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There is even some Hollywood propaganda with the movie called, "Captain Philips." The movie obscures the U.S. crimes in Somalia. It portrays the heroes vs. savages archetype that is common among Western supremacist thinking. The movie is about the 2009 hijacking of the Maersk Alabama commercial container ship by Somalia pirates. Pirates have been popularized with the recent Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy. Those pirates are portrayed as almost heroes when Western pirates abandon their own, kill, and do other horrible actions. Many European pirates centuries ago lack human compassion. Tom Hanks plays the eponymous Captain Philips. He urges the Somali pirates to treat their wounded. He expresses paternal concern for his captors. —“What are you, sixteen, seventeen? You’re too young to be out here doing this”; conveys indignation over the pirates’ conduct—“Is this how you do business? By shooting people?”; and repeatedly tells the hijackers that they could leave, right now, with $30,000, no questions asked. The impression is that the pirates are acting out of greed not desperation. The actors portraying the pirates were Somalis. Many Somalis now are starving. The film shows Philips at the end of the film shown arms tied to the wall. It shows a crucifixion image that falls short of his role as a Christ figure. The ship’s chief engineer told CNN, “it was the captain’s recklessness that steered them into pirate-infested waters.” Crew members said that Phillips pursued this dangerous route in order to save money. Now the crew is suing the shipping corporation for putting them in harm’s way, with Phillips playing a nasty role in the lawsuit. To quote a Businessweek headline on the topic, “Hero of Captain Phillips Movie Portrayed as Villain in Lawsuit." There is great controversy in the film. The Somalis are portrayed as convenient villains for Hollywood in the past. Blackhawk Down viewed the Somalis as ruthless and bloodthirsty. Americans were shown as honoring every life. The facts do not support this narrative. The real Blackhawk Down incident was about 1,000 Somalis being killed as U.S. rangers dropped into a crowded marketplace. The film was so distorted in its depiction of Somalis that the Somali Justice Advocacy Center in California called for a boycott of the movie. They said that “portrays Somalis as violent savages”. The Maersk Alabama was carrying some humanitarian aid, but it ignores the U.S. extensive cries in the region. The U.S. supported the brutal dictator Siad Barre. He lost power in 1991. The U.S. so-called "humanitarian mission" called "Operation Restore Hope" killed 7,000 to 10,000 Somalis. It resulted in a civil war, famine, and political chaos. In 2001 the U.S. closed Al Barakaat or a money transfer company. It was claimed it was used to funnel money to al-Qaeda. The reality is that the organization had no link to al-Qaeda. Thousands of poverty stricken Somalis depended on the money transferred via Al Barakaat from family abroad. Somalia specialist Michel Del Buono stated that the decision to close al Barakaat was “equivalent to killing civilians." The U.S. financed warlords in Somalia as have been found in 2006. These warlords formed death squads that terrorized Somalia. They killed anyone who supported Islamic movements. Some of those captured by the death squads were turned over to the U.S. for money where they were tortured. Religious factions fought the warlords back. The factors are united in the group called the Union of Islamic Courts. The UIC gave aid to the malnourished Somalia. They almost united all of Somalia by 2006. The UIC was seen as by the Bush administration as too independent. So, the U.S. backed Ethiopia's invasion of Somalia. Ethiopia is a great nation with wonderful people. It is just the West used a divide and conquer strategy that pitted black African brothers and sisters against one another (which is one of the sick things that one can do). It was U.S. proxy war with U.S. troops in the ground in 2006. The U.S. air power gave support and the invasion turned into a brutal 2 year occupation. It displaced hundreds of thousands and killed 16,000 civilians. Rob Wise at the Center for Strategic and International Studies says the Ethiopian occupation transformed al Shabaab from a very weak force in Somalia to “the most powerful and radical faction in the country." So, the film never gives the U.S. role in making Somalia a failed state without a coast guard. There have been European, Asian, and Gulf companies dumping toxic and nuclear waste into Somalis coastal waters. These waters are unregulated. Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the UN envoy for Somalia, said, “There is uranium radioactive waste, there is lead, there are heavy metals like cadmium, and mercury, there is industrial waste, hospital, and chemical wastes.” He continued, “Radioactive waste is potentially killing Somalis and completely destroying the ocean.” So, we see that 20 years of famine, civil war, and the destruction of the ocean including fishermen that caused piracy. In 2007 the UN noted that Somalia had higher malnutrition rates, more bloodshed, and fewer aid workers than Darfur. Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah described Somalia’s plight as “the worst on the continent." It is easy to see that the West is complicit in the destruction of Somalis for 20 years. Hollywood is wrong for ignoring this history and slandering the Somali people. I reject war and imperialism.

Jeh Johnson is the new head of the Department of Homeland Security. The DHS has been involved in nefarious actions for a while now. The Department of Homeland Security is a lawless, secretive, heavily privatized police and surveillance agency. It has its own prisons. It will have drones soon. It is headed now by an African American, a professed progressive Democrat, a Morehouse man and Pentagon lawyers. He invokes Dr. King as a patron saint when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would be against the murderous U.S. global empire. So, the elite use black human beings like Jeh Johnson as scapegoats for the total evil system by allowing them to be placed in positions of power when the masses of black humanity are suffering under the system of white supremacy. It is simple as that. Jeh Johnson was the attorney who claimed in a sworn testimony before Congress in 2009 that his leaders wanted to imprison anybody that they imagined a terrorist (even after those human beings were acquitted by any and all offenses by a civilian court). He wanted to justify the separate drone murders of an U.S. citizen and his son in Yemen. He said that the President had the right to summarily execute anybody that they declared a terrorist. Jeh Johnson used to be a federal prosecutor. He was a Pentagon lawyer. He raised more than $200,000 for the Obama's 2008 campaign and he was rewarded with the post of general counsel at the Pentagon. He was in the Obama situation room in dealing with Al-Qaeda. Jeh Johnson is a Democrat. Now, we know what life we live today. We are not free totally yet. 50 years ago whites were the majority in U.S prison and jails. Yet, black unemployment was double that of whites and the gentrification of black urban neighborhoods was a national problem. There were only a handful of black faces in Congress, and no black behinds in the chairs of big city mayors, state speakers of houses or presidents of senates, and the like. Now we have a thriving and empowered class of more than 10,000 black elected officials on every level --- and that's not even counting the appointed ones, the Jeh Johnsons, the Susan Rices, the Colin Powells – who wield immense power on every level from local counties to the oval office. Still, black unemployment is double of white unemployment, gentrification is a big problem, and the nation's prisons including jails have black human beings in them. The White House is following orders from the 1 percent to increase the military budget, doubled down on Afghanistan, and used drone wars in Africa and Asia. The White House froze wages of federal employees. Also, the reactionaries have scapegoated unionized federal workers and public school teachers. There is the Bush bankster bailout and new legislation that shielded  mortgage fraudsters, telecom snoopers, war criminals, torturers and more. We have gentrification and still high black unemployment. We do not have single payer health care, but the Affordable Care Act including the deportation of 1.1 million human beings (more than any three or four previous Presidents combined). That is why we should stand up for the poor and unions, address black unemployment, and rein in polluters including banksters. We should advocate universal health care and a path to citizenship for millions of immigrants. The DHS has private prisons, border walls, fusion centers showing unfounded rumors, illegal surveillance, and private security contractors. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would oppose this stuff. Jeh Johnson is a Morehouse man, but he wants to be involved in the military industrial complex. Black and Brown human beings should not be profiled. We as a people have opposed the wicked agenda of Empire and we should continue to be opposed to war, Empire, and imperialism. That is why we should be independents since both the Republicans and the Democrats are very similar on issues, except on a few. That is why I am a political Independent. Now, I do realize that folks like Jeh Johnson are not to be blamed for our current situation. I understand the complexities of politics and so forth. We know that the system of white supremacy created this creation. So, we should critique, but place the truth into context.

"SOUL!" was a great show. It is a staple of black culture. It showed Black Power issues on its show all of the time mixed with great music as well. It lasted from 1968 to 1973. It was a public television show. It was courageous and uncensored. Sometimes, the past can inspire us and that show inspires us. It was shown in PBS. It predated Soul Train even. SOUL! was produced at WNET/Thirteen. SOUL! and Soul Train were sphere headed by bold Black men. They saw opportunities to contribute to the community of black people and they created something special for humanity in general. They were successful. Ellis Haizlip was involved with SOUL! and of course Don Cornelius was involved in Soul Train. Melissa Haizlip is trying to create a film on SOUL!, but she needs funds to do so. She is inspired by her late uncle (the poet Umar Bin Hassan). Her film is entitled, "Mr. Soul! Ellis Haizlip and the Birth of Black Power TV." The SOUL! show had a lot of content. Melissa held a conference on the show and other issues. The summit include her friends and Black writers including activists like Aboidon Oyewole, Bin Hassan (famous members of the Last Poets), Movement icon Sonia Sanchez, and other folks (like Quincy Troupe, Ericka Blount Danois, and Kevin Powell). There were others there. She lacks money and the daylong conference gave tribute to her uncle (including the Black Power and Black Arts movements). These movements inspire us daily. Ellis Haizlip was slowly reconstructed through clips and memories of stories told. “He knew nothing about television. He didn’t like it. So he was perfect,” recalled Christopher Lukas, former programming director for WNET/Thirteen. Lukas hired Haizlip, a very well-known and –connected theatre producer in Black circles who had what became known as a legendary black phone book of contacts. So Thirteen’s first Black producer evolved Lukas’ idea of a “Black Tonight Show” into “SOUL!” Haizlip produced and Stan Lathan (a famous African American in producing). Thulani Davis said that she was a cool, sly instigator. Haizlip got many different black voices on his show. She followed up questions on the individuals that he interviewed on his show. John H. Bracey, Jr., chairperson of the W.E.B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies at University of Massachusetts at Amherst said Haizlip’s philosophy with the show was that “...all of this (I’m presenting) is going to get us Black, so you (the audience) sort it out...” SOUL! expanded from WNET/Thirteen to PBS. The show gave human beings a platform to voice their views. It allowed George Jackson's mother to appear to talk about her then recently martyred son. Al Green performed there. Miriam Makeba sang her son. The Last Poets chanted words and music. It featured even Louis Farrakhan to talk about controversial topics. “It became a vehicle demanding respect, searching for opportunity and giving voice,” said Price. Sanchez talked about how people would come up to her the day after she performed on “SOUL!” and asked her, “’Aren’t you that lady?’ And I said, ‘Yes, wasn’t we bad?’” Shows like SOUL! and Black Journal existed in the late 1960's as Black public affairs television programs. Others shows came locally and local public including commercial television stations grew nationwide. This came after black human beings rebelled in Detroit, Watts, Newark, etc. between 1967 and 1968. They demanded justice. Lt. Uhara, Julia, and Bill Cosby were great. Also, Johnson suppressed the report that found that white racism caused and fueled riots in America. Today, PBS has been increasingly corporate dominated. It is now taboo for Haizlip to come on the scene on PBS now. We should continue in the Black Liberation and Black Power movements. SOUL! merged Black culture, Black politics, and Black history. This is an important story of Black History. This is our history. This is our culture. So, it is up to the people or us in this generation. We have the responsibility to fight for freedom and to fight for our dignity. Our voices are important and they have a right to be heard.

Brazil's Workers Party government has mobilized troops against striking oil workers. There are striking oil workers with their supporters battling the Brazilian army troops in Rio de Janeiro recently. The army and security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets. Five protesters were wounded. The troops were mobilized to seal off the beachfront hotel in which the rights to exploit a major offshore oil field were being auctioned off and to disperse protesters demanding the suspension of the sale. The Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff (PT, Workers Party) issued a decree last Friday. It mobilized over 1,000 troops to suppress protesters by striking employees of Petrobras or the national oil company. This was in opposition to the privatization of the Libra oil field. Libra is a large offshore oil field. It is estimated to hold between eight and 12 billion barrels of oil deep below the ocean's surface under a thick salt layer. If it is fully operational in about a decade, the Libra field is expected to produce 1.4 million barrels per day. The army troops are dealing with the event. Also, the government has assigned the paramilitary police of the National Public Security Force Força Nacional de Segurança Pública, FNSP) to counter the strikers. The FNSP was organized in 2004 by former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to combat drug gangs. The Petrobas workers have worked across Brazil walked off their jobs on October 17. They occupied the Ministry of Miens and Energy in Brasilia. Striker leaders reported that 90 percent participation by oil workers and that strike had paralyzed 15 platforms responsible for 80 percent of Petrobas' output. Also, affected are all Petrobas' 22 refineries. On Friday, there were protest marches in Rio and in São Paulo. The oil workers union (Federação Única dos Petroleiros, FUP) claims that the strike enjoys the support of administrative and contingent workers (terceirização). In alliance with the FUP is the FNP (Federação Nacional dos Petroleiros), a smaller, “radical” federation of five Petrobras trade unions. The FUP and the FNP wanted a 7.68 percent increase in wages or 1.5 percent above the rate of inflation. They want the suspension of the Libra auction. They want to end legislation that would cause a way for the employment of contingent workers throughout the company. This is the first time that the armed forces have been mobilized against domestic protests since the PT took power in 2003. A military regime ruled the nation from 1964 to 1985. Rousseff is mobilizing the troops. Ironically, he was a left opponent. That means that we can not worship foreign and domestic capital to harm the working class. Eleven firms had shown interest in the Libra oil field auction, including the Anglo Dutch Shell, and France’s Total, Spain’s Repsol, China’s state-owned CNPC and CNOOC, India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corp, Colombia’s Ecopetrol, PETRONAS from Malaysia, and Japan’s Mitsui investment group. The four firm consortium is Total, Shell, CNPC, and CNOOC. They made the only bid and secured the exploration rights. Total, Shell will each get a 20 percent stake, the two Chinese companies will each get 10 percent, while Petrobras, which is charged with Libra’s management and exploitation, retains 40 percent. At first, the Brazilian government expected some 40 separate oil firms to participate in the auction. U.S. and British energy conglomerates like Exxon, Chevron, and BP bowed out deciding not to join the bidding. Brasilia made an offer. Snowden said that the NSA spied on Roussef and her staff. They have been carrying out industrial espionage against Petrobras. An article in the Buenos Aires daily Página 12 suggested that a Chinese-Petrobras alliance counterbalances this latest interference on the part of US imperialism. Brazil is still dominated by international capital. It has a oil bonanza of its offshore fields. There are real activists in Brazil that wanted change. There are also the police and military forces trying to suppress the rights of workers too.

We now witness shock and awe economics. That means that the political elite have used financial warfare against the American people. We live in the aftermath of the U.S. government shutdown. It is easy to see that groups campaigning against the fallible Affordable Care Act are funded by multibillionaires Charles and David Koch. They oppose it not because they want single payer universal health care. They oppose it since they abhor anything that is even related to public health care sent to the masses of the people (when many Congressmen and Congresswomen receive government health care. Those Congressional leaders are hypocrites if they receive government health care, but reject a single payer system). The austerity deal has been struck among both parties. The Koch brothers via an open letter to Congress want to distance themselves from accusations of a shutdown blackmail conspiracy. The Koch Brothers have their say in U.S. Congress. Yet, the shutdown and the debt ceiling issues has to do with long, complex structural and historical causes. We see threats of a fiscal collapse and uncertainty of the future of the Federal Government itself. The federal government has an unprecedented debt crisis. The debt is gone up 70% since the 2008 financial meltdown and at the same time they are implementing what I would describe as “shock and awe economics” which essentially consists in cutting virtually everything, all the society safety net programs of the US administration. This is what happened in Europe. It is destructive. This policy of austerity caused more impoverished people. The elite want to cuts food stamps, Social Security, and of course, Medicare and Medicaid are the programs which are affected. Meanwhile, of course, Defense and the financing of the war economy remains with a very large military budget. When you look at the big picture, you see that the Republicans and the Democrats share the same economic policy agenda. Each party wants austerity measures since both parties are ruled by the same lobby groups. Wall Street, JP Morgan Chase, and the Federal Reserve Bank (or a private institution that hold a large part of the U.S public debt) influence politics heavily. The elite want to have a massive privatization of the federal system. Even the IMF did something similar when they came into to have the privatization of state assets in favor of private corporations.

 

By Timothy