Source: http://www.africaresource.com/rasta/
A curious aspect of the early history of Scotland concerns various stories around Kenneth. King Kenneth was also known as ‘Kenneth the Niger’ or Kenneth Dubh, a surname which means ‘the black man’.
It is a matter of history that many seafaring warriors were North African, traveled via Iberia into Europe, and joined in many cultures and held power and position. Niger Val Dubh lived and reigned over certain black divisions in Scotland, and some histories state that a race known as ‘the sons of the blacks’ succeeded him. (e.g. see J.A. Rogers, Sex and Race).
Kenneth III was king of Scotland from 997 to 1005. He was the son of King Dubh (Dub mac Mail Choluim - 962-967), fourth cousin of the previous king Constantine III, and first cousin of his successor Malcolm II. Kenneth was the last king of Scotland to succeed to the throne through the tanistry system, whereby the succession was shared between two family lines and the dying king named his successor from the other family line. This system led to constant struggle between the ruling families and was abandoned. Kenneth and his son Giric were both killed at Monzievaird, Tayside in 1005.
His first cousin Malcolm succeeded him and abolished the tanistry system by killing all of his male descendants. However Kenneth had a granddaughter, Gruoch, via his daughter Boite, whose first husband was Gillacomgain. They had a son called Lulach. She then married King Macbeth I of Scotland (becoming Lady Macbeth). On the death of Macbeth her son via her first marriage, Kenneth III’s great grandson, succeeded to the throne, to become King Lulach of Scotland. According to this history, the blood of Kenneth flows through the royal houses of Scotland.
This story captures a curious fact about the Gaels from Gallicia - some were dark and have left many traces in Irish, Welsh and Scots clans.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
African Moors: The Appearance of the Original Berbers According to European Perceptions - by Dana Marniche
Source: http://www.africaresource.com/rasta/
The Appearance of the Original Berbers According to European Perceptions
All the early major Berber tribes including the Masmuda, Sanhaja, Ketama Zenata and Nafusa are described as dark reddish brown like the “Indi’ or as “blacks” or Ethiopians in early documents. The notion of the early Berbers as being “whites” or Caucasoid is a new and racist one related to the concept of the African “Hamite”. Certainly the original Berber-speakers were never referred to as anything but “black” or something near it until the 12th century and were otherwise considered the color of Abyssinians and other so called “Indi”.
Even the Kabyles a notoriously fair-skinned “Berber” people of North Africa are up until the 19th century described as “brown” “apart from a few clans”. (See quotes below). The knowledge that Europeans were changing the complexion literally and figuratively of North Africa up until the 19th century has disappeared from modern European histories. Most know about the large part played by sub-saharan black slaves in the making of modern North Africa and Arabia while the white slave trade which was in fact dominant trade in North Africa until the fall of Constantinople (Istanbul in Turkey) in the 15th century had been largely ignored in historical writings of the 20th. Yet it was only a few centuries ago that Europeans visiting North Africa commenting on the fact that, “on almost every street of the cities of Barbary, Europeans could be seen harnessed to carts like draught horses or selling water from jars loaded on the backs of donkeys”.
1809 Commentary on those called “Moors” by an early 19th century observer: “They carry the Christian captives about the desert to the different markets to sell them for they soon discover that their habits of life render them unserviceable , or very inferior to the black slaves of Timbuktoo. “ from An Account of the Empire of Marocco, by J. G. Jackson published 1809 and 1814.
2003 - “From 1500 to 1650 when trans-Atlantic slaving was still in its infancy more Europeans were taken to Barbary than black African slaves to the Americas. See, Robert Davis Christian Slaves, Muslim Masters: White Slavery in the Mediterranean, the Barbary Coast, and Italy, 1500-1800, MacMillan Publishers, published 2003.
The impact of the white slave trade and its contribution to the modern biology and appearance of the modern North African stems from before the Arabian and Muslim waves into Africa. The Roman ruler Claudian spoke concerning Gildo, the “Moorish” ruler of Africa and treatment of Roman women from the Levant by this North African chief and his countrymen:
4th century - Claudian wrote, “ when tired of each noblest matron Gildo hands her over to the Moors. These Sidonian mothers, married in Carthage city must needs mate with barbarians. He thrusts upon me an Ethiopian as a son-in law, a Berber as a husband. The hideous hybrid affrights its cradle.” Claudian, by Claudius Claudianus, translation by Maurice Platnauer, Published by G.P. Putnam’s sons, 1922 p. 113. (Gildo was brother to other Berber chiefs Firmus and Maseczel. Gildo is related to Aguellid or Galdi which remains the modern Tuarek word for chief. Masek, Amazigh ot Imoshagh was the name for the ancient and modern Tuareg clans in general. The Mezikes tribes were called “Ethiopians” in a Roman text of the time. )
1stt c. A.D. - “Diodorus Siculus speaks in reference to the expedition of Agathocles a Sardinian general, of three Libyan tribes on the coast of Tunisia, the Micatani and Zufoni (see Zafan ),who were nomads and the Asfodelodi, who by the color of their skin resembled the Ethiopians” , p. 50 The Mediterranean Race Book XX, 38, 57 Guiseppe Sergi, 1901. The Micatani were also called Ukutameni and Khethim by Josephus. In later writings they are called Ketama Berbers. The name Maketa or Imakitan remains a name for the eastern branches of the Tuareg.
1st century A.D.– Marcus Valerian Martial was one of the earliest Europeans to use the phrase “woolly hair like a Moor” in one of his Satires, and the phrase was commonly used up until the Middle Ages. See Nature Knows No Color Line by J.A. Rogers, 1952. p. 50 The Muslim era didn’t begin until the birth of Muhammed, the Prophet, over four centuries after Martial. By the 7th century the word came to be used for Arabians who in the early era of Islam for the most part were also described as of near “black” complexion.
1st century Silius Italicus also describes the Moors with the term ‘Nigra’ meaning black. In the 3rd century Roman dramatist Platus or Plautus maintained the name Maure was a synonym for “Niger” which was a common term for the word black. 6th century Isidore Archbishop of Seville claimed the word Maure meant black according to Brunson and Runoko Rashidi in “The Moors in Antiquity” in Golden Age of the Moor, 1991.
6th A.D.- Corippus uses the phrase “facies nigroque colorus” meaning faces or appearance of black color to describe the North African Berbers. In his book Johannis, I/ 245.
6th A.D. - Procopius in his History of the Wars book IV contrasting the Germanic Vandals who had settled in North Africa with the Maures claimed the Vandals were not “black skinned like the Maurusioi” . The tribes he classified as Maurusioi are those now classified as ancient Berbers, the Numidians, Masaesyle, Gaitules, Massyles and Mezikes several other “Berber” tribes then settled between Tunisia and Morocco.
After the 8th century the term Moor came to be used for the many Arabian clans who had invaded the Mediterranean and Africa because of their complexions which were the same dark brown or near black to absolutely black color of the Berbers.
——————————————————————————————————–
1914 - Archeologists observance of the ancient North Africans portrayed in ancient Egyptian tomb paintings, “The brun Libyan type is the only one portrayed in the Old Empire, the xanthrochroids predominate in the New Empire representations.” P. 40 from The Eastern Libyan Oric Bates The intrusive xanthrochroids…do not appear before the XII dynasty… It safe to say that they were immigrants.” from The Eastern Libyans by Oric Bates Frank Cass publishers 1914. pp. 40 and 41. (These paintings of the ancient Libyans as a brown in color are in the works of Nina Davies.)
1939 - “The extreme long-heads, concentrated in the Hoggar and in parts of the Algerian plateau are the Tuareg and the purer families of ancestral nomadic Berbers, preserving the head form which they brought from East Africa, their Hamitic homeland.” Carleton Coon The Races of Europe, p. 257 1979 reprint.
Five major tribes of Berbers were spoken of by early Muslim writers including the Sanhaja, Masumuda Zenata, Ketama and Goddula which were categorized into dozens of others which in turn were divided into many more. Among them were the early Kabyles originally a group of Sanhaja Berbers. Most descriptions refer to the modern Kabyles as fair-skinned, but in the 19th century and early 20th, descriptions and in fact many photographs depict them as dark and near black. (Photos from the 19th century show both very dark-skinned and near white skinned Kabyle individuals from different villages in the region).
1890 - “The Kabyles or Kabaily of Algerian and Tunisian territories…besides tillage, work the mines contained in their mountains…They live in huts made of branches of trees and covered with clay which resemble the Magalia of the old Numidians…They are of middle stature, their complexion brown and sometimes nearly black.” Written in The Encyclopedia Britannica: Dictionary of Arts, Sciences and General Literature Henry G. Allen Company p. 261 Volume I 1890.
1834 The Scotsman Thomas Campbell says, “The Kabyles…dress like the Arabs and a part from a few tribes, are brown complexioned and black haired” p. 109 Barbary and Enlightenment: European Attitudes Toward the Maghreb in the 18th Century, Ann Thomson. Published 1987 by E. J. Bull
A description by Gillebert d’Hercourt in Etudes Anthropologiques sur Soixante-Seize indigenes de lAlgerie in 1865 said the Kabyle crania that were studied were generally dolichocephalic. In fact the physical anthropological studies done on ancient and modern North Africans show that early North Africans were dolichocephalic like the Tuareg and other dark-skinned berber tribes.
Not surprisingly most modern Berber-speakers who are fair skinned including modern Kabyles are predominantly mesocephalic (middle headed) or even brachycephalic. It is interesting that the dress of these modern Kabyle women resembles that modern women of the Balkans and that palm and blood group types are also like those of European Mediterranean Greeks. Many of these Kabyles also have a strong Turkish influence as judged from the recognizable Turkish Eurasian or even East Asian facial features. Obviously some groups other than a Berber one makes up the main genetic strain in many modern Kabyle-speakers. Culturally the modern fair-skinned Kabyles have been documented as among the most patrifocal people in North Africa whereas the ancient and modern Berbers like the Tuareg were notably matrilineal and matrifocal to the chagrin of early Muslim documenters who considered this among their ‘wicked” customs.
1901 - The Oases if Nafzawa and Wed Suef and Wed Regh and other Berbers of the Sus as “of very dark complexion” in Guiseppi Sergi The Mediterranean Race: The Study of the origin of European peoples The Walter Scott Publishing Company
On the Libyo Berbers called - Gaetules or Jeddala
The Gaitules were the most populous of the Libyan tribes of Strabo’s time (1st century AD). Josephus claimed they were descended from Havilah or the Avalioi who he says children of Kush child of Ham.
1st -2nd century - Juvenal, the Roman writer in his Satire V. 53 referred to “a Gaetulian, as a black a Moor “so black you’d rather not see him at midnight”.. Found in Madan’s translation of Juvenal, vol. I by J. Vincent published at Oxford.
Among the Gaetules were a tribe Dari or Darae Gaetuli, there was also a stream called Daradae Ethiopus (DARAE were a Gaetulian tribe in the W. of Africa, on a mountain stream called Dara, on the S. steppes of M. Atlas, adjacent to the Pharusii. (Plin. V. 1: Oros. i. 2: Leo Afr. P. 602.)
The Draa (Arabic: ???) (also spelled Dra or Draâ, in older sources mostly Darha or Dara) is Morocco’s longest river (1100 km). “The inhabitants of the Draa are called Draawa (an exonym), the most famous Draawi undoubtedly being mawlay Mohammed ash-Sheikh. Outside of the Draa region this name is mostly used to refer to the dark skinned people of Draa which make up the largest portion of its inhabitants.” Retrieved May 13th 2008 from
http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Draa-river
Descriptions of the Masmuda, Sanhaja, Ketama, Zenata Berbers of coastal North Africa and the Upper Atlas
Most Arab-speaking historians beginning as far back as the 8th century when Wah ibn Munabihh a South Arabian and descendant of an Iranian mercenary claimed the Berbers belonged to black races of Ham. Several Muslim writers claimed the Berbers were the sons of Berr who were said to descend from Mazigh ibn (son of ) Canaan Ibn Ham Ibn Nuh (Noah). The tradition found cited in Nafousa: Berber Community in Western Libya, Omar Sahli citing Dabbuz. Retrieved on-line from http://www.tawalt.com/monthly/fessato_1.pdf , July. 12, 2008.
The Zenata are called a Canaanite race by other Muslim writers see ‘The Berbers” Geo. Babington Michell, Journal of the Royal African Society, Vol. 2, No. 6 (Jan., 1903), pp. 161-194. The traditions state that in fact Berbers were descendants of Amalekites (Amalek) from Canaan and Himyarite from Yemen both descendants of “Adites” that had invaded Egypt before 1200 B.C. and “advanced toward the Maghreb”.
The Berbers as represented by the Tuareg especially appear to have called themselves Mashek or Mazigh who are associated with bringing the camel into Africa. Mashek is still the name of a tribe of the Mahra of Oman and Hadramaut who also claim an origin in the Yemen.
( In early Arabian tradition the lowland of Canaan or the Kenaniyya tribe was in an area of the western region of Arabia north of Yemen and not farther to the north in modern Palestine or Israel. See the Bible Came from Arabia. Kamal Salibi )
11th century - “The Berber women are from the island of Barbara, which is between the west and the south. Their color is mostly black though some pale ones can be found among them. If you can find one whose mother is of Kutama, whose father is of Sanhaja, and whose origin is Masmuda, then you will find her naturally inclined to obedience and loyalty in all matters, active in service, suited both to motherhood and to pleasure, for they are the most solicitous in caring for their children. “ 11th century the Christian Iraqi physician Ibn Butlan quoted by historian Bernard Lewis.
11th century - Nasr i Khusrau, an Iranian ruler described the Masmuda soldiers of the Fatimid dynasty as “black Africans”. See Yaacov Lev, “Army, Regime and Society in Fatimid Egypt, 358-487/968-1094″, International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, 19.3 (1987) p. 342.
13th century – Primary Cronica General of Alphonso X of Spain describes the 300 Almoravid “Amazon” women whose leader is described as black and Moorish. They were “led by their leader Nugaymath al-Tarqiyya (the “star of the Tuareg archers” in Arabic) who led the Almoravid siege of Valencia”; cited in Nubian Queens in the Nile Valley by Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban, Ninth International Conference of Nubian Studies, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA. See also The Berbers in Arab Literature by H.T. Norris 1982.p. 20. Harvey , L.P. “Nugaymath Turquia, Primera Cronica General, Chapter 956” Journal of Semitic Studies 13, no. 2:232. Targiyyat or Targiya is a variant form or pronunciation in North Africa for the name Tuareg. 13th or 14th century Abu Shama, a Syrian, described the Masmuda Berbers as “blacks” in his, Kitab al-Ravdatayn. Found in Golden Age of the Moor, 1991 edition p. 57, edited by Dr. Ivan Van Sertima.
14th – The Almoravid or Al Murabitun dynasty coming from the Atlas was one of the last dynasties coming from Africa to rule in the Iberian peninsula. One of the 11th century rulers of Andalusia and North Africa was Yusuf Tachfin who had come from a long line of miltary rulers. According to “Roudh el-Kartas” (History of the Rulers of Morocco) by Abd Allah, and A.Beaumier’s French translation of the 14th century work, Yusuf was of “brown color”, of “middle height” with , “ thin, little beard, soft voice” and “woolly hair”. The Almoravid dynasty was supposedly composed mainly of Sanhaja clans of Massufa, Joddala (Gaetuli) and Lamtuna (or Auelimidden Tuareg)- the Auelamidden have since moved southward and live in Niger.
The Appearance of the Original Berbers According to European Perceptions
All the early major Berber tribes including the Masmuda, Sanhaja, Ketama Zenata and Nafusa are described as dark reddish brown like the “Indi’ or as “blacks” or Ethiopians in early documents. The notion of the early Berbers as being “whites” or Caucasoid is a new and racist one related to the concept of the African “Hamite”. Certainly the original Berber-speakers were never referred to as anything but “black” or something near it until the 12th century and were otherwise considered the color of Abyssinians and other so called “Indi”.
Even the Kabyles a notoriously fair-skinned “Berber” people of North Africa are up until the 19th century described as “brown” “apart from a few clans”. (See quotes below). The knowledge that Europeans were changing the complexion literally and figuratively of North Africa up until the 19th century has disappeared from modern European histories. Most know about the large part played by sub-saharan black slaves in the making of modern North Africa and Arabia while the white slave trade which was in fact dominant trade in North Africa until the fall of Constantinople (Istanbul in Turkey) in the 15th century had been largely ignored in historical writings of the 20th. Yet it was only a few centuries ago that Europeans visiting North Africa commenting on the fact that, “on almost every street of the cities of Barbary, Europeans could be seen harnessed to carts like draught horses or selling water from jars loaded on the backs of donkeys”.
1809 Commentary on those called “Moors” by an early 19th century observer: “They carry the Christian captives about the desert to the different markets to sell them for they soon discover that their habits of life render them unserviceable , or very inferior to the black slaves of Timbuktoo. “ from An Account of the Empire of Marocco, by J. G. Jackson published 1809 and 1814.
2003 - “From 1500 to 1650 when trans-Atlantic slaving was still in its infancy more Europeans were taken to Barbary than black African slaves to the Americas. See, Robert Davis Christian Slaves, Muslim Masters: White Slavery in the Mediterranean, the Barbary Coast, and Italy, 1500-1800, MacMillan Publishers, published 2003.
The impact of the white slave trade and its contribution to the modern biology and appearance of the modern North African stems from before the Arabian and Muslim waves into Africa. The Roman ruler Claudian spoke concerning Gildo, the “Moorish” ruler of Africa and treatment of Roman women from the Levant by this North African chief and his countrymen:
4th century - Claudian wrote, “ when tired of each noblest matron Gildo hands her over to the Moors. These Sidonian mothers, married in Carthage city must needs mate with barbarians. He thrusts upon me an Ethiopian as a son-in law, a Berber as a husband. The hideous hybrid affrights its cradle.” Claudian, by Claudius Claudianus, translation by Maurice Platnauer, Published by G.P. Putnam’s sons, 1922 p. 113. (Gildo was brother to other Berber chiefs Firmus and Maseczel. Gildo is related to Aguellid or Galdi which remains the modern Tuarek word for chief. Masek, Amazigh ot Imoshagh was the name for the ancient and modern Tuareg clans in general. The Mezikes tribes were called “Ethiopians” in a Roman text of the time. )
1stt c. A.D. - “Diodorus Siculus speaks in reference to the expedition of Agathocles a Sardinian general, of three Libyan tribes on the coast of Tunisia, the Micatani and Zufoni (see Zafan ),who were nomads and the Asfodelodi, who by the color of their skin resembled the Ethiopians” , p. 50 The Mediterranean Race Book XX, 38, 57 Guiseppe Sergi, 1901. The Micatani were also called Ukutameni and Khethim by Josephus. In later writings they are called Ketama Berbers. The name Maketa or Imakitan remains a name for the eastern branches of the Tuareg.
1st century A.D.– Marcus Valerian Martial was one of the earliest Europeans to use the phrase “woolly hair like a Moor” in one of his Satires, and the phrase was commonly used up until the Middle Ages. See Nature Knows No Color Line by J.A. Rogers, 1952. p. 50 The Muslim era didn’t begin until the birth of Muhammed, the Prophet, over four centuries after Martial. By the 7th century the word came to be used for Arabians who in the early era of Islam for the most part were also described as of near “black” complexion.
1st century Silius Italicus also describes the Moors with the term ‘Nigra’ meaning black. In the 3rd century Roman dramatist Platus or Plautus maintained the name Maure was a synonym for “Niger” which was a common term for the word black. 6th century Isidore Archbishop of Seville claimed the word Maure meant black according to Brunson and Runoko Rashidi in “The Moors in Antiquity” in Golden Age of the Moor, 1991.
6th A.D.- Corippus uses the phrase “facies nigroque colorus” meaning faces or appearance of black color to describe the North African Berbers. In his book Johannis, I/ 245.
6th A.D. - Procopius in his History of the Wars book IV contrasting the Germanic Vandals who had settled in North Africa with the Maures claimed the Vandals were not “black skinned like the Maurusioi” . The tribes he classified as Maurusioi are those now classified as ancient Berbers, the Numidians, Masaesyle, Gaitules, Massyles and Mezikes several other “Berber” tribes then settled between Tunisia and Morocco.
After the 8th century the term Moor came to be used for the many Arabian clans who had invaded the Mediterranean and Africa because of their complexions which were the same dark brown or near black to absolutely black color of the Berbers.
——————————————————————————————————–
1914 - Archeologists observance of the ancient North Africans portrayed in ancient Egyptian tomb paintings, “The brun Libyan type is the only one portrayed in the Old Empire, the xanthrochroids predominate in the New Empire representations.” P. 40 from The Eastern Libyan Oric Bates The intrusive xanthrochroids…do not appear before the XII dynasty… It safe to say that they were immigrants.” from The Eastern Libyans by Oric Bates Frank Cass publishers 1914. pp. 40 and 41. (These paintings of the ancient Libyans as a brown in color are in the works of Nina Davies.)
1939 - “The extreme long-heads, concentrated in the Hoggar and in parts of the Algerian plateau are the Tuareg and the purer families of ancestral nomadic Berbers, preserving the head form which they brought from East Africa, their Hamitic homeland.” Carleton Coon The Races of Europe, p. 257 1979 reprint.
Five major tribes of Berbers were spoken of by early Muslim writers including the Sanhaja, Masumuda Zenata, Ketama and Goddula which were categorized into dozens of others which in turn were divided into many more. Among them were the early Kabyles originally a group of Sanhaja Berbers. Most descriptions refer to the modern Kabyles as fair-skinned, but in the 19th century and early 20th, descriptions and in fact many photographs depict them as dark and near black. (Photos from the 19th century show both very dark-skinned and near white skinned Kabyle individuals from different villages in the region).
1890 - “The Kabyles or Kabaily of Algerian and Tunisian territories…besides tillage, work the mines contained in their mountains…They live in huts made of branches of trees and covered with clay which resemble the Magalia of the old Numidians…They are of middle stature, their complexion brown and sometimes nearly black.” Written in The Encyclopedia Britannica: Dictionary of Arts, Sciences and General Literature Henry G. Allen Company p. 261 Volume I 1890.
1834 The Scotsman Thomas Campbell says, “The Kabyles…dress like the Arabs and a part from a few tribes, are brown complexioned and black haired” p. 109 Barbary and Enlightenment: European Attitudes Toward the Maghreb in the 18th Century, Ann Thomson. Published 1987 by E. J. Bull
A description by Gillebert d’Hercourt in Etudes Anthropologiques sur Soixante-Seize indigenes de lAlgerie in 1865 said the Kabyle crania that were studied were generally dolichocephalic. In fact the physical anthropological studies done on ancient and modern North Africans show that early North Africans were dolichocephalic like the Tuareg and other dark-skinned berber tribes.
Not surprisingly most modern Berber-speakers who are fair skinned including modern Kabyles are predominantly mesocephalic (middle headed) or even brachycephalic. It is interesting that the dress of these modern Kabyle women resembles that modern women of the Balkans and that palm and blood group types are also like those of European Mediterranean Greeks. Many of these Kabyles also have a strong Turkish influence as judged from the recognizable Turkish Eurasian or even East Asian facial features. Obviously some groups other than a Berber one makes up the main genetic strain in many modern Kabyle-speakers. Culturally the modern fair-skinned Kabyles have been documented as among the most patrifocal people in North Africa whereas the ancient and modern Berbers like the Tuareg were notably matrilineal and matrifocal to the chagrin of early Muslim documenters who considered this among their ‘wicked” customs.
1901 - The Oases if Nafzawa and Wed Suef and Wed Regh and other Berbers of the Sus as “of very dark complexion” in Guiseppi Sergi The Mediterranean Race: The Study of the origin of European peoples The Walter Scott Publishing Company
On the Libyo Berbers called - Gaetules or Jeddala
The Gaitules were the most populous of the Libyan tribes of Strabo’s time (1st century AD). Josephus claimed they were descended from Havilah or the Avalioi who he says children of Kush child of Ham.
1st -2nd century - Juvenal, the Roman writer in his Satire V. 53 referred to “a Gaetulian, as a black a Moor “so black you’d rather not see him at midnight”.. Found in Madan’s translation of Juvenal, vol. I by J. Vincent published at Oxford.
Among the Gaetules were a tribe Dari or Darae Gaetuli, there was also a stream called Daradae Ethiopus (DARAE were a Gaetulian tribe in the W. of Africa, on a mountain stream called Dara, on the S. steppes of M. Atlas, adjacent to the Pharusii. (Plin. V. 1: Oros. i. 2: Leo Afr. P. 602.)
The Draa (Arabic: ???) (also spelled Dra or Draâ, in older sources mostly Darha or Dara) is Morocco’s longest river (1100 km). “The inhabitants of the Draa are called Draawa (an exonym), the most famous Draawi undoubtedly being mawlay Mohammed ash-Sheikh. Outside of the Draa region this name is mostly used to refer to the dark skinned people of Draa which make up the largest portion of its inhabitants.” Retrieved May 13th 2008 from
http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Draa-river
Descriptions of the Masmuda, Sanhaja, Ketama, Zenata Berbers of coastal North Africa and the Upper Atlas
Most Arab-speaking historians beginning as far back as the 8th century when Wah ibn Munabihh a South Arabian and descendant of an Iranian mercenary claimed the Berbers belonged to black races of Ham. Several Muslim writers claimed the Berbers were the sons of Berr who were said to descend from Mazigh ibn (son of ) Canaan Ibn Ham Ibn Nuh (Noah). The tradition found cited in Nafousa: Berber Community in Western Libya, Omar Sahli citing Dabbuz. Retrieved on-line from http://www.tawalt.com/monthly/fessato_1.pdf , July. 12, 2008.
The Zenata are called a Canaanite race by other Muslim writers see ‘The Berbers” Geo. Babington Michell, Journal of the Royal African Society, Vol. 2, No. 6 (Jan., 1903), pp. 161-194. The traditions state that in fact Berbers were descendants of Amalekites (Amalek) from Canaan and Himyarite from Yemen both descendants of “Adites” that had invaded Egypt before 1200 B.C. and “advanced toward the Maghreb”.
The Berbers as represented by the Tuareg especially appear to have called themselves Mashek or Mazigh who are associated with bringing the camel into Africa. Mashek is still the name of a tribe of the Mahra of Oman and Hadramaut who also claim an origin in the Yemen.
( In early Arabian tradition the lowland of Canaan or the Kenaniyya tribe was in an area of the western region of Arabia north of Yemen and not farther to the north in modern Palestine or Israel. See the Bible Came from Arabia. Kamal Salibi )
11th century - “The Berber women are from the island of Barbara, which is between the west and the south. Their color is mostly black though some pale ones can be found among them. If you can find one whose mother is of Kutama, whose father is of Sanhaja, and whose origin is Masmuda, then you will find her naturally inclined to obedience and loyalty in all matters, active in service, suited both to motherhood and to pleasure, for they are the most solicitous in caring for their children. “ 11th century the Christian Iraqi physician Ibn Butlan quoted by historian Bernard Lewis.
11th century - Nasr i Khusrau, an Iranian ruler described the Masmuda soldiers of the Fatimid dynasty as “black Africans”. See Yaacov Lev, “Army, Regime and Society in Fatimid Egypt, 358-487/968-1094″, International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, 19.3 (1987) p. 342.
13th century – Primary Cronica General of Alphonso X of Spain describes the 300 Almoravid “Amazon” women whose leader is described as black and Moorish. They were “led by their leader Nugaymath al-Tarqiyya (the “star of the Tuareg archers” in Arabic) who led the Almoravid siege of Valencia”; cited in Nubian Queens in the Nile Valley by Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban, Ninth International Conference of Nubian Studies, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA. See also The Berbers in Arab Literature by H.T. Norris 1982.p. 20. Harvey , L.P. “Nugaymath Turquia, Primera Cronica General, Chapter 956” Journal of Semitic Studies 13, no. 2:232. Targiyyat or Targiya is a variant form or pronunciation in North Africa for the name Tuareg. 13th or 14th century Abu Shama, a Syrian, described the Masmuda Berbers as “blacks” in his, Kitab al-Ravdatayn. Found in Golden Age of the Moor, 1991 edition p. 57, edited by Dr. Ivan Van Sertima.
14th – The Almoravid or Al Murabitun dynasty coming from the Atlas was one of the last dynasties coming from Africa to rule in the Iberian peninsula. One of the 11th century rulers of Andalusia and North Africa was Yusuf Tachfin who had come from a long line of miltary rulers. According to “Roudh el-Kartas” (History of the Rulers of Morocco) by Abd Allah, and A.Beaumier’s French translation of the 14th century work, Yusuf was of “brown color”, of “middle height” with , “ thin, little beard, soft voice” and “woolly hair”. The Almoravid dynasty was supposedly composed mainly of Sanhaja clans of Massufa, Joddala (Gaetuli) and Lamtuna (or Auelimidden Tuareg)- the Auelamidden have since moved southward and live in Niger.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Free Public Access To Law Libraries Of New York
State Law provides that each county have a court law library with access for the general public. The majority of these libraries have case law, statutes and secondary source materials with regard to New York State law. Several have additional information. Materials are provided in print as well as online formats.
Albany County
Frances Bergan Law Library
Albany County
Albany, NY 12207
(518) 285-6183
Allegany County
Allegany County Law Library
Allegany County Courthouse
Belmont, NY 14813
(716) 268-5813
Bronx County
Bronx Supreme Court Law Library
Room 817
851 Grand Concourse
Bronx, NY 10451
(718) 590-3678
Broome County
Binghamton Supreme Court Law
Library
Broome County Courthouse
92 Court Street Room 107
Binghamton, NY 13901
(607) 778-2119
Cattaraugus County
Cattaraugus County Law Library
Little Valley, NY 14755-1028
(716) 938-9111 Ext. 326
Cayuga County
New York State Supreme Court Law Library
Cayuga County Courthouse
152 Genesee Street
Auburn, NY 13021-3476
(315) 255-4310
Chautauqua County
Chautauqua County Law Library
Chautauqua County Courthouse
Mayville, NY 14757-0292
(716) 753-7111
Chemung County
Charles B. Swartwood Supreme Court Library
Hazlett Building
203-205 Lake Street
Elmira, NY 14901
(607) 737-2983
Chenango County
David L. Follett Supreme Court Library
5-9 West Main Street, 2nd Floor
Norwich, NY 13815
(607) 334-9463
Clinton County
Clinton County Supreme Court Law Library
72 Clinton Street
Plattsburgh, NY 12901
(518) 565-4808
Columbia County
Supreme Court Law Library
Courthouse
Hudson, NY 12534
(518) 828-3206
Cortland County
Louis H. Folmer Supreme Court Library
Cortland County Courthouse
Cortland, NY 13045
(607) 753-5011
Delaware County
Delaware County Courthouse
Delhi, NY 13753
(607) 746-3959
Dutchess County
Supreme Court Law Library
50 Market Street
Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
(845) 486-2215
Erie County
Supreme Court Library at Buffalo
Erie County Hall
77 West Eagle Street
Buffalo, NY 14202-3991
(716) 845-9400
Essex County
Essex County Court Law Library
Essex County Courthouse
Court Street
Elizabethtown, NY 12932
(518) 873-3377
Franklin County
Franklin County Court Law Library
Franklin County Courthouse
63 West Main Street
Malone, NY 12953
(518) 481-1732
Fulton County
Fulton County Court Law Library
Fulton County Office Building
Johnstown, NY 12095
(518) 762-0685
Genesee County
Genesee County Law Library
Genesee County Court Facility
1 West Main Street
Batavia, NY 14021
(585) 344-2550 ext 2224
Greene County
Emory A. Chase Memorial Library
320 Main Street
Greene County Courthouse
Catskill, NY 12414
(518) 943-3130
Hamilton County
Hamilton County Court Law Library
Hamilton County Courthouse
Route 8
Lake Pleasant, NY 12108
(518) 648-5411
Herkimer County
Herkimer County Law Library
Herkimer County Courthouse
320 North Main Street
Herkimer, NY 13350
(315) 867-1172
Jefferson County
Supreme Court Law Library
195 Arsenal Street
Watertown, NY 13601
(315) 785-3064
Kings County Supreme Court
Kings County Supreme Court Law Library
3rd Floor
360 Adams Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201
(347) 296-1144
Lewis County
Lewis County Law Library
Courthouse
Lowville, NY 13367-1396
(315) 376-5381
Livingston County
Wadsworth Public Library
24 Center Street
Geneseo, NY 14454
(585) 243-0440
www.wadsworth.pls-net.org
Madison County
Oneida Public Library
220 Broad Street
Oneida, NY 13421
(315) 363-3050
Monroe County
Seventh Judicial District Law Library
525 Hall of Justice
99 Exchange Blvd.
Rochester, NY 14614
(585) 428-1854
Montgomery County
Montgomery County Court Law Library
Montgomery County Courthouse
Broadway, PO Box 1500
Fonda, NY 12068-1500
Nassau County
Supreme Court Law Library
100 Supreme Court Drive
Mineola, NY 11501
(516) 571-3883
New York County
NY County Courts Public Access Law Library
80 Centre Street
Room 468
New York, NY 10013
(646) 386-3715
Niagara County
Supreme Court Library
Niagara County Courthouse
175 Hawley Street
Lockport, NY 14090
(716) 439-7145
Oneida County
Oneida County Supreme Court Law Library
235 Elizabeth Street
Utica, NY 13501
(315) 798-5703
Onondaga County
Supreme Court Law Library
Onondaga County Courthouse
Syracuse, NY 13202
(315) 671-1150
Ontario County
Finger Lakes Community College Library
4355 Lakeshore Drive
Canandaigua, NY 14424
(585) 394-3500, Ext. 7432
http://library.flcc.edu
Orange County
Supreme Court Law Library
Orange County Government Center
255-275 Main Street
Goshen, NY 10924
(845) 291-3138
Orleans County
Orleans County Law Library
Orleans County Court
County Building
Albion, NY 14411
(716) 589-4457
Oswego County
Supreme Court Law Library
Oswego County Courthouse
Oswego, NY 13126
(315) 349-3297
Otsego County
Joseph P. Molinari Supreme Court
Law Library
Otsego County Courthouse
197 Main Street
Cooperstown, NY 13326
(607) 547-5425
Putnam County
20 County Center
Carmel, NY 10512
(845) 208-7804
Queens County
Queens Supreme Court Law Library
Queens County General Courthouse
88-11 Sutphin Blvd.
Jamaica, NY 11435
(718) 298-1206
Rensselaer County
Supreme Court Library
Courthouse
Second Street Annex
Troy, NY 12180
(518) 285-6183
Richmond County
Supreme Court Building
18 Richmond Terrace
Staten Island, NY
(718) 390-5291
Rockland County
Rockland County Courthouse,
1 South Main Street, Suite 235,
New City, NY 10956
(845) 638-5396
St. Lawrence County
St. Lawrence County Supreme Court Library
St. Lawrence County Courthouse
48 Court Street
Canton, NY 13617-1194
(315) 379-2279
Saratoga County
Saratoga Supreme Court Law Library
City Hall, 3rd Floor
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
(518) 584-4862
Schenectady County
Joseph F. Egan Memorial Library
Schenectady County Supreme Court Library
612 State Street
Schenectady, NY 12305-2114
(518) 285-8518
Schuyler County
Watkins Glen Public Library
610 South Decatur Street
Watkins Glen, NY 14891
(607) 535-2346
Schoharie County
F. Walter Bliss Memorial Library
The Court House
Schoharie, NY 12157-0447
(518) 295-7900
Seneca County
Seneca Falls Library
47 Cayuga Street
Seneca Falls, NY 13148
(315) 568-8265
www.senecafallslibrary.org
Steuben County
Steuben County Supreme Court Library
3 East Pulteney Square
Bath, NY 14810-1557
(607) 664-2099
Suffolk County
Suffolk County Supreme Court
Law Library
Cohalan Court Complex
400 Carleton Avenue
Central Islip, NY 11702
(631) 853-7530
Supreme Court Law Library
Criminal Courts Building
220 Center Street
Riverhead, NY 11901-3312
(631) 852-2419
Sullivan County
Hamilton O'Dell Library
New York State Supreme Court Library
Sullivan County Courthouse
Monticello, NY 12701
(845) 794-1547
Tioga County
Waverly Free Public Library
18 East Street
Waverly, NY 14892
(607)565-9341
Tompkins County
Ernest Warren Supreme Court Library
Tompkins County Courthouse
320 North Tioga Street
Ithaca, NY 14850
(607) 272-0045
Ulster County
New York State Supreme Court Library
285 Wall Street
Kingston, NY 12401
(845) 340-3053
Warren County
Warren County Supreme Court Library
Warren County Municipal Center
Lake George, NY 12845
(518) 761-6442
Washington County
Washington County Law Library
Washington County Courthouse
383 Broadway
Fort Edward, NY 12828
(518) 746-2521
Wayne County
Lyons Public Library
122 Broad Street
Lyons, NY 14489
(315) 946-9262
www.lyonslibraryblogspot.com
Westchester County
Supreme Court Law Library
Westchester County
111 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Blvd 9th Floor
White Plains, NY 10601
(914) 824-5660
Wyoming County
Wyoming County Law Library
Wyoming County Courthouse
143 North Main Street
Warsaw, NY 14569-1199
(585) 786-3148
Yates County
Penn Yan Public Library
214 Main Street
Penn Yan, NY 14527
(315) 536-6114
www.pypl.org
Albany County
Frances Bergan Law Library
Albany County
Albany, NY 12207
(518) 285-6183
Allegany County
Allegany County Law Library
Allegany County Courthouse
Belmont, NY 14813
(716) 268-5813
Bronx County
Bronx Supreme Court Law Library
Room 817
851 Grand Concourse
Bronx, NY 10451
(718) 590-3678
Broome County
Binghamton Supreme Court Law
Library
Broome County Courthouse
92 Court Street Room 107
Binghamton, NY 13901
(607) 778-2119
Cattaraugus County
Cattaraugus County Law Library
Little Valley, NY 14755-1028
(716) 938-9111 Ext. 326
Cayuga County
New York State Supreme Court Law Library
Cayuga County Courthouse
152 Genesee Street
Auburn, NY 13021-3476
(315) 255-4310
Chautauqua County
Chautauqua County Law Library
Chautauqua County Courthouse
Mayville, NY 14757-0292
(716) 753-7111
Chemung County
Charles B. Swartwood Supreme Court Library
Hazlett Building
203-205 Lake Street
Elmira, NY 14901
(607) 737-2983
Chenango County
David L. Follett Supreme Court Library
5-9 West Main Street, 2nd Floor
Norwich, NY 13815
(607) 334-9463
Clinton County
Clinton County Supreme Court Law Library
72 Clinton Street
Plattsburgh, NY 12901
(518) 565-4808
Columbia County
Supreme Court Law Library
Courthouse
Hudson, NY 12534
(518) 828-3206
Cortland County
Louis H. Folmer Supreme Court Library
Cortland County Courthouse
Cortland, NY 13045
(607) 753-5011
Delaware County
Delaware County Courthouse
Delhi, NY 13753
(607) 746-3959
Dutchess County
Supreme Court Law Library
50 Market Street
Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
(845) 486-2215
Erie County
Supreme Court Library at Buffalo
Erie County Hall
77 West Eagle Street
Buffalo, NY 14202-3991
(716) 845-9400
Essex County
Essex County Court Law Library
Essex County Courthouse
Court Street
Elizabethtown, NY 12932
(518) 873-3377
Franklin County
Franklin County Court Law Library
Franklin County Courthouse
63 West Main Street
Malone, NY 12953
(518) 481-1732
Fulton County
Fulton County Court Law Library
Fulton County Office Building
Johnstown, NY 12095
(518) 762-0685
Genesee County
Genesee County Law Library
Genesee County Court Facility
1 West Main Street
Batavia, NY 14021
(585) 344-2550 ext 2224
Greene County
Emory A. Chase Memorial Library
320 Main Street
Greene County Courthouse
Catskill, NY 12414
(518) 943-3130
Hamilton County
Hamilton County Court Law Library
Hamilton County Courthouse
Route 8
Lake Pleasant, NY 12108
(518) 648-5411
Herkimer County
Herkimer County Law Library
Herkimer County Courthouse
320 North Main Street
Herkimer, NY 13350
(315) 867-1172
Jefferson County
Supreme Court Law Library
195 Arsenal Street
Watertown, NY 13601
(315) 785-3064
Kings County Supreme Court
Kings County Supreme Court Law Library
3rd Floor
360 Adams Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201
(347) 296-1144
Lewis County
Lewis County Law Library
Courthouse
Lowville, NY 13367-1396
(315) 376-5381
Livingston County
Wadsworth Public Library
24 Center Street
Geneseo, NY 14454
(585) 243-0440
www.wadsworth.pls-net.org
Madison County
Oneida Public Library
220 Broad Street
Oneida, NY 13421
(315) 363-3050
Monroe County
Seventh Judicial District Law Library
525 Hall of Justice
99 Exchange Blvd.
Rochester, NY 14614
(585) 428-1854
Montgomery County
Montgomery County Court Law Library
Montgomery County Courthouse
Broadway, PO Box 1500
Fonda, NY 12068-1500
Nassau County
Supreme Court Law Library
100 Supreme Court Drive
Mineola, NY 11501
(516) 571-3883
New York County
NY County Courts Public Access Law Library
80 Centre Street
Room 468
New York, NY 10013
(646) 386-3715
Niagara County
Supreme Court Library
Niagara County Courthouse
175 Hawley Street
Lockport, NY 14090
(716) 439-7145
Oneida County
Oneida County Supreme Court Law Library
235 Elizabeth Street
Utica, NY 13501
(315) 798-5703
Onondaga County
Supreme Court Law Library
Onondaga County Courthouse
Syracuse, NY 13202
(315) 671-1150
Ontario County
Finger Lakes Community College Library
4355 Lakeshore Drive
Canandaigua, NY 14424
(585) 394-3500, Ext. 7432
http://library.flcc.edu
Orange County
Supreme Court Law Library
Orange County Government Center
255-275 Main Street
Goshen, NY 10924
(845) 291-3138
Orleans County
Orleans County Law Library
Orleans County Court
County Building
Albion, NY 14411
(716) 589-4457
Oswego County
Supreme Court Law Library
Oswego County Courthouse
Oswego, NY 13126
(315) 349-3297
Otsego County
Joseph P. Molinari Supreme Court
Law Library
Otsego County Courthouse
197 Main Street
Cooperstown, NY 13326
(607) 547-5425
Putnam County
20 County Center
Carmel, NY 10512
(845) 208-7804
Queens County
Queens Supreme Court Law Library
Queens County General Courthouse
88-11 Sutphin Blvd.
Jamaica, NY 11435
(718) 298-1206
Rensselaer County
Supreme Court Library
Courthouse
Second Street Annex
Troy, NY 12180
(518) 285-6183
Richmond County
Supreme Court Building
18 Richmond Terrace
Staten Island, NY
(718) 390-5291
Rockland County
Rockland County Courthouse,
1 South Main Street, Suite 235,
New City, NY 10956
(845) 638-5396
St. Lawrence County
St. Lawrence County Supreme Court Library
St. Lawrence County Courthouse
48 Court Street
Canton, NY 13617-1194
(315) 379-2279
Saratoga County
Saratoga Supreme Court Law Library
City Hall, 3rd Floor
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
(518) 584-4862
Schenectady County
Joseph F. Egan Memorial Library
Schenectady County Supreme Court Library
612 State Street
Schenectady, NY 12305-2114
(518) 285-8518
Schuyler County
Watkins Glen Public Library
610 South Decatur Street
Watkins Glen, NY 14891
(607) 535-2346
Schoharie County
F. Walter Bliss Memorial Library
The Court House
Schoharie, NY 12157-0447
(518) 295-7900
Seneca County
Seneca Falls Library
47 Cayuga Street
Seneca Falls, NY 13148
(315) 568-8265
www.senecafallslibrary.org
Steuben County
Steuben County Supreme Court Library
3 East Pulteney Square
Bath, NY 14810-1557
(607) 664-2099
Suffolk County
Suffolk County Supreme Court
Law Library
Cohalan Court Complex
400 Carleton Avenue
Central Islip, NY 11702
(631) 853-7530
Supreme Court Law Library
Criminal Courts Building
220 Center Street
Riverhead, NY 11901-3312
(631) 852-2419
Sullivan County
Hamilton O'Dell Library
New York State Supreme Court Library
Sullivan County Courthouse
Monticello, NY 12701
(845) 794-1547
Tioga County
Waverly Free Public Library
18 East Street
Waverly, NY 14892
(607)565-9341
Tompkins County
Ernest Warren Supreme Court Library
Tompkins County Courthouse
320 North Tioga Street
Ithaca, NY 14850
(607) 272-0045
Ulster County
New York State Supreme Court Library
285 Wall Street
Kingston, NY 12401
(845) 340-3053
Warren County
Warren County Supreme Court Library
Warren County Municipal Center
Lake George, NY 12845
(518) 761-6442
Washington County
Washington County Law Library
Washington County Courthouse
383 Broadway
Fort Edward, NY 12828
(518) 746-2521
Wayne County
Lyons Public Library
122 Broad Street
Lyons, NY 14489
(315) 946-9262
www.lyonslibraryblogspot.com
Westchester County
Supreme Court Law Library
Westchester County
111 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Blvd 9th Floor
White Plains, NY 10601
(914) 824-5660
Wyoming County
Wyoming County Law Library
Wyoming County Courthouse
143 North Main Street
Warsaw, NY 14569-1199
(585) 786-3148
Yates County
Penn Yan Public Library
214 Main Street
Penn Yan, NY 14527
(315) 536-6114
www.pypl.org
Friday, April 24, 2009
Equality In Costa Rica - Epsy Campbell Barr
Epsy Campbell Barr is a Costa Rican politician and economist. One of the founders of the Partido Accion Ciudadana (Party Of Citizen Action), she has announced her intention of becoming the next candidate of her party, for the Costa Rica national elections in 2010. One of the Founders of the Partido Accion Ciudadana, she has announced her intention of becoming the next candidate of her party, for the Costa Rica national elections in 2010.
She is named after her grandmother (her father's mother), who migrated from Jamaica to the Costa Rican Caribbean coast with her husband. She is named after her grandmother (her father's mother), who migrated from Jamaica to the Costa Rican Caribbean coast with her husband.
Epsy Campbell Barr was born in San Jose (in the Maternidad Carit) in 1963, whilst her parents Shirley Barr Aird and Luis Campbell Patterson were living in San Francisco de Dos Ríos. She is the fourth child of a family of five daughters and two sons. (Sisters: Doris, Narda, Shirley and Sasha, and brothers: Luis y Gustavo.) She married at a young age and became mother when she was just starting her University studies. (Daughters: Narda, 20 and Tanisha, 24)
Epsy Campbell began her university studies at the University of Costa Rica and later moves to the Regional Headquarters of Limon Province where she studied and worked simultaneously. She lived in the Caribbean for ten years, then returned to San Jose where she graduated as an economist at the Latin University of Costa Rica in 1998. She has a M.A. in development Cooperation, Foundation for Cultural and Social Sciences of Spain in 2008.
She has written books and articles on topics such as democracy, inclusion, political and economic participation of woman, people of African descent, sexism and racism among others. She is an expert on issues on social development, equality, political participation of woman of African descent.
Her official page (In Spanish): Epsy Campbell Website
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Hugo Chavez gives President Barack Obama a book
Source: Daily News
Hugo Chavez once famously dumped on President Obama's predecessor as "the devil," but Saturday, the Venezuelan strongman came bearing gifts for the new guy in the White House.
Chavez presented Obama with a copy of a book called "The Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent" as the two presidents made the rounds of the annual Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago.
The book is a famed Uruguayan journalist's treatise on foreign exploitation of the region.
Chavez said he signed it, "For Obama, with warm regards."
"It's an extraordinary book that helped me understand Latin America when I was young, our history, our reality," said Chavez, who apparently gave Obama a copy of the book in Spanish - a language he doesn't speak.
It wasn't clear whether Obama would delve into the tome soon, if at all.
"I thought it was one of Chavez's books. I was going to give him one of mine," Obama said.
U.S.-Venezuelan relations have been strained in recent times and hit an all-time low when Chavez famously compared George W. Bush to Satan in a speech at the United Nations. He recently called Obama a "poor ignoramus."
While Obama has clearly been chummier with Chavez, economic adviser Larry Summers cautioned reporters against making too much of these early overtures.
"Relationships depend on more than smiles and handshakes," Summers said.
Personalities aside, Obama made his way through the summit arguing for better relations with nations to the south, while at the same time urging those governments not to overblame the U.S. for their problems.
"I have a lot to learn and I very much look forward to listening and figuring out how we can work together more effectively," Obama said.
The President also got an earful about one nation that wasn't even present at the summit: Cuba, which was barred because of its undemocratic system of government.
During a morning meeting with a dozen South American leaders, Obama fielded repeated urgings to lift the U.S. ban on trade with the Communist-run island nation.
Obama has already lifted restrictions on Americans' ability to visit relatives in Cuba and send them money, and has said he is hoping for the Cuban government to ease repressive laws.
* To see more information on the book click on the picture below:
Hugo Chavez once famously dumped on President Obama's predecessor as "the devil," but Saturday, the Venezuelan strongman came bearing gifts for the new guy in the White House.
Chavez presented Obama with a copy of a book called "The Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent" as the two presidents made the rounds of the annual Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago.
The book is a famed Uruguayan journalist's treatise on foreign exploitation of the region.
Chavez said he signed it, "For Obama, with warm regards."
"It's an extraordinary book that helped me understand Latin America when I was young, our history, our reality," said Chavez, who apparently gave Obama a copy of the book in Spanish - a language he doesn't speak.
It wasn't clear whether Obama would delve into the tome soon, if at all.
"I thought it was one of Chavez's books. I was going to give him one of mine," Obama said.
U.S.-Venezuelan relations have been strained in recent times and hit an all-time low when Chavez famously compared George W. Bush to Satan in a speech at the United Nations. He recently called Obama a "poor ignoramus."
While Obama has clearly been chummier with Chavez, economic adviser Larry Summers cautioned reporters against making too much of these early overtures.
"Relationships depend on more than smiles and handshakes," Summers said.
Personalities aside, Obama made his way through the summit arguing for better relations with nations to the south, while at the same time urging those governments not to overblame the U.S. for their problems.
"I have a lot to learn and I very much look forward to listening and figuring out how we can work together more effectively," Obama said.
The President also got an earful about one nation that wasn't even present at the summit: Cuba, which was barred because of its undemocratic system of government.
During a morning meeting with a dozen South American leaders, Obama fielded repeated urgings to lift the U.S. ban on trade with the Communist-run island nation.
Obama has already lifted restrictions on Americans' ability to visit relatives in Cuba and send them money, and has said he is hoping for the Cuban government to ease repressive laws.
* To see more information on the book click on the picture below:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
