Weekend News in May 24, 2014

There are fusion centers used nationwide that spy against not only the Occupy Movement, but other peaceful movements in America. There is a report based on documents obtained by the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund. It provides highlights and analysis of how the DHS (or Department of Homeland Security) funded Fusion Centers that used their vast anti-terrorism and anti-crime authority (and funds to conduct a sprawling nationwide hour by hour surveillance effort). This effort even targeted even the smallest activity of peaceful protestors in the Occupy Movement in the Fall and Winter of 2011. The report was released in conjunction with a major story in the NY Times that is based on the 4,000 pages of government documents. These documents were uncovered by the PCJF or the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund. They investigated this issue for two years. The fusion centers were created after the 9/11 attacks. It has immorally collected and provided surveillance information on peaceful protestors. The Pentagon, FBI, DHS, police departments, and chiefs, private contractors, and commercial business interests are all involved in spying fusion centers. So, people advocating social and economic justice in America are still illegally monitored all of the time. Until now, the role of the Fusion Centers in their application of anti-terrorism authority and resources has been shrouded in secrecy. In 2012, the Senate issued an investigative report on the Fusion Centers that The Washington Post described as revealing “pools of ineptitude, waste and civil liberties intrusions.” The Department of Homeland Security in typical fashion condemned the report and defended the fusion centers. They believe that the report used out of date data from 2009 and 2010. Yet, the evidence of the report proves that the fusion centers continue to this day. The FBI and other domestic intelligence and law enforcement target Occupy. The fusion centers violate human individual freedoms and they should be defunded and ended immediately. Although the Fusion Centers’ existence is justified by the DHS as a necessary component in stopping terrorism and violent crime, the documents show that the Fusion Centers in the Fall of 2011 and Winter of 2012 were devoted to unconstrained targeting of a grassroots movement for social change that was acknowledged to be peaceful in character. The PCJF said that one DHS commander subscribes to the PCJF’s constituent emails via his personal email account (and send their emails to his DHS account and circulates them to other law enforcement personnel). The PCJF is fighting for the drop the charges against the 700 peaceful protestors who had been mass arrested on the Brooklyn Bridge on October 1, 2011 (the PCJF is also litigating the class action constitutional rights suit from those arrests.) We should take action on this issue. Fusion centers ought to be condemned and ended in America.

Cuban’s opinion on black people in hoodies is all the more reason on why we should fight false stereotypes day in and day out. I don’t care what someone is wearing. If a person is not messing with me, I will not cross over across the street. I judge someone on their character & deeds on their skin color. False stereotypes and erroneous biases ought to be condemned and rejected. In the final analysis, we will never receive justice until the system of racism/white supremacy is ended being replaced with justice. We have to understand that we are not truly free totally and we have to educate ourselves and others on the deceptive mechanisms of oppression. Racism is more than about discrimination. It is about the scapegoating, evil exploitation, oppression, and mistreatment of people based on skin color. We should not seek validation from the comments of the one percent or ignorant corporate elites spewing vile rhetoric. All people should grow and gain more wisdom. No one is perfect and his comments remind us of the work that we have to do in making the world better. What is most important are not Mark Cuban's comments. It is about how we can further mentor youth, how we can fight against the disparities found in the criminal justice system, how can we strengthen our families (since mothers and fathers are so valuable in raising up a child), and how we advance economic justice. We have to do constructive action not just talk about the issue of racism (which I have no issue with). We should seek self-respect, execute dignity, and fight against evil. Some omit that the Holocaust, the genocide of Native Americans, the genocide of the Maafa, many of the war crimes during the war on terror in the 21st century, and other atrocities were organized and carried out heavily by non-blacks. Marcus Garvey was right to call black beautiful and to acknowledge the great value of the Motherland of Africa. Kwame Nkrumah, Patrice Lumumba, and other black leaders warned us about neo-colonialism from the West too. Some of our people will be blind and others are awaked. The deal is that we have to fight back. We have no choice or the battle is lost. There is nothing immoral at opposing the evil system of white supremacy. Yasiin Bey has always been a conscious human being. I do hope that whatever issues that deals with him being prevented from visiting America can be rectified, so he can visit America if he wants to. I respect those who leave America to build fruitfully in their own lives. I also respect those who stay in America and seek to fight the many injustice found in the USA too (like fusion centers monitoring innocent protesters, the prison industrial complex, police brutality, etc.). Yasiin Bey is right to expose torture and he is right to disagree with the evils found in the reactionary war on terror.




It is a shame that Tell Me More has been cancelled. Media diversity means many things. We as a community need diversity, but we also need quality too. Too many shows today advance degrading images of black people. Too many shows stereotype our people in a harsh fashion. That is why shows that offer crucial analysis of our own concerns and aspirations are important to advance. We are a diverse people, so our diverse interests, nationalities, and stories ought to be represented too. It won’t be an easy process to increase media diversity, because of economic issues, corporate power structures, and other reasons. Yet, we should fight for it. It is a legitimate goal to embrace. Also, we have the right to support qualified, credible black journalists and legitimate shows that depict a fair image of our people too. Real black people doing what is right need our support. New digital technology should be used to spread the message to African Americans who may not listen to radio. Wide spread media access is key in bringing the message from black voices to the people. We can’t sit behind the sidelines, because we have the right to advance our interests. I wish the best for Michel Martin also. Defining true black leadership depends on what black leadership folks are talking about. Tons of the mainstream black "leaders" have betrayed the black community on many occasions. Many of them have corporate ties and are loved by the establishment. Many of them back in the day opposed the liberation, anti-war agendas of Dr. King, Malcolm X, Fannie Lou Hamer, etc. Many grassroots, independent black leaders have been doing what is right for years. There are many leaders helping human beings with green programs, some are mentors, and many of them are helping with preventing tensions in our communities. Their stories are not readily shown by the mainstream media though. So, leaders should be decentralized. No one person can solve our issues alone. When we have tons of leaders and the people fighting numerous battles, then victory can be a certainty.


Dr. Ben Carson is slick. I will give him that. He is an excellent neurosurgeon and his accomplishments in that regard are inspiring. He is in error to compare a centrist health care law to slavery. The reality is that the modern system of racism has not been contrived by “liberals” as a means for them to divide people maliciously. It has been contrived by elites as a means to dominate and control societies (in causing people of color to live in the system of white supremacy). Extremists like Cliven Bundy, Sean Hannity, Limbaugh, etc. agitate racism including other forms of political agitation as well. We have to eliminate a color blind mentality, because disparities and discrimination exist based on race or skin color. We should all treat people the same irrespective of skin color, but we can’t wish racism away via reactionary propaganda. Racism is more than just individual action. It is systematic and structural, which Dr. Carson omits. We have to change institutions that harm society, we have to confront unjust laws, and we have to deal with the reality that false perceptions exist among people based on race. We should oppose those false perceptions, have discussions, do constructive action, etc. as a means to solve this problem. Any real human being would want self-improvement. The primary purpose of any university would be the education of students and other legitimate, focused goals. I have no issue with athletics. I love athletics. Yet, the function of learning skills, STEM subjects, business, the arts, etc. have a preeminence of importance above athletics. Some HBCUs are cutting postseason endeavors not totally ending athletic programs in general, so there is still time for some HBCUs to grow academic performance. Many schools have such problems, because of mismanagement, leadership problems, and other reasons. I am not a deficit hawk, but we need more than money to solve this problem. There should be a reminder to any athlete and non-athlete that human beings need something to fall back on (since the vast majority of those in an university will not go into the professional field of sports. That is a transparent fact). We should strive to be diverse. We should inspire anyone to learn on how to build or to create, to problem solve, and to comprehend great technological information (there is nothing wrong with athletics, but athletics should not be used as a crutch to minimize the importance of academics). Therefore, we need real solutions to address this issue and the solutions have to be comprehensive and deals with long term development. Also, many HBCUs need adequate financial and other resources too.


The Black Panthers were grassroots Brothers and Sisters that want to fight police brutality, economic inequality, and racial injustice. They allied with anti-imperialist movements globally and they sought even free health clinics for human beings. The FBI instituted COINTELPRO and other programs to violate the civil liberties of not only the Black Panthers, but other activists who disagreed with the aims of the status quo. At the end of the day, we either have power to the people or power owned heavily by the one percent. There were a lot of women not just men who were leaders in the Panthers too. Fred Hampton and others were unjustly murdered by policing authorities nationwide. The old school BPP may be gone, but their ideals are still in the hearts and minds of freedom loving peoples. Their revolutionary spirit is still within the souls of Brothers and Sisters all over the world. The oligarchs violating the human rights of activists back then are really deplorable. The Black Panthers were heroic human beings that wanted revolutionary change in the world. I wish that the young girls are found. Yet, some are exploiting the tragedy of the missing girls as an excuse to promote AFRICOM and further Western domination of the oil & mineral resources of Nigeria including the rest of Africa. Authorities so far can't find the girls. We know that the IMF and other agencies have a huge stake in the economic exploitation of Nigeria. Jonathan Goodluck (not just the Boko Haram terrorist group) have done injustices too. U.S. imperialism must end in Africa. Independent organizations should work to find the girls, but America should never activate a militarization agenda in the Motherland at all. I do pray that the girls are found though. These are our people. We need to focus on things that matter. These things are the care of our families, the compassion shown to the elderly including the poor, and the continuation of Black Love. We all live in this small planet and we cherish fundamental, legitimate humane principles (or opposition to torture, an end to imperialism, and the promotion of altruism), and we seek justice established among the inhabitants of the Earth. Black Love is a Revolutionary Act.


By Timothy