“These plaintiffs have alleged a grave breach of our most basic social compact — between ‘We the People’ and the government we created in our Constitution.”

“Plaintiffs have alleged in sufficient detail facts supporting Secretary Rumsfeld’s personal responsibility for the alleged torture.”

– United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Vance v. Rumsfeld

Chicago, IL ― A federal appeals court today (August 8, 2011) rejected former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s attempt to dismiss an anti-torture suit against him.

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Federal Judge Wayne R. Anderson’s March 2010 decision to allow the suit over Rumsfeld’s orders which allegedly led to the 2006 torture of two military contractors, Donald Vance and Nathan Ertel, U.S. citizens who were working in Iraq.

The Appeals Court is now the highest court to have upheld the right of citizens to pursue an anti-torture claim against a federal Cabinet-level official.  A copy of the decision can be found here.

The Appeals Court, in a decision written by Judge David F. Hamilton, expressed its belief that the issues raised by the case go to the very heart of the constitutional democracy that “We the People” formed:

“The wrongdoing alleged here violates the most basic terms of the constitutional compact between our government and the citizens of this country. . . . . Viewing the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiffs, as we must at this stage, this is exactly what the plaintiffs have pled. There can be no doubt that the deliberate infliction of such treatment on U.S. citizens, even in a war zone, is unconstitutional.”

Commenting on today’s decision, Mike Kanovitz of Loevy & Loevy, the lead attorney in both Vance and Doe, said,

“This Court was faced with a choice between protecting the most fundamental rights of American citizens in the difficult context of a war or leaving those rights solely in the hands of politicians and the military.  The Court sided with the rights of the citizens. It was not an easy choice for the Court to make, but it was the brave and right choice.” 

The case, Donald Vance and Nathan Ertel v. Donald Rumsfeld, et al (06 C 6964), is one of only two cases out of over a dozen alleging Rumsfeld’s responsibility for torture that have been allowed to proceed. The other is John Doe v. Donald Rumsfeld, et al (08-cv-1902 CKK).  In both cases the plaintiffs are represented by Mike Kanovitz, Jon Loevy and Gayle Horn of the Chicago-based civil rights firm, Loevy & Loevy, with the Washington, DC-based nonprofit Government Accountability Project acting as co-counsel in Doe v. Rumsfeld.  Last week the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia rejected Rumsfeld’s attempt to dismiss the Doe suit against him (see that decision here).

Background
In 2006, Donald Vance, a Navy veteran, and Nathan Ertel were imprisoned without charges in a U.S. military prison in Iraq: Vance for over three months and Ertel for one and one-half months.  Both men, who were private security employees in Baghdad, named former U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld as a defendant for his role in overseeing the military prison system in Iraq.

Rumsfeld allegedly issued orders allowing torture techniques which caused Vance and Ertel to be subjected to extreme sleep deprivation, “walling,”  “hooding,” interrogation for hours at a time, and to be held in an extremely cold cell without adequate clothing or blankets, and periodically denied food and water for long periods.  During virtually Vance’s entire three month imprisonment at the notorious Camp Cropper near Baghdad International Airport, he was held in solitary confinement in a continuously lit, windowless cell.

“Plaintiffs…allege that in August 2003 Rumsfeld sent Major Geoffrey Miller to Iraq to review the United States prison system,” read Andersen’s decision.  “Plaintiffs claim that Rumsfeld informed Major Miller that his mission was to ‘gitmo-ize’ Camp Cropper… These allegations, if true, would substantiate plaintiffs’ claim that Rumsfeld was aware of the direct impact that his newly approved treatment methods were having on detainees in Iraq… Based on these allegations, we conclude that plaintiffs have alleged sufficient facts to survive Rumsfeld’s motion to dismiss on account of a lack of personal involvement… Accepting at this stage that these treatment methods were in fact used, we conclude that a court might plausibly determine that the conditions of confinement were torturous.”

As employees of Shield Group Security (SGS), Vance and co-worker Ertel suspected their employer of paying local sheiks for influence in obtaining government contracts and of other illegal dealings.  To combat the suspected illegal activity, Vance and Ertel became unpaid informants to the FBI in Chicago and U.S. officials in Iraq.  When SGS officials threatened Vance’s and Ertel’s lives, they arranged for U.S. military forces to rescue them.  But after a few hours of interrogation and then rest at the U.S. embassy, the U.S. imprisoned Vance and Ertel, beginning their nightmarish imprisonment without habeus corpus. Once they were in U.S. custody, low-level bureaucrats invoked the unprecedented powers Rumsfeld had given them to imprison Mr. Vance and Mr. Ertel as “persons of interest” to the United States. Three months of interrogation followed, in which Mr. Vance and Mr. Ertel were physically abused and denied the right to counsel, the right of access to the courts, and any legitimate process to challenge his illegal detention.

For more information:

Contact: Andy Thayer, Loevy & Loevy Attorneys at Law
Phone: 312.243.5900; 773.209.1187
Email: andy@loevy.com
Contact: Dylan Blaylock, GAP Communications Director
Phone: 202.457.0034, ext. 137
Email: dylanb@whistleblower.org

Loevy & Loevy
Loevy & Loevy Attorneys at Law is the largest civil rights firm in the Midwest.  Over the past decade, Loevy & Loevy has won more in jury verdicts against law enforcement abuses than any other firm in the region.

Government Accountability Project
The Government Accountability Project is the nation’s leading whistleblower protection organization. Through litigating whistleblower cases, publicizing concerns and developing legal reforms, GAP’s mission is to protect the public interest by promoting government and corporate accountability. Founded in 1977, GAP is a non-profit, non-partisan advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C.

Stanley Wrice jailed 28-years in prison on “tainted” evidence

By Chinta Strausberg

After spending half of his life in prison for a crime he never committed, attorneys for the Chicago Innocence Project, headed by David Protess, is filing an Amicus Curiae brief to the Illinois Supreme Court Tuesday on behalf of Stanley Wrice, 57, who was allegedly beaten and tortured into making a confession by two of now jailed former Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge’s top men.

Serving a 100-year sentence, Wrice, 57, is incarcerated at the Pontiac Correctional for the past 28-years wrongfully convicted of raping and engaging in a deviant sexual assault against Karen Byron, a white 32-year-old mother of two who on September 8, 1982 went to a liquor store on the South Side who accepted a ride from Rodney Benson an African American man.

The other two men, Michael Fowler and Lee Holmes, who was with Benson, walked to the home of Wrice on South Chappel Avenue.

According to the brief, this year Dr. Protess and his students, Kayla Bensing, Tania Karas, Lauren Kelleher, Kira Lerner, Christina Rosales, Quinn Thacker and Jamie Vailliancourt, conducted their own independent investigation into Wrice’s case.

Wrice sought to file a successive post-conviction petition on the grounds of new evidence that his confession “was extracted by means of physical torture by former Chicago Police Sergeant John Byrne and Detective Peter Dignan” who are two of Burge’s top men. Burge is now in prison convicted of obstructing justice and lying about his role of tortured victims at the Area 2 Police Headquarters.

The brief states, “All of the evidence amassed against Stanley Wrice and presented at trial, in one form or another, came from the ‘police work’ of Byrne and Dignan.”

The brief asks the court to “set aside all evidence procured by two of the most notorious Burge-era police officers: Byrne and Dignan…. This proves that the problem of Area 2 was a systematic one” and hopes his brief will be a step towards restoring justice for Stanley Wrice and further inform the public about the tragic era on the South Side in which Jon Burge” was allegedly involved in the torture of more than 100 suspects.

Protess said the evidence against Wrice was clearly “tainted.” He added, “Jon Burge’s tragic legacy lives on even though he is incarcerated.” Byron never identified Wrice as one of her attackers and there was no physical evidence linking him to the crime. All those in the house when the crime occurred swore Lewis, who falsely testified that Wrice was one of several men who gang-raped, beat and burned Byron, was not in the house that night. Lewis had left the house to get him some barbeque chicken.

Back in 1982, Wrice, who lived in the bungalow with his siblings, often entertained his friends at his home. That night, Wrice came home but Benson and Byron came through the back door.

According to court records, Byron asked for liquor and cigarettes. Benson took her upstairs to an attic, which is where Wrice slept. There, Fowler and Holmes were already drinking.

Byron was reportedly gang-raped and burned with torched paper, a wooden clothes hanger, a two-pronged fork and a stove-heated iron.

Court records state that Wrice claimed he was downstairs most of the time or at a nearby phone booth talking to his fiancée. Wrice said he did go upstairs twice, once to tell his friends to be quiet and the second time to tell them to leave. He then fell asleep downstairs on the couch.

In the interim, Byron staggered to a nearby Shell gas station. Badly beaten and burned over 80 percent of her body, she was taken to the Jackson Park Hospital. A rape kit was taken.

The next morning, Wrice was awakened when police entered his home. He was arrested and taken to the infamous Area 2 Chicago Police Department headquarters known for alleged police brutality acts against black men. At that time, the commander was Burge.

There, two of Burge’s top men, Detective Peter Dignan and Sgt. John Byrne, reportedly questioned Wrice for more than seven hours including beating him with a rubber hose against his groin, back and legs as cited in a report by the Special Prosecutor looking into his case.

After the beating, Wrice was escorted into another room. There, an assistant state’s attorney claimed he gave a verbal confession; however, Wrice never signed that paper and continues to deny confessing to a crime he says he never committed.

His friend, Lewis initially claimed that Wrice beat Byron; however, there were no witnesses to corroborate his statement. Strangely, all the others said they never saw Lewis in the house on that tragic night. Even more egregious, Byron, the victim, never once identified Wrice as her attacker.

Even stranger, court records say that prosecutors claimed there was no semen found on the swabs taken from the rape kit. There was no explanation given as to the absence of semen from the victim.

Wrice was not the only victim claiming to be beaten by the police. According to court records, Williams claimed the police beat him on September 9, 1982. Much later when he was at 26^th and California, court records said he said a female lawyer took him in a room and showed him pictures of Byron’s battered and burned body. She allegedly told Williams he would be charged with this crime if he didn’t finger Wrice as the batterer and rapist. Records state she then took him directly to the witness stand.

However, March of this year, Williams recanted that statement claiming that he witnessed Wrice raping Byron and burned her with a heated iron.  Williams signed an affidavit saying, “The lawyer warned that if I didn’t testify against Mr. Wrice, I would be charged with the rape and beating of Ms. Byron. I realized my testimony was false, but I was afraid to tell the truth.”

The other arrestee, Fowler, who accused the police of beating him, also signed an affidavit recanting his statement saying he never saw Wrice in the attic when he and Byron were upstairs. He said in his statement, “I feel unburdened.” Referring to Wrice, Fowler said, “That dude shouldn’t be locked up.”

According to the Chicago Innocence Project, the Illinois Appellate Court granted Wrice an evidentiary hearing on the grounds of the pattern and practice of torture in Chicago’s Area 2.” Special prosecutors who were assigned to all Burge torture cases appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court. The justices heard the case last March.

Since Wrice’s conviction, both Lewis and Byron have died.

Chinta Strausberg is a Journalist of more than 33-years, a former political reporter and a current PCC Network talk show host.

Tickets for this 2-night only event at the Mercury Theater are free, but donations will be accepted to benefit Ignite the Spirit, a charity supporting Chicago emergency responders

TimeLine Theatre Company announces that it will present two free readings of The Guys by Anne Nelson, directed by TimeLine Associate Artist Louis Contey, as part of its ongoing TimePieces Play Reading series, to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Performances of The Guys will be Sunday, September 11 at 7 p.m. and Monday, September 12 at 7 p.m. at the Mercury Theater, 3745 N. Southport Ave., Chicago. Both performances will include a brief post-show discussion featuring Chicago firefighters who went to Ground Zero in the aftermath of 9/11 to aid in rescue and recovery efforts.

Tickets to attend the readings are free, but donations will be accepted, with all proceeds to directly benefit Ignite the Spirit, a non-profit organization founded in 2003 that provides assistance to Chicago’s emergency responders in times of hardship.

Seating is limited and reservations are strongly recommended. To reserve tickets, call the TimeLine Theatre Box Office at 773.281.8463 x6 or visit timelinetheatre.com.

Based on a true story, The Guys is about the effects of the collapse of the World Trade Center in New York City on September 11, 2001. Less than two weeks after the attacks, New Yorkers are still in shock. One of them, an editor named Joan, receives an unexpected phone call on behalf of Nick, a fire captain who has lost most of his men and needs help preparing an unprecedented number of eulogies. The two spend a long afternoon together recalling the fallen men, their virtues and foibles, and fashioning stories into memorials of words. Making their way through an emotional landscape of grief, they draw on humor, tango, the appreciation of craft in all its forms, and the enduring bonds of common humanity. This powerful and widely acclaimed play debuted off-Broadway on December 4, 2001, and has since been presented in 48 states and around the world.

The Guys will feature acclaimed Chicago actors and Steppenwolf Theatre Company Ensemble members Francis Guinan as Nick and Ora Jones as Joan.

The Guys will take place at the Mercury Theater, 3745 N. Southport Ave., Chicago. Lot parking is available at Blaine School ½ block north of the theater, for $10. Valet parking is provided at the entrance to the theater for $12. For more information about directions, parking and dining at the Mercury Theater, please visit mercurytheaterchicago.com.

“We are honored to work with Ignite the Spirit and its co-founders Rich Pinskey and Ken Soo for the 10th Anniversary of 9/11,” TimeLine Artistic Director PJ Powers said. “We believe that this partnership is a great opportunity to make an impact — not just through a stirring evening of theatre and remembrance but also by being able to financially improve the lives of everyday heroes in our community. These two evenings are sure to be a powerful and moving event that is not to be missed.”

TimePieces is TimeLine’s ongoing series of presentations designed to extend the company’s mission beyond the four subscription series productions offered each season. The series offers audiences a chance to hear new or rarely produced plays inspired by history that connect with today’s social and political issues. Each play reading is free (donations are accepted) and includes a brief post-show discussion to give the audience a chance to reflect on the piece and the themes and issues it presents.

About Ignite the Spirit

Founded in 2003 by Chicago firefighters, Ignite the Spirit is a not-for-profit

organization with no paid employees that benefits the city’s emergency responders — including emergency medical technicians, paramedics and firemen — and their families. Thousands of people across the United States volunteer and respond to emergencies for the sole reward of being able to help someone when they cannot help themselves. These heroes are sometimes in need of help themselves. Full-time Chicago firefighters established Ignite the Spirit for the men and women who are emergency responders. Money raised through events and sales of merchandise is used to help emergency responders in times of hardship. For more information, please visit ignitethespirit.org.

About TimeLine Theatre

Founded in April 1997, TimeLine Theatre Company’s mission is to present stories inspired by history that connect with today’s social and political issues. During its first 14 seasons, TimeLine has presented 46 productions, including seven world premieres and 13 Chicago premieres. Recipient of the 2006 Alford-Axelson Award for Nonprofit Managerial Excellence and the 2009 Richard Goodman Strategic Planning Award from the Association for Strategic Planning, TimeLine has received 43 Jeff Awards, including an award for Outstanding Production eight times.

Announced for the 2011-2012 15th Anniversary Season:

• A WALK IN THE WOODS by Lee Blessing, directed by Nick Bowling,
  August 18 – November 20, 2011, presented at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont
• Chicago premiere of THE PITMEN PAINTERS by Lee Hall, directed by BJ Jones,
  September 6 – December 4, 2011
• Chicago premiere of ENRON by Lucy Prebble, directed by Rachel Rockwell,
  January 17 – April 15, 2012
• World premiere of MY KIND OF TOWN by John Conroy, directed by Nick Bowling,
  May 1 – July 29, 2012

TimeLine is led by Artistic Director PJ Powers and Managing Director Elizabeth K. Auman. Company members are Nick Bowling, Janet Ulrich Brooks, Lara Goetsch, Juliet Hart, David Parkes, PJ Powers and Benjamin Thiem. TimeLine is a member of the League of Chicago Theatres, Theatre Communications Group and the Lakeview East Chamber of Commerce. For more information, visit timelinetheatre.com.

Biographies

Louis Contey is an Associate Artist at TimeLine. He received a Non-Equity Jeff Award for Outstanding Direction of Awake and Sing! and a Non-Equity Jeff Award nomination for It’s All True, both at TimeLine. Other TimeLine productions include Frost/Nixon, A House With No Walls, The General from America and Copenhagen. He has directed more than 60 plays, among them Requiem for a Heavyweight, A View from the Bridge, A Streetcar Named Desire, All My Sons, Rocket to the Moon, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Judgment at Nuremberg and Meet John Doe. He is an 11-time Jeff Award nominee and has received seven Non-Equity Jeff Awards. Contey has worked at The Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Theatre at the Center, Buffalo Theatre Ensemble, Shattered Globe Theatre, Provision Theatre, Eclipse Theatre and American Theater Company, among others. He received his M.F.A. in directing from The Theatre School at DePaul University, where he is currently an adjunct instructor.

Francis Guinan has been a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company Ensemble since 1979, where he has appeared in Endgame, American Buffalo, Fake, Art, Kafka on the Shore, The Seafarer, August: Osage County, The Crucible, The Diary of Anne Frank, Love Song, Cherry Orchard, Mizlansky/Zilinsky or Schmucks, The Libertine, Skylight and The Grapes of Wrath, among many others. Other Chicago credits include The Seagull at the Goodman, A Guide for the Perplexed at Victory Gardens Theatre, Do The Hustle at Writers’ Theatre and Inherit the Wind at Northlight Theatre. His Broadway credits include August: Osage County (Pulitzer Prize, Tony Award for Best Production), The Grapes of Wrath (Tony Award for Best Production), As Is and And a Nightingale Sang. His off-Broadway credits include True West, Balm in Gilead and Landscape of the Body. In Los Angeles, Guinan has appeared in The Weir and God’s Man in Texas at Geffen Playhouse; Space and Stuff Happens at Mark Taper Forum; 1776 at Reprise Theatre Company; and The Great Tennessee Monkey Trial at L.A. Theatre Works. His films credits include The Last Airbender, Low Tide, Typing, Constantine, Path to War, Speed 2 and Hannibal. His television credits include Grey’s Anatomy, Eerie, Indiana, The Mighty Jungle and many others.

Ora Jones recently appeared at Chicago Shakespeare in The Madness of George III, in addition to other credits there including Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night, A Flea in Her Ear (After Dark Award); The Merry Wives of Windsor, Pericles and Macbeth. She has been a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company Ensemble since 2007, where her credits include Middletown, The Brother/Sister Plays, The Violet Hour (Jeff Award nomination), Carter’s Way (Jeff Award nomination), The Unmentionables (Black Theater Alliance Award nomination), The Crucible and Morningstar. Other Chicago credits include Animal Crackers at Goodman Theatre, My Fair Lady and The Misanthrope at Court and Our Town at Writers’ Theatre (After Dark Award). Film and television credits include The Weatherman, Stranger than Fiction, Save the Last Dance, Were the World Mine and the ABC pilot Matadors.    

West/Smiley “not hating” on Obama but lifting up the poor

By Chinta Strausberg

The controversial “Poverty Tour” organizers, famed talk show host Tavis Smiley and Princeton Professor Dr. Cornel West, Sunday told a packed Saint Sabina Church they are not hating on President Barack Obama rather they are lifting up the poor who are forgotten and who have become invisible while the nation’s wealthy wrestle to retain power and increase their wealth.
They made their remarks during a more than two-and-a-half-hour forum at the Saint Sabina Church, 1210 W. 78^th Place, where Father Michael L. Pfleger said, “It is Jesus who spent his life for the forgotten and the downtrodden….” He challenged people to open their eyes and to hear the cries of the poor “who were made to feel invisible.”

Referring to the torrential and sudden rain that caused many people to get soaking wet, Pfleger thanked the packed church for coming “through the monsoon” rain and said their presence at the “Poverty Tour” demonstrated their commitment  “to once again raise the conscience about the poor in America who have been affected. It’s time to wage the war against poverty, again,” said Pfleger.

Joining Pfleger, Smiley, who said “being poor these days is a crime,” and West were Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan, who quoted the bible saying, “blessed are the poor in spirit,” and WVON’s Cliff Kelley, AARP’s Illinois State President Merri Dee and other notables.

Dee, 75, who spent 38-years at WGN and a total of 43-years in broadcasting, said her organization is a major sponsor of the “Poverty Tour.” She introduced Smiley, who along with West, spoke on their tour and field questions from several people from the audience.

Both men expressed displeasure with Obama for signing the debt ceiling bill because it lacked provisions to tax the rich, did not include extending unemployment insurance, did not close tax loop holes for the wealthy and no mention of poor people.  Smiley, who shared some of his time with Minister Farrakhan, believes the new poor are the former middleclass.

West and Smiley emphasized that their “Poverty Tour” is not about President Obama but rather to raise the consciousness of the poor they say have become invisible in American and who are not on any politicians’ agenda. That’s why they are using the “bully pulpit” of the media to get their message across. The event was covered by CNN.

Smiley, who is from a family of 10, said they began their tour on an Indian reservation and were appalled at learning some were making $300 and $400 a month. They are going to Mississippi and West Virginia to spend time with white coal miners who have lost their jobs.

They plan to talk to every ethnicity including a white family of nine children, a dog and two cats in Columbus, Mississippi.  They are also going to spend time in a homeless shelter and in public housing.

“We are trying to raise the poverty higher up on the agenda,” said Smiley. “Referring to the debt ceiling agreement, Tavis called it “wretched” and described it as a “declaration of war on the poor.” He added, “Respectfully, something is wrong with our President when he can sign legislation that does not extend unemployment benefits, that does not close a single corporate loop hole, and that does not tax the rich or the lucky. “ Tavis said this legislation is balanced “on the backs of the poor.” He added, ‘Wall Street got away again,” he told a cheering audience.

During the more than two-and-a-half-hour forum, Smiley was critical of the 12-member congressional committee charged with identifying $1.2 trillion in additional cuts to the deficit for the next ten-years.

According to an article in Politico.com, under this legislation, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, House Speaker John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi will each appoint three members to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction by August 16^th.  However, if they fail to reach an accord on the cuts by Thanksgiving or if congress does not pass a deficit-reduction plan by December 23^rd, it will result in more spending cuts especially to security and domestic programs.

Smiley wants the full Congress to make these decisions and said he will not be silences “on the assault, this war against the poor.”

And to critics who claim this is just an anti-Obama tour, Smiley denied the allegation. “Let me check you right quick,” he said denying he and West came to Chicago to rub this poverty issue in Obama’s face or to somehow “demonize” him. “This is not about Barack Obama. This is not personal. It’s principle. I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired” of being accused of having a “personal beef with the President,” which he denies.

Smiley said when his rich white friends critique the President like he and West do, they are called “courageous” but when they do it they are labeled personal. “That’s racist, and I won’t stand for it,” Smiley said. “I choose to suffer with the poor.” “This is about aiding and abetting the President. It’s about helping the President.”

Referring to next year’s election, Smiley said with unemployment so high, many lost their homes, and he hopes the President does not ask Americans the question, “Are you better off now than you were three-years ago.” Smiley said the President has to motivate and speak to his base or he fears they’ll stay home come re-election time.

Minister Farrakhan made it clear. “Yes, the people are poor. They are poor in their spirit because they are poor in leadership…. My people will perish for the lack of knowledge….  Barack Obama is poor in spirit…. He needs to set free….” Farrakhan said the poor need to be rallied and that they are the majority in this nation. 

“When you go out for the poor, you are saying I am willing to lay down my life for the poor,” said Farrakhan.  “It’s the poor that is carrying the government on their back. It’s the poor that the rich have enslaved and gotten powerful on…the poor….”

West spoke of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his poor peoples’ campaign and how he was “shot down like a dog” while fighting for the poor. He and Smiley are meeting with that same Memphis sanitation union while on their “Poverty Tour.”

West said aid poor people in America have been “criminalized, demonized, terrorized, stigmatized and traumatized” and abandoned economically. He criticized some leaders he says they’ve “sold out.” Wes said we don’t want leaders who are striving for success but rather those who care for the and who are “unbowed and un-bought.”  “Dr. Martin Luther King was not into success. He was into greatness…. We don’t want successful leaders. We want great leaders” who have compassion for the poor and who tell Americans the truth.

And, on Obama, West said, “I still love my brother. I will protect him.” However, West was critical of the $1.8 billion offshore that is not being taxed. Referring to the $2.1 trillion, West said, “They re sitting on and children can’t get suits, 21 percent of our children are living poverty, 38 percent of are blacks and browns… I don’t care what color they are….” He said poverty must be put on the front burner of this nation. “It’s about justice.”

Asked by this writer what criteria did he use to select the cities his tour is visiting and what will he do with the data, Smiley said they chose geographical areas they felt would get an accurate snapshot of poverty in America.

In October, he will have an entire week talking about poverty on PBS and they will appear on public radio as well. They are putting out a white paper on who the new poor are on January. He will be at George Washington University in a roundtable discussion talking about the poor. He said they will be discussing this issue just before President Obama gives his “State of the Union” speech.

Referring Obama’s last “State of the Union” speech, Smiley said, “He is the first president since 1948 to not mention the word poor or poverty in his speech…. That’s a problem. Words have meaning and the worse thing you can do to any individual is to make them feel invisible. If you can’t acknowledge their condition, acknowledge their plight, call them by their name, that’s a real problem.”

Smiley said depending on the success of this campaign, he and Dr. West will probably come back in the middle of the presidential campaign.

Chinta Strausberg is a Journalist of more than 33-years, a former political reporter and a current PCC Network talk show host.

Oakland, CA (BlackNews.com) — The destruction of the music business can be traced to two words: hip hop. At least that’s the contention of Anthony Adams, the main character of Alex Langford’s new novel, The Emperor’s New Music.

“It’s a story that will rattle a few cages in the music industry, especially the defensive world of hip hop,” said Alex. He wrote the book after seeing R&B, rock and pop music being decimated by the atmosphere of rap music in the early 90s.

“There was a point around Tupac’s time where black music had to fit into a certain mold: angry, hard and macho. That’s when people like Stevie Wonder and Lionel Richie disappeared. But no one could speak up or be critical. One day I heard a rap song everyone was raving about, and I said to myself, this is the emperor’s new music. The title stuck in my head, and three years later, my novel was complete.”

The book tells the story of Anthony, a struggling musician living in Hollywood. His journey begins just as disco is ending, and follows his goal to be a songwriter in a world of changing fads and tastes. It ends in the early 90s, when he sees the effect of hip hop on the music business, black culture, and young people in general.

Alex Langford is currently a Berkeley educator, and wrote for ABC News in San Francisco for five years. There, he covered entertainment, and based his story on what he learned and saw as a newsman. He has also worked as a tennis instructor, copywriter, and a musician.

The Emperor’s New Music is a timely story, both entertaining and enlightening as it traces one man’s journey through the music business. Through Anthony’s story, readers will learn how society went from The Beatles and Supremes to Lil Wayne and Snoop Dog. For a sample chapter or to purchase, visit www.alexlangford.blogspot.com.

Picture shown is book cover.

  Download Books and Magazines for Free                                                                                                

Springfield, IL —Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White is urging blind and physically disabled patrons who have received digital Talking Book machines to download books and magazines for free through the Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD) website.

 “Now that Illinois patrons have received new digital Talking Book Machines, I encourage them to take advantage of this wonderful and convenient new website,” White said. “BARD is a free website where patrons may download books and magazines 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for use with the new machine.”

More than 21,000 books and 40 magazines are available immediately on the BARD website. New books and magazines are added each week. This service provides fast delivery of materials with no wait for specific titles of books.

 BARD is available through the National Library Service (NLS) for the Blind and Physically Handicapped.  Active Talking Book Patrons may apply to access BARD at https://nlsbard.loc.gov/IL1A/ApplicationInstructions.html.

Persons interested in more information, or wanting to sign up, may contact the Illinois State Library Talking Book and Braille Service at 1-800-665-5576, option 5, or visit www.ilbph.org.  The Talking Book program is administered by the Secretary of State, and is a division of the Illinois State Library.

MAJOR Fitness Trainer and Air Force Veteran Denese Major Bellamy

Fort Mill, SC — MAJOR Fitness Trainer and Air Force Veteran Denese Major Bellamy will offer A Crash Course in Weight Loss, a teleseminar series that details her 3-Part plan to permanently stop the weight loss rollercoaster each Wednesday at 8PM EST from Aug 24, 2011- Sept 14, 2011.

“In my 25 years of working with individuals who are struggling with weight loss, particularly those who are morbidly obese, I have found that the #1 problem that hinders them from reaching and maintaining their weight loss goals is their thinking,” says Bellamy.

The Crash Course in Weight Loss teleseminar series created for people who are having a difficult time losing weight, those who lose weight but gain it all back, and those who are moving from one diet to the other, gaining and losing in a perpetual cycle. The bulk of Bellamy’s content will combat the mental and emotional issues of weight loss, but also includes physical training techniques and strategies.

“Fitness training is just a part of wellness – it’s not all of it. My goal at MAJOR fitness is workout the body, but only after we correct what’s happening inside. I help women to discipline their mind, break their habits and love their bodies. That’s how to achieve permanent weight loss,” Bellamy says.

With over 25 years of health and wellness experience, and a military background that spans over two decades, Denese has the experience necessary to help clients become physically and mentally strong. Bellamy is certified in Personal Training/Nutrition, Stress/Exercise & Obesity, Boot Camp Training, and more. Her clientele includes individuals, corporations, educational facilities and military installations.

“I will not only give registrants results-oriented workout techniques, but I will provide them with information that will help them rid their lives of the self-defeating thoughts and emotional habits that may be leading to their weight gain.” says Bellamy.

The cost of the 4-week teleseminar is $97, which includes audio downloads, notes and exercises. Online registration is now open to men and women nationwide at www.Major-Fitness.com.

For more information or media placements, contact Denese Major Bellamy directly at (843) 437-7081 or email majorfitness1@gmail.com.