The debate yesterday was contentious in many cases. It took place in Brooklyn, New York. Brooklyn's history and culture is diverse, rich, inspiring, and historic. Senator Bernie Sanders and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton took their time to outline their views. Bernie Sanders wanted to focus on many issues in a tone of wanting massive change. Hillary Clinton, throughout the debate, outlined the words of incrementalism and pragmatism in order for solutions to some about. Bernie Sanders have campaigned all over New York City just like Hillary Clinton has done. There is a massive popularity among the youth for Bernie Sanders. In one rally in Bronx, NYC, over 18,000 people came to see Bernie Sanders speak. There were other Bernie Sanders supporters there as well like Rosario Dawson, Spike Lee, and Tim Robbins. On Wednesday, about 30,000 people crowded into Washington Square Park in lower Manhattan’s Greenwich Village to hear Sanders speak too. The debate covered many issues from domestic issues to foreign party matters, which are all important issues to discuss and debate. The debate had Bernie Sanders saying that Hillary Clinton is paid money by Goldman Sachs to give speeches. Hillary Clinton accuses Bernie Sanders of not being detailed enough in outlining solutions to the problems of economic inequality and breaking up the big banks. Sanders’ own campaign site has many detailed solutions. Hillary Clinton on foreign policy is hawkish than Bernie Sanders, even though Sanders have had hawkish positions in the 1990’s and today during the 21st century.
The debate was comprehensive in the subjects that were discussion during its duration and I think that Sanders used more emotion while Hillary Clinton promotes a more centrist approach in trying to handle situations. Hillary Clinton criticized Sanders on his views on guns, which deals with immunity and gun laws. Sanders spoke about expanding Social Security explicitly and promoting a national $15 minimum wage, which Hillary Clinton has hesitated on advancing a $15 minimum wage. Hillary’s major weakness is her hawkish foreign policy that has been proven wrong in Libya, Syria, and in other places. Sanders have made the error of promoting economic nationalism, which just divides workers against each other. Even though Bernie Sanders is not perfect on the Palestine issue, to his credit, he is right to say that Palestinians must be treated with dignity and with respect (and that Israel had a disproportionate response against Gaza). Also, it is important to respect the progressive people of the South (in reference to Sanders’ comments about the South). Not everyone in the South are represented by a bunch of racists. The voters (who are honorable people) from the South, North, East, and West should be treated with dignity and with respect. I don't support Hillary, but I do realize that a revolutionary movement must respect the progressive people of all regions of America. Yet, it is true that racism is a real problem in the South. No one can deny that. Racism is found worldwide. One big point is that the DLC establishment has pragmatic, token policies that I can’t support. I believe in revolutionary change that can change the world. The super delegates have huge power and many corporate media people predict that Hillary will win the New York primary next week. Yet, the Sanders campaign is determined to fight it out. We shall see who will win. This is why we fight for justice. For a long time, big corporate forces have infiltrated and influenced elections to such a degree that we have plutocratic 2 party system (where the financial apparatus benefits the status quo instead of independent revolutionary thinking). The people being arrested showed the world that civil disobedience is alive and well in America. Some have soul their souls to big money. Likewise, there are others who are standing up for real change. This has not been fortuitous. For decades, social movements have talked about democratic power and public funding of elections. The Democracy Spring movement is a continuation of previous movements who desire egalitarian principles to be made real for the masses of the people.
It is indeed wrong with the release of the pages to not come about immediately. It is a known fact that Osama bin Laden was an ally of the CIA during the 1970's when he was fighting in Afghanistan against the Soviet military. Brzezinski (who wrote a book entitled "The Grand Chessboard" predict many of the situations that we are dealing with in the 21st century with the war on terror, the breadbasket of Eurasia, etc.) publicly supported the anti-Soviet Mujaheddin forces. We know about the BCCI corruption and about how many dictatorships in the world have been allies of America from the Shah to Pinochet. During the Reagan years, the US government funded not only the Mujaheddin, but the US gave Iraq chemical and biological weapons during the 1980's. I recall Max Cleland leaving the 9/11 Commission, because even he said that it was a whitewash. The big lie is that the American government had no knowledge of plans of attacking buildings with plans when foreign government readily gave the US intelligence community about such plans before 9/11. So, we don't need subterfuge in the world. We need transparency and a truly independent investigation of all circumstances relating to 9/11. Also, we honor the heroes. We honor the heroes who saved lives and those who passed away in saying human lives during that tragic day. After the Iraq War, ISIS existed. Many factions found in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, etc. have aided ISIS forces. We want a world where peace is in existence. We believe that the victims of imperialism and injustice deserve to have a progressive, positive future.
The Yorktown campaign was during the end of the Revolutionary War. The British General Cornwallis came from Wilmington (in Delaware) into Virginia. He wanted to conquer Virginia in order to hold the southern colonies. Before Yorktown, in January of 1781, there was a small British raiding force under Benedict Arnold. They moved in the countryside and destroyed supply depots, mills, and other economic targets. In February, General Washington dispatched General Lafayette to counter Arnold. He later sent General Anthony Wayne Arnold. Arnold was reinforced with additional troops from New York in March. His army joined the army of Cornwallis in May. Lafayette had a skirmish with Cornwallis, so it prevented a large scale battle while gathering reinforcements. Cornwallis’ superior officer, General Clinton opposed Cornwallis Virginia campaign. General Clinton believed that such a large and disease ridden area with a hostile population could be pacified with the limited forces available. Clinton wanted instead to fight further north in the Chesapeake region (as found in Maryland, Delaware, and southern Pennsylvania). Clinton believed that those areas had a strong Loyalist presence. Upon his arrival at Williamsburg in June, Cornwallis received orders from Clinton to establish a fortified naval base and a request to send several thousand troops to New York to counter a possible Franco-American attack. Following these orders, he fortified Yorktown, and, shadowed by Lafayette, awaited the arrival of the Royal Navy. There were norther, southern, and naval theaters of war converging in 1781 at Yorktown, Virginia. The French fleet became available for operations, which could either move against Yorktown or New York. Washington still favored attacking New York, but the French decided to send the fleet to their preferred target at Yorktown. Learning of the planned movement of the French fleet in August, Washington began moving his army south to cooperate. The British fleet, not realizing that the French had sent their entire fleet to America, dispatched an inadequate force under Admiral Graves, though the underlying reason for this was a lack of naval resources. Since the entry of France and Spain into the war, the British lacked the necessary ships to match their opponents every move. In early September, French naval forces defeated the British fleet at the Battle of the Chesapeake, cutting off Cornwallis' escape. Cornwallis, still expecting to receive support, failed to break out while he had the chance. When Washington's army arrived outside Yorktown, Cornwallis prematurely abandoned his outer position, hastening his subsequent defeat. The combined Franco-American force of 18,900 men began besieging in early October. For several days, the French and Americans bombarded the British defenses, and then began taking the outer redoubts. The British attempted to cobble together a relief expedition, but encountered numerous delays. Cornwallis decided his position was becoming untenable and he surrendered his entire army of over 7,000 men on October 19, 1781, the same day that the British fleet at New York sailed for his relief. By November 1981, news of the surrender at Yorktown arrived in Britain. King George III took the news calmly and delivered a defiant address pledging to continue the war; a majority of the House of Commons endorsed it. In the succeeding months news arrived of other reverses, however. The French and Spanish successfully took several West Indian islands and appeared to be on the verge of completely expelling the British there. Minorca also surrendered to a Franco-Spanish force on February 5, 1782 and Gibraltar seemed to be in danger of falling as well. In light of this, Parliament on February 27, 1782 voted to cease all offensive operations in America and seek peace. He or Lord North was threatened with votes of no confidence, so he resigned on March 20, 1782. His Tory government was replaced by the Whigs. The British won the Battles of the Saintes to gain parts of the West Indies and they dealt with Gibraltar. If the North government held out, they could continue to fight despite Yorktown (being strengthened). The new Whig administration accepted American independence as a basis for peace. There were no further major military activities in North America, although the British still had 30,000 garrison troops occupying New York City, Charleston, and Savannah. The war continued elsewhere, including the siege of Gibraltar and naval operations in the East and West Indies, until peace was agreed in 1783.
One lesson that our ancestors and our elders always speak is that we have to learn from history. Slavery is not just a past phenomenon. It occurs today against black people in parts of Sudan, Mauritania, etc. Some black people don't dwell on slavery, while other progressively minded black people do dwell on slavery (and how the evils of slavery has negatively impacted the world society in many ways). Racism is also an international scourge. Racism is found in the four corners of the Earth from America to the Neo-Nazi groups growing in Europe. There is racism in the Caribbean where sick, white racists go into the parts of the Caribbean for economic and sexual exploitation. Therefore, black people internationally can respect our diverse cultural identities (we should honor our cultural differences). Yet, regardless of our nationalities as black people, we have one origin and we are one black human people. Malcolm X taught us that pan-African unity and realizing our unity is one way where we can be liberated as black people. Tons of black people are victims of racism. I experienced racism in America. Afro-Brazilians have protested in the streets of Brazil to protest sexism, racism, and other injustices. People have the right to not talk about cultural appropriation if they don't want too. People have free will, but real examples of cultural appropriation shouldn't be placed under the rug. So, folks have the right to expose real cultural appropriation as well. Even in homogeneous cultures, there is sexism and classism just like in the States. I am an Black American and many of us (who are African Americans) do overtly talk about these issues because of our historical experiences of slavery, Jim Crow, Reconstruction, the civil rights movement, racism, etc. Also, there is no perfect racial Utopia on this Earth as the system of white supremacy is global. That evil system of white supremacy must be gone in order for real justice to be global.
By Timothy
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