There are the double standards involving race and crime. We don’t see this type response in mostly white communities or white people who have done the exact same thing as blacks have done. Cliven Bundy has violated federal law and no militarized police is after him. We need strategies, organization, and political strength for us to be truly free. It is true that black people have the right to protect our own communities, even with arms (in a rational way). Black people have the right to be protect ourselves (armed, disciplined, intelligent, and strong Brothers and Sisters have every right to protect black people). Some in mainstream America view white criminals with complex interpretations on why they do it, while black crime is viewed by some in terms of some viewing black people as having a genetic tendency for moral degeneracy (which is totally racist). The truth is that no one should do wrong and most black people want justice and truth to realm in the world. There are some self-hating black people who would blame black people collectively for the death of Michael Brown, which is ludicrous. Many of the self-haters try to talk about black on black crime when black organizations have discussed and fought against black on black crime for years & decades. Group economics is fine and we need to build up our own infrastructures with our own resources. There is absolutely nothing wrong with self-determination. We need group economics, but not token “black capitalism.” We need our communities to respect economic justice, HEALTH CARE justice, environmental justice, and true freedom. In other words, there is nothing wrong with businesses growing, but we need workers’ rights to be protected too. We believe in black consciousness, black equality, and pride in our black African heritage. While at the same time, the poor need justice and there must be a radical redistribution of economic and political power as Brother Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. has said. Even Malcolm X criticized mainstream capitalism in early 1965. All power should be for the PEOPLE. That is why we believe in mass struggle against oppression in order for us to be free. We can never solve our issues without discussing about race and discussing about it in a real way. The point is that we should be more united in fighting oppression. We have to have hope, faith, and action. We should use proactive, constructive work in creating solutions. Black Unity is a must.
The U.S. airstrikes are tricky and they are hypocritical obviously. The U.S. is dropping bombs in Iraq to fight against ISIS. ISIS was created as a result of Washington’s disastrous occupation. Western warfare in Iraq for almost a quarter of century have bought poverty, violence, and oppression to the people of Iraq. Nuri al-Maliki has resigned as Prime Minister of Iraq. The air strikes come against convoys and artillery positions of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria or ISIS. The targets are in Northern Iraq. ISIS fighters want to get into Erbil or the capital city of the Iraqi Kurds. The Kurds have been a strong ally of the American allies during the war in Iraq including beyond. There has been humanitarian aid given to the Yazidi religious minority in Mount Sinjar, etc. The White House focused on the plight of the Yazidis as a means to justify renewed air strikes. In a speech announcing the operation, Obama said the U.S. "cannot turn a BLIND eye" in "a situation like we have on that mountain, with innocent people facing the prospect of violence on a horrific scale." This comes when the U.S. is supporting Israeli assaults on the civilian people of Gaza. The Yazidis are the victims of the Iraqi civil war that was heavily caused by the U.S. occupation. At one time, Sunni Muslims suffered the brunt of the violence at the hands of Shia militants (who were integrated into official Iraqi security forces). This gave rise to the radical Sunni extremists of ISIS. For American political leaders to say now that they are concerned with protecting religious and ethnic minorities from violence--violence they encouraged to maintain their rule during the occupation--is the height of hypocrisy. As Middle East studies professor Juan Cole wrote on his Informed Comment blog, "The United States of America has no claim on the language of 'humanitarian aid' to Iraq after what it did to that country." I have no issue with legitimate humanitarian aid sent to the Yazidis. The Pentagon could get Americans out of Iraq in hours, but U.S. imperialism wants American presence there. ISIS has attacked Mosul and other locations in Iraq. The collapse of Iraqi forces--numbering 350,000 soldiers and 650,000 police in all--in the face of ISIS exposed the rot of the new regime under Nuri al-Maliki, who is now widely opposed even among the Shia political parties that dominate the Iraqi government. No one believes an Army commanded by the Maliki can stop ISIS. That is why the West is aiding the Kurdish militia or the peshmerga to fight ISIS. Al-Maliki made the mistake of suppression the rights of the Sunnis, assaulting demonstrators, etc. which has grown ISIS. So, the war on terro has not worked for America or the Iraqis. In America, civil liberties have been curtailed and billions of dollars have not been used to rebuild American infrastructure. Iraq faces an uncertain future with bombings and civil war strife.
The Ferguson protests teach us a lot of lessons. The people in Ferguson, Missouri are courageously standing up for truth and justice. The police killing of Michael Brown is purely evil. We know that hundreds of protesters have been in the streets to speak their minds. Police have fired tear gas canisters and rubber bullets at innocent protesters. Journalists have been arrested too in an unjust fashion. Now, we have to respect the humanity of people. Michael Brown was about to go into college and he is dead because of the actions of the police officer Darren Wilson. So many of our people have been killed in this fashion like Eric Garner, Jonathan Crawford, Jonathan Farrell, Rekia Boyd, and so many other Brothers and Sisters. We know that police brutality have a long and horrendous history as it relates to the African American community. Back during the early 20th century, the police did nothing while white racist terrorists burned down Black Wall Street Street and in other areas of America. We know that the cops used water hoses and dogs on innocent black people (including black children) during the 1950’s and during the 1960’s. In Soweto South Africa decades ago, the racist apartheid regime used dogs and clubs to beat up black children in South Africa. Some children were killed by the crooked police. Crooked police officers act as the overseers of the power structure. The poor and the oppressed need power and respect. We have to hear people. We have to hear what the people of Ferguson want. Also, the police should be policed. Any officer should be accountable for their actions. There must be multiple levels of investigations of the conduct of the police in Ferguson. Nationwide, we should all use programs to address the needs of the people. Poverty and the War on Drugs must be confronted too.
It has been over 20 years since the creation of NAFTA. It is clear that NAFTA has harmed America and other nations via many ways. NAFTA came about in the early 1990’s. Bill Clinton promised the NAFTA would increase the existence of high quality jobs in America. Even Ross Perot predicted that the opposite would happen. Now, after 20 years, we see the truth that NAFTA sent tons of jobs overseas. Even the current President Barack Obama is negotiating a secret trade treaty that has been called “NAFTA on steroids.” If Congress agrees with this plan, America could lose millions of more good paying jobs. NAFTA came about in January 1, 1994. NAFTA has harmed the economy in many ways. More than 845,000 American workers have been officially certified for Trade Adjustment Assistance because they lost their jobs due to imports from Mexico or Canada or because their factories were relocated to those nations. Overall, it is estimated that NAFTA has cost us well over a million jobs. In the year before NAFTA, the U.S. had a trade surplus with Mexico and the trade deficit with Canada was only 29.6 billion dollars. Last year, the U.S. had a combined trade deficit with Mexico and Canada of 177 billion dollars. One professor has estimated that cutting the total U.S. trade deficit in half would create 5 million more jobs in the United States. NAFTA hasn’t worked out very well for Mexico either. Since 1994, the average yearly rate of economic growth in Mexico has been less than one percent. The exporting of massive amounts of government-subsidized U.S. corn down into Mexico has destroyed more than a million Mexican jobs. Many politicians even refuse to repeal NAFTA, because they follow a globalization agenda. The European Union is real and others have talked about a North American integration agenda too. Even the Trans Pacific Partnership agenda (or NAFTA of the Pacific) has 29 chapters, but only 5 percent of them have to do with trade. The trade deals with Internet freedom, trade, health care, derivatives, food safety, environmental issues, copyright issues, civil liberties, etc. So, people know the truth.
By Timothy
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