Weekend News

There have been lawless drone killings for years now. Two UN reports outline this problem. A sixteen year old named Malala Yousafzai is an activist for women's education, a blogger, and a Sakharov Prize winner. She is a Pakistan National Youth Peace Prize recipient. She was a 2013 Nobel Prize nominee. Desmond Tutu nominated her for the International Children's Peace Prize. On October 16, Canada said it plans to grant her honorary citizenship. Obama invited her to the White House. She ironically said that, "Drone attacks are fueling terrorism." “Innocent victims are killed in these acts, and they lead to resentment among the Pakistani people.” She is correct. Predator drones kill many human beings. There are remote warrior teams that operate computer keyboards and multiple monitors. In other words, the imperialists murder by remote control. They target faceless victims. They kill indiscriminately. They do so unaccountably. We know that drones are instruments of state terror. Studies document how mostly innocent civilians are killed by them. They were in the wrong place at the wrong time. There is the joint Stanford University International Human rights and Conflict Resolution Clinic (SU)/New York University School of Law Global Justice Clinic (NYU) report. It entitled, "Living Under Drones." The dominate Washington narrative claims that drone strikes are precise and effective. Targeted killings “minimi(ze) downsides or collateral impacts,” it says. Doing so makes America safer, it alleges. These views are false since drone attacks kill indiscriminately. Mostly noncombatant civilians are affected. “Living Under Drones” exposes what Washington won’t say. The White House claims that drones haven't caused a huge number of civilian casualties. It claimed that they're targeted or focused at people who are on a list of active terrorists trying to go in and harm Americans. Hard evidence proves otherwise. According to the SU/NYC study: “US drone strike policies cause considerable and under-accounted-for harm to the daily lives of ordinary civilians, beyond death and physical injury.” “Drones hover twenty-four hours a day over communities in northwest Pakistan, striking homes, vehicles, and public spaces without warning.” “Their presence terrorizes men, women, and children, giving rise to anxiety and psychological trauma among civilian communities.” Official statements about drone killings keeping America safe are false. Evidence from the SU/NYU study show that at most only 2 percent of victims are high value combatants. Others are mostly innocent civilians. Drone killings fuel resentment. They facilitate anti-American recruitment. Most Pakistanis call America the enemy. Other affected countries view America in the same context. Professor Christof Heyns co-directs the University of Pretoria’s Institute for International and Comparative Law. He serves as UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions. He has his September 13 dated UN report. It is entitled, “Extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.” It omits offender country names. He clearly holds Washington responsible. “The expansive use of armed drones by the first states to acquire them, if not challenged, can do structural damage to the cornerstones of international security and set precedents that undermine the protection of life across the globe in the longer term,” he said. The report mentions the following: "...The use of drones by states to exercise essentially a global policing function to counter potential threats presents a danger to the protection of life, because the tools of domestic policing (such as capture) are not available, and the more permissive targeting framework of the laws of war is often used instead.” On October 25, General Assembly member states will discuss Heyns’ report. It calls for obeying international law. According to Heyns, he wants nation to follow international law. Countries may not consent “to the violation of their obligations under international humanitarian law or international human rights law.” Reprieve is an UK based human rights group. Its legal director Kat Craig said that the report exposes the evil drone war that is harming innocent civilians. This action is a threat to international security as a whole. The CIA must be held into account of this. Reprieve has clients like young Pakistani children who saw their grandmother killed in front of them. The CIA is made up of terrorists. Ben Emmerson is UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Counterterrorism. His September 18-dated UN report is titled “Promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism.” The UN investigators identified dozens of U.S. drone strikes causing civilians deaths and inquire. Doing so clearly violates international law. There should be justice on this issue. There are such incidents in Afghanistan, Yemen, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Pakistan and Gaza. “While the fact that civilians have been killed or injured does not necessarily point to a violation of international humanitarian law, it undoubtedly raises issues of accountability and transparency,” he said. Former UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions Philip Alston calls targeted killings “intentional, premeditated, and deliberate use of lethal force (against individuals) not in the physical custody of the perpetrator.” The White House has no moral right to assassinate anyone in the world even American citizens at any time.  Francis Boyle calls drone attacks “murders, assassinations, and extrajudicial executions.” According to Marjorie Cohn: Unlawful drone strikes “not only undermine the rule of law, (they) prevent the United States from reasonably objecting when other countries (target their own) kill lists.” What more proof do we need? There has been a lack of transparency on the total CIA drone situation. The kill lists are highly evil. So, we know that the war on terror is evil and has been evil for over a decade.

We know that the NSA is spying for money, power, and crushing dissent. That is easy to witness. The NSA not only spied on the leaders of Germany, Brazil, and Mexico, but on at least 35 world leaders. The Guardian reported on this. One unnamed U.S. official handed over 200 numbers. These numbers included those of the 35 world leaders whose names are not named. The NSA also spies on the European Union, the European Parliament, the G20 summit, and other allies. The NSA asked government agencies to share their Rolodoxes, so the NSA would have phone numbers for top foreign political and military leaders. There is a confidential government memo that admits that spying didn't help to prevent terrorism. It admitted that eavesdropping on the numbers had produced little reportable intelligence. The leaders of allies such of Germany, Brazil, Mexico, the EU, and G-20 have no ties to Al-Qaeda terrorists; the spying was used for other purposes. The NSA conducts widespread industrial espionage on their allies. This has nothing to with terrorism. That is why there is no evidence that mass surveillance alone has prevented a single terrorist attack. Many top terror experts say that mass spying actually hurts U.S. counterterrorism efforts. If NSA spying was really focused on terrorism, our allies and companies wouldn't be fighting back so hard against it. 9/11 is a new era, but spying started before 9/11. There have been many fraudulent excuses used to spy on Americans. Even NSA's industrial espionage has been going on for many decades and 911 still came about. The NSA has been spying on American Senators for more than 40 years. Governments who spy on their own population always use to crush dissent like the agents from the FBI trying to harm the labor, civil rights, anti-war, and other movements for legitimate social change. The NSA is doing the exact same thing that King George did to the American colonists. This influenced the development of the Revolutionary War. Even NSA whistleblower Russell Tice said that the NSA is spying on and blackmailing top American government officials and military officers. Things are wild here. That is why some are legitimately protesting against the nefarious policies of the NSA spanning decades beyond just since the evil, unjustified events of 9/11. It is right for our community to be politically independent. We ought to think for ourselves and not worship either major party at all. Yet, I am not naïve on the vicious nature of the Tea Party Republicans ideologically.



General Giap of Vietnam knew that President John F. Kennedy was going to withdrawal militarily from Vietnam. The Non Aligned Movement of Third World nations wanted to be independent from the machinations of the Cold War. There is an old photograph of North Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Dong, Indian Prime Minister Nehru, and the legendary Chairman Ho Chi Minh himself.  According to Mani S. Kang, Prime Minister Nehru and Ambassador John Kenneth Galbraith (an economist and once Ambassador to India) discussed topics. Nehru advised Gabraith to get America out of the dire situation in Vietnam. He said that doing that action would be best for the United States and its then young President. Vietnam fought against the armies of Genghis Khan, the Chinese, and Western imperialists for long centuries. General Vo Nguyen Giap was a famous human being surrounding the course of events during the Vietnam War. The truth is that President John F. Kennedy woke up a great deal in 1963. He had a transformational experience and he saw that peace is superior to war (and the hope and aspirations of all humankind are essential to build up a progressive, enlightened society). The 1963 JFK was radically different from the JFK from 1960. It was Richard Nixon's and Allen Dulles' plans to have the Bay of Pigs invasion not JFK. Mr. Vo interrupted and added, "He was withdrawing from Vietnam."   He then stated in a very clear and firm voice, "President Kennedy was withdrawing from Vietnam in late 1963."   These words came from the son of General Vo Nguyen Giap. This is one piece of evidence out of many that proves that JFK was not going to have a massive military intervention policy in Vietnam. The late President John F. Kennedy was changing on many issues. He made a 1960 speech that believed in religious tolerance and a separation of church and state. Kennedy said the following in the Houston: "...I believe in an America that is officially neither Catholic, Protestant nor Jewish; where no public official either requests or accepts instructions on public policy from the Pope, the National Council of Churches or any other ecclesiastical source; where no religious body seeks to impose its will directly or indirectly upon the general populace or the public acts of its officials; and where religious liberty is so indivisible that an act against one church is treated as an act against all...Finally, I believe in an America where religious intolerance will someday end; where all men and all churches are treated as equal; where every man has the same right to attend or not attend the church of his choice; where there is no Catholic vote, no anti-Catholic vote, no bloc voting of any kind; and where Catholics, Protestants and Jews, at both the lay and pastoral level, will refrain from those attitudes of disdain and division which have so often marred their works in the past, and promote instead the American ideal of brotherhood... would not look with favor upon a president working to subvert the First Amendment’s guarantees of religious liberty. Nor would our system of checks and balances permit him to do so. And neither do I look with favor upon those who would work to subvert Article VI of the Constitution by requiring a religious test — even by indirection — for it. If they disagree with that safeguard, they should be out openly working to repeal it..."

Both parties have responsibility for the government shutdown. The GOP issued much extreme draconian policies while later the Democrats compromised to a certain degree. Then, a deal was reach that is a short term fix. It doesn't address much of the long term issues of poverty, imperialism, economic inequality, job loss, etc. Now, Michelle Obama is the First Lady. She is an elegant, beautiful, intelligent, and Strong Sister. I respect how the First Lady and the President love each other and their family (despite my disagreements with some of the policies of the White House). I will respect her like any real human being. Any human being ought to be treated with dignity and with respect at the end of the day especially women (So, we have the responsibility to not call women outside of their names and not to mistreat men either). Now, the ACA is a fallible law. It is not the final goal for true health care reform. We should still fight for universal health care among all Americans and all humans of the world. The ACA has strengths and weaknesses. We know them including the problems with the website. So, I think we should not use the ACA as a crutch to say that this is it. No, we should continue to fight for better health care for all human beings. Single payer is superior to the ACA. Health care is not some quaint item reserved for the rich or the privileged. Health care is a human right. It is right for our community to be politically independent. We ought to think for ourselves and not worship either major party at all. Yet, I am not naïve on the vicious nature of the Tea Party Republicans ideologically. Frankly, the 2 victims of racial profiling should advance justice with all of our support in general. There have been numerous stories of unjust treatment against customers of Barneys for a while. Now, the stuff is hitting the fan. Subsequently, the NY CEO has issued an apology. Would he issue an apology if these incidents of racial profiling and overt discriminatory practices were not shown in the national level? We all know the answer to the question. The real issue is about human rights. All humans deserve real respect and equal treatment excluding racial profiling and harmful treatment from anyone. Therefore, the Brother and the Sister should continue with their lawsuits and so forth. Justice is never done unless accountability is made comprehensively. Justice should not be sugarcoated, evaded, nor whitewashed by any token apology. Deeds are more important than token talk. Therefore, our community stands with the victims of Barneys' inappropriate actions. Also, the NYPD is involved in this criminal action as well against 2 black human beings. This confirms the obviously perverted actions of some of the police in NYC. The NYPD needs to clean up its house. The goal of black liberation is always a legitimate goal to advance and support at the end of the day. A real atmosphere charged with not only inspiration, but of action will cause us to win. We should fight economic inequality and imperialism. We should continue to expose stereotypes. We should always condemn female bashing and male bashing too. Justice and human liberty should continue to reverberate in our community, who are filled with the young, the old, and others. We must love our black community (for community is part of the black African cultural identity. Our ancestors are our heroes and they are with us in spirit), strive for excellence, and ally in a communal spirit.

Amilcar Cabral was one of the greatest heroes of black African history. He was a Guinea-Bissuan and Cape Verdean agricultural engineer, writer, and political leader. He was a nationalist thinker. He was a great anti-colonial leader. He led the nationalist movement of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde Islands. There was the war of independence in Guinea-Bissau. He was assassinated on January 20, 1973 about eight months before Guinea-Bissau's unilateral declaration of independence. He was influenced by Marxism, but he was not a Marxist. He was born in September 12, 1926 in Bafata, Guinea-Bissau from the Cape Verdean parents Juvenal Lopes da Costa Cabral and Iva Pinhel Évora. Cabral was educated at Liceu or the Secondary School Gil Eanes in the town of Mindelo, Cape Verde. He was furthered educated at the Instituto Superior de Agronomia in Lisbon, Portugal. Portugal ironically was the colonial power ruling over Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde for a time. In Lisbon, he founded student movements that wanted to oppose the ruling dictatorship of Portugal and wanted the cause of liberation of the Portuguese colonies in Africa. He came back into Africa during the 1950's. He continued to promote the independence of the then Portuguese colonies. He founded in 1956 the PAIGC or the Partido Africano da Independência da Guiné e Cabo Verde (Portuguese for African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde) and one of the founders of Movimento Popular Libertação de Angola (MPLA) (later in the same year), together with Agostinho Neto, whom he met in Portugal, and other Angolan nationalists. He led a guerrilla movement against the Portuguese regime from 1963 to 1973. It was one of the most successful wars of independence in African history. He was a hero for capturing territories from the imperialist Portuguese. Cabral set up training camps in neighboring Ghana with the permission of Kwame Nkrumah. Cabral trained his lieutenants through various techniques, including mock conversations to provide them with effective communication skills that would aid their efforts to mobilize Guinean tribal chiefs to support the PAIGC. Cabral allowed his troops to live off the land and work with the populace as a means to be successful. He taught troops farming technologies as a means to feed their tribes ad families. In 1972, Cabral began to form a People's Assembly in preparation for the birth of an independent African nation, but disgruntled former PAIGC rival Inocêncio Kani, with the help of Portuguese agents operating within the PAIGC, shot and killed him before he could complete his project. Yet, Guinea-Bissau and Cape Varde are liberated from imperialists. His influence is similar to the influence from Frantz Fanon and others. He is named after an International Airport in Carde Verde's principal international airport at Sal. There is also a football competition called Amilcar Cabral Cup in zone 2, which is named as a tribute to him. RIP Brother Amilcar Cabral. His half-brother Luis Cabral became the leader of the Guinea-Bissau branch of the party and would eventually become President of Guinea-Bissau. Amilcar Cabral was one of the greatest thinkers in African history. He was a hero and a true black warrior.

By Timothy