The Weekend News

The Ukrainian crisis continues to intensify. There are more tensions in this conflict. Russia denounced the treat of U.S. and European Union (E.U.) sanctions against Russian and pro-Russian Ukrainian officials. In a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, President Barack Obama gave an ultimatum for a complete capitulation. The President said that Russia must recognize and negotiate with the pro-Western regime installed in Kiev via a fascist led coup, withdraw all troops from Crimea and open the door to "international monitors." Hours before, the U.S. announced sanctions on unspecified Russian and Ukrainian individuals and entities. They used the pretext of the vote by the Crimean regional parliament to hold a referendum to secede from Ukraine and associate with Russia. Russian back military forces have taken over the Crimean Peninsula where a majority of the population is Russian speaking and the Russian navy has a major base at the Black Sea port of Sevastopol. The current administration dispatched six  F-16 fighters to Lithuania, 12 F-16s and 300 US troops to Poland next week, and the entry of a US destroyer into the Black Sea. In the midst of the standoff, Turkey, a NATO ally, scrambled eight F-16s to intercept a Russian reconnaissance aircraft over the Black Sea. The EU has set up its own motion of a three step plan for sanctions. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius warned yesterday that tougher measures were planned if Moscow did not back down.  “If there are not very swift results, there will be new measures aimed at those responsible and Russian businesses,” he told France Info radio. The U.S. and the EU sanctions are being accompanied by a deluge of propaganda in the American and international media. They denounce "Russian aggression" and demand the recognition of "Ukrainian sovereignty." The level of hypocrisy involved in this situation is staggering. Not only have the U.S. and its European allies have been aggressively intervening in Ukraine to oust the elected government, but Washington have carried out intrigues, interventions, and a string of wars of aggression including in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and Syria. A Russian foreign ministry statement responds to the latest threat. The statement condemns the EU's actions as “an extremely unconstructive approach.” It warned: “Russia does not accept the language of sanctions and threats, but if they are imposed they will not remain unanswered.” There is a separate statement on Putin's phone call with Obama noted that the Russian President had point out that situation in Ukraine was the result of an "anti-constitutional coup." He defended Russian actions saying that the regime in Kiev had taken “absolutely illegitimate decisions on the eastern, south eastern and Crimea regions.” Putin did, however, make a conciliatory gesture, stressing the importance of US-Russian relations that “should not be sacrificed for individual differences, albeit very important ones, over international problems.” Later yesterday, his spokesman Dmitry Peskov expressed the hope that “extremely deep disagreements” between Russia and the West would not lead to a new Cold War. The extreme reactionary character of the U.S. backed Ukrainian regime was further proven by the head of the fascist Right Sector organization, Dmitro Yarosh, would stand in elections scheduled for May. Highlighting the prominent role played by Right Sector and the far-right Svoboda party in the putsch that ousted Russian-aligned President Viktor Yanukovych, a spokesman Andriy Tarasenko declared: “We remain the leaders of this revolution.” Yarosh called for the banning of Yanokovych's Party of the Regions and the Communist Party of Ukraine. Both parties received more votes than Svoboda in recent elections. Tarasenko boasted that Right Sector whose armed thugs where prominent in anti-Yanokovych protests in Kiev, was mobilizing in preparation for war with Russia. Arseniy Yatsenyuk, interim prime minister in the Kiev regime, yesterday flatly ruled out any compromise with Russia, denounced any move by Crimea to secede from Ukraine as “unlawful and unconstitutional” and the backers of a referendum as “separatists and traitors.” A court issued an arrest warrant for Sergei Aksyonov, the leader of the secessionist movement. The Ukrainian administration failed to pay for its latest bill for gas supplied by the Russian energy giant Gazprom. The outstanding debt is now nearly 2 billion dollars. Gazprom threatened to halt gas supplies. This cut off could harm Ukraine, European nations, etc. since many European nations are supplied oil via Gazprom pipelines. Russia is still influenced by corrupt Russian oligarchs. Russia wants to deal with Crimea further. After meeting with Crimean parliamentary delegates in Moscow, Valentina Matvienko, leader of the Russian parliament’s upper house, told a large rally of Russian nationalists in Moscow that Crimea would be welcome as part of the Russian Federation if it votes in the referendum to do so. The Crimean Peninsula is a key strategic location for the Russian navy to the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. The Russian navy has scuttled two aging warships at the entrance to Lake Donuzlav, effectively preventing several Ukrainian naval vessels from leaving their home base. A confrontation at a Ukrainian military base outside Sevastopol, during which Russian-backed forces attempted to take-over the facility, has reportedly ended without incident. The only solution is a negotiated settlement. 

Today is the day to show some truth. There is the real existence of imperialism in Western society. First of all, the USA planned the Iraq War before 9/11. Newly declassified documents published at the National Security Archive prove beyond all reasonable doubt that the Bush administration planned to topple Saddam Hussein and invade Iraq as early as January, 2001, and were making strategic plans and resource allocations as early as November, 2001. Yes, we have the situation of imperialism when that administration issued cluster bombs in territories. It is imperialism when that administration has torture in Gitmo and came up with drone strikes as a means to enhance strategic interests. It is imperialism when the West organized policies that try to dominate the economies and interests of foreign nations (from the extension of NATO to the growth of IMF austerity actions). Me personally, I reject waterboarding as I believe in alternatives. Even the CIA funded dictators and fascists for decades. With these wars, the West has gained many resources from economic power to political alliances. Most of the common people have not benefited from these wars, but the West in the 1 percent have politically and economically benefited from the war on terror (with corporate profits growing and the growth of the West's powerbase). These actions were called imperialism by many experts not just by me. They are highly more intelligent and qualified on such matters than the skeptics. No, the shed blood of people in foreign lands will not be sugarcoated by anyone here period. Actions of imperialism extend into the current administration as well like other Brothers and Sisters have documented too. Yes, the death of Black Libyans has been truly evil. Economics is important to comprehend. The reality is that Wall Street interests have stolen money from taxpayers' dollars for a very long time. The war on terror has contributed to the increase of the budgetary deficit. That influenced the creation of 7 trillion dollars in debt. There is nothing wrong with using resources honestly and honorably to assist the poor. Not a single thing. We have been doing this since the beginning of human history. Neoliberalism and austerity measures don't work. We need to build infrastructure not cut, cut, and do more cutting of everything. Human beings want investments not permanent austerity. Many of the reactionaries don't like economic justice, racial justice, environmental justice, and social justice. That is why I respect a true end to the War on Drugs and I reject imperialism. This issue is important. I will never back down from my core convictions at all.

Stand Your Ground has many ambiguous sections in it. The law has not radically assisted the black community at all. Human beings have the right to disagree with the law and call for radical, revolutionary solutions. That law has been exploited by reactionaries to justify prejudice and stereotypes about black people. The law has been used by racists as a means for them to try to excuse the heinous immoral, extrajudicial murders of our Brothers and our Sisters. A 2012 study found that defendants invoking the defense that they were “standing their ground” are significantly more likely to prevail if the victim was black. Other research has found that states with Stand Your Ground laws have more homicides, and that the laws do not deter crime at all. Armstrong Williams is Armstrong Williams. I heard of him for years. He is in league with the dogmas of white supremacy without question. I don't agree with him. Some of our people will just be left behind. It is our job to continue moving forward and organize in independent grassroots movements to fight for change. We fight for change in the interests of the masses of the people. Exactly, the poor are heavily exploited all of the time by the powers that be. Mammon should not be placed as God. Now, things are more sophisticated. Some want to use "humanitarianism" as a means to justify the war crimes against humanity globally from drone strikes to IMF-styled austerity measures. I am researching more about cooperatives, independent community development plans, and other economic alternatives that we can develop. There are mainstream establishment conservative talking points like usual. The truth is that not all Republicans are monolithic, but they are ruled heavily by radical factions. Also, folks here know of the errors found in the Democratic Party in its history. I am a political independent, so I don’t belong to the Republican Party or the Democratic Party. That is the point.  Folks have the right to believe in what they want to. I have the subsequent right to believe in what I want. I will never back down from my belief system at all. Every industrialized nation has universal health care except America. Many nations have been successful with them. So, it has worked in many nations and there is nothing folks can do about it. You can have universal health care without cutting massive corners massively. Many nations have developed a combination of public and private policies as a means to provide universal health care for its citizens (there are those who want a single payer system in America too). One success story is Norway. All citizens and residents are insured. Yes, on a side note, Finland has great universal education too with great success. Health care in Norway is financed through tax revenues, and taxes in Norway equal 45 percent of GDP. (In the U.S. total taxes collected by state, local and federal governments add up to about 33% of GDP). In return, Norwegians receive generous benefits and are free to choose their own doctor. Svein Toverud has given testimony about universal health care there in Norway too. Many medical experts and physicians want universal health care in America. These are experts and I trust their expertise. Even Medicare has been successful and it is a public health care program for seniors. There are many safety standards in Norway and Singapore. Both nations are cosmopolitan. So, some folks need to not be desperate. Pollution is related to universal health care, because pollution in the environment can harm children, increase health care costs (because an increase of pollution will allow more humans to go into hospitals to pay more bills for services), and harm society in other ways. Sometimes, you need legitimate regulation to prevent corporations from engaging in massive, unwarranted pollution. A greener planet can improve health period. There is nothing wrong with private and public funding for maternity leave.

Also, some using that card about the Democrats doesn’t work on me when the fascists have a history in the Republican Party including other white racists in the Southern Strategy. That has been documented in the book entitled, "The Nazi Hydra in America: Suppressed History of a Century" by Glen Yeadon. The leadership of the GOP still supported that Strategy including Richard Nixon back then, so people have the right to bring it up just like many folks have the right to expose some Democrats making errors too (in supporting the KKK and advancing Jim Crow apartheid). Carter started to deregulate and encourage many reactionary policies by the end of his term, so Jimmy Carter was not a super strong progressive on economics at all. Carter deregulated airlines, trucking, railroads, oil and interest rates, and set up much of the deregulation machinery that Reagan would later use. Ronald Reagan took those reactionary policies to the next level. His policies increased the national debt by 3X, he caused Iran Contra to exist, he allowed the trade deficit to grow, he funded fascist Latin American regimes (that caused the slaughter of people of color, etc.), and he did other errors. There could enumerable alternatives to Reaganomics as a means to enrich the economy during the 1980's. Reagan and his crew were stubborn to reject any alternative thinking other than neoliberalism. Many Republican members are moral hypocrites. There needs to be no further discussion about those issues. GOP members Newt Gingrich, David Vitter, Spencer Bachus, and now Mark Sanford, etc. have talked about family values for years, but were caught in committing adultery against their loved ones. The War on Drugs did have something to do with the Southern Strategy. Many GOP members played on fear and bigotry and used the War on Drugs in combination with the Southern Strategy as a means to cause some to scapegoat the poor and minorities for crime collectively. All of that has been documented by the great Sister's book "The New Jim Crow" by Sister Michelle Alexander. The Sister is a great Mother and a Strong Black Woman that I have huge respect for. Much War on Drugs policies harmed the black community and they originated from Republican hands. I refuse to support the Republicans. Also, many Democrats back then opposed Jim Crow segregation and the Klan. I make no justification for the mistakes of the Democrats at all. We should all oppose the system of white supremacy and replace that system with JUSTICE. So, no party is perfect. People from across the political spectrum have exposed the Patriot Act as detrimental to human civil liberties even Ron Paul. Section 802 is specifically aimed at defining terrorism in very ambiguous terms. The Patriot Act is part and parcel of the anti-human rights surveillance agenda. I will never support a law that harms due process and our other human rights. The Bush tax cuts along with the Iraq War expanded the deficit, harmed the economy, and contributed to the modern recession from 2007. The Iraq War was unjust. Iraq was no a direct threat to America or its neighbors. There was no Congressional declaration of war. Iraq had no extensive weapons of mass destruction. Iraq did not attack another nation via invasion in that time period. A strong negotiated settlement can easily handle that situation in Iraq since if Iraq attacked any nation in that region, Iraq would have been totally attacked. The war was organized by neo-cons that wanted Iraq's resources and its other strategic infrastructure (as a means to recreate the Middle East in conducive to Western interests). The PNAC Document and other plans for years have those who wanted the Iraq War. I am not a Democrat, so some folks talking about Andrew Jackson and errors from Democrats have no relevance to my ideological views at all. I am a political independent. Also, many people from across the political spectrum opposed the Iraq War for diverse reasons. They are sincere human beings. Bill Clinton was not perfect, but he at least expanded the economy somewhat with slight tax increases. Clinton caused a budget surplus and George W. Bush created a budget deficit. Bush's errors from his Bush tax cuts, Katrina, and to the recession should never ever be omitted (especially by black people). Also, the Bush Iraq War was wrong too including imperialism is wrong as well. The words from John McCain, Lindsey Graham, and others from the Republican establishment outline their neo-conservative, imperialist agenda. So, I will never back down. 

Jason Weaver is right. In the final analysis, we have to celebrate more on our accomplishments than glamorize degeneracy and error filled behavior. It is always pro-black to strive for excellence, to go out and treat our neighbors as ourselves, and to go out and achieve greatness basically. I feel for the young daughter and the adults laughing at her should be ashamed of themselves. What Weaver did in 2011, which is years ago, has nothing to do with the legitimate, valid points that the Brother made. Egging on a young Sister to do this is truly deplorable. I hope the 4 year old can be a strong Black Woman in the future. Now, this issue is bigger than Lil Bossie (he should not be scapegoated since he is a victim of the vicious system too). We have to instill real values in our people like ethics, altruism, compassion, rejecting anti-human behavior, and rejecting the glamorization of the N word. Both genders of the black community should have the responsibility to be strong, mature adults too. We can never be fully strong unless black men and black women are strong too. We should fight discrimination, the prison industrial complex, and the War on Drugs like usual. Yet, we have to clean up our own House too. NO ONE CAN FULLY CLEAN UP OUR HOUSE BUT US. We have to further develop our families, grow our community, and we should never support any ignorant behavior among our people at all. We have to be real and keep it real. Men and Women are valuable in the Universe. We are one. We are one in the human race. We have many similarities and differences and when we unite for real solutions, true BALANCE can develop. Male and female influences are needed in the raising of a child, because a child can fully understand the great worth of males and females too. Children are precious. If I had a daughter, there is no way that she would be online saying words like that at all. We are in unison ideologically on that topic. I hope for the best for the child. Lil Bossie has the resources to take care of the child. As many have written, a child needs more things than money alone. A child needs care, education (about their black identity and the greatness of their inherit human value), protection, and inspiration from parents. I pray for the child to have great accomplishments. Lil Bossie should count his blessings and use this opportunity to condemn the degradation of black people not only found in some music, but found in Western society in general. He should go out in public and fight poverty, fight racial injustice, and fight the evil mainstream images that slander our beautiful black cultural ethos. Subsequently, we should all do our part in living a righteous life and advocate solutions in our communities too.

By Timothy