Letter: Hands Off Assata Shakur

The expressed opinions or views of this letter does not necessarily represent the opinion of the MiddletownMike blog:

Dear Editor,

I am outraged at Congressman Chris Smith's recent legislative attempts to remove Black Panther activist, and my personal hero, Assata Shakur from her home in Cuba and return her to certain death in a New Jersey prison cell, for a crime she did not commit.

As an activist for the civil rights of the descendants of African slaves, Assata was targeted by the FBI in the 1960s and 1970s under the COINTELPRO program, which sought to destroy those that the racist, imperialist U.S. government deemed to be a threat to their hegemonic system, by advocating peace and equality.

After 7 separate felony trials in which Assata was acquitted of various serious offenses she was clearly not guilty of, the feds finally succeed in securing a false conviction against Assata, by claiming in a racist Middlesex County court that she had shot a state trooper. However the medical evidence presented at trial demonstrated that she had been shot with her hands in the air, and is therefore innocent.

Assata Shakur, a woman, was thrown into a men's prison and put into solitary confinement. Thankfully, the heroes of the Black Liberation Army broke her out of the cage and got her to safety in Cuba. The Cuban government reviewed the evidence and determined she was innocent and granted her political asylum. She is not a fugitive, but a refugee, recognized as such by the Cuban authorities.

The U.S. and New Jersey authorities are embarrassed that a modern-day slave escaped from their shackles and still want her dead. Because of this, they have been relentless in offering to pay others to kidnap her from Cuba, and have conducted a diplomatic dog and pony show in an attempt to put her back into a cage, where she would be condemned to extrajudicial execution.

Everyone should be outraged that Assata Shakur (the godmother of late rapper Tupac) is still under threat from the American authorities, and the voters must ensure that Congressman Chris Smith is never again re-elected.

Hands off Assata. Power to the People. Long live the noble veterans of the Black Liberation Army. Down with racism. ¡Hasta la Victoria Siempre!



REV. DR. ERIC HAFNER
FORMER CANDIDATE FOR U.S. CONGRESS
TOMS RIVER, NEW JERSEY

Letter: ASSATA SHAKUR AND THE IRA

The expressed opinions or views of this letter does not necessarily represent the opinion of the MiddletownMike blog:


When the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) prisoners in the H-Blocks of Long Kesh went on Hunger Strike in 1981, the New Jersey State Assembly followed up by honoring the IRA Hunger Striker Bobby Sands MP, after his death, with a resolution highlighting his courage and commitment.

New Jersey's Irish-American community and supporters stand in solidarity with Assata Shakur and the Black Liberation Army's objectives to achieve civil rights and freedom for African-Americans. Like the Royal Ulster Constabulary, which was found to have targeted Catholics for unfair treatment, the NJ State Police admitted to racial profiling and discrimination during a settlement with the Department of Justice in the late 1990s.

Assata Shakur was granted asylum in Cuba in the 1980s after escaping from a NJ prison where she was held after being convicted of murdering a state trooper, in a racist highly questionable case that lacked evidence such as gunpowder residue, among other inconsistencies with the government's tall tale. Assata had previously framed in numerous other cases she was later acquitted of, as part of FBI's COINTELPRO program.

The New Jersey State Police recently put out Assata's name on another NJ Most Wanted Hitlist.

The Irish community just celebrated the centennial of the 1916 Easter Rising in Ireland, where James Connolly advocated independence, equality, and social democracy.

But in 2016, we must rise in solidarity with Assata here in New Jersey and force the State of New Jersey to keep their "Hands off Assata".

"Tiocfaidh ár lá" and "All Power to the People" define a common global struggle.

Governor Christie needs to shut his mouth and stop harassing Assata Shakur.



Eric Hafner
Toms River, NJ

President Obama's Weekly Address 2/20/16: A New Chapter with Cuba

WASHINGTON, DC — In this week’s address, President Obama discussed his upcoming trip to Cuba, a visit that will further advance the progress we’ve made since he announced the new chapter of U.S. – Cuba relations more than a year ago. This will be the first visit of a U.S. President to Cuba in nearly 90 years. President Obama believes the best way to promote American interests and values, and help improve the lives of the Cuban people, is through engagement. During his trip, the President will meet with President Raul Castro to discuss the progress we've made in the ongoing process of normalizing relations, and reaffirm our support of universal values like freedom of speech, assembly, and religion. The President will also meet with members of civil society and Cuban entrepreneurs, and speak directly to the Cuban people about our shared beliefs and continued support as they build the future they want. The President acknowledges the serious differences we have with the Cuban government, and although the transformation of this new relationship will take time, the President noted that his visit to Cuba will advance the goals that guide us – promoting American interests and values, and assisting efforts to build a future of more freedom and more opportunity for the Cuban people.

President Obama's Weekly Address 12/19/15: Top 10 Things that Happened in 2015

WASHINGTON, DC — In this week's address, the President celebrated the end of the year tradition of list-making with a year-in-review list of his own. The President offered his roundup of the top 10 things that happened in 2015, all of which should make us optimistic about the prospects for 2016. This past year has been one where we’ve seen unprecedented progress in areas ranging from the Iran deal to marriage equality to concluding a historic trade agreement. The year 2015 brought economic growth, with our unemployment rate dropping to five percent; the normalization of our relations with Cuba and a newly opened U.S. Embassy in Havana; and a historic agreement in Paris to take real action on climate change. The President acknowledged the significant progress of the past year, and looked forward to 2016 and all we have yet to accomplish.

A Message From President Obama On The U.S. And Cuba Relations

Yesterday, after more than 50 years, we began to change America's relationship with the people of Cuba.

We are recognizing the struggle and sacrifice of the Cuban people, both in the U.S. and in Cuba, and ending an outdated approach that has failed to advance U.S. interests for decades. In doing so, we will begin to normalize relations between our two countries.

I was born in 1961, just over two years after Fidel Castro took power in Cuba, and just as the U.S. severed diplomatic relations with that country.

Our complicated relationship with this nation played out over the course of my lifetime -- against the backdrop of the Cold War, with our steadfast opposition to communism in the foreground. Year after year, an ideological and economic barrier hardened between us.

That previous approach failed to promote change, and it's failed to empower or engage the Cuban people. It's time to cut loose the shackles of the past and reach for a new and better future with this country.

I want you to know exactly what our new approach will mean.

First, I have instructed Secretary of State John Kerry to immediately begin discussions with Cuba to re-establish diplomatic relations that have been severed since 1961. Going forward, we will re-establish an embassy in Havana, and high-ranking officials will once again visit Cuba.

Second, I have also instructed Secretary Kerry to review Cuba's designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism -- a review guided by the facts and the law. At a time when we are focused on threats from ISIL and al Qaeda, a nation that meets our conditions and renounces terrorism should not face such a sanction.

Third, we'll take steps to increase travel, commerce, and the flow of information to -- and from -- Cuba. These steps will make it easier for Americans to travel to Cuba. They will make it easier for Americans to conduct authorized trade with Cuba, including exports of food, medicine, and medical products to Cuba. And they will facilitate increased telecommunications connections between our two countries: American businesses will be able to sell goods that enable Cubans to communicate with the United States and other countries.

Learn more about the steps we're taking to change our policy.

These changes don't constitute a reward or a concession to Cuba. We are making them because it will spur change among the people of Cuba, and that is our main objective.

Change is hard -- especially so when we carry the heavy weight of history on our shoulders.

Our country is cutting that burden loose to reach for a better future.

Thank you,

President Barack Obama

Did The Cubans Plot To Smear Senator Menendez?

Last night the Washington Post reported that Senator Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) sent a letter to Justice Department officials asking the Justice Department to pursue evidence obtained by U.S. investigators that the Cuban government concocted an elaborate plot to smear him with allegations that he cavorted with underage prostitutes, during his reelection campaign last year.

The reasons given as to why the Cuban government would go through such extraordinary lengths to smear our good senator seems to be a little silly. Menendez who is of Cuban descent, has been a vocal critics of the Castro regime during his tenure in Congress and at the time, was preparing to assume the powerful chairmanship of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

This alleged plot sounds a bit amateurish and a little to 1960's - 1970's Cold War-ish to believe but evidently it's true. Does the CIA actually still do these things today?

Senator Menendez was on CNN this morning talking about it

Closing Gitmo just the beginning

Eric Marolis of the Toranto Sun Times expressed the following opinion in this mornings edtion about the closing of the Guantanamo Bay prison, as well as other CIA secret "Black" prisons around the globe. It's an opinion in which I happen to agree with:

Kudos to President Barack Obama for closing the U.S. prison at Guantanamo, Cuba, and the CIA's network of secret, or "black,'" prisons abroad, both blots on America's honour and grave violations of international law.

The U.S. conquered Cuba in the 1898 Spanish-American War. Washington then installed a U.S. citizen as president who granted Washington base rights to Guantanamo in perpetuity. A century later, the U.S. made a similar sweetheart deal in Afghanistan.

Now is an excellent time for Obama also to close the U.S. base at Guantanamo and return it to Cuba. Gitmo is a military white elephant. Returning it to Cuba would be a good start to thawing relations between Havana and Washington.

Obama's next step in returning America to its senses should be ending use of the propaganda terms, "terrorism," and "war on terror."

Read more>>> Here