Eritrean community radio divides Minnesota Eritreans

By |

An ongoing controversy involving the Eritrean Community Radio program on KFAI, which airs on Sunday afternoons, continues to divide the Twin Cities Eritrean community, with no resolution in sight. The program, which started in the 1990s, is hosted by Essey Asbu, a board member of the Eritrean Community Center, based in St. Paul. Another group, the Eritrean Forum of Minnesota, claims the KFAI program takes a pro-Eritrean government stance, and wants an alternative point of view to be heard.Over the last couple of years, a number of contentious meetings have been held at KFAI, with Eritrean Forum members demanding time on the program, while many of the program’s listeners (and KFAI contributors) object to the Forum’s point of view.Eritrean Forum positionSteve Paulos, a member of the Eritrean Forum of Minnesota, moved to the United States in 1974, when Eritrea was a part of Ethiopia. “We’re only asking to have constitutional country,” he said.Paulos said the KFAI program follows only government-run news. Continue Reading

COMMUNITY VOICES | In the aftermath of Zimmerman’s acquittal, racial justice remains elusive

By |

Let’s face it, America has not done a very good job of reconciling its ugly and painful history of racism and oppression against African Americans and other people of color. The predominant attitude seems to be that what happened in the past stays in the past and that history has little to no bearing upon current happenings within our society. Sadly, as illustrated in the tragic murder of Trayvon Martin and in the aftermath of the acquittal of George Zimmerman, this could not be further from the truth. In this case, race played a significant role in the fact that Trayvon Martin, a young African American male, was profiled and stereotyped by Zimmerman as a criminal who was “up to no good,” as he walked in the rain through a gated community in Sanford, Florida.The lingering perception of the Black man as criminal and suspicious has plagued young African American men since the days of slavery and beyond. In fact, throughout the South following the abolition of slavery, laws were created that made standard behavior by Black men a crime and led to high rates of incarceration for that segment of the population. Continue Reading

FROM THE EDITORS’ DESK | Did the Twin Cities Daily Planet sell out to Facebook?

By |

We recently received this e-mail from a reader, who has given us permission to republish the e-mail but has asked to remain anonymous.I was really happy to see your article today by Alleen Brown on the recent Supreme Court decisions. It’s so easy to let the “hot” news stories suck all the oxygen out of the room, and then we miss the nuances of these types of shifts.However, I was very unhappy to see that your new format (looks nice by the way) does not include the non-corporate comment opportunity, as it has in the past.Really, this is pretty incomprehensible. What corporate board member or vendor has talked you into this?Facebook—funded by $175 million in Goldman Sachs funds, creating a data farm of half the planet. Google, innocuous, but for how long (?), as it accumulates valuable consumer data. Twitter, who knows what its trajectory is but it’s funded by T. Rowe Price and Morgan Stanley among others—and AOL, proven repeatedly to be a tool of the ruling class.As an activist, I see over and over how corporate groupthink consciously or unconsciously drives us over the edge into abandoning our principles and giving our mission over to the—who knows? Continue Reading

Can a reporter participate in the political process?

By |

After all the fuss I made about the caucus I went to, I didn’t end up going to my ward convention or the city convention. I kind of feel like I’m a bad citizen, but honestly I had a bit of an existential crisis about the whole thing.Right now I’m in a weird place: much of my identity is tied to being a “reporter”, but sometimes I get confused about where to draw the line between that sort of nebulous role (especially because, as a freelancer, I write about so many different things) versus just who I am as a human being.A couple of months ago, I had a candidate complain to me that I had given unfair coverage of the election in terms of a column I had written. I responded that in my column, I generally freely write my own thoughts and impressions, and the candidate questioned how I can both do that and be a nonpartisan observer.It’s definitely not the first time someone has accused me of having biases. Most of the time I can shrug it off and say I am a big believer in transparency over supposed omniscience, since a completely neutral approach will always let the writer’s personal views enter “through the back door,” as Leo Strauss would say. Still, the mayoral election is high stakes—and that gave me pause.It’s not just the mayoral election. Continue Reading

Being ‘the Only One’ can render one invisible

By |

The little boy in the 1974 movie Claudine told James Earl Jones’ character that he wanted to be invisible. When asked why, the frustrated youngest son of Diahann Carroll’s character simply replied that since his older siblings regularly ignore him, he might just as well be invisible. Continue Reading

COMMUNITY VOICES | Political satire videos & pundits on Democratic Visions

By |

I’ve been grousing about the lack of sharp local, political satire and comment on Minnesota television and radio.  I’ve looked for it on YouTube, surfed our Comcast channels and radio dial — nothing.  (Yes, I do have a radio with knobs; a Christmas gift from my teenage kids.) I’ve not found one single wag with a grinning, perceptive sense of the politically absurd or mundane on our local airwaves and their Internet repeaters. The ones pretending to be – like the teleprompter readers on Almanac or, say, the awkward talent on AM950 Radio’s Laughing Matters are, to be polite about it, duds. They lack juice and are delusional in their self-confirming shows. Michele Bachmann’s recent TV campaign ad pegged to her U.S. House bill to undo Obama Care sparked more laughs per second than a month’s worth of Almanac. None-the-less, these local monologists, essayists, iconoclasts and chumps posture as if they are players in league with Bill Maher, Whoopi, Janeane Garofalo or perhaps sewer surfer Tom Bernard. Andy Rooney, Molly Ivins and George Carlin were never guilty of an “I’m clever and perceptive” attitude.  With brilliance, you don’t need attitude.  Jon Stewart is a special case.  His shtick of melodramatic asides, raised eyebrows, long takes at the camera and fist-pounding the fake news anchor desk is funny.  The show is CPR for democracy.  With maybe more than 15 Emmy winning writers and more producers making it up for him, Stewart is perched above the heap.  But our local broadcast pretenders to that comic aerie are bottom feeding; they seem to be worried about offending the Crocus Hill Chapter of the League of Women Voters.Rooney, Carlin, Stewart and Keillor set the bar, not the neurotic Catholic guy with his naughty priest jokes on open mic night at the Ha Ha Club.  Sweet Jesus!  Minnesota, via local TV, radio and video is dreadfully pleasant, un-funny, pulseless.  Politics have been left for the elected, the poly sci prof, partisan sound bite trombones and the Ember Reichgott Junges and Barry Andersons of this world. While the theatrical arts get better every year, satire remains as pointed as a Creamette noodle stuck in the drain.   The likely video production venues for prospective comic cynics with no restrictions are the metro area’s cable access television studios and channels.  It’s never happened.  That said, MN Progressive Project co-captain Eric Pusey has the licks, looks and wit to slap the puck into the net for scores. Fox Nine News knows that and so do I.On the current edition of Democratic Visions you can see him splash vinegar on the life political as he and host Tim O’Brien provide the continuity to four independently produced satirical videos, one from LaLa Land, two from Vancouver and one from Eden Prairie.  The vids take measure of President Barack Obama and the fiscal cliff, local TV weathercasters and climate change, Canada’s tar sand industry, and the National Rifle Association.  The latter features Eden Prairie’s Junk Yard Democrat’s Doug Lind, Norb Gernes and MN PP’s Tommy Johnson.  The boys aren’t pretty to look at and sing even worse, but deliver a damn strong message about gun cultists.  As Mel Brooks knows, you can’t beat monsters like Hitler with more speeches, but you can hobble them with silly.  The tar sand oil video is written and animated by Dan Murphy, who had been the Vancouver Province’s long time, brilliant political cartoonist before he bit the hand that fed the daily paper’s publisher.  Ronny Butler is superb as Barack singing and strumming a ukulele, and Deep Rogue Ram, a young Vancouver-based parody ensemble can tar and feather SCTV style. The Big E has at Chip Kravaack’s retirement, Tony Cornish’s guns for teachers bill and the Sixth Congressional District’s Princess Sparkle Pony.  Our program was taped a few weeks before the legislator announced that she will not seek another term in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District. DEMOCRATIC VISIONS – ABOUT, WHEN & CHANNELSDemocratic Visions is produced with no budget by volunteers through DFL Senate District 48 at the Bloomington Community Access Television studio by arrangement with the Southwest SuburbanCable Commission.  The half hour can viewed on your home flat screen if you’re hooked up to cable as shown below –Bloomington Channel 16 on Tuesdays at 2:00 p.m. & 10:00 p.m., Fridays at 9:30 p.m. , Saturdays at 7:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m. Minneapolis MTN Channel 16 – Sundays at 8:30 p.m. Thursdays 2 a.m., 8 a.m., 1 p.m.Eden Prairie, Mtka, Hopkins and Richfield – Comcast Channel 15 Sundays at 9 p.m. and Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. Eden Prairie, Minnetonka, Edina, Richfield and Hopkins. MORE VIDEO SATIRE & PARODY Daniel Murphy (with Lamar) YouTube Channel –https://www.youtube.com/user/damnmurphy/videos?view=0 Deep Rogue Ram YouTube Channelhttp://www.youtube.com/user/DeepRogueRam?feature=watch Ronnie Butler Jr YouTube Channelhttp://www.youtube.com/user/ronniebutlerjr?feature=watch Continue Reading

New youth reporter

By |

Hello, neighbors! We have a new youth reporter to introduce to you! Frances will be a new reporter. She is 9 years old. She likes to play around with the other kids in the neighborhood and is really familiar with our community. Continue Reading