http://blackagendareport.com/content/cowardly-hypocritical-subservient-congressional-black-caucus-endorses-israeli-apartheid-and-
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Wednesday News
Here are my views. All humans have choices. No word should cause any person to strike another human being. Unprovoked, unjust assault is never right. Not to mention that some people will just assault women randomly, so Stephen A. Smith’s argument falls apart, because the issue is that any domestic violence is evil period. It does not matter if someone is provoking a person or not. That person should have the sense enough to not use violence against another human for an unjust reason. This is a real problem for a lot of men, because most domestic violence victims in America are women. A real man can leave the area if someone is disrespecting him. It is not that complicated. No human should experience unjust violence. Most people who conduct domestic violence are men, so men mostly should be reminded about not only the immorality of domestic violence, but rational conduct. Any human being (both males and females) should have their dignity honored and we should have rational discussions about this issue. In that way, society can be improved. We need to do more than that. We need laws to be vigorously and justly enforced. It is easy to witness that Ray Rice received a slap on the wrist. Our community has to do better to not only condemn domestic violence, but to condemn unjust verbal abuse and any injustice.
As compared to the other reactionary Republicans, Rand Paul is actively communicating with some black people. Black people should always embrace our political independence. I will not be a Republican or a Democrat, but we should never forsake our political convictions as a means to seek token “respectability.” Rand Paul is right that the War on Drugs & the criminal justice system is racist. Mandatory minimum sentences should be abolished. Still, human beings deserve a living wage (not starvation wages), people want imperialist policies to end, people want the environment protected, and people want workers’ rights. Rand Paul is right on some issues (like felons having the right to vote after they paid their debt to society) and wrong on others in my view. So, the point is that we can unite with people to fight for legitimate causes, but we should never make a permanent alliance with extremists or people who want to cause turmoil in our community. In her post, Regina V. Ross Roundtree told the truth about the existence of white privilege. There is white privilege in the world. I am not surprised by the action of the campaign. Too many Republicans ignore that racism is still in existence in society and that racism is still found in the system (as documented by studies, scholars, Ph.Ds. black people, and tons of other credible sources). Roundtree’s comments were not vindictive at all. People have the right to discuss about race in a progressive fashion. This situation proves that both of the major parties play political games with black people all of the time. I wish the best for Regina V. Ross Roundtree. Also, I will forever believe in human civil liberties, protection for the environment, anti-imperialism, economic justice, and justice for humanity.
There should be more great African leaders, but the question is what type of leaders should they be? They should not be bourgeois puppets of Western imperialism. They should not bow down before AFRICOM interests or the IMF (which loves parasitic capitalism). The evil White House backed, NATO war crimes in Libya (when terrorists killed black Libyan Brothers and Sisters) show me how the Western political elite view Africa. So, Africans or any rational human being should never ally with the agenda of imperialism. Real leaders ought to have that revolutionary spirit like our ancestors had centuries ago. Historically, the revolutionary African leaders decades ago fought European colonialism to gain their independence. Even the Freedom Charter called for the fair redistribution of the wealth to help the poor and the working class. A real leader would defend the aspirations and the rights of the poor, the workers, and the oppressed without equivocation. Nelson Mandela was a freedom fighter. He was jailed for his beliefs like Hano, Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe, and Steve Biko. Real African leaders must also condemn neoliberalism & neocolonialism since those evil philosophies are oppressive including exploitative. Therefore, real leaders (who are Brothers & Sisters) must have the support of the masses of the people. Obviously, ebola is a deadly, painful disease. Its first outbreak came about in 1976. This problem exists in multiple nations, so African nations internationally should work together in containing the crisis. Also, lax resources, lax infrastructure, and other issues are real in some parts of Africa. The government of Liberia is dealing with a health emergency and that nation is doing what it has to do in order for Liberia to protect lives basically. Therefore, mass poverty being fought, the development of infrastructure, and the growth of medical treatment services can contain the spread of the ebola crisis. I send my Kudos to Sheik Humarr Khan and other leaders fighting back against the disease. Also, I will not back down from exposing imperialism in the Middle East. It is wrong for innocent Israelis to die. It is wrong for innocent Palestinians to die too. The events in Gaza are terrible and seeing hospitals, schools, etc. being destroyed is a total tragedy. Seeing apartheid in Israel, checkpoints, occupation, and other bad policies have no justification at all. Racism against black Israelis has no justification at all. I will never support policies of apartheid in Israel or militarism against Gaza at all. The Most High wants justice not bigotry against Arabic or bigotry against Jewish people period. A real political solution is necessary to solve this crisis among all sides.
Obviously, the War on Drugs and the prison industrial complex are racist and have been tools of oppression against the black community (for long decades). A lot of research, stories, and tons of other evidence have documented this truism. That is not a debate anymore. Even reactionaries understand this fact. Personally, I don’t agree with the War on Drugs and it ought to be abolished (and replaced with alternatives like treating drug addiction like a health care issue not as a totally criminal situation). The reality is that we have to use the right alternatives that can both protect the human rights of black people (and all Americans) while ending the evil system of the prison industrial complex. The issue in Colorado is that many in Colorado are making huge corporate profits (i.e. select corporate interests will reap massive profits) at the expense of people jailed for nonviolent marijuana possession. Those in prisons with nonviolent marijuana possession now are not receiving a total pardon and there is no national ban on national mandatory minimum sentences at all. Many felons are deprived of their right to vote in various states even after they paid their debts to society. The system has given some token measures not real, revolutionary change that can radically improve our communities. In Colorado, marijuana is legalized to a certain extent, but the total War on Drugs or the prison industrial complex is not totally ended. That is the point. That policy is like a mend it not end it type of philosophy. The poor, the working, and all of our people regardless of class deserve economic justice, jobs, and real opportunities. We don’t need a zero tolerance policy for the youth, but real tolerance for social justice. I do believe that the CBC should be inspired to talk about this issue in a more revolutionary fashion, but the responsibility is not totally theirs alone. We have a responsibility too. We have the responsibility to fight unjust laws, to work in our communities, to speak truth to power, and to make sure that government officials are held accountable for their political positions and their votes. So, everybody has to do their part in essence.
In life, we have to deal with realism. Many images have a huge impact on some people’s perceptions about us. For example, many non-Americans view African Americans in such false terms from the Western negative depictions (from movies, TV shows, etc.) of black people. We do realize that there is a double standard on beauty as it deals with black women and other women of different colors. Many people view whiteness as the standard of beauty (which is false and many white women express themselves in numerous ways) while black women (regardless if she is wearing conservative clothing or not) have been stereotyped and demonized in the most vulgar way possible by many factions of Western society. Therefore, we should find that balance. The balance deals with us respecting sincere, authentic human self-expression while we should at the same time defend the cultural dignity of black people. In other words, there is nothing wrong with art, but we as black people are not caricatures. We are living, breathing human beings and our humanity ought to be respected. Corporations readily exploit our people and exploit the great beauty of black women for profit. If we want to find the truth, we should see that white male supremacist forces use double standards and economic exploitation as a means for them to promote the deception of beauty being limited in scope. The truth is that beauty and human creativity are not monolithic. They are diverse. When we appreciate the skin that we are in, express our total being without fear, and establish justice for black people, then we can truly witness the beloved community. Sister Tiffanie Drayton wrote a great article about racism recently. The comments in her article are interesting and excellent too. This issue is important and she has provoked great discussions (It is cool that she is engaging people in the comment section too). I understand where Tiffanie Drayton is coming from. Many black people want to focus solely on individual achievement instead of realizing that we need massive structural change in the world as a means for us as a people to have true justice. Collective power must be organized among our communities as a means for us to witness real change. Real change can never be done by the blaming the victim card, the bootstraps philosophy (when some of our people lack boots to begin with), and other post racial ideologies. The reactionary dogma of white supremacist patriarchy ought to be condemned and I like how Tiffanie Drayton mentioned the need for more younger leaders in our black community too. It is important to note that many in the young generation do have progressive insights about race, class, gender, etc. There is the Freedom Side organization and other Brothers & Sisters (who are young) who get the picture. As for the prison industrial complex controversy, we should oppose the prison industrial complex and I don't believe that she wanted black women to be forced (against their will) to go out with abusive, character lacking black men (who just came from prison). Black women have every right to express their own dating choices freely & independently. She just believes that black people should fight against the racist system of mass incarceration (which has harmed the lives of black women and black men). Many Brothers & Sisters in prisons are innocent. I think that another point to make is that issues in the 21st century are complex. We deal with racism, economic injustice, threats to net neutrality, and other matters that are important. We are a gifted and diverse people, so we have to allow black people to fight in a myriad of ways. Some of our people express their talents as teachers, political organizers, writers, journalists, lawyers, musicians, etc. These people should be allowed to fight in their own special ways without ignoring the overall situation that we face. We have to be informed and strengthen.
By Timothy
As compared to the other reactionary Republicans, Rand Paul is actively communicating with some black people. Black people should always embrace our political independence. I will not be a Republican or a Democrat, but we should never forsake our political convictions as a means to seek token “respectability.” Rand Paul is right that the War on Drugs & the criminal justice system is racist. Mandatory minimum sentences should be abolished. Still, human beings deserve a living wage (not starvation wages), people want imperialist policies to end, people want the environment protected, and people want workers’ rights. Rand Paul is right on some issues (like felons having the right to vote after they paid their debt to society) and wrong on others in my view. So, the point is that we can unite with people to fight for legitimate causes, but we should never make a permanent alliance with extremists or people who want to cause turmoil in our community. In her post, Regina V. Ross Roundtree told the truth about the existence of white privilege. There is white privilege in the world. I am not surprised by the action of the campaign. Too many Republicans ignore that racism is still in existence in society and that racism is still found in the system (as documented by studies, scholars, Ph.Ds. black people, and tons of other credible sources). Roundtree’s comments were not vindictive at all. People have the right to discuss about race in a progressive fashion. This situation proves that both of the major parties play political games with black people all of the time. I wish the best for Regina V. Ross Roundtree. Also, I will forever believe in human civil liberties, protection for the environment, anti-imperialism, economic justice, and justice for humanity.
There should be more great African leaders, but the question is what type of leaders should they be? They should not be bourgeois puppets of Western imperialism. They should not bow down before AFRICOM interests or the IMF (which loves parasitic capitalism). The evil White House backed, NATO war crimes in Libya (when terrorists killed black Libyan Brothers and Sisters) show me how the Western political elite view Africa. So, Africans or any rational human being should never ally with the agenda of imperialism. Real leaders ought to have that revolutionary spirit like our ancestors had centuries ago. Historically, the revolutionary African leaders decades ago fought European colonialism to gain their independence. Even the Freedom Charter called for the fair redistribution of the wealth to help the poor and the working class. A real leader would defend the aspirations and the rights of the poor, the workers, and the oppressed without equivocation. Nelson Mandela was a freedom fighter. He was jailed for his beliefs like Hano, Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe, and Steve Biko. Real African leaders must also condemn neoliberalism & neocolonialism since those evil philosophies are oppressive including exploitative. Therefore, real leaders (who are Brothers & Sisters) must have the support of the masses of the people. Obviously, ebola is a deadly, painful disease. Its first outbreak came about in 1976. This problem exists in multiple nations, so African nations internationally should work together in containing the crisis. Also, lax resources, lax infrastructure, and other issues are real in some parts of Africa. The government of Liberia is dealing with a health emergency and that nation is doing what it has to do in order for Liberia to protect lives basically. Therefore, mass poverty being fought, the development of infrastructure, and the growth of medical treatment services can contain the spread of the ebola crisis. I send my Kudos to Sheik Humarr Khan and other leaders fighting back against the disease. Also, I will not back down from exposing imperialism in the Middle East. It is wrong for innocent Israelis to die. It is wrong for innocent Palestinians to die too. The events in Gaza are terrible and seeing hospitals, schools, etc. being destroyed is a total tragedy. Seeing apartheid in Israel, checkpoints, occupation, and other bad policies have no justification at all. Racism against black Israelis has no justification at all. I will never support policies of apartheid in Israel or militarism against Gaza at all. The Most High wants justice not bigotry against Arabic or bigotry against Jewish people period. A real political solution is necessary to solve this crisis among all sides.
Obviously, the War on Drugs and the prison industrial complex are racist and have been tools of oppression against the black community (for long decades). A lot of research, stories, and tons of other evidence have documented this truism. That is not a debate anymore. Even reactionaries understand this fact. Personally, I don’t agree with the War on Drugs and it ought to be abolished (and replaced with alternatives like treating drug addiction like a health care issue not as a totally criminal situation). The reality is that we have to use the right alternatives that can both protect the human rights of black people (and all Americans) while ending the evil system of the prison industrial complex. The issue in Colorado is that many in Colorado are making huge corporate profits (i.e. select corporate interests will reap massive profits) at the expense of people jailed for nonviolent marijuana possession. Those in prisons with nonviolent marijuana possession now are not receiving a total pardon and there is no national ban on national mandatory minimum sentences at all. Many felons are deprived of their right to vote in various states even after they paid their debts to society. The system has given some token measures not real, revolutionary change that can radically improve our communities. In Colorado, marijuana is legalized to a certain extent, but the total War on Drugs or the prison industrial complex is not totally ended. That is the point. That policy is like a mend it not end it type of philosophy. The poor, the working, and all of our people regardless of class deserve economic justice, jobs, and real opportunities. We don’t need a zero tolerance policy for the youth, but real tolerance for social justice. I do believe that the CBC should be inspired to talk about this issue in a more revolutionary fashion, but the responsibility is not totally theirs alone. We have a responsibility too. We have the responsibility to fight unjust laws, to work in our communities, to speak truth to power, and to make sure that government officials are held accountable for their political positions and their votes. So, everybody has to do their part in essence.
In life, we have to deal with realism. Many images have a huge impact on some people’s perceptions about us. For example, many non-Americans view African Americans in such false terms from the Western negative depictions (from movies, TV shows, etc.) of black people. We do realize that there is a double standard on beauty as it deals with black women and other women of different colors. Many people view whiteness as the standard of beauty (which is false and many white women express themselves in numerous ways) while black women (regardless if she is wearing conservative clothing or not) have been stereotyped and demonized in the most vulgar way possible by many factions of Western society. Therefore, we should find that balance. The balance deals with us respecting sincere, authentic human self-expression while we should at the same time defend the cultural dignity of black people. In other words, there is nothing wrong with art, but we as black people are not caricatures. We are living, breathing human beings and our humanity ought to be respected. Corporations readily exploit our people and exploit the great beauty of black women for profit. If we want to find the truth, we should see that white male supremacist forces use double standards and economic exploitation as a means for them to promote the deception of beauty being limited in scope. The truth is that beauty and human creativity are not monolithic. They are diverse. When we appreciate the skin that we are in, express our total being without fear, and establish justice for black people, then we can truly witness the beloved community. Sister Tiffanie Drayton wrote a great article about racism recently. The comments in her article are interesting and excellent too. This issue is important and she has provoked great discussions (It is cool that she is engaging people in the comment section too). I understand where Tiffanie Drayton is coming from. Many black people want to focus solely on individual achievement instead of realizing that we need massive structural change in the world as a means for us as a people to have true justice. Collective power must be organized among our communities as a means for us to witness real change. Real change can never be done by the blaming the victim card, the bootstraps philosophy (when some of our people lack boots to begin with), and other post racial ideologies. The reactionary dogma of white supremacist patriarchy ought to be condemned and I like how Tiffanie Drayton mentioned the need for more younger leaders in our black community too. It is important to note that many in the young generation do have progressive insights about race, class, gender, etc. There is the Freedom Side organization and other Brothers & Sisters (who are young) who get the picture. As for the prison industrial complex controversy, we should oppose the prison industrial complex and I don't believe that she wanted black women to be forced (against their will) to go out with abusive, character lacking black men (who just came from prison). Black women have every right to express their own dating choices freely & independently. She just believes that black people should fight against the racist system of mass incarceration (which has harmed the lives of black women and black men). Many Brothers & Sisters in prisons are innocent. I think that another point to make is that issues in the 21st century are complex. We deal with racism, economic injustice, threats to net neutrality, and other matters that are important. We are a gifted and diverse people, so we have to allow black people to fight in a myriad of ways. Some of our people express their talents as teachers, political organizers, writers, journalists, lawyers, musicians, etc. These people should be allowed to fight in their own special ways without ignoring the overall situation that we face. We have to be informed and strengthen.
By Timothy
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
The Gaza Situation
http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=12174
http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=12170
http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=12167
http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=12063
The War on Drugs is Racist
http://www.drugpolicy.org/race-and-drug-war
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/judge-frederic-block/war-on-drugs_b_2384624.html
http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/Race_and_Prison#sthash.0rQzSf7h.dpbs
http://www.vox.com/2014/7/27/5940783/prohibition-marijuana-legalization-pot-weed-racism-new-york-times
http://theprogressivecynic.com/2013/10/14/racism-mass-incarceration-and-the-united-states-justice-system/
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/Jul/18/racism-thrives-in-us-criminal-justice-system/
http://www.law.uga.edu/dwilkes_more/57racism.html
http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/46946_CH_3.pdf
http://www.hamptoninstitution.org/systemisntbroken.html#.U9d-rvldUsQ
http://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1080&context=socssp
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2512758/Racist-judges-MORE-likely-jail-black-Asian-criminals-offences--longer-sentences-says-Ministry-Justice.html
https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=racist+criminal+justice+system&start=10
http://www.publiceye.org/defendingjustice/pdfs/factsheets/10-Fact%20Sheet%20-%20System%20as%20Racist.pdf
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/07/21/1225151/--Incarceration-Nation-Michelle-Alexander-s-powerful-inditement-of-the-Drug-War-as-the-new-Jim-Crow
http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/10629-truthout-interviews-michelle-alexander-on-the-irrational-race-bias-of-the-criminal-justice-and-prison-systems
http://www.ummid.com/news/2014/July/29.07.2014/us-justice-system.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/12/28/chris-hayess-graph-of-the-year-our-racist-criminal-justice-system-in-one-chart/
http://charlotte.cbslocal.com/2013/08/20/racism-in-america-racial-bias-within-the-criminal-justice-system/
http://www.prisonpolicy.org/scans/racism.pdf
http://www.alternet.org/drugs/bill-moyers-and-michelle-alexander-racist-plague-mass-incarceration-and-americas-future
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/01/16/3167371/racist-criminal-justice-destroying-democracy/
http://blackagendareport.com/content/obama%E2%80%99s-america-and-new-jim-crow
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-quigley/fourteen-examples-of-raci_b_658947.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/judge-frederic-block/war-on-drugs_b_2384624.html
http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/Race_and_Prison#sthash.0rQzSf7h.dpbs
http://www.vox.com/2014/7/27/5940783/prohibition-marijuana-legalization-pot-weed-racism-new-york-times
http://theprogressivecynic.com/2013/10/14/racism-mass-incarceration-and-the-united-states-justice-system/
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/Jul/18/racism-thrives-in-us-criminal-justice-system/
http://www.law.uga.edu/dwilkes_more/57racism.html
http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/46946_CH_3.pdf
http://www.hamptoninstitution.org/systemisntbroken.html#.U9d-rvldUsQ
http://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1080&context=socssp
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2512758/Racist-judges-MORE-likely-jail-black-Asian-criminals-offences--longer-sentences-says-Ministry-Justice.html
https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=racist+criminal+justice+system&start=10
http://www.publiceye.org/defendingjustice/pdfs/factsheets/10-Fact%20Sheet%20-%20System%20as%20Racist.pdf
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/07/21/1225151/--Incarceration-Nation-Michelle-Alexander-s-powerful-inditement-of-the-Drug-War-as-the-new-Jim-Crow
http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/10629-truthout-interviews-michelle-alexander-on-the-irrational-race-bias-of-the-criminal-justice-and-prison-systems
http://www.ummid.com/news/2014/July/29.07.2014/us-justice-system.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/12/28/chris-hayess-graph-of-the-year-our-racist-criminal-justice-system-in-one-chart/
http://charlotte.cbslocal.com/2013/08/20/racism-in-america-racial-bias-within-the-criminal-justice-system/
http://www.prisonpolicy.org/scans/racism.pdf
http://www.alternet.org/drugs/bill-moyers-and-michelle-alexander-racist-plague-mass-incarceration-and-americas-future
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/01/16/3167371/racist-criminal-justice-destroying-democracy/
http://blackagendareport.com/content/obama%E2%80%99s-america-and-new-jim-crow
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-quigley/fourteen-examples-of-raci_b_658947.html
Monday, July 28, 2014
Siding with Justice
I side with justice. I will never side with a regime with racist, apartheid policies, alliances with neo-conservative extremists, with occupied territories, and with policies that result in the death of tons of civilian human beings. No nation is God. No nation is perfect; therefore people have the right to outline legitimate critiques about the excessively injurious policies executed by any nation in the world. In many weeks of war, Israel’s military machine has killed nearly 900 Palestinians, 80 percent of them civilians. Among the dead was Mohammad Matar al’Abadla, 32, a medic who was killed when an Israeli missile was fired at his ambulance as he was trying to retrieve dead and wounded people from the Khuza’a district of Khan Younis. Nearly 6,000 others have been wounded, and hundreds of thousands have been displaced in the besieged territory, which faces a humanitarian catastrophe as water, electricity, food, medical supplies and other basic necessities are cut off for the majority of the population. The ironic thing is that Saudi & other Sunni monarchies (who benefit economically from Western imperialism via oil & other resources) are greatly silent about this since they could care less about the aspirations of the Palestinian people too. Islamophobia is a problem too. Many Palestinians are Christians not just Muslims. Many people don't know this fact.
The rational people in the region should continue to fight for justice not for imperialism. There are many progressive Arabic and Jewish people that want justice. Tons of black people have condemned the bombings of schools, hospitals, and other homes in Gaza. This is a human rights issue. Black people (like Fannie Lou Hamer, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Ruby & Ossie Davis, etc.) have always had a legacy of condemning imperialism, militarism, materialism, economic exploitation, and neo-colonial policies. We must continue to follow that inspirational, great legacy as Brothers & Sisters. At the end of the day, a political solution must be made as a means for people to solve this Middle Eastern crisis.
Historically, the Pilgrim Society members have aided fascists during history. Pilgrim member Thomas W. Lamont (a Wall Street banker) was supportive of the fascist Mussolini regime in Italy. Another Wall Street banker named Harry Brittain was a supporter of Mussolini too. The Pilgrims Montagu Norman, Lord Kindersley, and Charles Hambro even called the Nazis a great stabilizing force, which is very ludicrous, wrong, and evil. The Pilgrim Society is one of the most powerful political organizations in the world today. The Morgan bank once extended large loans to Germany and Mussolini’s Italy. The Watsons of IBM (Pilgrims) provided the Nazis with identification and cataloging technology, which was used to harm people in the Holocaust. Ironically, the banking elite opposed the New Deal policies. The reason was that New Deal established a national minimum wage, it limited a workweek to 40 hours, it abolished child labor, it created Social Security, it supported the homeless, and it prevented employers from hindering unionization. That is why the racist and fascist Liberty League and the American Freedom League opposed the New Deal too. The New Deal was not perfect, because many black people were prevented from receiving New Deal prescriptions. I wanted to make that clear, but the New Deal had legitimate components in it. Today, we see many reactionary types who claim to expose globalism. The problem is that many of them are rabid haters of workers’ rights, they have paranoia about communism including socialism, and many of are funded by extreme reactionary businessmen. Some of them either have anti-Arabic bigotry or anti-Jewish bigotry (which is wrong). We can see that the core of the globalist movement consists of many Pilgrims. We know about massive deregulation and privatization that has harmed the world. Still, we don’t need isolationism. We need trade fairness, economic justice, equality, and justice for humanity. People from across the political spectrum oppose corporate welfare and unfair tax breaks. It is common sense to eliminate loopholes that corporations exploit as a means for them to avoid paying taxes (especially if they exist overseas). Lowering the corporate tax does little to eliminate poverty. Few corporations actually pay the 35 percent corporate tax rate. In fact, even as profits for American corporations hit a 60-year high in 2011, their effective tax rate hit a 40-year low, and the U.S. collects less in taxes as a percent of the total economy than every industrialized country in the world save Iceland. It’s been 45 years since corporations paid the full top tax rate, and 26 American companies avoided taxation altogether over the past four years. Bill Quigley’s article entitled, “Ten Examples of Welfare for the Rich and Corporations” document how corporate welfare for the wealthy has been unfair and unjust. There must be economic justice at the end of the day.
This is an important issue. The ebola virus is spreading all over Western Africa. The Brother Dr. Sheik Humarr Khan has made a lot of sacrifices in helping his people. He having ebola now is very sad and tragic as we know how brutal ebola is. The outbreak has spread into Mali as well. There should be a stronger infrastructure in place to help the people around areas where the ebola virus is located. We know about the imperfections found in the WHO too. Not to mention that the PNAC report called “Rebuilding America’s Defenses” have talked about the prospect of the West using genospecific bioweapons. We know about how Western elites have done eugenics for a long time. Tony Cartalucci and other authors have written a lot of great literature on the ebola issue. This virus has spread into both rural and urban communities. Multiple nations in Africa have no choice, but to collaborate with each other in fighting back as a means for them to decrease the cases of people in Africa experiencing ebola. Not only that, but the medical infrastructure must be improved too. An international mobilization among nations in Africa ought to occur, so the crisis can be handled. Even Doctors without Borders are stretching too thin on resources. We should care about this issue since this crisis is happening in Africa (or our ancestral homeland. Our Brothers and our Sisters are dying and we have every right to care for humanity). There is the issue of Big Agra (companies like ConAgra, ADM, Monsanto, Cargill, etc. are in the Big Agra business) too. There is a health disparity in poorer communities. Many poor human beings have a lack of affordable access to fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, and other hallmarks of healthy nutrition. There is nothing wrong with farmers’ markets that ca provide poorer communities with healthy fruits and vegetables, which can improve human health in general. According to study findings, people who were given the vouchers were found to increase their produce consumption. In fact, study participants with less education consumed the most significant amounts. “In terms of healthy food options, farmers’ market incentives may be able to bring a low-income person onto the same playing field as those with greater means,” study author Carolyn Dimitri, an associate professor of food studies at NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, said in a university news release. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or food stamps can allow many people to go into one in four farmers’ markets in America. Some local government and nonprofit organizations have started to offer vouchers that low income families can use at farmers’ markets. I believe in farmers’ markets and organic foods too. I believe that any GMO foods should be labeled.
There Malaysian Airline MH17 crash was totally tragic. As time goes on, we have more information about how this event occurred. We know that the Malaysian Airlines confirmed that the pilot was instructed to fly at a lower altitude by the Kiev air traffic control tower upon its entry into Ukraine airspace. We know that the flight path was changed. We still don’t know who ordered it, but it was not Eurocontrol. The presence of the Ukrainian military jet has been mentioned by Spanish air traffic controller “Carlos” at Kiev Borispol airport shortly after the plane was shot down as well as eyewitnesses in Donetsk. The Spanish air traffic controller accused Ukrainian authorities of shooting down MH17 and trying to make it look like an attack by pro-Russians. His views have not been collaborated yet. The U.S., despite its global spying apparatus, has not shown any radar or satellite imagery to back its claim that Russia and the Eastern-Ukrainian opposition are responsible for the downing of MH17. The evidence it has presented so far is weak and based on pro-Kiev documents consisting of YouTube videos and various social media – “all of which are admittedly unverifiable and some of which is veritably fabricated.” There should be an expert, independent investigation of the whole situation. Even U.S. intelligence officials have said that there is no evidence of the Russian government being involved in the crashing of the Malaysian Flight MH17 aircraft. A few hours after the crash, Kiev authorities presented a video in which the opposition admitted shooting down the plane. Experts who studied the video concluded that it was a fabrication. Ukrainian Prosecutor-General Vitaly Yarema said the Ukrainian opposition did not possess a Buk missile system. We still have Western ops operating globally. We know the truth. The truth is that the Western-backed coup in Kiev was overseen by U.S. State Department official Victoria Nuland, which overthrew an elected democratic Ukrainian government and brought extreme Russophobes into power in Kiev who attacked dissenting former Russian territories that were attached to Ukraine by Soviet communist party leaders when Russia and Ukraine were part of the same country. The Western powers are relying on an unpredictable right-wing regime in Kiev, which regards an escalation of the war as the only way to cling to power. This became clear on Thursday when Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk resigned from office. Yatsenyuk resigned after several economic laws had failed to pass in parliament. These included a law enabling the partial sale of the country's gas transportation system to foreign investors, providing urgently needed money for the state coffers. Beforehand, the Udar party of the Kiev mayor and former professional boxer Vitali Klitschko, as well as the fascist Svoboda party, left the governing coalition with Yatsenyuk's Fatherland Party. The billionaire oligarch Poroshenko hopes, however, that he can expand his power base in parliamentary elections that will take place in the exceptional situation of a civil war and a sharp confrontation with Russia. For this reason, he is pushing through a brutal offensive against the cities of Donetsk and Luhansk, which he did not interrupt after the crash of the Malaysian passenger plane to allow the recovery of the bodies and securing of the crash site. Largely unreported by the Western media, the Ukrainian army has been bombarding densely populated areas with artillery and aircraft. On Thursday, Human Rights Watch published a report documenting four cases between July 12 and 21 in which the Ukrainian military attacked civilians with Grad rockets. We know that reactionaries, imperialists, and elitists have exploited the evil MH17 incident as a means for them to wage economic war against Russia. Sanctions have been imposed against Russia after this incident without any evidence of Russian implication. We know about how governments have exploited crisis as an excuse for them to expand wars or expand sanctions throughout human history.
There must be a combination of solutions in dealing with education. Teachers have talked about the excessive usage of corporate-backed standardized tests of not working (teachers have told me this personally in real life), so there must be more independent assessments that deal with problem solving not random memorization. Random memorization is not true learning. Real learning deals with humanity using analytical abilities and problem solving skills as a means for people to understand concepts proficiently. There should be the prevention of the mass firings of great, qualified, and effective teachers and we should not execute mass closings of schools in an excessive, unfair fashion too. Class sizes should thrive to be smaller since studies document that smaller class sizes have improved the educational performance of the students. I have no issue with universal Pre-K either. Also, parents have the responsibility to teach their children literary skills, science skills and math skills, etc. The Black Agenda Report website has great articles on this issue too. Parents investing in their children for real will cause great blessings for their children in the future. There must be a great, wise investment in education since it is a fact that more affluent neighborhoods receive greater funding (via property taxes, grants, subsidies, etc.) than poorer communities. Poorer communities need adequate, strong resources so they can develop and improve their educational systems. There must be a real fight against poverty and other social problems in communities. We should always expect excellence from students, teachers, etc. since Day One. Communities should have a greater say in educational solutions. At the end of the day, we all want educational justice. Teachers should motivate students to be excellent in their academic performance & their overall conduct. So, teachers, students, parents, and all school officials all have a role to play. We should both improve our communities and fight against poverty, economic oppression, racism, police brutality, discrimination, zero tolerance, and any form of injustice too. We should respect our black people and we should never degrade our people in a vicious, unfair fashion. These actions combined can make a real difference in solving educational problems.
By Timothy
________
To the author of the 2 comments (or douglasawillinger):
First thanks for the Link.
My position is that injustice committed by anybody (whether they are Israeli or Palestinian) should be condemned. It is wrong for rockets to harm Israeli civilians and it is wrong for bombs to kill Palestinian civilians too. Not all Arabic people are terrorists (not all Arabic people are racial supremacists) and not all Jewish people support apartheid. There should be a political solution where both sides can have peace. Palestinians should have their human rights respected and the Israelis should have their human rights respected too. Just because someone shows legitimate critiques of many policies from Israel (that deals with checkpoints, discrimination, etc. which are documented and I can show dozens of links of this) doesn't mean that a person is anti-Semitic or want all Jewish people to not live in the Middle East. Some folks conflate legitimate critique with anti-Semitism in this day and age. Yes, the evil mechanisms from the Vatican should be exposed and opposed. Justice is meant for all people not for a select few. I oppose imperialism and I support solutions. Both Jewish and Arabic people are entitled to justice, peace, equality, and freedom.
-By Timothy
Historically, the Pilgrim Society members have aided fascists during history. Pilgrim member Thomas W. Lamont (a Wall Street banker) was supportive of the fascist Mussolini regime in Italy. Another Wall Street banker named Harry Brittain was a supporter of Mussolini too. The Pilgrims Montagu Norman, Lord Kindersley, and Charles Hambro even called the Nazis a great stabilizing force, which is very ludicrous, wrong, and evil. The Pilgrim Society is one of the most powerful political organizations in the world today. The Morgan bank once extended large loans to Germany and Mussolini’s Italy. The Watsons of IBM (Pilgrims) provided the Nazis with identification and cataloging technology, which was used to harm people in the Holocaust. Ironically, the banking elite opposed the New Deal policies. The reason was that New Deal established a national minimum wage, it limited a workweek to 40 hours, it abolished child labor, it created Social Security, it supported the homeless, and it prevented employers from hindering unionization. That is why the racist and fascist Liberty League and the American Freedom League opposed the New Deal too. The New Deal was not perfect, because many black people were prevented from receiving New Deal prescriptions. I wanted to make that clear, but the New Deal had legitimate components in it. Today, we see many reactionary types who claim to expose globalism. The problem is that many of them are rabid haters of workers’ rights, they have paranoia about communism including socialism, and many of are funded by extreme reactionary businessmen. Some of them either have anti-Arabic bigotry or anti-Jewish bigotry (which is wrong). We can see that the core of the globalist movement consists of many Pilgrims. We know about massive deregulation and privatization that has harmed the world. Still, we don’t need isolationism. We need trade fairness, economic justice, equality, and justice for humanity. People from across the political spectrum oppose corporate welfare and unfair tax breaks. It is common sense to eliminate loopholes that corporations exploit as a means for them to avoid paying taxes (especially if they exist overseas). Lowering the corporate tax does little to eliminate poverty. Few corporations actually pay the 35 percent corporate tax rate. In fact, even as profits for American corporations hit a 60-year high in 2011, their effective tax rate hit a 40-year low, and the U.S. collects less in taxes as a percent of the total economy than every industrialized country in the world save Iceland. It’s been 45 years since corporations paid the full top tax rate, and 26 American companies avoided taxation altogether over the past four years. Bill Quigley’s article entitled, “Ten Examples of Welfare for the Rich and Corporations” document how corporate welfare for the wealthy has been unfair and unjust. There must be economic justice at the end of the day.
This is an important issue. The ebola virus is spreading all over Western Africa. The Brother Dr. Sheik Humarr Khan has made a lot of sacrifices in helping his people. He having ebola now is very sad and tragic as we know how brutal ebola is. The outbreak has spread into Mali as well. There should be a stronger infrastructure in place to help the people around areas where the ebola virus is located. We know about the imperfections found in the WHO too. Not to mention that the PNAC report called “Rebuilding America’s Defenses” have talked about the prospect of the West using genospecific bioweapons. We know about how Western elites have done eugenics for a long time. Tony Cartalucci and other authors have written a lot of great literature on the ebola issue. This virus has spread into both rural and urban communities. Multiple nations in Africa have no choice, but to collaborate with each other in fighting back as a means for them to decrease the cases of people in Africa experiencing ebola. Not only that, but the medical infrastructure must be improved too. An international mobilization among nations in Africa ought to occur, so the crisis can be handled. Even Doctors without Borders are stretching too thin on resources. We should care about this issue since this crisis is happening in Africa (or our ancestral homeland. Our Brothers and our Sisters are dying and we have every right to care for humanity). There is the issue of Big Agra (companies like ConAgra, ADM, Monsanto, Cargill, etc. are in the Big Agra business) too. There is a health disparity in poorer communities. Many poor human beings have a lack of affordable access to fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, and other hallmarks of healthy nutrition. There is nothing wrong with farmers’ markets that ca provide poorer communities with healthy fruits and vegetables, which can improve human health in general. According to study findings, people who were given the vouchers were found to increase their produce consumption. In fact, study participants with less education consumed the most significant amounts. “In terms of healthy food options, farmers’ market incentives may be able to bring a low-income person onto the same playing field as those with greater means,” study author Carolyn Dimitri, an associate professor of food studies at NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, said in a university news release. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or food stamps can allow many people to go into one in four farmers’ markets in America. Some local government and nonprofit organizations have started to offer vouchers that low income families can use at farmers’ markets. I believe in farmers’ markets and organic foods too. I believe that any GMO foods should be labeled.
There Malaysian Airline MH17 crash was totally tragic. As time goes on, we have more information about how this event occurred. We know that the Malaysian Airlines confirmed that the pilot was instructed to fly at a lower altitude by the Kiev air traffic control tower upon its entry into Ukraine airspace. We know that the flight path was changed. We still don’t know who ordered it, but it was not Eurocontrol. The presence of the Ukrainian military jet has been mentioned by Spanish air traffic controller “Carlos” at Kiev Borispol airport shortly after the plane was shot down as well as eyewitnesses in Donetsk. The Spanish air traffic controller accused Ukrainian authorities of shooting down MH17 and trying to make it look like an attack by pro-Russians. His views have not been collaborated yet. The U.S., despite its global spying apparatus, has not shown any radar or satellite imagery to back its claim that Russia and the Eastern-Ukrainian opposition are responsible for the downing of MH17. The evidence it has presented so far is weak and based on pro-Kiev documents consisting of YouTube videos and various social media – “all of which are admittedly unverifiable and some of which is veritably fabricated.” There should be an expert, independent investigation of the whole situation. Even U.S. intelligence officials have said that there is no evidence of the Russian government being involved in the crashing of the Malaysian Flight MH17 aircraft. A few hours after the crash, Kiev authorities presented a video in which the opposition admitted shooting down the plane. Experts who studied the video concluded that it was a fabrication. Ukrainian Prosecutor-General Vitaly Yarema said the Ukrainian opposition did not possess a Buk missile system. We still have Western ops operating globally. We know the truth. The truth is that the Western-backed coup in Kiev was overseen by U.S. State Department official Victoria Nuland, which overthrew an elected democratic Ukrainian government and brought extreme Russophobes into power in Kiev who attacked dissenting former Russian territories that were attached to Ukraine by Soviet communist party leaders when Russia and Ukraine were part of the same country. The Western powers are relying on an unpredictable right-wing regime in Kiev, which regards an escalation of the war as the only way to cling to power. This became clear on Thursday when Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk resigned from office. Yatsenyuk resigned after several economic laws had failed to pass in parliament. These included a law enabling the partial sale of the country's gas transportation system to foreign investors, providing urgently needed money for the state coffers. Beforehand, the Udar party of the Kiev mayor and former professional boxer Vitali Klitschko, as well as the fascist Svoboda party, left the governing coalition with Yatsenyuk's Fatherland Party. The billionaire oligarch Poroshenko hopes, however, that he can expand his power base in parliamentary elections that will take place in the exceptional situation of a civil war and a sharp confrontation with Russia. For this reason, he is pushing through a brutal offensive against the cities of Donetsk and Luhansk, which he did not interrupt after the crash of the Malaysian passenger plane to allow the recovery of the bodies and securing of the crash site. Largely unreported by the Western media, the Ukrainian army has been bombarding densely populated areas with artillery and aircraft. On Thursday, Human Rights Watch published a report documenting four cases between July 12 and 21 in which the Ukrainian military attacked civilians with Grad rockets. We know that reactionaries, imperialists, and elitists have exploited the evil MH17 incident as a means for them to wage economic war against Russia. Sanctions have been imposed against Russia after this incident without any evidence of Russian implication. We know about how governments have exploited crisis as an excuse for them to expand wars or expand sanctions throughout human history.
There must be a combination of solutions in dealing with education. Teachers have talked about the excessive usage of corporate-backed standardized tests of not working (teachers have told me this personally in real life), so there must be more independent assessments that deal with problem solving not random memorization. Random memorization is not true learning. Real learning deals with humanity using analytical abilities and problem solving skills as a means for people to understand concepts proficiently. There should be the prevention of the mass firings of great, qualified, and effective teachers and we should not execute mass closings of schools in an excessive, unfair fashion too. Class sizes should thrive to be smaller since studies document that smaller class sizes have improved the educational performance of the students. I have no issue with universal Pre-K either. Also, parents have the responsibility to teach their children literary skills, science skills and math skills, etc. The Black Agenda Report website has great articles on this issue too. Parents investing in their children for real will cause great blessings for their children in the future. There must be a great, wise investment in education since it is a fact that more affluent neighborhoods receive greater funding (via property taxes, grants, subsidies, etc.) than poorer communities. Poorer communities need adequate, strong resources so they can develop and improve their educational systems. There must be a real fight against poverty and other social problems in communities. We should always expect excellence from students, teachers, etc. since Day One. Communities should have a greater say in educational solutions. At the end of the day, we all want educational justice. Teachers should motivate students to be excellent in their academic performance & their overall conduct. So, teachers, students, parents, and all school officials all have a role to play. We should both improve our communities and fight against poverty, economic oppression, racism, police brutality, discrimination, zero tolerance, and any form of injustice too. We should respect our black people and we should never degrade our people in a vicious, unfair fashion. These actions combined can make a real difference in solving educational problems.
By Timothy
________
To the author of the 2 comments (or douglasawillinger):
First thanks for the Link.
My position is that injustice committed by anybody (whether they are Israeli or Palestinian) should be condemned. It is wrong for rockets to harm Israeli civilians and it is wrong for bombs to kill Palestinian civilians too. Not all Arabic people are terrorists (not all Arabic people are racial supremacists) and not all Jewish people support apartheid. There should be a political solution where both sides can have peace. Palestinians should have their human rights respected and the Israelis should have their human rights respected too. Just because someone shows legitimate critiques of many policies from Israel (that deals with checkpoints, discrimination, etc. which are documented and I can show dozens of links of this) doesn't mean that a person is anti-Semitic or want all Jewish people to not live in the Middle East. Some folks conflate legitimate critique with anti-Semitism in this day and age. Yes, the evil mechanisms from the Vatican should be exposed and opposed. Justice is meant for all people not for a select few. I oppose imperialism and I support solutions. Both Jewish and Arabic people are entitled to justice, peace, equality, and freedom.
-By Timothy
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Paul Ryan's Poverty Plan
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/07/paul_ryan_s_opportunity_grants_the_wisconsin_republican_says_his_poverty.html
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/07/rand_paul_the_redeem_act_and_criminal_justice_reform_why_conservatives_are.html
http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2014/07/25/paul_ryan_anti_poverty_plan_the_poor_rarely_need_this_kind_of_handholding.html
http://mediamatters.org/research/2014/07/24/the-worst-part-of-paul-ryans-poverty-plan-is-ba/200200
Friday, July 25, 2014
Friday News
Certainly, the statements from Kimberly Foster should cause
more dialogue in our community. I don’t agree with everything that Kimberley
Foster wrote (e.g. people have the right to march for Eric Garner since he was
an unarmed man that was killed by brutish cops. The memory of Eric Garner
should be respected including all of the memories of the Brothers &
Sisters who have been the victims of police brutality), but I understand where
she is coming from. I express sympathy for Kimberly Foster's suffering in her
life. She certainly deserves dignity and respect. She wrote many facts that
ought to be acknowledged too. She is right that society in general has
minimized or ignored the suffering and plight of black women. She is totally
accurate that black men should do more to oppose how police brutality and other
forms of abuse have harmed black women. It is accurate to mention that black
men should do more to defend the dignity of the Sisters. Also, the dignity and
the lives of black men should be respected too. Society has greatly promoted
false stereotypes about black men that ought to be repudiated. Regardless of
our gender, we are all in the same planet and we have to create ways that can
make society better. Some folks in the world choose to not care about black men
and black women. I am not one of those people. Black people have every right to
care for each other, to defend black men, and to defend black women. We need
more dialogue, understanding, and proactive solutions as a means for us in the
black community to grow. It is obvious that 60 years is too excessive of a
punishment for Marissa Alexander. Laws have to be changed to deal with
situations like these. Marissa Alexander has a restraining order against the
male. The shot injured no one. The shooting event happened after an escalation
of an argument which existed prior to the incident in question. Obviously, her
intention was never meant to place the life of her child in danger. Marissa
Alexander has no previous arrests or criminal record. Some people want Angela
Corey to be removed from the case via a petition too. That is why I advocate
that minimum sentences should be abolished, especially in such instances like
these. Angela Corey was the one prosecutor who failed to convict George Zimmerman,
but she wants to send the Sister Marissa for decades into prison. Laws have to
change not only in Florida, but nationwide. Even Angela has admitted that
Marissa probably was a victim of domestic violence. Plea deals are filled with
risks. If someone is innocent, a person has the right to never take it. Some
innocent people take it, because they can't afford the money to go through a
trial or for other reasons. It is brave of her to refuse to take the plea deal
though. Rico Gray has given contradictory testimonies throughout the whole
ordeal. Angela is acting overzealous to go against this woman for some reason.
There has been a lot of unfairness and double standards found in the judicial
system and you have given a great example of it. I don't believe that she
should experience 60 years for her action at all. She has been a lot of
emotional pain and I believe that she should have probation. One problem is
that minimum sentencing has resulted in harsh punishments against human beings.
I feel for Marissa Alexander and her family. If Angela Corey is removed from
the case, then I am not losing sleep over it.
Water is a human right. Just because something is not
explicitly mentioned in the Constitution doesn’t mean that it is not a human
right. For example, the right to self-defense is not explicitly mentioned in
the Constitution, but it is a human right. We can witness this crisis as
complex. Detroit is in a situation that is an emergency. Deindustrialization,
bad free trade capitalist deals, and other factors have harmed much of the
people of Detroit. Also, I want to send my Kudos to the protesters and the
activists fighting for a solution to the water problem. Their bravery,
insights, and dedication to compassion will always be respected by me. The city
emergency manager is following the dictates of corporate interests not all of
the people. The Water Department is only creating a 15 day pause, which is no
real moratorium. The emergency manager and others have stolen the wealth of
Detroit residents’ pensions as a means for them to pay off the big banks
(including Wall Street) basically. Reports and experts have documented that the
shutoffs are a violation of international law. Water rates have increased by
119 percent within 10 years, so that is blatantly unfair. In fact, the water
department has admitted that rising rates—which have shot up to almost 120
percent in the last decade—are chiefly due to the disappearance of federal
funding to repair the antiquated water system and the high cost of debt
servicing. Fifty cents of every dollar in revenue goes directly to the Wall
Street banks and wealthy bondholders who have used the municipally owned water
system as cash benefit. Detroit has seen massive foreclosures and a high unemployment
rate. The agenda of privatizing the infrastructure of Detroit continues. It is
true that record corporate subsidies sent to select corporations are highly
done at the expense of the poor. There should be more of the people of Detroit
to govern their city in a more democratic way without the autocratic power of
the Emergency Manager. This policy of massive water shutoffs is part of
neoliberalism (which is embraced by the leadership of both major parties in the
21st century). Hopefully, radical efforts can be made to solve this crisis.
There has been the pensions stripped in Detroit, which contradict the rules
form the Michigan constitution that protects the pensions of human beings.
Pensions are contractual agreements that workers agree that the deferment of a
portion of their salaries which will be returned upon them upon retirement in
the form of monthly payments. They have existed via collective bargaining and
bilateral agreement between workers and employers. Pensions are just
compensation given to workers by their own merit and work. While the finance
capitalists are spending millions of dollars to try to build a new stadium, the
needs of the people lacking water are not met. That is a shame and a disgrace.
Rapaport is the type who is fake person. He tries to act
like he is down (when he wasn't to begin with. He is a cultural exploiter), but
when push comes to shove, his true feelings comes out. He can easily be a man
and offer a rational argument on why he disagrees with Spike Lee's views on
gentrification without vile rhetoric. Yet, he uses an ad hominem attack against
Spike, which is very immature on his part. Also, many of Spike Lee's movies are
great (not just the classic Malcolm X film, but Do the Right Thing, 4 Little
Girls, etc. too). Studies, reports, and experts have documented the
imperfections of gentrification. I have not seen a single syllable from Spike
Lee saying that Brooklyn was only composed of black people. New York City is
not only the most populous of US cities, with more than 8 million people living
in five boroughs, it is also the most densely populated, with 26,403 people per
square mile. It is important to note that we have to develop ways for the poor
to have affordable housing (in combating economic inequality). Promoting
affordable, decent housing is a legitimate cause to promote. This situation
deals with class, poverty, and other social conditions in NYC. We have to
understand the social conditions in our communities if we want problems solved
in a comprehensive fashion. Rapaport ironically even admitted that
gentrification has displaced numerous poor people. He needs to educated on
white guilt and white privilege. Black people have every right to unite and
defend their cultural integrity. Many white people are jealous that a black man
is expressing an opinion that is different from the status quo.
Why are we as blacks asked this question all of the time?
Historically, we have been very accepting of Palestinians, Jewish people,
Hispanics, Asians, progressive white people, and the whole nine yards. We have
always been a loving people. I want some people to ask other ethnic groups to
be more accepting of us. That is an interesting question to ask them. In
essence, we should maintain our black institutions as Malcolm X, Dr. King, and
others have said. Maintaining our cultural heritage and our institutions has
nothing to do with promoting prejudice or bigotry. It deals with us strengthening our
powerbase and fighting back against oppression. WITH TRUE UNITY COMES GREAT
STRENGTH. We still have serious problems that we must address. We still have
issues of discrimination, racism, controversial voter ID laws, and economic
oppression going on in our communities. I have no problem with treating my neighbor as myself (and
respecting people from across backgrounds. I will not hate another human being
because of a human being's background. All human beings are entitled to
freedom, justice, and equality. I have no issue with working with others in battling
against poverty, discrimination, environmental racism, police brutality,
imperialism, etc.). What I don't agree with is allowing others to exploit my
legacy or my culture as a means for them to advance an agenda which strips the
cultural heritage of my people. I don't agree with others controlling black
movements of social change. Black people have the right to control their own
power, to express self-determination, and to advance their own interests. That
is just part of commonsense.
Many Republicans were more progressive back then since there
were the Rockefeller Republicans back in the 1950’s and in the 1960’s. The Tea
Party Republicans and most Republicans today (who are to the right of the
Rockefeller Republicans) don’t agree with all of the Rockefeller Republican
agenda at all. The stimulus package (which includes major corporate tax cuts. A
third of the package was used to pay for tax cuts, half of which are for big
business) had similarities to the New Deal, but it was no real New Deal. It had
no real public works programs. The President follows a neo-liberal agenda. Many
leaders of the Democrats have supported the crime bill, NAFTA, ending welfare
as we know it, the War on Drugs, and other reactionary policies that others can’t refute.
The Simpson-Bowles plan is not progressive at all and people know it. It is a
reactionary plan that deals with massive cuts in the social safety net
including many tax cuts. It is more conservative than the alternatives to it. What is wrong with condemning corporate greed? Nothing. FDR
condemned corporate greed and many of the actions of Wall Street by name, which
is rarely done by Democrats today. The current administration deported more
than two million illegal immigrants, which is more so than any other President
in American history. The administration even recently deported many of the
children from Central America. The current immigration policy embraced by both
major parties are reactionary not progressive. I have not talked about national
sovereignty, so that is a moot point. Most Americans support the minimum wage.
I have mentioned that many Republicans reject a minimum wage not all. I know that many of
them don’t want to keep raising it, but raising it fairly have caused many
great benefits in multiple states. The social safety net for decades have
decreased the poverty rate, prevented starvation, helped the elderly, and
assisted millions of families. There should be the elimination of fraud, waste,
and abuse in any program, but not the total destruction of the entire social
safety net. Only a neo-fascist or an extremist want to ban all forms of a
social safety net. A social safety net involve Social Security, Medicare,
Medicaid, etc. not just welfare. Also, the social safety net has worked to help
people in America and other nations globally. I never said that all Democrats
were too the right of FDR on every issue. I
do believe that the Democrats collectively have turned rightward since the 1970’s,
which is very much accurate. Since the 1970’s, more Democrats have promoted
policies of austerity, imperialism, the War on Drugs, corporate tax breaks,
ending welfare as we know it, and other reactionary policies period. The DLC
has been one group out of many that cause many Democrats to move rightward.
Republicans have moved to the right on voting rights (as proven by the Supreme
Court decisions, voter ID laws, etc.), environmental protection, on
immigration, and on other issues than many decades ago (since the 1970’s). The
growth of the Tea Party movement proves my point that the GOP is more right
than in the 1970's. Also, there are
studies that prove that such voter ID laws will disenfranchise the poor,
minorities, the elderly, etc. Also, these voter ID laws have restricted the
times when people can vote, restrict voting locations, and do other actions
that are blatantly immoral. Some courts have struck down some of these laws in
various states. There have been real victims of these laws. The Moral Mondays crowd is right to stand up against such laws and to advocate economic justice.
By Timothy
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Why Our Black Political Class is Paralyzed and Silent on Gaza Massacres and Israeli Apartheid
Savant on Both Parties
I think BOTH parties are racist, but the Republicans more militantly so. The Republicans TODAY are contemporary equivalents of the DIXIECRATS of 50 or 60 years ago--or earlier.
In the time of Lincoln and Reconstruction the Republicans, though also racist, were the most progressive of the two parties. Indeed, even Karl Marx and other leftists and progressives became supporters of Lincoln and his party.
The roles of the two parties have shifted since the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, and BEGAN shifting precisely DURING and BECAUSE of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.
One could see this with the Barry Goldwater campaign, the campaign of a right wing Republican who wasn't a fanatic segregationist himself, but who campaign with its opposition to Civil Rights, began to draw support of the segregationist Dixiecrats---southern Democrats who became disaffected with their Party when it was pulled into support (albeit foot dragging support) of the Civil Rights program.
Barry Goldwater, a conservative Republican who opposed the Civil rights Act of 1964, intensified the rightward shift of the Republican Party until we now have a former "Party of LIncoln" now imposing new restrictive voter requirement that reminds one of the restrictions imposed by Dixiecrats after Reconstruction. History is a ____. In a way, the Republicans resemble the Baptists who are today among the more conventional and conservative Christian denominations, even though their forbears--ANABAPTISTS--were in the 16th Century the most RADICAL and PROGRESSIVE form of Christianity in the West. The Republicans have become in political terms what the Baptists became in religious terms--reactionary offspring of progressive parents.
-Savant
Barry Goldwater, a conservative Republican who opposed the Civil rights Act of 1964, intensified the rightward shift of the Republican Party until we now have a former "Party of LIncoln" now imposing new restrictive voter requirement that reminds one of the restrictions imposed by Dixiecrats after Reconstruction. History is a ____. In a way, the Republicans resemble the Baptists who are today among the more conventional and conservative Christian denominations, even though their forbears--ANABAPTISTS--were in the 16th Century the most RADICAL and PROGRESSIVE form of Christianity in the West. The Republicans have become in political terms what the Baptists became in religious terms--reactionary offspring of progressive parents.
-Savant
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
More Commentaries
I doubt that even bankrupt Western imperialism is stupid enough to attempt a war against 1.5 billion Muslims. But the image of the Muslim Threat may be a handy substitute for the now defunct Communist Threat. That a tiny part or sliver of the Muslims really are extremist loons is probably useful in maintaining the spectre of the Muslim Threat. In America, as in Orwell's 1984, external threats and foreign enemies are useful tools to impose fear drenched conformity on the population. If Islamic extremists, or even Islam itself, were to disappear our ruling classes would find or manufacture a new enemy.
-Savant
______________
I've read and taught writings of Frantz Fanon. He was especially influential among our revolutionary forbears of the late 1960s and 70s, especially among the Black Panther party. His phenomenal influence is acknowledged by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr in his book called WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE. Fanon's magnum opus is THE WRETCHED OF THE EARTH (Les Damnes de la Terre)
-Savant
_____________
ORLANDO BAGWELL. A fellow Baltimore homeboy has directed two very interesting films: AT THE RIVER I STAND, a documentary of the Memphis Sanitation workers strike, which was Dr. Martin Luther King's final campaign. And also MALCOLM X: MAKE IT PLAIN. This film examined the life and leadership of Malcolm. Both films were made in the 1990s; both quite inspiring and informative. Someone also made a film about Frantz Fanon, also in the 1990s And a Francophone brother whose name I forget made LUMUMBA, which I saw in June of 2001 at the Charles Theatre in Baltimore.
-Savant
____________________
-Savant
______________
I've read and taught writings of Frantz Fanon. He was especially influential among our revolutionary forbears of the late 1960s and 70s, especially among the Black Panther party. His phenomenal influence is acknowledged by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr in his book called WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE. Fanon's magnum opus is THE WRETCHED OF THE EARTH (Les Damnes de la Terre)
-Savant
_____________
ORLANDO BAGWELL. A fellow Baltimore homeboy has directed two very interesting films: AT THE RIVER I STAND, a documentary of the Memphis Sanitation workers strike, which was Dr. Martin Luther King's final campaign. And also MALCOLM X: MAKE IT PLAIN. This film examined the life and leadership of Malcolm. Both films were made in the 1990s; both quite inspiring and informative. Someone also made a film about Frantz Fanon, also in the 1990s And a Francophone brother whose name I forget made LUMUMBA, which I saw in June of 2001 at the Charles Theatre in Baltimore.
-Savant
____________________
RIP Eric Garner
For years, we have shown facts after facts of police
brutality, discrimination, economic exploitation, and racism. Yet, the words
from some of these cops (in various social media disrespecting Eric Garner) confirm everything that I have ever typed about the brutality
against Eric Garner. The murder of Eric Garner was evil and it was brutally
done by terroristic cops. Cops have terrorized our people in America for a very
long time. The words from the cops found in social media represent a mentality
(of embracing hate, racism, selfishness, authoritarian thinking, etc.) commonly
found among many police officers worldwide, not just nationwide. Notice how
these cops, in their comments, disrespected Eric Garner’s humanity and his
family, so I have no respect for evil, crooked officers at all. The cops who
made these remarks ought to be fully investigated and punished, because we pay
their salaries. We have every right to wisely stand up for our human dignity
and to wisely stand up for our human rights. The EMS did an extremely poor job
in handling the life of Eric Garner. The EMS individuals did not even act like
they were in a rush. They acted timid almost and that was very evil in my view.
The harassment of black people and the murder of black people by the NYPD
unfortunately are common realities. It is a shame that innocent people have
been brutalized by crooked officers. There are similarities between both
occurrences (of the death of Eric Garner and the scene of the death of Raheem from the Movie "Do the Right Thing"). One difference though is that the scene from Spike Lee's classic
movie has shown a fictional account of what occurs against black people for
real and the unjust death of Eric Garner is a real life event. The death of
Eric Garner is real and we have to be not only educated on the system of white
supremacy & we should be educated on how the police acts. We have to be
educated on the law too, so we can find ways to abolish unjust laws. We have the
right to stand up for our rights, condemn police brutality, and build up our
own institutions. There has to be real accountability made in this situation.
This accountability means that the officers involved in the Brother’s death
must be punished (for real). I send my condolences and prayers to the family
& friends of Eric Garner.
First, I want to send my total respect to the activists
protesting against the water shutoffs. Their courage and their activism have
been inspiring and an excellent display of standing up against oppression. The
Detroit water shutoffs have been an atrocity against human life. The 15 day
temporary suspension of the shutoffs is very disrespectful to the plight of
citizens of Detroit. This came about because of the pressure sent to the
emergency manager and the other people controlling Detroit. Obviously, this is
a pause not a real moratorium. We know the truth about this situation. Nearly
40 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, and the constant rate
increases have made Detroit water bills among the highest in the nation. Many
want to privatize the public resources in Detroit. Many of the actions of the
big banks using derivatives, free trade deindustrialization, and other factors
contributed to the issues found in Detroit. The great activists (who are
fighting for water as a human right) should continue to make their voices heard
and they should continue to fight for real short term and long term solutions
for the city of Detroit. We know this is a public relations move and this
action doesn’t adequate address the overall infrastructure problems in Detroit.
After the two week hiatus, the Detroit officials will continue their shutoffs.
In fact, in order to qualify, residents will have to provide documents proving
the need for assistance, officials said, and they would have to enroll in some
kind of payment plan. To have service restored, residents typically must pay 30
percent of their outstanding bill (often hundreds or even thousands of dollars)
and keep present bills current in order to qualify for a 36-month plan to pay
off their balance—or face another shutoff. This is virtually impossible for
most of the residents. The pause is dealing with the bankruptcy restructuring
plan where pensions from people are stolen as a means for the corporate
interests to dominate the city’s infrastructure. There have been mass school
closings, and the collapse of essential services too from fire protection to
emergency medical services. The money have been taken from the people and sent
into the financial elites and the big banks. There should be a strong
reconstruction plan that helps the people of Detroit. I have no issue with a
mass public works program as well. The city is strong and I do have hope that
the city will be stronger in the future. People have the right to allow their voices to be heard on this issue. Some folks scapegoating people and dismissing the concerns of the people in Detroit solves nothing. The status quo obviously doesn't work, so other solutions are needed. There should be an end to the emergency manager rule of most functions of the city, so a more democratic governing process is made. There should be a total audit of the infrastructure in Detroit, so plans can be instituted to benefit the people directly. Article I, Section 8 gives Congress the right to provide for the general welfare of society. There ought to be an urban reconstruction plan in Detroit organized by the state and the local governments (based on public works programs, improving the city, and dealing with poverty). Also, there can be an extension of the moratorium, so a better solution can exist to solve the water crisis. If the federal government can send billions of dollars to Wall Street banks, then it can assist local government in unique ways. The President can declare the situation in Detroit as an emergency too.
Rula Jebreal has been disrespected by many supporters of imperialism & Empire. Her being slandered by some is a disgrace. She is super
moderate. I admire her strength. She has never shown a massive, offensive, and
slanderous anti-Israeli bias in my view ever. She is also a great reporter. She
has always been fair and balanced in her coverage of Middle East affairs. If
these extremists slander Rula Jebreal as an anti-Semite (when she is a
Palestinian woman), then you know that these apartheid policy lovers are truly
wrong. Rula Jebreal just told the truth that the neo-cons and AIPAC have heavy
influence in the political affairs of the West (and they are intimidating
reporters from showing both sides on this important foreign policy issue).
Unfair checkpoints, brutal militarized tactics against civilians in Gaza
including other occupied territories, and racist policies against black
Israelis have every right to be shown in any media period. Also, there are many
Jewish people even who oppose the current reactionary regime in Israel. This is a great issue to talk about since we should condemn oppression against our people in
America and we should condemn injustice anywhere. People from many backgrounds
want real peace in the Middle East via a political solution. People in the
Middle East deserve peace and justice. Islamophobia is unfortunately common
place in many sectors of America. We have seen it immediately after 9/11 when
mosques were vandalized by criminals and even some Muslims were detained. We
have seen here in Tennessee when false accusations and smears have existed
against a Muslim candidate. A story about a Muslim candidate in the South being lied about like this reminds me that we should not
only condemn Islamophobia, but we should advance the values of tolerance, human
dignity, freedom, and justice. It is not a secret that the policies of Israel
towards the Palestinian people are similar to the evil apartheid regime in
South Africa and the evil Jim Crow system in America. This is not just me
mentioning this legitimate, historical reality. Other Brothers and Sisters have
made the linkage like Margaret Kimberley, Alice Walker, Glen Ford, Kevin
Alexander Gray, Teju Cole, Dream Hampton etc. The Palestinian people have
suffered a lot of brutality. Even today, the Palestinians experience violence,
legal disenfranchisement, racism, forms of segregation, checkpoints, etc. We,
who are African Americans, have been strongly in favor of international
solidarity with the Palestinian peoples and using divestment programs too. It
is obvious that bombs have harmed hospitals in Gaza and many civilians dying during
the conflict is a war crime. American war crimes should not be omitted, because
the U.S. killed an American citizen named Anwar al-Awlaki in 2011 without due
process at all. A 2006 Israeli Supreme Court decision ruled that targeted
assassination of hundreds of Palestinians were legal and did not violate
international law. Obviously, that court is wrong. There terrorism in Gaza has
been exploited by the West as an excuse to continue with imperialism worldwide.
At the end of the day, Israel must end all attacks on civilian targets in Gaza.
They should end all attacks on medical facilities and personnel in Gaza. The
international community should provide access to the dead and injured as
required by international, humanitarian law. Israel should end military attacks
and occupation, so rational people can form a long lasting political solution
to this crisis. Jewish people and Arabic people should not be enemies. We are
all part of the same human family at the end of the day.
When the truth is known about the migrant crisis, the truth
becomes clearer. This crisis deals with U.S. imperialism. The policies of the
White House towards Latin American immigrants document that both parties adhere
to the same neoliberal doctrines. The leadership of both major parties is
allied on immigration. The crisis is not a product of these mostly children
coming into America. This crisis is a product of conditions in Central America
(caused heavily by the U.S./CIA foreign policy measures including the policies
from reactionary regimes). It is a historical fact that CIA backed mercenaries
murdered hundreds of thousands of the indigenous peoples found in El Salvador, Guatemala,
and Nicaragua. We see that both parties have members who love neoliberalism,
globalization, etc. Imperialism has been loved by the Democratic and Republican
Party. The Democratic Party calls itself more progressive while the Republicans
have expressed extreme positions. The Republicans have members who are overtly
racist and sexists, while the Democrats covertly express their own neoliberal
agenda. We can see U.S. imperialism’s role in the migrant crisis. The current
administration has deported more than 2 million human beings. We see that
Central America is heavily influenced by the CAFTA free trade agreement, which
is similar to NAFTA (that privileges Western corporate interests at the expense
of the sovereign agricultural and industrial development in the region). The
U.S. military maintains a large presence in Central America as a means to fight
in the disastrous War on Drugs. The U.S. sponsored the 2009 Honduran coup. We
know about the US military aid and intelligence in the age of Reagan sponsored
death squads and counter-revolutionary militaries to destabilize the
revolutions in Central America. In other
for anyone to understand this crisis, there must be an understanding of the
geopolitical and economic context of this issue. The lust for capital by the
capitalist elite along with the bigoted scapegoating of the migrant is certainly
a sad development. The good news is that many people are educating and
mobilizing the people to understand the truth. The truth is that the
exploitation and harm done to the immigrants are part of the same racist,
imperial order. Yes, we do have the right to believe in justice. Migrants’
rights is human rights. All immigrants and all human beings have the right to
have basic human rights.
More and more people from the Left and the Right are in
agreement that the criminal justice system and the War on Drugs (which has
grown militarism in Latin America & violates the human rights of Americans
including other human beings) have harmed communities and ruined so many lives
in the black people. There must be a change period. The status quo is not only
wrong, but it doesn’t work. We have tried the neo-liberal status quo for over
three decades. The War on Drugs as it is now has not worked to radically
improve the conditions of society. Giving people second chances is great if it
is done in a fair fashion. There is no rational justification for nonviolent
drug offenders to receive sentences greater than murderers, rapists,
pedophiles, or other heinous criminals at all. I don’t even believe in minimum
mandatory sentences, because of the complexities found in crime. This recent
policy from the administration is rather centrist and some people are acting
like it is the end of the world, which is not. A lot of the people with
nonviolent drug convictions aren’t even drug dealers. Many of them have been arrested
for possession. People in those circumstances need a second chance. A second chance is never about being naïve or allowing
people to do what they want to do. It is about giving people job and other
economic opportunities. It is about restoring voting rights to all felons who
paid their debts to society. It is about eliminating laws that contribute to
the harm of our communities. We should not only create sentence fairness, but
we have to address poverty and address the socio-political issues in the world.
We have to focus more on treatment not obsess with mass incarcerating
nonviolent people (in long sentences) with mere possession. We need real
investments in real education and the reconstruction of poor urban including
rural communities. We need a radical transformation of society. There have been many people who advocate common ground among
people of different ideological background. My view is that we unite on many
issues to fight for justice, but we should never forsake our core convictions.
Most people do agree that corporate corruption should end including corporate
welfare. I don’t want select corporations lobbying in an inappropriate way or
having influence to directly create our laws and policies. Most of us don’t
agree with record bailouts sent to the big banks, the Empire filled policies of
the military industrial complex, and tax cuts for the super wealthy. There
should be no personhood of corporations at all. We agree that our basic civil
liberties must be preserved and that unjust laws like the Patriot Act ought to
be banned. The National Security State blatantly has harmed our rights (and
secret programs and wars have expanded in the Bush years including the Obama
years too). The War on Drugs has been a total failure and it must end. Bad
trade deals have harmed workers’ rights, environmental standards, etc. We need
fairer trade policies that people from across the political spectrum have
supported. Wall Street criminals should be punished as well. Most Americans
want an increase of the minimum wage, which I support too. At the end of the
day, the people not select corporate interests should run the nation. This
doesn’t mean that we ally with outright extremists like the Koch Brothers (who
represent not only corporate interests, but seek to advance anti-human rights
policies). So, we can unite with people who sincerely want problems solved, but
we should not sell out our principles and join extremists. So, that is clear.
By Timothy
More News
http://moratorium-mi.org/appeal-united-nations-halt-racial-discrimination-acts-genocide-people-detroit/#more-2228
http://blackagendareport.com/content/migrants%E2%80%99-rights-are-human-rights-take-local-police-out-immigration-enforcement
http://www.globalresearch.ca/another-massacre-in-gaza-this-time-in-khan-younis/5392829
http://abagond.wordpress.com/2014/07/08/civil-rights-act-of-1964/
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
More News
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article2564.htm
http://www.thekingcenter.org/
http://www.politicususa.com/2011/04/17/obama-great-tax-cutter.html
http://consortiumnews.com/2014/07/19/airline-horror-spurs-new-rush-to-judgment/
http://www.topix.com/forum/afam/T1FHH5CQEMI336M96#c21
http://www.topix.com/forum/afam/TKSRT4VT8G65GS8H4/p6
http://www.thekingcenter.org/
http://www.politicususa.com/2011/04/17/obama-great-tax-cutter.html
http://consortiumnews.com/2014/07/19/airline-horror-spurs-new-rush-to-judgment/
http://www.topix.com/forum/afam/T1FHH5CQEMI336M96#c21
http://www.topix.com/forum/afam/TKSRT4VT8G65GS8H4/p6
Jim Crow Statistics
http://www.shmoop.com/jim-crow/statistics.html
http://www.shmoop.com/jim-crow/terms.html
http://www.shmoop.com/jim-crow/photos.html
http://abhmuseum.org/2012/09/voting-rights-for-blacks-and-poor-whites-in-the-jim-crow-south/
http://abhmuseum.org/category/galleries/one-hundred-years-of-jim-crow/
http://abhmuseum.org/2012/10/the-five-pillars-of-jim-crow/
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://consortiumnews.com/2013/07/10/bringing-back-jim-crow/
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories.html
http://www.shmoop.com/jim-crow/terms.html
http://www.shmoop.com/jim-crow/photos.html
http://abhmuseum.org/2012/09/voting-rights-for-blacks-and-poor-whites-in-the-jim-crow-south/
http://abhmuseum.org/category/galleries/one-hundred-years-of-jim-crow/
http://abhmuseum.org/2012/10/the-five-pillars-of-jim-crow/
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://consortiumnews.com/2013/07/10/bringing-back-jim-crow/
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories.html
Monday, July 21, 2014
Savant's Great Words
Muslim & Christian Slave trades Probably the mortality rate in the Atlantic slave trade was greater than the4 10% indicated by Wrong. Bu the bottom line is that MILLIONS of African lives were lost to both the Muslim and Christian slave trades. However, we're supposed to be taling about the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
-Savant
_________________
With regard to Haiti, you finally make correct observations. The economic retributions against Haiti by both France and the USA played a pivotal role in the impoverishment of the country. However, this is not to deny the corrupt leadership one also found there. But there has been a bit of research on how Haiti was punished, economically sabotaged for the crime of launching the only successful slave revolt in history. Toussaint l'Ouverture ought to be at least as familiar a name as Spartacus.
-Savant
________________
There is no lazy Black population in Haiti, and there's no nation known to man in which the population as a whole does little or nothing more than smoke pot. As for Dr. King's dream, which is invoked more readily than understood or examined, it consisted of a lot more than some vision of "the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners" sitting together at the table of brotherhood. If you examine King's thought in some depth you will see that it involved something more than just desegregations. It also involved an idea of a cooperative economic commonwealth and a community and nation governed by a "person-orien ted" value system rather than a "thing-orient ed" value system. It involved the ending of both class and race injustices and divisions. It entailed economic democracy as well as political democracy; and it involved a moving away from that deeply held American prejudice in favor of "rugged individualism. " For King there is no "I" with out "thou." Or as King put it in WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE, "The self cannot be a self without other selves...All men are interdependent. " His visionis that of "person-in-co mmunity" to use the words of Rfus Burrows. And the ultimate aim of King was the "beloved community." Black people didn't destroy the dream of Dr. King. American simply failed to live up to the noble vision of King. She has yet to prove to be equal to the radical vision of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
-Savant
___________________________________
It is important to understand that for King desegregation--whi ch he distinguishes from integration--is not the ultimate aim. His aim is a new social order--Ultimately, the end is "the creation of the beloved community." This entails a "mutually cooperative and voluntary venture." While it does involved the transcendence of capitalism, of possessive individualism while leaning toward a cooperative society, it must not be confused with what people normally think of when they speak of "communism " (as in the USSR, etc). It is not a coercive collectivism, which is actually irrelevant to community if not the actual negation of it. When King speak of a "voluntary and cooperative venture," he means precisely that. No commissars, no bureaucrats, and no Wall Street pirates. A cooperative society, a free association in which the human person in relations with his/her fellows is able to flourish as human personalities. The attack on segregation was a step in that direction, but not final aim. One might say that desegregation is a negative good, i.e., the removal of an evil. The achievement of a positive good entails a fuller transformation of society and a "revolution of values."
-Savant
________________________
There's something which some scholars call "code shifting." Some Black people can shift with real with relative ease from very cultured or academic uses of language to the use of the patois. One can observe both Malcolm X and Martin King doing this many times.
-Savant
______________
I'd add Clarence Thomas. Jesse Jackson did have a record of civil rights activism at a time when it could have cost him his life. But he's not doing much now. Roy Innis was once active at some level in the struggle, but that was a long time ago. Al Sharpton I've got suspicions about. Not sure. There's rumors that he was down with COINTELPRO. If so, he's an enemy of the people. If not, then he's another activist. Sometimes useful, sometimes not. Problem is, he's an apologist for Barack Obama. Even if Obama had been as progressive as his early supporters believed (or hoped), uncritical support is always a bad thing.
-Savant
________________
Most information regarding violent crimes like assault, homicide or rape seem to indicate that women ARE less violent than we are. Of course, most men do not commit homicides, but most homicides are committed by men. And this seems to be the case no matter the race, color, creed, etc. Reportedly, about 90% of homicides are committed by men, and most of them against other men. And since most political and economic power even today is exercised by men, men may be considered the ones most responsible for the mass carnage of wars Yet women are capable of violence. They can and sometimes do commit homicide, assault and rape. Why is it that they do so less often than men? Is it "nature" or "nurture "? Not all females are sugar and spice. Are women "by nature" a gentler sex? Or are they just socialized to be less inclined than men to resort to violence? Could it be that violence is culturally less a part of the definition of womanhood? Would women be no less violent than men if they had equal amounts of power and were not so differently socialized?
-Savant
_______________
Barack Obama's use of "proper" English hasn't made him less popular. During the days of the Movement Dr. King, Malcolm X, and Angela Davis weren't made less popular among the masses by the use of good diction and correct grammar. When the articulate Black man or woman becomes unpopular among the masses t's usually due to something deeper than grammar and semantics. Of course, for women to start wars they'd have to have power. But patriarchy has been dominant for at least the past 4000 years. Would women start more wars if they had the power? The USA economically reconstructed Japan as well as Europe. There was no Marshall Plan for Haiti. Only economic reprisals.
-Savant
__________________
I've read more Nkrumah than you've read King. In my book on King I point out that King was a Christian and democratic socialist, but not a socialist theoretician. His commitment to socialism (which he sometimes calls "fully realized democracy") was more ethical than theoretical. I discerned that from his works and the works of a number of King scholars. Tell me something I don't know. King spoke many words besides those soken on August 28, 1963. If you've no access to the King Papers, atleast read the collection entitled A TESTAMENT OF HOPE. Most of what you called Gandhism is actually Personalism, both the "homespun African American Personalsim as Rufus Burrows, Jr. calls it, and the systematic Personalism studied by King at Boston University. But Personalism with its idea of the inherent dignity of personality does coincide with many ideas of Gandhi. King repeatedly critiques rugged individualism in STRIDE TOWARD FREEDOM (his first book), STRENGTH TO LOVE, and WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE, CHAOS OR COMMUNITY. King's critique of collectivism may receive more attention, and his critique of Communism gets let attention than his critique of capitalism. but critique them he did.
-Savant
_________________
With regard to Haiti, you finally make correct observations. The economic retributions against Haiti by both France and the USA played a pivotal role in the impoverishment of the country. However, this is not to deny the corrupt leadership one also found there. But there has been a bit of research on how Haiti was punished, economically sabotaged for the crime of launching the only successful slave revolt in history. Toussaint l'Ouverture ought to be at least as familiar a name as Spartacus.
-Savant
________________
There is no lazy Black population in Haiti, and there's no nation known to man in which the population as a whole does little or nothing more than smoke pot. As for Dr. King's dream, which is invoked more readily than understood or examined, it consisted of a lot more than some vision of "the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners" sitting together at the table of brotherhood. If you examine King's thought in some depth you will see that it involved something more than just desegregations. It also involved an idea of a cooperative economic commonwealth and a community and nation governed by a "person-orien ted" value system rather than a "thing-orient ed" value system. It involved the ending of both class and race injustices and divisions. It entailed economic democracy as well as political democracy; and it involved a moving away from that deeply held American prejudice in favor of "rugged individualism. " For King there is no "I" with out "thou." Or as King put it in WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE, "The self cannot be a self without other selves...All men are interdependent. " His visionis that of "person-in-co mmunity" to use the words of Rfus Burrows. And the ultimate aim of King was the "beloved community." Black people didn't destroy the dream of Dr. King. American simply failed to live up to the noble vision of King. She has yet to prove to be equal to the radical vision of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
-Savant
___________________________________
It is important to understand that for King desegregation--whi ch he distinguishes from integration--is not the ultimate aim. His aim is a new social order--Ultimately, the end is "the creation of the beloved community." This entails a "mutually cooperative and voluntary venture." While it does involved the transcendence of capitalism, of possessive individualism while leaning toward a cooperative society, it must not be confused with what people normally think of when they speak of "communism " (as in the USSR, etc). It is not a coercive collectivism, which is actually irrelevant to community if not the actual negation of it. When King speak of a "voluntary and cooperative venture," he means precisely that. No commissars, no bureaucrats, and no Wall Street pirates. A cooperative society, a free association in which the human person in relations with his/her fellows is able to flourish as human personalities. The attack on segregation was a step in that direction, but not final aim. One might say that desegregation is a negative good, i.e., the removal of an evil. The achievement of a positive good entails a fuller transformation of society and a "revolution of values."
-Savant
________________________
There's something which some scholars call "code shifting." Some Black people can shift with real with relative ease from very cultured or academic uses of language to the use of the patois. One can observe both Malcolm X and Martin King doing this many times.
-Savant
______________
I'd add Clarence Thomas. Jesse Jackson did have a record of civil rights activism at a time when it could have cost him his life. But he's not doing much now. Roy Innis was once active at some level in the struggle, but that was a long time ago. Al Sharpton I've got suspicions about. Not sure. There's rumors that he was down with COINTELPRO. If so, he's an enemy of the people. If not, then he's another activist. Sometimes useful, sometimes not. Problem is, he's an apologist for Barack Obama. Even if Obama had been as progressive as his early supporters believed (or hoped), uncritical support is always a bad thing.
-Savant
________________
Most information regarding violent crimes like assault, homicide or rape seem to indicate that women ARE less violent than we are. Of course, most men do not commit homicides, but most homicides are committed by men. And this seems to be the case no matter the race, color, creed, etc. Reportedly, about 90% of homicides are committed by men, and most of them against other men. And since most political and economic power even today is exercised by men, men may be considered the ones most responsible for the mass carnage of wars Yet women are capable of violence. They can and sometimes do commit homicide, assault and rape. Why is it that they do so less often than men? Is it "nature" or "nurture "? Not all females are sugar and spice. Are women "by nature" a gentler sex? Or are they just socialized to be less inclined than men to resort to violence? Could it be that violence is culturally less a part of the definition of womanhood? Would women be no less violent than men if they had equal amounts of power and were not so differently socialized?
-Savant
_______________
Barack Obama's use of "proper" English hasn't made him less popular. During the days of the Movement Dr. King, Malcolm X, and Angela Davis weren't made less popular among the masses by the use of good diction and correct grammar. When the articulate Black man or woman becomes unpopular among the masses t's usually due to something deeper than grammar and semantics. Of course, for women to start wars they'd have to have power. But patriarchy has been dominant for at least the past 4000 years. Would women start more wars if they had the power? The USA economically reconstructed Japan as well as Europe. There was no Marshall Plan for Haiti. Only economic reprisals.
-Savant
__________________
I've read more Nkrumah than you've read King. In my book on King I point out that King was a Christian and democratic socialist, but not a socialist theoretician. His commitment to socialism (which he sometimes calls "fully realized democracy") was more ethical than theoretical. I discerned that from his works and the works of a number of King scholars. Tell me something I don't know. King spoke many words besides those soken on August 28, 1963. If you've no access to the King Papers, atleast read the collection entitled A TESTAMENT OF HOPE. Most of what you called Gandhism is actually Personalism, both the "homespun African American Personalsim as Rufus Burrows, Jr. calls it, and the systematic Personalism studied by King at Boston University. But Personalism with its idea of the inherent dignity of personality does coincide with many ideas of Gandhi. King repeatedly critiques rugged individualism in STRIDE TOWARD FREEDOM (his first book), STRENGTH TO LOVE, and WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE, CHAOS OR COMMUNITY. King's critique of collectivism may receive more attention, and his critique of Communism gets let attention than his critique of capitalism. but critique them he did.
-Savant
Israel, Gaza, and Ukraine
The President Barack Obama made remarks about the tragic crash of the Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17. People have the right to ask questions about the incident. The President denounced Russia and pro-Russian separatist forces in eastern Ukraine for, in his mind, shooting down the plain and demanding the surrender of the separatists to the Western backed regime in Kiev. His words underscored the propaganda campaign that some are using to provoke an explosive confrontation with Russia. So far, the rebels have shot down low flying Ukrainian military aircraft with portable anti-aircraft missiles. Until now, they have not destroyed a jumbo jet flying at 33,000 feet, which is an act that would hand Washington a massive propaganda campaign. Before the MH17 tragedy, the Kiev regime reinforced its anti-aircraft batteries in the region. President Barack Obama went on to admit that his administration does not know who shot down MH17 or why. He said, “I think it’s too early for us to be able to guess what intentions those who might have launched the surface-to-air missile might have had… In terms of identifying specifically what individual or group of individuals, you know, personnel ordered the strike, how it came about—those are things that I think are going to be subject to additional information that we’re going to be gathering.” His words contradict the statements of his own UN ambassador Samantha Power. She said that there was “credible evidence” that Russia was responsible for the crash, adding, “Russia can end this war. Russia must end this war.” The extremists are still exploiting this tragedy as a means to step up the campaign for more NATO intervention in Ukraine, issue more sweeping sanctions against Russia, and to fund more of the Kiev regime. Of significance, the Prosecutor General of Ukraine Vitaliy Yarema confirmed that the Donesk rebels do not have Buk or S 300 ground to air missiles which could have downed the plane. The Buk missile system has the capabilities of downing an aircraft flying at 35,000 feet. The US media and political establishment, in their haste to denounce Russia, appear completely uninterested in the questions (on whether pro-Kiev factions did it or how rebels could use a missile to destroy aircraft in such height).
There has been the continuation of the Israeli invasion of Gaza. This invasion has caused death and destruction. Tons of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces. Many Israeli soldiers have been killed as well. This or the invasion has been occurred for more than 11 days. Israeli troops and armored columned continued to push into territory. This comes even as the bombardment of Gaza from the air, land, and the sea intensified. Over 300 Palestinians have been killed so far. The wounded is as high as 2,200 human beings. The events in Gaza have been a calculated and savage war crime against a mostly defenseless population. Washington, the EU, and even some Arabic regimes support this action. This lethal terror and collective punishment done by the IDF (or the Israel Defense Forces) in Gaza are abhorrent. These method employed by the IDF are similar to the methods employed by the Nazis in the Warsaw Ghetto. Massive gunboats have been used in Gaza, whose total land size is about the city of the U.S. city of Philadelphia. In an act of psychological terror, Israel dropped leaflets ordering over 100,000 Palestinians in the border areas to flee their homes. The reality, however, is that there is nowhere to hide from the assault. Those remaining in their homes are designated as “terrorists” or “human shields,” who can be killed without compunction. Medics in the town of Beit Hanoun (on the northeast edge of Gaza) said that Friday night an entire family of eight have been killed wen a tank shell demolished their home. It left bodies in the rubble. Emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra identified the victims as the Abu Jurad family, consisting of two men, two women, and four children. The children’s names were Hania, Ahlam, Samih and Musa—two girls and two boys. One of them was a five-month-old baby. UN officials in Gaza reported that there are more than 40,000 Gazans being displaced. They are seeking shelter at UN facilities. Food is running out at these facilities. Gaza hospitals have been repeatedly targeted for shelling and air strikes, which is a crime against humanity. The Al-Quds hospital was struck overnight, according to the Ma’an News Agency. The bombardment ignited a fire that damaged several of the hospital’s departments. Shells also fell on the Beit Hanoun Hospital, damaging its top floors and panicking patients and staff. Tank shells also struck the al-Wafa Hospital in Gaza City. “Israeli tanks are shelling the hospital, they have hit several of the floors, and several nurses have been injured,” the facility’s director, Basman Alashi, told the AFP news agency. “There is no place safe in Gaza,” he added. “If a hospital is not safe, where is?” Many innocent people have been killed, injured, and harmed by the shells. According to health officials, at least 63 Palestinians were killed in Gaza on Friday. During the same period, one Israeli soldier died, apparently the victim of “friendly fire” from an Israeli tank. Israeli forces have been using internationally banned weapons like fletchette bombs, an anti-personnel weapon that saturates an area with lethal darts including poison gas. This slaughter is supported by the current administration. The administration has been unqualified U.S. support for the bloody operation in Gaza. The idea that this massive military undertaking is being carried out to stop rockets that have in the space of 11 days killed one single Israeli, or that the IDF is confining itself to destroying tunnels, is ludicrous. The suggestion that Israel is acting to minimize civilian casualties, who make up 80 percent of those killed, with fully a quarter of these being children, is obscene. Recently, Hamas gave some authority in Gaza in PA. At the same time, it seized upon the abduction of three settler youth in the West Bank, who were later found dead, as a pretext for a crackdown on Hamas’s members in the occupied territory, arresting some 600 people and launching a wave of repression in which at least 10 Palestinians were killed. It was this violent campaign of collective punishment that provoked the first rockets fired from Gaza. This ground assault continues. There has been the continuation of the Israeli invasion of Gaza. This invasion has caused death and destruction. Tons of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces. Many Israeli soldiers have been killed as well. This or the invasion has been occurred for more than 11 days. Israeli troops and armored columned continued to push into territory. This comes even as the bombardment of Gaza from the air, land, and the sea intensified. Over 300 Palestinians have been killed so far. The wounded is as high as 2,200 human beings. The events in Gaza have been a calculated and savage war crime against a mostly defenseless population. Washington, the EU, and even some Arabic regimes support this action. This lethal terror and collective punishment done by the IDF (or the Israel Defense Forces) in Gaza are abhorrent. These method employed by the IDF are similar to the methods employed by the Nazis in the Warsaw Ghetto. Massive gunboats have been used in Gaza, whose total land size is about the city of the U.S. city of Philadelphia. In an act of psychological terror, Israel dropped leaflets ordering over 100,000 Palestinians in the border areas to flee their homes. The reality, however, is that there is nowhere to hide from the assault. Those remaining in their homes are designated as “terrorists” or “human shields,” which can be killed without compunction. Medics in the town of Beit Hanoun (on the northeast edge of Gaza) said that Friday night an entire family of eight has been killed when a tank shell demolished their home. It left bodies in the rubble. Emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra identified the victims as the Abu Jurad family, consisting of two men, two women, and four children. The children’s names were Hania, Ahlam, Samih and Musa—two girls and two boys. One of them was a five-month-old baby. UN officials in Gaza reported that there are more than 40,000 Gazans being displaced. They are seeking shelter at UN facilities. Food is running out at these facilities. Gaza hospitals have been repeatedly targeted for shelling and air strikes, which is a crime against humanity. The Al-Quds hospital was struck overnight, according to the Ma’an News Agency. The bombardment ignited a fire that damaged several of the hospital’s departments. Shells also fell on the Beit Hanoun Hospital, damaging its top floors and panicking patients and staff. Tank shells also struck the al-Wafa Hospital in Gaza City. “Israeli tanks are shelling the hospital, they have hit several of the floors, and several nurses have been injured,” the facility’s director, Basman Alashi, told the AFP news agency. “There is no place safe in Gaza,” he added. “If a hospital is not safe, where is?” Many innocent people have been killed, injured, and harmed by the shells. According to health officials, at least 63 Palestinians were killed in Gaza on Friday. During the same period, one Israeli soldier died, apparently the victim of “friendly fire” from an Israeli tank. Israeli forces have been using internationally banned weapons like fletchette bombs, an anti-personnel weapon that saturates an area with lethal darts including poison gas. This slaughter is supported by the current administration. The administration has been unqualified U.S. support for the bloody operation in Gaza. The idea that this massive military undertaking is being carried out to stop rockets that have in the space of 11 days killed one single Israeli, or that the IDF is confining itself to destroying tunnels, is ludicrous. The suggestion that Israel is acting to minimize civilian casualties, who make up 80 percent of those killed, with fully a quarter of these being children, is obscene. Recently, Hamas gave some authority in Gaza in PA. At the same time, it seized upon the abduction of three settler youth in the West Bank, who was later found dead, as a pretext for a crackdown on Hamas’s members in the occupied territory, arresting some 600 people and launching a wave of repression in which caused many Palestinians to be killed. It was this violent campaign of collective punishment that provoked the first rockets fired from Gaza. This ground assault continues.
This is a shame. Police brutality is an evil that must be opposed. The chocking was blatantly excessive. Tons of alternatives could have been made to resolve the situation. The cops who did this are sick. Eric kept on saying that he can’t breathe. The cops chocking him should have let him go as a means for them to allow Eric to breathe as a human being. There is camera footage and witnesses that told the truth (on camera) that Eric Garner never assaulted the officers at all. He was talking to the officers. Additionally, his actions never merited that type of response from the police. He was unarmed. It is very tragic that the Brother’s wife, Esaw Garner, was treated with total disrespect in the hospital. The police didn’t even tell her anything initially when she pleaded with the police about what happened to her husband. The NYPD members involved in his death should be ashamed of themselves. Every single one the murderers of Eric Garner should have accountability. Many of the same ones who lecture us on personal responsibility refuse to allow crooked cops to experience their rightful responsibility. Crooked cops don’t respect black life at all. This story once again proves this truism. I hope that justice is done. I saw the video. The witnesses in the video saw how the man could not breathe. There are tons of alternative procedures that the officers could of utilized as a means for them to resolve the situation. Not to mention that the video has shown other cops doing nothing by acting as bystanders. These by standing cops should be ashamed of themselves too, because they could have easily tried to stop the officers from choking the man in an excessive fashion. The man never punched any officer, but the officers threw him aggressively to the ground. I am glad that video footage existed, which showed the entire incident since the NYPD can easily deny that anything excessive have taken place. I feel for the family and friends of the Brother. Police brutality exists in epidemic levels in America. There is no question about that. De Blasio calls himself a real progressive, and then he needs to prove it by utilizing strong leadership about this matter. RIP Eric Garner.
This is a disgrace. The "apology" from Universal was about covering up their own selves and not about promoting some enlightened perspective. The Sande casting call was not only racist and offensive. It described the misogynistic and colorist evil views embraced by the system of white supremacy point blank period. That casting call is very disrespectful to women and humanity in general. Now, it is bigger than Sande Alessi Casting. For generations, corporate power via Hollywood (and the rest of the mainstream entertainment industry) has promoted colorism and cultural exploitation in evil ways. Ironically, Viacom, Universal, and other entities have promoted such evils for years. Viacom have funded shows now that degrade our people in a myriad of ways. Viacom controls VH1 and BET. Enough said. There are many, Real progressive minded black people in LA and worldwide (among both genders) don't believe in misogyny nor colorism. I have mentioned about the role many "gangster" rappers have had on this issue for years (including in other forums before). LA is home to very Strong Brothers and very Strong Sisters. Sande did not promote their superficial and evil casting call alone or in a vacuum at all. Sande received help to advance their evil. The truth is that black is beautiful in many hues, sizes, shapes, personalities, etc. Black people should be treated with dignity and with respect. The mainstream music industry is filled with too many people who focus on materialism, colorism, and misogyny instead of mutual understanding & social enlightenment. People have the right to stand up and condemn the casting call. See, using the freedom of speech to expose evils legitimately is not whining. It is about expressing the truth. Ignorant people (who slander women, who are religious hypocrites, who curse people out for no reason, who issue racist anti-black slurs against their own people, and who are cowards that don't care about black human dignity) will always be refuted by people who love the truth. At the end of the day, real people who love human dignity ought to have their voices heard. Also, another thought came into my mind. In another forum, I have typed about this issue. One very smart Sister (in another forum) wrote about C. Delores Tucker. She, as folks know, led the fight against the degrading of women in the music industry. She was slandered and hated. Now, many people in this generation understand what she was talking about. The fight for respecting the dignity of women is a legitimate fight to pursue. A perverted mindset about women should continue to be opposed and rejected.
By Timothy
There has been the continuation of the Israeli invasion of Gaza. This invasion has caused death and destruction. Tons of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces. Many Israeli soldiers have been killed as well. This or the invasion has been occurred for more than 11 days. Israeli troops and armored columned continued to push into territory. This comes even as the bombardment of Gaza from the air, land, and the sea intensified. Over 300 Palestinians have been killed so far. The wounded is as high as 2,200 human beings. The events in Gaza have been a calculated and savage war crime against a mostly defenseless population. Washington, the EU, and even some Arabic regimes support this action. This lethal terror and collective punishment done by the IDF (or the Israel Defense Forces) in Gaza are abhorrent. These method employed by the IDF are similar to the methods employed by the Nazis in the Warsaw Ghetto. Massive gunboats have been used in Gaza, whose total land size is about the city of the U.S. city of Philadelphia. In an act of psychological terror, Israel dropped leaflets ordering over 100,000 Palestinians in the border areas to flee their homes. The reality, however, is that there is nowhere to hide from the assault. Those remaining in their homes are designated as “terrorists” or “human shields,” who can be killed without compunction. Medics in the town of Beit Hanoun (on the northeast edge of Gaza) said that Friday night an entire family of eight have been killed wen a tank shell demolished their home. It left bodies in the rubble. Emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra identified the victims as the Abu Jurad family, consisting of two men, two women, and four children. The children’s names were Hania, Ahlam, Samih and Musa—two girls and two boys. One of them was a five-month-old baby. UN officials in Gaza reported that there are more than 40,000 Gazans being displaced. They are seeking shelter at UN facilities. Food is running out at these facilities. Gaza hospitals have been repeatedly targeted for shelling and air strikes, which is a crime against humanity. The Al-Quds hospital was struck overnight, according to the Ma’an News Agency. The bombardment ignited a fire that damaged several of the hospital’s departments. Shells also fell on the Beit Hanoun Hospital, damaging its top floors and panicking patients and staff. Tank shells also struck the al-Wafa Hospital in Gaza City. “Israeli tanks are shelling the hospital, they have hit several of the floors, and several nurses have been injured,” the facility’s director, Basman Alashi, told the AFP news agency. “There is no place safe in Gaza,” he added. “If a hospital is not safe, where is?” Many innocent people have been killed, injured, and harmed by the shells. According to health officials, at least 63 Palestinians were killed in Gaza on Friday. During the same period, one Israeli soldier died, apparently the victim of “friendly fire” from an Israeli tank. Israeli forces have been using internationally banned weapons like fletchette bombs, an anti-personnel weapon that saturates an area with lethal darts including poison gas. This slaughter is supported by the current administration. The administration has been unqualified U.S. support for the bloody operation in Gaza. The idea that this massive military undertaking is being carried out to stop rockets that have in the space of 11 days killed one single Israeli, or that the IDF is confining itself to destroying tunnels, is ludicrous. The suggestion that Israel is acting to minimize civilian casualties, who make up 80 percent of those killed, with fully a quarter of these being children, is obscene. Recently, Hamas gave some authority in Gaza in PA. At the same time, it seized upon the abduction of three settler youth in the West Bank, who were later found dead, as a pretext for a crackdown on Hamas’s members in the occupied territory, arresting some 600 people and launching a wave of repression in which at least 10 Palestinians were killed. It was this violent campaign of collective punishment that provoked the first rockets fired from Gaza. This ground assault continues. There has been the continuation of the Israeli invasion of Gaza. This invasion has caused death and destruction. Tons of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces. Many Israeli soldiers have been killed as well. This or the invasion has been occurred for more than 11 days. Israeli troops and armored columned continued to push into territory. This comes even as the bombardment of Gaza from the air, land, and the sea intensified. Over 300 Palestinians have been killed so far. The wounded is as high as 2,200 human beings. The events in Gaza have been a calculated and savage war crime against a mostly defenseless population. Washington, the EU, and even some Arabic regimes support this action. This lethal terror and collective punishment done by the IDF (or the Israel Defense Forces) in Gaza are abhorrent. These method employed by the IDF are similar to the methods employed by the Nazis in the Warsaw Ghetto. Massive gunboats have been used in Gaza, whose total land size is about the city of the U.S. city of Philadelphia. In an act of psychological terror, Israel dropped leaflets ordering over 100,000 Palestinians in the border areas to flee their homes. The reality, however, is that there is nowhere to hide from the assault. Those remaining in their homes are designated as “terrorists” or “human shields,” which can be killed without compunction. Medics in the town of Beit Hanoun (on the northeast edge of Gaza) said that Friday night an entire family of eight has been killed when a tank shell demolished their home. It left bodies in the rubble. Emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra identified the victims as the Abu Jurad family, consisting of two men, two women, and four children. The children’s names were Hania, Ahlam, Samih and Musa—two girls and two boys. One of them was a five-month-old baby. UN officials in Gaza reported that there are more than 40,000 Gazans being displaced. They are seeking shelter at UN facilities. Food is running out at these facilities. Gaza hospitals have been repeatedly targeted for shelling and air strikes, which is a crime against humanity. The Al-Quds hospital was struck overnight, according to the Ma’an News Agency. The bombardment ignited a fire that damaged several of the hospital’s departments. Shells also fell on the Beit Hanoun Hospital, damaging its top floors and panicking patients and staff. Tank shells also struck the al-Wafa Hospital in Gaza City. “Israeli tanks are shelling the hospital, they have hit several of the floors, and several nurses have been injured,” the facility’s director, Basman Alashi, told the AFP news agency. “There is no place safe in Gaza,” he added. “If a hospital is not safe, where is?” Many innocent people have been killed, injured, and harmed by the shells. According to health officials, at least 63 Palestinians were killed in Gaza on Friday. During the same period, one Israeli soldier died, apparently the victim of “friendly fire” from an Israeli tank. Israeli forces have been using internationally banned weapons like fletchette bombs, an anti-personnel weapon that saturates an area with lethal darts including poison gas. This slaughter is supported by the current administration. The administration has been unqualified U.S. support for the bloody operation in Gaza. The idea that this massive military undertaking is being carried out to stop rockets that have in the space of 11 days killed one single Israeli, or that the IDF is confining itself to destroying tunnels, is ludicrous. The suggestion that Israel is acting to minimize civilian casualties, who make up 80 percent of those killed, with fully a quarter of these being children, is obscene. Recently, Hamas gave some authority in Gaza in PA. At the same time, it seized upon the abduction of three settler youth in the West Bank, who was later found dead, as a pretext for a crackdown on Hamas’s members in the occupied territory, arresting some 600 people and launching a wave of repression in which caused many Palestinians to be killed. It was this violent campaign of collective punishment that provoked the first rockets fired from Gaza. This ground assault continues.
This is a shame. Police brutality is an evil that must be opposed. The chocking was blatantly excessive. Tons of alternatives could have been made to resolve the situation. The cops who did this are sick. Eric kept on saying that he can’t breathe. The cops chocking him should have let him go as a means for them to allow Eric to breathe as a human being. There is camera footage and witnesses that told the truth (on camera) that Eric Garner never assaulted the officers at all. He was talking to the officers. Additionally, his actions never merited that type of response from the police. He was unarmed. It is very tragic that the Brother’s wife, Esaw Garner, was treated with total disrespect in the hospital. The police didn’t even tell her anything initially when she pleaded with the police about what happened to her husband. The NYPD members involved in his death should be ashamed of themselves. Every single one the murderers of Eric Garner should have accountability. Many of the same ones who lecture us on personal responsibility refuse to allow crooked cops to experience their rightful responsibility. Crooked cops don’t respect black life at all. This story once again proves this truism. I hope that justice is done. I saw the video. The witnesses in the video saw how the man could not breathe. There are tons of alternative procedures that the officers could of utilized as a means for them to resolve the situation. Not to mention that the video has shown other cops doing nothing by acting as bystanders. These by standing cops should be ashamed of themselves too, because they could have easily tried to stop the officers from choking the man in an excessive fashion. The man never punched any officer, but the officers threw him aggressively to the ground. I am glad that video footage existed, which showed the entire incident since the NYPD can easily deny that anything excessive have taken place. I feel for the family and friends of the Brother. Police brutality exists in epidemic levels in America. There is no question about that. De Blasio calls himself a real progressive, and then he needs to prove it by utilizing strong leadership about this matter. RIP Eric Garner.
This is a disgrace. The "apology" from Universal was about covering up their own selves and not about promoting some enlightened perspective. The Sande casting call was not only racist and offensive. It described the misogynistic and colorist evil views embraced by the system of white supremacy point blank period. That casting call is very disrespectful to women and humanity in general. Now, it is bigger than Sande Alessi Casting. For generations, corporate power via Hollywood (and the rest of the mainstream entertainment industry) has promoted colorism and cultural exploitation in evil ways. Ironically, Viacom, Universal, and other entities have promoted such evils for years. Viacom have funded shows now that degrade our people in a myriad of ways. Viacom controls VH1 and BET. Enough said. There are many, Real progressive minded black people in LA and worldwide (among both genders) don't believe in misogyny nor colorism. I have mentioned about the role many "gangster" rappers have had on this issue for years (including in other forums before). LA is home to very Strong Brothers and very Strong Sisters. Sande did not promote their superficial and evil casting call alone or in a vacuum at all. Sande received help to advance their evil. The truth is that black is beautiful in many hues, sizes, shapes, personalities, etc. Black people should be treated with dignity and with respect. The mainstream music industry is filled with too many people who focus on materialism, colorism, and misogyny instead of mutual understanding & social enlightenment. People have the right to stand up and condemn the casting call. See, using the freedom of speech to expose evils legitimately is not whining. It is about expressing the truth. Ignorant people (who slander women, who are religious hypocrites, who curse people out for no reason, who issue racist anti-black slurs against their own people, and who are cowards that don't care about black human dignity) will always be refuted by people who love the truth. At the end of the day, real people who love human dignity ought to have their voices heard. Also, another thought came into my mind. In another forum, I have typed about this issue. One very smart Sister (in another forum) wrote about C. Delores Tucker. She, as folks know, led the fight against the degrading of women in the music industry. She was slandered and hated. Now, many people in this generation understand what she was talking about. The fight for respecting the dignity of women is a legitimate fight to pursue. A perverted mindset about women should continue to be opposed and rejected.
By Timothy
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