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Nadir

Drowning in the Politics of Torture

Now playing:
Guantanamo by Nadir’s Distorted Soul

Let’s make this torture debate absolutely clear:  I’ve got cousins, a good friend and a nephew who are all in the military.  If any of them was captured on the battlefield and tortured, I would want the lower level interrogators who committed the act to be prosecuted and convicted of war crimes.  I would want the high level officials who authorized the use of illegal methods (not enhanced interrogation – TORTURE) to be prosecuted and convicted of war crimes.

This is not politics.  This is justice.

As mainstream media talking heads like Joe Scarborough and John Meachum do their best to dissuade the public from demanding that Attorney General Eric Holder do the right thing, the rest of us should not lose sight of the principles that are supposed to be  the foundation of this nation: that all men – including alleged Islamic radicals, prisoners of war, members of Congress and US presidents – are ALL created equal, should enjoy the same rights and deserve the same punishment for their crimes.

How is this debatable?  The law is the law, right?

Well, apparently not in the United States. Continue reading

Drowning in the Politics of Torture

Now playing:
Guantanamo by Nadir’s Distorted Soul

Let’s make this torture debate absolutely clear:  I’ve got cousins, a good friend and a nephew who are all in the military.  If any of them was captured on the battlefield and tortured, I would want the lower level interrogators who committed the act to be prosecuted and convicted of war crimes.  I would want the high level officials who authorized the use of illegal methods (not enhanced interrogation – TORTURE) to be prosecuted and convicted of war crimes.

This is not politics.  This is justice.

As mainstream media talking heads like Joe Scarborough and John Meachum do their best to dissuade the public from demanding that Attorney General Eric Holder do the right thing, the rest of us should not lose sight of the principles that are supposed to be  the foundation of this nation: that all men – including alleged Islamic radicals, prisoners of war, members of Congress and US presidents – are ALL created equal, should enjoy the same rights and deserve the same punishment for their crimes.

How is this debatable?  The law is the law, right?

Well, apparently not in the United States. Continue reading

2 Detroit Music Awards for Nadir & Distorted Soul

Nadir & Distorted Soul earned two trophies at the 2009 Detroit Music Awards on Friday, April 17.

Workin’ For The Man was named Outstanding Urban/Funk/Hip Hop Recording, and Nadir was honored as Outstanding Urban/Funk Vocalist.

Thanks to Akanke Rashad-Omowale, Nancy Schoenheide-Phares, all the members of the Distorted Soul band, all the musicians and producers who contributed their talents to the Workin’ For The Man project, all the djs and press who have given us so much love, and all the family and friends who helped make this project possible.

Oh… and a special shout out to George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and the entire Dubya administration for screwing up the world and inspiring much of the political material that appears on this record.  Thanks A LOT!

Ron Paul Weighs in on Somalia

Jesse Benton of Ron Paul’s Campaign for Liberty forwards this statement from the former presidential candidate.

In light of the danger American ships face, and with the Obama Administration now considering military action against pirates in Somalia, I thought you might enjoy Dr. Paul’s new video on the subject.

He argues that:

1) Intervention in the regional has added to the instability the breeds pirates

2) The United States should consider a constitutional approach to the situation, such as Marque and Reprisal, where shipping companies are allowed to defend themselves.

3) The U.S. should not take this as an opportunity to expand overseas military spending the Middle East.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=VrCqVYVxEoA%26%23038%3Bhl%3Den%26%23038%3Bfs%3D1

He raises some interesting points.   Your thoughts?

The Other Side of Somalia’s Story

We’ve heard a lot about Somalia in the mainstream press over the last couple of weeks with talk of pirates near the Horn of Africa, and mortar shells being lobbed at US Congressmen.  But a different side of the story has emerged in the independent media.

Somalia is one of the poorest nations on earth, but with ships carrying 20 percent of the world’s oil supply sailing near its waters, the country is of great strategic importance to an oil addicted global society.  Because there is no central government, different warring factions have struggled for control of Somalia, its territories and most importantly its coastline for nearly 20 years.

Johann Hari tells us We’re Being Lied To About Pirates in the Independent UK.  He reveals a different story about life in Somalia, and the motives for some of the people who are labeled “pirates”.

In 1991, the government of Somalia collapsed. Its nine million people have been teetering on starvation ever since – and the ugliest forces in the Western world have seen this as a great opportunity to steal the country’s food supply and dump our nuclear waste in their seas.

Yes: nuclear waste. As soon as the government was gone, mysterious European ships started appearing off the coast of Somalia, dumping vast barrels into the ocean. The coastal population began to sicken. At first they suffered strange rashes, nausea and malformed babies. Then, after the 2005 tsunami, hundreds of the dumped and leaking barrels washed up on shore. People began to suffer from radiation sickness, and more than 300 died.

Read the rest of Hari’s article HERE.

Somalian rapper Knaan offers some additional insight into the lives of everyday Somalians in this multi-part interview with our friend, Davey D.

Knaan Talks about Somali pirates &terrorists pt1

https://youtube.com/watch?v=i67euACNhmA%26%23038%3Bhl%3Den%26%23038%3Bfs%3D1

Continue reading

Ron Paul Weighs in on Somalia

Jesse Benton of Ron Paul’s Campaign for Liberty forwards this statement from the former presidential candidate.

In light of the danger American ships face, and with the Obama Administration now considering military action against pirates in Somalia, I thought you might enjoy Dr. Paul’s new video on the subject.

He argues that:

1) Intervention in the regional has added to the instability the breeds pirates

2) The United States should consider a constitutional approach to the situation, such as Marque and Reprisal, where shipping companies are allowed to defend themselves.

3) The U.S. should not take this as an opportunity to expand overseas military spending the Middle East.

He raises some interesting points.   Your thoughts?

The Other Side of Somalia’s Story

We’ve heard a lot about Somalia in the mainstream press over the last couple of weeks with talk of pirates near the Horn of Africa, and mortar shells being lobbed at US Congressmen.  But a different side of the story has emerged in the independent media.

Somalia is one of the poorest nations on earth, but with ships carrying 20 percent of the world’s oil supply sailing near its waters, the country is of great strategic importance to an oil addicted global society.  Because there is no central government, different warring factions have struggled for control of Somalia, its territories and most importantly its coastline for nearly 20 years.

Johann Hari tells us We’re Being Lied To About Pirates in the Independent UK.  He reveals a different story about life in Somalia, and the motives for some of the people who are labeled “pirates”.

In 1991, the government of Somalia collapsed. Its nine million people have been teetering on starvation ever since – and the ugliest forces in the Western world have seen this as a great opportunity to steal the country’s food supply and dump our nuclear waste in their seas.

Yes: nuclear waste. As soon as the government was gone, mysterious European ships started appearing off the coast of Somalia, dumping vast barrels into the ocean. The coastal population began to sicken. At first they suffered strange rashes, nausea and malformed babies. Then, after the 2005 tsunami, hundreds of the dumped and leaking barrels washed up on shore. People began to suffer from radiation sickness, and more than 300 died.

Read the rest of Hari’s article HERE.

Somalian rapper Knaan offers some additional insight into the lives of everyday Somalians in this multi-part interview with our friend, Davey D.

Knaan Talks about Somali pirates &terrorists pt1

Continue reading

Is Gandhi in Heaven? Spirituality & Health with Nadir in Brown Eyez Magazine

Is Gandhi in Heaven?  What can we do to take care of the earth?  What exactly is “healthy living”?

These are some of the topics Nadir discussed in this 2008 interview with BrownEyezMag.com which has been published in their February 2009 issue.

Brown Eyez is an online magazine that promotes healthy living.  “To truly be healthy, one must nourish all aspects of life. Health, in this sense, includes one’s mind, body, soul, and environment.”  Brown Eyez encourages us to think about our holistic health through informative columns and essays.

Click HERE to check out the February 2009 issue featuring Nadir.

The Mis-Education System: Schools Suck On Purpose

NOW PLAYING:
Conspiracy (featuring Rev) [explicit lyrics]
from Distorted Soul 2.0

“When you control a man’s thinking you do not have to tell him not to stand here or go yonder.  He will find his ‘proper place’ and will stay in it.  You do not need to send him to the back door.  He will go without being told.  In fact, if there is no back door, he will cut one for his special benefit.  His education makes it necessary.” – Carter G. Woodson from The Miseducation of The Negro

Our friends at Playahata.com reposted this blog by Patrick Grimm of Zionist Watch which first appeared on News From The West.  Despite the obviously racist and Anti-Semetic views of News From the West, AND the lack of documentation available for the information in this particular post, the article raises some interesting points that are timely in light of Barack Obama’s recent education policy speech.

According to Grimm the failures of the U.S. education system are not only systemic, they are intentional.  Many of us have wondered why the supposedly “educated” people who run our schools would have developed such a mind-numbing, creativity-draining learning process.  Furthermore, why do they keep using it when there is so much evidence that it doesn’t work?  The answer?  It’s all on purpose.

Let’s face it.  School is boring and stupid.  They don’t really teach you what you want or need to know to make a living.  Those of us who have grown into educated, scholarly people have done so most often in spite of our schooling rather than as a result of it.

Our public schools especially are designed to emulate an manufacturing facility, and the schools themselves are factories.  They use an assembly line process to manufacture docile, unambitious workers who are ready to go straight from secondary school to the plant floor.  Is there any wonder that in a world where knowledge of technology and science – not to mention creativity and critical thinking – are nearly essential, the United States lags behind?

Read the post below.  We’ll have discussion afterward, and yes, there will be a quiz.

The Educational System Was Designed to Keep Us Uneducated and Docile Continue reading

The Mis-Education System: Schools Suck On Purpose

NOW PLAYING:
Conspiracy (featuring Rev) [explicit lyrics]
from Distorted Soul 2.0

“When you control a man’s thinking you do not have to tell him not to stand here or go yonder.  He will find his ‘proper place’ and will stay in it.  You do not need to send him to the back door.  He will go without being told.  In fact, if there is no back door, he will cut one for his special benefit.  His education makes it necessary.” – Carter G. Woodson from The Miseducation of The Negro

Our friends at Playahata.com reposted this blog by Patrick Grimm of Zionist Watch which first appeared on News From The West.  Despite the obviously racist and Anti-Semetic views of News From the West, AND the lack of documentation available for the information in this particular post, the article raises some interesting points that are timely in light of Barack Obama’s recent education policy speech.

According to Grimm the failures of the U.S. education system are not only systemic, they are intentional.  Many of us have wondered why the supposedly “educated” people who run our schools would have developed such a mind-numbing, creativity-draining learning process.  Furthermore, why do they keep using it when there is so much evidence that it doesn’t work?  The answer?  It’s all on purpose.

Let’s face it.  School is boring and stupid.  They don’t really teach you what you want or need to know to make a living.  Those of us who have grown into educated, scholarly people have done so most often in spite of our schooling rather than as a result of it.

Our public schools especially are designed to emulate an manufacturing facility, and the schools themselves are factories.  They use an assembly line process to manufacture docile, unambitious workers who are ready to go straight from secondary school to the plant floor.  Is there any wonder that in a world where knowledge of technology and science – not to mention creativity and critical thinking – are nearly essential, the United States lags behind?

Read the post below.  We’ll have discussion afterward, and yes, there will be a quiz.

The Educational System Was Designed to Keep Us Uneducated and Docile Continue reading

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