I have just finished reading a newspaper article about the release of Adel Hassan Hamad after being accused of supporting terrorist causes and being held without official charges at Guantanamo for five years. During that time he was subjected to torture, beatings, and other forms of inhumane treatment by his captors. When he was taken into custody, he told his captors that he was not a soldier or a terrorist, but an administrator of health services for the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY), a charitable organization funded by the Saudis. He provided medical services to Afghan refugees living in Pakistan, but because Osama Bin Laden’s brother was on the board of WAMY, Hamad fell under suspicion by association. After holding him all those years without formal charges, the Americans finally agreed that they no longer had any real basis for holding him and released him to his home in Sudan.
During his captivity at Guantanamo, Mr. Hamad’s family fell into poverty and one of his daughters became ill and died. Now he is suing the US government for compensation for the lost years of his life.
In spite of his treatment at Guantanamo, Mr. Hamad said he bears no ill will toward the American people. He just wants the United States to return to what it once stood for - the great concepts of the Founding Fathers - “freedom, democracy, equality, and justice.” At present, Mr. Hamad is just relieved to be reunited with his wife and three children in Sudan.
Habeus corpus is a writ (court order) that commands an individual or a government official who has restrained another to produce the prisoner at a designated time and place so that the court can determine the legality of custody and decide whether to order the prisoner's release. In other words, the right to a fair, prompt trial to determine innocence or guilt is protected. Habeas corpus was first officially recognized in the Magna Carta, signed in 1215 by King John. It was included in the Rights of Englishmen which the English colonists brought with them to America, and its violation by the English king was one of the main reasons for the American Revolution.
Is it time for another American Revolution - this time to restore the Rights of Americans?
Video 1. Adel Hamad and His Detention at Guantanamo Bay. This video was made before his release.
Video 2: Keith Olbermann: Death of Habeus Corpus
Video 3. Bush Removes Habeas Corpus From U.S. Constitution
Video 4. The Reluctant Redneck Responds to the Murder of Habeus Corpus
I Grieve For My Country
-- by Whit’s Whittlings
I grieve for my country The land where I was born A nation the world once envied And now all scourged with scorn.
From those tortured at Abu Ghraib To those held at Guantanamo Bay This is not the nation I remember From a not-too-distant day.
Now we are like all the others Of the nations stained with shame We speak empty phrases of freedom But what honor can we claim?
We invaded the Iraqi nation Based upon a lie Now thirty thousand are wounded And four thousand had to die.
And while our citizens are monitored By tools of the FBI The Patriot Act in action What we read they now espy.
I grieve for my country The land where I was born A nation the world once envied And now all scourged with scorn.
Last Tuesday night, my wife and I attended an evening performance at our local county library. A man named William Wingfield, an African-American, in celebration of Black History Month, gave a demonstration of conga drumming. In addition to the conga drums, he also displayed his collection of numerous percussion instruments that over a 50-year period he had either purchased or made himself. Mr. Wakefield had used a variety of materials in the instruments he made, including gourds, pop bottle caps, tuna cans, seeds, unpopped popcorn, and a marimba made out of bamboo stalks cut to various lengths.
The main course of the evening, however, was the feast on conga drumming. Mr. Wingfield had three conga drums set up, which he played for several minutes while he had the audience singing several different words. Only later, did the people in the audience understand that they had counted from one to ten in Swahili. Later, he called for three individuals to come up and play the conga drums. I was one of those selected and thoroughly enjoyed the lesson he gave in playing them. Soon he had the three of us from the audience playing a different rhythm on each of the drums, which merged into a delightful result.
As the evening progressed, Mr. Wakefield discussed various aspects of slavery in the United States. He mentioned that the first slaves in what is now the United States were Native Americans, not Africans. The use of the native population did not work out very well because the Native Americans had a habit of disappearing into the wilderness, which they knew better than their masters. When Native Americans were enslaved, sometimes their relatives and tribes would come on the plantations and rescue them, often killing some plantation owners in the process. After some time, the plantation owners found it advantageous to use African slaves because they were in an unfamiliar environment, and if they escaped they could more easily be identified. This was interesting information, although I was already familiar with it.
Another topic that Mr. Wingfield dealt with was the development of the banjo, with which I was unfamiliar. He said that because slave-owners would not permit their slaves to have African-style drums, they created the banjo, a stringed instrument adapted from several African instruments. The strings were stretched over a skin-covered base and by this means the slaves had produced their own kind of drum.
All in all, the evening was an instructive and enjoyable one. Now I am ready to buy a set of conga drums and drive my wife and the neighbors to the fringes of insanity.
I have searched all through the YouTube videos to find the best presentations of conga drumming, starting with a brief lesson such as Mr. Wakefield gave to us. Please feel free to enjoy as many of the videos as your time and interest will allow.
Video 1. Jamming with Conga Drums
Video 2. Demonstration of Proper Conga Technique
Video 3. How to Play the Congas for the Beginner
Video 4. Conga Solo at student concert at famous drums and percussion seminar "Rhythm" in Bavaria, Germany in summer 2006
One cloudy day in October of 2006, a man entered a one-room Amish schoolhouse in Pennsylvania, dismissed all but ten girls from the classroom, and then started shooting the girls that remained, killing five of them and wounding the others before killing himself. That act in itself, as horrific as it was, was not what made the story seize the interest of the world. It seems that these acts of school violence happen so frequently now that many of us have become inured to them. What made this story stand out was that the world learned that within hours the Amish community, in spite of its pain, tears, and grief, had forgiven the killer and his family. While some individuals lauded the Amish for their act of forgiveness, there were others who thought it emotionally unhealthy for them to forgive such a heinous act so hastily.
The world soon was to learn that the Amish have a different approach to forgiveness from that of most of us. Their willingness to forgive quickly and unconventionally can serve as an inspiration for the rest of us. One of the first acts of the members of the Amish community was to visit the killer’s widow and console her with hugs, their forgiving presence, and even contributions to a fund for her family.
Some individuals can never forgive an act of cruelty or injustice or can forgive only after months or years have gone by. For the Amish, however, forgiveness is a religious duty. They quote the teachings of Jesus to forgive one’s enemies and to reject revenge. The father of one of the slain girls said that in order to forgive, one must forego revenge. The Amish believe that in order to be forgiven, we must learn to forgive. From the Lord’s Prayer, they like to quote “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” In fact, in 16th century Europe, their ancestors being burned at the stake for their faith could be heard asking God to forgive their executioners.
The Amish, although they believe that judgment of an offender should be left up to God, are not averse to punishing an offender in this world. If the shooter of the children had not killed himself, they would have wanted him locked up for life, not for revenge but to protect other children. One Amish farmer, when asked if he held a grudge against the killer and his family said, “No, because the acid of bitterness eats the container that holds it.”
Video: Amish Forgiveness
Video: Amish Children Learn to Forgive
Video: Beliefnet.com's Most Inspiring Person of 2006 - The Amish
Video:
A few years ago, my wife and I and another couple on vacation rented a car and drove through Intercourse, Pennsylvania, an Amish community. Driving through this beautiful countryside, sometimes behind a slow-moving Amish carriage pulled by a horse, we could understand the close kinship that this community feels with both nature and God.
Questions to ponder:
1. Is your "container" being eaten away by bitterness? 2. Have you ever forgiven someone for a serious offense? 3. How did you feel after forgiving that person? 4. Have you ever been forgiven for a serious offense? 5. How did you feel after being forgiven? 6. Could you find it in your heart to forgive someone for murdering your child?
President Bush delivered his last State of the Union Address last week. Under Article II, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution, the President of the United States is required “from time to time to give to Congress information (on) the State of the Union and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient." This message to a joint session of Congress is now delivered annually in January and outlines the administration’s accomplishments over the previous year as well as legislative proposals for the upcoming year.
President Bush said in this year’s address that “all of us were sent to Washington to carry out the people's business. That is the purpose of this body. It is the meaning of our oath. It remains our charge to keep.” Let’s see how well that charge has been kept in the past year and what it promises in the coming year.
Video: A Reality Check on Bush's State of the Union Address in 2007
Video: Bush's 2008 State of the Union Address (in 60 seconds)
Video: This is what Bush should have said in the State of the Union Address
Exxon and Chevron Both See Profits Soar
By Elizabeth Douglass, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer February 2, 2008
Exxon Mobil Corp. shattered its own record as the world's most profitable publicly traded corporation, as rising oil prices helped the company bring in better-than-ever income and revenue for the fourth quarter and 2007.
Irving, Texas-based Exxon's net income rose 3% to $40.6 billion in 2007, surpassing its 2006 record of $39.5 billion.
Chevron Corp. also posted strong earnings despite lower production and lagging profit from making and selling gasoline. Full-year profit at the San Ramon, Calif.-based oil company jumped 9% to $18.7 billion.
Video: The Real State of the Union (Winning Entry in a Contest)
Video: Barack Obama's response to Bush's final State of the Union
UPDATE: February 1, 2008.
In his $3 trillion budget for 2009, President Bush wants to cut funding in the following areas:
1. Cut funding for teaching hospitals and freeze medical research. 2. Cut the budget for the Health and Human Services Department by $2 billion, or 3 percent. 3. Eliminate a $302 million program that gives grants to children's hospitals to subsidize medical education. 4. Eliminate a $300 million program for public health improvement projects. 5. Cut grants to improve health care in rural areas would by 87 percent. 6. Cut $433 million from the Center for Disease Control's budget. 7. Cut the budget by 77 percent (from $108 million to $25 million) for a program to treat and monitor the health of first responders and others exposed to toxins at the World Trade Center after the 9/11 attack. 8. Cut the budget in half for a program to help mental health and substance abuse providers update their programs. 9. Eliminate a new $49 million program to help states provide health insurance to people who are ailing and cannot obtain health insurance in the commercial market. 10. Cut the $2 billion program by $570 million to provide heating subsidies to the poor. 11. Eliminate the $654 million Community Services Block Grant program, which provides seed money for community action agencies that help the poor. 12. Cut almost $200 billion in the cost of Medicare and Medicaid over the next five years.
By contrast, the Pentagon would get a $35 billion increase to $515 billion for core programs, with war costs additional. Bush's budget assumes costs of $70 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, well below the almost $200 billion request for this year.
Bush's wants his tax cuts for the wealthy taxpayers made permanent. It is estimated that this tax cut would cost an additional $1.9 trillion by the end of 2014.
The White House acknowledges that the budget deficit for this year and next is projected to reach $400 billion or more. My prediction is that the budget deficit will be more - much more.
September 14, 2007. NEW YORK -- New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick was fined the NFL maximum of $500,000 Thursday and the Patriots were ordered to pay $250,000 for spying on an opponent's defensive signals.
Commissioner Roger Goodell also ordered the team to give up its first-round draft choice next year if it reaches the playoffs this season, or its second- and third-round picks if it misses the postseason.
"This episode represents a calculated and deliberate attempt to avoid long-standing rules designed to encourage fair play and promote honest competition on the playing field," Goodell said in a letter to the Patriots. (Source:ESPN News Service)
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