Real Information in late August 2014

The mainstream capitalist system obviously doesn’t work. History has proven that daily. The system is growing income inequality globally which has grown many tensions in the world. Capitalism deals with the essence of materialism and consumerism. Capitalism in its present form has destroyed and poisoned much of the physical environment, which is an inescapable truth. When we see an economy rooted in consumption, waste, and environmental degradation, then we need alternatives to it. Over three quarters of the U.S. GDP is based on buying cheap items or unhealthy foods. American exceptionalism and the worship of capitalism is just Eurocentric ideology. Also, the essence of trade existed for millennia before modern capitalism existed (which came about in ca. five centuries ago). The wealthiest 2% own a massive amount of the resources of the world. We have union busting, and other evils that must end. The current crony capitalist system is making the rich richer and the poor poorer. We should not apologize for a wicked system, but end it and replace it with a system designed what is best for the people. We are in a class struggle. We were self-sufficient for thousands of years in the Motherland with self-determination. It was when the modern capitalist system cam about that caused more inequalities and many of us have been locked out of opportunities. The average person should be empowered. Many reactionaries talk about Mao, Hitler, and Stalin. First, Hitler bashed unions, ended civil liberties, and did other anti-progressive actions. Mao and Stalin weren’t true communists any more than the crusaders killing people were true Christians. Lenin abolished the elected workers’ soviets or council. Stalin extended other totalitarian policies later on. That is why people have the right to own their own home, car, etc., but people have the right have democratically run worker MANAGED enterprises.

Spike Lee is RIGHT to say that there is a war on Black America. Historically, the Maafa alone dealt with some Europeans harming, brutalizing, raping, and killing black African peoples (which started over four hundred years ago). John Henrik Clarke, and other scholars have proven this conclusively. History proves that we are in a struggle for our true liberation as black people. Our ancestors were brutalized by evil people. America was built originally by war and America has caused death against black people and caused genocide against Native Americans. That is a historical fact. Black Wall Street being destroyed by white racist mobs, the FBI using COINTELPRO to violate the human civil liberties of black people including others, the existence of discriminatory policies, the evil Tuskegee Experiment, etc. document the war on Black America by the one percent (and its agents). There is a great documentary called “COINTELPRO: The FBI’s War on Black America” which documents a lot of the words of Spike Lee. Now, we should be more moral. We should both fight against police brutality and black on black crime too. We can both IMPROVE our communities (our families should develop, we should be upright, we should always love our black heritage, and we should be educated on the truth) and stand up against the systemic problems in our communities too. We must do both. We need radical structural changes in society. Spike Lee is right that we don’t live in a post racial society when the President was sworn in as President. Everything is not okay. We have to address poverty and people deserve economic justice. Police typically stand up for their own. The blue wall of silence is no myth. There is no justification for some of the police to harm peaceful protesters including journalists with tear gas. There is no justification for one officer in Ferguson to threaten a protester there as well recently. The events of Ferguson are a tipping point of things that has transpired there for years including decades. We have every right to oppose the system of white supremacy and to believe in justice for black people. Humanity deserves freedom. Crooked cops have harmed people across backgrounds (regardless of color) and that is true too. Therefore, we need to talk about these issues and use strategies and plans as a means for us to develop solutions. I RESPECT the courage of the old school BPP. They came about in 1966 and they inspire us to this very day.

The global reaction to the unrest in Ferguson is very much expected. People internationally have the right to express themselves. Amnesty International has shown a lot of research on this issue and Ferguson is having a crisis. We have to discuss about racism, police issues, protesters, and other relevant issues if we want society to have real changes. No nation on Earth is perfect and we have to keep on improving ourselves too. Many people internationally have exposed the evils and hypocrisy of Western imperialism (like how some U.S. elites claim to advocate democratic principles, but many of these same U.S. elites have supported coups that have overthrown democratically elected governments in foreign lands). America and every nation on Earth must CLEAN up their houses. Each person is right on certain points. Harris Faulkner is correct to say that the situation in Ferguson does deal with economic issues, the militarization of the police, etc. Geraldo is right that many people will see the situation through the prism of race. America in its history is proof of that. Some people will have certain perceptions of the situation based on racial reasons. That is just a fact. Many scholars, sociologists, and experts have documented how white privilege is a reality in Western society. Populists have exposed the actions of the 1%. There must be radical, revolutionary changes in society. We have to discuss and deal with the real issue of race if we want to be a better society. We have a long WAY TO GO, but we should never quit. We should keep on going and keep on fighting for justice. Talib Kweli is a conscious Brother. He knows about many important issues in the world. Don Lemon has INTERRUPTED the man a lot of times. Don Lemon could of waited and allowed Talib to say his piece and Lemon can then respond to him. Talib Kweli made a great point of saying that he must get his point across and then Lemon can respond. Yes, I know about the group Blackstar too. Talib Kweli is a great musician and he is great activist. The truth is that many officers used tear gas against men, women, and even children. Many officers have cursed out and threaten peaceful protesters. That is totally documented.

The history of the Middle East is a very long one. It is filled with controversy, joy, wars, and the development of some of the most well-known monotheistic religions in world history. The lands of the Middle East stretch from the Arabian Peninsula to the Iranian Plateau. The first humans existed from Africa. Human beings from Africa migrated globally, which definitely includes the Middle East. In ca. 10,000 B.C., there was the development of intensive flock management in the Zagros Mountains. Back in the 8th millennium B.C, Emmer wheat was domesticated and cultivated in southeast Turkey. Turkey experienced many settlements during the Neolithic age like in Nevali Cori in ca. 8,000 B.C. and in Cathalhoyuk in southern Anatolia. In Turkey and throughout the Middle East crops grew and soon the domestication of the cow came in the Middle East by the 7th millennium B.C. Irrigation existed in Mesopotamia by ca. 5,400 B.C. The wheel and plough was created in ancient Mesopotamia in the 5,000’s B.C. too including temples being founded. Early civilizations were developed during the 4,000’s B.C. like the Civilization of Susa and Kish (in Mesopotamia) by ca. 4,500 B.C. The Merimde culture developed on the Nile from 4,570 B.C. to 4,250 B.C. The famous Badari culture was in Egypt on the Nile from 4,400 B.C. to 4,000 B.C. The Sumerian civilization developed in this time period as well. They are known for created writing in Mesopotamia. The Sumerian civilization was a network of city states in the region of Sumer (or southern Iraq). These city states had agricultural, irrigation canals, markets and a concentrated population. The two centers were Eridu and Uruk, which are their earliest cities. Although the earliest forms of writing in the region do not go back much further than c. 3500 BCE, modern historians have suggested that Sumer was first permanently settled between c. 5500 and 4000 BCE by a non-Semitic people who may or may not have spoken the Sumerian language (pointing to the names of cities, rivers, basic occupations, etc. as evidence). They had priest kings, councils, polytheistic religions, and other forms of advanced civilizations. By ca. 2,400 B.C., the Semitic speaking kinds of the Akkadian Empire conquered them. Native Sumerians re-emerged to rule for about a century in the third dynasty of Ur of the 21st to 20th century. There were mountain peoples who were farmers and herders. The Anatolian peoples were farmers too. Many Semitic human beings were sheep herders and farmers as well. From 3,500 to 2,500 B.C., the civilizations of Mesopotamia grew. The peoples of the Middle East traded with Africa, India, and with the Indo-Europeans peoples of Asia as well. The period of 2,500 B.C. to 1,500 B.C. described the growth of civilizations, empires, and new states. During this time, Mesopotamia saw the rise of Babylonia into the next level. The Mitanni Empire existed in Northern Iraq (which was influenced by Semites and Indo-Europeans). Syria and Canaan grew. The Hittite Empire flourished and they traded with ancient Egypt as well. Elam developed and Elam is found in modern day Iran. During this time period, centralized states became more sophisticated. A complex commercial life, bureaucracies, and well organized armed existed (as a means to maintain the strength of Empires). People used the chariot as a means for warfare or travel. There were massive upheavals and power structures for influence in the Middle East. Ancient Egypt was the most powerful empire in the region during that time period.

The murder of James Foley was evil, unjustified, and wicked. His murder was barbaric and it was done at the hands of ISIS or the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. People have express genuine revulsion at the actions of the terrorist ISIS group. Foley was an opponent of war. He wanted to go into journalism as a means to expose war’s human impact on nations like Syria, Libya, and Iraq. Many people have shown sorrow over his death. Folks admire his work as a journalist and his generosity as a human being. ISIS videotaped his beheading. They said that his beheading was done in retaliation for the U.S. bombing campaign in Iraq, which has targeted ISIS targets. The truth is the Foley has no control over Western bombings or the actions of Iraq. So, ISIS is a morally bankrupt group who has a reactionary world outlook. The politics of ISIS and other Al-Qaeda linked group never reflect true liberation views or true aspirations of the oppressed who seek imperialist oppression to end. They or ISIS represent the interests of the nihilistic, disaffected bourgeois layers in the Muslim world who want to manipulate sectarian divisions as a means to advance a reactionary agenda. They or some of the neo-cons want to exploit the horror over Foley’s death to continue the status quo of war and tensions. Now, many in the West want to escalate the U.S. military intervention in the region. The neo-cons are exploiting the death of Foley as a means to desire America to fight a war in Syria and Iraq. Thus, the Wall Street Journal editorialized Thursday that ISIS had grown because of “Obama’s refusal to intervene in Syria” and “his total withdrawal from Iraq in 2011.” It demanded that the US president “get over his political fixation on ending Mr. Bush’s wars and admit that this country must fight again in Iraq.” The truth is that the rise of ISIS was fueled by U.S. imperialism. The White House armed and supported Islamist led militias in wars for regime change in Libya and in Syria. The secular head of state in Libya named Muammar Gaddafi was toppled and now Libya is in chaos. These same militants evolved into ISIS (who opposes Bashar Al-Assad’s regime). ISIS for a while has beheaded people, state employees, religious minorities, etc. Since ISIS has spread more into Iraq, then the U.S. now is having more airstrikes. Iraq has been harmed for decades via air strikes, the U.S. invasion of 2003, and eight years of occupation (which grown sectarian divisions even more). Cheney should not talk about Iraqi policy since he was one architect of the unjust war on Iraq and he’s an outright war criminal. Iraq and the region need revolutionary solutions done by workers, the poor, and other like minded Middle Eastern human beings.


By Timothy