Uprising Documentary Festival

Robin's busy organising this year's Uprising Documentary festival.

It begins this year on March 3 and goes through until May 5.

That's every Friday at 7:30 pm at the Ashanti Room, 836 Bloor St.W., here in Toronto.

Thanks to my pal Ranger for heping in the final icon!

Coretta Scott King's funeral/roast

Probably a little late for it, but,...

Let The Roasting Begin!...

As much as I have my doubts regarding whether Presidents could merit Nobel prizes, there was no doubt that former President Jimmy Carter went into Coretta Scott King's funeral aiming to hit the bullseye dead-on. He swung at Bush, twice. The timing of his commentary was impeccable. He talked of the Kings, saying, "It was difficult for them then personally with the civil liberties of both husband and wife violated as they became the target of secret government wiretaps."

The funeral crowd cheered. Bush, as we all know, is under fire for a secret wiretapping program he ordered after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Apparently he smiled weakly, captured on the screens of closed-circuit monitors.

Carter also spoke of Hurricane Katrina saying it showed that all are not yet equal in America. "This commerative cermony this morning, this afternoon, is not only to acknowledge the great contributions of Coretta and Martin, but to remind us that the struggle for equal rights is not over. We only have to recall the color of the faces of those in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi," Carter said, the rest of his sentence drowned out by loud applause. "Those who were most devastated by [Hurricane] Katrina know that there are not yet equal opportunities for all Americans. It is our responsibility to continue their crusade."

John Stewart was so elegant as to say he then tagged the Reverend Joseph Lowery, co-founder of Southern Christian Leadership Conference, on his way out the ring,:

The good Reverend Joseph Lowery made good with his short speech, roasting Bush on the spit:

"She (Coreatta Scott King) extended Martin's message against poverty, racism and war. She deplored the terror inflicted by our smart bombs on missions way afar. We know now that there were no weapons of mass destruction over there," Lowery said. The crowd applauded, rising to its feet and cheered in a two-minute-long standing ovation.

"But Coretta knew, and we know," Lowery continued, "That there are weapons of misdirection right down here," he said, nodding his head toward the row of presidents past and present. "For war, billions more, but no more for the poor!"

...And the crowd goes wild...!


Meanwhile, Senator Patrick Leahy roasted D.A. Alberto Gonzales, who was "uncomfortable" (to use his oft-repeated refrain), answering questions in regards to the gov't wiretapping...

In the "YEAH, RIGHT!" department

Just to remind us of the sort of legacy Harris left behind:-

Before Sam George, Dudley George's brother, at the Ipperwash inquiry in Forest, Ontario - an inquiry he staunchly opposed while in office - former Premier Mike Harris took the stand, and denied using an expletive in referring to the First Nations peoples, and said he never imposed his will on police during the deadly standoff 10 years ago at Ipperwash Provincial Park.

He's accused by many of pushing for the hardline tactics that led to the 1995 shooting death of native protester Dudley George.

He also rejected former attorney general Charles Harnick's claim that he heard Harris say "I want those f***ing Indians out of the park" during an emergency meeting at the Ontario Legislature on the day of the shooting. "I absolutely did not say that, or words to that effect. The language is not foreign to me, but not the kind of language I would use at any kind of meeting like the meeting we were at."

Dudley George was fatally shot by police just hours after the meeting, when officers in riot gear began to advance on the park- a show of force long said to be the work of Harris and his government. The Chiefs on Ontario, a coalition of First Nations leaders, issued a statement expresing disappointment that Harris "is not willing to accept any responsibility" for Dudley George's death.

So Mike Harris is saying the truth, eh...?

Next PTA meeting, Lord Of Slums bus tour followup

The flu bug's starting to loosen it's 2-week hold on me, so I'm sort-of-back, although I had a mild day-long bout of nausea Sunday.

I'll try and post my followup on the Lord Of The Slums tour the PTA spearheaded, but for now check your major news outlets, including the Toronto Star, Sun, OMNI, who interviewed Neelam and Diane, and NOW's Feb.9-15 issue, pg. 26.

(Not to mention the tons of web hits internationally which picked up on the issue.)

Next meeting for PTA Wednesday, 6:30 at Parkdale Legal.

Coretta Scott King 1927-1996

Coretta Scott King, the widow of civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr., civil rights figure and civil rights icon, has passed away, after failing health since suffering a stroke and heart attack last August. She was 78.

I think this is the perfect picture:- a face full of knowledge of things that must change for the better; of struggle, that because of the gravity of the issues, they must be pursued. The heart might be heavy, the road ahead WILL, not might, be bumpy, but there is not an ounce of regret in promoting, raising, and maintaining an unfliching awareness in others that already exists in one's heart.

Here's the same face on a younger Coretta Scott King, a forehadowing of struggles to come.

I encourage you to look at the whole of the first picture in context.

If you're looking for definitive words, quotes and LINKS to coretta scott King, go back under the rock you were living under. Besides, the internet's there for a reason.

Did you know...?

That Superbowl time is when the spike in abuse of women by the men in their lives, be them spouses, boyfriends, etc., occurs?