President Barack Obama gave a historic speech on the African American experience and Trayvon Martin. It was a great speech by him. It was the most pro-African American speech that he has ever given in his administration. He should be respected on the commentary that he has gotten correct on his speech. He drew parallels between Trayvon Martin and his life, which is accurate. He was right to say that if he had a son, it would have been Trayvon. In his recent speech, he is accurate to say that he could have been Trayvon 35 years ago. I am a black man and I could tell you stories about my family facing discrimination and one member of my family facing racial profiling by the police. These stories are very common in the African American community. Racists downplay these stories as a means to cause lies and dissension in America. The reality is that racism is a serious problem in America. Poverty and corporate corruption are still serious issues in the world not only in America. So, we if want solutions, then we have to be honest and be compassionate toward the sufferings of African Americans. He is the first African American President. He wanted Americans to learn the stories from a diverse amount of Americans. So, we know the enemy. We know that we have to end the Stand Your Ground, laws end the War on Drugs, and to use policies to end the discriminatory policies against Black and Brown citizens of America (which is a travesty). He or the President should be commended for outlining the oppressive system that still plagues America. This doesn't mean that the administration should have a pass on other issues (like on foreign policy, civil liberties, neoliberalism, which I disagree strongly with the administration on) or that the administration is perfect. It does mean that we should continue to fight against racial oppression and a form of injustice inflicting the human race in general. Still, the legal system does not treat all human beings equally under the law. We have the stats to prove it. The reactionaries have no basis in criticizing Obama's speech since they offer no real solutions, except scapegoating the black community for problems in America (or they believe in the myth that the free market or privatization can solve all issues in the world). Obama is right to say that self-defense must never be used to downplay racial injustice. We need social development and real institutions to address these issues. There should be action by individuals, local, state, and federal governments as a means to have justice a reality. We should give real opportunities to human beings, so they can achieve their goals and potentials. Also, black human beings have the right to advance their interests publicly and have their own infrastructure (including independence, which deals with self sufficiency. I hate cartel-capitalism obviously, but self sufficiency among the black community is not a sin). President Barack Obama said a beautiful tribute to Trayvon Martin and his family. I wish Trayvon Martin was alive. It is a shame that I am older than Trayvon and I get to see a longer life than him. So, we should continue in fighting against evils. The struggle continues.
If we want to be free, we have to realize that the criminal justice system is corrupt and blatantly racist. We have to realize that racial profiling of human beings is evil and unwarranted. Racial profiling is against human rights and it is against the constitutional right of banning unreasonable search and seizures. Case closed. Stop and frisk effects mostly innocent human beings in NYC in the realm of almost 90%. You should be judged on the content of your character not on the color of your skin. No, I will never let pundits make me feel ashamed of being black. I will never be made a scapegoat for the great crimes of Western society. Most of us are not criminals. We are humans. We should be treated just the same. If these journalists think like this, then imagine what they think in private. Injustice should be opposed and justice ought to reign in the world. Even President Barack Obama was accurate to mention the following: “The African-American community is also knowledgeable that there is a history of racial disparities in the application of our criminal laws,” Obama said, “everything from the death penalty to enforcement of our drug laws. And that ends up having an impact in terms of how people interpret the case." There is a huge racial disparity in Stand your Ground laws. When it deals with on white on black incidents, then the jury will find them much more justifiable than black on black including black on white. The stop and frisk actions of young black men is evil. In May of 2013, the Public Advocate for New York put out a report detailing the way that the city’s controversial ‘Stop-and-Frisk policy is unevenly applied. Not only did it find that Blacks and Latinos make up, on average, 85 percent of stops under the program, but it also conveyed exactly how skewed those numbers are compared to the city’s demographics. They found that the city is only 25 percent black and 29 percent Hispanic (including 33 percent white and 13 percent other). The number of White drug users is about the same as the number of Black users — but you wouldn’t know it from the arrest statistics. In recent history, Black people have been four times as likely to be arrested on marijuana charges. In Texas, about 40 percent of death row inmates are Black. Texas accounts for the most executions in the nation. Similar statistics are nationwide where black inmates make up a huge, disproportionate number of those sentenced to death despite the black population having a small population in the States. So, this disparity is astounding and disturbing. A lot of folks across backgrounds want justice for Trayvon Martin and an end to the evil criminal justice system that is blatantly racist. Many House Republicans have done extreme by dumping the food stamp program on many levels, loving the assaults on voting rights, and celebrating the tragic Trayvon Martin murder verdict. This proves that bigotry is still here. Many of these small government conservatives and libertarians want to cuts food stamps as a means to benefit agribusiness. So, the GOP shows government favoritism for the wealthy and cruelty toward the poor. In real life, I saw a nice couple in a grocery store just using food stamps to pay food for their family. This stuff makes me angry since they or some members of the GOP could give a single concern about the poor and those suffering in the economy. This piece of work Rep. Stephen Fincher tries to justify the poor to starve when Jesus Christ explicitly said that it is morally right to feed the poor and care for the needy. Ironically, Fincher was a recipient of several million dollars in farm subsidies. He had including $70,000 in direct payments in 2012 alone for doing nothing. As New York Times columnist Paul Krugman wrote on Monday, “I don’t think the word ‘hypocrisy’ does it justice.” The euphemism of free market, libertarian, contract rights, and small government have used by reactionary as a means to advance the lie of white supremacy. I am keeping it real here. States’ rights are never superior to human rights.
Detroit filing for bankruptcy makes the city the largest city in the United States that has filed for bankruptcy. The emergency manager overseeing the financial restricting of Detroit has filed a petition in federal court Thursday afternoon to have Chapter 9 bankruptcy. Michigan has their democratic rights violated with emergency managers handling affairs. The city of about 700,000 residents is having massive economic issues. The filing has been approved by Republican Governor Rick Snyder (he appointed the Wall Street bankruptcy attorney Kevyn Orr as the city's emergency manger last March). The bad news is that this action can make Detroit suffer an unprecedented attack on pensions and health care benefits of city workers. There has been a further slashing of essential services. There can be a selloff of public assets to pay the banks and bondholders who hold the city's debt. Emergency Manger Kevyn Orr stood side by side the city's Democratic mayor David Bing when the announcement came. David Bing slashed the city workforce by 20 percent since taking office in 2009. Both cynically claimed that bankruptcy would have little effect on daily life and would lead to improved services for city residents. This action did not work. The Obama administration signaled its support for the bankruptcy filing, issuing a statement Thursday declaring: “While leaders on the ground in Michigan and the city’s creditors understand that they must find a solution to Detroit’s serious financial challenge, we remain committed to continuing our strong partnership with Detroit as it works to recover and revitalize and maintain its status as one of America’s great cities." Also, Orr has agreed with a corporate back plan. This plan is about shutting off services to neighborhoods deemed too poor or under populated for profitable private investment. Kevyn Orr is not perfect, but the enemy will use him as scapegoats for the decades’ long problems in Detroit. Now, Orr has handled over public lighting, transportation, garbage collection, and other services to for profit companies, which is troubling to say the least. His team has appraised everything from the city's water treatment plant and masterpieces at the Detroit Institute of Arts to Belle Isle Park and the animals at the Detroit Zoo for possible sale to private investors. The bankruptcy filing can cause some to gut pensions and health care benefits of the city's 31,000 current and retired employees. This bankruptcy action circumvents Michigan's constitution that declares that public pensions are to be a contractual obligation that shall not be diminished or impaired. Many pension trustees and public sector unions sought to file lawsuits, because such a bankruptcy filing will lead into unconstitutional pension cuts. Synder's attorneys asked the lawyers reportedly representing the pension funds for a five minute delay (before they sought a temporary restraining order to block the bankruptcy filing). During those five minutes, Orr's attorneys filed the bankruptcy petition in Detroit. Orr wanted a stay on all litigations. Orr has a plan for pension trust funds to receive as little as 10 cents for every dollar owed to 21,000 retirees for a lifetime of labor. Orr wants to eliminate cost-of-living adjustments for retirees who receive as little as $500 to $1,000 a month, with no additional Social Security payments. He also intends to impose an immediate freeze on future pension payments and shift retirees to Medicare or privately controlled health care exchanges set to begin next year under the Obama administration’s Affordable Care Act. The city’s current 9,700 workers will also see a huge reduction in health benefits and the loss of employer-paid pensions. The Metro Detroit and Michigan AFL-CIO union federations and individual unions said that Orr is wrong to file for bankruptcy without more extensive meetings. Carl Anderson or president of Local 488 of the Utility Workers Union of America echoed those same sentiments. Orr has fulfilled the contractual obligations of billions of dollars in principal and interest demanded by the major Wall Street banks and bondholders. Orr has already made a settlement with UBS, Bank of America and Merrill Lynch Capital Services on $340 million in credit default swaps, giving them 75 cents on the dollar. This bankruptcy situation in Detroit is being used by the establishment as a means to test case a situation where there are cuts to the benefits of teachers public hospital workers, municipal employees, etc. nationwide. Some cities may follow Detroit's path. The reactionaries always lame pension obligations for the city's problems. The truth is obvious. The truth is that the bankruptcy of Detroit (or the former center of global auto production) was caused by the crisis and decay of American capitalism. There has been decades’ long deindustrialization harming the cities of Chicago, Pittsburgh, etc. We have the dismantling of U.S. industry along with tax cuts for big business (and the rich increasing their parasitic, extreme forms of financial speculation). The financial aristocracy acuminated wealth while they prevent independent wealth creation among the people. The 2008 financial crash caused foreclosures, mass unemployment, and a decline in tax revenues and state including federal aid. Wall Street banks received bailouts and benefited from the indebtedness of the city. We see trillions of dollars sent to Wall Street bank increasing the stock market and the White House rejecting any measures to bail out Detroit or other threatened state and municipal governments. Billions of dollars alone to bailout out Detroit can cause great solutions in that city. So, we see the attacks on wages, pensions, and even health benefits by the elite when they created the economic crisis in the first place. There has been millions in public dollars to subsidize the growth of upscale housing, a new sport arena, and other things when Orr insists that there is no money for pensions or other essential services. This includes $286 million in public funds for a new sport arena for the owner of Little Caesar’s Pizza and the Detroit Red Wings hockey franchise, Mike Ilitch, whose net worth is estimated at $2.7 billion. To make room for the arena, hundreds of low-income workers and seniors are being evicted from their downtown apartments. So, the elite want to push out you know who out of the city to make privatized infrastructure in the city of Detroit. This bankruptcy will harm the working class. Now, we see bankruptcy lawyers, hedge fund operators, and private speculators coming to Detroit to cash in. It is a shame.
South Africa has a long history. Its history begins with black human beings as the first human beings on Earth are black. It is found in the southern tip of Africa. It has been in the international news a lot lately. Many viewers here are from South Africa, so I decided to write about South Africa. It has over 51 million human beings living there. Its population is mostly black African in about 80% of its population, but it is still highly multiethnic. Eleven languages are recognized in the South African constitution. All ethnic and language groups have political representation in the country's constitutional democracy. It is made up of a parliamentary republic. Unlike most Parliamentary Republic, the positions of head of State and head of government are merged in a parliament-dependent President. South Africa has the largest communities of European, Asian, and racially mixed ancestry in Africa. The World Bank calls South Africa as an upper middle income economy. It has the largest economy in Africa. South Africa has been through a lot of issues in the world. Also, South Africa can make a much better future. Apartheid is gone, which is a good thing. It is good to not see reactionary mobs and the police to not massively kill university students in Soweto. It is good to not allow certain papers dictate your total travels. It is a good thing to not allow innocent activists to be jailed or face house arrest based on their opposition to South African apartheid. That is a good thing indeed. Now, it is important for us to understand real issues in the world. We should go out and learn about the rich cultures of the world. Africa has a special place in my heart like always since it the origin of human life. It has great value and beautiful fauna including flora. Its people are very strong, intelligent, insightful, and one of the strongest members of the human liberation movement in the world. I am a black American, so Africa is in my mind, body, soul, and spirit forever. More than 170,000 years ago, modern human inhabited Southern Africa. There was a huge Bantu speaking human migrations into South Africa. Many of them use iron, some were agriculturists including herdsmen. They can be found thousands of years ago in south of the Limpopo River. Some of them displaced, conquered, and absorbed the original Khoisan speakers (or the Khokhoi and San peoples). The Bantus worked in ironic work. The Xhosa is famous ethnic group in South Africa. The Xhosa and Zulu people are important in South African history as well.
We know that Fannie Lou Hamer opposed the Vietnam War. Many African Americans opposed the war and some were active participants in it. Some African Americans in the warfront later opposed it. So, the Vietnam War history can be complex at times. "Bloods: An Oral History of the Vietnam War by Black Veterans" by Wallace Terry is an excellent book that describes the words of African American military veterans. Many of the veterans even today suffer through a lot. Regardless of how we feel about the war, we should assist our neighbor and give legitimate aid to those that need it, regardless if they are a veteran or not. The more moderate and conservative faction of the civil rights movement heavily did not want massive opposition to the Vietnam War (back in the 1960's). They refused to allow the civil rights movement to merge with the anti-war movement, but peace and human rights are linked. The reason is that we must have peace in order for true human rights to flourish in the globe. The more progressive faction of the civil rights movement wanted a full on opposition to the Vietnam War. Malcolm X, Dr. King, Muhammad Ali, Angela Davis, Kwame Ture, many members of SNCC, the Black Panthers, and others disagreed with the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War was a civil war among many factions that wanted independence. There were many attempts for a peaceful settlement, but the reactionaries from the West prevented such an agreement to occur. SNCC on January 6, 1966 issued a statement that compared the deaths of civil rights workers in the U.S. to the killing in Vietnam. SNCC wanted African Americans to fight racial injustices at home instead of embracing the draft. The draft is immoral since it forces human beings to be in military against their will most of the time. Julian Bond endorsed the statement and he was temporarily barred from his sea. Bond finally got his seat back in January 9, 1967. The Vietnam War is an immoral war, because Western imperialists have tried to conquer Vietnam after the Japanese were defeated at the conclusion of WWII. The situation is a struggle for independence and a negotiated settlement can be one out of legitimate ways for the civil war in Vietnam to be resolved. The Vietnam War was an unjust war that used resources for militarism instead of building up the domestic services of America. This doesn't mean that we should be isolationists. We should be international activists of peace and justice in the globe.
By Timothy
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