Everything by hook,crook or violence….
Tucked away in drawers at the University of California-Berkly are the looted remains of thousands upon thousands of native-Americans.
Remains which the University is loath to return,to their respective Nations,for proper burial.
To put some perspective on the scope of the looting-well let’s just call it for what it is-grave robbing….
In all California there are approx 620,000 natives from 107 Tribes.In the draws of Berkly there sit the remains of over 200,000 of their ancestors.
“if there were remains of my ancestors,European Americans,in the Hearst Museum at one of the most respected Universities in the country ,there would be an absolute outcry from people,I guarantee something would be done about it quickly,” Steinberg said,the L.A Times reported.”But because they’re Native American remains somehow that’s different”
This despite the provisions of NAGPRA[1990] which calls for the repatriation of all remains to their respective tribes.
Where there is a will there is away to sidestep the law.And apparently that is the path the University has chosen.
What’s ironic about all this,is that Berkly is usually thought of as being one of the more “liberal/progressive” Universities in the U.S.
Read ; “Senators accuse UC-Berkly of discrimination and secrecy over ancestral remain”
Filed under: Academia, History, Iraq, Kanan Maykiya, Middle East, Politics
There is a saying,I am not quite sure who said it or where it originated but it goes something like this…
“Many fools have died on the fields of hope”
That is not to say Kanan Makiya is a fool.At “worst” he is an idealist and/or romantic,nothing wrong with that.But as a supporter of war,& as a person who did much to push for the invasion of Iraq.He will forever be having to deal with the demons of guilt & doubt brought about by that disastrous & bloody undertaking.
A position I would not wish upon on any one,particularly Kanan Makiya whose only “crime” was hoping & believing.
to destroy an evil regime and rescue a people from their nightmare of terror and suffering. Not for oil, Makiya argued, and not for some superweapons hidden in the sand, but to satisfy an obligation to our fellow human beings.
Which more than likely helps to explain his seeming inability to re-examine his thought process,despite the benefit of hindsight,that led him to agitate and push for the invasion.
Instead…
he blames the Iraqis themselves, and in particular the Shiite leaders who have taken control of the country since 2003. Most of them had been exiles. Many are Makiya’s friends.
Which bring me to the point,if the Kanan Makiya’s of the world can not learn from their illusion.Is it any wonder that humankind seems to repeat,the same blunders time after time.
Despite the historical record,which in it self should be enough to dissuade one from believing that good can from the ultimate anti-thesis of every thing that makes us human,i.e force of arms,death,destruction & barbarism.
Especially in the situation of Iraq where the people have known nothing but.
Also check out; Louis Proyect on Kanan Makiya
Filed under: Academia, Freedom of Expression, Human Rights, Insane in the Membrane, Israel, U.S
Nobel Laureate Desmond Tutu has been banned from speaking at an American University…
“We had heard some things he said that some people judged to be anti-Semitic and against Israeli policy,” says Doug Hennes, St. Thomas’s vice president for university and government relations.
This combined with the accusation of antisemitism leveled at former US President Jimmy Carter clearly illustrates just how cowed the U.S has become by the “non-existent“ Jewish influence.
The ridiculous loony tune notion that,criticism of Israel = antisemitism is absolutely insane.
But then again we are talking about Israel & Jews ,where it seems,logic doesn’t apply…
Also check out ‘Northman’s Fury‘
Need any more be said…
is so tiresome for so many reasons, beginning with the fact that it is all rather transparently motivated by exactly what Juan Cole says: “The real reason his visit is controversial is that the American right has decided the United States needs to go to war against Iran. Ahmadinejad is therefore being configured as an enemy head of state.”
Up-Date ;That said,Ahmadinejad does make it difficult for anyone to take him serious
Filed under: Academia, Activism, Civil Rights, Freedom of Expression, Human Rights, Indigenous, Israel, U.S
Now if this and this was to have happened anywhere else but in the USA,for example Russia,Iran,Zimbabwe.
Academics,authors ,and journalists,etc would have closed ranks and spoken out.
But then the academic/chattering class are not known for action(of course there are exceptions).Most being so far removed from from the real world and conditions of the majority,as to be in most part irrelevant.
Instead we get schaddenfreude from a fellow author,and teacher who of all people should understand the serious implications of these two actions.Although he does understand here and here.
In fact the guy gloats about it,even though the “evidence” used against Ward Churchill was non-existent or very weak.Despite the fact such actions threaten all authors,journalists,and teachers.Particularly the ones that might be or are critical of the government and or ruling class.
On top of it Terry Glavin goes on to insist that Ward Churchill’s firing had nothing to do with what he wrote.Despite the clear evidence to the contrary…
the national corporate media, which pounced on Churchill and his controversial essay. The result was a nationwide feeding frenzy.
Media attention prompted reactions from members of Congress, who contacted then-Gov. Bill Owens, demanding a response. Owens publicly condemned Churchill’s writings and called for university officials to fire him. The Colorado General Assembly then picked up the issue and passed a resolution renouncing Churchill’s point of view. Some lawmakers threatened to withhold funding if CU didn’t get rid of him. On Feb. 3, 2005, the Board of Regents held a special meeting, at which they passed a resolution apologizing to the nation for Churchill’s remarks and endorsing a review of his scholarly record to see whether they could find grounds to dismiss him.
Must be just a coincidence …
Fear(real or implied) of losing ones position or possibly lessening ones chance at future employment,is an effective way to enforce the status-quo.
This I can understand but double standards and outright hypocrisy I can not.
In the Finkelstein case( a son of holocaust survivors and outspoken critic of oppressive Israeli policy in Palestine),his accuser and rabid foe Alan Dershowitz.
Gets a free pass,no outrage there.Despite the fact that unlike the accusations against Churchill, “improper” footnoting. Alan Dershowitz is accused of out right lying and plagiarizing .
Not a couple of footnotes but an entire book.
But then his book was pro-Israel,again must be just coincidently …
Read more on Ward Churchill here
