Tariq Ali Interview

Here’s Tariq Ali being interviewed on the Al Jazeera English program “One on One”.

Ali talks about his family and life growing up in Pakistan, his political activism, his books and lots more.

Jazz Blogs Roundup – June

Here are some of the latest notable items from the Jazz Blogosphere:

Can Jazz Save The World?

Chick Corea’s Five Song Playlist

Lenny White on the Bitches Brew sessions

New Book on Louis Armstrong

Latinos and The Grammys: The Death Of Musical Diversity?

Ornette Coleman & Thelonious Monk: One Revolution After Another

Confronting Torture in U.S. Prisons

alternet.org

Confronting Torture in U.S. Prisons: A Q&A With Activists/Journalists James Ridgeway and Jean Casella

Ridgeway and Casella, co-founders of Solitary Watch, discuss an upcoming prisoner hunger strike at Pelican Bay State Prison and the inhumane practice of solitary confinement.

Prisoners in the Security Housing Unit (SHU) at Pelican Bay State Prison in California have announced they are beginning an indefinite hunger strike on July 1, 2011 to protest the conditions of their imprisonment, which they say are cruel and inhumane. An online petition has been started by supporters of the strikers. While noting that the hunger strike is being “organized by prisoners in an unusual show of racial unity,” five key demands are listed by California Prison Focus:

1) Eliminate group punishments; 2) abolish the debriefing policy and modify active/inactive gang status criteria; 3) comply with the recommendations of the US Commission on Safety and Abuse in Prisons (2006) regarding an end to long term solitary confinement; 4) provide adequate food; 5) expand and provide constructive programs and privileges for indefinite SHU inmates.

Click here to view the entire article

Beginning of the Great Revival

Michael Jackson in New York Subway

Well, just another day in the NYC transit system.

Alice Walker Interview

Michael Archer: Q&A with Alice Walker
June 15, 2011

guernicamag.com

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author on her impending trip to Gaza, “SlutWalk,” and The Chicken Chronicles.

By Michael Archer

Next week, Alice Walker will be among the passengers aboard “The Audacity of Hope” when it sails from Athens to Gaza to challenge Israel’s naval blockade. (The boat will carry letters from Americans to Palestinians, not aid.) The 67-year-old, Pulitzer Prize winner took a moment to discuss her impending voyage, along with some thoughts on the “Slutwalk” protests (and her understanding of the word “slut”), and the incredibleness of chickens.

Click here to view the entire article

Convicted at 19, Freed at 51

Cornelius Dupree served 30 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. He was exonerated this year.

Convicted at 19 years old and released at 51.

Miral

Five myths about Americans in prison

Very important points made in this article regarding the prison population explosion in the US.

Especially, the racial disparities in sentencing and in other areas of the criminal justice system.

washingtonpost.com

Five myths about Americans in prison
By Marc Mauer and David Cole

No country on Earth imprisons more people per capita than the United States. But for America, mass incarceration has proved a losing proposition. The Supreme Court recently found California’s overcrowded prisons unconstitutional, and state legislators want to cut the vast amounts of public money spent on prison warehousing.

Why are so many Americans in prison, and which ones can be safely released? Let’s address some common misunderstandings about our incarceration problem.

Click here to view the entire article

Miles Davis talking about his artwork on Nile Rodgers show

Another priceless YouTube video!