The attacks in Brussels have been talked about by people globally. The U.S. Presidential candidates have called for a stepped up war and police measures in response to the terrorist attacks. Both the Republican and Democratic Presidential candidates have declared their support for militarism and attacks on democratic rights. They may disagree on proposals, but they agree on more repression from drone missile attacks and bombing in the Middle East to torture of prisoners including to mass detentions of Muslims within the United States. There billionaire Donald Trump leads the contest for the Republican nomination. Trump not only wants to ban Muslims from entering America. He has advocated the use of torture of prisoners and he considers using nuclear weapons in the Middle East to fight ISIS when nuclear weapons used anyplace on Earth will kill civilians and damage the environment for generations. He told CNN that the Belgian authorities should have tortured Salah Abdelslam, the alleged terror conspirator arrested last week on charges related to the November 2015 Paris attacks. “I would be willing to bet that he knew about this bombing that took place today,” Trump said Tuesday. Cruz wants to bar refugees from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen and most other Middle Eastern states, and conceivably could be applied to the whole of Europe as well. Ted Cruz also wants the government to allow law enforcement to patrol Muslim neighborhoods in profiling. He wants spies into mosques and in other places as well to conduct surveillance against innocent Muslims citizens. This is wrong and extremist. This spying (done in New York City) was illegal, unconstitutional and totally ineffective as an “antiterrorism” program. It was ultimately abandoned after a series of lawsuits, but Cruz claimed that Mayor Bill de Blasio dropped the policy only out of “political correctness.” That's incorrect, because the political repression of the rights of Muslim is antithetical to freedom and justice. What we have here is many Republicans promoting police state measures. Jeb Bush is now supporting Trump. The Democrats have criticized Trump and Cruz’s proposals, but they have endorsed the drone warfare and the bombings in the Middle East (that the Obama administration has supported).
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton cited the Brussels attacks as an argument for choosing “leadership that is strong, smart and above all steady,” and declared, “Today’s attacks will only strengthen our resolve to stand together as allies and defeat terrorism and radical jihadism around the world.” She also called for stepped-up state spying, saying, “We have to toughen our surveillance, our interception of communication.” Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders criticized the Cruz plan as unconstitutional. “We are fighting a terrorist organization,” he said, “a barbaric organization that is killing innocent people. We are not fighting a religion.” Sanders emphasized the war against ISIS in the Middle East. “We are making progress in Iraq,” he said. “ISIS is losing 20 percent of the territory it held last year, but clearly we’ve got to do more. We need to forge a coalition of the Muslim countries in the region, including some that have not been as active as they should be, with the support of the United States and other major powers to finally destroy this barbaric organization.” Also, we know the corporate agenda of both major parties. Hillary Clinton received thousands of dollars for speeches which have been funded by Wall Street interests like Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Co, and Morgan Stanley. Chelsea is married to a co-founder of the Eaglevale Partners LP hedge fund, Marc Mezvinsky. Donald Trump attended their wedding. The major candidates won’t desire the Federal Reserve to be nationalized and use credit to fund and rebuilt American infrastructure (which includes roads, bridges, hospitals, schools, water systems, sewer system, and the electrical grid). Also, the poor must have emergency relief as well. Corey Lewandowski is one of Trump’s agents. He is facing a lawsuit form a woman reporter who was assaulted. Trump’s racism, xenophobia, misogyny, Islamophobia, and authoritarian are repugnant. There is the news about ISIS's 2nd in command being killed in an U.S. raid by the Special Forces. There are stories and rumors about Trump’s alleged ties to the Mafia and many Tea Party people support Trump as well. So, fascism is our enemy. We believe in justice for all.
Wendy Bell's disturbing words aren't surprising. Tons of white people believe in her perspective. I have noticed that when a white person serially kills multiple people, people like Bell won't question the white murderer's parents and make generalizations about white people in general. Many of them will say that the white murderer just has mental illness, he was in the minority, and other excuses. Yet, it is a sick pastime in America to condemn every poor black person for the actions of a few. The reality is that black people collectively are not to be blamed for all problems in the black community. For example, a black worker being laid off has nothing to do with laziness or black people. It had to do with economic issues. The poisoning of many black people in Flint, Michigan has nothing to do with black people. It has to do with an oligarchy who poisoned innocent people. Therefore, respectability politics never works since by definition respectability politics strips the right of black people to embrace their own individuality and human freedom. We don't want to be made in the image of the white collective. We want to embrace our own black identity and follow standards of our own and a consciousness of our own. The promoters of white privilege and black scapegoating omit that we must improve ourselves and fight the system of racism/white supremacy at the same time. They are certainly jealous of black excellence, which is why white bigots reward black subservience to the status quo while expressing antipathy towards Black excellence. I welcome Black excellence. We are black people and a real conversation on race should be discussions on the elimination of the structures of racism, classism, sexism, patriarchy, and other injustices.
We certainly need to pool our resources as black people. The post World War II boom lasted from 1945 to 1975. Many people became middle class, the overall poverty rate was cut in half, and social movements (like civil rights, women rights, etc.) reached into new levels. Yet, that time wasn't an Utopia. Many people still suffered poverty, racism, sexism, etc. Many people during the Nixon years didn't felt massive heat over recreational drug use as compared to years in our generation. Yet, the War on Drugs did exist back long before Nixon. Author Johann Hari documents this. Likewise, Nixon is not some hero. Richard Nixon used his power to repress the Black Panther Party via covert and illegal means. Nixon supported the racist Southern Strategy during 1968 and 1972. Nixon executed war crimes overseas overseas too. Nixon used the CIA and the FBI to illegally monitor the civil rights and anti-war movements. Nixon was also silly enough to record conversations of himself making racist and anti-Semitic comments. The crack epidemic started in the Reagan administration (Ronald Reagan was a Republican and Reagan's far right agenda ruined the lives of many poor and black people. Homeless people in mass numbers protested for their rights under the tenure of Reagan) and it expanded during the Clinton administration (as both administrations harmed the black community in many enumerable ways). It was during the Reagan administration where people were locked up massively for small amounts in a higher level. Nixon started the modern version of the War on Drugs, but Reagan put it into the next level. As for Hillary Clinton, we know who Hillary is. She supported the murderous coup in Honduras, she supported the disastrous policies in Libya, she gave a speech in support of a group called AIPAC (which believes in neo-conservatism. Extremists like Donald Trump and Ted Cruz also praised AIPAC). We see that the corporate agenda is found in the political establishment. To only criticize Democrat neoliberals limits on what we should do. Both Republicans and Democrats, who are corrupt, must all be exposed. As for the election, I made a promise that I won't vote for Hillary. I will fulfill my promise. So, Hillary is a war hawk and an extremist on many issues. I will never vote for Trump either as he has publicly advocated torture. Trump is a total disgrace.
First, it is good news that hostages were rescued. There is much more to be done and we do realize that Boko Haram is a theocratic, terrorist, sexist, and very evil organization. We want Boko Haram to be defeated and that must come about via international collaborations, unified actions, and determination. This terror group has exploited the ethnic and religious diversity of Nigeria as a means for Boko Haram to promote war, torture, kidnapping, and other evils throughout the beautiful nation of Nigeria. Nigeria has the highest number of black people of any nation on Earth. Many of our ancestors came from Nigeria. So, we should know about the suffering of our people internationally and we are in solidarity with the heroic efforts of people who are rescuing victims. Also, we believe in the peaceful co-existence of Muslims, Christians, and animists who live in Nigeria. The lives of African men, women, and children matter. Serena Williams is completely right. Althea Gibson, Ora Washington, Zina Garrison, Billie King, and other great tennis players promoted the sport internationally. These women didn't need patronize or disrespect in order for them to express their talent. They expressed their talents by their own determination. The Williams Sisters propelled the sport into the next level also. Serena Williams is the greatest female tennis player of all time. Her accomplishments speak for themselves. During this generation, we should always reiterate the point that any woman has the right to stand, to be liberated, and to have equal rights without exception. Serena Williams' magnificent reply to a sexist person (who obviously doesn't know the totality of tennis history) was to the point, real, honest, and accurate. We all wish even more success for Sister Serena Williams.
By Timothy
No comments:
Post a Comment