Monday News

We find the one in five U.S. children do not have enough to eat. This has been expressed by the U.S. national network of food bank called Feeding America. It released its annual report on local food insecurity on Thursday. It found that many counties in America where one third of children do not get enough to eat. We know that 49 million people or 16 percent of the U.S. population lived in food insecure households in 2012. That was the latest year for which figures are available. This was up from 11.1 percent in 2007. The level of food insecurity among children is even worse. It has affected a staggering 16 million children or 21.6 percent. “Food insecurity is higher than at any time since the Great Depression,” said Ross Fraser, director of media relations for Feeding America, the national network of charitable food banks. “One in six Americans live at risk of hunger, as do one in five children,” he added. If you broke down each state, the situation is far worse in many parts of the country. One example is that in Mississippi, 22.3 percent of the population or almost one in four are food insecure. There are about 29 percent of children in New Mexico (or nearly one third of all children) being food insecure. There are sixteen states—including California, the most populous state in the country—where more than one in four children are food insecure. Food insecurity means that a household doesn’t have access to an adequate amount of food to maintain an active, healthy lifestyle. Some folks are missing meals or eat non-nutritious foods (like even a bowl of rice not a balanced meal). “When the recession hit, the number of food insecure people skyrocketed, from about 38 million people to about 50 million,” Fraser added. “Despite the proclamation that the recession is over, what this data shows is that people are having a very tough time making ends meet and securing enough food for themselves and their families.” Los Angeles County, the New York metropolitan area, and Cook County (which includes Chicago) had the highest numbers of food insecure people in the US. There are 1.6 million food insecure people in Los Angeles, 1.4 million in New York’s five boroughs, and 0.8 million in Cook County. Twenty-one percent of residents (more than one in five) in Wayne County, which includes Detroit, were food insecure in 2012, as were 20 percent of residents in Dallas, Texas. 28 percent of children in Washington, D.C. live in food insecure households. Rural poverty and hunger are pervasive. Four out of the five counties with the highest levels of food insecurity in America were in rural Mississippi. We have high hunger in inner cities and rural America. Fraser said that hunger is everywhere not just in those 2 areas. The Feeding America report is based on the organization’s analysis of 2012 data published last year by the US Department of Agriculture. Other, less comprehensive surveys indicate that food insecurity has grown significantly since then. According to the US Conference of Mayors, demand for emergency food assistance in 25 major cities increased seven percent in 2013, following an increase of 22 percent in 2012. There have been 2 consecutive cuts to food stamps benefits over the past six months. Emergency food stamps funding implemented in 2009 expired on November 1, 2013 via Congress. This includes further cuts in 8.7 billion dollars over 10 years signed by the President in early 2014. The annual cut to food stamp benefits was $5 billion from the first cut alone, amounting to the entire operating budget of the Feeding America network. “It was like wiping out everything we do,” said Fraser. Food stamp benefits pay an average of $134 per months for individuals and $290 for families or about $1.40 per person per meal. Food stamp funds have been depleted. People are not making end meet on low wage jobs. The growth of poverty, hunger, homelessness, etc. has grown as a result of the policies pursued by the ruling class since the 2008 economic crash. Trillions of dollars have been sent to Wall Street in bank bailouts and unending cuts came in wages, benefits, and social programs.


According to Alissa Sasso from the Environmental Defend Fund there are 120 hazardous, unregulated chemicals in America. The recent spills in West Virginia and North Carolina exposed a spotlight on toxic hazards in our midst. Many of these incidents are disgraces. Also, we have to know the chronic flow of hazardous chemicals existing with little notice and minimal regulation. There is a new report from the Environmental Defense Fund (or the EDF) entitled, “Toxics Across America.” It tallies billions of pounds of chemicals in the American marketplace that are known or strongly suspected to cause increasingly common disorders, including certain cancers, developmental disabilities and infertility. Folks know that modern society consumes huge amounts of chemicals. Many of them are dangerous. Under current law, it is harder still to find out where and how these substances are used. We know enough to establish a sizeable share of them end up in one form or another in the places where we live and work. The new report looked at 120 chemicals that have been identified by multiple federal, state, and international officials as known or suspected health hazards. Using the latest—albeit limited—data collected by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the report identifies which of these chemicals are in commerce in the U.S.; in what amounts they are being made; which companies are producing or importing them; where they are being produced or imported; and how they are being used. There is an interactive online map accompanying the report lets the user access the report’s data and search by chemical, by company, by state, and by site location. The interactive map shows the sites of production or import of the MTS list chemicals. One additional site in Hawaii is not shown. The dot colors reflect the numbers of MTS List chemicals reported at each site. The report found that at least 81 of the chemicals on the list are produced or imported to the U.S. annually in amounts of 1 million pounds or more. There are at least 14 chemicals that exceed 1 billion pounds produced or imported annually including carcinogens like formaldehyde and benzene, and the endocrine disruptor bisphenol A—or BPA. More than 90 chemicals on the list are found in consumer and commercial products. At least eight chemicals are used in children’s products. The map shows these chemicals are produced or imported in all parts of the nation (like in 45 states as well as the Virgin Islands). 40 listed chemicals are found in companies with sites in Texas, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. These toxic chemicals are everywhere and some information is masked form public disclosure. The EPA only collects the data every 4 years. Chemical companies often don’t know and aren’t required to find out where or how the chemicals they make are being used. Many Americans think that someone is regulating the chemicals to make sure that we are safe. Yet, federal law has loopholes that can limit chemicals shown in the report. That is why more safeguards and more alternatives are needed to protect people. There is bipartisan legislation being worked on that would require greater evidence of safety for both chemicals already in use and new chemicals before they enter the market. That is a good thing. If folks drive development of and access to more chemical safety data, then it would give not only government but also product makers and consumers much more of the information they need to identify and avoid dangerous chemicals, and strengthen incentives to develop safer alternatives.


We should always remember the heroines that stood up for our human rights. There were great men and especially great women who fought for justice and human decency in the world. We can witness the fact that Coretta Scott King had just as much an important role in fighting for social change as Dr. Martin Luther King had. We know about Mrs. King, Betty Shabazz, and Rosa Parks. Also, other unsung heroes during that era of the 1950’s and the 1960’s include human beings like Ella Baker, Septima Poinsetta Clark, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Vivian Malone Jones. Baker was a great organizer for the SCLC or the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. She worked behind the scenes to help humanity. She was considered to be the head of the organization. She also was the Mother of SNCC. Septima Clark was an educator who played a role in a legal victory that allowed black people to become principals in public schools in Charleston, South Carolina. Fannie Lou Hamer was a Mississippi sharecropper. She was beaten and jailed in 1962 for just trying to register to vote. She co-founded the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. She also spoke in the 1964 Democratic National Convention to condemn the Democrats including its Dixiecrats’ oppression against black people in America. Vivian Jones defied Governor George Wallace by being one of the first black students to enroll at the University of Alabama in 1963. There are tons of women (then and now) that worked in organizing, planning, and executing action in the world. These are role models for females today including all of humanity. We witness Mrylie Evers-Williams being the first woman and layperson to deliver the invocation at President Barack Obama’s inauguration. Today, we are still facing evils from the remnants of the Southern Strategy like Voter ID laws, environmental pollution, austerity measures, etc. We must reject the status quo and not worship privileged upper middle class sensibilities. We ought to continue to demand great jobs, housing, health care, and education. We can’t be satisfied when war crimes existed globally and poverty including hunger persist in America including the world. Therefore, we must continue on the journey to advocate economic justice and other revolutionary solutions concretely.


This event of the South Korean ferry disaster is a horrendous disaster and it is complex. Rescues ought to continue on their work to rescue possible survivors and recover the lives of those who might have deceased. Investigators should continue to do their jobs in figuring the whole reason on why the ship sunk massively into the body of water. The information so far details much confusion & incompetence among the crewmembers and people from the Jeju Vessel Traffic (the captain could of done a lot more to save lives). I am glad that massive divers are at the scene to try to rescue human life too. Their actions are brave and heroic. The man who committed suicide could have easily told all. By him telling all to the authorities (excluding suicide), potentially more lives can be saved and a better understanding of the incident can be realized. The families of the survivors and the missing are going through unspeakable pain and suffering. They deserve support, prayers, and comfort during their hallowing time. Not to mention that genocides have occurred throughout the Earth not just in Africa. Many civil wars in Africa have been agitated by outside forces. European imperialism damaged much of Africa. "How Europe Underdeveloped Africa" is a book written by Walter Rodney that describes that reality in great detail. That is why Africans are fighting to rebuild and improve their own lands day in and day out. Before European imperialism, there was no Holocaust, no world wars, no Maafa, no Berlin Conference, and no international war on terror. Also, Africa is not monolithic. There are many parts of Africa with great, modern amenities. So, Janice is one person who is telling the truth that the barbaric actions of white racists should not be sugarcoated at all. Even the poor then and now have given back to their communities. Therefore, many of these rich celebrities can do the same. We live in a new generation where technology has made the world smaller. These celebrities can use technology and other forms of media as a means for them to more directly help the poor, resolve conflicts, and enrich lives of their neighbors. Giving back is not just creating a tax break. It is about confronting the current power structure, fighting poverty, and seeking revolutionary change in the world. Also, we all have the responsibility to help our people too. You have made the truth plain like usual. There have been imperialist Democrats and imperialist Republicans. That is a fact of history. One example is the imperialist efforts among members of both parties during the Spanish American war (when after Cuba gained its independence, the U.S. corporations exploited Cuban resources. The imperialist forces promoted a Jim Crow racist culture in Cuba back in the early 20th century as proven by Professor Henry Louis Gates) and the Philippine American War. The Marines invaded Haiti too and ruled it for a while, which was about conquering territory & exploiting its resources. That is imperialism. So, imperialism is not totally monolithic in its composition. Modern day neo-imperialism allow Western states to use corporations and instruments like the IMF to extract resources from various nations (the wars in Iraq, the bombings in Libya via NATO, etc. have more to do with advancing select Western interests not protecting the security & the interests of all of the American people. How are my interests promoted when innocent black Libyan people were killed by Western backed terrorists? They aren't. Iraq, Libya, etc. were no direct threats to American soil at all). The Iraq War involved the destruction of Iraqi infrastructure, occupation, and the establishment of a pro-Western regime. Not to mention that scholars including other credible experts have exposed many of the neo-imperialist functions of the modern day war on terror too.


One of the most interesting architecture images are found in London, UK. London itself has been influenced by esoteric orders for centuries. London plays an important role in the outline of world international power too. London is home to numerous esoteric sites. First, it is important to know some of its ancient history. For thousands of years, settlements have existed in London (which surrounds the River Thames). During the ancient times, megalithic societies build stone circles and burial mounds. There were more sophisticated settlements and hill forts constructed during the Iron Age. Primrose Hill is one remnant of a megalithic location in London. London was called Caerlundein after King Lud from the 1st century B.C. The Romans named it Londinium and then it has been called London. The ancient Romans invaded London in ca. 54 B.C. via Julius Caesar and his soldiers. They encountered the Druids. Julius Caesar said that the Druids did divine worship, human sacrifice, and the burning of prisoners in the “wicker men.” The Druids were heavily pagans and they worshipped Nature. From the events of Queen Boudicca, etc. the ancient Romans and the Druids constantly fought each other. The Knights Templar had a base in London too. Dr. John Dee believed in the occult and advised Queen Elizabeth to grow the British Empire. The Great Fire of 1666 destroyed over 13,000 buildings in London. Then, it had to be rebuilt. Christopher Wren helped to rebuild much of London. He was one of the acclaimed English architects in history. He helped to rebuild 52 churches in the City of London. He was educated in Latin and Aristotelian physics at the University of Oxford. He was an astronomer, geometer, and mathematician-physicist. He was a founder of the Royal Society. There is the debate whether Christopher Wren was a Freemason or not. Evidence from two obituaries and Aubrey's memoirs, with supporting materials, that he did indeed attend the closed meeting in 1691, probably of the Lodge of Antiquity, but that there is nothing to suggest that he was ever a Grand Officer as claimed by Anderson. He or Christopher Wren wanted London’s new buildings to be set 2,000 cubits apart. 2,000 cubits or 23 of a mile represent the distance from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem. This was the furthest a Jewish person was allowed to walk during the Sabbath according to tradition. He inspired the creation of Saint Paul’s Cathedral, which not surprisingly is aligned 2,000 cubits from Temple Bar to the West and 2,000 cubits from St Dunstan’s in the East. According to Andrew Gough, “…Other buildings erected after the fire, such as the Monument and Nelson’s Column, were either designed with occult-inspired dimensions or aligned to the solstices. Further, Wren’s student Nicholas Hawksmoor followed in the occult tradition by placing Egyptian obelisks on top of churches, forming, in the estimations of some, a pentagram on the ground across London. …” We know that the obelisk from the ancient capital of Heliopolis was installed on the south bank of the Thames. Andrew Gough also wrote that: “…Cleopatra’s Needle, as the London obelisk is known, is flanked by two replica sphinxes that appear to guard the ancient structure. In fact, sphinxes adorn the whole of London’s Embankment, including armrests on the benches along the Thames…” So, occult traditions are very much powerful in London then and now.


By Timothy