Benjamin Zephaniah Brings Poetry to Our Hearts
Guest Author: Dorothy Johnson-Laird Twitter: @MusicIntoWords Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/African-Music-Into-Words In July at Club Inégales, in London, Benjamin Zephaniah woke up the crowd with his poetry. Like a fire cracker going off in the night sky, within minutes, he can shift from humor, to anger, to poignancy and have the audience journey with him. This is a master at work. A Dub poet of Jamaican descent, he performs with reggae music or often inspired by its rhythm. He uses words to affect people’s consciences. He engages audiences worldwide on questions of identity, justice and what it means to be a Black…
Iran Warned the USA on Chemical Weapons, TCSM Claims
In a letter obtained by The Christian Science Monitor (TCSM) that was sent to the USA officials, Iran has been warning Washington since July 2012 that Sunni rebel fighters have acquired chemical weapons, and called on the US to send “an immediate and serious warning” to rebel groups not to use them. Iran claims that it warned the United States directly, in mid- and late- 2012, and at least once after that, about the risks of chemical weapons among the rebels. The letter references messages from July 18 and December 1, 2012. Tehran Times also reports on the letter, claiming…
LIARS & TIGERS & BULL***T, OH MY: THE TROUBLE WITH SYRIA IS….
“……there’s always a belief, a want, a need to believe that when there’s a problem in the world, there is an ‘America’ button we can press to solve it”. – Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) Disclosure: this will meander. Let me preface with a little “I’m a progressive” and a lot of “I support the President” with a dash of “most of the time” sprinkled with some “no, I don’t think it’s okay to have innocents gassed by a madman” and just a hint of “……however” – or something like that. I was one of those insane Obama groupies in 2008…
We Are Relocating!
Dear readers, We are relocating! The Progressive Press will be closed until September 20, 2013. Founder and publisher Emine Dilek is moving to Madrid, Spain and the magazine will be based in Madrid, starting September of this year. We will resume our publishing in September, and continue to present the latest news and information the USA mainstream media refuse to cover. Thank you for your continuing interest and attention to our stories and news. And, thank you for your patience. See you in September! The Progressive Press Team
Al-Qaeda to Announce an Islamic State in Syria, FSA Claims
Al-Qaeda is about to announce an Islamic State in northern Syria, says a senior figure in the Free Syrian Army (FSA), according to a report in Asharq Al-Awsat. Asking to remain anonymous, the source said the time for the announcement was confirmed to be the first day of Eid, at the end of Ramadan which is August 7, 2013. The report continues that the source claimed implementation of this plan started with the killing of FSA commander Kamal Hamami, Fadi El-Qash and his brother last week, as reported by Progressive Press. More assassinations of the FSA officers and key figures…
Juries in America: Myths and Facts
Law and justice often collide. Jury trials are the foundation of the American legal system. For more than 200 years, we have expected them to hear testimony, evaluate evidence, and deliver justice. Once again, our schools have failed us. That’s not their job. The U.S. Constitution refers to juries four times: Article III, Section 2, Clause 3 requires that “The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury; and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the Trial shall…
Al-Qaeda Kills Free Syrian Army Commander (Video)
Free Syrian Army (FSA) commander Kamal Hamami, also known as Abu Basir al-Ladkani, was shot dead following a meeting with the Al-Qaeda militants in the Syrian port city of Latakia on July 11th. Also a Supreme Military Council member, Hamami was meeting with members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) , FSA spokesman Qassem Saadeddine informed Reuters. Spokesman added that ISIL, an Al Qaeda affiliate in Syria, has threatened to kill all of the group’s senior commanders. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group is the umbrella organization for a long list of insurgency…
Here’s Why The Zimmerman Verdict Matters
What does the George Zimmerman Verdict really mean? Putting aside the racial aspect for a moment, there is a much greater impact from the Zimmerman verdict. Due to the Stand Your Ground laws in Florida and other states, it is increasingly common for an armed man to shoot and kill an unarmed person and go free without ever standing trial. Local prosecutors complain that it’s far more difficult to file charges against shooting suspects because the law says they only have to claim they felt “threatened” by their victim to justify the shooting. If the only other person involved in…
Kyrgyzstan Ends Lease of USA Military Base, as Russia Promises more Aid
Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced that Russia is going to start sending $1 billion in weapons to Kyrgyzstan this year, as part of a bilateral armed forces assistance program. This announcement appears to be an acceleration of earlier plans. On June 25th, Shoigu Moscow said Russia would begin supplying weapons and other military equipment to Kyrgyzstan in 2014. Just a few days before Shoigu’s announcement, on June 3rd, Kyrgyzstan government agreed it would sell its shares in the Soviet-legacy Dastan torpedo factory to Russian investors. Kommersant, Russian newspaper, reported that the Kyrgyzstan government’s spokesperson said Russian investors would be…
Separation of Church and State: Myths and Facts
The Founders Tried to Protect Us From Religious Extremists America’s founders deliberately kept god out of the Constitution because they didn’t want a theocracy. But many Americans now try to force all of us to practice their faith, and prevent some from practicing different faiths. Nothing is more un-American. James Madison and Gouverneur Morris wrote our Constitution from scratch in 1787, using pen and paper. There had never before been such a document. They could have put anything they wanted into it. They chose not to use the words “god”, “Christ”, “Christian”, or “Jesus” anywhere in it. They chose not…
Apple Found Guilty of Price Fixing
Apple has been found guilty of a conspiracy to fix the price of eBooks, after a court battle with the US Department of Justice. The company could be forced to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in damages, after it failed to explain the emails written by its late founder, Steve Jobs, about price negotiations with eBook publishers. In one of the emails, Mr Jobs wrote to the deputy chief operating officer of News Corp, Mr Murdoch, that they had an opportunity to “create a real mainstream e-books market at $12.99 and $14.99″. In another message which was drafted but…
Russian Supreme Court Upholds Ban on Muslim Hijab in Schools
RT reports that a branch of Russia’s Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by a group of Muslims for the right of schoolgirls to wear traditional religious attire, specifically the hijab, in classrooms. The controversy over the hijab started in October, 2012, when a head teacher of a school in the village of Kara-Tyube in Russia’s Stavropol region banned five Muslim girls from attending classes while wearing a hijab. Several Muslim girls of different ages were told they would not be allowed to enter the school unless they took off their hijabs. School principal Marina Savchenko said that wearing a…
Syrian Opposition Forces are Terrorists, Barzani Says
According to a new report on Alsumaria TV, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki and Iraqi Kurdistan Region’s president Massoud Barzani both confirmed that the weapons given to Syrian opposition groups end up in Al Qaida’s hands and are being used in Al Qaeda’s activities inside Iraq. Speaking at a press conference held on July 7, together with Iraq’s Kurdistan Region’s president Massoud Barzani, Al Maliki added, “We looked into the Syrian crisis which is the cause of the Syrian people and not that of other countries. The weapons certain countries are providing to the radical Syrian opposition; especially that…
Texas Twisters, Taunting Twerps and the Terrible Twos
If State Senator Wendy Davis’ 11-hour Texas filibuster in the defense of every woman in all 50 states means anything, it is that reason, reach and well-regulated rage can combine as a bulwark against the stupidity, misogyny and perfidy practiced in most state house GOP caucuses these days. And like always, Texas does everything bigger. So then, let’s take a gander at the dust-up and what it means for women’s privacy in general, Rick Perry’s future in specific, and the good and evil lurking in all 50 little constitutional laboratories we call states. That Ain’t No Way to Treat a…
Uyghur Militants are Fighting in Syria, China Claims
Clashes in recent months have killed at least 56 people in Xinjiang, a region that has long been home to a simmering rebellion against Chinese rule among parts of the Muslim Uyghur population. China’s state media claims some Uyghurs are being trained in Syria and blames the violence on “terrorism, extremism and separatism”. According to a report in Radio Free Asia, Chinese government decided to beef up security following a meeting of the ruling Chinese Communist Party chaired by President Xi Jinping, indicating concerns among the top leadership over the rising violence in Xinjiang ahead of the anniversary of riots…
Islamic Militants Set Children on Fire in Nigeria
Armed Islamic militants have killed 29 students and an English teacher in an attack on a boarding school before dawn Saturday, in the deadliest attack yet on schools in Nigeria’s embattled northeast. Militants doused a dormitory in fuel and lighting it ablaze as students slept, survivors said. The attack thought to be conducted by members of the Boko Haram sect, whose name means “’Western education is sacrilege”. Boko Haram which controls an area 143 miles away in Maiduguri city, capital of neighboring Borno state, has been behind scores of attacks on schools in the past year. Survivors being treated for…
Bolivia May Close the US Embassy (Video)
On July 2nd, Bolivian Air Force One, with the country’s President Evo Morales in it, was forced to make a u-turn over Europe after it was apparently barred from flying through French, Portuguese, Italian and Spanish airspace following suspicions that US fugitive Edward Snowden was on board. President Evo Morales claims the US pressured European countries to deny the plane flyover permission, after the Bolivian president said casually in Moscow that if Snowden was to apply for asylum, his case would be considered. According to the BBC, Mr Morales said: ‘My hand would not shake to close the US embassy….
Read the Declaration of Independence
An Act of Treason; Not a Law The Declaration of Independence was more a process than a moment in history. This act of treason against an empire sparked the Revolutionary War and, eventually, the United States of America. It is not, and has never been, a law, but it is worth reading. This week, Americans celebrate the Declaration of Independence with picnics, parades, and fireworks. In the movie National Treasure, Nicholas Cage’s character steals the Declaration from the National Archives in order to protect it from the real bad guys. It’s a good movie, but it never really explains what…
Egyptian Military’s Statement: Transcript Translated by Al Jazeera
The statement from Abdul Fatah Khalil al-Sisi, head of Egyptian Armed Forces, announcing the overthrow of President Morsi. The Egyptian Armed Forces first declared, is still declaring and will always declare that it stands distant from political forces. The Armed Forces, based on its insightfulness, has been called by the Egyptian people for help, not to hold the reins of power, yet to discharge its civil responsibility and answer demands of responsibility. This is the message received by the EAF and heard in all of the country. In turn this call was heeded by the EAF, and it has understood…
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