When it's time to MOVE on - and Speak Out

(pic of myself and Ramona Africa nearly a decade ago)

by Monica Yant Kinney



From (Philly.com)



Fraternal Order of Police president Bobby Eddis praising former MOVE supporter Tony Allen as a good guy?

Conservative talk-show host Michael Smerconish seeking the onetime adversary's expertise on a book project?

Eddis and Smerconish never expected this. Neither did Allen. But strange things happen when you break free from a cop-hating cult and start making amends in a public way.

As Eddis puts it: "The world changes every day."

And thanks to the Internet, a North Carolina drugstore manager's devotion of a few hours a week to a blog and Web site can lead to a national effort to stop New York from naming a street after Mumia Abu-Jamal and get parties for MOVE and the convicted cop-killer canceled.
Allen, modestly, deflects credit.

"I just put the stuff on the Web," he says. "It goes where it goes."

Blogging criticism of MOVE and the campaign to free Abu-Jamal, he says, is merely "an extension of my view of injustice."

It's a view that has changed radically since his days as a radical.

Allen spent his 20s spewing revolutionary bile for MOVE and its hero, Abu-Jamal, who was convicted of the 1981 murder of Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner. For a while, Allen even lived in a MOVE house in Chester with "Minister of Information" Ramona Africa.
I met him as he plotted to leave the group, fueled by suspicion and fear after the 2002 murder of John Gilbride, ex-husband of MOVE matriarch Alberta Africa.

Gilbride was fighting for custody of his son at the time he was shot to death. His murder, hours before his first solo visit with his son, remains unsolved.

In 2004, Allen told his story and moved to North Carolina, launching a Web site (http://themoveorganization.com/) and blog (http://www.antimove.blogspot/. com), debunking MOVE and Abu-Jamal supporters.

"What motivates me is to right something not that I feel is wrong, but that I know is wrong, to help other people not fall in the same trap," Allen told me for a column in 2005.

I figured he'd post a few mea culpas and move on. He's still typing.

In January, Allen, now 30, noticed a petition drive to get a street named after Abu-Jamal in Harlem.

This struck Allen as ridiculous, because "Mumia is not even from there, and the idea of naming a street after a convicted murderer shows how absurd his supporters are."

Allen blogged about it and launched a counter-petition on his site and http://www.danielfaulkner.com/, where he posts frequently as "PhillyExile."

In two days, he had 700 signatures. In two weeks, 25,000. Mumia Street hit a dead end.
Last month, Allen blogged about plans for benefits for the "MOVE 9" and Abu-Jamal in New York and Philadelphia. Amid protests from his readers - including many outraged police officers - both venues pulled the plug.

Eddis and Smerconish praise Allen, whom they haven't met.

"He could have done one thing and bowed out," Eddis said. "He's lived up to his promise. Not a lot of people do."

Smerconish has had Allen on the air and has interviewed him for a book he's writing with Faulkner's widow, Maureen.

"He's provided me with insight into how she was vilified by the MOVE organization," Smerconish said. "He was knee-deep in their shenanigans."

Today, Allen lives to expose them.

"Anyone paying attention at all to the 'Free Mumia' movement lately could not miss all of the self-pitying, hyperbolic whining, about the fact that the Philadelphia FOP have chosen to quietly demonstrate against Mumia's birthday party," Allen blogged last week.

"Someone apparently forgot to remind the Jamal supporters that the First Amendment was not just written for them and their cop-killing hero."

It's good stuff, I tell him. What blogs are all about.

Allen again demurs, saying he's just one guy with a narrow niche doing his thing in the vastness of the Web.

"My conscience is clear," he says.

And his computer is on.

Contact Monica Yant Kinney at 215-854-4670 or myant@phillynews.com. Read her recent work at http://go.philly.com/yantkinney.

Non-Compromise And The Murder of John Gilbrde

(Ramona Africa)


It is not possible for me to hear a speech from a MOVE member and not get chills down my spine.

While others may casually dismiss the rhetoric as the strange rantings of fanatics, and worse still, some may buy into it, I on the other hand know that MOVE's words are not innocent.

So it is with the murder of John Gilbride on my mind that I listen to an excerpt of Ramona Africa's speech from the "Mumia birthday party", from April 24th.

When I hear one of the architects of the destruction of Osage Avenue opine that "compromise don't benefit nobody" I can only think of how that way of thinking most certainly led to the destruction of life in 1978, again in 1985, and I believe also in John's case in 2002.

It is a fact that MOVE did not "compromise" when it came to the fatal custody dispute. MOVE vowed that John would never have a unsupervised visitation with his son and he didn't. The very night before he was to have the first of his court ordered visitation with his son he was brutally gunned down, by parties still "unknown".

I can imagine the relief that John may have felt as he drove home that night from his job at the airport, full of hope that he may finally, after so many years of struggle and hardship be able to have the contact with his son that so many of us who are parents take for granted. I try to think of the anticipation and no doubt apprehension as he knew full well the threats that had been levelled against him by MOVE. He knew full well that his ex-wife, MOVE's leader had told anyone who would listen that he would never be with his son.

But, despite all of that, John persisted. Unlike MOVE, he was clearly a person driven by love and the innate desire to be a part of, and relish in, the life of his only son, in whatever capacity he could have it. Unlike MOVE, he would not sacrifice his child upon the altar of John Africa's cult and surrender his rights and responsibilities as a father because MOVE willed him to do so.

The campaign waged against him was as foul and vicious and as terrible as one can possibly imagine. I know this because I was there for some of it, helped participate in it, perpetuated it.

I never expected John to be killed, but upon hearing the news of his death I didn't have one ounce of doubt as to where the blame lay.

So today when I hear Ramona Africa's talk of "non-compromise" and "sacrifice" in the fight against the system, I think of the victims of MOVE and the pain that this cult inflicts upon it's purported enemies as well as the children unfortunate enough to have been born into this most vile of sects. The dead and wounded in 1978, the wholesale destruction on Osage Avenue, and the "unsolved murder" of nearly five years ago.

On Sept 27th 2002, someone from MOVE not only killed John, but they tried to kill hope itself and replace it with fear.

In at least the sense of the destruction of the ability to resist, MOVE has failed, but they succeeded in shattering the life of John Gilbride and those who loved him.

So why we may find some solace in the knowledge that people are stepping up with increasing boldness against the insanity of the "Free Mumia" cause, we must never forget that for John and his son, justice remains elusive.

But nobody is forgetting and nobody will forget what was done to him. When we see MOVE or hear about MOVE we must not only remember that they are oppressors of children and celebrators of murder, but also know that killers walk among them un-punished.

Happy Birthday Mumia...Now Get Your Cavity Search And Go Back To Your Cell

(Glover gone wild!)

It was a rather inauspicious birthday for Philadelphia’s most well-known cop-killer/money magnet for deranged extremists.



Instead of a healthy slathering of invertebrate news coverage that has become the typical fare for Jamal events, the increasingly flaccid dramatics of the pro-Jamal stooges were largely ignored.



That is of course except for one rather pointed report on the local CBS News station that juxtaposed the dignified and largely silent protest of the family and friends of Officer Faulkner with the nearly rabid and undoubtably hate-filled Jamal supporters. The latter of which took to cheap cat-calls of "serial killers, pigs, murderers, etc...directed towards Officer Faulkner’s widow and those around her. How about that for class.



I am not entirely sure what worked the minuscule Jamal crowd into it’s frenzy of frustration, but perhaps it was the fact that their highly publicized party for Mumia only attracted around 100 people, many of whom were no doubt trucked in NYC, while the Faulkner supporters quite clearly had a superior presence not only in numbers, but in moral certitude.



For while the Jamal crowd was a marinade of true believers in Jamal and those who are un-sure of the "fairness" of Jamal’s trial, the Faulkner crowd was unified in it’s righteous indignation at the idea of celebrating the man that they know killed their husband, brother, friend, co-worker...



Perhaps it was the failed attempt earlier in the day to circle city hall as the turnout there was barely enough to surround a port-a-potty.



Maybe it was the fact that in NYC and in Philly, the locations of Mumia fund-raisers had to be changed after they were run out kicking and screaming and whining to the point that they got NYC City Councilman, and cop-killer afficionado, Charles Barron, to join in the fray.



It may have also been the fact that they know that the Mumia machine is running out of steam, it’s lies exposed, it’s welcome long since worn out, the whole damn thing stinking like Pam Africa after one of her two-week boycotts of bathing.



For my money however it is denial. Denial on the part of the cynics like Pam Africa who know, but refuse to accept that their death-row money-maker doesn’t draw in the gullible like he used to. Denial also on the part of those who have that irritating grip of doubt, that rot-gut feeling that they have been used up for a lie, but who march on the Jamal death march right along with their hero because they are too emotionally invested to give up on the facade.



And so here it is, my belated birthday message to Mumia:



"Mu,



Sorry it has been a while. I have been busy living my life while you rot and whither from the inside out. I have been enjoying the sunshine, my family, the occasional cheese-steak, reading and writing what I want.



Most of all I have been enjoying being free.



Something you haven’t been since you shackled your mind to the intellectual gutter that are the "teachings of John Africa", something that you will likely never be, even should the courts grant you the ability to walk out of the cell that you have so earned for yourself. So rot in the hell you have created for yourself and just know that there are those of us who know what you are, know what you did, and will never ever forget.



Regards,

Tony and the Anti-MOVE Blog Family

Watch Mumia Supporters Go Nutty

Mumia Opponents, Supporters Out In Full Force

(YOU HAVE GOT TO WATCH THIS VIDEO)

(CBS 3) PHILADELPHIA

As supporters of convicted cop killer Mumia Abu-Jamal gathered in Philadelphia to celebrate his birthday, others stood in protest of the event.In 1982, Abu-Jamal was convicted of killing police officer Daniel Faulkner.The event all happened when the Fraternal Order of Police and the widow of Officer Faulkner, Maureen, walked down Broad Street Tuesday evening.

"The Fraternal Order of Police and I wanted to do this as a remembrance to Danny, let's not forget about the victim," Maureen said.

The F.O.P. march ended in a silent stand-off outside the location of the Abu-Jamal rally at 15th and Cherry Streets.Actor Danny Glover was one of the supporters of Abu-Jamal in town on Tuesday."We have to be the one that demand that justice is served," Glover said.

Earlier in the day, supporters of the death row inmate Abu-Jamal celebrated his 53rd birthday with a rally at Philadelphia City Hall.Tuesday’s rally outraged the Fraternal Order of Police.On May 17, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals will begin deciding whether Abu-Jamal will be granted a new trial.In his latest appeal, Abu-Jamal accuses prosecutors of practicing racial discrimination during jury selection. Prosecutors denied the allegation.

(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

The True Terrorism

(Pic of John Gilbride Murdered by MOVE Sept 27th 2002?)


Anyone paying attention at all to the "Free Mumia" movement lately could not miss all of the self-pitying, hyperbolic, whining, about the fact that the Philadelphia FOP have chosen to quietly demonstrate against Mumia’s birthday party. This demonstration, coupled with public pressure concerning other pro-Jamal events have Mumia devotees in a state of deranged fear-mongering and absurd accusations of "police terror".



Someone apparently forgot to remind the Jamal supporters that the First Amendment was not just written for them and their cop-killing hero, and that the right to peacefully protest is the right of the Fraternal Order of Police just the same as it is for them.



What stokes my ire however, is the naked and vulgar hypocrisy that the leaders of the "Free Mumia" cult exhibit with all of their vitriolic and mock indignation at the false notion of being terrorized.



Pam Africa and company would have people forget the fact that Mumia is convicted of the cold-blooded murder of a police officer and the fact that his main supporters are members of MOVE, who have eight of their own "brothers and sisters" in prison for killing a police officer and the wounding of several other police officers and firemen just a couple of years before Mumia gunned down Officer Faulkner.



They would also you rather forget the fact that the Mumia movement has shamelessly assaulted the relatives of Daniel Faulkner through their rhetoric and that their membership have literally spat upon Officer Faulkner’s widow. And if it wasn’t enough for Daniel Faulkner to be murdered on the street, he has to be killed again, over and over by Jamal’s supporters. Take for instance the following quote from the leader of the Mumia movement, Pam Africa:



"Who the hell is Danny Faulkner? We’ve known who Mumia Abu-Jamal is from the time he exited his mother’s womb. Now who the hell is Danny Faulkner? Why is the government so hell-bent on breaking the law that they don’t want to tell us who Danny Faulkner is? I don’t know. But I got some hearsay. I heard from reliable sources that this man was a pimp to some Black women, teenagers in school. I don’t know. It’s hearsay. But if you are calling this monster a hero, like we’re calling Mumia a hero, dammit prove it! We are demanding to know who’s Danny Faulkner?



The above statement needs no comment.



The Mumia movement would also have people forget that they count amongst their friends those who support convicted terrorists like Lynne Stewart and pseudo intellectuals like Ward Churchill who called the victims of 9/11 "Little Eichmannns".



This is what the Mumia movement is and these are the people they represent. For them to accuse anyone of terrorism is a perversity beyond words.



But a more personal example for me of MOVE and the Mumia cult’s acts of terror are with regards to a man named John Gilbride. His name may not be familiar to you, but he was a former MOVE adherent who was murdered in September of 2002. I know all to well about the terror imposed upon this man and his family because as a MOVE supporter it was something that I unfortunately and to my embarrassment, participated in.



His death brought an end to a horrific custody dispute between himself and MOVE’s current leader, the reclusive Alberta Africa and while there have yet to be any arrests in this case, it is becoming more and more clear that the responsibility for his death falls upon the shoulders of the cult to which he formerly claimed his allegiance to.



John Gilbride’s murder was the last act in a vicious and merciless war waged against him by MOVE members and close supporters. It was alleged by MOVE that John was a deadbeat and an abuser. They alleged that if left alone with his son, the child would be in great peril. Those of us who were close to MOVE, unfortunately, believed this lie and acted accordingly.



MOVE had us MOVE supporters (myself included) dress up with fake press passes to try and interrogate John’s family. A demonstration was set up against the Gilbrides accusing them of being child molesters. And MOVE even attempted to get John fired from his job by telling his supervisors at US Airways that John was part of a terrorist group.It was a campaign of a hatred and viciousness that could have been ripped from a COINTELPRO, how-to manual, but it failed. John wouldn’t give into MOVE’s demands that he not see his son. And in Sept of 2002, John paid the ultimate price for standing up to MOVE. It is a murder that remains unsolved, although media reports have indicated that Alberta Africa is a person that is considered a suspect.





MOVE, for its part, has floated a number of theories as to what happened to John. The most recent allegation involved sending out a letter attacking John’s father and accusing him of murdering his own son.The theory that has garnered MOVE the most attention, however, is their assertion that John was killed by the government. To believe this, you must first believe that John must have presented a clear and present danger to the well being of the republic. You would have to believe that in the government’s zeal to persecute MOVE that they would kill someone who is no longer with the group, who is in a bitter custody dispute with the leader of the said group, and who clearly had contempt and scorn for the stated mission of the group.



Of course, this makes no sense, but it gets worse. In explaining this theory to the media and toMOVE supporters, Alberta Africa alleges that John was killed to "hurt" her. As if this assertion was not mind-numbingly narccisisitc enough, she goes onto say that she and John were on the verge of reconciliation. Keep in mind, as these words were coming from her mouth, she was sitting in a house that was boarded up for battle and there was no evidence that John wanted anything to do with her or MOVE.On the contrary, it was made quite clear by John Gilbride that he wanted only to be able to see his son. This reconciliation concept was as contrived as were her tears that were shed for the sake of the media.





The other half of the "government hit" theory is that John was killed so that MOVE members could be framed for murder, that a set of events would be put into place that would lead to another May 13th.Yet, what I have gleamed from eight years of experience with MOVE, is that the only entity on earth capable of creating another May 13th is, in fact, MOVE. It is MOVE who chose to handle a custody dispute by boarding up its house and preparing themselves for war. It is MOVE, who turned a situation between two parties into an international affair because they did not want to restrict their vanity or egos. Furthermore, if the government wanted to create another May 13th by killing John, they are a little slow in getting around to it. If history provides any precedent, the only way that another confrontation will start is if MOVE wants to start one.



I vividly recall as a MOVE supporter, tearing up boards that were being placed as slats over windows at MOVE headquarters, thinking to myself how MOVE said that my activism on their behalf was structured to prevent another May 13th; yet, here I was assisting them in paving the way for another disaster, a disaster that was to be born from the womb of insidious cynicism, arrogance, and a complete disconnection from reality. I no longer wanted to be a part of it, the same as John no longer wanted to be a part of it.No, John was not killed by government "special forces" as a means to get at MOVE. John was murdered for the crime of wanting to see his son and not backing down from his justified position. He was killed because MOVE had painted themselves into a corner through their rhetoric and actions. They said that they would not allow for John to see his son, and quite obviously, they meant it.





Now, of course, MOVE has presented other conspiracy theories as to what happened to John, the only common thread between all of which is that they deflect blame from MOVE onto something else. Whether it be a "mystery woman" or a MOVE invented gambling problem, it is all fiction. It is a deceitful enterprise that is designed to obstruct justice and muddy the waters of reality enough so that people will lose sight of the fact that the only people who had anything substantive to gain from John’s death were MOVE members and their closest supporters.So it is with all of this in mind that I observe the Mumia slugs demagogue the issue of people protesting them as they fall all over themselves in an effort to get in front of a camera to plead their pathetic case. They have no shame, no intellectual honesty, no moral compass, and more importantly they have no facts to bear out their filthy propaganda. These killers of hope, destroyers of life, abusers of children.



Strip MOVE’s revisionist retelling of history bare and one finds a naked and indefensible parade of lies. Unshrowd it’s ideology and one observes a contemptible and confusing orthodoxy that instead of celebrating human life, cheapens it. Confront MOVE’s leaders and you will find yourself at the receiving end of crudely constructed, but no less believable, threats of violence. Demand that MOVE acknowledge your right to be a parent to your son, like John Gilbride did and you will find out that those threats were not empty words.



So keep all of that in mind while MOVE and Mumia’s support network poison your ears with their hollow cries of "oppression" and keep in mind their history before falling for their impotent pity routine.

Admin For Mumia Website Goes Off The Rails

(hey look at me I killed a cop and people love me for it!)

It is painful to watch a propaganda victim at work. To see an otherwise reasonably intelligent person given over to the most mindless of absurdities and than spread them with the kind of audaciousness and confidence that almost makes them seem credible.



This is generally the state of affairs when I get into some kind of debate with one of the "true believers" of the Mumia movement.



Generally such disputations follow a pattern that I have come to be acclimated to over the last couple of years.



It goes something like this...



First the Mumiaphile will respond to me with the typical Mumia responses that can be pulled off of any number of Jamal websites. Than, after realizing that the facts are not on their side they spiral off into ad-hominem attacks that vary from comical to cruel to absurdities etc...Once that tactic fails than they just ignore me or try to get me kicked off or removed from whatever forum the particular debate is going on in.



Typically, these days such debates tend to be rare and when they do, they happen on message boards. I like message boards. They kind of epitomize the democratic values of the internet and than you get to meet strange and interesting people and than beat them in arguments that in five years nobody will remember, care about, or have the slightest interest in. But, I have fun anyways, especially when the person I am dueling with is a key part of the Mumia cult. That is the best fun one can have with your clothes on.



As I write these words Fatirah Aziz Ali, the webmaster for the International Concerned Family and Friends website called the "Freedom Journal" is furiously attempting to hold her own at the message board of the website of a Philadelphia radio station 900am WURD.



The irony of which is that prior to my leaving MOVE I was told by Pam Africa that Fatirah had to do the website in secret because her husband didn’t want her involved with such things. "Freedom Journal" indeed. I don’t know for a fact if what Pam told me was the truth, but I laughed about it than and I laugh about it now, although overbearing and controlling people should not be funny.



Now, I don’t want to bore my readers with all of the trite nonsense Fatirah is spewing forth, but in the interest of macabre humor I will offer just a taste of her bizarre and ridiculous statements for your consideration:



(writing about me) "You are the one with the grudge and political agenda since you have turned traitor for this government. I hope they are paying you well, I'm sure they're funding your web site.""How you can stand yourself is hard to understand, cause I sure can't stand ya."



"You're right, you didn't turn traitor ~ you were born one."





"Tony Allen, you are truly a cretin"



"MOVE may not like what you say, but they sure didn't threaten you"



"No one that is in their right mind can picture MOVE going around and gunning down people"



"Alberta and MOVE did nothing to John Gilbride."



"I am not race-baiting, but I do notice that white folk who are so-called liberals have a tendency to wear out after a while because they feel they are superior to the group they claim to support"



"Justice will be done; it will mean Mumia will be free"



"No matter what MOVE's speeches have been, they have never killed anyone; you know it. You twist anything to suit your purpose, but it's still the ravings of a sick white boy who just couldn't stand being around Black folk anymore."





"It was fortuitous for you that the FOP/government found a way to use your traitor skin for their own benefit."



"Even though I despise you for the weasel that you are, I can understand how a coward such as yourself would take the 'safe' way out, and lay down for the police."



"As for pre-natal care, each and every MOVE baby is born healthy and continues to live that way. Just look at them. Until the government kills them that is."





"It has been shown that the bullet that killed Ramp came from the direction of the police line, not from the MOVE house."





"No matter what MOVE says or threatens, the fact remains that they've not killed anyone."





"You are being used and manipulated, probably threatened yourself by the FOP. You are a pitiful little thing and that's not an attack, it's just a fact."



I swear on the life of my child that I did not make up one of these statements. These are all live and direct from Fatirah. I kid you not. And the sad thing is that she may actually believe some of her own bullshit, which I guess is an appropriate penalty for being so morally bereft.



In case you want to read more of Fatirah’s wise pronouncements you can visit the 900am WURD site and see them for yourself. It’s free and worth a few moments of your time.

MOVE Leaders Apparently Want To Keep Their Members In Prison

(Pic of myself on the far left top with memebers of the "MOVE 9" and other MOVE supporters from a prison vist)

As usual with MOVE, there is a marked distinction between the rhetoric they espouse, their intentions, and the reality of any given situation.



In 2008, the surviving eight members of the so-called "MOVE 9" will be eligible for parole after serving thirty years out of their thirty to one hundred year sentences for the killing of Police Officer James Ramp and the wounding of numerous other police officers and firefighters during the 1978 confrontation.



MOVE is making a lot of noise about "bringing their brothers and sisters home". But just how sincere is the group in it’s efforts and why would the leaders of the group want to keep their fellow cultists locked up in prison?



From my vantage point, it seems that MOVE wants to keep it’s members right where they are.



Remember Tookie Williams?



He was the former gang member who was executed in 2005 for the murder of three people.
There was a world-wide campaign waged to urge California’s Governor to spare Tookie’s life that centered around the idea that Williams had reformed himself and had turned his life around.



Governor Schwarzenegger was unswayed and refused clemency for Williams citing amongst other things the fact that Williams had dedicated a book to murderers such as Mumia Abu-Jamal, George Jackson and MOVE members John Africa and Ramona Africa.



The principles behind petitions for clemency and for those of parole share some distinct similarities.



Generally, to receive parole, particularly in situations where a violent crime has taken place, one must take accountability for their actions, display an appropriate degree of remorse, have a plan in place that will demonstrate to the parole board that the offender will refrain from the kind of activity that brought them to prison in the first place. There are of course other factors, but these are some of the more critical ones that are weighed by the parole board.



MOVE, knowing full well that these parole hearings are but a little over a year away published a statement that challenges the premise of the entire idea of parole. Such rhetorical bombast is typical MOVE, but what is not typical is instead of portraying the imprisoned MOVE members as victims of oppression they are instead referred to as "soldiers". Keep in mind that these "soldiers" as Ramona Africa refers to them as, are convicted of a murder that occurred during
what could easily be described as urban warfare.

So the plan is to go before the parole board as MOVE "soldiers"?

But for the potential parolees the tone of the message gets even worse when it is declared at the Mumia website that:


"...if we can push to bring home our paroled political prisoners we will have greatly increased our workforce to bring home all political prisoners: those eligible for parole and those who aren’t!"

The above statement which is worth perusal more than once quite explicitly states that if freed these MOVE members will set about the vile work of freeing other convicted criminals. There is no mention of them seeking gainful employment or becoming some kind of productive member of society...



No there is none of that.



Just a vow that MOVE members will continue the "work" they have done for over thirty years now, the kind of work that leads trails of blood and tears.

Aside from this rhetoric of "revolution" is the very real air of suspicion that surrounded the group after the murder of John Gilbride, the investigation of which is becoming more obviously directed at the cult to which John formerly belonged. As John Gilbride’s father himself stated in the Philadelphia Inquirer in September of last year "The investigators know where the responsibility for John's murder lies," Jack Gilbride asserts. "They just don't know with whom it lies.".

Prior to John’s death, MOVE had went to a war-like state of alert with their home barricaded and threats of a confrontation if the courts pressed the issue of John visiting his son. They vowed that John would never have unsupervised visitation with his son and they were right as he was murdered the day he was to have his first such visitation.

In letters from MOVE members in prison, the attitude towards John's murder was one of barely muted, albeit obvious, happiness. Debbie Africa had this to say about John's death in a letter from December of 2oo2, just a couple of months after the murder:



"The situation concerning our sister, Alberta and Zack is resolved. We want to thank any and all of you who helped in the situation with Alberta and Zack....Y'all are the greatest."



In April of that year, Chuck Africa went even further with his candor regarding John's demise:



"Well, anyways it all worked out (the custody case). The folks out there really didn't believe the city would attack. Later I saw the psychology behind what happened & how it was handled. The city just couldn't afford to be aggressive becuz of May 13th and people were too aware of what was going on then? Do you understand what I am saying? It was really unlikely that things would turn out like they did. But, I was so relieved that things worked out. I don't need no more of my family killed, hurt, or imprisoned, as well as my friends and supporters."

A man who believes the murder of an innocent man is a pleasant outcome to a custody dispute perhaps needs more than the thirty years he will have already served when he goes up for parole, because he clearly still does not grasp the value of human life.

Aside from their rather unwise statements there is also the fact that the "MOVE 9" have been literally legally abandoned while non-MOVE member Mumia soaks up the group’s energy and resources and is represented by one of the finest appellate lawyers money can buy.

Instead of attorneys to plead their cases the imprisoned MOVE members are expected to rely solely on the power of John Africa, which apparently hasn’t worked well for the past three decades given the fact that the "MOVE 9" have been guests of the state since 1978.



But as the saying goes "the definition of insanity is to repeat the same behavior over and over expecting different results". Indeed if any one axiom can be readily applied to MOVE, it is that one.

So why would MOVE’s leaders want to keep their "brothers and sisters" permanently caged? The answer is rather simple. Power. MOVE members come out of prison and Queen Alberta is summarily dethroned for her excesses and flagrant violation of all of the laws that John Africa ever set down.

As I have written before, the world of MOVE that exists today is a far cry from the one that the eight surviving members of the "MOVE 9" left when they were arrested in 1978. Back in the 1970's John Africa who lived the life of austerity that he preached, was at the peak of his rule of the group. Now, in 2007, MOVE is controlled with an iron grip by Alberta Africa, an arrogant narcissist who lives in an expensive neighborhood, and has birthed a child via in vitro-fertilization and is on her second marriage to a white man (she was married to John Africa, but was in prison when he died in 1985.)

But more than just controlling, Alberta is maniacally cynical. I would not be shocked at all to learn that she would sabotage the parole of her "family" in order to ensure that her role as MOVE’s unquestioned leader stay firmly in place. She personally has nothing to gain by the release of the "MOVE 9" and has a good deal to lose.

I recall vividly a few years after the death of Merle Africa, one of the MOVE 9, Alberta glibly attributing her death to not being sufficiently following the teachings of John Africa. Yet, it was Merle’s commitment to MOVE’s eschewing of preventative health care that prevented the cancer that took her life from being discovered!



There are few people who can be so crass and filled with unjustifiable arrogance all at once.

While the MOVE prisoners have largely lived the austere life that John Africa proscribed, at least as much as they could while in prison, Alberta has lived a life opposite. She has embraced all of the things that the "system" has to offer, from the genetic manipulation that led to the birth of her child to the indulgence of alcohol and numerous other prohibitions of John Africa. She lives in a well-manicured upper middle class home with her latest "husband" Gary Wonderlin, a long-time MOVE supporter and real-estate agent.

There is no doubt in my mind that if MOVE members were to arrive home from jail to see the anti-thesis of John Africa’s "revolution" being played out by the group’s heir apparent, that there would be the kind of schism that would, at the very least, dismantle the life of comfort that Alberta has built for herself.

There is also the financial burden of eight convicted murderers, cultists, largely unemployable,
and wholly dependant upon the cult for their well-being. They are not the twenty something, able bodied, young men and women who went into prison some thirty years ago. They are practically senior citizens with nothing more than a sturdy devotion to the warped teachings of John Africa to guide them.

To put it simply, they are worth more to MOVE in prison than out of prison.

While in jail, the "MOVE 9", while not as alluring or financially attractive as Mumia, contribute to the mythology of the sect as one that is perpetually persecuted. The cause of attaining freedom for these MOVE members provides a convenient conduit of energy that is both pointless and fulfilling.

No authoritarian cult can exist without it’s "true believers" being deeply involved in a "cause". The likely futility of said cause is largely irrelevant. For the ultimate goal is not the success of the cause, but rather a means to an ends. That end being the continued psychological enslavement of the cult member or adherent.

For MOVE, this control is the goal and achievement which trumps all others. After all, with thirty years in prison the "MOVE 9" has stayed loyal to the cause, why ruin a good thing?

Appeals Court Won't Step Down From Abu-Jamal Case

By MARYCLAIRE DALE
Associated Press Writer
PHILADELPHIA (AP)

A federal appeals court said Friday it will not step down from death-row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal's case, paving the way for a key hearing next month.Prosecutors had asked outside judges to hear the case because the husband of 3rd U.S. Circuit Judge Marjorie O. Rendell was district attorney during Abu-Jamal's 1982 trial. They said that created the appearance of a conflict.Judge Rendell, who is married to Gov. Ed Rendell, and three colleagues on the Philadelphia-based 3rd Circuit instead recused themselves for reasons not disclosed in the two-page ruling.

The removal of those four judges leaves numerous others to serve on the three-judge panel hearing the case, the order said. The panel members have not been announced.Abu-Jamal, a former Black Panther and radio reporter, has been on death row for a quarter-century for the 1981 slaying of white Philadelphia police Officer Daniel Faulkner.In Abu-Jamal's appeal, he argues that city prosecutors routinely removed qualified blacks from juries. Prosecutors deny the charge, but the 3rd Circuit has agreed to hear Abu-Jamal's lawyers argue the point at a scheduled May 17 hearing.

FOP To Honor Officer Faulkner While Mumia Supporters Celebrate His Murder

From the Website of the Philadelphia Chapter of The Fraternal Order Of Police

We have received new information that an event in support of the convicted killer of Lodge#5's own Police Officer-Daniel Faulkner, #4699, 6th District will be held on April 24th, 2007 at The Friends Center located at 1501 Cherry Street in Philadelphia.

It is the intention of the "Michael G. Lutz Lodge #5 Philadelphia," to assemble our members at 7pm for our Board of Directors meeting at Lodge Headquarters and walk to that location.

It is the goal of Lodge #5 that there be no incidents of any kind and that the conduct of Lodge #5 members be one of quiet dignity to honor our brother killed in the line-of-duty on December 9, 1981.

Mumia Cult's Pity Party In Context

(Pic Of Officer James Ramp After Being Shot Down By MOVE)

It is difficult, borderline impossible to try and put thoughts together with the backdrop of yesterday’s terrible day of death that turned into a night of questions and now a day of un-mitigated of pain.



What can be said with a degree of certainty is that some maniac with a grudge and high-powered weaponry decided to wreak havoc upon those around him.



Luckily this man’s reign of terror was one waged by one solitary figure and not some organized band of freaks like the MOVE Organization.



I bring this up because my old friends in MOVE are attempting to play the role of victims as their little parties for their cop-killing cash-cow got smacked down by the citizens of Philadelphia and New York.



Now, there is talk of the ACLU and "freedom of speech" and a whole heap of pissing and moaning about "rights".



Indeed, MOVE members and supporters do have rights, but let us keep things in some kind of perspective.



This was the Organization that quite literally held a neighborhood hostage while they imposed their wickedness upon the innocent hard-working citizenry. What about the "rights" of the people of Osage Avenue?



Good God I could go on ad-nauseam on this particular issue forever, but the bottom line is that MOVE is a cult that on the one hand calls for the destruction of this society, while on the other, they fall all over themselves while flailing about screaming for this very same society to pity them and the fact that people protested their events.



The fact seems to escape them that people are not too happy with the fact that parties are being thrown for convicted murderers. Go figure.



Just to keep things clear I am bringing back an article that is particularly appropriate given the whining of Pam Africa and her band of raging hypocrites.



A Short History Of MOVE And Threats



"Fuck you Judge! Fuck You!You have just sentenced yourself to die. You have condemned yourself and sentenced yourself to death. Long Live John Africa"



- Mumia Abu-Jamal to Judge Sabo after being sentenced to death





The recent article in the Philadelphia Inquirer reporting that film-maker Tigre Hill had been threatened by supporters of Mumia can hardly be called surprising. Hill has apparently done something that has stoked the ire of Jamal supporters. Precisely what is hard to know, but for MOVE and their supporters, threatening people is old hat.



For if MOVE has been consistent with anything it has been their threats and the disturbing fact that they occasionally make good on such threats.



As for myself, I believe MOVE to be enough of a threat that I left the Philadelphia area and now must keep my current place of residence a closely guarded secret for fear that one day one of those MOVE devotees who assured me that I would "go down decided to come and make good on their crude prophecy.



In preparation for this piece I quickly realized that if I were to go through every documented threat MOVE members/supporters have made over the years that I would be sitting at this computer for the next couple of weeks, so I will try to keep this concise enough while still making my point through the words of MOVE members themselves.



One could say that MOVE’s history of threats started with the inception of MOVE, back in the early 1970's. The co-op members where John Africa and his protégée and MOVE co-founder Donald Glassey resided at the time found themselves on the receiving end of some pretty heated verbal bombast and physical threats. Something that left these "progressives" un-nerved emotionally and ill-equipped to deal with. In what would become a pattern, these residents capitulated to MOVE’s commands.



From that point things went downhill. MOVE’s presence in liberal Powleton Village became more a nuisance and anyone who voiced complaints about the group was not treated with kid gloves. Many instances of threats of violence occurred and a number of neighbors were roughed up by MOVE members, bringing one radical periodical of the time to brand MOVE as a fascist entity.



From conflict with neighbors there began conflict with the police which led to the 1978 "confrontation" in which Officer James Ramp was killed and several other police officers and firemen were wounded. Prior to the shootout MOVE had this to amongst many other messages for the police:



"Come on in. You’ve been wanting to come in. But call home and make sure your insurance


policy is paid up"



A chilling statement considering not long after it was made Officer Ramp was shot dead.
Another disturbing threat was made by long-time MOVE member Alphonso (Mo) Africa at the closing arguments of his trial where he was being accused of making, you guessed it, "terroristic threats against a police officer. During closing arguments the scary MOVE adherent made the point that enemies of MOVE had:



"suffered heart attacks or a bullet in the head"



At his preliminary hearing Alphonso is reported to have said:



"Beat me, be prepared to die. If I don’t get you...MOVE Underground will kill you"



It should surprise nobody that Mr. Africa was found guilty.



After the conflict in Powelton, MOVE headquarters was relocated to the quiet, working class, Osage Avenue that would in 1985 go up in flames. But before the literal flames of hell swept across the tightly packed row-homes, the residents of this neighborhood were forced to endure another kind of MOVE torture. Of which there are countless examples and I would advise anyone interested in the subject to read "Burning Down The House", which in great detail chronicles the misery MOVE inflicted on it’s neighbors.



Just one quick example.



-MOVE neighbor Butch Marshall was jumped after being threatened by MOVE members. After being attacked by a male MOVE member he was pounced upon by three MOVE women and when taken to the hospital it was discovered that he had bite marks on his face, back, and in the groin area.



MOVE’s beleaguered neighbors begged for relief from the city, but received nothing but empty rhetoric and un-fulfilled promises.



It seems that nobody knew what to do with the group that had quite literally taken over a block, barricade it’s home, and blasted profane invective and threats at all hours of the night and day. This occurring all while the home was frequently inhabited by a large number of children.



Eventually, after two years of this going on the city could no longer ignore MOVE. Charges were filed against several MOVE members in the house and arrest warrants had to be served.John Africa was finally getting what he wanted, a confrontation with authorities. In a letter authored by Ramona Africa to Mayor Wilson Goode, MOVE promised that:



"The raid will not be swift, and it will not be clean. It’s gone to be a mess...We going to burn them with smoke, gas, fire, and bullets...We will burn this house down and burn you up with us".



Prior to the raid, MOVE was especially vocal over their loudspeaker, which the police had the presence of mind to record. Some of the excerpts I include here. The speakers vary and I am not clear on the exact time-line, but all of what follows is MOVE uncensored.



"John Africa gonna kill this motherfucker. John Africa gonna put this city in the ground and it’s goddamn administrator, including you, Nigger Willie (MOVE’s term for Mayor Goode)...We gonna drop you motherfuckers and let you swim in your own motherfuckin blood...We ain’t got a motherfucking thing to lose, come and get us. Remember we killed Ramp...We got something for you motherfuckers...all you motherfuckin faggots."



MOVE members would go on like this for hours ad-nauseam. The peace loving and life loving MOVE Organization. The words. The reality. The words that eventually turn into bullets fired at police who were lucky enough to avoid being killed or wounded, although some were struck by rounds in their bulletproof vests.



The six children that MOVE members were holding hostages that day were not so lucky as they lost their lives in the MOVE inspired conflict. As did five MOVE adults who were the protagonists in this terrible drama that unfolded in 1985.



Through the years, MOVE members came out of prison and the group would re-surface, this time as the chief supporters of Mumia Abu-Jamal. The MOVE members brought with them to this new movement their penchant for threats. Numerous journalists have been on the receiving end of MOVE’s threats as they have attempted to cover Jamal’s case and the ensuing movement to free him. The incident with Tigre Hill is just the most recent example of attempts at intimidation.



I would be remiss not to mention John Gilbride. He was threatened numerous times according to court documents. He was told by MOVE members that "my attitude towards my wife was going to cause a situation that would involve my death". He was also told and MOVE stated publicly that they would "never" turn his son over to him for visitation as the court had ordered. And just seventeen days before his death, John was in court testifying that a MOVE supporter named Mario (Hardy) Africa had threatened to kill him.



Finally, with regards to the issue of threats I can honestly say that I spent a good eight years around MOVE and supporting Mumia. I had many a heated conversation with those who opposed what I was doing, but was never physically threatened by any member of law enforcement or anyone else for that matter.



It was only after leaving MOVE that I was finding myself being threatened by members of my former "family". It was only after leaving that knuckle draggers were posting on my blog that they were going to "kick my ass". And it was only after leaving MOVE that I found myself censored in many a forum by those who claim to be the advocates for, and biggest proponents of, free speech.

Mumia's Friends At The AFSC Are No Friends Of Yours

When it was announced that the Mumia birthday party cancelled at the Clef Club was now going to be held at the American Friends Service Committee, I could hardly say that I was surprised.

During my years as a Jamal/MOVE supporter I attended numerous programs at the large AFSC Headquarters in downtown Philly, so I knew that this is one of the places that the Mumia folks have an open invitation to do their dirty work.

But more than that, MOVE members have actually worked at and for the AFSC. Ramona Africa, at least for a time collected a check from the group as did former MOVE member Mario Africa. So it goes without saying that the connections between the Mumia cult and the AFSC run deep.

The AFSC was founded by Quakers in 1917, but little remains of it’s original ideals and true commitment to non-violence. The group is now a haven for communists and anti-American groups of all stripes and acts as a conduit for propaganda for many a nefarious group. And holds a philosophy that blames the United States for being the primary agent of evil within the world.

During the 1930's the group was openly supportive of the Soviet regime.

During the 1970's the AFSC reported that the genocide in Cambodia under Pol-Pot was an American "misinformation campaign". And when it became clear that this was a lie, the AFSC fell back upon the easy position that it was all the fault of the United States anyways.

More recently, the AFSC has decided that unilateral disarmament of the U.S. was the solution to international strife. This in a world where nations of varying stability are rapidly pursuing nuclear programs of their own as well as biological and chemical weapons programs. Again, the AFSC likes to blame the problems of the world on the U.S. and moreover would like to see this country defenseless in a world rife with dangerous weapons of mass destruction.

Equally disturbing was the AFSC position that the attacks on 9/11 were criminal acts and so therefore any military response was un-called for and made the case that the terrorists were acting on legitimate "social injustices".

So, it seems that not only does the AFSC find common cause with cop-killers, but they are also communist supporters and support policies that if carried out would lead to the destruction of the United States as we know it.

This is a group that despite it’s benign sounding name is anything but and they need to be exposed as the extremists that they are.

Now, I am not under any illusion that this entity which has been around for nearly a hundred years and has won a Nobel Peace Prize is going anywhere soon, but I think it certainly within the realm of possibility to call upon them not to support Jamal and MOVE by providing them with a place for their fund-raisers and programs.

Contact this group and let your voice be heard:

AFSC · 1501 Cherry Street,
Philadelphia, PA 19102

215-241-7000
afscinfo@afsc.org

Abu-Jamal Opposes Request For 3rd Circuit To Step Down

MARY CLAIRE DALE

The Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA - After a quarter century on death row, Mumia Abu-Jamal doesn't want to jeopardize a crucial U.S. appeals court hearing next month that could lead to a new trial.
The 3rd U.S. Circuit has agreed to hear the former Black Panther argue that prosecutors infused race into the jury selection process, resulting in a flawed 1982 conviction.
So the high-profile inmate is opposing a recent prosecution motion to have the entire 3rd Circuit step down over a potential conflict involving member Judge Marjorie O. Rendell.

"Let's move forward with this. Whatever's going to happen, let's do it. I think a quarter of a century is long enough," defense lawyer Robert R. Bryan of San Francisco told The Associated Press on Monday.

Abu-Jamal, who turns 53 next week, was convicted of killing a white Philadelphia police officer, Daniel Faulkner.

His writings and taped speeches from prison have made him a cause celebre, leaving him with a melange of vocal supporters, from black activists to Hollywood celebrities to death-row opponents. The French have even named a street after him.

"It's tragic," Assistant District Attorney Hugh J. Burns Jr. said Monday of the "Free Abu-Jamal" movement. "It seems to be based on emotion, not facts. ... Short of having a videotape of the murder, I don't know how you can imagine having a stronger case."

Faulkner, 25, was killed after he pulled over Abu-Jamal's brother on Dec. 9, 1981. Abu-Jamal was found at the scene near the gun and later confessed, Burns said.

Abu-Jamal has filed regular appeals, but has never before gotten as far as a federal appeals court hearing. Prosecutors, in asking for the entire panel to step down, apparently want to quash any grounds for a future appeal.

They say the 3rd Circuit could appear to be biased since Judge Rendell's husband , Pennsylvania Gov. Ed. Rendell , was the city's elected district attorney during the 1982 trial.
Mumia, in court papers, calls that notion an insult to the court and a ploy to delay the oral arguments scheduled for May 17.

"Certainly Judge Rendell has a far higher standard of ethics and better things to do with her life than to sit around evenings discussing with her spouse litigants appearing before this court," Bryan wrote.

The 3rd Circuit has granted each side 30 minutes for argument, although Bryan has asked for twice that amount. He may need to share his time with two groups that have filed amicus briefs in the case, the NAACP on the race issue and the National Lawyers Guild on the death penalty, he said.

In 2001, a federal judge overturned Abu-Jamal's death sentence but upheld his conviction. Both sides have appealed that ruling to the 3rd Circuit. The appeals court in December 2005 agreed to consider three of Mumia's appeal claims, while dismissing many others as frivolous.

Abu-Jamal remains on death row in western Pennsylvania

Citizens of Philly and NYC Say No To Mumia Fund-Raisers

After having their two major events of this month shut down by public protest, the Mumia devotees are responding with their usual deluded, hyperbolic, and self-pitying rhetoric.

Yes folks there is plenty of pissing and moaning about the evil police protesting the cop-killer parties. I mean, come on, who in their right mind could ever be agitated by the celebration of brutal murderers by their morally bereft supporters?

How dare the citizens of New York and Philly excercise their First Amendment rights?

After all, everyone knows that such rights are preserved only for convicted murderers and those who would like to see them free.

The rank hypocrisy of the statements as offered by the "Free Mumia" cult is mind numbing. But what is more striking is just how out of touch with reality they are. They actually claim that getting the boot out of both of their venues is some kind of victory. Right...

The event in NYC on Sunday is being held at the Headquarters of the International Action Center which is a stinking rathole of a place. The fact that the Mumia folks will have to spend their evening in that rotten place is somewhat appropriate I think.

Still though, if people care to you can contact the IAC and let them know what you think about their hosting of the event. But just a word of warning, these IAC types are basically Stalinoid zombies so I wouldn’t expect too much of a rational give and take.
Their contact info is as follows:

International Action Center5C - Solidarity Center55 West 17th StreetNew York, NY 10011email: mailto:iacenter@action-mail.org phone: 212 633-6646 fax: 212 633-2889

The rather comical statement from Orie, the NYC stooge for MOVE is as follows:

DUE TO A WEEK LONG CAMPAIGN OF POLICE THREATS, INTIMIDATION AND BOGUS CITATIONS, THE OWNER OF THE REMOTE LOUNGE HAS DECIDED THAT HIS CLUB COULD NO LONGER HOST "MUMIA 911".THE LOCATION HAS BEEN CHANGED TO THE I.A.C. ON 55 WEST 17TH STREET BETWEEN 5TH AND 6TH AVENUES (5TH FLOOR) . ADMISSION PRICE HAS BEEN LOWERED TO $10 MUMIA 911 PART II Featuring the A-Alikes, Queen Godis, C Rayz Walz, Imessiah Soul, DCQ, Seeds of Wisdom, and Pat-Riot.55 WEST 17TH STREET BETWEEN 5TH AND 6TH AVENUES (5TH FLOOR) 8PM (doors at 7:15)

MESSAGE FROM ORIE LUMUMBA, ORGANIZER OF MUMIA 911 PART II...

"ONA MOVE
It is with great stress and anger that I write this statement this afternoon. After a week long campaign of threats,intimidation,and finally being hit with 16 diffrent citations the owner of the remote lounge has decided that the club could no longer host our benefit this sunday. I just wanna make one thing clear we will not be intimidated nor will we be shut down by a bunch of weak insecure perverted bullies and cowards like the police.By no means is this a victory for the police in fact this is a victory for us it just further shows how far they will go to cut off any public support for mumia.

Join us this sunday as the show has now moved to the International Action Center located at 55 West 17th st 5th fl.Between 5th and6th avenues in manhattan. The price on the door is now $10 due to the fact that the show has been moved and that people are traveling. Showtime starts at 8:00pm and the show will feature A-Alikes, Queen Godis, C Rayz Walz, Imessiah Soul, DCQ, Seeds of Wisdom, and Pat-Riot. Take a stand for Mumia this sunday and lets let these officials know we aint backing down one bit."


As for the Mumia event, it has been moved to the American Friends Service Committe HQ in downtown Philly, just blocks from where Mumia shot down Officer Faulkner. Despite claiming that it is an organization dedicated to the fostering of peace, it is a group that has hosted countless benefits and programs for not only Mumia, but also for the MOVE Organization.

It is literally one of the last places in the city of Philadelphia where the Mumia cult has free reign.

Why this un-holy union exisits I am not sure, but I think it one that needs to end. No group which claims to stand for peace should provide comfort for groups that are responsible for the killings of civil servants and the destruction of communities in the case of MOVE.

You can contact the AFSC at: AFSC · 1501 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102 · 215-241-7000 afscinfo@afsc.org

Here is the statement from the Mumia cult regarding the Philly event from the NYC Free Mumia website:

POLICE TERROR FORCES THE CLEF CLUB TO CLOSE ITS DOORS TO MUMIA’S BIRTHDAY EVENT

The April 24 Birthday event featuring Danny Glover, Sonia Sanchez, DeLacy Davis and many others will go on as planned, AT A NEW LOCATION, THE AFSC ON 15th AND CHERRY STREETS.After receiving threats and undergoing extreme intimidation from the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) and its allies, on April 11th the board of directors to the Clef Club voted to cancel its scheduled event to be held on Mumia’s upcoming birthday. As a result the program itself WILL NOT BE CANCELLED, BUT MOVED TO THE AFSC ON 15th AND CHERRY STREETS. While the FOP and their supporters declare this as a victory, in reality it is nothing more than a desperate and cowardly display of corrupt and violent police power, leading up to the Third Circuit’s Oral Arguments which will happen on May 17th in Philadelphia. This type of police terror is predictable and in no way new to the movement to Free Mumia. In New York City, the FOP alongside of the NYPD have issued threats and 16 citations against the Remote Lounge - the Club which was scheduled to host
"Mumia 911".Fearing that his family would be in danger by the police, and in outrage over the citations, the owner opted out and was forced to cancel the show which was relocated to the IAC on 55 West 17th Street. TAKE A STAND AGAINST POLICE TERROR ON APRIL 24!ALL OUR FOR MUMIA ON MAY 17!

MOVE's Child Brides

(Picture of child-bride Pixie Africa, her "husband" Raymond and MOVE supporter Orie Ross)


There is a kind of self-satisfaction that occurs when I just happen upon MOVE’s dirty little secrets that are hidden in plain site.



Just this evening after my daughter had slipped off to sleep I was looking at the myspace site of a long-time MOVE supporter who resides in New York City named Orie Ross.





On his site, he had, (and has now subsequently taken down), a picture from a wedding. The kind of thing that could be on any thousands of such websites and is generally innocuous.



Except in this case there is nothing benign about this particular image of two people enjoying their first moments of matrimonial bliss. That is because the pretty girl in the picture is only 13 years old and had been impregnated at 12 years old and not by accident either.



This girl was forced to become pregnant and than forced to get hitched in a MOVE show-marriage that was obviously not legal and done simply to exhibit the veneer of credulity.
Now, some have argued to me that it is religious right of MOVE members to do as they please with regards to these matters. An argument to me that falls flat because it assumes free-will and the notion of consent.



The pretty young girl in this picture was not asked if she wanted to be pregnant at 12 years old or if she wanted to be married. She was told to do these things by MOVE’s leaders, specifically Alberta and Sue Africa, and like any child who was raised in MOVE she did what she was told and she did so because she knew there were consequences for disobedience. Pixie clearly did not want to face such penalties for the crime of thinking for ones-self.



And so the question begs to be asked, was she forced into marriage because of some "law" given by John Africa? Perhaps that was the pretext for it, but at the heart of the matter was not a sense of religious devotion, but control.



What happened was that Pixie was starting to exhibit (gasp in horror!) signs of normal behavior for a girl who was just reaching adolescents. She was interested in boys her age, but these were not MOVE members or supporters, they were neighborhood kids, the kind of people that MOVE members and supporters, in a horrific twist of irony refer to as "perverts".





For MOVE this kind of thing is a problem. Outside people bring outside ideas. Pixie might start to question just why it is at 12 years old that she could barely spell her name, could not read a Dr. Suess book, she might have started to do what teenage girls throughout time have done so well and that is to rebel.



MOVE could not accept this.



I remember vividly the discussions going on around me about this issue as it became more and more clear that Pixie was more interested in her burgeoning, outside-of-MOVE social life than she was her mother’s obsession with MOVE and secondary obsession of Mumia. This was a young girl who was naturally intelligent, precocious, and curious. All things that are not considered good attributes for what were to be John Africa’s most pure disciples. The second generation of MOVE was intended to be "clear" of the system’s pollutants and intolerant of all that it was. Going off with the neighborhood kids and that kind of thing was just not in MOVE’s agenda.



So the choice was made. Pixie Africa would get pregnant by a MOVE "man" named Raymond who was also born and raised in MOVE. Being that both of his parents were dead, the group had complete control over him so he was an ideal candidate for this "activity". And so the foul deed was done and the desired affect was achieved. Married at 13, illiterate, with a child in tow, Pixie was now solidly entrenched in the cult and was completely dependant upon it for everything. She would see her non-MOVE friends rarely if ever.



What is particularly sad about this is that it is by no means an isolated incident in MOVE. This is pretty much par-for-the-course for any girls who are raised by MOVE members. But you don’t just have to take my word for it. Last year Ramona Africa, in an email she never has denied sending, had this to say about what I consider to be MOVE’s practice of child-rape.



" Women in MOVE do marry and have babies at what this american society might now consider to be a young age but we follow the coordination of Mother Nature who coordinates it such that she determines when a woman is ready for marriage and babies, which is when a woman has her monthly period, then she is ready to have babies and be married. It's just that simple."



If there was ever more a self-incriminating statement of child abuse I have not seen it.



And just who by the way is the paradigm of responsible parentage who allows her daughter to be violated in such an obvious and contemptuous way? Why none other than the head of International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal, Pam Africa. And Pixie is not the first child of Pam to be given this treatment, another of her girls named Rose also started popping out babies for the Organization around the same age as Pixie did.



Where I ask is the shame? The outrage? Who will it be to halt MOVE from carrying out this heinous practice?

Mumia Birthday Party Cancelled

(Who is laughing now Mumia?)

According to the Fraternal Order of Police, the Clef Club has cancelled the birthday party that was set for April 24th and was going to feature actorvist Danny Glover amongst other Jamal empty-heads.



This, after I encouraged people on this blog to challenge the club owners to explain their actions and be held accountable for providing a forum for cop-killer Jamal, and just a day after the FOP made it public that they would picket the event.



I think this is a solid victory that yet again proves that Jamal's cronies are not welcome in Philadelphia, and that the man he murdered, Officer Daniel Faulkner is by no means forgotten.



There is, as of yet, no comment from the Jamal crowd, but we can expect the usual kind of self-pitying rhetoric that attempts to divert attention from the fact that the people of Philadelphia don't want Mumia, don't want his parties, and don't want the scum who would come to a party the celebrates a man who shot another human being in the back and than in the head as he lay critically wounded.



The Mumia movement takes another blow. It is a good day for justice.



The FOP statement on the issue is as follows:



THE EVENT AT THE PHILADELPHIA CLEF CLUB SCHEDULED FOR TUESDAY, APRIL 24TH, 2007 HAS BEEN CANCELLED

The event at the Clef Club on Tuesday, April 24, 2007 was cancelled by a vote of their Board of Director’s on Wednesday, April 11, 2007.

The Clef Club Board of Directors had received information as to the agenda of the event scheduled by their staff; after review of the event and its implications for the Police Officers of Philadelphia they moved to cancel the event. The motion passed! The Clef Club Board indicated that they “wish no harm to come to any Philadelphia Police officer ever.”

Michael G. Lutz Lodge 5 Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police Executive Board and its entire membership send our collective Thank you to the Clef Club Board of Directors.

As a result of the cancellation of the Clef Club affair the Fraternal Order of Police Board of Directors meeting will not be held at Broad & Fitzwater streets location. The meeting will be at the FOP hall as normally scheduled at 7:00pm.

MOVE's May 13th Plans

Well, here it is, yet another strange and convoluted message from MOVE. In the usual all caps format and typical sophistry that we have grown used to and I am sure tired of. More of the same self-serving rhetorical garbage meant to spur action on behalf of MOVE’s "soldiers".

In typical MOVE fashion there is no sense that the group is responsible for any it’s own problems, nor is there any pretense at linking the premise to the conclusion, just the usual assault of self-pity and inducement for others to drink the MOVE-flavored Kool-Aid.

This is all par-for-the-course stuff if you follow MOVE’s sick habits.

But one does have to wonder why the American Friends Service Committee continues to allow MOVE to have their events on their premises.

Given MOVE’s violent history and the unmistakable cloud of suspicion that follows the group after the 2002 murder of John Gilbride I have to call into question the sanity of anyone who rolls out the welcome mat for Ramona Africa and her crew of cultists. On that note I would encourage everyone who reads this to call, email, fax the AFSC to express your displeasure at MOVE’s presence at a place ostensibly dedicated to the promotion of peace.

AFSC · 1501 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102 · 215-241-7000 afscinfo@afsc.org

This of course brings me to my next point. Let nobody suffer under the illusion that MOVE members are in jail for fighting for freedom. They are in jail for their dedication to their "leader" who summarily ordered his devotees to provoke a confrontation that left one police officer dead and several other police officers and firefighters wounded, some grievously. An event where MOVE "soldiers" hid behind women and children while spraying gunfire at the police who just wanted everyone to come out so that the issue could be resolved peacefully, something that MOVE and John Africa would never allow to happen.

In 2008 MOVE members will be up for parole and when MOVE is not trying to talk about John Gilbride and are pimping Mumia, they do occasionally find time to advocate for their "soldiers".

Hence this event at the AFSC, that is somehow intended to get people to wrap themselves around the fact that MOVE’s convicted and unrepentant cop-killers should be let out on the street. The same MOVE members who from jail worked to actively recruit new "soldiers" into the cult and who celebrated the murder of John Gilbride (I’ve got the letters).

Well I say if MOVE wants to say "Free the MOVE 9", than I think it only fitting that people of conscience say "hell no" ten times louder. If they want to "pressure" the parole board into freeing their members than we have every right to remind people of the chaos that MOVE continues to perpetuate out on the street. This, some thirty years after one of MOVE’s finest pumped a .223 round into Officer James Ramp as he ran to assist a fellow downed officer.

Than of course, MOVE wants to go and yell and scream out in front of the Liberty Bell. I say let them do it. But while they are there perhaps the people of Philadelphia will kindly remind them that it was MOVE that started the confrontation on May 13, 1985 by opening fire from a fortified home filled with children, that it was MOVE who killed Officer Ramp, that it was MOVE supporter, Mumia Abu-Jamal who killed Officer Daniel Faulkner, that it is MOVE that continues to abuse and neglect the children in their midst, and let us not forget the "unsolved" murder of John Gilbride.

Here is Ramona Africa's "statement" from the Mumia website:

LONG LIVE JOHN AFRICA!!! LONG LIVE REVOLUTION!!! ONA MOVE, EVERYBODY!!! I JUST WANTED TO INFORM YOU ASAP ABOUT OUR PLANS FOR MAY 13, 2007. ON SATURDAY, MAY 12TH WE ARE HAVING A VERY IMPORTANT CONFERENCE ON THE ISSUE OF PAROLE FOR POLITICAL PRISONERS. THE CONFERENCE IS BEING HELD FROM 12:00-5:00pm AT THE AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICE COMMITTEE, LOCATED AT 1501 CHERRY ST., IN CENTER CITY PHILADELPHIA. TOO MANY OF OUR FREEDOM FIGHTERS ARE DENIED PAROLE UNJUSTLY AND ILLEGALLY ON SUCH RIDICULOUS EXCUSES AS "LACK OF REMORSE" AND "SERIOUS NATURE OF OFFENSE". ANOTHER ISSUE THAT IS MISUSED BY PAROLE BOARDS NATIONWIDE IS "ACCOUNTABILITY" OR "TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE CRIME". In OTHER WORDS, ADMITTING GUILT. MOVE IS GONNA DEAL WITH THESE ISSUES THOUROUGHLY AND DIRECTLY AT THIS CONFERENCE. THIS ISSUE AND THE INFORMATION WE PUT OUT AT THIS CONFERENCE BENEFITS EVERYBODY THAT’S FACED WITH PAROLE HEARINGS AND WE’RE URGING ALL SUPPORT COMMITTEES FOR POLITICAL PRISONERS AND ALL THOSE WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY MEMBERS FACING PAROLE HEARINGS TO COME TO THIS CONFERENCE AND WORK IN A UNIFIED EFFORT TO BACK PAROLE BOARDS OFF OUR SOLDIERS. THE SECOND PART OF OUR PROGRAM IS A DEMONSTRATION ON SUNDAY, MAY 13TH, AT 5TH AND MARKET STREETS IN CENTER CITY PHILADELPHIA, ACROSS FROM "THE LIBERTY BELL". WE DON’T INTEND TO EVER ALLOW THIS SYSTEM TO FORGET ABOUT OR EVEN TRY TO GLOSS OVER WHAT IT DID ON MAY 13, 1985 WHEN IT BOMBED AND MURDERED MOVE MEN, WOMEN AND BABIES. WE, AS A PEOPLE CANNOT AFFORD TO ALLOW OFFICIALS TO THINK THAT WE TAKE THAT KIND OF VICIOUSNESS LIGHTLY. IT WOULD BE THE WORST THING WE COULD EVER DO, THE WORST MESSAGE WE COULD EVER SEND OFFICIALS. JOIN US ON MAY 12TH AND 13TH ! YOU’LL BE GLAD YOU DID!!!
ONA MOVE, RAMONA

Mumia Supporters In Retreat

(Actorvist Mike Farrell)

Like an army in route, Jamal supporters have been steadily back-peddling with regards to their position of support for Mumia.

More and more those who are of sound mind have found sufficient cause to reject the notion of Jamal’s "absolute" innocence as well as some of the more outrageous conspiracy theories as floated by Jamal’s key support groups.

This is hardly a new trend, but one that has grown increasingly acceptable in the radical community.

I can remember with great vividness the uproar that Nation writer, Marc Cooper in 2000, caused when he penned a column critical of the "Free Mumia" cause.

Other writers and activists who have taken the apostate road have found themselves on the receiving end of the wrath of pro-Jamal fanatics for speaking the obvious.

After the semi-vertebrate Michael Moore wrote in his 2003 book, "Dude, Where’s My Country" that he believed that Jamal "did indeed kill the cop", he was blasted by the pro-Jamal fanatics, including "journalist" Dave Lindorff who targeted Moore for speaking the kind of truth to idiocy that Lindorff himself increasingly lacks the balls to do.

Rather than be hounded by Mumiaidiots at every turn Moore retracted his statement and apologized and moved onto more pressing issues, like what he was going to have for lunch.

Other pro-Jamal activists have shown more resolve in the face of the Pam Africa, bully tactics. Although it is quite clear that actorvist, Mike Farrell is still an adamant supporter of Jamal, he doesn’t care much for the movement that works to free him. In a recent email to someone who was also in contact with me, the former M*A*S*H, TV star had this to say about the Jamal movement:

"People have "rallied around," as you put it, the Jamal case for a number of reasons, many of them pretty stupid, in my opinion. I quite agree that there is a great deal of misinformation being cast around about the evidence in the case and the facts around it - or the lack thereof. I do not share the view of many, perhaps most, who are involved in the case and separated myself from it when MAJ fired the attorney who brought me into it and took on two who were, at least in my view, political hacks who wanted to promote an unbelievable argument in his defense. I agree with you that many of the claims made by Jamal's supporters are nonsense and I cringe when I hear them used. But there's nothing I can do about that but maintain my own position and try to keep it separate from them. Too often, however, we are all lumped together, just as you were quick to do."

Indeed, Mr. Farrell makes some salient points, but I am afraid that he is not following his instincts and observations to their very likely conclusions.

The kind that can make for a man in his position an embarrassing situation.

Mr. Farrell wants to cling to some of the Jamal myths while discarding others. It doesn’t seem to have occurred to him that if much of what is being spread about Jamal by his supporters might be ludicrous, that the whole premise of Jamal as victim might be a well-constructed fallacy. This is, after all, the same Mike Farrell who embarrassed himself during the 20/20 special back in 1998 that skewered Jamal’s supporters as ignorant dupes, when Farrell put on display for the country his lack of understanding of the case.

Now, I can agree with Farrell that there is plenty to criticize about our system of justice and the death penalty in particular, but his dogged insistence on supporting Jamal in the face of overwhelming evidence lends credence to the idea that his support is not born out of an intellectual honesty, but an ideological or egotistical unwillingness to accept reality.

Another group that has abandoned Jamal wholesale is the Bruderhof community. The very Amish-esque, community had spent thousands publishing Jamal’s books, cd’s, and had sent many of it’s members to actively work on behalf of Jamal. One of whom became Jamal’s prison spiritual advisor.

Around the time that Jamal fired Leonard Weinglass, the Bruderhof dropped out of scene, meaning the hundreds of Bruderhof devotees who had become fixtures at Jamal’s demonstrations disappeared, as did their well-funded and professional looking propaganda. It was undeniably a large hit to the Jamal movement, one that I would argue that has not been recovered from yet.

I have inquired as to why the Bruderhof so suddenly dropped out of the Jamal scene and haven’t gotten much of an answer. The Bruderhof themselves claim that Jamal became "divisive", but he always was, so I don’t put much credence in that contention.

Former Bruderhof have told me that the group is known for taking up causes and than dropping them at the behest of their authoritarian leadership structure on a whim.

Finally, while making my way through the blogosphere I could not help but notice that the pro-Jamal types have been a kind of running joke for far-left bloggers who use the cliched stereotype of the protest-groupie with the "Free Mumia" shirt as the archetype for all that is wrong and backwards in the modern progressive movement.

Whatever the reason, it is safe to say that the entity that was the Mumia machine is both under fire from it’s former adherents, shrinking from attrition, and is the butt of many a joke from legitimate activists.

Clearing The Court For Mumia's Last Stand

by Michael Smerconish (for Philly.com)

TWENTY-FIVE years after he murdered Danny Faulkner, Mumia Abu-Jamal is scheduled for yet another courtroom argument on May 17.

Having exhausted his state appeals, Abu-Jamal is now at the appellate level of the federal court system, in front of the Philadelphia-based Third Circuit.
The D.A.'s office just filed a very telling motion, one that indicates its desire not only to win what I hope is the final round of appeals in this case, but also to do so in a manner free of innuendo and political speculation, even when that means doing the work of the defense team.

The motion, filed by Hugh J. Burns Jr., chief of the D.A.'s appeals unit, seeks the recusal of the entire Third Circuit, and asks that judges from other circuits be assigned to the case!

Background: Abu-Jamal has argued that the D.A.'s office, at the time of his trial, was "a place where a prosecutor who was of a mind to discriminate . . . was free, even encouraged, to do so."
According to Abu-Jamal, "At the time of this trial, prosecutorial discrimination in jury selection was widespread and common," and "Philadelphia was no exception to this widespread, common problem."

The man convicted by a jury of his peers of killing a Philadelphia cop insists that at the time in question, "in Philadelphia courts . . . assistant district attorneys routinely sought to exclude blacks from criminal juries."

Well, the D.A. at the time of his trial was none other than Edward G. Rendell - as in Pennsylvania's governor - and, more important for these purposes, the husband of the Honorable Marjorie O. Rendell, member of the Third Circuit. To the extent there was "routine" racial discrimination, it would have happened on the watch of then-D.A. Ed Rendell.

The charge is ridiculous, of course. Abu-Jamal never raised such a claim during his jury selection, a process in which the prosecution freely accepted, and even sought, black jurors.
Abu-Jamal's prosecutor was Joseph McGill, who on this issue said this to me: "Not only did I choose three African-American jurors and try to choose a fourth who was struck by Jamal, but the very first juror in the entire panel that I chose was African-American. If I were discriminating against black jurors, this sure was a stupid way of doing it."

Nevertheless, any decision from the court that rejected the Abu-Jamal assertions - meaning a decision supporting the prosecution - might be perceived by outsiders as an effort by Judge Rendell's colleagues to be supportive of her, - and, in turn, her husband.

The D.A.'s office does not want to win under those circumstances. Which is why the office has

filed a motion seeking the recusal of not only Judge Rendell, but also the entire Third Circuit.
Sound counterintuitive?

NOT WHEN you think about it. What's really going on here is that the D.A.'s office doesn't want success if it comes under a cloud.

The prosecutors have worked too hard for too long to leave themselves open to even an unfounded charge that the case is being decided on anything besides the facts and the law.

Speaking of the law, it allows for this sort of remedy. In fact, a federal statute requires a judge's recusal where the judge has "personal knowledge of disputed evidentiary facts concerning the proceeding."

And federal law also requires recusal where a judge or the judge's spouse "is known by the judge to have an interest that could be substantially affected by the outcome of the proceeding." The purpose of the statute "is to promote confidence in the judiciary by avoiding even the appearance of impropriety whenever possible."

Who can blame the D.A.'s office? For more than 2 1/2 decades, these tireless, mostly faceless and nameless advocates for justice on behalf of a slain police officer have had to react to an assault of fallacies, including accusations that they manipulated ballistics evidence, reports of racial animus, mystery eyewitnesses and tales of witness coercion.

The ball is on the one-yard line, and they don't just want to win. They want the instant replay to be above reproach. *