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Death of Sam?

Is the United States in danger of collapse?  A Russian academic and a now defunct Nashville hip hop group say it is possible.

It’s really hard to stay positive with so much bad news flying about.  So the apocalyptic overtones of a December article in the Wall Street Journal entitled ’As if Things Weren’t Bad Enough, Russian Professor Predicts End of U.S.’ certainly aren’t helping to brighten my day.

However, daily accounts of the economic implosion we are enduring hit much closer to home now.  The signs have been prevalent here in Detroit for quite some time, but even more people are losing their jobs amid what is now a global economic crisis.  Can we even consider the possibility that the United States as we know it may soon disappear from the face of the map? Continue reading

Obama Sides With Bush on Spying

In case you missed it amid the flurry of activity around the White House this week, this tidbit from Wired.com:

The Obama administration fell in line with the Bush administration Thursday when it urged a federal judge to set aside a ruling in a closely watched spy case weighing whether a U.S. president may bypass Congress and establish a program of eavesdropping on Americans without warrants.

In a filing in San Francisco federal court, President Barack Obama adopted the same position as his predecessor.

While the new president has taken a few positive steps to reverse some Bush doctrines since his inauguration on Tuesday, in this case Obama shows that he defends and agrees with the previous administration’s illegal wiretapping.  We should also assume that he will continue it. Continue reading

A Funk Indictment of Bush/Cheney – Is That What You Wanted?!

While others look back on the Bush/Cheney administration with nervous laughter we’d like to remind everyone of the crimes committed over the last eight years.

Click the links below to listen

Impeach The President
(feat. Dennis Kucinich)

Is That What You Wanted?
DJ Butterface
Casio Funk Radio Edit

Is That What You Wanted?
Rev & Nadir’s Explicitly Pissed Off Mix

If you’d like to sing along, the lyrics are below…

Collage by Chris Land of Landmine Design Continue reading

Secret Service on Vacation?

What is lost in all the hoopla over paparazzi pics of Barack Obama’s physique is this question:

If a photographer got to within 150 feet  of the president-elect to snap this photo, he was close enough to fire a rifle.  Where was the Secret Service??

This photo essay of the Obama family’s vacation and G.W.’s reliance on his cat-like reflexes when dodging Muntadhir Al-Zaidi’s size 10s make us wonder whether the Secret Service’s presidential details have themselves been on vacation over the past couple of weeks.

The photo agency who snapped the shots says security was well aware of the photographer’s presence, and assumes that the Obamas were in the know as well: Continue reading

Can You Say ‘War Crime’?

Can they really get away with this?

In an interview with ABC News, Dick Cheney admitted that he authorized and supported the practice of waterboarding on Guantanamo detainees.

The world has condemned  this form of torture for centuries.  After World War II, the United States prosecuted Japanese soldiers who used the technique, and convicted them as war criminals.

How can the people of the United States allow Dick Cheney and George W. Bush to arrogantly flaunt their crimes in our faces?

We should be embarrassed and ashamed, and we are accessories to the crime if we don’t do something about it. Continue reading

MI 2008: Looking Back, Looking Forward

Nadir's MTV Street Team '08 Profile

Michigan in 2008. There were complex challenges and dramatic stories everywhere, from the “Uncommitted” Democratic primary to the landslide in November.

While covering the state for MTV’s Emmy-winning Choose or Lose Street Team ‘08, I came to appreciate the soul and grit of Michigan’s people in new ways. Here’s a look back at my attempt to record history in the making.

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VIDEO: We’ve Got The Power! Who Knew?

Nadir's MTV Street Team '08 ProfileMore than anything, the historic 2008 elections and Barack Obama’s election day victory were a testament to the power and the promise of democracy in the United States of America.  In the face of long lines, dirty politics, threatened voter suppression, and the legacy of racism, the will of the American people ruled the day and made history.

And what was the deciding factor?  Young people and African Americans – two groups that historically don’t exercise the right – discovered politics.

Young folks and black folks have always complained that voting doesn’t change America, and to a degree that’s correct.  Voting by itself has never changed anything. Continue reading

David Swanson: How and Why I Just Voted

From AfterDowningStreet.org:

Having spent the past several years trying to end wars and militarism, I have just voted for a presidential candidate who seems intent on expanding them.

Having won the Democratic primary largely on the strength of his extremely limited and inconsistent opposition to the war on Iraq, Senator Barack Obama chose as his running mate Senator Joe Biden, a man who had led efforts in the U.S. Senate to support the invasion. Obama’s staff have told reporters that he is inclined to keep Robert Gates on as Secretary of War (or “Defense”) – exactly the same plan proposed by Senator John McCain’s campaign. Continue reading

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