Dan Froomkin pulls the pieces of the story together.
While Dick Cheney undoubtedly remains the most powerful vice president this nation has ever seen, it’s becoming increasingly unclear whether anyone outside the White House believes a word he says. . . . Cheney is increasingly out of touch with reality. He seems to think that by asserting things that are simply untrue, he can make others believe they are so. . . . Meanwhile, the trial of Cheney’s former chief of staff Scooter Libby is exposing to public view the vice president’s role as master-manipulator of misinformation and vindictive retaliator-in-chief — once again, indifferent to the truth. . . . And Washington Post cartoonist Tom Toles nails it.
The dancer here is terrific. Also notice the drummer, particularly in the transition to the sebené, just before the dancer comes on. As the person who posted the video on YouTube puts it:
WOW! It is such a pleasure to watch drummer Isaac “Machine” Katalayi lead the transition into the sebené (you’ll want to replay it just to watch him), while Shiko makes EXACTLY the right sounds come out of that Ibañez Guitar!
Malageis a much respected vocalist. Always in demand, he is frequently called upon to lend his voice to the production of albums by big name artists from his country. Has had his own solo career, and has sung with some of the best Congolese musicians, including 1985-89 he sang with Franco and TPOK Jazz.
Permanence, stability and continuity are very rare commodities in the political and social life of central west Africa. Congo, Zaire, Democratic Republic Of Congo, Mobutu, Kabila, this faction, that faction – it all leaves people very little to cling onto, let alone dance about. That’s why it’s all the more reassuring and heartening to see that Kanda Bongo Man is still strutting his stuff with his hi-octane unleaded soukous after a career spanning more than a quarter of a century. Soukous, is THE pop sound of Africa. It was originally blended from Cuban rhumba, Congolese rhythms and stripped down disco production values in the clubs and funhouses of mid 1970s Kinshasa, capital of what was then Zaire. The name comes from the French ‘secouer’, ‘to shake’, which is just about all you can do when you’re under its spell, unless you’re deaf or dead that is. Its hallmarks are a tub-thumping all-consuming groove, mesmerizing guitar work and gorgeous close harmony vocals. Kanda Bong Man, who earned his ‘Bongo Man’ nickname from his drummer grandfather, fronted the seminal early Soukous combo Bella Bella before moving to Paris from Kinshasa in 1979 to pursue a solo career. His 1981 album ‘Iloye’ topped charts all over Africa and he went to release a string of classics on the Hannibal label, including ‘Amour Fou’ and ‘Kwassa Kwassa’, the later named after a hip-grinding dance that Kanda Bongo Man invented.
He is most famous for the structural changes he implemented to soukous music. The previous approach was to sing several verses and have one guitar solo at the end of the song. Kanda Bongo Man revolutionized soukous by encouraging guitar solos after every verse and even sometimes at the beginning of the song. His form of soukous gave birth to the kwassa kwassa dance rhythm where the hips move back and forth while the hands move to follow the hips.
Steve Gilliard describes the dreadful effect of American warlords and mercenaries in Iraq. The use of mercenaries in Iraq, and the role they play, cries out for investigation. This is a lasting source of shame that very few here in the US have even begun to understand.
Any effort to bring order to Baghdad is undermined by our use of mercenaries. Now, while Bush is blathering on about JAM and the other militias, the largest militia in Iraq is Blackwater and friends. Lawless, loyal to their employer, the use of mercenaries has turned any idea of respecting law into a joke.
The great mistake of the KMT in uniting China was to tolerate warlords. Well, Triple Canopy and Blackwater are certainly warlords. How can JAM demobilize when private soldiers roam the streets of their cities? The Army and police are merely adjuncts to the militias at this point.
You cannot have private armies and then expect the other warlords to disarm. Isn’t going to happen.
On Fox News last Sunday we finally heard a definitive bit of push back from Joe Biden. This is particularly welcome, since the Bush administration has been doing the terrorists jobs for them, more effectively than the terrorists ever could. As it says at Crooks and Liars:
All you Democrats, pay attention, this is what you should be saying EVERY time you’re on the air.
WALLACE: “Sen. Biden, I know this is not your intent, but in fact, wouldn’t your resolution send a message that would embolden our enemies and discourage our troops in the field?”
BIDEN: “Absolutely not. And not only does Carl Levin and Joe Biden and Senator Hagel and Senator Snowe but the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Iraqi Study Group, every single person out there that is of any consequence thinks, knows the Vice President doesn’t know what he’s talking about. I can’t be more blunt than that. He is yet to be right one single time on Iraq. Name me one single time he’s been correct. It’s about time we stop listening to that ideological rhetoric and Bin Laden and the rest. Bin Laden isn’t the issue here, but Bin Laden will become the issue. The issue is there’s a civil war, Chris…”
Jane Hamsher and Christy Hardin Smith have built a fabulous and increasingly powerful political community through their blog FireDogLake. Jane just underwent surgery for breast cancer. CrossedCrocodiles joins all those wishing her well and a speedy recovery. It is wonderful to read all the information and opinion collected at FireDogLake. I urge anyone who reads this to go there and read, and donate something to share their support for Jane and the blog. We need both her and the FireDogLake community to help restore a liberal and progressive political culture in the USA.
I Go Chop Your Dollar came out in the fall of 2005, and seems to be an anthem for the Lads from Lagos, the Nigerian 419ers. As Dibussi Tande says:
Nigerian artist, Nkem Owoh (aka Osuofia) released a song titled “I go chop your dollar” which ridicules Europeans and Americans who fall for these scams. Although the song is a satirical happy-go-lucky number, it immediately became the unofficial 419 anthem.
Watch the video.
Although the song may seem to be praising criminal behavior, criminal behavior has always been a source of entertainment, look at the popularity of the Godfather movies or the Sopranos TV show. This song captures a major social phenomenon with a very catchy and danceable song. I think everyone who gets email has received some of these 419 messages at some time or another. It is even possible to view them as a rather entertaining effort in creative writing.
The singer, Osuofia, Nkem Owoh, is a comic actor who has starred in a number of Nollywood movies, such as Osuofia in London. You can find more at iNollywood by searching for him by name. Naija Jams provides us some more information:
Prior to seeing the video, I was confused and didn’t know exactly what to think. I asked myself, “Have the 419ers taken over Lagos? Are they so popular that their praises were being sung on the radio?” Thankfully the video is out and after viewing it, everything became immediately clear to me. I’d like to share a few points:
The artist on the track is Nigeria’s most popular comedic actor, Nkem Owoh
Nkem is known throughout West Africa for his comedic wit & flawless delivery in films such as, such as: My In Law, Atinga, Ukwa, Osuofia in London, etc.
He is often interchangeably referred to as the characters in his films – most commonly Osuofia.
The song, “Oyinbo, I Go Chop Your Dollar,” is the title track from the comedy, The Master, starring Nkem Owoh as a scheming 419er.
The song is intended to be a comedic accompaniment and title track to the film, The Master.
If there was any doubt, lyrics like, “National Airport na me get am / National Stadium na me build am” (I own the National Airport / I built the Nigerian National Stadium (Surulere – Lagos, Nigeria)) clearly communicate this.
Hopefully this clarifies things for some viwers.
You can read brief descriptions of some of the common 419 scams and find the lyrics to the song here:
I Go Chop Your Dollar
I don suffer no be small Upon say I get sense Poverty no good at all, no Na im make I join this business 419 no be thief, its just a game Everybody dey play am if anybody fall mugu, ha! my brother I go chop am
Chorus National Airport na me get am National Stadium na me build am President na my sister brother You be the mugu, I be the master Oyinbo I go chop your dollar, I go take your money dissapear 419 is just a game, you are the loser I am the winner The refinery na me get am, The contract, na you I go give am But you go pay me small money make I bring am you be the mugu, I be the master… na me be the master ooo!!!!
When Oyinbo play wayo, them go say na new style When country man do im own, them go de shout bring am, kill am, die! Oyinbo people greedy, I say them greedy I don see them tire thats why when them fall enter my trap o! I dey show them fire
It is worth remembering, we are still a democracy.
The reason local police should not be involved with immigration enforcement is that it makes our communities more dangerous for all of us.
If someone is afraid to report crime, the criminals have free run of the community. Many of the people stirring up fear of illegal aliens have much to gain by creating a climate of fear. One example is a member of the Virginia General Assembly, right in Virginia Congressman Virgil Goode‘s backyard. Delegate to the Virginia General Assembly Allen Dudley maintains a trailer slum exploiting illegal immigrants, overcharging for unsanitary conditions.
GOTV explains quite clearly the danger to the community that occurs if we mix immigration law with local policing. It makes our communities much more dangerous:
I just want to point out the obvious, these politicians who rant about illegal aliens are just jerking our chain. What they really want is illegal aliens who are so fearful that they will endure any insult, any exploitation, any crime, rather than bring it to the attention of the authorities for fear of deportation. This is exactly why mixing immigration law with local police work is such rotten policy.
Virginia has certain laws governing landlords, including housing codes. Before you can rent, your property must meet minimum standards. By renting to illegal aliens, and then stirring up a political hysteria against immigrants, you reduce the possibility of immigrants reporting any crime you might be committing. So you can rent slum property, pay workers with rubber checks, and run a hundred other scams, secure in the knowledge that your victims will never bring you to justice.
And it is not just illegal immigrants, or even legal immigrants, even naturalized citizens, years after they have been naturalized, are reluctant to report crimes for fear of the authorities. The current hysteria about immigration is making our society much more dangerous.
A judge in Colorado has ordered ICE, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to provide information as to where the victims of the Swift raids are being detained. He ordered ICE to provide details about the detainees to the lawyers who are representing them. Let us hope due process is restored in these cases, especially since the raids were less about crime than about union busting. ICE targeted plants that were unionized.
By Myung Oak Kim, Rocky Mountain News January 13, 2007
A federal judge ordered immigration officials Friday to provide the names and whereabouts of at least 260 immigrant workers arrested during a raid at Greeley’s Swift & Co. meatpacking plant.
U.S. District Judge John L. Kane also warned lawyers representing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that he is scrutinizing how they handled the detainees.
During a court hearing Friday in Denver, Kane ordered government lawyers to give details on detainees to lawyers representing workers.
In response to allegations that ICE agents denied detainees their due-process rights and coerced them to sign voluntary deportation orders after the Dec. 12 sweep, Kane ordered ICE to hold bond hearings within 48 hours for any jailed Swift workers who had not yet had such a hearing.
Kane also ordered ICE not to deport Swift detainees who had signed papers agreeing to leave the country and giving up legal rights, and to withdraw those orders if the detainees want.
Also Friday, Kane denied a motion by government lawyers to dismiss a lawsuit filed by United Food & Commercial Workers Union Local 7 on behalf of all workers arrested in Greeley. The union, which represents Swift workers, contends ICE abused its powers during and after the roundup. The union has filed similar suits in other cities where ICE arrested Swift workers. . . .
Kane complained about confusion over the identities and whereabouts of the Swift detainees. John Bowen, general counsel for Local 7, said he and government lawyers agreed to exchange lists within the next few days.
“The judge is going to watch and ensure that the government is going to those steps necessary to protect the rights of those they’ve taken into custody,” Bowen said after the court hearing.
Bowen said he doesn’t know how many workers would be affected by the judge’s order for bond hearings.
Of the 260-plus workers arrested in Greeley, at least 80 are still in ICE jails, Bowen said. Seventy-five were sent back to Mexico the night of the raid, and dozens have since posted bail, pending deportation hearings.
Bowen said more than 20 Swift workers remain jailed in the Aurora immigration detention facility and about 61 are being held in an ICE jail in El Paso, Texas.
The Department of Homeland Security just underwent an independent audit by KPMG, a huge and well known international accounting firm. A lot of money is unaccounted for. Thanks to looseheadprop at Firedoglake, who has looked through the accountant speak of the report, PDF version here, we learn that:
FEMA was unable to fully support the accuracy and completeness of certain unpaid obligations, and accounts payable . . . These unpaid obligations, as reported in the accompanying DHS balance sheet as of September 30, 2006, were $22.3 Billion or 46% of DHS consolidated unexpended appropriations at September 30, 2006.
The auditors revealed $22.3 billion unaccounted for, due to:
“financial reporting problems at four bureaus and at the department level.” The auditors found ten material problems, two other reportable conditions, violation of eight separate laws. . . . FEMA has lost and/or failed to account for a sum of money that is almost half of DHS’s entire budget and 130 times greater than the amount of money that the Department of Homeland Security is willing to spend to secure the homeland.
And ICE, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is “undocumented”, does not have records, according to the audit:
According to the auditors, ICE could not support $1.2 billion in accounts payable and undelivered ordered.
So what is the source of the problem? A major reason for the missing money is the political appointments in top managerial positions:
The auditors found that:
While the OFM is staffed with exceptionally dedicated management and staff, additional managerial skill sets are needed to fully accomplish OFM responsibilities. OFM does not have a sufficient number of management personnel who have the requisite financial accounting background, knowledge and expertise to do the long list of things necessary to perform their jobs.
Translation: They mean well, but have no clue what they are doing. And by they, I mean the managerial appointees. You know, the people hand picked by Chertoff and Cheney…with Rove getting vetting rights. See how this all works? . . . This audit report reads like a prosecution memo.
Read looseheadprop‘s entire post if you would like a more thorough understanding.
Immigrant entrepreneurs founded 25.3% of the tech startups in the past decade. And foreign nationals living in the United States were responsible for about 24% of international patent applications in 2006. This information is from a study done by Duke University, available in PDF here.
* There was at least one immigrant key founder in 25.3% of engineering and technology companies founded between 1995 and 2005. * Together this pool of immigrant-founded companies was responsible for generating an estimated $52 billion in 2005 sales and creating just under 450,000 jobs as of 2005. . . . * Foreign nationals residing in the United States were named as inventors or co-inventors in 24.2% of international patent applications in 2006. * This percentage increased dramatically from 7.3% in 1998. This count does not include immigrants who became U.S. citizens before filing a patent application.
The people who are attacking immigrants in the media ignore and forget the huge contribution they make the the US economy. The state of Texas has documented the financial cost and contribution of undocumented immigrants in a report. The undocumented contributed $17.7 billion to the state economy, and $1.58 billion to actual state revenues. In summary the report says:
The absence of the estimated 1.4 million undocumented immigrants in Texas in fiscal 2005 would have been a loss to our gross state product of $17.7 billion. Undocumented immigrants produced $1.58 billion in state revenues, which exceeded the $1.16 billion in state services they received. However, local governments bore the burden of $1.44 billion in uncompensated health care costs and local law enforcement costs not paid for by the state.— Carole Keeton Strayhorn, Texas Comptroller
With appreciation to Dr. Doom for the graphic
Crossed Crocodiles 