Dear Friends, What a fantastic film: "Long Distance Revolutionary - A Journey with Mumia Abu-Jamal". I was there last Friday night at the LA Premiere at the Laemmle Music Hall Theatre in Beverly Hills. I'm glad it was sold out and I'm glad it is being held over for another week. I did see 15 or 20 people there who are on my ATW-NEWS Email List. I hope the film will be seen by millions of people. Mumia is such an important person. I don't think there is anyone quite like him. Many years ago I sent him a copy of the book I have published titled: "ADDICTED To WAR: Why The U.S. Can't Kick Militarism" by Joel Andreas: www.addictedtowar.com . Mumia wrote to me telling me how much he liked the book and asked if I would send 3 or 4 copies to other friends of his who were in prison. He offered to pay me for the books. I did send copies to his friends but I told him I would not accept any money from him. I was just thrilled that he liked ATW and that he wrote to me. Later on he wrote a glowing review of ADDICTED To WAR that appeared on his website. I just now Googled it and found it in print and in his own voice. I had read the review all those years ago, but I had never heard his review until just now. Amazing! I have copied it below.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Here is Mumia's review of ADDICTED To WAR: (5/27/03) Mumia Abu-Jamal's Radio Broadcasts - For Young Minds - Two Offerings http://archive.prisonradio.org/maj/maj_5_28_minds.html Listen: <http://archive.prisonradio.org/audio/mumia/maj_5_28_03c.mp3> mp3, 3.18 MBs, 3:58 - Listen: http://archive.prisonradio.org/audio/mumia/maj_5_28_03c.mp3 Years ago, at the urging of the late activist, Susan Burnett, this writer periodically released a booklist, which Susan promptly put up on the Web, and readers, especially young people, frequently wrote and commented about various books, some of which had a deep impression on their growth and development. Over time, that process ceased, for various reasons, among them, the passing of Susan. Sometimes a book, or booklet, comes along which makes this writer think about young persons, or even folks who aren't so young, because they are well-written, offer insights into contested arenas of history or politics, or offer a radical view of these areas. I especially think of young folks when the texts are relatively brief (probably because I remember my own phobias about big, thick books when I was a youngster). If the books are illustrated, or made in comic form, so much the better! Instead of a booklist, I want to discuss two relatively recent works, in the hope that young readers will acquire them, and hopefully learn from them, and maybe--just maybe-- discuss them with their friends and peers. 1. Addicted to War: Why The U.S. Can't Kick Militarism, by Joel Andreas (Illustrator & Writer): As America has recently embraced the path to what appears to be global war, in the face of mass protests against such wars, it is important to expose young folks to alternative views of the roots and reasons for war. Addicted to War is funny, brilliant, skillfully drawn in black ink, and even footnoted with pages full of references. If you are a young person who suspects everything you've heard on the news, or read in the newspaper isn't on the up and up, Addicted is for you. It'll explain, not just recent wars (Gulf War I, Vietnam, etc.) but will reveal the economic and military forces that advocated war, and the weak excuses they utilized to get into foreign countries. It also illustrates the impact of war on average American people, from housewives, to school kids, and, of course, to those almost uncountable poor souls who bore the brunt of American war fever: the peoples of the world (mostly the so-called Third World!). Youngsters (and some older folks) will never look at war in quite the same way after reading this 69-page book. Addicted to War is now available in Japanese, and will soon come out in Korean, Spanish, and other languages. 2. The Black Holocaust for Beginners, by Sam E. Anderson: Unlike Addicted to War , Anderson's The Black Holocaust is not a comic book. It is heavily, and expertly illustrated, yet what drives the book is the text, as raw as new wounds on the skin of the psyche. It is a brilliant telling of, not just the trans-Atlantic slave trade, but the equally monstrous Arab slave trade along the eastern shores of Africa, which lasted some 600 years longer, and lasts up until our age. It is written in matter-of-fact style, straight forward; a chilling portrayal of foreign rapes and exploitation of Africa. It shows that the trade in human bondage was a global process, which involved and impacted millions of people. It uses both classical texts (like Cheikh Anta Diop's Civilization or Barbarism ) and numerous records from the period to give the speech, and flavor of the times to illustrate how economic, political, and social forces converged to justify slavery, and exploit the labor of millions. It's not 'fun' (it's not supposed to be), but it is informative. It really is the roots of America and much of the West. I recommend both of these works to young readers in the spirit of learning why things are the way they are (which I consider the very essence of history). Enjoy! (Addicted to War is published by Frank Dorrel: www.addictedtowar.com and by AK Press (US), 674-A 23rd St., Oakland, CA 94612-1163. It's available from: [email protected] . The Black Holocaust for Beginners is published by Writers and Readers Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 461, Village Stn., New York, NY 10014. It is part of the For Beginners Documentary Comic Book series, which produces books on a variety of complex subjects. They may be reached at (212) 982-3158) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Long Distance Revolutionary: A Journey with Mumia Abu Jamal Opened In Los Angeles - Friday, March 1st And Has Been Held Over for Another Week At <http://www.laemmle.com/viewtheatre.php?thid=4> Laemmle Music Hall 9036 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills 90211 310-478-3836 - www.laemmle.com/viewtheatre.php?thid=4 <http://www.laemmle.com/purchasetickets.php?m=ODgxMy0wMDQtMDMwMTIwMTMtMTIzMC 0z> 12:30pm - <http://www.laemmle.com/purchasetickets.php?m=ODgxMy0wMDQtMDMwMTIwMTMtMTYwMC 0z> 4:00pm - 7:00pm Sold-out - <http://www.laemmle.com/purchasetickets.php?m=ODgxMy0wMDQtMDMwMTIwMTMtMjIwMC 0z> 10:00pm Laemmle's Playhouse 7 673 East Colorado Blvd, Pasadena 91101 310-478-3836 - www.laemmle.com/viewtheatre.php?date=02092013 <http://www.laemmle.com/viewtheatre.php?date=02092013&thid=6> &thid=6 Saturday & Sunday at 11:00 AM Laemmle's Claremont 5 450 W 2nd Street, Claremont 91711 310-478-3836 - <http://www.laemmle.com/viewtheatre.php?date=02092013&thid=17> www.laemmle.com/viewtheatre.php?date=02092013&thid=17 Saturday & Sunday at 11:00 AM Trailer: www.firstrunfeatures.com/trailers_mumia.html www.firstrunfeatures.com/mumia <http://27.formovietickets.com:2235> MUMIA: LONG DISTANCE REVOLUTIONARY - (Unrated) 2012 - USA - English - 120 minutes - First Run Features Directed by: Stephen Vittoria Featuring: Cornel West, Alice Walker, Angela Davis, Peter Coyote, Tariq Ali, Amy Goodman, Dick Gregory, Ruby Dee, Rubin Hurricane Carter, Giancarlo Esposito & Others Before he was convicted of murdering a policeman in 1981 and sentenced to die, Mumia Abu-Jamal was a gifted journalist and brilliant writer. Now, after more than 30 years in prison and despite attempts to silence him, Mumia is not only still alive but continuing to report, educate, provoke and inspire. Stephen Vittoria's new feature documentary is an inspiring portrait of a man whom many consider America's most famous political prisoner - a man whose existence tests our beliefs about freedom of expression. Through prison interviews, archival footage, and dramatic readings, and aided by a potent chorus of voices including Cornel West, Alice Walker, Dick Gregory, Angela Davis, Amy Goodman & others, this riveting film explores Mumia's life before, during & after Death Row - revealing, in the words of Angela Davis, "the most eloquent & most powerful opponent of the death penalty in the world...the 21st Century Frederick Douglass." www.freemumia.com - www.prisonradio.org [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digest: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help: <mailto:[email protected]?subject=laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! 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