Late October 2015 News

There was the October 10, 2015 double suicide bombing in Ankara or the capital of Turkey. Before the bombings, protesters were singing in a peace march. Over 100 people were killed. Yet, this hasn’t stopped the peace movement in Turkey at all. The burial ceremonies of the victims of the Ankara bombings have become anti-government rallies. Thousands of mourners chanted “Murderer Erdoğan” and “The murderous state will he held to account.” Erdogan is known for his reactionary policies in Turkey ad in other nations. There was a strike in October 12 and 13. The strike was headed via an alliance of labor unions which are affiliated to the main opposition parties including the professional organizations. There were tens of thousands of medical staff, teaches, municipal employees, and lawyers who struck. Many university students boycotted their lessons in some faculties. The action was taken by the Confederation of Progressive Workers’ Unions (DISK), the Confederation of Public Laborers’ Union (KESK), the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (TMMOB), and the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) took part in the action. The AKP or the Justice and Development Party have increased its pressure on the media. They have mobilized the police to try to suppress the tide of opposition. The government has used the government to try to limit protest rallies. On Tuesday, the Istanbul Governor’s Office refused to grant permission for the proposed march from Sirkeci and Cerrahpaşa Medical Faculty to Beyazıt Square, saying, “The governorate does not find the planned march and rally appropriate, regarding the sensitivity of the present period.” In other parts of Istanbul, riot police brutally attacked those who defied the ban. Also on Wednesday, an Ankara court issued a broad media ban on reporting on the Ankara suicide bomber investigation. According to Hürriyet Daily News, the ban includes “all kinds of news, interviews, criticism and similar publications in print, visual, social media and all kinds of media on the Internet.” The general strikes have been supported by many Kurdish activist groups. The larger trade unions like the Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions are more moderate and support the government. The Turkish government has arrested 2 suspects. Their names are Yunus Emre Alagoz, the brother of a bomber who killed 33 people in a separate suicide blast in Suruc in July, also said to be linked to IS. The other bomber was identified as Omer Deniz Dundar, using DNA from the blast. The two were reportedly on a list of 21 potential suicide bombers. Some believe that the attack was most likely the work of ISIS. .Turkey still abhors PKK in calling it a terrorist group as has been said by Turkish leader Davutoğlu. The YPG or the People’s Protection Units is the armed wing of the Syrian Democratic Union Party (PYD), which is an ally of the PKK.  The ruling party of Erdogan is the justice and Development Party or the AKP. A YPG statement, sent to Reuters on Monday, says, “The sensitive stage our country Syria is going through and rapid developments on the military and political front...require that there be a united national military force for all Syrians, joining Kurds, Arabs, Syrians and other groups.” The Kurds have made many gains in the Middle East.

The neoconservatives have been discredited in their views on Syria, Iraq, Libya, and the Ukraine. The truth is that supporting fascists or using color revolutions which destabilize nations will not end terrorism neither will it form democratic solutions to problems. Today, we not only have reactionary Republicans promoting more war. We have many Democratic war mongers who use “humanitarianism” as justification to want to put U.S. ground forces in Syria or support the Saudi destruction of Yemen. Even Secretary of State John Kerry said that: “Will we need to put enables on the ground? I think so. The President hasn’t made the decision yet.” US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power has been consistently anti-Crimea in her views. Power refused to condemn the shelling of the Russian Embassy in Damascus in the midst of her supporting terrorist groups in Syria, who are supported by the CIA. The President conceded to an open ended commitment of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. This came as a product of pressure from Defense Ashton Carter and other neo-cons. The Russians have a new electronic jamming system, which can blind radar, disrupt electronic guidance systems, and interfere with satellite imagery as well. There is the Russian Richag-AV system, which is a system that can jam radar, sonar, and other detection systems (in the midst of defending aircraft, helicopters, drones, etc.). NATO supreme commander and U.S. Air Force General Philip Breedlove said that Russia was created an A2/AD bubble (filled with surface to air missile batteries and anti-ship missiles to defend Syria against ISIS) over the Syrian code. There is the Russian SU-24 fighter, which blinded the Aegis radar on US destroyer in the Black Sea and knocked out guidance for Tomahawk cruise missiles on April 10, 2014. NATO continues to show drills in Eastern Europe and we certainly experiencing a complex situation in Syria.

The current 2016 Presidential election is filled with immigrant bashing, populism, and war mongering promotion. We are in a new era. We are in over one year after the rebellion of Ferguson. The 2 major parties of American capitalism are showing their views. We know that the Republican debates are filled with racist reactionary views, and a competition on who is the most pro-corporate candidate. Donald Trump believes in the fiction that building a border wall and immediately deporting people will cause justice when those actions won’t. Carly Fiorina has fired 30,000 employees of Hewlett-Packard during her time as chief executive. We have the candidacy of Ben Carson and Carson has made many bad statements which are Islampohobic, he compared the ACA to slavery (which is evil and wrong), and he talked about the Holocaust in an offensive way. The Democrats have many candidates too. Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Martin O’Malley are the most popular candidates. Jim Webb and Lincoln Chafee are in the Democratic side as well. The Democratic candidates said that they are “progressives” as they promote more escalation of the Western war machine to response to the Syrian refugee crisis. Sanders want to fund the Saudis to fight ISIS while Clinton wants to drop U.S. bombs on Assad and she says that a no fly zone is not off the table. Clinton is a capitalist. The Wall banks fund both parties and many corporate heads are the enemies of the poor and the working class. Our rights are being violated constantly. Sandra Bland died after she was harshly treated by the police. Even the tennis star James Black was brutally tackled outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel for just standing (Black was not asked of why he was tackled initially and he was no threat to the cops at all). On September 24, Jeremy McDole was cut down in a hail of at least ten bullets by police in Wilmington, Delaware for “sitting while black” ... in a wheelchair. Donald Trump is a person who calls Mexican undocumented workers criminals, drug dealers, and rapists, which is evil. Hillary Clinton is pro-war, pro-death penalty, and she had many contentious discussions with Black Lives Matter activists. Bernie Sanders’ campaign deals with practically capitalism (he claims to be a social democratic person, but imperialism is not related to socialism) with a slightly higher social welfare budget. His racial justice platform is very detailed, but community policing is a token action that doesn’t address the capitalist sate repression. Right now, Democrats Sanders and Hillary are trying to co-opt the Black Lives Matter movement when the Democrats have promoted gentrification, corporate exploitation, closing schools, and other reactionary policies for decades (just like the Republicans have done). We know that at least 2 members of the BLM are members of the TFA or the Teach for America group. This TFA group is union busting organization and it is funded by Wall Street backers to replace public schools to create private profit. Likewise, it is important to note that tons of BLM members are independently minded, are fighting for justice, and are doing great work. I want to make that perfectly clear. There should be a program to end racial oppression by ending capitalist exploitation. So, we need to have revolutionary politics and revolutionary actions in liberating black people including the rest of the human race.



The problem is that this issue has been placed under the rug by some for so long. One truth is that we should never worship false idols and the Ebony cover just told the truth that we must have a conversation on abuse, rape, and the mistreatment of women. I don’t see how anyone can be angry at Mayo for this in my view. Many of the same ones angry at the cover are not angry at the abuse of women, some of them aren’t angry at the epidemic of the abuse of black lives, and some of them aren’t angry at how respectability politics (or the view that there is some formula of being acceptable to mainstream token mores and act in a certain fashion in order for black people to be free or to not experience racism. We know that to be fantasy) has distorted what real liberation is all about. We don't need victim blaming. We need self-determination and activism in order for us to solve our problems. We want to have the conversation, the healing, and the usage of action in ending evils. One part of the solution is to confront evils. Kierna Mayo has done a great job in talking about this issue. Some people are arguing over a magazine cover when our people are being murdered and discriminated against. Some folks have to get their priorities straight. The system of white supremacy is very brutal. Therefore, the young Brothers and Sisters have every right to have the Knowledge of Self so they are equipped to deal with the issues of life. There is no solution to liberate black people unless we know who we are, we have to know the condition that we are in, we have to know why we exist in this condition in the first place, and we have to act (involving many actions like developing political, economic, and social unity as a community in order for us to independently achieve our own destinies). Some black people will wake up and others will not. We are the first humans on Earth and we will fight for justice.

I have read many articles where many Afro-British people admit that many African Americans are black identified or want to show an overt emphasis on being Black. The Black Power movement of the 1960’s (filled with the Black Panther Party, DRUM, etc.) didn’t exist out of thin air. It existed, because people want to counteract the lie that whiteness is the goal that we should aspire to be. We should aspire to love ourselves and love our black people. Many of us black Americans love our Blackness and are rather overt in promoting our interests as black people. I read where many Latin American nations have dozens of classifications of race. In America, we have dealt with slavery, Jim Crow, and other events that showed us how evil white racism is. There is also a strong Afro-Brazilian movement in Brazil. One hero of Brazil is Benedita Da Silva, who is one of the greatest political activists in the Americas of our generation. The white supremacists act globally in trying to show lies and propaganda against our people. That is why I do research about the African Diaspora and I support Diaspora groups who want liberation for black people. Certainly, music back then was very rich in not only harmonies, but in content. Marvin Gaye's "What Going on" was ahead of its time including the songs from Gil Scott Heron. The lyrics of the song by Usher and Nas certainly want people to do something about blatant injustices against innocent people. Usher's music appeals to a wide spectrum of people and it is fair to ask the question about his fan base. Music readily is a reflection of the times or the social barometer of the conditions of society. We want more musicians to talk about these important subjects. There is nothing wrong with entertaining music at times, but much of the mainstream music today is very imbalanced and many folks showing music aren't really talented at all. More progressive messages about breaking chains and having liberation are needed in our generation. There are freedom fighters globally who are opposed to tyranny. Our Blackness is very powerful. Black resistance to evil is always holy. Yes, Black is Beautiful.



By Timothy