Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Boston investigation-changing facts

Bro Ken,

Your take on ideology is rather narrow, partial and superficial. Ideology is not only 'delusional' even in the mind of the crazy Althusser who died in a mental asylum. You appear to be doubling down on your trashy discourse of virtual reality that brother Jude Akunobi cautioned you against and about which sister Gloria Emeagwali has raisef a red flag (I just started reading your 'Trash') by suggesting that ideas belong to 'Western decadence' (p.42) as if the rest of us are coconut heads.

You have a point, as in the critique of the nationalism of the 'German Ideology' by our internationalist brother, Marx, but.... Ideology is also capable of being inspirational and liberative especially according to the Marx, say, when education is consigned to the loony bin of ideology by the left and the right alike: thew ideological nature of education means that it is contested by the forces of domination and the forces of liberation, it is far from your simplistic code of delusional trash.

Glad that you saw the link to genocide denialism in this discourse but you were mistaken to suggest that ideologists are entitled to their own facts. In Europe, holocaust denialism is not just an ideology but a serious crime that is punishable in many jurisdictions. The ideology of law allows the contestation of interpretations but the fact that millions of innocent Africans were genocidized in Biafra is an established fact. The ideological contestation is about what will be done about that fact in the present and not whether it happened. Reactionaries say that the Biafrans asked for it, progressives say that there is never a justification for genocide and so reparations for the survivors are the least that could be done in pursuit of justice under the ideology of Ubuntu or Mbari. Rather than focus on the vengeful ideology of punitiveness, we could refocus on the healing ideology of reparations.

Having been at the receiving end of racialized, gendered and class-specific terrorism for centuries, people of African descent should be always alert to the hidden ideologies of terrorists but militarism seduces many into focusing only on how to crush oppositions with the right of might. In Nigeria, for instance, anyone who tells you that Boko Haram are only animated by their adherence to the religion of the book neglects a crucial ideology of ethnic or tribal hostility that dates back to the colonial days with a clear focus on the scapegoating of their fellow working class and artisan Igbo with whom they could have united to uplift the Talakawa and the rest of the Nigerian masses as Azikiwe, Aminu Kano, S.G. Ikoku, Bala Usman, Chinua Achebe, Balarabe Musa, Gani Fawehinmi, Fela Kuti, Eskor Toyo and Wole Soyinka attempted.

Hopefully, Boko Haram intellectuals will join the debate on this forum by recognizing that the crisis in Nigeria is an educational crisis at its root. As soon as the people are educated for liberation and not just for domestication and domination, the genocidal rage against fellow citizens will be transformed into informed political mobilization for social justice for all irrespective of racial, gender and class contradictions.

That is the educational deficit in the ideology of the Boston Bombers who mistook people of African descent as their mortal enemies in their delusional pursuit of white supremacy disguised as a religion of the book. In Black Reconstruction in America, Du Bois also wondered why the working class whites allowed themselves to be mobilized against African Americans when the poor of all backgrounds could have united, irrespective of the ideology of race and gender, to ensure more progressive policies for all such; as the policy of publicly-funded education that was the result of black initiatives in the south in the face of stiff opposition from poor whites who did not know that it was also in their interest.

Biko

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From: kenneth harrow <harrow@msu.edu>
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Sent: Sunday, 28 April 2013, 10:50
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Boston investigation-changing facts

there are two more things:
their motivations have only been clarified over time, with no contradictions emerging: they subscribe to a radical islamist position that calls for attacking the u.s., and their own origins in dagestan, of chechian stock, are commensurate with that position for many people of that unhappy region.
i.e. we know what they thought and where they were from
the conspiracy theories are not an indication of some truth concerning them but of the paranoia that marks public discourse at the edges. they are ciphers onto which people can project whatever they need to believe, thus sustaining them in their delusions.
in fact, we all live with comparable delusions: they are called "ideology" by althusser, and we are all "in ideology." that is the condition of living in society with its ISAs, and in recognizing ourselves through the discourses that we replicate/hear. when we hear the discourses of others, we might find them mildly interested, but not compelling.

just consider the back and forth over biafra (still!!) on the listserv to appreciate how it isn't simply a difference of opinion, but of some larger world we inhabit and reproduce. how powerfully our identities depend upon acceptance of those ideological interpellations, and their reproduction, can be seen in the passionate nature of the language used in dismissing the views of the other, those inhabiting another ideological space.
we can imagine how a Boko Haram adherent would respond to most of what is presented in our space. i am glad they would be using words and not bombs.
unfortunately, from words to bombs, we wind up on the streets of boston, with tragedy.

ken

On 4/28/13 3:07 AM, Mobolaji Aluko wrote:

My People:

My own questions:

1.  Is there any doubt that the Tsarnaev brothers did the bombing - one as prime planner, and/or the other as co-conspirator?

2.  Is there any doubt that one of the Tsarnaev brothers, the older one is dead, following a gun-fight?

3. Is there any doubt that the other Tsarnaev brother, the younger one,  is living, having been found bleeding inside a boat?

Some of the other details - or lack of it - of this case are interesting, but distractive.

And there you have it.

Bolaji Aluko

On Sun, Apr 28, 2013 at 1:12 AM, Emeagwali, Gloria (History) <emeagwali@mail.ccsu.edu> wrote:

RSN
The Changing Facts in the Boston Investigation

By Alex Seitz-Wald, Salon

27 April 13

Important details like the suspects' weapons, NYC plans and the shootout keep changing. It's fueling conspiracies.

[http://readersupportednews.org/images/stories/alphabet/rsn-I.jpg]n the aftermath of massive, complicated crimes it's not uncommon for a bit of crucial information to be immediately put forward by police, only to be contradicted later on. While it's understandable that initial leads and assertions might end up being wrong in a dynamic situation like the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing, wholesale contradictions can encourage skepticism of the motives of those releasing inaccuracies - as with initial, false reports that Osama bin Laden hid behind his wife<http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/05/administration_backs_off_tale_of_osama_bin_laden_using_wife_as_human_shield.php> when U.S. forces shot him. Another effect of changing details can be to encourage conspiracy theorists who latch onto inconsistencies, and to undermine trust in authorities.

Now, almost a week after the Tsarnaev brothers fought a rolling street battle with dozens of heavily armed police officers, we learned Wednesday night that they had only a single handgun, according to sources who spoke with ABC News<http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/single-gun-recovered-accused-boston-bombers/story?id=19028841#.UXlD9itATag> and the AP<http://www.salon.com/2013/04/24/officials_bombing_suspects_had_one_gun_during_shootout_with_police_ap/>, something that directly contradicts what officials had previously said.

Here are some of the biggest changes to facts released in this investigation:

 *   Suspects' arms - After the manhunt, Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis said the brothers were "heavily armed<http://www.necn.com/04/21/13/Ed-Davis-Tsarnaev-brothers-heavily-armed/landing.html?blockID=838511&feedID=11106>" and numerous reports detailed a fairly extensive arsenal. According to a New York Times report<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/22/us/boston-marathon-bombing-suspects-hoped-to-attack-again.html?_r=0&pagewanted=all> from April 21 citing a law enforcement official, "The authorities found an M-4 carbine rifle ... two handguns and a BB gun." Now unnamed sources say there was only a single 9mm pistol between the two brothers. Indeed, photos<http://www.getonhand.com/blogs/news/7743337-boston-bombing-suspect-shootout-pictures> of the shootout suggest only one brother had a weapon.

 *   Boat gunfight? - Police initially reported that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev fired on police when they found him hiding in a boat Friday night. "It was back and forth<http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2013/04/watch-watertown-police-chiefs-epic-minute-by-minute-account-of-deadly-manhunt.php> ... yes - he was firing," Watertown Police Chief Ed Deveau told CNN Saturday (though the FBI cautioned at the time that only federal authorities had official information). In its definitive "tick tock<http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/inside-the-investigation-of-the-boston-marathon-bombing/2013/04/20/19d8c322-a8ff-11e2-b029-8fb7e977ef71_print.html>" of the events, the Washington Post reported that the suspect inside the boat "was shooting back." But later, the Washington Post and the AP reported<http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/officials-boston-suspect-had-no-firearm-when-barrage-of-bullets-hit-hiding-place/2013/04/24/376fc8a0-ad18-11e2-a8b9-2a63d75b5459_story.html> yesterday that Tsarnaev was unarmed when police found him after what what was described as a gunfight. As it turns out, police may have been spooked by an errant shot, and fired into the boat, but apparently zero shots came out.

 *   7 -Eleven and the MIT officer - Initial reports suggested the brothers tried to hold up a 7-Eleven, and then killed an MIT officer who either responded to the robbery or just happened to be in the area. But days later, authorities revealed that the holdup was committed by different suspects and the confusion was caused by the close proximity of the two events. It's still unknown exactly why the brothers killed the police officer.

 *   Carjacking - Some reports indicate that the person whom the brothers carjacked escaped<http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-bombing-suspects-guns-20130421,0,7433177.story> while they inexplicably went into a store to buy snacks, while others say the brothers let the victim go<http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/04/22/17860373-officials-hospitalized-bombing-suspect-says-he-and-brother-acted-alone-motivated-by-religion?lite> because he wasn't American. It's also still unclear which brother stole the black SUV, and which drove the Honda that followed.

 *   Trip to NYC - What the suspects did after the bombing remains a mystery, but one detail that emerged was that they were planning to head to New York City - to party<http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/boston_bombers_planned_kelly_party_U1expKkxMJWlfm01uqiuyO>. That's what New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said yesterday. But today, NBC News reports the brothers discussed trying to detonate a bomb in Times Square, but that the plan was not well developed and "aspirational at most<http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/04/25/17914667-officials-boston-suspects-discussed-second-attack-in-times-square?lite>."

 *   Perimeter - As the New York Times reported<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/25/us/officers-killing-spurred-pursuit-in-boston-attack.html?pagewanted=3&_r=0&hp&pagewanted=all> Wednesday, "Police officials initially said the boat was in the backyard of a house just outside the perimeter of the area where investigators had conducted door-to-door searches all day. But Commissioner Davis, of the Boston police, said this week that the boat had been inside the perimeter."

We'll update this post as more examples emerge.

Professor Gloria Emeagwali
Prof. of History & African Studies
History Department
Central Connecticut State University
New Britain
CT 06050
africahistory.net
vimeo.com/user5946750/videos
Documentaries on Africa and the African Diaspora


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