Part I.....Where have we gone

Recent events have put Coop's Journey on a new heading; the rhyme and reason for which I'll share with those of you "listening." To start, I'd say, the hitherto findings of the journey have been quite disparaging at best. Never before has my faith in anything been shattered as much as my faith in society has been shattered now.

The Cuban Five.....not covered in the US Press

Massive Youth Demonstration to Demand Release of the Cuban Five

Young Cubans are holding a demonstration on Saturday in front of the US Interests Section in Havana to demand the release of five Cuban antiterrorist fighters who on September 12 will have been held for 11 years in US jails

Young Cubans are holding a demonstration on Saturday in front of the US Interests Section in Havana to demand the release of five Cuban antiterrorist fighters who on September 12 will have been held for 11 years in US jails.

The demonstration will be broadcast live on Cuban TV and counts with the participation of several renowned Cuban artists and musicians.

Among the artists participating are Kcho, Ernesto Rancaño, Eduardo Abela, Vicente Bonachea, Javier Guerra, Alicia Leal, Juan Moreira, Zayda del Río, and José Omar Torres.

Among the musicians who will play during the demonstration are Laritza Bacallao, Raquel Hernández, Manuel Argudín, Augusto Blanca, Rochy Ameneiros, David Blanco, the Cuban National Choir, El Goyo, Moneda Dura. The La Colmenita theatre group will also perform.

All through the month of September, Cuban students and young people have been carrying out activities in support of the movement to release the Cuban Five —Gerardo Hernández, Ramón Labañino, Fernando González, Antonio Guerrero and René González. Among the actives are art exhibitions, concerts and forming organizations to demand their immediate release.

Arrogance Personified

Oprah Winfrey Shuts Down Michigan Avenue

If the link above doesn't work, below is a copy of the article.

September 7, 2009

BY FRANK MAIN Staff Reporter
Oprah who?

Foreigners strolling down the Magnificent Mile on Monday were familiar with Chicago’s bid for the Olympics, Michael Jordan and deep-dish pizza.

But tourists from Italy, China and India scratched their heads when asked what they thought of Chicago’s No. 1 television export.

Andrea Calisto of Sicily was surprised to learn why the heart of downtown Chicago was closed to traffic: the kickoff of the new season of “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”

“I have never heard of this Oprah,” Calisto said.

Crews were busy Monday setting up camera platforms and building the stage.

Metal pedestrian barricades already lined both sides of Michigan Avenue from the Chicago River to Ohio Street and there were more than 50 portable restrooms grouped in several locations outside the audience corral. Orange banners hung from street lights announcing the “Oprah Kickoff Party.”

Jie Tang and her husband were visiting from Harbin, China with their daughter, Myuan Gao, a 20-year-old student at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

“We came to Chicago to shop,” Tang said, adding that she was unfamiliar with Oprah until she watched local TV news Monday and learned of the street closing.

“She must be very powerful,” Tang said.

Rawal Upasani and his wife Mugbha — Mumbai, India residents who live in the San Francisco Bay area on work visas — said they also were unaware of Oprah even though they’ve spent a short time in the United States.

“I love Chicago for its cosmopolitan culture and its architecture,” Rawal Upasani said, adding that he signed a petition supporting Chicago’s bid to host the 2016 Olympic Games.

Of course, plenty of Oprah fans could be found.

Among them were a group of Louisville, Ky., women who have come to Chicago every Labor Day for years on an annual “ladies’ trip” to shop and dine. They were sorry they have to leave before Oprah begins taping her show this afternoon.

“They close Louisville for the [Kentucky] Derby,” said Jasmine Bridges, 30. “We’d love them to do it for Oprah, too.”

But some people were less thrilled by aspects of Oprah-palooza.

One fan commenting on Oprah’s Web site expressed mild annoyance at the barricades lining Michigan Avenue.

“Take down the barricades! Let the ladies shop!” the e-mailer said.

Diane Martinez, 29, of the Little Village neighborhood, said she works downtown and worried about how long her commute would take this morning with buses being rerouted off Michigan Avenue.

Northbound buses will use Dearborn between Madison and Ohio; southbound buses will use Clark. Still, sidewalks and building access will remain open Tuesday in the no-vehicle zone on Michigan Avenue between Wacker Drive and Ohio.

Retailers are keeping their fingers crossed that Oprah will bring customers.

“There were huge crowds Saturday and Sunday, but they’re a little thinner today,” Eddie Bauer co-manager Eric Nelson said Monday inside his store at Michigan Avenue and Ohio, just north of where the audience will gather Tuesday.

“I’m doing a rain dance for tomorrow because we sell a lot of rain gear and umbrellas in bad weather,” Nelson said.

Sorry, Eric, but The Weather Channel is predicting only a 30 percent chance of rain for Tuesday.

For those who plan to trek to the show — or head to work this morning — the Chicago Transit Authority is recommending they take the Red Line as an alternative to the 15 buses that have been temporarily rerouted from Sunday through 6 a.m. Wednesday.

Those who attend Oprah’s 24th season premiere will see the Grammy-winning group Black Eyed Peas, as well as Criss Angel, Jennifer Hudson and James Taylor.

Admission is free and the general audience entrance at Ohio and Michigan will open at noon. There’s no seating for the audience and bicycle racks on Michigan Avenue will be off-limits. Taping is set to begin at 5 p.m. Tuesday and is expected to last until about 7 p.m.

I guess it's all about being the center of attention.

Eddie Would Go

Having lived a few years in the "Islands of Aloha" Hawai'i and being adopted by the people and embracing their culture, I am Hawai'ian at Heart. When I speak of Hawai'i, it's the people, the families('Ohana), Kupuna(the elders), it's the Keikis(Kids), the culture, the history, it's King Kamehameha and how he brought the people together, it's roasting a pig all night for a luau the next day and flip flops piled up on the front porch because you never wear shoes inside a home. It's the simple life.

Lately, I've been missing my Hawai'ian roots so I looked at a few videos on line and wanted to post a few here. These videos are of two of our Hawai'ian brothers (Kaikua'ana) who are legendary in their own rights.

Me thinks, I'm discovering myself and the spirit of Aloha is a part of it.

Eddie Aikau


"Bruddah Iz" Israel Kamakawiwo'ole




Mahalo

Retraction.....

"If one cannot express a conviction or impress upon others an idea or disposition without the use of expletives, derogatory terms or inflammatory language then the very sentiment being conveyed is sure to fall on deaf ears." - Chris Cooper

To these ends I've removed a portion of my previous entry titled "Unpopular Statements. Wrong Statements?"

Peace

Unpopular Statements. Wrong Statements?

On June 11, 2009 James Wenneker Von Brunn entered the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. and opened fire with a .22 caliber rifle killing Security Officer Stephen T. Johns. The news of this event spread rapidly throughout the media, around the world and into your living rooms. Not so much because it was a shooting and killing, but because of where it happened, a Holocaust Museum and by whom, a self-confessed Nazi who supports Aryan ideology. In accordance with James Von Brunn's beliefs he made many controversial and unpopular statements. Though his actions are inexcusable and indefensible in every way, I question whether his and others' statements, assertions and allegations are wrong?

James Von Brunn spoke of: "The browning of America," a Jewish plot "to destroy the White gene-pool" and that "The Holocaust Religion is destroying Western Civilization. The Aryan gene-pool dies unwept, unhonored and unsung." - was it all wrong?

In April of 2007 Seung-Hui Cho stepped onto the Virginia Tech Campus and killed 33 people in two separate shooting tirades. He wrote notes and made videos prior to the shootings and in them he made mention of the following:
"You have vandalized my heart, raped my soul and torched my conscience,"
"You thought it was one pathetic boy's life you were extinguishing."
"Your Mercedes wasn't enough, you brats,"
"Your golden necklaces weren't enough, you snobs. Your trust funds wasn't enough. Your vodka and cognac wasn't enough. All your debaucheries weren't enough. Those weren't enough to fulfill your hedonistic needs. You had everything." - was this all wrong?

In video, on YouTube, a black man spoke of exterminating white people. In the comments section a person that goes by the name of OldSouthernSoldier promptly posted this comment: "I'd like to ask the black people how that democrat thing is workin for ya. You've been democrats for 50 years now and you're in the same place. Vote republican. We will make sure you have a job, and we will put all the criminals in jail and keep them there. We will make sure fathers are responsible for their kids, and we will harshly enforce drug laws. We will also close the borders and get illegals off the welfare system. Those are the people sucking your welfare system dry. It ain't me" - is this wrong?

These are only a few of a plethora of examples where a person makes an unpopular, often controversial, statement and they are lambasted for it. I certainly do not agree with the actions taken in defense of these beliefs, however blind acceptance to popular opinion is but a means to mental slavery anyway. Let me give you one more example. I believe that Barack Obama is not a good President because his policies are in line with those of the previous administration which we vehemently protesed. Barack Obama, consistently opposed these policies during the campaign and has since done a 180 degree turn-around. Opposition to anything Obama does or say is a very unpopular stance in black community. But, was it wrong?

Peace.

Just thoughts.....

Suddenly saddened. Perhaps just another evolution of the roller coast ride of my emotions. I may just be misinterpreting the writing on the wall. Perhaps reading far too much into it. Or not.

Many thoughts. Can't quite focus on any one of them. Career, home, social issues, various relationships.

Mostly just out on an island, watching.

Saddened by what I see, but can't do anything about.