Other Music from a... Different Kitchen

On his way to confirmation as U.S. ambassador to Iraq, the current U.N. envoy John Negroponte was busily twisting language like a pretzel at a Senate hearing the other day. The new Baghdad regime, to be installed on June 30, will have sovereignty. Well, sort of. Negroponte explained: "That is why I use the term 'exercise of sovereignty.' I think in the case of military activity, their forces will come under the unified command of the multinational force. That is the plan."

In other words, the Baghdad government will be praised as the embodiment of Iraqi sovereignty while the U.S. military continues to do whatever Washington wants it to do in Iraq -- including order the Iraqi military around. Negroponte talked about "real dialogue between our military commanders, the new Iraqi government and, I think, the United States mission as well." But ultimately, he said, the American military "is going to have the freedom to act in their self-defense, and they’re going to be free to operate in Iraq as they best see fit."

The disconnect between democracy rhetoric and imperial reality is glaring enough to require some media acknowledgment. [emphasis added] During an April 25 interview on NPR’s Weekend Edition, a former adviser to the Iraq occupation authority discussed the Bush administration’s concept of "limited sovereignty" for Iraqi people. "The sovereign of the country is the power that has the last say," law professor Noah Feldman commented, "and you can’t really have the last say in a country unless you command the army. So in a sense, you can’t really claim to be sovereign if someone else runs your army."

But the gaping holes in the U.S. stance are being largely papered over in news coverage. [emphasis added] Part of the process is for major American media outlets to simultaneously acknowledge and deny fundamental contradictions between the Bush administration’s rhetoric about democracy and its actual policies. (full story)

Sinclair Broadcast Group, one of the largest owners of local television stations, will pre-empt tonight's edition of the ABC News program "Nightline," saying the program's plan to have Ted Koppel read aloud the names of every member of the armed forces killed in action in Iraq was motivated by an antiwar agenda and threatened to undermine American efforts there. (full story)

We are in a terrible bind, "a nightmare" Ritter told me. We put oursleves there, with 8,000 bombs, 130,000 troops. We toppled Saddam's statue. Yeah, mission accomplished. Quagmire accomplished. "The preseident went to war on a prayer."

So, we broke Iraq. We created a leadership void and set loose not just hope but all the country's desperate, vying factions, and opened doors for foreign interests as well to back their favorite militants and try to gain influence and control in the country. Like the sorcerer's apprentice, we created chaos.

"There is no plan. There is no exit strategy," Ritter said. "We are in a nightmare that will last at least four more years.... the longer we stay, the more radical it wll be."

In a stunning snub, two Democrats on the 9/11 commission yesterday abruptly walked out in the middle of the Oval Office interview with President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.
Both early-departing panelists, former Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey and ex-Indiana Rep. Lee Hamilton, insisted they had prior commitments - but their sudden slip out the side door of the White House left Washington and some fellow commission members in shock. (full story)

Whether or not North Korea has nukes or not, the US will be safe from them by the end of the year, Air Force Lt. Gen. Ron Kadish, director of the "Star Wars" Missile Defense Agency said yesterday [April 28]. But critics claim the multi-million dollar program is an overpriced waste.

Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.), a member of the Armed Services Committee, has called the missile tests "shamefully rigged" and said the money [a $1.12 billion budget overrun in 2003] could be better spent sending another 10,000 troops to Iraq.

L. Paul Bremer, the U.S. administrator in Iraq, said in a speech six months before the September 11, 2001 attacks that the Bush administration was "paying no attention" to terrorism.

"What they will do is stagger along until there's a major incident and then suddenly say, 'Oh my God, shouldn't we be organized to deal with this,"' said Bremer at McCormick Tribune Foundation conference on terrorism on February 26, 2001. (full story)

By mid-April, it was already the deadliest month for U.S. troops in Iraq. By Thursday, the month's death toll had climbed to 134, more than the number of troops killed in the war's opening stages, from the invasion to the toppling of Saddam Hussein's statue in Baghdad. (full story)

Iraqi's will have a "lot more sovereignty than they have right now" after the June 30 handover, but the US will still control security and the caretaker government won't be able to make laws says John D. Negroponte. They will [however] carry out the government's day-to-day operation [and] focus on organizing elections

After 9/11, Congress gave the Bush administration $40 billion worth of emergency antiterror funding. The money was supposed to finance post-attack cleanup, the global hunt for terrorists and improvements in homeland security. The funding bills instructed the administration to "consult" Congress about specific projects on which the money would be spent. But following allegations by author Bob Woodward that the administration diverted funds from the antiterror war to make secret preparations for war in Iraq, Democrats accused the administration of ignoring the legal requirement to keep legislators informed. Sen. Robert Byrd, top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, charged the "Bush White House provided no consultations as required by law." (full story)

"I think after September 11th the American people are valuing life more and realizing that we need policies to value the dignity and worth of every life. And President Bush has worked to say, let's be reasonable, let's work to value life, let's try to reduce the number of abortions, let's increase adoptions."

"The fundamental difference between us and the terror network we fight is that we value every life. It's the founding conviction of our country, that we're endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights, the right to life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

"Unfortunately our enemies in the terror network, as we're seeing repeatedly in the headlines these days, don't value any life, not even the innocent and not even their own..." (full transcript from CNN.com)

Greetings,

Your support for "traded to trading: Portraits of Wall Street in the
Black," would be invaluable. As many of you know, Thursday, April 29,
2004, we are having a fundraiser. We are asking for a $100 per person.
However, we don't want that donation level to inhibit your attendance.
Thus we are accepting the minimum donation of $25 per person. RSVP at
212-465-7230 or rmga@optonline.net by Thursday, April 29, 2004 at 12 AM
the latest. And please forward this email to others you feel would
like to make a monetary contribution to attend the fundraiser.

Film and Fundraiser Details:

Kindred Spirits and Film Video Arts, Inc. Announce the unveiling of a
portion of a historic and monumental documentary film entitled "traded
to trading: Portraits of Wall Street in the Black"by Robyn M. Greene-
Arrington and Drunia M. Duvivier

An Inside Look at the Evolution of Blacks on Wall Street

New York City – The unveiling of the trailer for the documentary film
"traded to trading: Portraits of Wall Street in the Black" is scheduled
for Thursday, April 29, 2004 at 6:30 pm, at Tribute, 26 Broadway.
The New York event, which is also supported by strategic partners
including, Film, Video Arts; the National Association of Securities
Professionals (NASP-NY Chapter); the Museum of American Financial
History; the National Black MBA Association; and KIP Business Report,
brings a rare look at African-American experiences on Wall Street that
is vital to our rich, robust and diverse American legacy.

One of the first commodities regularly traded on Wall Street was
slaves—even before the establishment of the American financial markets
in the 1790’s. From then on, African-Americans have continued to
influence the United States economy, first as “property,” then as keen
investors, critical laborers, and major consumers, and now as renowned
players in the securities industry.

"traded to trading: Portraits of Wall Street in the Black," is a
one-hour documentary that takes an up-close and personal look at the
experiences of a variety of seasoned and up and coming Wall Streeters,
exploring the challenges these individuals faced, and currently face,
as people of color navigating an industry that, until the 1960’s, was
almost exclusively made up of white, male professionals.

Cynthia Franklin of the Kip Business Report will serve as the Mistress
of Ceremonies for the evening. Additionally, outstanding individuals
and organizations will be honored for their contributions to increasing
the participation of persons of color on Wall Street. The Robert Toigo
Foundation will receive the Award for “Outstanding Contributions on
Wall Street.” This event is designed as both a celebration of this
monumental film and a means to raise funds to complete the film.

In support of helping to empower young people with new role models
and alternative career options, traded to trading includes revealing
interviews with a star-studded cast of professionals who have built
remarkable careers for themselves on the Street. Some of the
individuals that have already been filmed or who are confirmed for
interviews are: The Honorable William C. Thompson, Jr., New York City
Comptroller, Melvin Van Peebles, First black trader on the American
Stock Exchange; Milton M. Irvin, President, Imbot and 1st black
Managing Director at Salomon Brothers, Ernesta Procope, President &
CEO, E.G. Bowman Co., Inc.; Joseph L. Searles III, 1st black floor
member and floor broker on the New York Stock Exchange; Ernest G.
Green, Managing Director, Public Finance at Lehman Brothers and one of
the “Little Rock Nine” that integrated Central High School in Arkansas;
Christopher Williams and Janice Savin Williams, founders of the
Williams Capital Group and William Capital Management; Bernard B. Beal,
Founder & CEO, M. R. Beal & Company, Fourth largest black-owned
investment firm in the US; Patricia Winans, Chairwoman and CEO of Magna
Securities Corp; Harold E. Doley, Jr., CEO, Doley Securities, Inc.
and Dr. Eugene Flood, President & CEO of Smith Breeden Associates and
Guest co-host of Squawk Box on CNBC.

We are also honored to have in attendance, several notable participants
appearing in the film and others supporting this project including
Senator Carl Andrews, Tony Perkins of Good Morning America, and
Advisory Board member Sam Pollard. Mr. Pollard has been a filmmaker
for over 25 years, and has produced the acclaimed PBS series Eyes on
the Prize and Academy Award-nominated 4 Little Girls before becoming
Spike Lee's editor on such narrative features such as Mo' Better Blues,
Jungle Fever, Clockers, and Girl 6.

Congressman Charles B. Rangel wrote “I applaud your efforts to bring to
the forefront the contributions made by African Americans in this
area. My very best wishes for your success in this venture.” Author
Gregory S. Bell who wrote “In the Black: A History of African Americans
on Wall Street,” expressed “The trailer is wonderful. I am sure that
it is an indication of the great things to come in the full length
film. This is an important work because for far too long, television
and film have not recognized our stories on Wall Street. Traded to
Trading helps correct this.”

Additional information may be found at www.tradedtotrading.com.

Reservations: $100 General, $75 for Professional Organization Members,
$50 Students with I.D.

Make your reservation by calling (212) 465-7230 or mailing to: T2T
Benefit Office, Attn: Drunia M. Duvivier, P.O. Box 844, New York, NY
10268. Make check payable to Film/Video Arts, a nonprofit 501(c) 3
organization. Donations are tax deductible to the extent provided by
law.

Warmest Regards,

Robyn Greene Arrington

Too Short -- Burn Rubber
De La Soul -- Ring, Ring, Ring (Ha Ha Hey)
Whatnauts -- Help is on the Way
Central Line -- Walking into Sunshine
LL Cool J -- Jingling Baby (Marley Marl Remix)
BT Express -- Everything Good To You (Ain't Always Good For You)
EPMD -- Get the Bozack
The Razcalz -- Northern Touch feat. Kardinal Offishal, Thrust, Choclair and Checkmate
DMX -- Get At Me Dog feat. Sheek of the Lox
The Lennox Ave. Boyz -- Move Back
Ghostface - Ghostface
Ruste Juxx -- Short'ee
Mystikal -- Oochie Pop
Jadakiss -- Kiss of Death

That's what we're now up against. It is the wrath of a local population that has begun to view its liberators as worse than occupiers — because they can't even provide what tyranny does, i.e. control and security, which are the necessary foundations for economic or political development. That people would stone their would-be rescuers is also a reminder of how broken, traumatized and messed up Iraqi society is by decades of Saddam's rule, and of how it is caught up in some of the same anti-Western conspiracy theories that you can find on any Arab street today.

We are now in the middle of a low-grade civil war in Iraq for who will control the place after we leave. That's the bad news. Here's the good news: I doubt we will be in Iraq a year from now — certainly not in large numbers. One of three things is likely to happen. First, the security and economic situations could continue to spiral downward, creating a Mogadishu-like situation in which we will have to fight our way out.

Second, we might manage, with the help of the U.N., to organize a reasonably legitimate Iraqi caretaker government to which we can hand `'limited" sovereignty on June 30. But that won't stop our opponents. They will go on attacking U.S. forces to provoke a U.S. retaliation that will embarrass the caretaker government, make its leaders look like our stooges and pressure it to throw the U.S. out.

Third, the least-bad scenario is that we will be able to stick it out and, with the U.N., conduct a decent election by the end of the year that brings a legitimate Shiite-led Iraqi government to power. I doubt that such a government is going to want to have U.S. troops protecting it for very long, and it will either invite us to leave gradually or insist that we put our forces under a U.N. umbrella.

"Why are they doing this to an American?" she asked. "If we go to all these other countries to promote democracy — hello? — why can't we practice it at home? I'm like, `Give me proof.' If my son did something, charge him. Give him his day in court."

Video Honeys profiles the lives, looks and interests of the girls who normally don't get heard from, but simply seen in hip hop videos. Industry insiders from XXL talk about the girls in videos who use videos as jumpoffs for their big career moves. Enjoy the stories, often surprising, always compelling of life on and off the set in Video Honeys.

Classic jazz imprint Blue Note Records allowed 13 unique remixers access to their archives with stunning results as heard on Blue Note Revisited which hits stores this week. Remixers include DJ Spinna, Jazzanova, DJ Cam, 4Hero, Kyoto Jazz Massive, Madlib, J Dilla and more. For more info and sound samples, check out the Ecard (requires Flash)

U.S. Army Sgt. James Amyett told The Washington Post, 'I guess the Iraqis didn't get the memo that the war is over.'

Bush made his decision to go to war [with Iraq] without consulting Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld or Secretary of State Colin Powell [emphasis added]....

Powell was not even told until after the Saudi ambassador was allowed to review top-secret war plans [emphasis added] in an effort to enlist his country's support for the invasion, according to Woodward, who has written or co-written several best-selling books on Washington politics, including "All the President's Men" with Carl Bernstein.

The book also reports that in the summer of 2002, $700 million was diverted from a congressional appropriation for the war in Afghanistan to develop a war plan for Iraq.

Woodward suggests the diversion may have been illegal, and that Congress was deliberately kept in the dark about what had been done [emphasis added].

“Friendster for your mobile phone”

Trendsetters who are tiring of Friendster are looking to Dodgeball.com as a new way of keeping in touch with friends. Unlike the internet based Friendster community, Dodgeball keeps users in touch by mobile phone. For example, if you are in a bar on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, you can alert Dodgeball via text message and they will alert all your enlisted friends of your whereabouts and will also let you know where their Dodgeball friends are, all within 10 blocks. With this “friend of friend” feature, users have the opportunity to meet new people if they so desire, making Dodgeball a potentially great social/dating tool.

Choosing Dodgeball friends promises to be a lot more elitist than Friendster, because by enlisting too many friends subscribers run the risk of having their phone message them 24/7. This will soon beg the question “Is he/she Dodgeball worthy?”. If you decide it is not friends you are after, but a pool table, then Dodgeball can also act as a city guide and will tell you, for example, the closest pool table to your location or where a specific bar is. Dodgeball is currently only available in New York City, but we’re guessing it may not be long before it comes to other big cities.