Using a White House position to push Communist Policies?

Just days before his White House appointment, Van Jones, Obama’s environmental adviser, used a forum at a major youth convention to push for what can easily be interpreted as a communist or socialist agenda.

As WND previously reported, Van Jones, special adviser for green jobs, enterprise and innovation to the White House Council on Environmental Quality, is an admitted black nationalist and radical communist.

Two weeks before he started his White House job, however, Jones delivered the keynote address at Power Shift ‘09, which was billed as the largest youth summit on climate change in history. A reported 12,000 young people were at the D.C. Convention Center for the event.

During his speech, available on YouTube, Jones threw around terms like “eco-apartheid” and “green for some,” and preached about spreading the wealth while positing a call to “change the whole system.”

In one section of his twenty-minute speech, Jones referenced “our Native American brothers and sisters” who, he claimed, were “pushed,” “bullied,” “mistreated” and “shoved into all the land that we didn’t want.”

“Guess what?” Jones continued. “Give them the wealth! Give them the wealth! No justice on stolen land … we owe them a debt.”

“We have to create a green economy, that’s true, that’s true. But we have to create a green economy that Dr. King would be proud of,” he exclaimed.

Jones spoke about using what he termed an environmental revolution to push for other policies, including anti-war activism.

“If all you did was have a clean energy revolution, you wouldn’t have done anything. … You’ll have bio-fueled bombers and we’ll be fighting wars over lithium for the batteries instead of oil for the engines,” he said to applause.

“This movement is deeper than solar power. … Don’t stop there! We are going to change the whole system!” he exclaimed.

The White House did not return multiple WND requests the past few weeks seeking comment on how Jones was screened for his position and whether the White House knew of his admitted radical past.

Jones on 9-11: Blame U.S. ‘imperialism’

Last week, WND reported one day after the 9/11 attacks, Jones led a vigil that expressed solidarity with Arab and Muslim Americans as well as what he called the victims of “U.S. imperialism” around the world.

Jones was the leader and founder of a radical group, the communist revolutionary organization Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary Movement, or STORM. That group, together with Jones’ Elle Baker Center for Human Rights, led a vigil Sept. 12, 2001, at Snow Park in Oakland, Calif.

STORM’s official manifesto, titled, “Reclaiming Revolution,” surfaced on the Internet.

A WND review of the 97-page treatise found a description of a vigil that Jones’ group held Sept. 12, 2001, at Snow Park in Oakland, Calif. The event drew hundreds and articulated an “anti-imperialist” line, according to STORM’s own description.

The radical group’s manual boasted the 9/11 vigil was held to express solidarity with Arab and Muslim Americans and to mourn the civilians killed in the terrorist attacks “as well as the victims of U.S. imperialism around the world.”

“We honored those who lost their lives in the attack and those who would surely lose their lives in subsequent U.S. attacks overseas,” STORM’s manifesto recalls.

Also, WND obtained a press release of Jones’ vigil, dated Sept. 11, 2001, and titled, “People Of Color Groups Gather to Stand In Solidarity With Arab Americans and to Mourn the East Coast Dead.”

“Anti-Arab hostility is already reaching a fever pitch as pundits and common people alike rush to judgment that an Arab group is responsible for this tragedy,” stated Jones in the release hours after the 9/11 attacks.

“We fear that an atmosphere is being created that will result in official and street violence against Arab men, women and children,” he said.

Last week, Fox News Channel’s Glenn Beck drew attention to a section of STORM’s manual that describes Jones’ organization as having a “commitment to the fundamental ideas of Marxism-Leninism.“

“We agreed with Lenin’s analysis of the state and the party,” reads the manifesto. “And we found inspiration in the revolutionary strategies developed by Third World revolutionaries like Mao Tse-tung and Amilcar Cabral.”

Cabral is the late Marxist revolutionary leader of Guinea-Bissau and the Cape Verde Islands.

WND previously reported Jones named his son after Cabral and reportedly concludes every e-mail with a quote from the communist leader.

STORM’s newsletter boasted “we also saw our brand of Marxism as, in some ways, a reclamation.”

STORM worked with known communist leaders. It led the charge in black protests against various issues, including a local attempt to pass Proposition 21, a ballot initiative that sought to increase the penalties for violent crimes and require more juvenile offenders to be tried as adults.

Speaking to the East Bay Express, Jones said he first became radicalized in the wake of the 1992 Rodney King riots, during which time he was arrested.

“I was a rowdy nationalist on April 28th, and then the verdicts came down on April 29th,” he said. “By August, I was a communist.

“I met all these young radical people of color – I mean really radical: communists and anarchists. And it was, like, ‘This is what I need to be a part of.’ I spent the next 10 years of my life working with a lot of those people I met in jail, trying to be a revolutionary,” he said.

Trevor Loudon, a researcher and opponent of communism who runs the New Zeal blog, identified several Bay Area communists who worked with STORM, including Elizabeth Martinez, who helped advise Jones’ Ella Baker Human Rights Center, which Jones founded to advocate civil justice. Jones and Martinez also attended a “Challenging White Supremacy” workshop together.

Martinez was a longtime Maoist who went on to join the Communist Party USA breakaway organization Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism, or CCDS, in the early 1990s, according to Loudon. Martinez still serves on the CCDS council and is also a board member of the Movement for a Democratic Society, where she sits alongside former Weathermen radicals Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn.

STORM eventually fell apart amid bickering among its leaders.

Jones then moved on to environmentalism. He used his Ella Baker Center to advocate “inclusive” environmentalism and launch a Green-Collar Jobs Campaign, which led to the nation’s first Green Jobs Corps in Oakland, Calif.

At the Clinton Global Initiative in 2007, Jones announced the establishment of Green For All, which in 2008 held a national green conference in which most attendees were black. Jones also released a book, “The Green Collar Economy,” which debuted at No.12 on the New York Times’ bestseller list – the first environmental book written by an African American to make the list.

Jones, formerly a self-described “rowdy black nationalist,” boasted in a 2005 interview with the left-leaning East Bay Express that his environmental activism was a means to fight for racial and class “justice.”

Jones was president and founder of Green For All, a nonprofit organization that advocates building a so-called inclusive green economy.

Until recently, Jones was a longtime member of the board of Apollo Alliance, a coalition of labor, business, environmental and community leaders that claims on its website to be “working to catalyze a clean energy revolution that will put millions of Americans to work in a new generation of high-quality, green-collar jobs.”

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On Monday, President’s Day, Sasha and I went snowshoeing up on Mt. Hood. This was the first time both of have gone snowshoeing. Alright, time to get back to packing. I leave for Boston tomorrow morning at 7:30am.

If just speeding down the slopes on your board or skis is just too easy try learning a few tricks in one of Zermatt’s snow park areas.

The Gravity Park over at Matterhorn Paradise is open nearly all year, yes nearly all year, so even if you have come to stay in a Zermatt apartment to go hiking in summer you can still grab some air at the Gravity Park.

At the Gravity Park there is a super pipe, half pipe, kickers rails and jumps, which you will find above chairlift Trockener Steg, the exact position changes depending on the season.

Over by Blauherd there is a small fun park with jumps and rails ideal for beginners who may find the Gravity Park a little daunting.

So tried the jumps, rails and pipes, a little battered a bruised?  Come home to a great Zermatt apartment where you can soak in the bath, then put your feet up whilst your friends cook you a juicy home made chilli!

I took this shot on a weeknight outside of the Oakland Democratic Headquarters. Volunteers were hard at work.

Yesterday, while riding around West Oakland taking photos, I heard a DJ somewhere off in the distance. I rode towards the music and discovered the skatepark located in DeFremery Park on Adeline. They were just wrapping up an all-ages skate competition and a graffiti competition, all part of the Living World Festival. I was able to meet K Dub, the man behind the skatepark. Obama was present in graffiti tags from the contest and stencils on the ramps.

Today we walked over to the Obama rally at Snow Park in Oakland. Volunteers were cold-calling voters throughout the country, people were selling Obama apparel, and families were gathered together in support of the candidate.

Check out my Flickr Page to see more photos of the Living World festival.

I picked this article up from Queenstown.com – sure looks fun, so if you find yourself in the South Island of the land of the Kiwis then you could do a lot worse than freeing the spirit at Wanaka.

A fun and memorable experience at the Ski Dubai Snow Park yesterday.

I wouldn’t exactly call it a “fun” experience, but more of a “different” experience. About 8 in 10 people I talk to about Ski Dubai tell me it is like the “real thing”, but let me inform you, it is not… but that’s not what Ski Dubai was all about in the first place. If it were, it would be very evident with the way they promote the concept. It really bothers me that people who visit this gigantic freezer compare it to the real thing. I’ll probably save that rant for a different post.

Let me run you down on my experience of my first time visit to the Snow Park in Ski Dubai. As soon as we sported our mandatory gears, we headed in, which kind of made me feel like a packed pile of meat entering a freezer. The chills set in real quick, but we get used to it quicker. More than snow, you really see more of ice once you are in, from huge sculptures of dragons to chairs made of ice you can sit on while giving the mechanics of your digital camera something to work on in the -4C environment. I did not bother carrying my camera in, in fear of damaging it while indulging in any of the activities later on.

After scavenging the area for something to do, I realised, there wasn’t much to do in there. There were a few slopes to run the bobsleds which kicked up our adrenaline rush a bit, but we grew out of it after a few runs. You can’t really pick up some snow, make a few snowballs and indulge in a little fun snowball fight either because it goes against the rules and there really isn’t too much snow you can gather up in the first place. But that’s what we paid for. I’m sure having a go at the ski slope would have been a different experience all together, but I wasn’t really prepared to take on that mammoth ski slope and I didn’t really have the time to cut out a good hour or two getting trained for that… maybe next time.

A recommended chilling experience to forget about the scorching heat outside.

Ok, so its been a while since I’ve blogged about music… in fact its been a while since I’ve really sat and listened. After DJ’ing a dope movie premier (footage mostly from snow park, where I work) and party for DC shoes/Snow Park last Thursday In Queenstown I decided to get back to basics… I started listening to my own music, not simply things I think people would be into. I listened to what I like, and what I think sounds good (the whole reason I got into DJing in the first place). I listened to Hip Hop, Rock, Electronic, Dance, 80’s, Top 40, Gangsta Rap, and even a little Folk. I loved it

The truth is, I haven’t been able to stop listening to 3 specific songs.

I don’t know why but they all happen to be Electronic/Disco/Dance songs and they are amazing… I know there are many mixed feelings about this genre but seriously, I dare you to keep from moving your feet or bobbing your head while these songs are playing.

SO NOW I PRESENT YOU THE TRIFECTA OF GREATNESS…. Please enjoy… maybe even cut a little rug.

Basement Jaxx – Hot N’ Cold

Earth Wind & Fire – Let’s Groove Tonight (Absolutely Incredible Video)

Sneaky Sound System – Pictures (Tonite Only Remix)

It’s always weird when something completely out of your ordinary life (ie. living in new zealand, working at a ski resort, and living with foreigners) starts to become more routine. I think the reasons I haven’t updated this blog in about a month is because I just haven’t felt like I’ve had anything terribly exciting to write about… I dont really think things are getting boring here or anything like that, but rather just a process into normalcy, where things are becoming more normal. Believe me there are things here that will NEVER feel normal but there are also many things like, coming back to a warm house, going to work every weekday morning and going to the grocery store that make life seem very familiar at times.

Through this process I have realized that traveling is much different than living in another country… I think that boundary is crossed when you do things like: Paying rent, setting up internet and phone lines in your home, buying a car and trying to sustain yourself by finding a job and earning money. After encountering and effectuating these things your travel experience becomes something quite different.

In retrospect however things have been quite good. There is something that is nice about calling a place home even if it is unfamiliar. Theres something about making a place your own that is simply comforting, it has your accents and it has your personality… sometimes I often see my place of residence as a projection of my self through wood, sheet rock and steel.

moving on,

things between Carly and I have been doing really well we’ve had some amazing conversations about life, relationships and experiences. I would be lying if I said there haven’t been difficulties but we really have been growing closer together everyday, despite over 2000 miles of ocean between us. I miss her more than I have ever missed anyone and know that we are going to make it through this time apart. She is just an amazing woman and there isn’t a day that goes by where i don’t think about her or wish she was experiencing the many different sights sounds smells and tastes of new zealand. She’s truly one of a kind

well, i guess to wrap things up I just to give you some bullet points to sum up the past month.

• Ive spent a lot of time digging in the dirt/mud @ work. Basically making trenches for high pressure water pipes that they use for snow making guns, yea it sucked

• I helped the park crew finish their permanent wall ride feature by putting the coping on top and painting it (3 coats… almost 10 gallons of paint!)

• I’ve DJed 2 times in the past month and have an other gig next weekend in queenstown. Its been a lot of fun… totally threw some D’s and made it rain.

• I went to a really charismatic church under poor leadership (no credentials and not really educated theologically) and felt really awkward when told that I was to speak in tongues. The gist of the message was that if I ever wanted to cast out evil spirits i had to be able to speak in tongues… what I really needed was some encouragement and some prayer for my struggles at work and from traveling, not an introduction in metaphysical warfare. Needless to say I didn’t return the following week.

• Ive missed a lot of friends and places (mainly ballard) from back home… I think we are all in need of a pub crawl when I get back… I want to see all your lovely faces at the sloop, matador, kings and the lock and keel. (thanks for so many amazing memories)

Ok, so there might be a little wonder of what I am currently doing in New Zealand. Well, hot off the presses here’s the fresh update. A super post of my new place of Work…

So I work at a place called SNOW PARK NEW ZEALAND, It is basically one chairlift but the entire mountain is a Terrain Park. It is the best and most progressive terrain park in the southern hemisphere and is basically where the majority of pros come to train in the summer season. From what I hear, the only time/place you will ever see more pro riders is during the winter X games. Some of the few who are often seen up here: Shauwn White (when he’s not skating), Travis Rice, Heiki Sorsa, JP Solberg, Sammy Carlson, Tanner Hall, Eddie Wall, Jeremy Jones, Gigi Ruf, Romain DeMarchi, Travis Kennedy and BIG BLACK!!! haha do work son!!!  So needless to say I am pretty stoaked.

Right now I am basically a handyman. I am helping the Park Crew get rails ready for the season (Welding, cutting, painting and prepping) Helping with the dirt moving and earth works to get the jumps ready and doing all sorts of random tasks to get the mountain in good operating shape for the season.
During the season I will probably be doing a mix of things. From working in the bar, to DJing on the mountain and in the bar! as well as being a lifty a few days out of the week, where i will be able to shred on my breaks! So I definately will be doing a ton of things that I think I will really enjoy and be getting paid for it. It adding up to be an amazing summer (or winter i guess).

Here are some photos I took to give you a better idea.

Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed this little description. Come down and visit!!! shred a little bit and enjoy the best terrain park in the world during the American summertime!

more to come soon…

Venerdì 29 a Cervinia si terrà il Red Bull Snow Palio, manifestazione che vede sfidarsi non soltanto atleti ma veri e propri campi gara, infatti i tre snow park invitati (Cervinia, Bardonecchia e Alpe di Siusi) hanno a disposizione tre giorni, che scadranno domani per allestire un parco gara e nella giornata di venerdì le squadre di snowboarder e skier per ogni località si sfideranno sui tre percorsi decretando quale sia lo snow park migliore.

Qui il resto della presentazione…