Bye Bye.
H.B. and I are going to vacation at the Yamantau Mountain “Doomsday” Complex (54°15’19"N 58°06’11"E), Beloretsk, Bashkortostan Republic, Russian Federation.  It’s cold there this time of year.
We’re working jointly on a translation of that well-known song into Bashkir, the language of the charming local people.  We’ve already run into an ethnolinguistic problem: “tally man” doesn’t translate.  We paraphrase with “forced labor psychopathic supervisor” instead.  It’s as hard to rhyme as it is cumbersome.  But hey: it’s another blow for multiculturalism.

Hey, here’s another one for Cannery!  Are you the Cannery of Cannery Row?  Spent a year near there in ‘74 (a geography clue).  You like clues, laysa kadhalika?
H.B. copped his high school diploma from George Washington HS in Washington Heights, a declasse(e) sector of Manhattan.  How did he get to be the Muse of the Caribbean?  Another luminary from the same neighborhood: Tiny Tim!

Banana Boat Parody #4
The Bin Laden (Banana Boat) Song

Misplaced Comedy Group, 2001; lyrics by Steven Grabo and Jeff Prekop.

B-i-i-in! B-i-i-in Laden!
Someday soon, now you’re gonna go boom

Bin! Me say Bin, me say Bin, me say Bin, me say Bin Laden!
Someday soon, now you’re gonna go boom

Bomb all night to get that scum!
Someday soon, now you’re gonna go boom
Drop the bombs till the camels come home
Someday soon, now you’re gonna go boom

Come, Mr. Taliban, give us Mr. Bin Laden
Someday soon, now you’re gonna go boom
Come, Mr. Taliban, give us Mr. Bin Laden
Someday soon, now you’re gonna go boom

We drop six bombs, seven bombs, eight bombs—boom!
Someday soon, now you’re gonna go boom
We drop six bombs, seven bombs, eight bombs—boom!
Someday soon, now you’re gonna go boom

A beautiful bunch of US soldiers
Someday soon, now you’re gonna go boom
Watch your ass, so we gonna get ya!
Someday soon, now you’re gonna go boom

We drop six bombs, seven bombs, eight bombs—boom!
Someday soon, now you’re gonna go boom
Six bombs, seven bombs, eight bombs—boom!
Someday soon, now you’re gonna go boom

B-i-i-in! B-i-i-in Laden!
Someday soon, now you’re gonna go boom

Bin! Me say Bin, me say Bin, me say Bin, me say Bin Laden!
Someday soon, now you’re gonna go boom

For Comparison—The Original “Day-O”
Music and lyrics by Harry Belafonte, Lord Burgess and Bill Attaway.

Day-O, day-ay-ay-o
Daylight come, and me wan’ go home
Day, me say day, me say day, me say day, me say day, me say day-ay-ay-o
Daylight come, and me wan’ go home

Work all night, and a drink a rum
(Daylight come and me wan’ go home)
Stack banana till thee morning come
(Daylight come and me wan’ go home)

Come, Mr. Tally Mon, tally me banana
(Daylight come and me wan’ go home)
Come, Mr. Tally Mon, tally me banana
(Daylight come and me wan’ go home)

It’s six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch!
(Daylight come and me wan’ go home)
Six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch!
(Daylight come and me wan’ go home)

Day, me say day-ay-ay-o
(Daylight come and me wan’ go home)
Day, me say day, me say day
(Daylight come and me wan’ go home)

A beautiful bunch a ripe banana
(Daylight come and me wan’ go home)
Hide the deadly black tarantula
(Daylight come and me wan’ go home)

Day, me say day-ay-ay-o
(Daylight come and me wan’ go home)
Day, me say day, me say day, me say day, me say day, me say day
(Daylight come and me wan’ go home)

Come, Mr. Tally Mon, tally me banana
(Daylight come and me wan’ go home)
Come Mr. Tally Mon, tally me banana
(Daylight come and me wan’ go home)

Day-o, day-ay-ay-o
(Daylight come and me wan’ go home)
Day, me say day, me say day, me say day, me say day, me say day-ay-ay-o
(Daylight come and me wan’ go home

To His Eminence UberErnst Cannery: is that the Orwell of “Homage to Catalonia” or “1984”?  Orwell tried to have it both ways.

Here’s another one likewise cleared by me, Judge Joe.
Hey, Canning!  remember H.B. when he graduated from George Washington HS (affectionately referred to as “G Dubs"---sounds ironically like “Dubya”, wirklich?) in our old neighborhood, Washington Heights?  You remember, don’cha?  How did somebody who picked up a diploma on the Heights turn into The Muse of the Caribbean?  Or maybe The Schmooz of the Caribbean?  Or is H.B. just another micturator on America?  Micturation on America pays well!  Yet another Heights luminary: Tiny Tim!  Wow!  What a legacy!  Check it out, Herr UberErnst:

Banana Boat Parody #4
The Bin Laden (Banana Boat) Song

Misplaced Comedy Group, 2001; lyrics by Steven Grabo and Jeff Prekop.

B-i-i-in! B-i-i-in Laden!
Someday soon, now you’re gonna go boom

Bin! Me say Bin, me say Bin, me say Bin, me say Bin Laden!
Someday soon, now you’re gonna go boom

Bomb all night to get that scum!
Someday soon, now you’re gonna go boom
Drop the bombs till the camels come home
Someday soon, now you’re gonna go boom

Come, Mr. Taliban, give us Mr. Bin Laden
Someday soon, now you’re gonna go boom
Come, Mr. Taliban, give us Mr. Bin Laden
Someday soon, now you’re gonna go boom

We drop six bombs, seven bombs, eight bombs—boom!
Someday soon, now you’re gonna go boom
We drop six bombs, seven bombs, eight bombs—boom!
Someday soon, now you’re gonna go boom

A beautiful bunch of US soldiers
Someday soon, now you’re gonna go boom
Watch your ass, so we gonna get ya!
Someday soon, now you’re gonna go boom

We drop six bombs, seven bombs, eight bombs—boom!
Someday soon, now you’re gonna go boom
Six bombs, seven bombs, eight bombs—boom!
Someday soon, now you’re gonna go boom

B-i-i-in! B-i-i-in Laden!
Someday soon, now you’re gonna go boom

Bin! Me say Bin, me say Bin, me say Bin, me say Bin Laden!
Someday soon, now you’re gonna go boom

For Comparison—The Original “Day-O”
Music and lyrics by Harry Belafonte, Lord Burgess and Bill Attaway.

Day-O, day-ay-ay-o
Daylight come, and me wan’ go home
Day, me say day, me say day, me say day, me say day, me say day-ay-ay-o
Daylight come, and me wan’ go home

Work all night, and a drink a rum
(Daylight come and me wan’ go home)
Stack banana till thee morning come
(Daylight come and me wan’ go home)

Come, Mr. Tally Mon, tally me banana
(Daylight come and me wan’ go home)
Come, Mr. Tally Mon, tally me banana
(Daylight come and me wan’ go home)

It’s six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch!
(Daylight come and me wan’ go home)
Six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch!
(Daylight come and me wan’ go home)

Day, me say day-ay-ay-o
(Daylight come and me wan’ go home)
Day, me say day, me say day
(Daylight come and me wan’ go home)

A beautiful bunch a ripe banana
(Daylight come and me wan’ go home)
Hide the deadly black tarantula
(Daylight come and me wan’ go home)

Day, me say day-ay-ay-o
(Daylight come and me wan’ go home)
Day, me say day, me say day, me say day, me say day, me say day
(Daylight come and me wan’ go home)

Come, Mr. Tally Mon, tally me banana
(Daylight come and me wan’ go home)
Come Mr. Tally Mon, tally me banana
(Daylight come and me wan’ go home)

Day-o, day-ay-ay-o
(Daylight come and me wan’ go home)
Day, me say day, me say day, me say day, me say day, me say day-ay-ay-o
(Daylight come and me wan’ go home

These Belafonte parodies have been cleared by the New York State Assistant Justice/Tammany Hall myrmidon/FDR appointee Judge Joseph Force Crater (on the road since 6 August 1930!):

http://www.oska.com

Banana Boat Parody #1
“Osama Bin Laden Bomb Song”
Words by Craig Williams, “Sweet” Al Miller, Andy Kaye and Doug Marsh

Day-o! Daaa-yo!
Daylight come, and we drop the bomb

Pay—we say pay, we say pay, we say pay, we say pay-o!
Kick your ass, then we gonna come home

George Bush says that revenge come
Daylight come, and we drop the bomb
Load dem bombs til the morning come
Airplane come and we drop the bomb

Come, Mr. Taliban, turn over bin Laden
Colin Powell gonna bomb his home
Come, Mr. Taliban, turn over bin Laden
Payback come, and we drop the bomb

Lift one bomb, two bomb, three bomb, four!
Payback come, and we drop the bomb
Six bombs, seven bombs, hit the floor
Cruise missile knocking at your door

Come, Mr.Taliban, turn over bin Laden
Colin Powell gonna bomb his home
Come, Mr. Taliban, turn over bin Laden
Payback come, and we drop the bomb

Lift one bomb, two bomb, three bomb, four!
Payback come when we drop the bomb
Six bomb, seven bomb, hit the floor
Cruise missile knocking at your door

Pay—we say pay-o
Kick your ass, then we wanna come home

Banana Boat Parody #2
Air Force Come

This 51-second parody shared similar sentiments with the KOMP version. The
lyricist is unknown at this time.

A-yo! Aaa-yo!
Air Force come, and they flatten your home.

Run, Mr. Taliban, we know where you’re hidin’
Air Force come, and they flatten your home

Hey, USA, USA, USA, USA-o!
Uncle Sam come, and he flatten your home

Sixty-foot, seventy-foot, eighty-foot crater
Air Force come, and they flatten your home

Poor Uncle Sam’s pissed, and he ain’t no quitter
Air Force come, and they flatten your home

When we’re finished, you’ll all be cryin’!
Air Force come, and they flatten your home

Pilot is brother of New York fireman!
Air Force come, and they flatten your home.

Banana Boat Parody #3
Lyrics by “The Curmudgeon.” Originally posted on the Ezboard message boards
on the World Wide Web, October 2001. There is no recorded version. Bin Laden
himself sings a lament as the United States and allies close in. Note the
reference to a 6,000 death toll. There were actually about 3,000 victims.

Day-oh! D-a-a-a-y-oh!
Air Force gonna come, gonna bomb my home!
Day-oh! D-a-a-a-y-oh!
Air Force gonna come, gonna bomb my home!

One plane, two planes, four planes we crash
Now Air Force come, gonna bomb my home
Two hit New York an’ 6,000 gone in a flash
Now Air Force come, gonna bomb my home

Come, Mr. Taliban, prevent my extradition
Air Force gone, an’ I got no more home
Hey, Mr. Taliban, save me from eviction
Air Force gone, an’ I got no more home

Osama, O-s-a-a-a-ma!
Daylight never gonna come, you get no new home!
Osama, O-s-a-a-a-ma!
Daylight never gonna come, you get no new home!

Ernest Canning, your comment on my recent post was neither intelligent, nor insightful nor did it prove that you read it.  IT IS A PRESS QUOTE, YA MAJNUN!

Pass to Harry Belafonte:

October 12, 2007
“Hey Mr. Taliban, come kill the dirty kuffir”
Jihad for Kids Update. “London bomber twisted Belafonte’s `Banana Boat’ song to preach jihad to kids,” by ANI (thanks to Dendenizen):

London, Oct.12 (ANI): Caribbean singer Harry Belafonte’s popular “Banana Boat” song was twisted by terror camp leader Atilla Ahmet to preach jihad to kids at the Jameah Islamic school, near Crowborough in Sussex. Ahmet, according to the Daily Mail, called it his “Jihad Calypso”, and convinced children at the school to sing it along with him at a performance. That performance was later recorded, a court here was told.
The lyrics of the 84-worded song went as follows:
“Come Mr. Taliban, come give me kuffir...my Kalashnikov. Come Mr. Taliban, come bomb England… before the daylight come, you wanna see Ten Downing Street.
Come Mr. Taliban, come implement Shariah. Come Mr. Taliban, come bomb England before the daylight come, Insh’Allah, it will be done.
Hey Mr. Taliban, come kill the dirty kuffir, get rid of the haram, because we want halal.
Hey Mr. Taliban, boom, boom, boom, come bomb England before the daylight come. Insh’Allah, it will be done.
Ahmet, a former preacher at Finsbury Park Mosque, has pleaded guilty to three counts of soliciting murder in connection with a case now being heard at Woolwich Crown Court.

Harry, hey, you could be the one to spark plug the questioning of the 9/ll coverup.  These others fear for their cowardly careers, but yours is long established.

to the Comment #59358 by Rauni, sticks and stones Mr Canadian !!! when all else fails name call !!! me thinks, i hit a sore spot, like for most libs the truth hurts. and its the god honest truth that the USA is the bulkhead of freedom, your freedom, to view and comment on this site, or to spew your hatred for my great country !! all comes, due to the USA military standing perpetual guard in a dangerous world !! the Canadian military comes along for the ride, and helps out too in their small way, but they take a backseat roll like all little brothers do, and should !! so if the USA is the “biggest terrorist” in the world, (stupid statement- and you say i need an education?) then were does that leave Canada ??? the biggest terrorist in the worlds little compliant brother ??  so read some more hit pieces watch another documentary full of lies and drink some more kool-aid Rauni cause the US military is here to protect your right to do so !!!

illgramaticus knee o’kaun

Ernest Canning:  Thankyou for the correction.  I knew it was bad, but not that bad.  Project for a New American Century is really marching on isn’t it. 

I won’t even dignify Badura’s recent comments, except to say that the present US government is the number one terrorist in the world and the biggest threat to world peace.

In response to Perfectively #59152, thank you for getting us back to Amy Goodman’s excellent essay on Harry Belefonte’s 80th birthday party near the New York Public Library. She does seem warm and sincere so I will read her that way this time. Yes Perfectively, there really would be a difference between being “washed up” and semi-retired at the most, for I would never underestimate Harry Belefonte’s musicle prowess.

A reply to Comment #58685 by Rauni, your are telling me i need an education? then dishing out a kool-aid recipe for it, like “why we fight” just more left wing propaganda !! why don’t you study the history of mankind and the 20th century and get away from the kool-aid table you say you have no enemy’s ??? sir. !!!  you need a education like most American libs do, who live in a world of their own invention the reason Canada and Western Europe can be so liberal and so free and live in there own made up wonderland is because the USA is standing vigil on the gates of freedom minding all the bad guys around the world for you !!! so even if your are not grateful just as the rest of the world is not grateful we are still here and have been here to protect you !!! you dont hate us for our freedom you hate us for our power!! and that comes with the turf !! your geographical proximity to the USA is your best assets to your wonderful standard of living, Canada is nothing from cultural to governmental without your big brother to the south that’s the truth so deal with it!!

illgramaticus knee o’kaun

C’mon . . ‘perhaps the most recognizable entertainer in the world’ . . . what?  was that a joke?  i understand why you would want to fawn all over this man for his heated rhetoric and over-the-top anti-Bush comments, but c’mon . . . a washed-up calypso singer is not the most recognizable entertainer in today’s world and he probably wasn’t in his heyday either.

Belafonte’s comments are not principled nor are they especially valuable.  They are typical anti-Bush trope.  Alot of anti-Americanism (like his) comes from America’s track record of supporting unsavory elements as proxies against those who undermine the powerful’s idea of ‘American interests.’ How is that worse than people like Belafonte standing shoulder-to-shoulder with equally unsavory tyrants, despots, and hacks whose only value to him is their anti-Bush and anti-American stance?  I’ll never understand that.  The left always seems to temporarily misplace its cherished moral relativism when it needs allies in its quest to expose the ‘evils’ they see as inherent in the American pursuit of its interests.  People like Harry Belafonte are no more (and no less) moral, righteous, or fair than Bush, Cheney, and whoever else they decry just for having conservative beliefs.

People need to stop taking their own opinions as gospel.  Harry is not especially smarter or more well informed than anybody else.  Anybody could do or say what he does.  People only listen because once upon a time he made some good music (and was active in civil rights).  Lets cast aside such knee-jerk rhetoric and try to give some respect to the other side before we open our mouths or endorse fundamentally negative and mean-spirited points of view.

Re:  Rauni’s comment #58685.  My only problem with your comment is that you have understated the scope of U.S. militaristic imperialism by stating that the U.S. operates “dozens” and dozens of overseas bases.  Actually, a Dept. of Defense (more aptly described the “War Dept.") manpower report listed a total of 254,788 U.S. military personnel deployed in 153 countries--and this pre-dated the massive expansion of bases and forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, not to mention Jeremy Scahill’s estimate of some 135,000 private mercernaries operating in Iraq under the aegis of companies like Blackwater.

A 2006 study released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute revealed that global military spending has topped $1.1 trillion and that the U.S. accounts for nearly half of that spending.  U.S. military spending equals $1,600 for every American; China, just $31/person.

The Lion at Eighty is a demonstration of excellent prose and warm sincerity by Amy Goodman.

Mr. Badura - your comments are incredibly patronizing and arrogant, not to mention uninformed. 

We Canadians are supposed to be grateful that America is here to protect us???  From what, pray tell? 

If you believe that 9/11 perpetrators “hate you for your freedoms” and that’s why they committed this horrible crime, you don’t know your own history.  USA has meddled in other countries for decades; the CIA has set up coups and assassinated democratically elected leaders just because they don’t cowtow to the US interests (big business).  Americans have set up dozens upon dozens of military installations all over the world and many people feel (especially Muslims) that they are desecrating sacred land.
How would you feel if another country invaded yours and thought it was their god-given right to set up military bases in your sacred places like Disneyland, Las Vegas, etc. 

No, Mr. Badura, they don’t hate you for your freedoms (do you think you’re the only country who has “freedoms” - just about every western country in the world has “freedoms") they hate you for your crimes against humanity which has been perpetuated in your name for many, many decades. 

Canada does not have enemies. We are not fearful of terrortist attacks. You say, “you don’t have to pay for a military because we do it for you...you are our little brother to the north so you can get the benefit...be thankful that we are here to protect you...” Oh, pleeeeeze… Canada does not need to be protected because we have no enemies as we don’t go around the world committing crimes and setting up puppet governments.  We need your “protection” like a hole in the head. (except we need each other for trade) The only danger I see if we got too chummy with your present administration - we’d be seeing as guilty through association. Most Americans travelling overseas, sew Canadian flags on their suitcases/backpacks, etc. as it’s safe to say you are a Canadian. (and what do you know, we have freedoms too and they don’t hate us)

Like I said in my first message, Mr. Badura, you need education.  Why don’t you rent the video called “Why We Fight” - it talks about the military-industrial complex and why America has to always have a war (with made-up phony reasons so the people will accept it) It shows Dwight D. Eisenhower making his final speech warning America of its greatest danger - the US military industrial complex.  His worst nightmares have come true. 

Also, read Amy Goodman’s “Static” and read some Noam Chomsky too. 

Cheerio
Rauni

to the Comment #58197 by Ernest Canning, thank you for your service to your country in Vietnam !! i mean that sincerely, as far as insults go ??? I’m posting on a very progressive web-site and calling myself “knee o’kaun” so don’t worry about hurting my feeling !!! I’m prepared for much worse !! i could post on a right wing site and sing in the choir if i wanted to be agreed with !! I’m also a vet but not a war time vet so i cant include myself in your company or our hero’s company now in the middle east !! i feel very guilty banging the war drum and not going myself but I’m just above the cutoff date so that should tell you my age !!! i still disagree with you passionately but have never considered you or any one on this site as someone to be despised, i just believe you guys are wrong ?? for what ever that’s worth !! yes you do have more formal education than i do !! but we all take in info all the time !! i am a political junkie and consume as much history and political knowledge as time will allow !!!

illgramaticus knee o’kaun

Re Jeff Badura, comment #58027.  This is not an “attack.” There is no need to respond. 

Mr. Badura:  I suspect that I am quite a bit older than you; that, with both an undergraduate and graduate degrees in political science as well as a Juris Doctor, I am far better educated than you, and that, as a Vietnam veteran, my life experience is something that you cannot imagine.  After this extended dialogue, I had been tempted to sit back and let the astute observations of someone like Rauni, comment #57790, destroy the semblance of a political argument you have set forth in your multiple commentary.

But your suggestion that you truly believe that I was trying to “insult” you when I suggested that you go through life within a disinformation bubble erected by the Fox propaganda network that renders your mind impervious to facts and the logic that flows from them convinces me that, deep down, though badly misinformed, you are a nice enough fellow.  I am going to provide some unsolicted but altogether friendly advice.

When I was in college, my professors would tell me that when you approach a subject that you might be disinclined to like, for example Marxism, in order to acquire an understanding, you must first read what is being proferred with an eye toward a sympathetic understanding “before” you set out to criticize it. 

It really doesn’t matter that you have access to a wealth of knowledge through this site or Democracy Now! if you reject that information before you have so much as understood what the writers and commentators are conveying.  I will recommend just four books that, if sympathetically read, will give you a baseline understanding--provided you do not allow your level of indoctrination stand in the way.  On the subject of what you perceive to be a benevolent U.S. foreign policy, read John Perkins’s “Confessions of an Economic Hit Man.” Follow this up with Antonia Juhasz, “The Bush Agenda: Invading the World, One Economy at a Time” and Jeff Faux, “The Global Class War.”

If you read those “sympathetically,” I am certain they will be a real eye-opener for you.  Then take on Freeman & Bleifuss, “Was the 2004 Presidential Election Stolen?”

Best of luck, Ernest Canning

Um… Mr. Badura,
You say your explanation of war runs about 6,000 words, and this space only allows 4,000. (Oh how unfortunate for us all...)

Well, sir, may I make a suggestion? If you were to use, say, only ONE punctuation mark per sentence (a la POST 8th grade), and eliminate the space between the last character and the punctuation, you would cut your character usage by a third, at least.

Given your obviously limited literacy skills, it is quite impressive the amount of “news” you take in everyday.

Kudos.

PS Loved the article Amy, as always.

My retort to Comment #57864 by Jeff Badura on 3/10 at 6:54 pm. Dude. Illgramaticus is right on point. Too much caffiene i think cause your synapses are firing off faster than you can type,obviously. And any play-on-words regarding NeoCon is definitely classless. Could u possibly come up with a more obscure reference than L.A. gang violence? When a-hole republicans take control the middle class disappears and the ghetto/barrio becomes the only place where liquor stores have drive-thru windows and you can acquire anything illegal for a price. The mean streets are exceptionally violent cause everyone’s scrounging for their “ends” and they don’t have the time or inclination to serve/enlist and get that defunct g.i.bill or get wounded and get such nice treatment at the v.a hospital. No sir they’re most likely going to be dead before they’re twenty and why do think that is? Hmmmmm.Any clue? The republican leaders talk a good game.."Just say No” or “No child left behind”,both are so Pollie-Anna it makes me sick. What they should be saying if they had any balls is “Sorry we have no domestic policy. We have no consideration for our indigent and uneducated unless they’d like to enlist cause we’re gonna’ kick some butt somewhere.” Your St.Ronald has been hailed for ending the Cold War and bringing down the wall. Anybody remember Iran-Contra with Ollie North? RR was a doddering almost senile ol’ smilin’ bastard then and Bush Sr. meanwhile was meeting with Colombian cartels and the saudis makin’ sure his ducks were in a row for his “ends”.They couldn’t pin down the Gipper cause he “didn’t recall”. He was credible cause he couldn’t remember what was for lunch much less any papers/agreement giving Iran(our mortal enemies just a term or two prior)weapons for $/Oil. Hated to enlightened you this way but i felt you needed(and still do)a serious reality check. What about the Dems response to inner city violence you say? You say it all hostile and filled with passion for your right wing platform. But it’s just #’s to you..just some statistics for your debate team match coming up soon. Your lip service rings hollow when you don’t have anything else to back it up. It’s always that way with stodgey “blue bloods”. Full of sound and fury signifying nothing..."Spreading peace with war"-Badura...Do you really believe this? Whatever you are on I don’t want any part of..I will, however call Bellvue and see if they have a rubber rooms available if you’d like. Late,Wms07

about Comment #57934 by Ernest Canning yes i have seen Democracy now its on Link TV i was not trying to impress you with Cspan i was answering your insult that i was uninformed !! 

look at the political sections of a book store !!! hundreds of titles from all side with “experts” in there fields !!! on both sides Ernest !! so we have to each weed through the bombardment of info we get to try to see the truth !!

my truth and I’m sure is correct is that this is the greatest country in the history of mankind we all have the highest standard of living in the history of mankind !! and are a beacon of world wide freedom, we are the good guys, and yes a have a lapel pin!!

but due to our gluttonous wealth we are spoiled rich crybabies who just cant see no good in there country or way of life and have to complain 24/7 !! if you try to tell me with a strait face that Bush stole the election and was allowed to get away with it ??? and then point out some professor’s scribblings to add to your legitimacy ?? I’m sorry but you are horrible wrong !!! the professors today in many colleges have gone off the deep end !!

I could quot books and authors too but that’s not the point, there are many on each side to go around i think you read them to make you feel good cause in truth you know your wrong!!  My only credentials ill state here are reason and the fact that Bush is you President !!! he Is the president you can be a sore loser all you like you can cheer for enemies of our country all you like, that’s you right but when you do i will tell you i disagree

illgramaticus knee o’kaun

to the Comment #57990 by Rauni my new friend from up north, helllo

i was not talking about nationalization of resources !! i was talking about seizing of privately owned businesses peoples lively-hoods!! if the government feels its their duty to take such property for the good of the people at least they could pay for them to give the people being robbed some fair compensation. but anyway that was not the main point of my comments the main point was to point out how some in this country hate there own country due to there own ignorance !!

so you try to lecture me on the war ?? and 9/11 and i keep having to repeat myself over and over again but that i guess comes with the turf the only problem is they have a 4000 character limit and my explanations for the wars run about 6000 !!
Saddam was not to blame for 9/11, but after 9/11 we decided that we would not let storm clouds gather on the horizon while we did nothing !! so because of many different reasons we went into Iraq !!

you guys north of the border don’t have to pay for a military because we do it for you !! your our little brothers to the north so you get the benefit (as does most of the free world) to sit around and complain while we have to act !!!  don’t be afraid of us !!! be thankful because we are here to protect you !! and your government is nothing like the dictatorships of Cuba and Venezuela !!

again don’t believe the propaganda !!! yes 45million of us don’t have registered heath-care !! a big problem i will agree, but none of are turned away from medical care if we need it and pursue it !! my brother had his hand cut n half and ankle broken and he had no heath insurance he was still operated on my one of the best surgeons in the field in this state they put his hand back together and his ankle too, they sent him bills he never paid dime one and the hospital ended up eating the cost’s ?? and he has gone back since and they still take him in !!

yes there are many in this land like me who love their country!! regardless of the out of country ranting of Belafonte!! if that scares you, then so be it, but you have no need to be frightened !!The leaders in iran do?? but you dont!! 

illgramaticus knee o’kaun

It is a scary thing, and an asset to the Bush Administration to have so many Jeff Baduras in America. 

First of all Mr. Badura, not one Iraqi had anything to do with 9/11 - they were Saudis.  But the Bush adminstration has invaded and destroyed a country and tens of thousands of innocent people.  If this is not terrorism, I don’t know what is. 

Second, to nationalize natural resources and public institutions is not evil as Mr. Baduras likes to think.  We here in Canada enjoy the best medical care in the world and we don’t have 42,000 to 58,000 people without medical coverage as America does.  Our medical system is run by the government paid for by the tax payers. We don’t spend billions on war; we spend the money on the well-being of our citizens. 

The likes of Mr. Baduras seem to think that socialized medicine and nationalized public services amounts to dictatorship and communism.  Canada is a democratic country with free enterprise and successful corporations which can compete with the rest of the world.  So nationalizing and socializing natural resources and institutions are no mutually exclusive to thriving profit seeking markets. 

Hugo Chavez is improving the lot of his own people - not working to give favours to multi-national corporations like the American government is.  He is giving a huge discount in oil to some of the poorer states in America - something the Bush government would never do.  Also, when Katrina hit, Castro offered to send hundreds of doctors to help out but he was ignored.  These men have the well-being of people as their priority, just like Harry Belafonte, Danny Glover, Amy Goodman, etc. etc. and all those patriotic Americans who question the tactics of this present administration.  They are the real patriots. 

Mr. Baduras, you are in dire need of education. 

Your friendly Canadian neighbour,
Rauni

Recent pic of Harry:

http://www.belafonte-asiteofsites.com/a_media_folder/2 0060603OBS.jpg

Resembles the late Yul Brynner somewhat.

http://www.belafonte-asiteofsites.com/

So we are supposed to be impressed with Jeff Badura’s latest rant (comment #57864) because he watches C-SPAN in addition to Fox News.  (Try watching Democracy Now! available at Democracy Now.org).  Mr. Badura describes as “whack jobs” the entirety of the academic works cited in support of the conclusion that the 2000 & 2004 Bush “victories” were the result of massive voter suppression and electoral fraud--books I suspect Mr. Badura never has and never will read--then presumes to lecture us on the meaning of exit-polls.

Steven F. Freeman, Ph.D., who is a co-author of “Was the 2004 Presidential Election Stolen?  Exit Polls, Election Fraud and the Official Count” received his Ph.D. from MIT’s Sloan School of Management.  The book’s cover notes that Mr. Freeman “is on the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Organizational Dynamics where he teaches research methods and survey design, a domain that includes polling.  He has received four national awards for his research.”

What are your credentials, Mr. Badura?

Finally, while I know it involves concepts that exceed the comprehensive abilities of the hypocrites with the flags on their lapels, Harry Belafonte’s willingness to speak out against a President who has sought to subvert the Constitution, who has committed war crimes and who has betrayed the solemn oath he took to see that the laws are faithfully executed by declaring that he, and he alone, has the power to decide which laws he will enforce does not reflect a “hatred” of the United States.  To the contrary, it involves a courageous loyalty to constitutional democracy and the rule of law--to the very principles now at risk in the face of the hard-right agenda.

to Comment #57692 by Ernest Canning i pose a few questions and some logical response !! how many right wing web-site do you frequent ?? have you ever watched Fox news ?? you assertion that I’m a dido head is lost by the fact that I’m reading the dribble on these pages !! yes i have and do watch fox news but there only a small part on my intake !! i find Cspan is the best source of TV political news and the web sites of the government officials are more than happy to print there words on full without the liberal news filter we see on all TV except Fox !! all those books and source you quot as prof of your whacked out views are simply hack jobs hit pieces !!! wheres M. Moore i though he was the King of the whack jobs but he’s not listed (good for you )

let me explain logically about the exit polls !! exist polls are taken on the day, “i say the day” of the election, who is willing to speak to a pollster after they vote?? someone who is in no hurry, a student, a housewife, an unemployed or retired voter, polls are taken in the big cities were the news companies are, not in the rural area’s !! i think that list i just mentioned is called the Dem’s base !! were as republicans vote early in the morning on their lunch hour or after work at night and out in Middle-America and have many responsibilities other than meandering around the polls afterword to be interviewed by a pollster who works for a news organization that they don’t respect anyway !!  would you believe a FOX news poll ??? but you except me to believe biased lib-media polls !!

it was Gore who tried to steal the 2000 election , the state of Fla had the recount and proclaimed Bush the winner, than Gore took it to court !!! recount after recount !! if a person cant read a simple ballot then I’m sorry the vote don’t count !!! you cant change laws after the fact to suit you outcome then back date the rules !! and it was Gore who tried to disallow military votes from being counted !! so Gore takes the count to court and the supreme court finally says enough is enough honor the Fla laws and so the left who took the case to the court isn’t happy the court made a ruling, and so libs say that bush was appointed ?? more emotional denial of hard facts and twisting of the truth to fit you gut feeling !! and 2004 ?? you grasping at straws and that just proved you have no clue !! be a man ad admit you lost !!! sore loser !!!

i so i listened to your Hero Chavez babble on today( on cspan, do you ever listen to him) about how terrible we gringo’s are and how we are the worst monsters of mankind and it hit me why you defend him so much !! as long as a person dumps on the USA its okay for you, cause he suits your emotion needs !! never mind the guy is proclaiming himself dictator for life (no need for more elections) he stealing every private business in the country for himself !! (not the people, for himself) but that’s okay as long as he dumps on Bush !!!!

a perfect description people like you and Belafonte who love dictators but hate there own country ?? is “ emotional, ignorant, traitors”

to the Comment #57666 by SwtDckWlly ?? your name is not funny its juvenile !! and if you want to spread peace (that’s what were doing with our wars) you should try in the gang land of the USA !! in LA county alone around 1000 people a yr are killed due to Gang violence that’s just one city and it equals the Iraq war !! wheres all the condemnation for Gangster rape and wholesale violence that has racked our inner cities ??? no commendation from libs or Dem’s or Belafonte ??  no, Iraq and Bush are more fun to complain about!! 

illgramaticus knee o’kaun

Amy Goodman gave me chills up my spine as I read the line” Like the 2 stone lions that guard the NY Public Library”. Don’t know why, but Amy Goodman has a way with words. This article is about Harry Bellafonte.... I know.... and bless his DAY O heart and all he’s done for civil rights. He’s a good egg soul and has been a huge encourager for American freedoms, not to mention he is soooo good looking even at 80, him and Paul Newman could be the yin/yang’s of handsome octogenarians.  Thank You Amy Goodman and Harry Bellafonte......you touch people’s soulfulness. You are two memorable American leaders.

re:57472, Ernest, I couldn’t agree with you more.  The left has got to move beyond slogans and rantings if the killing in the middle east is to stop.  911 is a minor detail and symptomatic of our decades of failed middle east policy.  I doubt that anything at all can be done to turn this thing around at this point.  I think we’ve bought ourselves a disaster in the worst sense of the word and it’s going to be with us, at least, for several more generations
no matter who’s in the White House or in congress.  I’ll say it again, stay out of crowds and don’t have babies.  My opinion of Harry is that, although undoubtedly a caring person, he’s rather stuck in the 60’s.  2007 is quite different.

Jeff Badura’s latest emotional rantings (comment #57638), replete with exclamation marks, now offered in response to a sustained, intellectual argument that declaring a “global war on terror” was not the only logical recourse to 9/11, convinces me that it is a complete waste of time to attempt to broaden his mind.  Sadly, Mr. Badura is one of those individuals whose entire existence lies within the faux news from Fox disinformation bubble that renders his mind impervious to either the facts or the logic that flows from them.  I suppose, therefore, it would do no good to also point out to Mr. Badura that the man he calls a tyrant, Hugo Chavez, was fairly and freely elected by an overwhelming majority of the Venezuelan people.  It would do no good to point out to Mr. Badura that the elevation of his hero, George W. Bush, to President of the United States was the result of massive voter suppression and computerized, electoral fraud not only in Florida 2000 but in 2004.  See, e.g. Freeman & Bleifuss, “Was the 2004 Presidental Election Stolen?  Exit Polls, Election Fraud & the Official Count;” Greg Palast, “Armed Madhouse;” Greg Palast, “The Best Democracy Money Can Buy;” Mark Crispin Miller, “Fooled Again,” and http//bradblog.com.

I conquer...i mean i concur whole heartedly with this brilliant individual, #57472 . Speak on ‘em sir. Let all these slaves to the almighty dollar, these lemmings who just wanna’ watch “Idol” or see “the saga” that is Anna Nicole know about THE ReaL Reality. We need a real-life, real-time Network(the movie for all you youngsters) meltdown. --"GET UP....and go over to your window and open it and yell..I’M MAD AS HELL and I’M NOT GONNA’ TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!--classic.., anyway ILLy you find anymore “jihadists”’ windmills you think we need to tip and waste our hard earned jack on and waste our most precious commodity, life, on due expound...i’m sure we’ll be hearing the whole rap soon..."we have more unsubstantiated POOF, Oops. I mean proof that Iran is about to have sitdown with Bin Laden and Chavez and whatever country’s leader we’re not fond of...-that’s all folks...This is more entertaining than anything they got on the airwaves right now..only it’s really FUCKIN’ SCARY in a big bang kinda way. I wouldn’t put past these born again rapture believing yahoos to press the button. My father used to read “POGO” it was a comic strip in ol’ days..One of the lines that has stayed relatively fresh is very true considering the circumstances: “We have met the enemy and he is us” or something like.....Just one big ClusterFuck! Oh yeah and remember these lil’ ditties from the former lexicon of these United States: Those of you who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it. AND There has been more blood spilled over religion than anything ever....or somethin’ to that extent...PEACE fellow Americans..Peace.

to Comment #57472 by Ernest Canning

thank you sir for getting to the heart of the matter !! liberals are emotional driven people, were as conservatives are logically driven !! you don’t like war !! neither do i, you deny we have war, because you don’t like it, i say we should all band together to fight and win it, cause i don’t like it !!

i wouldn’t be happy about my house being on fire !! but i wouldn’t blame the fireman when he came knocking on the door !! libs hate Bush, cause he tells you the truth “we are at war”

lets look at this practically, and not emotionally !! we were attacked on 9/11 by Islamic extremism !! whether you believe we should handle it like a criminal justice problem instead of a military problem is really not the point, for the congress and the President and the people decided to handle it as a military issue!!  once the country gets together and a majority of it decides to go to war! then its time for “everyone” to kick in and help win the war !! to sit there and refuse to admit we are at war, because you don’t agree with the reasons is emotional blindness of the facts !!

terror is a tactic in war it is not an enemy, Jihad means “holy war” it does not mean “holy crime” we are war with people who want us all dead you and me !! so I’m sorry to say you couldn’t be any more wrong than you are on this point !!!

whether you like it or not “we are at war” the USA is at war with Islamic Terrorist Extremist’s and Belifonte is a fool

illgramaticus knee o’kaun

to the Comment #57462 by William Carroll

Bill, don’t be fooled by the propaganda, when you usurp your nations government and nations wealth then you can afford to feed your “selected few” poor !!

Chavez has killed or imprisoned his political rivals, he rigged his last election,he has taken over the press and TV and he is about to make sure the last election Venezuela had will be there last ever !! he’s appointing himself dictator!!

if an American company gets permission from a government to build oil wells and oil refineries to help that nations economy do you think its fair for the leader of that country in a few yrs later after the infrastructure was built to just seize all the property ?? nationalizing of private corporations is tyranny !! the government should have built those plants if they wanted to own then but he let private companies build business all over the country some native and many foreign and now he is just stealing the country for himself !!

don’t be fooled by the pro-socialist hype Chavez and Castro are the bad guys !! we are the good guys !!

illgramaticus knee o’kaun

I commend anyone who is for creating a peaceful world.  It’s scary that our country is on a path to destroy governments without the consent of the masses.. here and abroad.  I’m concerned about what will happen if our government goes into Iran… how will the world react.  Do you want to see the reaction?  Do you want to leave this kind of world to you children. 

We need to stop the snowball that is growing out of controll.  The MAJORITY of American don’t want to send out men and wemon to fight and die in the middle east.  Peace is what we need.  Peace is what we should be demanding.  Peace.

I don’t want to get into the politics I just want to say to everyone that this “Mission” we are trying to complete is wrong.  Anyone who can stop the Death and mutilation of our troops, the the tens of thousand of civilians that die in bombing across Irak, the rewriting of our constitution, the violation of Our civil rights. 

I’m just a working man.. trying to do my best to provide for my family.  I see what’s going on in the world and I know that it effects my life as well as every Americans as well.  Our future is at risk and we need to realize that.  Lets aim for Peace and not war.  Iran, Irak, Seria.. non of these leaders or their civilians were involved in 911.  We know who was ... I would understand more if we took action against them… but that’s not what’s happening.  So if our leaders don’t want to get the criminals that attacked us, then they need to go.  The facts are clear, the path we are heading do is not… Peace is what we need.  That’s all i got to say.

yo jeffe B. U need to chill with that Neo-Con schtick. As for mister Belafonte well all i can say is ‘respect your elders’ people. This guy has been thru it. All ya’ll tough sounding thoroughly enlightened people, bloggers, homo sapiens need to recognize. We act like since we have so much info at our fingertips(most’ve it slanted one way or the other)that we’ve got it all down yet the majority of us can’t/don’t care to hold a courteous, semi-intelligent, poli-syllabic conversation outside of our friendly confines. The question is not for/vs. war? or patriot vs. traitor? The real question is communicate vs. stoic aggression? This administration has no foreign policy(nor domestic, if we’re really talkin’).It has a foreign AGENDA.And has had since before the WTCs collapsed. The agenda goes a lil’somethin’like this: “Sorry you’re normal/sane cabinet couldn’t make it tonight. Are there any poor,indigent,southern,black folk here tonight? Get ‘em up against wall! Are there any queers?..up against the wall! How ‘bout muslims? any mouthy twats?..wall! Are you receiving this flashback people? WE DON’T NEED NO EDUCATION.WE DON’T NEED THOUGHT CONTROL.NO DARTH CHENEY in the WARROOM.....HEY DUB’YA! LEAVE THOSE KIDS ALONE!.mixed w/ alota “Dolla’ Dolla’ bill ya’ll”.(thank you, Mr Floyd and various rap/hip-hop artists) But seriously unless we all wake up and stop pointing fingers derisively the only ones we will end up hurting are our future generations. Oh yeah they’ve seen that no child will get left behind alright as long as they’re dumb(poor)as a box of rocks they’ll line at the recruiter’s office.Serve..hopefully survive them/friendlies..and if you get wounded we have some lovely accomodations for you(s).. Lambs to the slaughter..for what? Retribution? An eye for eye? Don’t get me started w/ the religious implications and the church vs. state issues. . We’ve just gotta’ “sack up” and physically commit these psychos before it’s too late. I kid u not. Thanx Truthdigg..i’m gonna’ do “Pat’s Run”. RIP P.T.

Harry,
I shook hands with you in 1965 at the Ebony Club in Seattle. That summer the American Federation of Teachers sent me by Greyhound Bus to Jackson Mississippi where I marched with Stokely Carmichael and Charlie Cobb in Jackson, was encarcerated at the Mississippi State Fair Pavilion and beaten by the cops. Later I was sent to Amite County and stayed with Civil Rights Leader E. W. Steptoe and set up a freedom school. My students included the children of slain sharecropper and civil rights activist Herbert Lee. I was partly responsible for the voter registration of 35 blacks, the first to be registered in Amite County. I submitted this story to Ebony Magazine last month and was told the the magazine’s editorial board is reviewing it.

Some people are born leaders. Others gain leadership skills after some traumatic events in their lives forces them look deeper at who they really are. Then, there are the those who study and train to become leaders. Basically, a person must be in the right place, at the right time, doing the right things, with the right people.

Considering the situation we are in with the bush administration, Harry’s actions and comments makes him a leader.

Re Jeff Badura’s latest comment, #57406.  I do not accept Mr. Badura’s premise that we are a nation at war.  Let’s examine where we now stand within the context of history.

When the Osama bin Laden-led mujahideen were fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan, Ronald Reagan labeled them as “freedom fighters.” The U.S., through the CIA, funneled money and sophisticated arms, including Stinger missiles used to shoot down Soviet helicopters.  These were the same people who later morphed into al Qaeda. 

9/11 was a heinous act.  It was a crime.  Any who conspired to carry it out deserve the ultimate punishment.  It was also a case of “blow back"--of the unintended consequences of creating the Frankenstein monster that morphed into al Qaeda, a by-product of U.S. imperial conquest. 

For individuals, like Mr. Badura, the notion that 9/11 may have constituted a crime but not an “act of war” does not appear to have entered their consciousness, just as it appears that they are not able to conceptualize that there may have been a logical response to that event that did not involve declaring a “global war on terror.”

The hard-right sociopaths inside the Bush administration knew full well that the real value of declaring a “global war on terror” lies in the fact that it is a war that cannot be won and can never end.  It involves the creation of a phantom menance who is everywhere at all times.  Playing to the fear of individuals like Mr. Badura it has provided a convenient cover for an effort to fundamentally alter the very structure of the American government--the creation of a lawless executive who hides behind the “Commander-in-Chief” clause to assert the unchecked right to do whatever he deems necessary in service of this “so-called war on terror” be it the deprivation of liberty without due process of law, the elimination of habeas corpuse, extraordinary rendition, torture, and spying on Americans.

By treating 9/11 as an act of war rather than a crime, by waging a new war on a nation (Iraq) that had nothing to do with 9/11, the Bush regime has increased rather than decreased the number of extremists who want to do harm to the U.S.  A “war on terror” is not simply endless, it is self-defeating.

When I read some of these comments & I think that many people do not know the politics of Harry Belafonte, the actual facts about what Hugo Chavez is doing, or the secret agenda of our current foreign policy.

When I was a kid I thought of the U.S. as the good guys who rode the white horses, and wore the white hats, etc. It has been a painful process to come to understand that the opposite is closer to the truth. Its not what I want to be true, it has just become difficult to deny.

Belafonte is an entertainer who has spent a great amount of his energy fighting not only for people of color, but the abused & downtrodden in general.
Those who criticize his patriotism are undoubtedly among those who have not yet been screwed by the reality of the current American Corporate idea of trickle down. Who was it that said, “real power you take”!

Hugo Chavez has raided the profiteer’s cookie jar to begin the construction of over 1,000,000 housing units for the poor in his country, provides free health care for his people,
and has given money to debt ridden countries of South America to help them repair their economies.

Bush & the Neo-cons pursue Imperialistic aggression to occupy & build permanent bases in strategic Middle Eastern locations in order to control oil for their own personal power. Millions will have died and suffered dismemberment of the mind & body while the cost is ignored.

Who really are the “bad guys” here?

Harry, I be fully with you, though we do have to start bringing up the 9/11 coverup, the greatest subject presently.

in regards to the Comment #57323 by Ernest Canning

Ernest you say “Mr. Belafonte’s description of Mr. Bush as the world’s greatest terrorist is not a slander.  Indeed, it is not even an exaggeration.” ???

we are war with Islamic Extremism not terror !! terror is a tactic of warfare i will agree with you !!

but regardless going out of country standing next to a tyrant like Chavez and badmouthing the American president in a time of war using the words used to describe that war and then saying our president the commander in chief it the worst terrorist on the planet is by any definition “treason” !!  whether you like it or not the truth hurts Belafonte is a traitor to his county !!

you guys just miss the point !!! we are at war !! our soldiers are fighting for there lives and then idiots who hate there own country go over sea’s and call our leaders criminals !!! its shameful and its treason !!!

Belafonte, Glover, M.Moore, and half the Dem’s in office and most who post here are traitors

here a question that says it all ??? do you want us to win this war or not ??? if you say “yes” your a patriot if you say “no” your a traitor !!! its that simple !!

illgramaticus knee o’kaun

i was speaking of Carters disapproval of the 2004 election !! not the 98 election posted on Carters site but the “2004” election was racked with problems see http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2004/8/20/131 240.shtml now that i was forced to look it up !!!  i was speaking from recall and remember that Carter was not at all pleased with the goings on ??

regardless the guy is a pile of fecal matter and so is Castro but to the far left loonies like Belafonte and Glover there okay ??? it really makes you wonder were their priorities are ??? i don’t thing the USA or the people of the worlds best interest is one of them !!

let me congratulate many who posted here you are seeing things better than i thought you would !! for this man is no great American !! BET should be ashamed of itself for awarding him earlier this yr!! 

Illgramaticus Knee o’Kaun

Let’s examine Jeff Badura’s assertion, comment #57169, that Mr. Belafonte’s reference to George W. Bush as “the world’s greatest terrorist” is a slander in the context of an Orwellian “war on terror.”

General William Odom (US Army Ret.) noted, “Terrorism is not an enemy.  It cannot be defeated.  It’s a tactic.  It’s about as sensible to say we declare war on night attacks....” In referring to “terrorism” as a tactic, General Odom touched upon the use of the word “terrorism” most often associated by governments against guerrilla warfare--the tactic the weak employ against the strong.  If this were the “only” definition of terrorism, one could not apply the word “terrorist” to George W. Bush.

But there are broader definitions of terrorism.  Howard Zinn, for example, notes that you “cannot make war on terrorism, if war itself is terrorism.” Recent conflicts, like Kosovo, Gulf War I and the early stages of the invasion of Iraq did not so much resemble the traditional concept of “war” in terms of battles between opposing armies as one-sided aerial slaughters.  When you rain death and destruction from on high you inflict “terror” on civilian populations.  Surely such conduct fits the concept of “terrorism.”

Now let’s examine the concept of the “world’s greatest terrorist.” Osama bin Laden was responsible for 9/11.  George W. Bush was responsible for launching the unprovoked invasion of Iraq--an act that qualifies as a “war of aggression,” which, under the Nuremberg and UN Charters, is considered the ultimate war crime.  Osama bin Laden is responsible for the deaths of more than 3,000 Americans on 9/11.  Per a Johns Hopkins University study, George W. Bush is responsible for the deaths of more than 650,000 Iraqis as well as more than 3,100 of our own troops (and still counting).

Mr. Belafonte’s description of Mr. Bush as the world’s greatest terrorist is not a slander.  Indeed, it is not even an exaggeration.

Sorry, but Belefante is just another self-appointed plutarch who preaches the glories of socialism while living the high life of a capitalist. Don’t we have enough hypocrites already. Do we need to exonerate and honor them? Are some of you so desperate for leadership you will bow down to a man who embraces leaders who imprison their rivals and those who dissent? If Belefante’s world view were to put to practice in the United States, this Web site would be shut down and those who run it would be put into prison, if not executed!! Left wing ideologues need to wake up to their own hypocrisy and tyranny instead of constantly pointing the finger at the United States. Some of you are nothing but spoiled trust fund brats, alla Ted Kennedy and Rob Reiner!

Great job Amy, you really hit the nail in the head by stating so eloquently the fact the Belafonte is a living library with first-hand accounts of some of the most important events and moments in american history. What more can one say about the man than to say he’s one of a kind and here’s hoping he can make it to his nineties someday.

Thanks, Amy, for the great article on Harry Belefonte....He’s been a favorite of mine since I was a little girl hearing “DAY-OH DAY -O...midnite come and I wanna go home”.....great music, great man....thanks for all you do and all you write and send out...you are my “radio free Europe”..but now we need it in America!!

A picture of Harry at 80 would’ve been nice, TruthDig?

Go to

http://www.cartercenter.org/homepage.html

and search for Venezuela Elections.  Jimmy Carter has praised the elections in Venezuela and verified the results.  Where is Jeff Badura getting his misinformation?

Harry Belafonte is indeed a true champion of the people, a elegantly speaking statesman, and someone who still possesses the “fire of truth” in his spirit. Our country needs more of men and women who are our “national treasures” to speak out and enliven the dialogue about what is wrong with this current Administration and this our beloved country. Bless you Harry!

Amy, Great short bio on Harry. If we were in England he would be SIR HARRY. How about the Freedom Medal. No , that would be an insult based on the “W” presidency. They give it out for being “good boys and good girls”, who do things as told and please MOMMY-W and DADDY-C tell them.Thank God and I really mean that this “rotten egg” administration, namely “W AND THE RANGE RIDERS"has been finally exposed. The TRUTH WILL SET US FREE AGAIN. THANK GOD . There is still a “CORE OF HONESTY” in this nation, if we ever lose that , our “freedom “dies” Thanks , Ray

Thank you Amy Goodman for keeping us informed on the real people & the real issues of the day.
You are one of my REAL heros.  The world is a better place because of your efforts to help us who are out here in the hinterlands, to see the whole picture.
I`ve always loved Belafonte & Love to see him get the recognition he deserves.

Harry Belafonte, as part of a delegation visiting Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez that included actor Danny Glover and Princeton University scholar Cornel West, publicly stated that President Bush is “the greatest terrorist in the world.” !!! and you guys honor him here today ??? not only did he slander an American president while out of the country when we are at war (calling him a terrorist is treason when we are fighting terrorist) but he did it standing next to a tyrant who killed his political rivals who violated his nations Constitution who blatantly rigged his election (Carter says) and who is about to anoint himself unquestioned leader for the foreseeable future and not allow any more elections !!! So lets get this strait ??? bush is the world biggest terrorist cause hes an American President !! but a two bit South-American Tyrant is a friend of Belafonte and Glover and all the rest of left -wing loons as long as he hates Bush !!!  Just listen to your selves and see what you do ??? shame on Belafonte and all who agree with him !!!
Bill Clinton included !! He is no Lion he is a Slug !! and a babbling old man to boot !!

illgramaticus knee o’kaun

The man thinks Castro is great.  He is on my shit list.  Not that it will make any difference at all.  But you should ‘truth dig’ a little deeper.  Fidel is a murderer, just like our very own little shrub.

Headless