This is from Great Britain's Socialist Worker:

Maya Angelou 1928-2014

Maya Angelou’s voice gave life to the struggle for equality and gave many people the confidence to confront sexism and racism, says Moyra Samuels

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Maya Angelou (Pic: Flickr/Wheelock College)

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When I moved into Notting Hill in the mid 1980s, I remember the excitement I felt that Maya Angelou would be signing her most recent book in the local bookshop.

All God’s Children Need Travelling Shoes, her fifth autobiography about her time in Ghana, had just been published.

I queued along with other local black and white women (and they were mainly women) waiting my turn to sit opposite the writer, singer, dancer, poet and inspirational black activist.

Maya Angelou was born in St Louis, Missouri, in 1928 and brought up in segregation in the US.

She led a remarkable life that took her to live in Egypt and Ghana to work as a newspaper editor and a university lecturer.

She also worked with Martin Luther King and Malcolm X as a civil rights activist. Her death has prompted people across the world to reflect on the impact she made on so many.

Maya is probably best known for her first autobiography. In I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings she described her rape at eight years old by her mother’s boyfriend.


She told her brother, which led to her abuser being jailed for just one day. He was murdered soon after.

Experience


The experience caused her to become mute for nearly five years. She said, “I thought, my voice killed him; I killed that man, because I told his name.

“And then I thought I would never speak again, because my voice would kill anyone...”

However, Maya’s voice and words were the opposite—they gave life to women’s struggle for equality, especially black women.

She was known for her intolerance of all forms of bigotry and gave many black women the confidence to challenge sexism within our own communities.

Maya’s work and influence were a part of the generation of black activists in the civil rights movement from Martin Luther to Malcolm X.

She was supported to write her first autobiography by James Baldwin, an openly gay black writer.

After meeting with Malcolm X in Ghana she helped him to build his Organisation of African American Unity. She also worked with Martin Luther King building the Southern Christian Leadership conference. Her talent for music and dance also means that she is remembered for her sassy singing in her album Calypso Lady and dancing with the great choreographer Alvin Ailey.

It is hard to think of an individual who stands as a more of a beacon for how struggle against injustice releases the talent and humanity in us all. This is despite her early personal hardships in the racist US of the 1950s and 1960s.

Maya’s body of work is like a smooth bourbon, a call to arms, a comfort when faced with defeats and a resounding reminder that:


“You may write me down in history 
With your bitter, twisted lies, 
You may trod me in the very dirt 
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.”

Readout of Secretary Kerry's Call With Iraqi Foreign Minister Zebari

Readout of Secretary Kerry's Call With Iraqi Foreign Minister Zebari

Media Note

Office of the Spokesperson

Washington, DC

June 14, 2014

Secretary Kerry spoke with the Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari today to discuss the situation in Iraq. The Secretary stressed to the Foreign Minister that the United States is committed to supporting Iraq and that the President is examining a range of options that could help the Iraqi security forces push back on ISIL advances.


He emphasized to the Foreign Minister that assistance from the United States would only be successful if Iraqi leaders were willing to put aside differences and implement a coordinated and effective approach to forge the national unity necessary to move the country forward and confront the threat of ISIL. In that light, the Secretary noted the importance of the Iraqi government ratifying election results without delay, adhering to its constitutionally mandated timeframe for forming a new government, and respecting the rights of all citizens – Sunni, Kurd, and Shia – as it fights against terrorism.

The Secretary assured the Foreign Minister that the United States was reaching out to the international community and Iraq’s regional neighbors to emphasize the threat that Iraq and the region are under from ISIL and the importance of coming to Iraq’s aid at this critical juncture.

Michigan Greens Nominate 19 at State Convention

This is from the Green Party of Michigan:



Ecological Wisdom      *  Social Justice
Grassroots Democracy  *  Non-Violence


Green Party of Michigan
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  www.MIGreenParty.org


**  News Release  **
**  ------------  **
    June 9, 2014


For More Information, Contact:
-----------------------------
Fred Vitale, GPMI Chair
    freddetroit@sbcglobal.net
    (313) 580-4905

John Anthony La Pietra, GPMI Elections Co-ordinator
    jalp5dai@att.net
    (269) 781-9478



Michigan Greens Nominate 19 at State Convention
===============================================
Paperwork Filed with Bureau of Elections, County Clerks

Also Okay Seven County Caucuses to Nominate More by August,
Endorse Two Party Members Running in Non-Partisan Races



    The Green Party of Michigan (GPMI) put 19 names on
the November 4 general-election ballot at its state
nominating convention in the Detroit area this past
weekend.  A list is provided below.

    The nominating paperwork has been certified to the
Bureau of Elections in Lansing -- and, for two nominees
for county commissioner, to the proper county clerks
as well.

    And more Green nominees may be coming soon, says
GPMI Elections Co-ordinator John Anthony La Pietra --
from seven county caucuses authorized by the delegates
to be held by the August 5 primary date.

    Greens in Ingham, Kalamazoo, Kent, Livingston,
Oakland, Tuscola, and Wayne Counties will give party
members in their areas at least 14 days' notice of
the date, time, and place of the local caucus.

    A caucus may nominate a candidate for any partisan
office at any level, as long as it serves a constituency
entirely within the county.  For instance, a Wayne County
caucus could nominate someone for the 13th District US
House race.

    The candidates nominated at GPMI's convention, and
the offices each is running for, are listed on the party's
Website at:

http://www.migreenparty.org/here-are-the-candidates.html

This page will be updated with campaign links and other
contact information throughout the summer and fall.

    The Bureau posted a Webpage for Federal- and state-
level general-election candidates two and a half months
ago:

http://miboecfr.nictusa.com/election/candlist/14GEN/14GEN_CL.HTM

"We look forward to seeing our nominees up there soon,"
says La Pietra.  "Along with Libertarian candidates
nominated three weeks ago.  Not to mention US Taxpayers
Party candidates who are nominated three weeks from now,
independent candidates who have three weeks after that
to qualify, and Natural Law Party candidates who may
convene at the last moment -- another three weeks later."

    And the November list should be accessible from links
now, just like its August counterpart.  "Primary voters
might vote differently if they know they'll have more than
just the primary winners to choose from in November."

    "It's only fair to let the voters know."

    Voters can already see the name of GPMI member Eric
Borregard on the list of four November candidates for
three seats on the non-partisan Washtenaw Community
College board:

http://www.ewashtenaw.org/government/clerk_register/elections/2014-

elections/november-4-2014-candidates

    GPMI could not nominate Borregard for that spot;
he qualified himself with ballot petitions.  But the
party did endorse him unanimously at the convention.

    Also endorsed was member Joe Connolly, who is now
collecting signatures for his petition to be on the
ballot as a candidate for the non-partisan board of
Northwest Michigan College.

    For other information about GPMI, its candidates,
its platform, and its values, visit:

http://www.MIGreenParty.org/

    You can also “like” the Green Party of Michigan US
Facebook page and follow GPMI's Twitter feed @MIGreenParty.


#    #    #


created/distributed using donated labor

Green Party of Michigan
PO Box 504
Warren, MI  48090-0504
    313-815-2025
    www.MIGreenParty.org

    GPMI was formed in 1987 to address environmental
issues in Michigan politics.  Greens are organized
in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.  Each
state Green Party sets its own goals and creates its
own structure, but US Greens agree on Ten Key Values:

    Ecological Wisdom
    Grassroots Democracy
    Social Justice
    Non-Violence
    Community Economics
    Decentralization
    Feminism
    Respect for Diversity
    Personal/Global Responsibility
    Future Focus/Sustainability

For the latest news,
“like” the Green Party of Michigan US Facebook page --
and follow us at Twitter:  @MIGreenParty.


* [=======] * [=======] * [=======] *


candidates nominated by GPMI
at its June 7-8 state convention
for the November 4, 2014 ballot
===============================

Governor -- Paul Homeniuk
Lieutenant Governor -- Candace Caveny

Attorney General -- John Anthony La Pietra


US Senator -- Chris Wahmhoff

US House / District 01 -- Ellis Boal
US House / District 03 -- Tonya Duncan
US House / District 06 -- John M. Lawrence
US House / District 08 -- Jim Casha
US House / District 09 -- John V. McDermott
US House / District 10 -- Harley Mikkelson
US House / District 14 -- Stephen Boyle


State Board of Education -- Sherry A. Wells

U-M Board of Regents -- Ian Swanson

MSU Board of Trustees -- Terry Link
MSU Board of Trustees -- Adam Adrianson

Wayne St U Board of Governors -- Margaret Guttshall
Wayne St U Board of Governors -- Latham T. Redding


Grand Traverse County
    Commissioner / District 2 -- Tom Mair

Presque Isle County
    Commissioner / District 1 -- Wayne Vermilya



candidates for non-partisan offices
on the November 4, 2014 ballot
endorsed by GPMI at its convention
==================================

Northwest Michigan College
  Board of Trustees -- Joe Connolly

Washtenaw Community College
  Board of Trustees -- Eric Borregard

Nadja Tesich (Sara Flounders)

This is from Workers World:

Nadja Tesich

By Sara Flounders on June 8, 2014

Nadja Tesich

Political activist, author, poet and filmmaker Nadja Tesich was born in Užice, Serbia, Yugoslavia, in 1939 and died Feb. 20 in New York City. She lived her life outspoken and full of righteous rage at the enormous destruction of U.S. wars and the glaring injustice and inequality that surrounded her. She felt collective pain personally, even physically, and identified with defenseless people targeted on the other side of the world or someone passing her on a busy street.


Nadja came to all events wearing always a splash of red — whether a red beret, red scarf or red jacket, or bearing red carnations. She loved Cuba and often said it was the only place she felt she could breathe.


At a memorial for Nadja on May 29, her family, friends and political comrades expressed the rainbow of ways she touched them. We remember her for her political activism, starting from defending the National Liberation Front of Vietnam in the 1960s.


From the beginning days of the International Action Center, Nadja was part of IAC life. She had fought against U.S. wars in Vietnam, coups in Congo, Chile and Greece; she was active in the mass demonstrations against the Iraq War in 1991 and again in 2003.

Nadja was even more intense in our common work attempting to defend her homeland, Yugoslavia, from an unrelenting assault by the imperialist governments of Western Europe and the United States. Tragically for most of the peoples of the Balkans, these years ended with the imposed disintegration of a once-sovereign socialist country into a half-dozen mini-states, now neocolonies of the NATO powers. At meetings, teach-ins and major rallies on Yugoslavia, Nadja was a driving force and a tortured soul of everything we did.
Tesich, whose family emigrated from Yugoslavia to the U.S. when she was a young teenager, has had four novels published: “Shadow Partisan” in 1996, “Native Land” in 1998, “To Die in Chicago” in 2010 and “Far from Vietnam” in 2012.

It is particularly striking to read “Shadow Partisan” and “To Die in Chicago” one after the other. The novels contrast on a close and personal level a hopeful coming-of-age in newly socialist Yugoslavia in the late 1940s with a cleareyed immigrant’s view of U.S. racism and a consumer-driven society without a future in the 1950s.


While studying in Paris in the 1960s, she worked in film as an actor and assistant to Eric Rohmer for the documentary, “Nadja in Paris.” She taught film at Brooklyn College in New York.
We should end with Nadja speaking in her own words, from her chapter in one of the IAC’s books, “NATO in the Balkans”:


“I was born in Serbia and have returned there every year, and I have also lived in France and in New York City most of my adult life. And most of my adult life, as a participant and as observer, I have opposed U.S. aggressions, murders, embargoes, wars. Some hidden, others less so.


Everything the U.S. does elsewhere — chaos and destabilization — it does equally at home. … It’s an amoral, mechanical monster whose heart is the beat of Wall Street. Up and down it goes. More and more it needs and it’s never enough. … Still it can be resisted. I remain optimistic. Machines break, after all.”


She often signed her messages “For our struggles now and for tomorrows that will sing!”


Nadja is survived by her son, Stefan; her sister-in-law, Rebecca; her grandchildren, Cole and Kaia;, her niece, Amy; and her many comrades in the struggle for peace, justice and socialism.

Nadja Tesich ¡Presente!


This article was adapted from IAC co-director Sara Flounder’s presentation at the memorial on May 29.

Articles copyright 1995-2014 Workers World. Verbatim copying and distribution is permitted in any medium without royalty provided this notice is preserved.

An uprising by millions of Iraqis or an attack by a terrorist group?

 Press Release

13 June 2014

Statement No. 2


An uprising by millions of Iraqis or an attack by a terrorist group?

Removal of Maliki from office, ending Iranian meddling and the establishment of a temporary nationalist, democratic and non-sectarian government, is the sole solution to the crisis in Iraq that is endorsed by significant sections of Iraqi society. The popular uprising in Iraq and the liberation of its cities one after the other, together with the collapse of Maliki’s forces and their mass desertion and retreat in face of the tribes, is continuing on a rapid basis. A number of facts on this development are as follows: 


1. The propaganda by Maliki and his masters in Tehran, generously repeated by the Western media, that these regions have fallen into the hands of extremist terrorists of the Islamic State of Iraq in the Levant (ISIL), is ludicrous and baseless. Liberating around 100,000 square kilometers of Iraqi territory with a population of several million by an isolated and extremist group of several hundred or even several thousand members is preposterous. 
It is the tribes and ordinary Iraqi citizens who have risen up in anger against Maliki.

2. Under the pretext of fighting terrorism, Maliki and the Iranian regime on the one hand try to justify the interference of the Iranian terrorist Qods Force and the invasion of Iraq by the revolutionary guards and on the other hand attempt to encourage the United States to militarily interfere in favour of Maliki to repeat its past blunder in Iraq, on an even more dangerous scale. We in the West have to acknowledge that this is a popular revolution against Maliki and the suppressive and criminal regime, organized with the assistance of the United States and of course under the guidance and leadership of the religious fascists ruling Iran with the expenditure of hundreds of billions of dollars of the assets and oil wealth of Iraq.


3. The Iranian regime is now poised to save Maliki. In a telephone conversation, President Rouhani has promised Maliki every kind of cooperation. 
Fox News wrote on June 13: "Some 150 fighters from the Revolutionary Guards elite Quds force have already been dispatched by Tehran, and the division's powerful commander, Qassem Suleimani, met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki Thursday and pledged to send two notorious Iranian brigades to aid in the defence of Baghdad."
 And The Wall Street Journal of June 12 wrote: “At least three battalions of the Quds Forces, the elite overseas branch of the Guards, were dispatched to aid in the battle against the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, an offshoot of al Qaeda rapidly gaining territory across Iraq, they said: “One Guards unit that was already in Iraq fought alongside the Iraqi army, offering guerrilla warfare advice and tactics and helped reclaim most of the city of Tikrit on Thursday; two Guards' units, dispatched from Iran's western border provinces on Wednesday, were tasked with protecting Baghdad and the holy Shiite cities of Karbala and Najaf.”
 These reports only reveal part of the reality and support our constant warnings about the meddling of Iran.


4. Reports on Nineveh and Salahaddin provinces filed by journalists from CNN, al-Jazeera and BBC among others, support our previous intelligence that no violence or aggression has been carried out against the indigenous population. The residents of these areas are happy that Maliki’s forces have fled and public and private properties now enjoy relative security. The mass exodus of refugees from these cities is due to the bombardment by Maliki’s forces, although 48 hours after the liberation of Nineveh, the wave of refugees has markedly ebbed and some have already begun to return. 


5. Yesterday, in its 12-article statement, the Association of Muslim Scholars in Iraq that plays an important role in the developments in the country called on the Iraqi revolutionaries to treat people well, help solve their problems, treat the ethnic groups well, refrain from taking hostages, forgive and forget and treat believers of all religions without prejudice. In this framework, the armed tribes refrained from entering Samarra in Salahaddin Province where the shrine of two Shiite Imams is located and are trying to gain control of the city through negotiations with the government forces in order to prevent any killings and bloodshed. 
General George Casey disclosed on June 2013 that when he was the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq in 2006, the Iranian regime blew up this sacred shrine and blamed it on the Sunnis instigating a great massacre in Iraq. Casey stated that he had personally reported to Maliki that Iran had been behind the explosion, but Maliki took no action.


6. Sheik Abdulqader Nael, one of the sheiks of al-Anbar Province, stated on June 11 that the revolutionaries are calling for the formation of a national salvation government, a technocratic Iraqi government to hold a fair election within a specific timeframe. 


7. Sheik Ali Hatam, the chief of Al-Dulaim Tribe and one of the leaders of the current revolution, in a 6-article statement on June 11 called on all the people and fighters to protect the “lives of all citizens and all public and private properties” and to avoid taking revenge and not to allow “any form of terrorism”. He added that “all soldiers and government employees that have been coerced by Maliki and driven to sectarian war” will be forgiven. He thanked “all security forces that did not open fire on the people” and stated that they will be rewarded. Sheik Ali Hatam asked for the removal of Maliki from office and the establishment of a temporary government to save Iraq. He said that the tribes are fully prepared to take on the security file in the liberated provinces.


8. In addition to the revolutionary guards, Maliki is using the paramilitary forces associated with the Iranian regime such as Asai’b Ahl al-Haq and Kata’eb Hezbollah to suppress the popular uprising. These paramilitary forces blew up some of the bridges over the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in order to hamper the advancement of revolutionary forces creating massive problems for the population.


9. On June 11, Maliki admitted his forces are fleeing and said, “…the leaders who acquiesced with this conspiracy and those who retreated and those who showed weakness should all be punished…all those who laid down their arms should be prosecuted. They shall never avert punishment”.


10. In such conditions, the Iraqi al-Taghier TV channel revealed on June 13 that on the orders of Maliki, billions of dollars of cash has been transferred in armored vehicles from Iraq's Central Bank to the Baghdad Green Zone to be subsequently transferred to Iran.


I once again repeat the proposal of the conference in Brussels on June 11 as the sole practical solution to the crisis in Iraq in order to avert further bloodshed. This solution includes the removal of Maliki from office, ending all Iranian meddling in Iraq and the formation of a nationalist, democratic and non-sectarian government that encompasses all segments of Iraqi society. This solution is widely supported by Iraqi nationalistic and democratic forces. Instead of assisting Maliki, that will only lead to more blood being spilled, the United States and the European Union should force Maliki to accept this solution and immediately step down from power.

STRUAN STEVENSON, MEP

President of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with Iraq

Highlights

 This piece is written by Rebecca of Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude, Cedric of Cedric's Big Mix, Kat of Kat's Korner, Betty of Thomas Friedman is a Great Man, Mike of Mikey Likes It!, Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz, Ruth of Ruth's Report, Marcia of SICKOFITRADLZ, Stan of Oh Boy It Never Ends, Ann of Ann's Mega Dub, Isaiah of The World Today Just Nuts and Wally of The Daily Jot. Unless otherwise noted, we picked all highlights.

"Mosul's fall was inevitable" -- most requested highlight by readers of this site.

 "Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "Changing Stories" -- Isaiah on the VA scandal.

"Kat's Korner: Chrissie Hynde rocks out" -- Kat reviews the new Chrissie Hynde album.

 "White Beans, Spinach and Tomatoes over Linguine in the Kitchen" -- Trina offers a simple recipe.

"22 Jump Street" and "22 Jump Street" and "A Million Ways for Seth To Die On The Big Screen"  -- Betty and Stan go to the movies.

"Idiot of the week," "And that's why I ignore Hillary Is 44," "iraq," "The problem that is Nouri al-Maliki,""A pig named Lambert," "All hail the new loser!" and "THIS JUST IN! CALL HIM BARRY BUSH!," "WSWS advances White House line,"  "Iraq and Afghanistan," "Mosul has fallen," "Iraqis battle for control of their country," "The fleecing of Detroit and Thug Nouri," "A little ___ named Lisa Savage" -- Iraq coverage in the community.  

"Cass Elliot made her own kind of music," "50 'facts' on women who rock?," "Chrissie Hynde's new album" and "Chrissie Hynde's solo album" -- Elaine, Kat and Ruth cover music. 

 "The Ego Tripper's Workout" -- Isaiah dips into the archives.

"Tom Hanks is a tool," "TV," "Mistresses (Savi gets caught, April has a really long nooner)," "Mistresses (Karen and Joss)," "reactions to wgn's salem," "The Catherine Tate Show," "Emmys," "salem" and "Music, comic, TV" -- Ruth, Stan, Ann, Elaine,Kat and Rebecca cover TV. 

"Remembering Ruby Dee" and "1 activist dies, another sees his reputation die" -- Betty and Rebecca note Ruby Dee's passing. 

"Barack's the new Warren G. Harding," "The ongoing VA scandal" and "The VA is small stuff?" -- VA coverage in the community.

"Applause addiction can prove costly"  and "THIS JUST IN! HE MISSES THE CROWDS!" -- can supermarket ribbon cuttings be far behind?

Truest statement of the week

It's an operation that would attract a lot of media attention, but it's a major embarrassment for the prime minister.


-- Youssef Taha, "Iraq university hostages' ordeal ends in Ramadi" (BBC News).

Truest statement of the week II

With this background, we move to last week in illustration of Obama’s full-court press toward incipient if not also actualized fascism. I say “Obama,” because in this case the FBI but more important a discussion to follow on NSA, one finds a direct projection of/from the government; neither one, again, especially NSA, can be dismissed simply as a “rogue” agency, and instead reflect the pith of Administration policy: pursuit of continued global hegemony through solidification, beyond obviously powerful military forces, of a National Security State, a prime requirement being the practice of surveillance at home and abroad. One of the tests of a democratic polity is accountability at the very top—and regrettably America has neither, the lack of the latter testifying to the absence of the former.

-- Norman Pollack, "Techno-Fascism (NSA) and the Obama Administration" (CounterPunch).