imperialists ruin everything

an understatement, of course... but this is so yuck! a tiny spy drone in the form of a fake hummingbird...

**

so, in honor of the chuparosas de verdad, and the anti-imperialists everywhere, here are some sweet lines from neruda’s oda al picaflor:

oh
mínimo
relámpago
viviente,
cuando se
sostiene
en el aire
tu
estructura
de polen,
pluma
o brasa,
te pregunto,
¿qué cosa eres,
en dónde
te originas?




**

and silvio’s version of colibrí y la flor. he explains in the introduction that this is the song his mother would sing as a lullaby, and he believes this is the song from which all his other songs come...




and for good measure here also is duo guardabarranco's colibrí...




¡a la chingada with mechanical counter-insurgency animals of any kind!

wyclef ridiculousness

looks like wyclef might be disqualified from the haitian presidential elections after all. i had been wanting to post about what utter mierda his candidacy is...

but lenin's tomb already did it for me:

... Promising to be the country's Obama, he claims to represent the "voice of the youth". Well, we'll see about that. The election process is sufficiently corrupt that, while the most popular party (Famni Lavalas) is banned from participating, a non-resident may well be allowed to participate against election rules. Wyclef Jean is an ideal candidate for the Obama administration, because his record is one of outright support for American imperialism in Haiti. He attacked the elected president Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and supported the death squad 'rebels' that overthrew him. He has continued to support the brutal MINUSTAH occupation, on the grounds that it must contain the 'gangs' (there are gangs, but his associates are involved in them - he's referring to Lavalas). He has schmoozed with Bill Clinton and Ban Ki moon, and the usual array of corporate philanthropists and entrepreneurs. His charity, Yele Haiti, is crooked, though it has made him a small fortune in charges for services rendered.

The only election in Haiti that could possibly be legitimate would be one in which Famni Lavalas was a fully legal participant, and Jean-Bertrand Aristide their presidential candidate.

**

and mykel archie already drew it for me (thanks to kiilu for passing it along):



**

nothing much else to say really, except that more than 6 months after the earthquake haiti is still under military occupation, and democratic popular forces there still need our solidarity! so let's give some please!!

xip xop oaxaca

nuestra libertad no se rebaja

no se rebaja

**

xip xop oaxaca : simón sedillo (featuring en pie de lucha)

screening & discussion with the film-maker.

friday, april 30th : 7pm

@ the ak press warehouse

674a 23rd street

oakland

**

oaxaca vivirá

oaxaca grita ¡ya!

no scabs!

dear bono,

why do you have to be such a jerk?

bad enough to promote western consumerism as a viable alternative to actual solidarity (or even direct charity) via the whole product (red) thing. ugh. now you are scheduled to play a concert in israel. seems you imagine yourself a great champion of justice & equality; if you choose to violate the international boycott of this apartheid state you will certainly have some explaining to do.

your comments in that latest nyt op-ed are truly ridiculous by the way. especially the whole viva la (nonviolent) revolución part, which proclaims a wish that: people in places filled with rage and despair, places like the Palestinian territories, will in the days ahead find among them their Gandhi, their King, their Aung San Suu Kyi.

are you kidding me? you are a rich white european pop star. it is not for you to say what kind of resistance movement palestinians should or should not build to fight the occupation of their lands, what kind of leaders they should or should not look to as their people are displaced, jailed, and killed daily. your remarks are patronizing at best, imperialist-apologist at worst. also, in case you haven't noticed, the israeli state is not so responsive to non-violence. armed or not, adults children or viejitos, they are prepared to slaughter palestinians regardless. you have got to be kidding me. ridiculous.

to begin to make amends for this illogical, ahistorical, and insulting statement, i suggest you cancel your concert immediately and abide by palestinian civil society's unambiguous call for a cultural boycott of the state of israel.

with ♥ for palestine,

diabólica

ps: you might also take a look at pacifism as pathology by ward churchill, which makes a very strong argument that no non-violent resistance movement in history has succeeded in winning significant concessions without an accompanying militant/armed/self-defense formation also active. being irish and all i would think you might know that.

**



foto: from kids on strike! (susan campbell bartoletti)

the pacbi open letter to bono posted at electonic intifada calls for him not to cross the picket line. i think that is great language to borrow from the labor movement, and it should be incorporated to all bds calls for boycott from now on! because it really is that basic... you either stand with oppression or you stand with the oppressed. with the bosses or with the workers. with palestine or with the murderous zionist israeli state. verdad que sí?

which side are you on? : dropkick murphys

thinking of you,

haiti.




foto: port-au-prince, haiti (1996)

the earthquake devastation in haiti is a natural disaster built upon many man-made disasters of the western imperialist kind. haiti is a republic born from a slave rebellion. the first country in latin america to win independence from europe! for centuries haitians have heroically resisted colonialism, neo-colonialism, dictatorships and more dictatorships; despite intense poverty and the most violent repression, haitian activists have been relentless in their fight for real democracy. they are truly among the bravest i have ever known.

**

solidaridad ahora! please consider a contribution to haitian earthquake relief. parnters in health & medecins sans frontieres are the most respected aid organizations in haiti. both have been working there for many years in the poorest communities and are widely respected by haitian activists.

que viva que viva que viva haití.

see also

ok, so i guess i'm kind of on a roll with all these recommendations. will return to regular programming here soon. but in the meantime there's the arab film festival in sf (& la), october 15th-25th. directed by michel shehadeh, it's really one of the best in the bay area (which has some film festival or other running at almost all times of year). ziad was on the jury for this year's awards. he highly recommends:

ein shams / eye of the sun : ibrahim el batout (egypt)



casanegra : nour-eddine lakhmari (morocco)



i will take him at his word & also throw in...

laila's birthday / eid milad laila : rachid mashrawi (palestine)



salt of this sea / milh hadha al-bahr : annemarie jacir (palestine)



...two very good films that are playing now which i've seen before.
ok ya, ándale pues.

nobel war prize

speaking of ineffectual, delusional, & apologist international "peace" entities, the nobel prize committee has awarded the peace prize to u.s. president barack obama.

some reflections on that...

afghanistan 2009:



iraq 2009:



palestine 2009:



fotos : posted at current tv, the independent, electronic intifada


search and destroy : iggy & the stooges



i'm a street walking cheetah with a heart full of napalm
i'm a runaway son of the nuclear a-bomb...
somebody gotta save my soul

¡invencible! desde el detroit, hasta la palestina...

the role of left cultural workers, as toni cade bambara put it, is to make revolution irresistible ...



art isn't really ever neutral, it always takes a side. because of hegemony.

cultural & intellectual work uphold, in the ideological realm, the interests of the ruling class. that's hegemony. or they oppose and undermine them, help to build the culture of resistance. hurray!! that's counter-hegemony! not a mirror, as brecht says, but a hammer... ¡éso!

**

so how do you then? make the revolution irresistible? well, you could start with some nice beats & solid rhymes, couldn't you? like this! here is detroit emcee invincible. check her out...

sledgehammer : invincible




and here's her latest. this video takes material from the al-jazeera commons & film of the lockdown at the israeli consulate in sf earlier this year (bien hecho, vanessa!). also includes design work from favi, jesus, & melanie. and hey! mp makes her music video debut as well, appropriately, agitating at a protest :)

the emperors clothes : invincible



these are the liner notes:

In January 2009, Israel launched an assault on the Gaza Strip, causing massive damage to civilian infrastructure, killing more than 1,300 Palestinians and wounding 5,300. Israel has held Gaza under siege, controlling the borders, air and water space, preventing even the most basic humanitarian goods from entering.

The Emperors Clothes is a call to action. One of the most effective strategies we can pursue right now is boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaigns (http://bdsmovement.net/) against Israel, as we demand an end to Israel's 60-plus years of occupation and war on Palestinian life.

**

... and here are a few fotos from that morning at the consulate:









¡abajo el apartheid! ¡arriba la resistencia del pueblo!
¡¡viva viva palestina!!

the young lords

yo quiero que mi borinquen sea libre y soberana
yo quiero que mi borinquen sea libre y soberana
porque la estrella de mi bandera no cabe en la americana
porque la estrella de mi bandera no cabe en la americana

i want my puerto rico to be sovereign and free
i want my puerto rico to be sovereign and free
because the star of my flag doesn't fit on the u.s. one
because the star of my flag doesn't fit on the u.s. one

la estrella sola : andrés jiménez



ah, lovely! the puertoriqueños have some of the best anti-colonial music!!

**

this summer is 40 years since the creation of the new york chapter of the young lords party. founded by revolutionary nationalists in the puerto rican diaspora, the young lords were a street gang which became a political organization first in chicago, then in new york and elsewhere. they ignited a proud moment in the legacy of the continuing fight for puerto rican self-determination, and liberation for all oppressed people.

if you're in new york, find the anniversary gathering today, sunday @ first hispanic methodist church @ 111th st and lexington in el barrio (for more on this church, aka "the people's church" see the second clip below).

these are clips from el pueblo se levanta which were excerpted & collected in commemoration of the ylp 40th anniversary:











and these are from the 1970 young lords party 13 point program & platform

1. We want self-determination for Puerto Ricans--Liberation of the Island and inside the United States. Que Viva Puerto Rico Libre!
2. We want self-determination for all Latinos. Que Viva La Raza!
3. We want liberation of all third world people. No Puerto Rican Is Free Until All People Are Free!
4. We are revolutionary nationalists and oppose racism. Power To All Oppressed People!
5. We want community control of our institutions and land. Land Belongs To All The People!
6. We want a true education of our Creole culture and Spanish language.
7. We oppose capitalists and alliances with traitors. Venceremos!
8. We oppose the Amerikkkan military. U.S. Out Of Vietnam, Free Puerto Rico!
9. We want freedom for all political prisoners. Free All Political Prisoners!
10. We want equality for women. Down with machismo and male chauvanism. Forward, Sisters, In The Struggle!
11. We fight anti-communism with international unity. Viva Che!
12. We believe armed self-defense and armed struggle are the only means to liberation. Boricua Is Awake! All Pigs Beware!
13. We want a socialist society. Hasta La Victoria Siempre!

**

and to go out ... a little ray barretto. la sangre nuestra ... indestructible! / our blood ... indestructible!

indestructible : ray barretto



richie pérez ¡presente!
pedro pietri ¡presente!
pa'lante ¡siempre!

mexico builds u.s. border wall

jajajaja jajajaja jajajaja


Mexico Builds Border Wall To Keep Out US Assholes

courtesy the onion (via james, of course:) ¡¡¡¡¡¡que viva méxico lindo y querido!!!!!

león gieco, ¿que te pasa?

sólo le pido a dios
que la guerra no me sea indiferente
es un monstruo grande y pisa fuerte
toda la pobre inocencia de la gente

**

all that i ask of god
is that the war not make me indifferent
it's a great monster that tramples
upon the fragile innocence of the people


:( ugh. mercedes sosa is one thing but león gieco???!! enemy of the dictadura & champion of the working class and occupied factories? composer of the sooo beautiful & popular anti-complicity anthem solo le pido a dios?

i almost could not believe it but yes, it's true. scheduled to play in israel next week. the call coming out of palestine is very clear: leon gieco, boycott israel! what the hell? thankfully, his fans are giving him a hard time about it as well. check out these comments that have been left on his website :) it's making me happy to read them.



viernes 10 de julio 2009

Leon: Hay un Gieco de antes y otro de despues. Hay un Leon de antes de su presentacion en Israel y otro Leon de despues. Hay un Gieco que canta sobre la memoria y otro Gieco que la pierde. Tu presentacion en Israel me decepciona, por todo lo que eso implica: violacion de derechos, masacres y que no... Con tu presentacion en Israel les estas dando tu consentimiento. Recapacita.

Angel

martes 7 de julio 2009

León, ¿cómo se entiende que vayas a cantar a la capital del estado GENOCIDA de Israel? Me pregunto sinceramente cómo puede salirte la voz estando ahí, con los todavía calientes cadáveres de 1400 palestinos que masacraron en ese campo de concentración que es Gaza. Si los nazis se vengaban matando 10 a 1, los de Israel son 10 veces peores que los nazis: matan 100 a 1. Habiendo una campaña mundial de BOICOT a Israel http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=87936 me pregunto nuevamente: ¿cómo se entiende lo tuyo? Contame entre los que empiezan hoy un boicot contra vos.

Daniel Robles, de Tucumán


martes 7 de julio 2009

Sólo pido a Dios que su viaje a Israel le de el coraje para denunciar las sistemáticas violaciones a los derechos humanos que ese Estado comete, no sólo contra un pueblo sometido y vejado como el palestino, sino también contra una minoría de israelíes de origen palestino.

Daniel


lunes 6 de julio 2009

Leon, qué te pasa hermano!!! cómo podés ir a cantar a Israel!!! Ponés los DERECHOS HUMANOS en tu sitio, en tu prédica, componés "Solo le Pido a Dios" y vas a cantar a un estado que VIOLA SISTEMÁTICAMENTE todos los derechos humanos del pueblo Palestino, les afana la tierra, les demuele los hogares o se los ocupa, los tortura, los mata como en Gaza cada dos o tres años, aplica el APARTHEID, construye un muro... y esto viene sucediendo desde 1948. León, Israel es uno de los principales fabricantes y vendedores de ARMAS del mundo. Vos tenés que separar el ser judío de ser pro-Israel o sionista. Que vayas a cantar a un Estado Apartheid y neo Nazi es una terrible contradicción con lo que decís ser.

Carlos


lunes 6 de julio 2009

Hola… he visto que pensas actuar en Israel... en un país invasor, opresor y genocida. Acaso pensas actuar también en Palestina?

Jorge


lunes 6 de julio 2009

Estimado León, he leído la noticia de su próxima actuación en Tel Aviv. Usted debe saber que Israel, desde 1948, mantiene bajo criminal ocupación al pueblo palestino en un régimen de apartheid peor que el de Sudáfrica. Israel viola los derechos humanos, incumple la IV Convención de Ginebra y las resoluciones de la ONU. Hay un llamado internacional para hacer BOICOT a Israel mientras se mantenga en la vulneración de la legalidad internacional. Le pido, por favor, que no cante en Tel Aviv. Le pido su solidaridad y apoyo al pueblo palestino.

María

¡¡¡¡que viva palestina libre!!!!




foto: palestinians attend a rally commemorating the 61st anniversary of the dispossession of the palestinian homeland, in the west bank city of qalqiliya, 14 may. (khaleel reash/maanimages). posted at electronic intifada.

solidaridad

oooh, ziad made my heart melt yesterday when, in conversation, he mentioned being taught about nicaragua & the sandinistas during his political training in palestine at the age of 14. back in nicaragua, the young sandinistas in political education class were at the very same moment, i'm sure, also studying palestine :)

in honor of nicaragua sandinista and the palestinian resistance...hasta la victoria!!






fotos : martha lorena (fsln) & leila khaled (pflp)


estelí : carlos & luís enrique mejía godoy




min al mukhayyam toulad al ru'aya (from the camp is born the vision) : sabaya al intifada

3x mojado

a few days ago i made a post about a recent film sin nombre. like the famous corrido by los tigres del norte (tres veces mojado / three times a wetback), it tells the story of immigrant workers coming to the u.s. from central america. before they make it to the 3-tiered fence, armed border guards, dogs, barbed wire, and scorching & freezing desert temperatures that welcome them on the u.s. side, central americans have to get through central america and into mexico first. with few other options, most people do this by riding on top of freight trains... more checkpoints, more armed border guards, more detentions, pouring rain...



¡abajo las fronteras! ¡¡que viva la dignidad rebelde!!

¡justicia para victor jara!

from today's guardian:

It was the atrocity which symbolised Chile's descent into dictatorship: soldiers used rifle butts to smash the hands of Victor Jara, a political activist and folk singer, so he could not play guitar. Then they shot him 44 times.

Yesterday, almost 36 years later, justice caught up with one of killers. José Adolfo Paredes Márquez, a former conscript in Augusto Pinochet's army, was charged with murder.

The burly 54-year-old was tracked down in San Sebastian, a spa town outside the capital Santiago, where he was working as a waiter and gardener.

Activists who have campaigned for the case to be reopened welcomed the announcement but urged authorities to focus on arresting commanding officers. "There are other people responsible – those who ordered the torture and the execution," said Joan Turner Jara, the singer's English-born widow.


¡¡no a la complicidad!! ¡¡¡justicia para el pueblo chileno!!!

¡¡¡que viva victor jara!!!

**

ni chicha ni limoná : victor jara

sin nombre

i saw this excellent film that's playing now in a limited release, sin nombre, directed by cary fukunaga (executive producers gael garcia bernal & diego luna). it's so beautiful. and devastating.



(posting here the spanish-language trailer because the english-subtitled one is edited in a way that's misrepresentative i think. but you can see it at focus features if you'd like.) i won't say too much about this film here, mostly because the words are escaping me. yes, it's like that. go and see it.

but a quick note on the music... the soundtrack is perfect! it pulls together the old school (canción mixteca, tres veces mojado) & the new (amandititita, cartel de santa), skillfully crossing landscapes of neo-liberalism & civil wars, and constantly echoing the rhythms most beloved in centroamérica. in general, haunting & lovely, very much like the film itself...

el barrio ya no hay gente (there's no people in this neighborhood anymore) : vakero



flaca de las coloradas : dick el demasiado y sus exagerados

feliz cumpleaños, malcolm x

You haven't got a revolution that doesn't involve bloodshed. And you're afraid to bleed. I said, you're afraid to bleed. As long as the white man sent you to Korea, you bled. He sent you to Germany, you bled. He sent you to the South Pacific to fight the Japanese, you bled. You bleed for white people. But when it comes time to seeing your own churches being bombed and little black girls be murdered, you haven't got no blood. You bleed when the white man says bleed; you bite when the white man says bite; and you bark when the white man says bark. I hate to say this about us, but it's true. How are you going to be nonviolent in Mississippi, as violent as you were in Korea? How can you justify being nonviolent in Mississippi and Alabama, when your churches are being bombed, and your little girls are being murdered, and at the same time you're going to get violent with Hitler, and Tojo, and somebody else that you don't even know? If violence is wrong in America, violence is wrong abroad. If it's wrong to be violent defending black women and black children and black babies and black men, then it's wrong for America to draft us and make us violent abroad in defense of her. And if it is right for America to draft us, and teach us how to be violent in defense of her, then it is right for you and me to do whatever is necessary to defend our own people right here in this country.

: malcolm x (message to the grassroots, 1963)

**

on revolutionary nationalism:



on the price of freedom:

chican@s ♥ palestina

intifada like my mother
intifada like my brother
blue stars come crashing down
refugees martyr bound
zionist marauders move in for the slaughter
savage holocaust of a starving shanti-gaza
voices from below billow
through clouds and desert echoes

: intifada (by quetzal)

**

:) oh, quetzal does east l.a. proud!! they refused to play at yesterday's fiesta shalom (ew! zionist! and tacky!) in boyle heights.

the little band from east l.a. honored our proud chican@ legacy of solidarity with the palestinian struggle for self-determination, and while they were at it called out the vendido city councilmen who endorsed the event as the barrio pimps that they are.

here is their statement:

To Whom It May Concern:

Quetzal will not be performing at the Fiesta Shalom on May 17th. When first presented with this performance, it was presented as “an opportunity to improve Jewish and Chicano relations”, which we are certainly in accordance with. When we received the contract, we noticed it was sponsored by the Israeli Consulate. For Quetzal to perform for the Israeli Consulate would mean that we ignore the following:

• Decades of zionist occupation of Palestinian lands and the historically ironic holocaustic genocide of the Palestinian people

• The Israeli/US relationship that has permitted the creation of “permanent” war against people throughout the world.

• Decades of Chican@ solidarity with the Palestinian people and their struggle for Self-determination.

• Decades of solidarity with the non-zionist, non-imperialist peace-loving Jewish community.

• Over 500 years of genocide, enslavement, and abandonment of all people of color as well as poor whites including all the victims of the Jewish holocaust.

Quetzal is but a small part of a massive community of artists that is committed to using art as a tool to redefine and reconstruct our neighborhoods. We hope that elected officials (barrio pimps) such as Jose Huizar begin to see the light of accountability.

éso! ándale, quetzal! arriba palestina!!

thank you, gg.

checkpoint rock

hey, speaking of the basques, here is a trailer for a new film by roquero fermin muguruza, checkpoint rock : canciones desde palestina (songs from palestine) ...

rock en euskera

para ti, pati :)
abrazos,

-diabólika


¡despierta!
¡dispara!
un gringo,
en tu casa.*

: nicaragua sandinista

* wake up! / fire (a shot)! / a gringo / in your house.


it's true. there's also a lot of excellent (and left!) music that's come out of the basque country...

nicaragua sandinista : kortatu



inkomunikazioa : fermin muguruza



todos los hintxas : skalariak



euskadi antifaxista : betagarri

panteón es la dosis perfecta

hmmm...so que pasó con el video de pachuquita? well, in the meantime...

la carencia : panteón rococo



la dosis perfecta : panteón rococo





cover, 2005 compilation which includes la carencia



you know, there are some moments where you think, this just would not happen in english. songs are often like that i guess, but i always think that when i see la carencia & la dosis perfecta performed live. at shows those are the 2 most beloved pantéon rococo songs, and everyone shouts the lyrics very fast very loud when they are played. and in english it just would not work. though fairly translate-able, i cannot imagine la carencia, a song about accumulation by dispossession, being quite so melodic & catchy and getting that same amount of love in english. "... y en el mundo globalizadooo, la gente pobre no tienen lugaaaar... y la carencia ¡arriba! y los salarios ¡abajo!" (and in the globalized world, poor people are left without a place ... the deprivation goes up! and the wages go down!). jeje, divertidiiisima! the song, not the accumulation by dispossession.

and then la dosis perfecta, oh man. there are i think two types of songs that panteón does best: songs about working class resistance & songs about tormented love. la carencia is the first and la dosis perfecta the second.

cuando veíamos estrellas y tu eras una de ellas
de esas que abrazan la tierra con su luz
y hoy me llamas y me dices
que empacas tu presencia
que has hecho las maletas
que hoy dices adios

despues de romper el cielo juntos,
esa forma tan tuya de hacer el amor y estallar al llegar
no, no puedo aceptar que hoy te vayas
y me dejes un cuarto de mil batallas
cobrarte yo no quiero, no quiero cobrarme
sólo quiero que tú te quedes aquí, yeh yeh yeh

hoy mi cuerpo necesita de ti saber
que la dosis perfecta esta en tus caderas
en tus besos, tu sonrisa, tu cabello y ese cuerpo que me erizaaaaa
hoy mi alma sabe que estás bien
pero tú dime, tú dime quien
estará para aliviar mi dolor
si ya no estas tú.

this song i will not attempt to translate because 1. it wouldn't be adequate; english is too un-accommodating and 2. even just reading over the words that i copied & pasted there makes me blush. but same as la carencia, i love seeing hundreds (a thousand?) of people shouting these lyrics so urgently at the tops of their lungs. it amuses me because the words are after all a very lovely and poetic contemplation of the intricacies of desire & absence. they go nicely with the shouting though. hurray for el rock en español!

for the friday night may first show, panteón waited until the encore to play both la carencia and la dosis perfecta one after the other. by the time they finally came up all hell broke loose on the dancefloor. well there was this split second of calm, which was almost graceful, and then you blinked and then everything went flying everywhere (cerveza in my hair again)... kind of like between the gang fight scene in west side story and a riot. well worth the price of admission ;)