World War I has been called the Great War. WWI was about a global war, which centered mostly in Europe. It started from July 28, 1914 to November 1918. The war very bloody with more than 9 million combatants being killed and 7 million civilians died as a result of the war. The large casualty rate was due to more technological sophistication of warfare and the stalemate. It was one of the bloodiest conflicts in world history. The war was an inter-imperialist war when the Allied and the Central Powers fought each other for geopolitical power in the world. The Allied Forces were based on the Triple Entente of the UK, France, the Russian Empire, and other nations. America joined the Allied forces later on after the sinking of the Lusitania. The Central Powers involved Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria. The war began after decades of conflict between the Triple Entente and the Central Powers. Austria-Hungary also dealt with the former territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This angered the Kingdom of Serbia, because Serbian nationalists wanted to maintain their cultural, political powerbase in that region. The Balkan League fought the Ottoman Empire (which was weakening) in the First Balkan War from 1912 to 1913. On June 28, 1914, Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand visited the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo. He was killed by the assassin Gavrilo Princip. He was part of a group of a six assassin team (whose names are Cvjetko Popović, Gavrilo Princip, Muhamed Mehmedbašić, Nedeljko Čabrinović, Trifko Grabež, Vaso Čubrilović). The Black Hand organization was involved in the assassination. Later, Austria-Hungary sends an ultimatum to Serbia. The Serbian response is seen as unsatisfactory. By July 28, 1914, Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia. Russia mobilizes. Germany soon declares war on Russia. On August 1, Germany and the Ottoman Empire sign a secret alliance treaty. Germany declares on France. The UK declares war on Germany on August 4, 1914. Webster Tarpley has written about King Edward VII using deception in stirring WWI into supporting UK imperial interests instead of legitimate aims. WWI was definitely started as a product of rival capitalist states competing for the world’s resources. During the War, Russia was an ally of France. The Allied Powers wanted to contain the influence of Germany in the world stage.
To understand Africa fully, there must be an understanding of the strong black African women who fought for justice and freedom back then and now. People know the truth. The truth is that women should not bow down to a man or vice versa. The truth is that a woman has every right to be strong and to express her own self-determination just like a man. Historically, we see that women have had a very big role in liberation movements of Africa and stood up against oppression. Thousands of years ago in Africa, women had great economic, political, social, and spiritual power. There were the Amazons or Fon women of Dahoney. Historically, female leaders fought for justice like the Makeda of Ethiopia, Nzinga of Angola, and the Mnkabayi of Zululand. Therefore, we should oppose any oppression against black women and we should oppose any oppression against black men also. There were activists who fought for African female equality in the modern era. There was the Bantu Women’s League in South Africa, the Egyptian Feminist Union (the activist Huda Sharaawi formed it in the 1920’s). The activist work of the following Sisters should be respected like from Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, Wambui Otieno, Lilian Ngoyi and Margaret Ekpo. Women fought against not only imperialism and discrimination, but they fought against patriarchy as well. It is important to note that some of the patriarchy (though patriarchal societies did exist even in many parts of ancient Africa) has spread into Africa via Islamic extremists and Euro-Christian extremists too. The problem is not people having the right to believe in what ever religion they want peacefully. We should always respect religious freedom in the world. The problem is how some exploit, distort, and use religion as an excuse to oppress humanity. That is the point. Fundamentally, people want balance and the equal distribution of power among all genders (not the dominance by one over the other). In other words, both the masculine and the feminine should be respected and appreciated. There are many Sisters in Africa today who are fighting against poverty, violence, etc. They want democratic freedom to exist all over Africa. It is not about tensions. It is about all people in society respecting each other and treating each other with dignity and respect. We have every right to be fully educated on our history and our culture. True education is key in establishing collective freedom. We need not only personal advancement, but we need collective social liberation and freedom as well. One thing that we will do is that will be reject fascism. The corrupt police repressed the Panthers, and they have violated the human rights of the peaceful protesters including journalists found in Ferguson, Missouri. Also, we have the right to not only want the end of white supremacy and colonialism, but we want the end of oppression and exploitation in any form. I have no issue with a direct worker ownership of the means of production (or enterprises being owned jointly by all of its workers). There is nothing wrong with workers’ rights and I don’t believe that private businesses should oppress people at all. Human life is more important than property. Property has no personal being. I am against imperialism, I am against the War on Drugs, and I oppose corporate corruption too.
The events of Gaza have been tragic. One bigot screed from an extremist is the following: "...They have to die and their houses should be demolished so that they cannot bear any more terrorists.... They are all enemy combatants.” This screed by Israeli politician Ayelet Shaked, posted on the eve of “Operation Protective Edge,” is a genocidal expression of a bigoted view that Palestinian people are less than human. Now, we see that more than 1,800 largely defenseless Palestinians have been killed including 9,400 people have been wounded as well. The U.S. has armed the Israeli war machine (which are used in response to Hamas’ largely ineffectual rocket attacks). I don’t support innocent Palestinians or innocent Israeli being murdered too. Hamas is a reactionary outfit, but I defend the Palestinian people. The Gaza Strip has been experience an invasion, blockade, and other attacks. Streets are strewn with decomposing limbs and bodies. Gaza lies in ruins. Many areas lack electricity and an adequate water system. The mainstream media is totally one sided and readily ignores the plight of the Palestinian people. The New York Times runs stories about Hamas using Palestinians in the Gaza ghetto as “civilian shields.” The underlying message is clear: Israel is to be absolved for any amount of murder of Palestinians, who, in turn, have no RIGHT to defend themselves. The leaflets that Israel drops telling Palestinians to flee are a cruel reminder that Gaza’s residents have nowhere to flee from what is a concentration camp surrounded by an electrified fence, a sealed border with Egypt and a Mediterranean shoreline patrolled by the Israeli navy. Even UN schools have been bombed repeatedly and they shelter more than 200,000 people. On August 3, one such school in Rafah was hit by Israel. That caused 10 people to die. On July 30, after announcing a four-hour “humanitarian pause” in the bombing, Israel struck a market in Shejaya where desperate people were trying to get food. The brutal bombardment killed at least 17 people and wounded over 200. The campaign in Gaza is surpassed by its 2008-2009 terror campaign called Operation Cast lead, which about 1,400 Palestinians were slaughtered. America gives Israel more than 3 billion dollars in military and other aid. There was the kidnapped of three yeshiva students in the West Bank in June. Israel declared Hamas guilty without evidence and the conflict started. It has since come out that the Netanyahu regime knew virtually from the moment they were kidnapped that the yeshiva students were dead. But for 18 days, the government maintained the lie of searching for them in order to build up the hysteria in the country and abroad against Hamas. The attack on Gaza is done to try to isolate Hamas. Palestinians are subjected to a series of military checkpoints and “Jewish only” roads that cut farmers off from their own fields and make TRAVEL between towns virtually impossible. Gaza suffering is wrong and innocent Israelis suffering murder is wrong as well. The lax power of the secular nationalist PLO gave rise to the reactionary Hamas outfit. The only solution to this problem is for both Jewish people, Arabic people, etc. to fight for economic justice, the emancipation of Palestinian people, the emancipation of Jewish people, and policies that deal with establishing true justice in the land (in an equitable, egalitarian fashion). The liberal demonstrations in cities like Haifa and Tel Aviv against the assault have been small, emboldening fascistic counterdemonstrators who attack the protesters with rocks and lead pipes while chanting “Death to Arabs!” and “Death to leftists!” Those chants are evil and wrong totally. Meanwhile, Palestinian “citizens” of Israel have faced brutal harassment and violence for their opposition to the bombardment and invasion of Gaza. Even Sephardic Jewish people and especially black Ethiopian Jewish people in Israel suffer widespread discrimination and poverty. Economic inequality in the region must be addressed.
This is an important discussion. The reality is that a honest discussion about race must exist if we want to be free. There is bigotry and discrimination in the world. These things can’t be eliminated by blaming black people for everything under the sun or believing post-racial fantasies. There must be laws changed, structures changed, and other revolutionary solutions.
The younger generation has every right to establish independent institutions to address real issues and fight for justice. Now, the movement for real social change must be comprehensive. We live in an interconnected world. So, we should have a deep love of anti-imperialism and we should always care for our Brothers and our Sisters in the States including globally too. We have to declare political independence, because we know how the one-percent readily funds the two party system. As for voting, people should have their voting rights protected, because reactionaries for decades have used means to restrict the voting rights of human beings. Jim Crow Esq. is more sophisticated than De Jure segregation, but Jim Crow Esq. is a serious threat to the black freedom struggle in the 21st century. The people of Ferguson certainly deserve better local political leadership since their current local political leadership has made huge errors, which contributed to the problems in Ferguson in the first place. The solutions to our problems will be collective not just individual. People deserve power, empowerment, and justice. We should fight against the evil system of class oppression, judicial inequalities, economic inequality, and other injustices. We have to keep on working. The young people should create institutions and PROGRAMS that are heavily democratic and participatory. Dr. King’s advocacy of economic justice is what I support as well. We need not corporate exploitation, but economic justice. The struggle CONTINUES, but we will win this struggle in the end. Uhuru. It is a shame that black people are judged unfairly by many ignorant people. Not to mention that some folks lacked a true empathy of black human life. Race relations can improve via dialogue, laws must be changed, and structures must change. Society must be transformed. We have to discuss about the issue of race in a progressive fashion (and establish radical changes in the world) if we want solutions. Activists are supporting the family of Michael Brown, because the family deserves justice (and the death of Michael Brown was a tragedy). RIP Michael Brown.
As we approach the September 11, 2001 anniversary, we are reminded of the truth. The truth is that attacks on 9/11 were crimes exploited by the ruling class as a means for them to commit other crimes in other lands also. 9/11 was a breaking point in world history. Many people know about the causes and the consequences of 9/11. September 11, 2001 caused crisis in the world. After 9/11, there has been upheaval, the further militarization of society, and the growth of the national security state (which has used laws to violate the democratic rights of the people globally not just domestically). 9/11 started the Global War on Terrorism or GWOT. The U.S. and its NATO allies have executed a war in the four corners of the Earth lacking in much transparency or legal authority. The GWOT encompasses war crimes in other lands too. The GWOT did not just exist in Afghanistan or Iraq. It has spread into Africa, Southeast Asia, and the rest of the Middle East too. The derogation of civilizations and police state like intelligence apparatus flourish in Western nations including America. We see the PATRIOT Act and the Department of Homeland Security too. We see extrajudicial assassinations even against American citizens, torture, waterboarding, and other evils. The same terrorists, who the ruling class accused of causing 9/11, have been funded by Western intelligence agencies for years and decades. There is no evidence that Afghanistan or Iraq collectively had direct involvement in all of the 9/11 attacks. The US led war on Afghanistan, using 9/11 as a pretext and a justification, is illegal and criminal. The US and NATO heads of state and heads of government from 2001 to the present are complicit in the launching of a criminal and illegal war. We know that Al-Qaeda evolved from Osama bin Laden (and Osama was trained in a CIA sponsored guerilla training camp). Bin Laden was aided by the West to fight in the Afghanistan war back in 1979. Under the Reagan administration, US foreign policy evolved towards the unconditional support and endorsement of the Islamic “freedom fighters.” Ronald Reagan meet with the Afghan mujahedeen during the 1980’s as a means for the White House to give them aid to fight against the Soviets in Afghanistan. This endorsement has not in any way been modified. Even recently, Al Qaeda and its various affiliated groups including the Libya Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) and factions within the Free Syria Army (FSA), are directly supported by the US and NATO. The contradiction is that the establishment overtly says that they are waging a “war on terrorism” against the alleged architects of 9/11 while using Al-Qaeda related operatives as their foot soldiers in various part of the world. The tragic, unjust, and evil events of 9/11 has been exploited by the reactionaries to spread Islamophobia, other hatreds, and other forms of propaganda. The truth is that we should know about 9/11. We should use the memories of the victims of 9/11 as a means to fight, but we should not fight for bigotry. We should fight for humane treatment and justice.
By Timothy
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