrist line a bit too religiously. I wouldn't mind seeing a bit more ruckus over there, but that's just my inner child/anarchist speaking, probably.
as far as the petition goes, what are they petitioning for, exactly? anyone know? do they want the OAG to file murder charges? that's a long shot, for sure. especially without a homicide investigation and all.
after reading the post article, i am still unclear about what is being petitioned for, exactly. am i correct in believing they want a homicide investigation opened up? that's what i glean from the article. did i read too much into the minimal info there?
as a side note, what are the park police assigned to protect? and why do they have police powers throughout the district, when one would expect them to be protecting parks?
UPDATE: Upon further research, I just wanted to point out that both the Diane Rehm and Kojo Nambdi shows' theme music sound like the soundtrack for "white priviledge" and "upper middle-class complacency" respectively.
Kojo's particularly sounds like mood music for asexual middle Americans. Wacka waaah....
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