The Truth Will Never End

The Pentagon abets the French incursion in Africa. U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel had a meeting with French Defense Minister Yves Le Drian (on December 8, 2013) inside of Afghanistan. Hagel ordered the Pentagon to assist France's military buildup in the Central African Republic. The UN Security Council allowed the Francois Hollande government to double the French military presence in the CAPR. There are about 1,600 troops establishing their authority in the airport outside of Bangui or the capital. Washington has agreed to help transport French troops into the country. The White House issued a statement that, following Minister Le Drian’s request, “Secretary Hagel has directed the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) to begin transporting forces from Burundi to the Central African Republic, in coordination with France.” (Dec. 9) The White House claims to justify this U.S. intervention as a means to avert a humanitarian and human rights catastrophe in the CAR. The statement from the White House says that the U.S. is prepared to provide additional assistance. The Central African Republic is a former French colony where Paris has already over 600 troops. Last March, an alliance of four rebel organizations called Seleka seized power, forcing former President Francois Bozize to flee the capital of Bangui. Michel Djotodia assumed control of the CAR government as interim president after the Seleka rebels took the capital. Djotodia is a Muslim, as are many of the Seleka fighters. The French and U.S. governments use this as a pretext for intervention, even though no one has accused the rebels publicly of having any real connections to political Islam. Muslims constitute 15 percent of the CAR’s population of 4.5 million. The French war minister, Le Drian, issued a warning to the people of the CAR, saying that, “First we’ll ask gently and if they don’t react, we’ll do it by force. The operation will take some time. The period of impunity is at an end.” (BBC World Service, Dec. 9). Djotodia has asked Seleka forces to remain in their barracks while the French and allied African troops take up their positions around Bangui. He has also been quoted as saying that he was very little control of the operations of the rebels and is in favor of a political settlement to the conflict. There have been fights between the Seleka forces and the French military that have already occurred near the airport outside Bangui. The French government wants to disarm Seleka and control more of the nation. Christians and Muslims are fighting each other too, which is unfortunate because regardless of what creed we follow, we are still oppressed by the same oppressor. French imperialists have intervened in Mali as a means to control more of the mineral rich nation of Mali under the guise of fighting Muslim extremism. AFRICOM has worked to fight in Mali too. The Western elites play the Tuareg and non-Tuareg peoples against each other in Mali. NATO has worked with the U.S. and France to bomb Libya in 2011. Both Washington and Paris have troops stationed in Niger, which was a former French colony rich in uranium resources. The Central African Republic has significant deposits of gold, diamonds and uranium — which also exist in Mali and Niger. Both the U.S. and France have economic interests inside the country. The CAR has large deposits of gold, diamonds, and uranium. Africa should have independent solutions to handle their affairs without Western imperialism.

An U.S. mayors' report show that hunger and homelessness rise as aid programs are cut. There is a new report on hunger and homelessness that shows a bad picture of the conditions in America, especially among workers and the poor in the millions. The new U.S. Conference of Mayors' Task Force annual survey highlights the extent and causes of hunger and homelessness in 25 cities for the year between September 1, 2012 and August 31, 2013. The report found out that 83 percent of the cities surveyed reported an increase in the requests for emergency food assistance over the past year. There has been a 52 percent increase in the total number of folks experiencing homelessness. There is a growing need. Yet, mayors in the surveyed cities expect assistance for the hungry and homeless to decrease in the coming year. The social catastrophe is happening as the federal government prepares for deeper cuts to the food stamp program. It is known as SNAP or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Congress allows federal extended jobless benefits for 1.3 million long term unemployed to expire after Christmas. Helene Schneider, Task Force co-chair and mayor of Santa Barbara, California, stated, “At a time when our cities are bracing for greater demands on emergency providers, most foresee a cut, not an increase, in the resources at their disposal.” She added, “Nearly three-fourths of the cities expect that resources to provide emergency food assistance will decrease over the next year, and more than one-fourth expect that decrease will be substantial.” All but four of the surveyed cities reported a rise in emergency food assistance requests and across cities this need increased by an average of 7 percent. Among those seeking assistance, 58 percent were persons in families, 21 percent were elderly, and 9 percent were homeless. The working poor made up 43 percent of those requesting food assistance. The surveyed cities cited unemployment as the leading driver of hunger, followed by low wages, poverty, and high housing costs. There are unemployment insurance claims jumping to 368,000 in the week that ended December 6 from 300,000 the week before. Congress and the White House are prepared to cut jobless benefits, the need for food assistance, will rise even further. Cities have reported on a 7 percent average increase in the amount of food distributed during the past year. Budgets for emergency food purchases have increased by less than 1 percent. As a result, more than one-fifth of those needing emergency food assistance—21 percent—did not receive it. The 25 cities surveyed have food pantries being forced to reduce the quantity of food people could receive at each visit. Folks had to cut emergency kitchen as on the amount of food offered per meal. In 2/3s of the cities, people were turned away due to a lack of resources. All but one city expect requests for emergency food assistance to increase over the next year, with 12 cities expecting this increase to be substantial. City officialy want to increase SNAP benefits as a mean to reduce hunger. Many Republicans and Democrats want to cut SNAP as a means to advance neoliberalism. Such proposed cuts to food stamps will farm Charlotte, Dallas, Providence, Cleveland, etc. Based on a single-night count in 3,000 US cities and counties, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) estimates that more than 610,000 people were homeless across the US on any given night last year. Of these, 65 percent were living in emergency shelters or transitional housing, while 35 percent were living in unsheltered locations such as under bridges, in cars, or in abandoned buildings. Individuals comprise 64 percent of those experiencing homelessness, while families make up 36 percent. Homelessness increases poverty. Many homeless were turned away because of no beds and other reasons.

We can learn a lot from Nelson Mandela. His passed, but his memory lives on. His life shows us that the struggle for liberation in Africa must continue onward. We have to work for the interests of the people not for the oligarchy. South Africa should be inspired to improve itself. Nelson Mandela was not perfect, but he was right on many issues. He was right to disagree with the Iraq War that Bush and Blair supported. He slammed Bush and Blair for the war on Iraq: "What I am condemning is that one power, with a president who has no foresight and who cannot think properly, now wants to plunge the world into a holocaust." For Blair, he had these words: "He is the foreign minister of the United States. He is no longer prime minister of Britain." South Africa can be liberated with a collective effort not just the work of individuals. A collective effort among many human beings ended the apartheid government. South Africa is still suffering massive economic inequality. 21st century capitalism and the era of the 1 Percenters have harmed South Africa. In the words of Ronnie Kasrils: "That was the time, from 1991-1996, that the battle for the soul of the ANC got underway and was lost to corporate power and influence. That was the fatal turning point. I will call it our Faustian moment when we became entrapped--some today crying out that we 'sold our people down the river.'" Social justice is fine with me. Dr. Martin Luther King said, "If an American is concerned only about his nation, he will not be concerned about the peoples of Asia, Africa, or South America. Is this not why nations engage in the madness of war without the slightest sense of penitence? Is this not why the murder of a citizen of your own nation is a crime, but the murder of citizens of another nation in war is an act of heroic virtue?" So, we are our Brothers' and our Sisters' keepers. 

There is the UN chemical weapons inspectors' report. It cited evidence that the multiple sarin gas attacks carried out by the so-called rebel forces further exposes the lies from the West about the Syrian government responsibility for an August 21 chemical shelling of the Ghouta area outside of Damascus. This incident was seized by Washington as a means to possible use a planned bombing campaign and drive out the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The UN report's appearance last Thursday follows the publication of Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh's detailed article in the London Review of Books revealing that the White House deliberately manipulated intelligence to falsely assert it had proof of Syrian government and military responsibility for the Ghouta attack. Hersh cited current and former U.S. military and intelligence officials on the falsification of intelligence regarding the August 21 attack as well as the White House’s concealment of the existence of intelligence reports warning that the Al-Qaeda affiliated Al Nusra Front militia had the capacity to manufacture and weaponize the nerve gas sarin used in the Ghouta attack. The 82 page UN chemical weapons reported are based on extensive ground investigations of multiple sites. These sites dealt with the allegations of chemical weapons. These attacks have been raised by the Syrian government and the American, British, and French governments. The inspectors analyzed soil and other environmental samples. They examined hair, tissue, blood, etc. samples for trace chemicals. They interviewed survivors, witnesses, medical personnel, and documented munitions used to deliver the sarin in each incident. They concluded that in addition to the Ghouta incident, there were at least four “probable” sarin attacks. In three of these attacks, Syrian army soldiers were the victims of the deadly gas, while in the fourth, civilians were affected. Not a single one of the confirmed chemical attacks were against “rebel” militia fighters. Two of the now confirmed chemical attacked happened within days of the Ghouta gassings. The White House almost was preparing for a military attack on Syria on August 24. The report says of the incident: “A group of soldiers were tasked to clear some buildings under the control of opposition forces. Around 1100 hours, the intensity of the shooting from the opposition subsided and the soldiers were under the impression that the other side was retreating. Approximately 10 meters away from some soldiers, an improvised explosive device reportedly detonated with a low noise, releasing a very badly smelling gas. A group of 10 soldiers was evacuated in armored personal vehicles to the field medical point with breathing difficulties and with, not further specified, strange symptoms.” A day after this gas attack, on August 25, sarin was again used “on a small scale against soldiers” in the southern town of Ashrafiah Sahnaya, during clashes between “rebels” and troops in control of a government checkpoint. The UN again based its findings on interviews and blood samples recovered by the Syrian government. The report did not state who was responsible for the sarin attacked. The report is silent on that issue. Yet, it is legitimate for some to believe that the U.S.-backed Islamist dominated rebel militias were responsible for multiple war crimes in the form of chemical attacks against both Syrian soldiers and civilians. The West wants a puppet regime in Syria like they allowed a puppet regime in Libya (that is supported by the U.S., Britain, and France). Now, Syria is told by the West to destroy its chemical weapons. There is no conclusive evidence that Assad's government was responsible for the Ghouta attack at all. The West wants to deal with China. Imperialism should be exposed in all of its dimensions. 

Fred Hampton was a heroic Brother indeed. Fred Hampton was martyred or murdered by the Chicago Police Department on December 4, 1969. He was the state chair of the Black Panther Party in Illinois. His wife is named Akua Njeri. She was only eight months pregnant with Chairman Fred Hampton Jr. when crooked police tried to kill her too. When a black woman that is pregnant was almost killed by brutish, crooked pieces of work (I can't mention what they really are because of the censors), then you know that black people have been under attack for a long time by the oppressor. The Chicago police shoot almost 100 shots into the apartment where 7 members of the Illinois Black Panther Party for Self Defense were sleeping. We know now that Fred Hampton's bodyguard was a paid FBI infiltrator. The infiltrator gave the police raiders a floor plan of the apartment, which included an X marking that "Fred sleeps here." Fred Hampton died when he was only 21. He fought for jobs, better recreation facilities, and open housing. He met Kwame Ture before including Dr. Ralph Abernathy, Dick Gregory, Jesse Jackson, and other famous human beings. What is interesting is about a new film about the assassination of our Brother Fred Hampton being film. A large crowd knows about it. The first scene was being shot right at Ground Zero, 2337 W. Chairman Fred Hampton Way (aka Monroe Street), where the death squad action took place. After Fred Hampton's death, the surviving Black Panthers gave tours of the apartment that was the site of the massacre to community members and the press. The cast members of the film have been interesting. Yasiin Bey (aka Mos Def) has been cast as Chairman Fred, and Robin Yvette Allen (aka Lady of Rage) has been cast as Comrade Mother Akua (aka Deborah Johnson). Other cast members include the famous Golden Age MCs Rakim Allah and Malik Yusef. A second scene was shot later that evening at the People’s Church on the South Side. Fred Hampton was a hero. He was super intelligent and he was gifted in organization. I heard many of words before. He always sincerely believed in Revolution. The FBI killed Black Panthers before. The reason was that the Brothers and the Sisters in the Black Panther Party were against the agenda of the establishment. The Chicago police authorities murdered Fred Hampton and Mark Clark. The police's actions represented police injustices once again. Fred Hampton wanted power to the people and he was a true revolutionary. He had a voice of courage, strength, and dignity. The Black Panthers had dedicated Brothers and Sisters who realized that imperialism is immoral and that the power of the people is superior to the agenda of the oppressor. Ideals have power and Fred Hampton exhibited great courage in the midst of massive police brutality and repressive laws in the world. He was not even 30 when he was murdered, so we are inspired by him. Yes, Fred Hampton Jr. (or Fred Hampton's son) is still fighting for what we are fighting for, which is the liberation of our people. RIP to Fred Hampton and Mark Clark.

By Timothy