Clifton Pollard

1.
If God exists, and is worthy of worship, sie loves and forgives Osama the same way sie loves and forgives me.

The crazy comments in response to the NYT's story on how the government narrative of bin Laden's killing has changed make me feel pretty bad. I understand that all 3000 people in the towers were unarmed. So was my neighbor Paul who was vaporized, with all his parents' hopes, at the Pentagon. Noting that bin Laden was also unarmed when he was shot has nothing to do with bleeding heart human rights. It has to do with the fact that killing is forbidden, first of all; and second of all, that bin Laden should have been brought to trial. A fair and transparent trial, with humane and honest jurists including Muslims, would have changed the world. That change is what the trigger-happy SEALS have postponed -- if in fact Tahrir Square has not made terrorism, and bin Laden's life or death the oldest and most irrelevant possible news.

I also understand that bin Laden might have been thought to be wearing a suicide vest and so on. But they were trained for that -- which is why they shot him in the head, and not the chest -- and I doubt very seriously that bin Laden posed any threat to them.

2.
The NYT yesterday had a number of stories on just how beleagured and harmed the city has been since 9/11. Worth thinking about. I know New Yorkers don't feel alive unless the agro is high. I know there's a lot of rock-ribbed Italo Irish "stand up guys" on ventilators as the result of the work they did on the towers. And I know that the politics of resentment among angry white blue collar guys would -- and will -- and has -- found itself another scapegoat to fasten upon.

But this was the grace note. In a shimmering display of great journalism lightly worn -- the fruit of Jimmy Breslin's immortal story on Clifton Pollard, JFK's grave digger -- the Times sent reporters to the landfill where all the debris from the towers was sifted for human remains, to the Islamic cafes and halal butchers of the great cosmopolis. And to the hospitals, where two babies were born Sunday evening as Osama was being killed.

JaDon Freddrick Jackson was born on Sunday to Tanisa Williams, a lawyer, who wondered if the world would really be a safer place for her second child.

And Zain Mosher Littles was born on Monday to Cassidy Mosher, who works on costumes for films and television.

Mothers and sons were reported doing well.

“I hear there’s a lot of celebrating going on,” Ms. Mosher, 28, said. “I must say this person did horrible things to thousands of people. But it’s hard to celebrate someone’s death when you have life coming into yours. No matter what somebody does, taking a solemn moment when somebody dies is important.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/03/nyregion/joy-at-bin-ladens-death-is-mixed-with-sober-reflection.html?pagewanted=2&sq=arrigo&st=cse&scp=2

3.
And the great phoenix city extends its love and generosity -- five months after it closed Off Broadway, "The Scottsboro Boys" -- Kanter and Ebbs' last collaboration -- gets 12 Tony nominations (bypassing Robin Williams in "Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo", Daniel Radcliffe. Chris Rock and Kiefer Sutherland, all pretending to be Broadway actors this nominating season).

• Best Musical
• Best Book of a Musical
• Original score
• Actor, Musical: Joshua Henry
• Featured actors, Forrest McClendon, Colman Domingo
• Director, Susan Stroman
• Choreography, Susan Stroman

http://youtu.be/icIQQj0C_b0

And the beat goes on. Here's hoping in 80 years there will be twelve nominations for "The Killing of Osama Bin Laden" with music and lyrics by Justin Bieber and Willow Smith.

I love New York.

Geronimo

Bin Laden Code-name “Geronimo” Is a Bomb in Indian Country
By Lise Balk King

May 3, 2011 RSS
Read More: Barack Obama Geronimo military Osama bin Laden
The US government may have captured and killed Osama Bin Laden with a surgical strike, but it also dropped a bombshell on Native America in the process. “We’ve ID’d Geronimo,” said the voice of the Navy SEAL who reported the hunt for Osama bin Laden was over. The President, and all those gathered in the situation room, waited on edge for the voice to return with the triumphant news, that in fact, “Geronimo” was dead.

According to multiple sources, “Geronimo-E KIA” is the message that was sent to the White House by the strike team to announce that bin Laden, the “E,” or Enemy, was Killed In Action.

As news of bin Laden’s death spread relief across America and the world, revelations that the assigned code name of Enemy Number One was “Geronimo,” a legendary Apache leader, caused shock waves in Indian communities across the country. It is being interpreted as a slap in the face of Native people, a disturbing message that equates an iconic symbol of Native American pride with the most hated evildoer since Adolf Hitler.

The death of bin Laden is arguably the most important news story of the year, and embedded within it is a message that an Indian warrior, a symbol of Native American survival in the face of racial annihilation, is associated with modern terrorism and the attacks on 9/11.

The “bin Laden is dead” news story will make thousands of impressions on the minds of people around the globe, and the name Geronimo will now be irrevocably linked with the world’s most reviled terrorist.

Potentially the most disturbing fact is what this says to American Indian children. It equates being Native American with being hated, an enemy to the world, and someone to be hunted down and killed, and re-casts one of their heroes into a villainous role.

Time Magazine’s Swampland blog first reported the details yesterday that the target, Osama bin Laden, was code-named Geronimo, in keeping with The White House’s afternoon press conference.

But the story coming from the White House evolved by evening, with what appears to be a “re-tooling” of the message, which now states that the “mission” was code-named Geronimo.

The CNN White House blog featured a historic black and white photo of Geronimo and the headline, “Osama bin Laden codename “Geronimo”, for the duration of the afternoon at whitehouse.blogs.cnn.com. There is currently a post with the title “Osama bin Laden mission codename ‘Geronimo” (emphasis added) with a timestamp of 4:46 PM, though some commenters express outrage over the earlier title.

Tribal members from around the country are turning to social networking sites Facebook and Twitter as an outlet to express their anger and sadness at the unwelcome association. “This sucks,” said Harold Monteau, an attorney and tribal member from Rocky Boy, Montana, “A lot of people are angry about the obvious stereotypes it implies.”

“It’s another attempt to label Native Americans as terrorists,” said Paula Antoine from the Rosebud Sioux Tribe in South Dakota. Beaver North Cloud, a JemezPueblo tribal member from Albuquerque, New Mexico expressed her frustration, saying “Damn it!!!!! Why am I not surprised, yet so disappointed beyond words.”

It is unthinkable to many tribal people that the reviled killer and enemy of all Americans, Osama bin Laden, would be code-named after perhaps the most famous American Indian. But it is especially ironic in light of the fact that Native Americans historically serve in the United States Armed Forces in higher numbers per capita than any other ethnic group, and have been doing so for over 200 years.

More than 12,000 tribal members stepped up to fight in WWI for a country that did not recognize them as citizens. In 1924, the passage of the Snyder Act finally granted them citizenship, gave them the “right” to vote, and made them eligible for the draft. In WWII, they signed up in numbers far outpacing their expected contributions. More than 44,000 tribal members enlisted for military service out of an estimated total population of just over 350,000.

This makes one wonder: How many American Indians are serving in the Navy today, and how many are members of the SEALs, the heroic soldiers who performed the daring mission that took out bin Laden Sunday night?

In any case, this incredible lapse in judgment on the part of the Department of Defense, code named “Geronimo,” presents an opportunity to finally teach the American public, and the world, another lesson in American history.

Yes, it’s true that Geronimo and his cohorts were fierce warriors and chiefs, and they fought bravely against the decimation of their homes and families. It’s also true that their descendents are on the battlefield today, in places such as Afghanistan and Iraq. They help to defend us against those who would commit acts of terror on what is now our shared homeland, which was once theirs alone.

They stand shoulder to shoulder with American citizens of all races. It’s time for the rest of America to stand with them.

Lise Balk King is a Masters in Public Administration candidate at the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, class of 2011. She serves as a Senior Editor, US Domestic Policy, for the Harvard Kennedy School Review. Before attending Harvard, Lise co-owned and operated The Native Voice, an independent national Native American newspaper. She can be reached at lise_balk_king@hks11.harvard.edu

http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/ict_sbc/bin-laden-code-name-“geronimo”-is-a-bomb-in-indian-country/