Nixak*77:
The popularity of Holly-weird's & Eastwood's 'American Sniper' [has set new box-office records], suggests that likely a majority of Americans still believe the LIES that Saddam was in cahoots w OLB's AL-CIAeda re: the 9-11 'New Pearl Harbor' event; & really did have WMDs [NOT!].
How the h___ is it that such a long-time blatantly pro WAR, Violence & [way of the] GUN glorifier as Holly-weird, is seen as 'liberal' [ala cruise-missile]. In 2014 - 15 it's the a-historical 'American Sniper'. In 2012 - 13 it was the a-historical pro CIA torture [porn] flick '0-Dark-30'. Marking a Holly-weird tradition that goes back to 'Duke Wayne' type WWII & 'Cowboy vs Injuns' movies since the 1940s.
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The main reason for the confederates' attempt at secession, is because they insisted on the 'right' to EXPAND Slavery into the newly seized [from Mexico] territories in the south-west. Lincoln's GOP party of the north 'checked' the south's demands to EXPAND slavery, by insisting that slavery should not EXPAND beyond the traditional southern slave states [aka the confederacy]. Thus w Lincoln taking the office of POTUS in 1861, the south STARTED the Civil War by FIRING on Ft Sumter in April 1861.
But you're right that neither Lincoln NOR his GOP were initially motivated to abolish slavery, & in fact initially had NO intention to do so, Otherwise 'Ole' {dis}Honest Abe would have issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1861 immediately after the south BEGAN the War by Firing on Ft Sumter, NOT 2 yrs later in 1863 [IE: half way thru the war].
-Brother Nixak77
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Curious how a satyrical 'rag' of a paper w a recent notorious track record of making Bigoted anti-Islamic & even out-right RACIST & Sexist so-called 'satryical' cartoons, gets spun into a 'progressive voice'... NOT!
-Brother Nixak77
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Cutting the US DoD budget [which nearly = the entire rest of the World's combined] by 1/2 or even 1/3 - 1/4 while reigning in its over-sea military 'adventures' & bases [mainly to control access to the global fossil fuel supply], is IMO far more important than the DoD going 25% renewables in 10yrs [what ever that means- it could mean replacing fossil fuels w so-called 'green' nuke power & then taking the radioactive waste & making DU war-heads & ammo]. FYI: the US' DoD uses 93% of the entire US Govt's fossil fuel allotment = the amount of fuel used by Africa's most populous country, Nigeria, which is also Africa's biggest oil producer & an original OPEC member. Yet the US DoD GHG gas emissions ain't even counted as part of the US total. Thus IMO the DoD 25% renewable meme ain't nothing but 'green-washing.So Is the US' DoD going to order more fuel-efficient F-15s & F-16s, tanks & humvees, etc- all notorious gas guzzlers???
FYI: War is one of the, IF NOT THEE, Biggest environmentally destructive activities, & the US DoD is THEE Biggest War-Monger on Earth today & likely all of History!!!
Thus IMO Paul Jay did well to stick to this point about the need to cut the US DoD's budget in its own right, as well using such a cut to finance a green economic plan / program.
-Brother Nixak77
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7 Things that Must be Done to Stop 'Islamic' Terrorrism [see @ www.globalresearch.ca/how-to-s... ]:
1} Stop backing Arab Dictators that fund Terrorists [IE: the Saudis]
2} Stop Arming AL-CIAeda / ISIS-IS-ISIL type Terrorists- as tools of 'regime change' against Khaddaffi, Assad, Iran, etc...
3} Stop Imperial Invasions for Arab Oil- FYI: There was NO AL-CIAeda / ISIS in Iraq until after the Bush Jr-Cheney-Rummy gang invaded in 2003!
4} Stop Torturing Muslims at Gitmo, Abu Ghraib, Bahgram & other CIA 'Black Sites', while insisting that 'Torture works' [NOT!] & keeps the US safe [NOT!]
5} Stop Drone Blasting Muslim Civilians at Weddings, Funerals, Out-door Markets, etc...
6} Stop giving carte-blanche OK & shielding Likudniks NO matter what they do vs Palestinians, & find a real solution [NOT a phony BS so-called 'peace-process' to nowhere- ad-infinitum] to the conflict
7} Stop the 9-11 Cover-up [hyping the 'official' 9-11 'conspiracy theory' 'Tall-Tale']- which is the main excuse for this whole phony 'War on Terror' [= 'War on Muslims'] paradigm.
In other word reverse the US' whole current Mid-East foreign policy & stop letting the Saudi-NeoCON-AIPAC nexus dictate US Mid-East foreign policy.
-Brother Nixak77
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Joe Biden ‘lecturing’ African leaders about corruption is like Hitler lecturing Napoleon about NOT invading Russia! Check out this report by Michael Hudson @ The Real News: ‘The West Looks to Ramp-up Gas Production as Vice President Biden’s SON Named Leader of Ukrainian Gas Company, Burisma’ [@ http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=12186 ]. This report puts this yr’s events in Ukraine in a whole new light. Joe Biden Jr is due to make out like a bandit & literally make a ‘KILLING’ on Ukrainian fracked gas! No wonder Ukraine’s ex Pres who was leaning away from the EU’s IMF’s World Banksters’ & more toward Putin’s Russia for econ aid, was over-thrown by an Obama / Biden regime backed Neo-NAZI coup! Hudson says the Kiev Neo-NAZI regime’s war on eastern Ukraine is as much about protecting Biden Jr’s gas-fracking interests as about keeping them from splitting off & annexing to Russia.
Back to the Honorable Marcus Mosiah Garvey: It was’not Just Garvey & the BPP that J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI / COINTELPRO sought to destroy but every key Black leader in between IE: Elijah Muhamed, Malcolm X, Dr MLK Jr, Kwame’ Toure’ [aka Stokley Carmichael], etc… Malcolm, Martin, Bro Toure’ & the BPP were specifically named as targets to be ‘neutralized’ by Hoover’s COINTELPRO nefarious schemes to ‘Stop the rise of a Black Messiah’. Hoover hired the first Black FBI ‘agent’ specifically to get close to & spy on Garvey.
The fact that Hoover went after Garvey, Malcolm & King w equal fanaticism, confirms what Malcolm said re: the ” Hypocrisy of white supremacists’ ‘Democracy’ ” [including many ‘liberals’]- Garvey & Malcolm talked about Pan African nationalism, separation from the white man & the right to self-defense, while King talked ‘integration’, non-violence, peace & ‘love’- yet Hoover’s COINTELPRO orchestrated the demise of all 3!!!
More on the Black mis-leadership class’ betrayal of men like Garvey. Bob Marley wrote a song w the lyrics “I’ll never forget- Oh No- That they sold Marcus Garvey for rice…” Those lyrics refers to Garvey’s intent to set-up a base in Liberia W.Africa. At the time the Liberian Pres was an Americo Liberian [mulatto?] named Charles D.B. King. Garvey surveyed some land there & even paid a down-payment to buy it.
Then agents of the USG got to King likely telling him that Garvey would stir-up a rebellion among the indigenous Liberians [long oppressed by the Amerigo Liberians- FYI Samuel K Doe was Liberia’s first & likely only non Americo head of state] in a ‘supposed’ [= ‘hypothetical’] bid to take over Liberia. So King sold Garvey out buy selling the very land Garvey paid a down-payment on- to the Firestone Rubber / Tire Corp for a 100 yr lease [ends in 2029] at just 6 cents / acre [The Firestone Rubber plantation = 1,000,000 acres the World’s largest plantation].
Needless to say Firestone Rubber ‘Plantation’ treated the indigenous Liberian workers much like ‘Ole Massa’ on slave plantations- paying them just $30/month & making them live in 1 pm ‘hut-shacks’ after working them from Can’t see in the morning to Can’t see at night.’ But then Firestone learned that the main thing the worker bough w they $30 every month was a 100lb sack of Rice [Liberia was once self-sufficient in rice its main staple food- & grew some the World’s best rice]. So then Firestone decided instead of paying the worker just $300/mon they’d give them a 100 lb sack of stale, non-nutritional, broken-grain RICE that could NOT even be sold on the US market! Thus King [sell-out] Sold Marcus Garvey out to Firestone for RICE!
Turns out that Liberian King [sell-out] was facilitating Firestone Rubber Plantation w kidnapped Africans sold as slave-labor! In fact this led to an international scandal such that King [sell-out] was forced from office in disgrace! Yet the League of Nations [the same league that stood by & let El ‘Douche-bag’ Mussolini vamp on Ethiopia] failed to force the Firestone Rubber Plantation to shut-down operations nor voided &/or truncated Firestone’s 100/yr lease.
-Brother Nixak77
Friday, January 30, 2015
Savant's Words
Cornel West attributes to us the finest expressions of what he calls "tragic-comic " sensibility, especially in blues, jazz and even some hip hop. Check out DEMOCRACY MATTERS. Also, the most eloquent American expressions of the "prophetic tradition."
-Savant
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Friday News and Real Facts being Shown
This situation is a total tragic incident. One little girl named Aiyana Jones is not here anymore. The word accountability comes to mind when I think about this situation. The murderer Chauncey Owens was made accountable for his actions (of killing another human being). There are absolutely no excuses for the deeds of Chauncey Owens. Allison Howard was convicted too and she was punished. Yet, the murdering officer, who was involved in the death of Aiyana Jones, is not only free to go on with his life. He has not even been punished really by the Detroit police Department and the Detroit police Department can suspend him, fire him, and punish him in many ways. Officer Joseph Weekely has said that Mertilla Jones (or Aiyana Jones' grandmother) grabbed his gun, but none of Mertilla’s fingerprints were found on the officer’s gun. No DNA, no blood, and no fingerprints from Mertilla were found on Weekley’s gun. Officer Shawn Stallard testified he never saw any struggle between Jones and Weekley. Mertilla Jones did testify that she did not grab for Weekley’s gun. Either she is telling the truth or she committed perjury. I believe she told the truth unless it can be conclusively proven otherwise. Also, the officers first initiated a grenade attack in a building where also non-criminals were present in the place. The cops can easily surround the place and order the real criminals to leave the place. If the criminals refuse to leave, then they can go into the place without using a grenade. There can be many alternatives which could have been executed by the cops instead of them first throwing a grenade into the location. We all know about police terrorism. We know how many cops have brutalized labor protesters, civil rights activists, and other people fighting for justice for over 125 years. Worldwide, there is an epidemic of police terrorism and that terrorism didn’t end with the storm troopers from the 1940’s in Europe. It still goes on today. The judge, who dismissed the felony manslaughter charge, is highly disappointing. While the police lecture people on snitching, many of them refuse to condemn the Blue Wall of Silence in public. I feel for Aiyana Jones’ family. This story also deals with the further militarization of the local police and how we have to continue to fight against police terrorism. We know that the judicial system is not infallible either. We have to keep it real and view many of these cops as terrorists plain and simple.
RIP Aiyana Jones
Many people are overreacting. First Lady Michelle Obama was not required to wear a headscarf. She is a visitor to Saudi Arabia from a foreign country. Michelle Obama was not being disrespectful to Saudi Arabian customs at all. Also, Condoleezza Rice and Laura Bush did not wear headscarves constantly when they were in Saudi Arabia either. First Lady Michelle Obama wore appropriate clothing and the ignorant hashtags (which are criticizing her) are just that, ignorant. What is really important is to witness that the First Lady is rightfully expressing herself and showing the world that women don’t have to submit to oppression at all. First Lady Michelle Obama is a strong mother, a beautiful black woman, and a very intelligent human being. Tracy Pyles was caught. He had no choice, but to send an email outlining an “apology.” He was in a staff briefing in front of reporters. What he did was wrong, unprofessional, and offensive. The four other supervisors should have stood up for Calvin Trice’s human dignity, but they didn’t. Calvin Trice has shown great compassion involving this situation. Black people are tired of being degraded like this. Black men are certainly tired of having their masculinity and their humanity questioned. People are tired of dealing with this garbage. The sickness of racism still exists and the only way for us to defeat evil is to fight it. Many people have used submission to the system and so forth. That doesn’t work. In fact, loving the status quo makes things worse. Some folks have to stop being naive. We know how the system is and we should always oppose anyone calling a grown black man a boy. Standing up of the human dignity of black people is a pure, intrepid necessity.
Ultimately, Jean Toutiou expressed this collection and used a sign with a slur on it as a means to try to sell his products. I don't agree with that tactic. This is nothing new or surprising. France is not the progressive, anti-racist Utopia that many claim it to be. You can see the mosques being recently vandalized in France and the offensive Charlie Hebdo cartoons existing in France to witness the imperfections in many quarters of French society. He is not the only one who has used abhorrent tactics in trying to sell a product. Even if Kanye West gave him an idea about it (if Kanye did that, then I disagree with Kanye), Jean is still responsible for showing that repugnant display in public. No one forced Jean Toutiou to do what he did. He did this action voluntarily. This is what the members of the corporate elite think about black people and hip hop culture in general. This cultural exploitation is not only wrong, but it is an epidemic in the world. The N word is a horrendously, offensive word. Certainly, we have the right to disagree with these offensive selling practices. It is certainly wrong and a disgrace that an Afro-French Sister was called the N word. Yes, racism exists globally and it is definitely found in the nation of France. I know how the prison industrial complex has exploited black and Muslim people’s lives in France as well. French society has economic inequality issues too. Napoleon was an imperialist and an enemy of black people. He was involved in fighting Haiti in trying to turn Haiti into a place where slavery existed. Napoleon was defeated by the heroic black Haitians twice. The French Revolution was against the monarchy and the concept of monarchical absolutism. Many diverse Americans agreed with the French Revolution. We can read diverse literature form many people as a way for us to gain insights about our true black cultural heritage. Brothers and Sisters will continue to show the truth and stand up for justice. HOTEP.
If I recall, Eve and Jill Scott have every right to their views. They have every right to voices their opinions on music since they know about R and B and hip hop music. The deal with Iggy is that she can’t stand any form of correction or advice, even if that advice is legitimate. The fact is no one is denying the right of human beings to be individuals. People are criticizing how some white artists use the culture of hip hop music as a means for them to be exempt from legitimate critique. Black artists critique each other all of the time. That is nothing new. Yet, Iggy feels that she should be totally immune from any even meaningful discussion about the issue of the appropriation of hip hop culture under the guise of “individuality.” She has to realize that she has white privilege and people can agree to disagree with her (and not try to antagonize her). That is the point. Eve and Jill Scott are not slandering or disrespecting her. The interview has Eve and Jill Scott giving Kudos to Iggy. They are expressing their views about her. We certainly have a long way to go. The system doesn’t respect us, so we should not respect the system. The system needs to be replaced with a real system of justice. We have to be strategic, but we should not be submissive to oppression. We have to oppose unjust laws and sacrifice. It is as simple as that. This incident is very minor as compared to police terrorism inflicted on men, women, and even children throughout the Earth. Many people have passed away as a product of the brutality of crooked cops. Another point is to be made too. We have to develop long term strategies and build. There are many young activists who are not only protesting, but they have formed organizations, they are addressing real issues (like the militarization of the local police, poverty, police brutality, racism, discrimination, etc.), and they are doing a lot of great work in communities. So, the efforts and the actions of numerous activist youths should not be minimized or ignored at all.
Madonna’s “Illuminati” song shows the views of Madonna completely. In the song, she mocks conspiracies, even documented conspiracy facts. The Internet has shown conspiracy information for a long time. It is true that false conspiracy theories should not be believed, but we have every right to believe in documented, conspiracy facts. This song is certainly about expressing disinformation. In the song, she mentions that Jay Z, Beyoncé, Nicki Minaj, and Lil Wayne are not in the Illuminati, but real scholars including researchers never said that these artists were ever members of the Illuminati. Also, she said in an interview about the song that she laughs at the idea of powerful elites controlling things. What scholars have mentioned for years and decades is that many artists are puppets and pawns of the music industry. The mainstream music industry is controlled by corporate heads and other political elites who use the mainstream media as a means for them to promote distraction and to permit their messages in the world. The elites push certain artists to push an agenda with specific messages. The mass media uses the lie that conspiracy researchers are collectively ignorant, extremists, lacking in evidence, etc. as a means to ignore the truth. Madonna laughs at black magic when the political establishment has used the occult for generations. Madonna, ironically, is a firm follower of the Kabbalah and the Kabbalah is linked to Hermeticism, Rosircuriciansim, Freemasonry, Mormonism, and other occult orders. Pentagrams have many diverse meanings as symbols have multiple meanings. Yet, it is true that inverted Pentagrams have been used in ritualistic magic, spirit invocations, and other magical rituals. The song has Madonna talking about the Enlightenment, but occult secrets have long existed before the Enlightenment. Her views of the Illuminati are similar to Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons. It is false that the Illuminati originated form the Enlightenment. The Bavarian Illuminati have roots from Adam Weishaupt and other occult orders have roots from the Knights Templar, the Kabbalah, etc. So Madonna is distorting the facts as a means for her to ridicule any form of research into the topic of the Illuminati. Operation Ajax, Operation Cyclone, the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, etc. are real conspiracies that people know about. We want the truth not deception. We want freedom and we are opposed to the agenda of the globalists (who have oppressed humanity for eons). Justice and truth are important to follow.
By Timothy
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
On Torture
plainsrabbit:
"The Convention Against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment of Punishment (the Torture Convention) was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on Dec. 10, 1984 and entered into force on June 26, 1987, after it had been ratified by 20 states. The United States ratified the convention on Oct. 21, 1994."
"The Convention Against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment of Punishment (the Torture Convention) was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on Dec. 10, 1984 and entered into force on June 26, 1987, after it had been ratified by 20 states. The United States ratified the convention on Oct. 21, 1994."
The 70th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz
I do recognize the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz by Allied forces. This is certainly an emotional event. We should acknowledge the courageous people of numerous backgrounds who lost their lives, who stood up, and who are alive today after surviving the evil found in Auschwitz. Auschwitz was first liberated by members of the Soviet Union’s Read Army on January 27, 1945. Auschwitz was the name of the Nazi death camp in southern Poland. Auschwitz housed some of the greatest crimes and horrors of the 20th century. The events of Auschwitz represent capitalist barbarism in its most extreme form. From early 1942 to late 1945, transport trains delivered Jewish people from all over Nazi-occupied Europe to the gates of Auschwitz. Its infamous slogan was “Arbeit machit frei” or Work makes you free. Over 1.1 million people were put to death at Auschwitz, hundreds of thousands of them sent immediately to gas chambers. Others were exterminated via starvation, overwork, disease or the hideous medical experiments carried out by people like the devil Josef Mengele (he was called the “Angel of Death”). Over 90 percent of the people who were murdered in the camp were Jewish people. Other human beings who were murdered included: 150,000 Poles, including political prisoners, 23,000 Romani and Sinti (Gypsies), 15,000 Soviet prisoners of war, and other national minorities, Jehovah's Witnesses and homosexuals were imprisoned and exterminated there. The Nazis wanted to reduce the population of Eastern Europe including the Soviet Union by some 30 million via starvation and mass deportation. The Nazis wanted to demolish cities and turn the land over to German colonists. That is why the Soviet Union lost 14 percent of its people or 27 million people died in WWII. Poland lost 16 percent of its population or 5.8 million during the war too. Germany’s capitalist ruling class back then wanted to end Germany’s socialist workers movement. The Germany elites wanted to fund militarist aggression and conquest. Many imperialists today ironically observed the public observance of the anniversary of Auschwitz’s liberation in 2015. Yet, a few of the dwindling number of survivors of the death camp, most of them in their nineties, were there too. Many made statements of urgency and poignancy, conscious that they would not likely be present at the next major anniversary. “People forget what Auschwitz was, and it terrifies me, because I know to what kind of hell it leads,” said Roman Kent, 85. He concluded his remarks at the ceremony by stating, “We do not want our past to be our children's future.” We live in a time where there is a drive for war not only against Iran, but against Russia too in this war on terror. Russian government of President Vladimir Putin was not invited to join in the observance. The NATO-backed regime in Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko was an honored guest in the ceremony. Asked by a Polish radio station whether Warsaw’s attitude toward Putin wasn’t petty, Foreign Minister Grzegorz Schetyna replied that the Russian president’s presence was superfluous because Auschwitz had been liberated by “the First Ukrainian Front and Ukrainians.” That’s a lie since an unit of Soviet Union’s Red Army first liberated Auschwitz and the adjacent Polish town. The Ukrainian coup was organized by some members of the e fascist bands of Svoboda and the Right Sector, which venerate the legacy of Hitler’s SS and of the Ukrainian fascist units that participated in the Holocaust. Even Hollande (who attended the ceremony) invited the fascist Marine Le Pen to his Presidential Palace (The national Front Party is the political heir to the French Nazi collaborators of the Vichy regime). The Third Reich had central responsibility for the events of the Shoah and WWII as well. The rise of fascism continues in Europe and throughout the Earth. There is a crisis of capitalism. Imperial power want to use militarist aggression to control territories today while our social and democratic rights have been curtailed in many instances. The liberation of Auschwitz was a great moment of human history. We should use that event as motivation for us to fight fascism no matter where it is located. Freedom and justice for all is an ideal that we should all live by.
This situation (of the foreclosure crisis in the black community) further proves that we have to find creative ways in building our wealth. Building our wealth and economic power has nothing to do with someone getting a high paying job and leaving poor black people behind. It is about us getting resources and using our resources to help the poorest members of the black community. Building generational wealth is just plain old common sense. We want our future generations of black people to have not only economic wealth, but political power too. We have a long way to go, but we have to start somewhere. We have seen a growing economic inequality and a stagnation of wages nationally. We have to work together as black people and never believe that the private banks are totally infallible. As Mike Whitney points out, in Counterpunch, “More than 84 percent of the sub-prime mortgages in 2006 were issued by private lending institutions. It was private-label subprime mortgages that triggered the panic in the secondary market that crashed the financial system.” We have to address not only economic issues, but we have to combat racism & discrimination. Also, we know about the double standards. Wall Street criminality has been rewarded with bailouts, massive subsidies, and record profits. Many homeowners, who have their homes foreclosured, didn’t even receive a temporary moratorium or a bailout. The Bank of America and other corporate entities have had to paid settlements for violations of the law (in dealing with its mortgage lending practices). There are two conflicting accounts about the housing situation from Jimmy McMillan and the landlord. Everyone knows that the rent in NYC (on average) is very high as compared to other locations in America. $872 per month is a low amount of money to pay for rent as compared to other apartments in NYC. Gentrification has definitely negatively affected the poor in many ways. I have doubts on whether his lawsuit will be successful. If he is forced to be evicted, then it should not be the end of the world for him. He has massive popularity. He can organize a fundraiser, work with independent organizations, and do a lot of creative actions in making a living. Tons of humans are creative. Many people respect him and his charisma. The most important thing is for the truth to be known regardless of what the truth is as it pertains to this situation.
You will notice how many Afro-Caribbeans have had a huge role in the black liberation struggle too. Marcus Garvey was of Caribbean heritage. Malcolm X's mother was of Caribbean heritage. We can't learn about Malcolm X fully without learning about Marcus Garvey (Malcolm X's OAAU program is all pro-black pan Africanism. The OAAU was invented in 1964). Kwame Ture was born in the Caribbean. I have some Caribbean heritage too on my mother's side of my family. Garvey's words certainly allowed many black people to never be ashamed of their blackness and to study real black African culture as well. His UNIA movement was widespread and extremely popular in our community. Martin Delaney and others during the 19th century believed in the same pan-Africanist ideology as well. One of Garvey's greatest contributions was his promotion of pan-African unity including his promotion of strong black consciousness. The fact that we are one black people irrespective of which country we live is a truism that we all embrace. Nas is right that people have to stop being scared and publicly condemn any form of police abuse. Apathy never solves anything. We have to not only work in our communities. We have to follow the principles of legitimate social activism, courage, and a love of justice. Historically, many athletes, musicians, and authors took a stand on many real issues from war to other domestic issues. That spirit of revolutionary activism should exist not only in the present, but in the future too. I agree with Sister Gabrielle Union that she has the right to speak up about these issues. Our voices are strong and we will express them regardless. Also, she is right that institutional racism is a serious problem in the country. We have to confront not only police brutality, but economic inequality, poverty, housing problems, and other problems if we want to be truly liberated as a people.
Many Westerners have arrogance. This arrogance (which is a wrongheaded form of thinking) has caused many to have a monolithic view not only of Iran, but of the Middle East in general. Iranians are heavily made up of very intelligent, strong, and resourceful human beings. It is obvious that a military strike against Iran during this time will only exacerbate the problems which exist in the Middle East. A lot of these problems ironically have started during the aftermath of WWI, the nefarious Sykes-Picot Agreement, and the imperialist exploitation of the resources including the economies of the Middle East. We have to understand the social dynamics of the world without embracing a rash, hysterical mentality. We will continue to be anti-imperialist and pro-justice. At the end of the day, the life of an Iranian is just as valuable and sacrosanct as the life of an American. First, I am glad that Charles Blow’s son is alive. His son could have been murdered if his son used any movements. Charles Blow’s son never deserved to be pointed a gun at. He was not threatening the officer, he was obeying all of the officers’ commands, and he was unarmed. Unfortunately, these events occur all of the time in the black community. Even many middle class and upper class black Americans have suffered similar treatment before. Many black people are falsely viewed guilty until they are proven innocent. Many people just worship the police. The police are not gods and they are not infallible. There should definitely be an independent investigation to delve into the facts of this incident. Racial profiling and police terrorism are blatantly evils that must be opposed. Having a gun pulled on the young man was totally uncalled for and wrong. The cop who did this should experience accountability. Also, if you research the names like Imani, Tanisha, Adah, Jamila, etc. which some African Americans have, many of them have African origins. Since the 1960's, more and more African Americans are naming their children in a more Africanized fashion as a psychological means for them reject white supremacist conventions and ideologies.
This situation is a paradox. TRNN has done an excellent job in showing the truth about Chris Kyle. Now, people have a clearer picture of the life of Iraqi War veteran Chris Kyle. The movie shows Chris Kyle shooting and killing a young child with a bomb. This is barbarism. The Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee has called on the makers and actors of the film to condemn the threats made against Muslims and Arabic people. The journalist and Lebanese American Rania Khalek is doing a great job in confronting the hate tweets and death threat made against Muslims and Arabic people too. Chris Kyle wrote in his book that he wished that he killed more people. He called Iraqis savages. Kyle claimed to have fought with former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura. Ventura filed and won a defamation suit against him. The Kyle family falsely claimed that they've donated 100 percent of the proceeds from his book American Sniper to wounded veterans and veterans who have PTSD. In fact, they've only donated 2 percent. That fact was revealed by the Conservative National Review. Chris Kyle has falsely claimed to have climbed to the top of the New Orleans Superdome during Hurricane Katrina and sniped to death 30 African-American looters. There's no record of this. Chris Kyle has falsely claimed to have shot carjackers, who he referred to as thugs, with bullets tipped with frog poison. He claimed to possess one thousand bullets tipped with frog poison. There's no record of this. Chris Kyle was a nihilistic psychopath. Sniper whitewashes the atrocities committed by the U.S. troops in Iraq and Fallujah. Two hundred people were forced to evacuate, 6,000 were killed, and the local population is now beset with a wave of birth defects and cancers. This isn't seen either. Even Pat Tillman was a veterans and he realized the bogus nature of the war on terror. He became anti-war and wanted to do something about it. He was killed in a fratricide and his death was covered up by the Pentagon. The oligarchy praises the military soldiers, but the military industrial complex mistreats them and exploits them in horrendous ways. Many U.S. troops have committed suicides over the pain that they have experienced via the war on terror. The movie Sniper definitely has the overt Arabic/Muslim stereotypes where Arabic people are called "savages" throughout the movie. The Iraq War was a display of Western neocolonialism and imperialism. After the Iraq War, we have seen an upsurge of tensions between the Sunnis, the Kurds, and the Shia. The movie Sniper is definitely pro neo-conservative irrespective if Clint Eastwood says that he is anti-war. Certainly, it is a total tragedy when many troops suffer PTSD. It is total tragedy when Iraqis and Americans have died as a product of that unjust Iraq War. Resources, which should have been used to help them or the troops, have been cut in many instances (on the altar of austerity). So, the Iraq War was unjust and many troops have suffered greatly as a product of it emotionally and psychologically (just like the Vietnam War had emotionally damaged troops. This was explained by late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr). "Sniper" sugarcoats the vicious nature of the Iraq War (and it ignores the neo-cons' role in that war). We have to learn about the truth about the brutality of war (as a revolutionary is inherently anti-imperialist) if we want true peace.
By Timothy
Monday, January 26, 2015
Savant's Words
I'm not sure why. But I've some ideas. For one, this is not a real forum and was not designed to be. It's more like a free-for-all circus. There are no real moderators who can help keep discussions focused. If someone wants to disrupt your thread there's nothing to prevent him or her from doing so. If someone wants to reply to your ANALYSIS with personal insults rather than reasoned rebuttal, he can do so In real time a forum could simply expel the disrupting persons and then proceed with the discussion. Given the way this so-called forum is designed it probably draws more people from the bottom of the barrel---I mean from the bottom intellectually, not necessarily financially. (Bright and conscious people can come from the hood, like Malcolm or James Baldwin, while buffoons can come from the privileged classes, like GW or whomever). Many good people tire of a "forum" which seeks after the lowest common denominator. And you get more and more people whose natural element is the gutter. The rational few find themselves swamped by a sea of mediocrity and stupidity. But they do exist.
-Savant
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Actually, what Black people expected of Obama is far from clear. And it's not clear that all expected the same thing. From the more conscious and progressive elements in the Black community the common criticism is that we get much the same policies as before, but with a Black face attached to it. When I was interviewed by a French newspaper during the summer of 2008, one questioned posed to me was whether Obama' s election (should it happen) would be a positive turning point for Black America or for the poor in general. I indicated to him that the system is the system, and that the mere existence of a Black president wouldn't mean the automatic end to institutional racism or economic exploitation. And at any rate, we don't know what Obama intends to do or even what he can do from within the framework of the existing socioeconomic order. The interviewer indicated that SOME presidencies in American history were associated with positive change---Lincoln, FDR and Kennedy/Johnson were his examples. But I pointed out to the French journalist that in each of those cases there was already a sizeable movement for social justice already afoot which affected the complexion of the incoming administration. There was an Abolitionist movement BEFORE Lincoln took office, and it had to pressure him relentlessly to take a clear stand against slavery. There was a militant labor movement of millions of people BEFORE Franklin Delano Roosevelt took office, and their pressure added considerably to the impetus behind the policies of FDR. Finally, there was a massive Black Freedom movement already in motion when Kennedy and Johnson took power. And the Movement had to pressure them to stop dragging their feet on civil rights. My concern was that even if Obama was elected, and was relatively progressive, it might mean very little in the absence of a popular movement for social justice. It is my view that the main focus needs to be on economic justice--the theme of Dr. King final phase of the movement, and something that our Black bourgeoisie abandoned--and the protection and advancement of civil freedoms. Without a movement, I argued, not much will be achieved even if Obama is elected. Well, he was elected and what I projected has pretty much been correct. But...we have witnessed waves of progressive struggles: Occupy, the Wisconsin workers strike, and the wave of struggle against police brutality---which in Ferguson has revealed a MILITARIZED police such as one expects to see in police states. There are FASCIST tendencies in America, bolstered by racism, and mainly for the purpose of protecting the privileged classes and their elite interests. Changing that requires considerably more than changing the skin color of the president.
-Savant
__________________
I'm a afraid that the Wizard of Tuskegee was not especially good at understanding classes. But that's another matter. But I think that he himself knew that the "troubles " of the Blacks had to be kept public, or crimes against their humanity could be safely done under cover of night. The genius of Martin Luther King came precisely in bringing the grievances of his people to public scrutiny, EXPOSING the racists, lynchers and exploiters. Washington can speculate all he wishes about the motives of those who publicize wrongs---just as others speculated about his motives in keeping quiet about them. But what all tyrants fear is exposure, and whatever the motives of those who do the exposing, they do their community a service. Silence in the face of injustice amounts to complicity with the injustice.
-Savant
______________________
Your comments in post# 268 didn't seem to show awareness of the symbolic intent of the "KKK", hence my reply. But precisely because you are a foreigner I didn't assume that you were "thick." Americans who don't get it I do think to be a bit thick. I don't necessarily expect someone from another country to understand all the symbolism that is old news to the average American any more than I can be expected to understand all the symbolism of the popular or political culture of France or England. Actually, symbolizing the government with the "kkk" brand may be an understatement. For while the KKK was a fascistic and racist terrorist outfit, they are/were LESS dangerous than the national security state, and our increasingly militarized police--something hardly common even in Alabama during the time of Dr. King. (Not even Bull Connor unleashed tanks on nonviolent demonstrators in Birmingham as happened to nonviolent demonstrators in Ferguson). The national security state, the elaborate system of surveillance, our increasingly militarized police are far greater dangers than the Ku Klux Klan ever was. It is the Supine Court which in 2013 gutted the enforcement clause of the Voting Right Act of 1965. And at this very moment they are weighing in on the Fair Housing Bill signed just over a week after Dr. King's assassination. This growing concentration of power (combined with attacks on civil liberties) reflects also the growing concentration of corporate monopoly of wealth, and growing corporate political dominance in local, state and national government. (Ironically, it was under Obama that the Homeland Security provisions were signed into law. ) Also, this repetitive talk about "personal choices" or "personal responsibility " is fine as long as you're talking about INDIVIDUALS. For we certainly expect at least adults to assume such responsibility. But when we're talking about SYSTEMIC evils as poverty, economic exploitation, the militarism, institutional racism, and the growing racial and class divides in our society and the world, talk of personal responsibility is itself irresponsible--cri minally irresponsible. For we can combat such evils only with SOLIDARITY and struggle for social justice. Given the fascistic tendencies of the time, obstructing the solidarity that is needed to save what little democracy is left, and to deepen and expand democracy, becomes a criminal betrayal of the common good. And if you think that racism or class oppression is a thing of the past, then some serious homework needs to be done.
-Savant
Monday News on Life, History, and Justice.
The Innocent Project is doing amazing work in helping falsely convicted people to leave prison. Joseph Sledge now can move on with his life. It is a shame that the judicial system has regularly imprisoned innocent men and women. This is why social activism is very important, because social activism is a key action in helping human beings. Joseph Sledge is definitely owed an apology. We will continue to stand up for justice. The Ebola crisis in Africa proves conclusively that austerity doesn’t work. Medical research, funds for infrastructure, and international cooperation are actions that can combat epidemics. I am glad that new Ebola cases have declined massively, but the authorities released this vaccine months after so many thousands of black Brothers and black Sisters have died in West Africa. That is a real shame. I do commend the authentic, compassionate international authorities and the African heroes who have helped people suffering with Ebola. Cuba should be given great credit as well in sending doctors, equipment, medicine, and infrastructure as a way for people to help others. It is important to oppose imperialism and to support the Africans who are standing up for the liberation of Africa. Many workers (throughout America) are also protesting McDonalds & other corporations for its wage and benefits policies. These workers, who are fighting for a living wage and workers’ rights, should be commended. There is no excuse and there is no justification for racial discrimination, sexism, and harassment. Human beings should be treated with dignity and with respect. So, the former McDonald employees have every right to sue. We will wait and see if the lawsuits will be successful or not. The life of Ernie Banks is part of our history and our culture. He loved baseball and he loved his family greatly. His contributions to the MLB are excellent. We should learn about the Negro Leagues too. The Negro League baseball players had an amazing amount of strength, talent, and authenticity. He will be missed. RIP Ernie Banks.
There is the Christmas truce of WWI. It has been over 100 years since it occurred on December 24, 1914. This was one of the most poignant, important events of WWI. It has been called Weihnachtsfrieden in Germany and Trêve de Noël in France. The Christmas truce was when there was a spontaneous ceasefire all across the Western front that stretched 440 miles from the border of Switzerland to the North Sea. This was very extraordinary, because there was the jingoist reaction shown by all of the belligerent powers (like Germany, France, Russia, and Britain) to justify their recourse to war just months before, starting on July 28, 1914. There were British and German troops meeting in no man’s land during the unofficial truce. There is one picture of British troops from the Northumberland Hussars, 7th Division, Bridoux-Rouge Banc Sector). Just before this truce, German imperialism invaded Belgium and Luxembourg. The German military then went south across the border into France. The Germans wanted to have a quick victory over its opponents on the Western Front. The Germans wanted to defeat Britain and France in six weeks before going into Russia. British and French imperialism were thrown on the defensive, because of the initially rapid German advance. They soon stabilize the front and mobilize the resources of their colonial empire. They also created a crippling naval blockade on food supplies to starve the German population. By December 1914, there was a stalemate. There were thousands of men in the trenches. The trenches were rat infested, wet, bloody, and cold. The war was still going. These horrible conditions caused a number of unofficial truces to exist. It started on Christmas Eve where about 100,000 soldiers along the Western front laid down their arms. They fraternized in no-man’s land between the lines of trenches. Many of them (for 48 hours or more) sang carols, exchanged cigarettes, food like chocolates, and personal mementos. There are plenty of photographs showing British and German troops along the soldiers’ letters home are witness to the event. On December 26, 1914, German soldiers of the 134th Saxon Regiment and the British soldiers of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment met in no man’s land. The Christmas truce was not totally universal. There was slaughter among many sectors. On December 24, 1914, that the first German bomb struck on British soil, in Dover. In some instances, the lull in hostilities lasted only hours—just long enough to enable the retrieval and burial of the corpses lying in the freezing and desolate wasteland. Some said that a friendly football match occurred among British and German troops. This truce represented how strong the anti-war sentiment was during WWI. Many people refused to fight, created unofficial truce, munities, strikes, and peace protests. Corporal Adolf Hitler of the 16th Bavarians opposed such truces. “Such things should not happen in wartime. Have you Germans no sense of honour left at all?” he complained. Within days, the German, British and French High Commands served anti-fraternization orders, carrying the heaviest penalties. The Christmas truce was a courageous display of opposition to the brutality of war. We can learn the lesson that this truce represented the need for us to fight for world peace which we all seek. The Christmas truce was a great act of humanity.
We can never forget about the fifth year anniversary of the terrible Earthquake in Haiti. After 5 years, there have been massive protests against the UN occupation of Haiti. Some people want the departure of the neoliberal Haitian President Michel Martelly (he once eulogized the ex-dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier or Baby Doc) and Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe. Laurent Lamothe finally resigned in December of 2014. The U.S. regularly supported leaders in Haiti who were not necessarily for the interests of the Haitian people. Structural problems have to be addressed in Haiti. We know that token international aid has been used as a capitalist, imperial tool to keep the South captive to the North’s bad neoliberal policies. The South need true development. Bill Clinton and Bush Jr. among others were involved with the funds sent to Haiti. NGOs and USAID used funds to serve U.S. interests. Much of the funds helped to benefit the rich and business people of the West. Clinton’s CIRH or the Commission for the Reconstruction of Haiti has done little to radically reconstruct Haiti in a revolutionary fashion. Approximately 80% of the aid money dedicated to developing countries ended up in the coffers of businesses and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from the donor countries. Far from helping, this dynamic only creates a relationship of dependency hampering, even preventing the “recipient” country from developing the very structures which could liberate it from this colonial relationship. The structural adjustment programs have failed since they focused on massive privatization, local economies were destroyed, and other problems have existed. In other words, local economies were damaged as a way for to cause U.S. imports of rice, poultry, etc. to flood the Haitian market. Haitian sugar, rice, and chicken crops were once protected. Big multinational corporations have huge influence in Haitian resources too. The United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti or the MINUSTAH still is occupying Haiti territory. The MINUSTAH was established June 1st, 2004 after a coup d’état led by the United States, France and Canada which removed from office the democratically elected Jean-Bertrand Aristide, leader of the most popular political party, Fanmi Lavalas. Fanmi Lavalas, which has largely dominated in both elections it participated in, was banned from the 2010 election. The 2010 election was “won” by the U.S.’ favored candidate Michel Martelly. MINUSTAH has suppressed the human rights of the political party Fanmi Lavalas. Their or the MINUSTAH's other human rights abuses include rape (of Haitian men, women, and children), the spreading of cholera, extrajudicial murder, and the repression of other peaceful political protests. The private contractor DynCorp trains the Haitian police. Much of the aid money has been used to build up luxury hotels, which is a disgrace when over 1 million Haitians are homeless. So, the Haitian people in 2015 are fighting for independence, liberation, democratic governance, and sovereignty. Political and economic democracy is what the Haitians are fighting for. The lives of Black Haitians matter.
American Sniper is a controversial film. Debates exist all of the time about it. The movie was directed by Clint Eastwood and its screenplay was established by Jason Hall. The movie was about the story of the famous sniper Chris Kyle. He is known as reputedly the deadliest marksman in the history of the U.S. military with about 255 kills. The Pentagon has confirmed 160 kills. The movie is highly pro-war despite the anti-war views of Eastwood. The movie shows Kyle’s multiple duties in Iraq and how he suffers emotionally. It is a story that deals with xenophobic revenge and violence especially after 9/11. The movie shows a scene where Kyle defends his younger brother against a bully when his younger brother is being beaten by a bully. Later that evening, Kyle’s father explains to his sons that there are three types of people in the world. These people are the sheep, wolves, and sheep dogs. He explains that predatory wolves are responsible for all the “evil” in the world and it is the job of sheep dogs, who are “blessed with aggression,” to protect the sheep who cannot take care of themselves. This statement from his father serves as a theme in the American Sniper movie. The movie presents the narrative that U.S. is under attack from “evildoers,” so ultra-right and pro-military fanaticism is needed in the world. We know that imperialism has plundered the Middle East for over 100 years. The U.S. has been the source of aggression in many of the events of the Middle East. Western imperialists are the wolf in sheep dog’s clothing (with a bad disguise at that). So, the movie doesn’t show the complex nature of war or the horrendous cycle of capitalist imperialism. Bradley Cooper is the actor who plays Kyle. Kyle becomes a rodeo cowboy in Texas. When he watches the 1998 bombing attacks on U.S. embassies, he is angry and joins the Navy. He becomes a Navy Seal and a sharpshooter. Kyle meets and falls in love with Taya (who is played by Sienna Miller). Kyle and Taya look at the September 11 attacks on television and Kyle is again overcome with anger. Kyle soon goes into Iraq. He is involved in 4 tours. After each tour, he struggles to settle down in civilian life even when he has a son and a daughter. Memories haunt him and he want to protect his fellow soldiers in Iraq. He is a sniper in Fallujah which has been destroyed. Arabic people in the film are portrayed in a negative light regardless if they are fighters or regular men, women, and children. The word "savages" are used to describe them throughout the film. Eastwood omits that the U.S. support and financed Islamic fundamentalists and many Islamic terrorists for decades. The movie shows the paranoid view that Muslims threatens San Diego or New York. Kyle kills women and children. Reactionary forces are exploiting this controversial film to promote the illegal, neocolonial invasion, and occupation of Iraq.
The establishment is heavily involved with the establishment religious circles of the world. They try to make religious bodies to not make tough stands on controversial issues or compromise core convictions in order to be “politically correct” or submit to the interests of the establishment. One example is that the establishment promotes the evil Vietnam War. Many churches opposed it courageously and others supported it under the banner of jingoistic patriotism. Another example is that Council of Foreign Relations promotes globalization and many members of the establishment church like Rick Warren are CFR members. There are prosperity gospel religious leaders who promote materialism, corporate glamorization, and commercialism when we have millions of poor people struggling in America alone. In other words, spiritual enlightenment and economic justice are more important than massive material abundance.We know about many elitists who not only advocate global government (which I don’t support), but are actively involved in the CFR, the Trilateral Commission, the Bilderberg Group (which are groups who want more global integration). One of the easiest organizations that the establishment uses to try to manipulate religious people is the Council on National Policy or the CNP. The CNP has connections to the John Birch Society and the CNP is used as a way to control the conservative wing of the religious establishment. Famous CNP members include Tim LaHaye, Nelson Hunt, Howard Philips, etc. They receive corporate backing as well. So, we have to expose not only globalist extremists, but controlled opposition who seek to exploit God for profit literally. We have to be obedient to righteousness. That means that we have every right to not call a grown man Holy Father and we have the right to fight against racial discrimination and economic oppression.
By Timothy
There is the Christmas truce of WWI. It has been over 100 years since it occurred on December 24, 1914. This was one of the most poignant, important events of WWI. It has been called Weihnachtsfrieden in Germany and Trêve de Noël in France. The Christmas truce was when there was a spontaneous ceasefire all across the Western front that stretched 440 miles from the border of Switzerland to the North Sea. This was very extraordinary, because there was the jingoist reaction shown by all of the belligerent powers (like Germany, France, Russia, and Britain) to justify their recourse to war just months before, starting on July 28, 1914. There were British and German troops meeting in no man’s land during the unofficial truce. There is one picture of British troops from the Northumberland Hussars, 7th Division, Bridoux-Rouge Banc Sector). Just before this truce, German imperialism invaded Belgium and Luxembourg. The German military then went south across the border into France. The Germans wanted to have a quick victory over its opponents on the Western Front. The Germans wanted to defeat Britain and France in six weeks before going into Russia. British and French imperialism were thrown on the defensive, because of the initially rapid German advance. They soon stabilize the front and mobilize the resources of their colonial empire. They also created a crippling naval blockade on food supplies to starve the German population. By December 1914, there was a stalemate. There were thousands of men in the trenches. The trenches were rat infested, wet, bloody, and cold. The war was still going. These horrible conditions caused a number of unofficial truces to exist. It started on Christmas Eve where about 100,000 soldiers along the Western front laid down their arms. They fraternized in no-man’s land between the lines of trenches. Many of them (for 48 hours or more) sang carols, exchanged cigarettes, food like chocolates, and personal mementos. There are plenty of photographs showing British and German troops along the soldiers’ letters home are witness to the event. On December 26, 1914, German soldiers of the 134th Saxon Regiment and the British soldiers of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment met in no man’s land. The Christmas truce was not totally universal. There was slaughter among many sectors. On December 24, 1914, that the first German bomb struck on British soil, in Dover. In some instances, the lull in hostilities lasted only hours—just long enough to enable the retrieval and burial of the corpses lying in the freezing and desolate wasteland. Some said that a friendly football match occurred among British and German troops. This truce represented how strong the anti-war sentiment was during WWI. Many people refused to fight, created unofficial truce, munities, strikes, and peace protests. Corporal Adolf Hitler of the 16th Bavarians opposed such truces. “Such things should not happen in wartime. Have you Germans no sense of honour left at all?” he complained. Within days, the German, British and French High Commands served anti-fraternization orders, carrying the heaviest penalties. The Christmas truce was a courageous display of opposition to the brutality of war. We can learn the lesson that this truce represented the need for us to fight for world peace which we all seek. The Christmas truce was a great act of humanity.
We can never forget about the fifth year anniversary of the terrible Earthquake in Haiti. After 5 years, there have been massive protests against the UN occupation of Haiti. Some people want the departure of the neoliberal Haitian President Michel Martelly (he once eulogized the ex-dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier or Baby Doc) and Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe. Laurent Lamothe finally resigned in December of 2014. The U.S. regularly supported leaders in Haiti who were not necessarily for the interests of the Haitian people. Structural problems have to be addressed in Haiti. We know that token international aid has been used as a capitalist, imperial tool to keep the South captive to the North’s bad neoliberal policies. The South need true development. Bill Clinton and Bush Jr. among others were involved with the funds sent to Haiti. NGOs and USAID used funds to serve U.S. interests. Much of the funds helped to benefit the rich and business people of the West. Clinton’s CIRH or the Commission for the Reconstruction of Haiti has done little to radically reconstruct Haiti in a revolutionary fashion. Approximately 80% of the aid money dedicated to developing countries ended up in the coffers of businesses and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from the donor countries. Far from helping, this dynamic only creates a relationship of dependency hampering, even preventing the “recipient” country from developing the very structures which could liberate it from this colonial relationship. The structural adjustment programs have failed since they focused on massive privatization, local economies were destroyed, and other problems have existed. In other words, local economies were damaged as a way for to cause U.S. imports of rice, poultry, etc. to flood the Haitian market. Haitian sugar, rice, and chicken crops were once protected. Big multinational corporations have huge influence in Haitian resources too. The United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti or the MINUSTAH still is occupying Haiti territory. The MINUSTAH was established June 1st, 2004 after a coup d’état led by the United States, France and Canada which removed from office the democratically elected Jean-Bertrand Aristide, leader of the most popular political party, Fanmi Lavalas. Fanmi Lavalas, which has largely dominated in both elections it participated in, was banned from the 2010 election. The 2010 election was “won” by the U.S.’ favored candidate Michel Martelly. MINUSTAH has suppressed the human rights of the political party Fanmi Lavalas. Their or the MINUSTAH's other human rights abuses include rape (of Haitian men, women, and children), the spreading of cholera, extrajudicial murder, and the repression of other peaceful political protests. The private contractor DynCorp trains the Haitian police. Much of the aid money has been used to build up luxury hotels, which is a disgrace when over 1 million Haitians are homeless. So, the Haitian people in 2015 are fighting for independence, liberation, democratic governance, and sovereignty. Political and economic democracy is what the Haitians are fighting for. The lives of Black Haitians matter.
American Sniper is a controversial film. Debates exist all of the time about it. The movie was directed by Clint Eastwood and its screenplay was established by Jason Hall. The movie was about the story of the famous sniper Chris Kyle. He is known as reputedly the deadliest marksman in the history of the U.S. military with about 255 kills. The Pentagon has confirmed 160 kills. The movie is highly pro-war despite the anti-war views of Eastwood. The movie shows Kyle’s multiple duties in Iraq and how he suffers emotionally. It is a story that deals with xenophobic revenge and violence especially after 9/11. The movie shows a scene where Kyle defends his younger brother against a bully when his younger brother is being beaten by a bully. Later that evening, Kyle’s father explains to his sons that there are three types of people in the world. These people are the sheep, wolves, and sheep dogs. He explains that predatory wolves are responsible for all the “evil” in the world and it is the job of sheep dogs, who are “blessed with aggression,” to protect the sheep who cannot take care of themselves. This statement from his father serves as a theme in the American Sniper movie. The movie presents the narrative that U.S. is under attack from “evildoers,” so ultra-right and pro-military fanaticism is needed in the world. We know that imperialism has plundered the Middle East for over 100 years. The U.S. has been the source of aggression in many of the events of the Middle East. Western imperialists are the wolf in sheep dog’s clothing (with a bad disguise at that). So, the movie doesn’t show the complex nature of war or the horrendous cycle of capitalist imperialism. Bradley Cooper is the actor who plays Kyle. Kyle becomes a rodeo cowboy in Texas. When he watches the 1998 bombing attacks on U.S. embassies, he is angry and joins the Navy. He becomes a Navy Seal and a sharpshooter. Kyle meets and falls in love with Taya (who is played by Sienna Miller). Kyle and Taya look at the September 11 attacks on television and Kyle is again overcome with anger. Kyle soon goes into Iraq. He is involved in 4 tours. After each tour, he struggles to settle down in civilian life even when he has a son and a daughter. Memories haunt him and he want to protect his fellow soldiers in Iraq. He is a sniper in Fallujah which has been destroyed. Arabic people in the film are portrayed in a negative light regardless if they are fighters or regular men, women, and children. The word "savages" are used to describe them throughout the film. Eastwood omits that the U.S. support and financed Islamic fundamentalists and many Islamic terrorists for decades. The movie shows the paranoid view that Muslims threatens San Diego or New York. Kyle kills women and children. Reactionary forces are exploiting this controversial film to promote the illegal, neocolonial invasion, and occupation of Iraq.
The establishment is heavily involved with the establishment religious circles of the world. They try to make religious bodies to not make tough stands on controversial issues or compromise core convictions in order to be “politically correct” or submit to the interests of the establishment. One example is that the establishment promotes the evil Vietnam War. Many churches opposed it courageously and others supported it under the banner of jingoistic patriotism. Another example is that Council of Foreign Relations promotes globalization and many members of the establishment church like Rick Warren are CFR members. There are prosperity gospel religious leaders who promote materialism, corporate glamorization, and commercialism when we have millions of poor people struggling in America alone. In other words, spiritual enlightenment and economic justice are more important than massive material abundance.We know about many elitists who not only advocate global government (which I don’t support), but are actively involved in the CFR, the Trilateral Commission, the Bilderberg Group (which are groups who want more global integration). One of the easiest organizations that the establishment uses to try to manipulate religious people is the Council on National Policy or the CNP. The CNP has connections to the John Birch Society and the CNP is used as a way to control the conservative wing of the religious establishment. Famous CNP members include Tim LaHaye, Nelson Hunt, Howard Philips, etc. They receive corporate backing as well. So, we have to expose not only globalist extremists, but controlled opposition who seek to exploit God for profit literally. We have to be obedient to righteousness. That means that we have every right to not call a grown man Holy Father and we have the right to fight against racial discrimination and economic oppression.
By Timothy
Saturday, January 24, 2015
Friday, January 23, 2015
Friday News in late January 2015
The Yemeni President has resigned recently as the Houthi insurgents are consolidating control over the capital of Yemen. The Houthi militants are still stationed in front of Yemen’s Presidential palace. President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi announced his resignation from Yemen’s government Thursday. Hadi’s prime minister and entire cabinet also resigned. Hadi granted the Houthis a great deal of state power and he gave the Houthis political concessions. There are the U.S./Saudi collaborations in trying to counter the Houthis. Mass protests have come in Yemen in 2011. Since 2001, the U.S. government has given massive aid to Saleh’s military and counterterrorism units in Yamen. From late 2011, the US-Saudi controlled Gulf Cooperation Council oversaw a managed transition process that left elements of the old US-backed dictator Ali Abdullah Saleh regime in control of key departments and placed Hadi in the presidency through a one-man election in February 2012. There have been systematic assassination programs in Yemen for years. They have been backed by the Pentagon’s Joint Special Operation Command (JSOC) and by the CIA. The extended civil war in Yemen has influenced the fall of Hadi’s government. The Houthi militias are part of the Zadi branch of Shia Islam and they are supported by Iran. They have seized the Yemeni capital city of Sanaa. Immediately after seizing the capital, the Houthi leaders signed a Peace and National Power Sharing Agreement (PNPA) with Hadi and various elements of the political establishment. The PNPA provided for the Houthi to be integrated into the existing governmental structures in exchange for the insurgency’s disarmament. The Houthis want to expand their power. When, in July 2014, the Hadi government enforced an end to fuel subsidies, the Houthis responded by demanding the reinstitution of the subsidies and calling for mass demonstrations against the government. There is the AQAP in Yemen too. The Saudis have funded other groups to form a secession movement where independent micro-states are in southern Yemen. The Americans, the French, etc. are watching these developments closely.
When I was younger, I did not know that much about the strong militancy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We all knew that Malcolm X was militant before and after his Hajj. When I got older, I found out about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s more militant views. Both Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. played very important roles in the black freedom movement. Dr. King wanted to use love not as a means to bow down to white society, but to use love to defend our human rights and to stand up for justice. Malcolm X changed rapidly ideologically from 1964 to 1965. Malcolm X made many speeches, but when he tied the economic exploitation to Western powers and when he went into foreign nations as a means to build up alliances (as a means to try to make America accountable for its crimes against black Americans), and then he was soon assassinated. The BPP was an extension of the Black Power Movement. The BPP had guns and talked about self-defense (which is a human right). Yet, the FBI wanted to stop them, because of their revolutionary ideas and they were making results. The BPP were cleaning up the communities, they were providing children with breakfast, they were giving health care to black people, they were helping the elderly, and they were establishing other community development programs which were helping the people. When these things were happening, the FBI illegally suppressed them unfortunately. The Black Panther Party also was strongly anti-imperialist. Dr. King was killed in the midst of him opposing the Vietnam War and trying to get his Poor People’s Campaign fully established. Getting civil rights and voting rights encoded in law is one thing, which was great. Yet, the establishment hated Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. overtly when he opposed their war in Vietnam (which was a civil war. Herbicides, napalm, and other evils were found in that unjust war) and when he called for the radical redistribution of political and economic power. Dr. King was a threat and newspapers criticized him for his courageous stand against the Vietnam War. I always viewed Dr. King and Malcolm X’s views as converging before they passed away. Both men wanted an end to the Vietnam War, wanted the growth of black institutions, they critiqued capitalism explicitly, and they wanted a radical change in society. Dr. King gave militant speeches too (like his Beyond Vietnam speech and his Three Evils of Society speech back in 1967). I have great respect for Dr. King, Malcolm X, the BPP, and others who stood up for the freedom of black people globally.
Dinesh D’Souza is a hypocrite. He acts like he is an upstanding man, but he pleaded guilty to one felony count of making illegal contributions in the names of others. Obviously, President Barack Obama has an African American experience. He lived in America, he married an African American woman, he has black American children, he knows about African-American history (including black American culture). Hawaii, Illinois, and New York are found in America. Dinesh is an extremist and he is known for his support of the imperialist & terrorist Christopher Columbus. Dinesh is known to propagate other historically revisionist views. D’Souza believes in American exceptionalism, which is nothing more than Western imperialism. He is a known race-baiter. There is nothing wrong with using boycotts against racist corporations. Dr. Martin Luther King sympathized with democratic socialism (as he criticized capitalism), he was pro-labor, he said that he wanted a radical redistribution of economic & political power, and he was anti-war. So, we have to know history and fight for justice. At the end of the day, communities need independent grassroots organizing. We have to reject reactionary politicians and corporate foundations too. We certainly need more political education. We have to know about the system, so ways can be established by us to replace the current system with a new, fair one. The only way for justice to come is to work among the grassroots and build with other real freedom fighters (via alliances) internationally.
The war against fascism and oppression continues. The socialist Kshama Sawant made many interesting, accurate points. This current neoliberal reality existed before 2009, but the White House is not off the hook for its policies either. Certainly, we have to witness how and why we live under these conditions as a means for us to find ways to get us out of these conditions. The evil of reactionary Republicanism (with its supply side economics and its neo-conservative war mongering) is not the only problem that we face. We have to confront neoliberal Democrats who want to be more like Republicans (by them supporting the war on terror, the War on Drugs, the TPP secretive proposal, etc.) instead of them being independent thinking people. The evils of privatization and economic oppression are with us. We have to think not only independently, but we need to develop strategies where the masses of the people can be truly free. It is obvious that we need a living wage, we need Program 1033 to be eliminated, and we need the development of our public infrastructure, so our standard of living can be strengthened. We’re in opposition to racism and class oppression. We need revolutionary changes in society. This is not shocking to see the DOJ not indict Darren Wilson. There have been many cases where cops, who have executed unarmed people, have not been indicted. We can witness many examples of history to see that. The truth is that Darren Wilson is responsible for the murder of the unarmed teenager Michael Brown in August of 2014. This non indictment from the Justice Department shows how they really stand on this issue. This non indictment further hurts the family and friends of Michael Brown. This comes after the bundled job that the deceptive attorney Robert P. McCulloch has done in his investigation (when he admitted in public that he knowingly used perjured testimony in the grand jury proceedings. McCulloch allowed a mentally disturbed white racist to use her testimony when she has a known history of providing false testimony). There is certainly a massive military police mobilization agenda here too. Militarized police has been used by the state against the peaceful protesters for months. There are many charges where Darren Wilson could have been charged with. The police institution is not only corrupt, but the overall oligarchical system is corrupt.
I am a Millennial and many Millennials harbor some of the respectability views of Anthony Mackie. This “New Black” ideology is more pervasive than I thought. It doesn’t matter if a Brother wears dreadlocks or not. That Brother can still be killed by a cop if that cop wants to kill that Brother. Unapologetically black means that we are black and we couldn’t give a care about what anyone else thinks about our blackness. Also, we, as black people, never invented institutionalized racism. We have to know the origin of the problems that we face in the first place in order for our problems to be solved. Not to mention that superbly qualified black actors and black actresses have not been nominated or they have not been awarded. Denzel Washington never won an Academy Award for his role of Malcolm X in the movie “Malcolm X.” It is ironic that mainstream society wants us black people to be accepting of others, but they never lecture non-blacks to be accepting of us in a higher level. In the final analysis, we should love our individuality, but we should not ignore the struggle. The struggle is real and justice is not solved by individuals trying to accommodate to a system that doesn’t respect us. Justice is won by us struggling and fighting for our human rights and for our right to be ourselves without apology. We don’t have to apologize for our dreadlocks, for our melanin, for our hair, for our human expression, or for our flavor (or swag). We are Black and Beautiful.
By Timothy
Thursday, January 22, 2015
Savant's words on society
The spelling "Amerikkka " has its origins (as far as I can tell) in the political discourses of AA nationalists and revolutionaries, who also sometimes referred to the USA (especially as an imperial power) as "Babylon. " It is not an orthographic error. The "KKK" (acronym for the Ku Klux Klan) was intended to indicate the spirit of the Klan was really NATIONAL, representing established institutions, not just a terrorist racist organization wearing sheets. Sometimes it's the same mentality wearing police uniforms and badges instead of sheets. The expression "Amerikkka " instead of America represents a political attitude having not much to do with "high" or "low" achievement. To an American (even white Americans) the implicit indictment of the social order conveyed by "Amerikkka " is pretty obvious, but may not have the same resonance abroad. As I mentioned before, Attai sometimes adopts our political rhetoric. When angered by some injustice we sometimes use words like "pig", "Amerikkka ", etc. When angered by a treacherous Black person whom we feel is betraying, we sometimes refer to them as "oreo", Tom, flunky, Aunt Jemima, etc. Some Blacks disillusioned with Obama may call him "Oreobama ". But we mainly keep that to ourselves. The fitness of these expressions depends largely on context; and when whites use these expression (even when well meaning), they sometimes misjudge the context.
-Savant
-Savant
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
The 2015 State of the Union Address
The President’s State of the Union address was centrist like the speeches that he has given during the past. I agree with some of his views and disagree with other parts of his speech. I agree with him in advocating for the building our infrastructure, the establishment of a guaranteed paid sick leave and paid maternity leave (as every industrialized nation has except America), and the increase of the minimum wage. The problem is that the reactionary Republicans will ruthlessly oppose any of these common sense measures. Many GOP members just believe in “socialism for the rich and capitalism for the poor.” It’s a shame. The super wealthy have received record profits and record benefits and some of them are whining about a minor tax increase. We have record economic inequality and from 1945 to 1975 our economic inequality was the lowest in American history (via a strong social safety net and other fair economic policies). Many people have received jobs, but we have a very long way to go in seeing radical improvements in our economic situation. We have record economic inequality and stagnant wages nationwide. Boehner even invited Benjamin Netanyahu to come and speak to Congress about Iran. Boehner said that he didn't ask permission from the White House to do it. Boehner is certainly a neo-conservative. The President was confident in his tone in his speech. He said “I won two of them” in reference to him winning two terms. We can’t be naïve. We see that “democratic capitalism” doesn’t work to end poverty. His speech dealt with what he wanted to do. He wanted to make community college more affordable, tax credits for the middle class (via middle class economics), and get Congressional authorization to deal with ISIS (which is a creation of Western-intelligence funded terrorists). The Republican controlled Congress will express huge opposition to his proposals. The strengths of his speech was his advocacy for equal pay, for building up infrastructure, sick leave plan and for his fight for higher taxes on the wealthy. Yet, he still has a neoliberal policy of not making Wall Street truly accountable. His foreign policy is still very militarist and reactionary. The drone attacks, the torture, and other evil war mongering policies has not stabilize the Middle East. In many cases, it made thing worse. He supports the TPP, but the TPP has meetings totally in secret. Many legislatives have not read the TPP proposal in its entirety. Yet, we should never lose hope. We have to keep on going forward. Going forward means that we have to fight for equal pay and revolutionary changes in the criminal justice system. We should always defend our voting rights as well. We need to reject imperial policies too as advocated by many people of both parties. We have to continue to work for justice.
This is an excellent campaign from Dove. All women and all girls have every right to love their hair. There is nothing wrong with curly hair at all. Certainly, the short film is very inspirational and important. Self-love and love for our neighbors are important ideals that make society better. We are a better people and a better community when we honor the precious human dignity found in all of us. It is obvious that we have a long way to go. We are still fighting for justice in our generation. When we have unarmed black men, women, and children being murdered unjustly by many police officers, then people already know what time it is. There are many people who hate black people and judge black people in a racist fashion. That is why we, as black people, should keep on fighting. We should fight for our human rights and for our economic freedoms. We see how that the global Capitalist system has promoted covetousness, materialism, consumerism, the love of money, and the hatred of our neighbors. Monopoly capitalism is linked to imperialism. That is why I am anti-imperialist. That is why we need more of the Knowledge of self, self-determination, and the advocacy of justice. We don’t need nihilism. We need solidarity among our people worldwide (in seeing Africans, Afro-Brazilians, Afro-Caribbeans, all Afro-Latinos, Afro-Europeans, African Americans, etc. as ONE. WE ARE ONE and Black will forever be Beautiful).
It is very important to know the following information. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a man who did not tell black people to bow down to a racist society. He told black people to use civil disobedience, strikes, work stoppages, etc. as a way for people to oppose unjust laws. He explicitly opposed the Vietnam War which the corporate elite wanted to promote. When he opposed the Vietnam War, SCLC radically was reduced of its funds. He sacrificed his time to stand up for freedom and justice. He came out to condemn materialism and monopoly capitalism. A real leader will always critique capitalism in strong terms, yet many people want to even support corporate corruption, which is a shame. Also, he said that he wanted to build up black institutions via his last public speech in Memphis. So, I will always respect the truths that Dr. King spoke. No human is perfect and the same ones who try to slander Dr. King refuse to expose the system of white supremacy (and they love the current capitalist system). Malcolm X and Dr. King shook hands as men and they respected each other. Malcolm X came into Selma in early 1965 to support the voting rights campaign there. It was the neoliberal policies (not Dr. King's revolutionary views) that contributed to the problems that we face today. Decades of neoliberalism, deindustrialization, women scapegoating (as women like men should have total equality), bad trade deals, the War on Drugs, and other evils don't work. A radical redistribution of economic and political power will work instead. We must not only expose racism, but we must expose class oppression as well. The exploitation of the poor must end, so the poor can have a living wage and real economic power. There were many strong, courageous people in the black liberation movement. Austerity, reactionary propaganda, objectivism, apathy, racism, etc. are defective, retrograde views that should be discarded and repudiated. Economic justice, anti-imperialism, love, and justice are qualities that anyone can accept as authentic principles.
FOX News’ Empire is about a show about a drama that deals with the music industry. Lee Daniels is one creator of the show. Lee Daniels is the same man who was involved in Precious and the Butler movies. Empire is a TV series is part of the overall agenda of the establishment. The establishment promotes stereotypes, lax morality, selfishness, and materialism all of the time. The music industry is not ruled completely by black people. The industry is controlled by mostly white males. The show Empire has the title of Empire. The show tries to show black people running a music corporation while covertly the Empire of white supremacy exists now (and runs the entire music empire on the show and in real life). Back in the day, we had empires. Shows like Empire omit the conscious Brothers and conscious Sisters with strong families, being upright, and helping their communities. Empire is being used as a distraction as a way for people to sympathize with the materialism and corruption found in the establishment’s music industry. Monster’s Ball is a disgrace of a movie. I saw some of Monster’s Ball and I just stopped looking at it after 30 minutes. From that day on, I have never looked at Monster’s Ball a day in my life. Lee Daniels is a puppet of the ruling class, because a revolutionary Brother or a revolutionary Sister would never be allowed to show shows that show the real wonder and essence of our people (in opposition to the system of white supremacy explicitly). Junk TV is just like that, junk. We have to treat each other right and understand that fathers and mothers should educate their children on their culture, their power, and their human value. The Knowledge of Self is so important to promote.
We should not worship the celebrity culture. We need to develop our souls and our minds, so we can develop a better civilization for our community. We need to follow collective improvement. Both Professor Griff and Zaza Ali made an excellent point about how black people have great brain power, so we can be multifaceted in our attributes (from creating music, producing, photographing, writing, engineering, etc.). Boyce Watkins’ views are interesting too. He is right that Empire shows stereotypical images and that FOX News is filled with racists. Rupert Murdoch is a capitalist who said that all of the ancient Egyptians were white, which is false. Boyce Watkins is right that the emasculation agenda (in the sense of bashing any black man expressing strength, honor, dignity, etc.) is real in society. Lee Daniels is a self-hater and he made disrespectful comments about black women too. I remember that. It is a shame that talented actors and actresses like Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson are rewarded for playing such role since both people are excellent in the art of acting. People should think for themselves. Television is one of the greatest propaganda devices in human history. We have to ask questions on why things are in the screen and we have to use our discernment as our Creator would want us to do. We need economic collective power and integrity too. We shouldn’t oppress innocent people like a dictator, but we have to stand strongly in favor of morality, truth, and dignity. Media has used brainwashing for a long time. Also, we should fight for black liberation too.
By Timothy
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
History and Dr. King.
I've done research and a book on Dr. King. If anyone is interested in LEGITIMATE scholarly sources, I can share some of them. But to address the question (probably intended as rhetorical and defamatory) Dr. King was both a PRINCIPLED agitator and a Christian and democratic socialist. The FBI (which infiltrated the Movement with traitorous negro spies) may have known about this. If they did, their small paranoid minds would have equate democratic and Christian socialism with Soviet style "Communism ", and inferred from this that Dr. King was a Communist. Also, there were former Communists (like Stanley Levinson) as well as democratic socialists (like Bayard Rustin and Michael Harrington) with whom Dr. King did have contact. But even had they been CURRENT (rather than FORMER) communists that wouldn't prove that Dr. King himself was a Communist any more than their association with him would prov3 that they were Christians and Baptists.
-Savant
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I've actually been able to trace King's CRITIQUE of BOTH capitalism and USSR style communism even back to his STUDENT diaries of the late 1940s and early 1950s...well before he was a public figure who may have had something to hide. Even in his late teens his writings show a definite antipathy to both capitalism and Leninist state "communism ". But he does show sympathy for democratic socialism. Check out THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. See if you can't find his student diaries on line. It may come up if you google: "This, capitalism has done. It has failed to meet the needs of the masses." That phrase marks the transition in that diary from his critique of Marx to his critique of capitalism. More background information can be found in some interesting historical works. See FROM CIVIL RIGHTS TO HUMAN RIGHTS: MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. AND THE STRUGGLE FOR ECONOMIC JUSTICE by Thomas Jackson and GOING DOWN JERICHO ROAD by Michael Honey. Of course, my own book (which you know of if you're Barros) also discusses King's version of socialism. King clings to no specific model, but Scandinavian social democracy he seems to suggest comes closest to what he has in mind.
-Savant
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Photos which Michael Honey (among others) have exposed as fake. And what if a Communist was seen at a rally at a Christian church? Would that be evidence that the Communist was secretly a Christian? Malcolm X was charged by the FBI with "breaking bread with the Communists on account of his appearance (for REAL) on a platform with members of the Socialist Workers Party. Malcolm's reply? In essence (or in so many words): "I've also spoken on the same platform with Baptists and Methodists? Does that make me a Baptist or Methodist?"
-Savant
_______________
Barros is right on this. Both King's own writings and those of King scholars bear out the fact that King leaned in the direction of democratic socialism, not Sov9iet style Communism. Whoever posted a red "X" for disagree ought to do some homework. Everything is not a matter of opinion; and although everyone has a RIGHT to his or opinion every opinion is not of equal value. Do some homework.
-Savant
______________
Yep.
Of course to some of these Faux-News aficionados, anything to the left of the Archduke Ferdinand is “communist”.
-Barros
_________________
Monday, January 19, 2015
Honoring the Life and Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. lived a courageous, heroic life. He fought against injustice and he loved black people. He loved the human race in general. He had a revolutionary spirit. He was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1929. His father was a famous Baptist preacher and his mother was a gracious, sweet woman who stood up for the truth as well. Dr. King was exceptionally smart and went into college at the age of 16 years old. He went into college in the North and received a theological degree. He studies many different economic, religious, and social philosophies. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was influenced by many thinkers and philosophies like Personalism. He married his intellectual equal Coretta Scott King, who was a great pacifist, progressive activist in her own right. It is very important to note that Coretta Scott King was not only a great singer. She was anti-war, and she supported the movement for freedom and justice too. Dr. King went into Birmingham, Alabama to pastor a church. The Birmingham Bus Boycott came about in 1955 to protest Jim Crow apartheid and racism. Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white person. She was tired of social indignities that black people have suffered in the buses and throughout American society in general. Dr. King, E.D. King, the workers, women, and a wide spectrum of human beings led this boycott. It was very successful after many days of carpooling, boycotts, and walking. Dr. King’s house was bombed when his wife and children were there during the boycott. Yet, Dr. King never wanted to retaliate against the white racist terrorists via violence. Dr. King believed in the ideology of nonviolent, progressive pacifism. Yet, even back during the 1950’s, he always expressed anti-capitalist views in his notes to Coretta and in his private statements. For example, Dr. King wrote the following words to his wife Correta via a July 18, 1952 letter: "... I imagine you already know that I am much more socialistic in my economic theory than capitalistic. And yet I am not so opposed to capitalism that I have failed to see its relative merits. It started out with a noble and high motive, viz, to block the trade monopolies of nobles, but like most human system it fail victim to the very thing it was revolting against. So today capitalism has outlived its usefulness. It has brought about a system that takes necessities from the masses to give luxuries to the classes..." He opposed Stalinist Communism, but he sympathized with democratic socialism. That is a fact. After the success of Birmingham, the new civil rights movement of the 1950’s spread across Americas. Boycotts and demonstrations spread nationwide from New York to Atlanta. Yet, change would be gradual. Brown v. Board of Education was not changing society fast enough. Then, in 1960’s, the North Carolina sit-in movement began and the civil rights movement grew into another level. The younger generation formed SNCC (Ella Baker supported SNCC as a leader) while Dr. King headed the SCLC as a means to fight for racial equality. SNCC increasingly rejected nonviolence unconditionally as time went on while Dr. King was committed to nonviolence all the way to his death. Dr. Martin Luther King was to the left of Randolph, Wilkins, Rustin, and Farmer, but he was to the right of SNCC back in the early 1960’s. Dr. King supported SNCC and the Freedom Riders (who were multiracial activists that wanted to desegregate interstate bus travel and end Jim Crow apartheid once and for all). Many Freedom Riders were brutally assaulted by white racist mobs.
Dr. King worked in St. Augustine, Florida, and other communities to combat racial segregation. In 1963, he continued to fight for a strong Civil Rights bill. He spoke of his Dream in his famous 1963 Washington, D.C., “I Have a Dream Speech.” The famous March on Washington was formed by a diversity of people. Thousands came into Washington, D.C. from all over the country who desired jobs and freedom. In that speech, he spoke about racial equality and the right of people to fight for justice. Later, four little girls were killed in a Birmingham Church in September 15, 1963. That was a very evil event. People were emotional. To this day, I can’t forget about that. Dr. King gave an emotional eulogy and he rightfully blamed people who were apathetic for the deaths of the four little girls not only the white racist murderers. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 and he continued to fight until the 1964 Civil Rights Act was passed. Later, he worked in Selma to defend voting rights. Other leaders including black women stood up in Selma to fight for human rights too. Malcolm X came into Selma to give a speech to the youth. He wanted people to stand up for their rights and he said that the Klan was a group of cowards. Unfortunately, Malcolm X died in February 21, 1965. LBJ signed the 1965 Voting Rights Act and the Watts rebellion in Los Angeles existed in the same year. After Selma and Watts, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. more overtly talked about economic issues. He rightfully realized that ending segregation was not enough and that we need economic justice in order for us to be free. So, he understood that riots were the voice of the unheard (and that riots were in response to poverty, bad housing, economic injustices, police brutality, and racism) and the urban ghettoes need compassion and assistance not scapegoating. In 1966, he worked in Chicago to try to end housing discrimination, covert segregation practices, and an end to slum housing. The Chicago campaign was difficult, because the Daley machine wanted to stop King's revolutionary efforts. Dr. King gained token concession, but the events of Chicago solidified his opposition to economic injustice. He worked in other cities like Cleveland, Milwaukee, etc. In 1966, Dr. King discussed about the issue of Black Power. Kwame Ture and McKissick supported the call of Black Power in Mississippi in the protest after the shooting of James Meredith. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. believed in Black Power's call for the uniting of economic and political power in the black community. Yet, Dr. King reject separatism. He felt that using Black Power just as a slogan wasn't enough. He believed in the view that Black is Beautiful. Kwame Ture and Dr. King disagreed on the issue of nonviolence, but they agreed with opposing the Vietnam War 100 percent. Then, he overtly criticized the war in Vietnam strongly by 1967. He criticized the Vietnam War in 1966, but he became more strongly opposed to it later it. His Riverside Church speech exposed the brutality and injustice of the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War not only stripped resources that could of been used to help Americans domestically. It was a war where villages were burned to the ground and where millions of human lives were killed under the basis of a lie (that lie dealt with the Gulf on Tonkin incident). He also organized the Poor Peoples Campaign in 1967 (which wanted the poor and the working class of all colors to come together in D.C. as a means for them to fight for a guaranteed annual income, for a living wage, for the federal government to intervene in eradicating poverty, and for a radical redistribution of economic and political power). He fought for the economic rights of Memphis Sanitation workers too in 1968. As he said, all labor has dignity. The striking sanitation workers wanted to be treated as men or as human beings. He was assassinated in April 4, 1968. Dr. King was only 39 years old. He was in the midst of leading another protest for the Memphis workers. Riots came in response to his death, but his Dream lives on. Since his death, massive changes occurred in America and the same problem of poverty is still a serious problem in the world. To this very day, Dr. King's relatives, friends, and allies continue in his work. His sons and daughters work to fight for justice too. We have to use our strength and our spirits to defeat injustice and promote justice for all.
There is the problem of housing and homelessness in New York City. De Blasio is the new mayor of NYC. These problems have existed long before De Blasio was elected as mayor. For the 12 years of the tenure of the previous mayor and billionaire Michael Bloomberg, the city’s homeless population increased between 60 and 71 percent (which depends on the source of the statistics). The Coalition of the Homeless reported at the end of 2013 that 53,331 people were sleeping in city homeless shelters. After one year of the de Blasio administration, the total was 58,469, an increase of nearly 10 percent. This doesn’t count for the people sleeping on the street. That number is officially estimated at 3,300. Homeless advocates have mentioned that the total number is higher. The de Blasio administration has opened 23 new homeless shelters, barely keeping pace with the rise in the homeless population. NYC has the largest concentration of billionaires in the world. There 103 billionaires in 2014 up from 96 from the previous year. Massive income inequality contributes to poverty. Powerful real estate interests have done nothing radical to address homelessness and the lack of affordable housing. The current mayor made a pledge to build and preserve 200,000 units of affordable housing over an eight year period. The substance of this vague formulation was a pledge to give $8 billion in city funds to private developers. He had appointed a Wall Street insider at Goldman Sachs, Alicia Glen, as NYC’s deputy mayor for housing and economic development. The plan is focused on providing tax breaks and other incentives to private landlords and developers as inducements for them to provide “affordable” housing, including the infamous “poor door” buildings in which the wealthy have entirely separate entrances and a variety of amenities (e.g. gym facilities) not available to the ordinary tenants. Rising housing costs contribute to the rise of homelessness. Some monthly rents are from $1,561-$1997 for a studio to $2,729-$4,346 for a three bedroom apartment. These problems exist not only in the Bronx, but in Brooklyn, Queens, etc. Mayor De Blasio has reportedly rejected a proposed luxury tax on absentee landlord and pieds-à-terre properties. Sending money to a select real estate developers and landlords will not solve this problem. What will solve this problem is the taxing of the super wealthy in a higher level, the ending of loopholes, and forming more programs to address homelessness including poverty.
The Afro-Brazilians are wonderful people. The more that I learn about them, the more blessed I feel as a black American. Now, many Afro-Brazilians are not only fighting against racism and discrimination (they have supported a massive affirmative action program which has helped countless Brothers and Sisters in Brazil). They are fighting also against misogyny and police terrorism. According to a study by the Latin American Study Center, the number of white Brazilians killed by law enforcement has decreased while Afro-Brazilian deaths have increased greatly. Brazil’s population is about a third smaller than that of America, but Brazil has almost five times as many killings by the police. The urban ghettos in Brazil called the favelas suffer economic oppression. Mãe Baiana, 53, President of the Ile Axé Oyá Bagan terreiro have said that: “Our fight is the fight against intolerance and prejudice. Do they think that we’re still slaves? Because we take lashes every day.” There have been a lot of black people being killed by the police in Brazil. Joana Darc Brito was shot in a favela in Rio de Janeiro and died en route to the hospital. Maria de Fátima dos Santos and her daughter Alessandra de Jesus were executed in an rally. Claudia Silva Ferreira was shot by law enforcement back in March, and died after falling out of their car and being dragged for two blocks. We should condemn the deaths of Mike Brown, Eric Garner, and Trayvon Martin. Also, we have to condemn the deaths of Renisha McBride, Islan Nettles, Kathryn Johnson, etc. The beating of Marlene Pinnock by a demented cop was evil. We should know about the stories of Stephanie Maldonado and Ersuala Ore as well. Worldwide, we have racial justice organizations, artists, musicians, and activists coming together to defend the human dignity of black people. Marisandra Layla (an Afro-Brazilian Sister), 31, Social educator and member of the National Forum of Black Youth said: “We are here to say that, in spite of everything, we, black women, are still alive!” So, we have to fight against the evils found in this white supremacist, patriarchal, and capitalist society. Nilma Lino Gomes is the first black woman in Brazil to be dean of a federal university. She is now the Minister of Racial Equality Policies of Federal Government. We all wish her the best. Mãe Gilda, who is an Afro-Brazilians has fought for religious freedom and racial justice in Brazil as well. The Black consciousness movement is very strong in Brazil.
This is very tragic story. People have every right to express anger at the deaths of 2 precious children. Ciarria Johnson dropping the ball in her responsibilities is an understatement. What she did was totally reprehensible, unjustified, and cruel. She deserves no sympathy and she ought to experience accountability for her actions. Raising children is a serious responsibility. These 2 children have lost their lives because of the selfish choices made by Ciarria. It is a total shame that these children will never have the chance to go to high school, they will never have a career as adults, and they will never be married and have children. The story breaks your heart and it shows that we have to always defend the humanity and the dignity of black human life. The story of these 2 little children shows what is important. What is important is not about the distractions, the foolish infighting, and the unnecessary divisions. It is about caring for the humanity of black children, so they can grow up to become strong adults. RIP Clifton and Ta’shae. Community oversight over the police being opposed by some extremists shows how reactionary the extremists are. The protesters have spoken their minds and they are right to oppose police brutality. We know how militarism, domestic oppression, and economic exploitation are interrelated. We have to continue to believe in hope and keep our eyes on the prize. More and more people are waking up and black people have every right to stand up for justice amid police terrorism. We have to organize and unify with those who want to strategically end oppression. It is obvious that the current system must end and a system of justice must rise in its replacement. We have to fight for our freedom or continue to be oppressed. We choose to fight for our freedom. The one percent wants to maintain their privileged power. Fundamentally, we have to fight for our independence and black communities have every justification to grow our solidarity and our community institutions. Community building is a key function of a revolutionary spirit. We need to support not only community development, but unity with black people of all of the Diaspora including Africa. Making a demand is fine, but we need to also build. SNCC and the old school Black Panther Party had great strategies that we can be influenced by. We need short term and long term plans and we have to act in our strategies. Constantly, we have to condemn imperialism, police brutality, racism, discrimination, etc. Independent media sources have shown the truth much better than the corporate run media. We can't quit. We will not stop and we have to keep doing the right thing.
By Timothy
Dr. King worked in St. Augustine, Florida, and other communities to combat racial segregation. In 1963, he continued to fight for a strong Civil Rights bill. He spoke of his Dream in his famous 1963 Washington, D.C., “I Have a Dream Speech.” The famous March on Washington was formed by a diversity of people. Thousands came into Washington, D.C. from all over the country who desired jobs and freedom. In that speech, he spoke about racial equality and the right of people to fight for justice. Later, four little girls were killed in a Birmingham Church in September 15, 1963. That was a very evil event. People were emotional. To this day, I can’t forget about that. Dr. King gave an emotional eulogy and he rightfully blamed people who were apathetic for the deaths of the four little girls not only the white racist murderers. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 and he continued to fight until the 1964 Civil Rights Act was passed. Later, he worked in Selma to defend voting rights. Other leaders including black women stood up in Selma to fight for human rights too. Malcolm X came into Selma to give a speech to the youth. He wanted people to stand up for their rights and he said that the Klan was a group of cowards. Unfortunately, Malcolm X died in February 21, 1965. LBJ signed the 1965 Voting Rights Act and the Watts rebellion in Los Angeles existed in the same year. After Selma and Watts, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. more overtly talked about economic issues. He rightfully realized that ending segregation was not enough and that we need economic justice in order for us to be free. So, he understood that riots were the voice of the unheard (and that riots were in response to poverty, bad housing, economic injustices, police brutality, and racism) and the urban ghettoes need compassion and assistance not scapegoating. In 1966, he worked in Chicago to try to end housing discrimination, covert segregation practices, and an end to slum housing. The Chicago campaign was difficult, because the Daley machine wanted to stop King's revolutionary efforts. Dr. King gained token concession, but the events of Chicago solidified his opposition to economic injustice. He worked in other cities like Cleveland, Milwaukee, etc. In 1966, Dr. King discussed about the issue of Black Power. Kwame Ture and McKissick supported the call of Black Power in Mississippi in the protest after the shooting of James Meredith. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. believed in Black Power's call for the uniting of economic and political power in the black community. Yet, Dr. King reject separatism. He felt that using Black Power just as a slogan wasn't enough. He believed in the view that Black is Beautiful. Kwame Ture and Dr. King disagreed on the issue of nonviolence, but they agreed with opposing the Vietnam War 100 percent. Then, he overtly criticized the war in Vietnam strongly by 1967. He criticized the Vietnam War in 1966, but he became more strongly opposed to it later it. His Riverside Church speech exposed the brutality and injustice of the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War not only stripped resources that could of been used to help Americans domestically. It was a war where villages were burned to the ground and where millions of human lives were killed under the basis of a lie (that lie dealt with the Gulf on Tonkin incident). He also organized the Poor Peoples Campaign in 1967 (which wanted the poor and the working class of all colors to come together in D.C. as a means for them to fight for a guaranteed annual income, for a living wage, for the federal government to intervene in eradicating poverty, and for a radical redistribution of economic and political power). He fought for the economic rights of Memphis Sanitation workers too in 1968. As he said, all labor has dignity. The striking sanitation workers wanted to be treated as men or as human beings. He was assassinated in April 4, 1968. Dr. King was only 39 years old. He was in the midst of leading another protest for the Memphis workers. Riots came in response to his death, but his Dream lives on. Since his death, massive changes occurred in America and the same problem of poverty is still a serious problem in the world. To this very day, Dr. King's relatives, friends, and allies continue in his work. His sons and daughters work to fight for justice too. We have to use our strength and our spirits to defeat injustice and promote justice for all.
There is the problem of housing and homelessness in New York City. De Blasio is the new mayor of NYC. These problems have existed long before De Blasio was elected as mayor. For the 12 years of the tenure of the previous mayor and billionaire Michael Bloomberg, the city’s homeless population increased between 60 and 71 percent (which depends on the source of the statistics). The Coalition of the Homeless reported at the end of 2013 that 53,331 people were sleeping in city homeless shelters. After one year of the de Blasio administration, the total was 58,469, an increase of nearly 10 percent. This doesn’t count for the people sleeping on the street. That number is officially estimated at 3,300. Homeless advocates have mentioned that the total number is higher. The de Blasio administration has opened 23 new homeless shelters, barely keeping pace with the rise in the homeless population. NYC has the largest concentration of billionaires in the world. There 103 billionaires in 2014 up from 96 from the previous year. Massive income inequality contributes to poverty. Powerful real estate interests have done nothing radical to address homelessness and the lack of affordable housing. The current mayor made a pledge to build and preserve 200,000 units of affordable housing over an eight year period. The substance of this vague formulation was a pledge to give $8 billion in city funds to private developers. He had appointed a Wall Street insider at Goldman Sachs, Alicia Glen, as NYC’s deputy mayor for housing and economic development. The plan is focused on providing tax breaks and other incentives to private landlords and developers as inducements for them to provide “affordable” housing, including the infamous “poor door” buildings in which the wealthy have entirely separate entrances and a variety of amenities (e.g. gym facilities) not available to the ordinary tenants. Rising housing costs contribute to the rise of homelessness. Some monthly rents are from $1,561-$1997 for a studio to $2,729-$4,346 for a three bedroom apartment. These problems exist not only in the Bronx, but in Brooklyn, Queens, etc. Mayor De Blasio has reportedly rejected a proposed luxury tax on absentee landlord and pieds-à-terre properties. Sending money to a select real estate developers and landlords will not solve this problem. What will solve this problem is the taxing of the super wealthy in a higher level, the ending of loopholes, and forming more programs to address homelessness including poverty.
The Afro-Brazilians are wonderful people. The more that I learn about them, the more blessed I feel as a black American. Now, many Afro-Brazilians are not only fighting against racism and discrimination (they have supported a massive affirmative action program which has helped countless Brothers and Sisters in Brazil). They are fighting also against misogyny and police terrorism. According to a study by the Latin American Study Center, the number of white Brazilians killed by law enforcement has decreased while Afro-Brazilian deaths have increased greatly. Brazil’s population is about a third smaller than that of America, but Brazil has almost five times as many killings by the police. The urban ghettos in Brazil called the favelas suffer economic oppression. Mãe Baiana, 53, President of the Ile Axé Oyá Bagan terreiro have said that: “Our fight is the fight against intolerance and prejudice. Do they think that we’re still slaves? Because we take lashes every day.” There have been a lot of black people being killed by the police in Brazil. Joana Darc Brito was shot in a favela in Rio de Janeiro and died en route to the hospital. Maria de Fátima dos Santos and her daughter Alessandra de Jesus were executed in an rally. Claudia Silva Ferreira was shot by law enforcement back in March, and died after falling out of their car and being dragged for two blocks. We should condemn the deaths of Mike Brown, Eric Garner, and Trayvon Martin. Also, we have to condemn the deaths of Renisha McBride, Islan Nettles, Kathryn Johnson, etc. The beating of Marlene Pinnock by a demented cop was evil. We should know about the stories of Stephanie Maldonado and Ersuala Ore as well. Worldwide, we have racial justice organizations, artists, musicians, and activists coming together to defend the human dignity of black people. Marisandra Layla (an Afro-Brazilian Sister), 31, Social educator and member of the National Forum of Black Youth said: “We are here to say that, in spite of everything, we, black women, are still alive!” So, we have to fight against the evils found in this white supremacist, patriarchal, and capitalist society. Nilma Lino Gomes is the first black woman in Brazil to be dean of a federal university. She is now the Minister of Racial Equality Policies of Federal Government. We all wish her the best. Mãe Gilda, who is an Afro-Brazilians has fought for religious freedom and racial justice in Brazil as well. The Black consciousness movement is very strong in Brazil.
This is very tragic story. People have every right to express anger at the deaths of 2 precious children. Ciarria Johnson dropping the ball in her responsibilities is an understatement. What she did was totally reprehensible, unjustified, and cruel. She deserves no sympathy and she ought to experience accountability for her actions. Raising children is a serious responsibility. These 2 children have lost their lives because of the selfish choices made by Ciarria. It is a total shame that these children will never have the chance to go to high school, they will never have a career as adults, and they will never be married and have children. The story breaks your heart and it shows that we have to always defend the humanity and the dignity of black human life. The story of these 2 little children shows what is important. What is important is not about the distractions, the foolish infighting, and the unnecessary divisions. It is about caring for the humanity of black children, so they can grow up to become strong adults. RIP Clifton and Ta’shae. Community oversight over the police being opposed by some extremists shows how reactionary the extremists are. The protesters have spoken their minds and they are right to oppose police brutality. We know how militarism, domestic oppression, and economic exploitation are interrelated. We have to continue to believe in hope and keep our eyes on the prize. More and more people are waking up and black people have every right to stand up for justice amid police terrorism. We have to organize and unify with those who want to strategically end oppression. It is obvious that the current system must end and a system of justice must rise in its replacement. We have to fight for our freedom or continue to be oppressed. We choose to fight for our freedom. The one percent wants to maintain their privileged power. Fundamentally, we have to fight for our independence and black communities have every justification to grow our solidarity and our community institutions. Community building is a key function of a revolutionary spirit. We need to support not only community development, but unity with black people of all of the Diaspora including Africa. Making a demand is fine, but we need to also build. SNCC and the old school Black Panther Party had great strategies that we can be influenced by. We need short term and long term plans and we have to act in our strategies. Constantly, we have to condemn imperialism, police brutality, racism, discrimination, etc. Independent media sources have shown the truth much better than the corporate run media. We can't quit. We will not stop and we have to keep doing the right thing.
By Timothy
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