If you haven’t heard of Max Roach then you haven’t heard real jazz. He played with all of the greats - Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker and Dizzy to name a few. Max was truly one of the greatest jazz drummers of all time. He was among the first drummers to get bebop right. Max Roach dead at age 83.
I’m sure that Elton who is my Jazz guru will have more to say about him later.
I read somewhere within the last couple of months about Jena, La. I have spent a lot of time in Monroe and Shreveport Louisiana. I have driven thru but not really stopped in most of the small towns in central Louisiana. In spite of what the papers say not much has changed in small towns in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama or Georgia. Many of those folks have lived there for generations.
Anyway, what I remember reading had to do with a tree that Whites only were allowed to sit under. I thought that was crazy but the story gets more racist and more unlawful. Please watch the video. Remember we live in America and this is the year 2007.
Democracy Now had the story about a month ago. They seem to have a nose for injustice and shines their spotlight on it.
Please write to Jena 6 Defense Committee, PO Box 2798, Jena, La 71342 or email - jena6defense@gmail.com
Houston has been hit with a lot of rain today. The rain comes from former Tropical Storm Erin. Erin is no longer a named storm.
Our local TV stations have broken into regular programming to show flooded areas. They might tell you it is a public service. I’m less certain of the motives.
I wonder sometimes if local TV stations create tropical weather systems in secret labs and then dump them into the atmosphere.
These stations sure do get hyped-up over bad weather. They have super-double, triple-action, four-squared Doppler Radar systems to tell us what is on the way.
With Hurricane Dean likely to enter the Gulf of Mexico next week, our local affiliates in Houston will be in full hype mode.
I’ll have a ton to say about Jose Padilla a little later, now.
Update: (video added) This is what Democrats and Progressives have been screaming for 5 or more years. We don’t need indefinite detentions. We don’t need secret prisons. (Padilla was subjected to solitary confinement for 2 - 3 years. During that time he had no access to family or a lawyer.) Do a good job and gather evidence. Then have faith in the justice system. Yes, the system has problem. No, it isn’t perfect then again neither are we. Glenn Greenwald has a great post.
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From CNN.com:
The jury in the Jose Padilla terror trial has found the American guilty of conspiracy to support Islamic terrorism overseas. Jose Padilla was originally accused of planning a “dirty bomb” attack in the U.S.
Padilla’s two co-defendants, Adham Hassoun and Kifan Jayyousi, were also found guilty on the three counts as charged: conspiracy to murder, kidnap, and maim people in a foreign country, conspiracy to provide material support for terrorists, and providing material support for terrorists.
The verdict came after less than two days of deliberations, according to a U.S. District Court official.
Here’s the difference between Democrats and Republicans. We both love this country but Dems …
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From CNN.com:
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden told a crowd at the Iowa State Fair Thursday that his son will be deployed to Iraq.
Beau Biden, Delaware’s attorney general, is a captain in the Army National Guard. His unit has been notified that it should be prepared to deploy in 2008.
“He’ll go…I don’t want him going,” the Delaware senator told the crowd. “But I don’t want my grandsons or granddaughters going back in 15 years. So how we leave makes a big difference.” (more…)
Errington C. Thompson, MD, is a surgeon, scholar, fulltime sports fan and part-time political activist. He is active in a number of community projects and initiatives. Through medicine, he strives to improve the physical health of all he treats...
