W.E. A.L.L. B.E.: Mumia Speaks: This Time, Times Square

Monday, May 17, 2010

Mumia Speaks: This Time, Times Square

This Time, Times Square

[col. writ. 5/8/10] (c) '10 Mumia Abu-Jamal

A young, naturalized American lights a match, exits his car parked in Times Square, laden with incendiary materials, and walks away, igniting, if not a firestorm in fact, an explosion of media speculation, legislative threats, and finally, most fundamentally, fear.

The explosion that failed did not fail to turn eyes, mouths and minds to U.S. wars, conflicts and contradictions in the Middle East and Asia, and back to the issue of terrorism.

So occupied have Americans been with their own economic troubles, that the wars abroad have fallen off the headlines, forgotten by most, while only a tiny segment of Americans, soldiers and their families, policy works at think tanks, foreign policy scholars and diplomats, for the most part, attend to the fires raging in millions of hearts overseas, as a direct result of misguided and short-sighted imperial policies abroad.

If a U.S.- educated, bilingual naturalized citizen can contemplate, plot, and attempt such an act, ostensibly as a direct response to U.S. drones unleashed on Pakistani territory which killed a friend of his, then who is the next to try to strike such a blow?

We may not have to wait long to find out.

And while the crowing about 'success' is deafening, it's also true that danger was barely averted. In my humble opinion, Faisal Shahzad failed, not because he was improperly trained, but because either he intentionally sabotaged the mission, or his trainers did so, to show what could have happened in the heart of Neon city, if only......

The nation's fear index has hit the roof, and in that sense, has had a psychological payoff among the planners of this plot that cannot be discounted.

Less than 6 months ago, a young man from a wealthy Nigerian family also almost caused a disaster in a major American city that would've killed thousands. In half a year the name Abdul Mutallib has been almost forgotten.

But, what if....?

What if these were but dry runs, meant to show how easy such attacks could be?

U.S. foreign policy, of attacking and bombing people willy-nilly, can create blowback that can cause considerable American causalities.

We may be seeing the first wave of much more to come.

--(c) '10 maj

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The Power of Truth is Final -- Free Mumia!

URGENT Need for Petition Signatures at: http://www.iacenter.org/mumiapetition/

Audio of most of Mumia's essays are at: http://www.prisonradio.org

http://mumiapodcast.libsyn.com/

Mumia's got a podcast! Mumia Abu-Jamal's Radio Essays - Subscribe at the website or on iTunes and get Mumia's radio commentaries online.

Mumia Abu-Jamal's new book -- JAILHOUSE LAWYERS: PRISONERS DEFENDING PRISONERS V. THE USA, featuring an introduction by Angela Y. Davis -- has been released! It is available from City Lights Books: http://www.citylights.com/book/?GCOI=87286100448090

If you are planning to organize an event or would like to order in bulk, you can also receive a 45% discount on any bulk orders of 20 copies or more. The book retails for $16.95, for orders of 20 copies or more the discounted price would be $9.32 per book, plus shipping and handling. Prepayment would be required and books are nonreturnable. If you or your organization would like to place a bulk order, please contact Stacey Lewis at 415.362.1901 or stacey@citylights.com

Let's use the opportunity of the publication of this brilliant, moving, vintage Mumia book to build the momentum for his case, to raise the money we desperately need in these challenging economic times, to get the word out – to produce literature, flyers, posters, videos, DVD's; to send organizers out to help build new chapters and strengthen old ones, TO GET THE PEOPLE OUT IN THE STREETS … all the work that we must do in order to FREE MUMIA as he faces LIFE IN PRISON WITHOUT PAROLE OR EXECUTION!

Please make a contribution to help free Mumia. Donations to the grassroots work will go to both INTERNATIONAL CONCERNED FAMILY AND FRIENDS OF MUMIA ABU-JAMAL and the FREE MUMIA ABU-JAMAL COALITION (NYC).

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Please mail donations/ checks to:

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