Barack as the stoner student

He served a full, four year term as US President from January 2009 to January 2013 and he's now in the second year of his second (and final) term.




So it's with much anticipation and excitement that The White House announced Saturday that 2014 would be "The President's Year of Action."

That's good to know.

Clearly 2009 wasn't his year of action or 2010 or 2011 or 2012 or 2013 . . .

We seriously doubt 2014 will be his year of action though we applaud a goal being set.

It may seem a little harsh to point out he's kind of like a stoner student in the middle of the spring term deciding to suddenly go to class and do the reading but -- we all do realize he's planning to begin his "year" of action in May, right?

In the fifth month of the year, he's going to try to get active?

Again, he's the stoner student who's been cutting class and not doing the work for half the semester but is now going to turn it around.

This edition's playlist

1) Laura Nyro's Eli and the Thirteenth Confession. And you can refer to the following posts from last week about the album.   "Once It Was Alright Now (Farmer Joe)." "Lonely Women," "the confession," "Poverty Train," "Lu," "Timer," "Eli's Coming," "Emmie," "Sweet Blindness" and "Yes, I'm ready."


2) M. Ward's A Wasteland Companion.

3) Stevie Wonder's Characters..

4) Carly Simon's No Secrets.

5) Richie Havens' Mixed Bag.

6) David Saw's Broken Down Figure.

7) Melanie's The Good Book.

8) David Rovics' Halliburton Boardroom Massacre.

9) Cat Power's The Greatest.

10) Roberta Flack's Oasis.

Shoots and scores?

Why, several e-mails want to know, did I (Jim) move out?

Huh?




A gossip site linked to C.I.'s "Mia and her brood drag whatever's left of the name through the mud" from February.  In it, she writes:



Jim, for example, is going to read this and think, "We're best friends.  Dona and I lived with her for several years and I never knew this."  And Jim and I have been friends now for a decade and shared many stories of our lives -- good and bad -- but there's never been a reason to bring this up.


Suddenly, due to the gossip site, everyone wants to know about our breakup.  Honest to God, four e-mails completely overlook Dona's mention and read the above as C.I. and I had a hot-and-heavy affair and then it ended and I left.

First off, those looking for Mia coverage, you can read Ava and C.I.'s "TV: Another idiot for the idiot box" and "The award for best self-created drama goes to Mia Farrow (Ava and C.I.)" and "Dylan whines to Maureen Orth who passes it on to Janet Malcolm."

Second, I believe it was the summer of 2006 -- end of summer -- when we moved in with C.I.  Ty was already there and had been doing a summer internship with a film director friend of C.I.'s.  He loved California and wasn't returning to New York.  Ava had family in California (a lot of family) and a few in New York.  She hated New York.  She was ready to move back.  Jess and Ava were (and are) a couple. They moved in with C.I.

Dona and I were looking at returning to campus in the fall with our friends gone.

So, at the last moment, we decided we'd go with the group.

Dona and I got married and had a child.  Ava bought a home on the same street as C.I.

I don't see Ty (or his boyfriend) ever moving out.  I think C.I.'s got permanent guests.

We did move out.  Into Ava's place.

Why?

Jess was there by himself during the week (when Ava and C.I. are on the road speaking about the wars, the spying, etc.).

Ty and Betty and Wally stayed on at C.I.'s while Jess, Dona and me (and our child) moved over to Ava's house.

There was no fight or harsh words.

And C.I. was the greatest hostess.

We paid no bills, we didn't have to clean up or cook much because C.I. does have a household staff.  We didn't have to buy groceries.

And we could play tennis or hop in her pool or do any number of things, lay out in the sun, that she could have been doing if she wasn't on the road trying to end the Iraq War.

I would have blown the e-mails off but I wanted to use our illustration and also wanted to plug those three articles that ran here as well as give Dona one of her beloved "short features! short features!"

ELEANOR SMEAL, MAVIS AND JAY LENO, DOLORES HUERTA, AND OTHER WILL SPEAK AT #STOPTHESULTANRALLY IN BEVERLY HILLS

This from The Feminist Majority Foundation:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 2, 2014Contacts: Stephanie Hallett - 310.556.2500,
Brooke Hofhenke - bhofenke@feminist.org

ELEANOR SMEAL, MAVIS AND JAY LENO, DOLORES HUERTA, AND OTHER WILL SPEAK AT #STOPTHESULTANRALLY IN BEVERLY HILLS

Los Angeles, CA – The Feminist Majority, which has pulled its annual event from the Beverly Hills Hotel — owned by the Sultan of Brunei — will hold a rally at noon on May 5 across from the hotel, to urge the Sultan to rescind a Taliban-like Brunei penal code, that includes the stoning to death of gay men and lesbians and the public flogging of women who have abortions.

The Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, and the Brunei Investment Agency, owns the Beverly Hills Hotel, the Bel-Air Hotel and other Dorchester Collection Properties. FMF pulled its Global Women’s Rights Awards, co-chaired by Jay and Mavis Leno, from the Beverly Hills Hotel and has launched a massive petition drive and social media campaign calling on the government of Brunei to immediately rescind the new code and asking the United Nations to take action if these laws go into effect as planned.

WHAT: Coalition of Women’s Rights, LGBT and Human Rights Groups Rally

WHEN: Monday May 5, 2014 , 12:00PM – 1:00PM

WHERE: In the Park across from the Beverly Hills Hotel (Sunset Boulevard between North Canon and North Beverly Drive). Street Parking on North Canon, North Beverly Drive and Lomitas Avenue.

WHO: (List in Formation)

• Jay Leno and Mavis Leno, Board Member, Feminist Majority Foundation
• Eleanor Smeal, President, Feminist Majority Foundation
• Andreas Meyer, President, Equality California EQCA
• Lorri L. Jean, CEO Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Services Center
• Dolores Huerta, President, Dolores Huerta Foundation/Co-Founder, United Farm Workers
• Vince Wong, Vice Chair, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
• Betsy Butler, California Women’s Law Center
• Ada Briceno, Secretary-Treasurer, UNITE HERE Local 11
• Katherine Spillar, Executive Editor, Ms. magazine

###

Michigan Greens to Hold Convention June 7-8

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  **
**  ------------  **
      May 1, 2014


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

Fred Vitale, GPMI Meeting Manager
    freddetroit@sbcglobal.net
    (313) 490-5805



Michigan Greens to Hold Convention June 7-8
===========================================
GPMI Members to Gather in Detroit Area from Across the State
to Nominate Federal, State, and Local Candidates;
Party Will Also Publish Its 2014 Platform



    The Green Party of Michigan (GPMI) will hold its
2014 state nominating convention in the Detroit area
on Saturday, June 7 and Sunday, June 8.

    The Saturday session is scheduled to run from 9am
to 5pm at the International Institute, 111 E. Kirby,
Detroit.  On Sunday, Michigan Greens will convene at
the Phoenix Cafe, 24918 John R., Hazel Park from 9am
to 3pm.

    This will be the Green Party's eighth convention
since it earned its place on the Michigan ballot in
2000.  Conventions and county caucuses are how GPMI
and other alternative parties nominate candidates for
the November general elections.

    GPMI Elections Co-ordinator John Anthony La Pietra
points out that the state-law-required convention/caucus
system doesn't bring Green nominees the publicity of
taxpayer-financed primary elections.  "On the other hand,
every candidate we nominate has to show a solid commitment
to the party's values."

    Those values include the Four Pillars of all US Greens:
grassroots democracy, social justice, ecological wisdom,
and non-violence.  GPMI applies its values to key issues
of the day in its 2014 Platform, which will be publicly
available at the convention.

    GPMI Meeting Manager Fred Vitale will be having
updates of information about the convention agenda,
directions to the two sites, hotels and restaurants
in the area, and other links posted on the party's
new Website at:

    http://www.migreenparty.org/nominating-convention.html

    GPMI's 2014 platform and its four major sections --
"Democracy and Human Rights", "The Environment", "Resource Wars",
and "Jobs and the General Welfare" -- can be seen at

    http://www.migreenparty.org/our-platform-and-positions.html

    If you would like to be considered for a possible GPMI
nomination for partisan elective office, contact Elections
Co-ordinator John Anthony La Pietra <jalp5dai@att.net> for
an article about the nomination process.  Candidates who
answer the party's questionnaire in the article by May 24
will have their answers included in a booklet distributed
to delegates at the convention.

    For other information about GPMI, its values, and its
candidates, 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.

This is a repost from Great Britain's Socialist Worker:

Matisse’s colours shone in the century’s darkest hour

Illness turned Henri Matisse from painter to pioneer of collage. His cut-outs come alive in a landmark exhibition at Tate Modern, says Peter Robinson

---

Henri Matisse, The Horse, the Rider, and the Clown 1943-4 (Pic: © Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Jean-Claude Planchet © Succession Henri Matisse/DACS 2013)

---

Henri Matisse was one of the greatest and most radical artists in the first half of the 20th century—and the last ten years of his life were among his most creative. 


In 1941, with France under Nazi occupation, Matisse was diagnosed with cancer. He underwent serious operations where his life hung in the balance, and until he died he had to work from his wheelchair and bed.
He developed a completely new style to his art, leaving painting behind for colourful collages.


Tate Modern’s blockbuster summer exhibition covers these years. It is the biggest ever exhibition of Matisse’s cut-outs.


The 14 rooms are a riot of intense blocks of vibrant colour. The shapes are laid out in harmonious rhythm, creating an overwhelming sense of beauty and exuberance.


The cut-outs are made from pieces of paper covered in gouache—a paint usually used for posters because of its rich colour. They can’t be mixed or blended so the range of colours is limited.


Assistants would cover the paper with paint to Matisse’s specifications. He would then sit in bed with a huge pair of scissors and cut shapes that seemed to come to life in his hands.


People who witnessed this process found it hard to believe how much intensity and energy he had.


He would then direct an assistant to pin each piece to the wall and gradually assemble a finished piece. He called it his production line.


This method thrilled him. Instead of having to draw a line and then fill it with colour he saw it as cutting directly into colour as if sculpting it.


Circuses


He worked on books and periodicals using this method, most famously Jazz, which contains delightful scenes from circuses and folklore. The compositions seem to dance with life, as in The Horse, the Rider and the 

Clown, pictured.


But Matisse was disappointed in the printed result as it had removed the sensitivity of his hand-made pieces.

For a time his eyesight was affected from living too long with what he called “enchanted colours”.

Matisse saw his masterpiece as the chapel in Vense near Nice in the South of France.


Over four years he turned his studio into a replica of the chapel and designed everything from the stained glass windows to the priests’ garments. The colour and light create a sumptuous celebration of life.


The exhibition also includes huge pieces that began on the walls of his flat in Paris. He covered up a stain with a cut-out swallow.


Then, inspired by his memories of Tahiti, he went on to fill the walls with birds, sea life and plants. Many of his works come from his memory, including designs for a tiled patio which recalls the geometry and rhythm of Islamic art.


He would completely fill the walls of his studio with startlingly bright forms from nature pinned loosely so that they waved in the breeze. He said, “I can’t go outside so I have brought a garden inside”.

Payments © Socialist Worker (unless otherwise stated). You may republish if you include an active link to the original.     

Anti-drone events in Central New York (Minnie Bruce Pratt)

This is from Workers World:

Anti-drone events in Central New York

By Minnie Bruce Pratt on May 2, 2014

April 27 protest at Hancock Air Base.

WW photo: Minnie Bruce Pratt

Syracuse, N.Y. — In a determined protest against the U.S. use of drone warfare, 150 people marched to the gates of Hancock Air Base in Syracuse, N.Y., on April 27. The multinational march was part of a regional day of education and action linking poverty, racism and war.


People in Afghanistan, for example, are targeted by Reaper drones piloted out of Hancock Air Base.

Soldiers in the 174th Attack Wing, New York National Guard, fly the drones. The 174th previously flew F-16s; it is the first U.S. squadron to convert to all-unmanned combat planes.


Human rights groups estimate that U.S. drones have killed thousands of people in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen since 2002. On April 7, a drone strike killed more than a dozen people in Kunar province, Afghanistan, near the Pakistan border. Eighty people have been arrested in recent protests at the Hancock gates. In 2011, protesters delivered a “War Crimes Indictment” to the base.


Some demonstrators held up photographs of individuals, many of them children from these same four countries, who were killed by U.S. drone bombings. Some activists carried photographs of Trayvon Martin and Troy Davis, and other Black youth and adults, who were killed by vigilante attacks, racist police and state execution.


The Upstate Coalition to Ground the Drones and End the Wars, with members in Buffalo, Binghamton, Ithaca, Rochester, Saratoga, Syracuse and Utica, called the action, which was coordinated locally by the Syracuse Peace Council.


A people’s declaration


At this action, protesters declared “A People’s Order of Protection Against Drone Terrorism” ordering the 174th Attack Wing to stop all bombing of “the children of Afghanistan, their families and their villages.”
An “order of protection” is a legal tool used by victims of domestic violence to keep their abusers at a safe distance. A court typically issues such an order against someone who harms or threatens to harm another person.


Military and local authorities have recently attempted to limit and repress anti-drone actions by issuing “orders of protection” against more than 50 demonstrators.


These orders prohibit those anti-drone activists from coming within sight of Hancock under penalty of arrest.
Some activities usually covered by an order of protection include ordering an abuser to stay away from a person and her children, move out of the family home or not carry a gun.


Currently “protected” by such an order — and thus placed in the role of “victim of abuse” — are Hancock Air Base, its 2,000 personnel and armed soldiers, and its commander. All are part of Air Combat Command, one of the ten major commands of the U.S. Air Force.


Activists are fighting in court to overturn this state abuse of an “order of protection.”


Poverty, racism and drones


A standing-room-only, multinational crowd of more than 600 people attended a pre-march event that focused on connecting the links between poverty, racism and drone warfare.


The event took place at Tucker Missionary Baptist Church, a historically Black congregation on the South Side of Syracuse.


Dr. Cornel West, a featured speaker, is a noted African-American scholar and professor of Philosophy and Christian Practice at Union Theological Seminary. Dr. West stressed the connections between Wall Street, U.S. “imperial crimes,” the prison-industrial complex and the failure to meet people’s needs.


The audience cheered loudly when he said, “There is always money for wars and for prisons but not for health care and education.”


He added, “Capitalism is a failed system when it comes to the poor and working people.”


Sponsors of both events included United National Anti-War Coalition, local chapters of the Catholic Worker, the Green Party, the National Action Network, Veterans for Peace, and many Western and Central New York peace and justice groups.

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

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.

"Iraq is not your football and we blew it in the US..." -- most requested highlight by readers of this site.

"Iraq snapshot," "Senate Veterans Affairs Committee reviews alternative care (Ava)," "Begich tried (Wally)," "Senator Richard Blumenthal," "Petzel lied to Senate Veterans Affairs Committee" and "Iraq snapshot"  -- C.I., Ava, Wally, Ruth and Kat report on a Senate Veterans Committee.

"Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "The Little Pri..." -- Isaiah notes the little prince still seems unsure of what job he was elected to do. 

"Once It Was Alright Now (Farmer Joe)," "Lonely Women," "the confession," "Poverty Train," "Lu," "Timer," "Eli's Coming," "Sweet Blindness," "Emmie" and "Yes, I'm ready" -- community post on Laura Nyro's Eli and the Thirteenth Confession.

"The Other Woman," "The Amazing Spider-Man 2," "Box office, Johnny Depp" and "Amy Heckerling" -- Betty, Stan and Kat go to the movies.

"Idiot of the week: Lizz Winstead" -- Mike picks the idiot of the week.


"E-mails in the kitchen" -- Trina goes through the e-mails.

"Good TV, Bad TV," "Arrow is so-slow and boring," "Elementary," "The 100 -- a good episode," "Revolution," "The Mindy Project," "Lies and The 100," "revenge" and "The I Don't Care Wife" -- Marcia, Stan, Mike, Ann, Elaine and Rebecca cover TV. 

"Barry offers some ass" and "THIS JUST IN! JUSTY'S TROUSER SNAKE TAPS SOME  PRESIDENTIAL WHAT!" -- Barry gets a little.

"Music," "David Rovics and Roberta Flack" and "laura nyro and bob hoskins" -- Elaine, Kat and Rebecca cover music.

"Benghazi" and "Benghazi" -- Ruth continues her Benghazi coverage.

"Senate Veterans Affairs Committee reviews alternative care (Ava)"


"The unseemly obsession" -- Betty lays it out.

"Where are the jobs?" -- it should be the mantra.


"State of the Union" -- Isaiah dips into the archives.

"Slowly they turn" and "THIS JUST IN! TWERK THAT THANG!" -- Barry works that ass.

"Jalal makes a video," "The violence in Iraq," "A teenage suicide bomber," "The Kurds," "Thug Nouri al-Maliki," "Thug Nouri wants a third term," "Iraq's elections" and "So little coverage of Iraq" -- some of the Iraq coverage in the community.