Thursday, February 29, 2024
Wednesday, February 28, 2024
Political News in Late February of 2024.
There is a lot of economic news coming about. Kellogg's raised its prices by 14 percent from Quarter 2 in 2022 to Quarter 2 in 202. Company profits have increased, and the executives shared plans to spend more on stock buybacks and larger dividends. This comes when the CEO of Kellogg recently suggested that Americans struggling with higher food costs should eat cereal for dinner. That is patronizing and disrespectful. It outlines the agenda of corporate monopolization that dominates much of the present economic system of America. This goes on when tax evasion by millionaires and billionaires tops $150 billion a year according to the IRS chief. The CPAC meeting featuring racists, neo-Nazis, and far right extremists show us that the GOP is dominated by the Trump cult. We are clear that our American diversity is part of our strength. Our diversity makes us stronger to promote freedom, democracy, and a sense of purpose to believe in complete justice for all.
Recently, Terrence Bradley, the former law partner and divorce lawyer for Nathan Wade (the special prosecutor Fani Willis hired to lead the Georgia election subversion case against former President Donald Trump). We know of the bigger picture. There is no smoking gun evidence that Fani Willis did overtly massive conflict of interest fraud involving the case. Yet, far-right MAGA extremists constantly try to prevent Trump from being held accountable for Trump's crimes. Trump has already been found liable for multiple crimes after a jury trial. So, he is a convicted criminal already. We have to wait and see if Attorney Fani Willis will be disqualified from the case in Georgia or not. Terrence Bradley said that he didn't know when his former client Nathan Wade's relationship with Fani Wilis started (and he was speculating when he told a defense attorney it started before Willis hired Wade to lead the investigation into Donald Trump and others). Trump's attorney implied that Wade and Willis lied under oath. One lesson here is that black men and black women must be on their grind and make sure that we have our stuff together to combat the extremism of far-right people. These far-right extremists play hardball and will use slander, disrespect, threats, and violence to try to achieve their aim of a fascist, theocratic, and anti-democratic society.
Trump's comments about black people voting for him because of mug shot is not only stereotypical and offensive. That statement mocks the experiences of black people in America and throughout the world. The reality is that there is no moral equivalency of Trump's legal cases and the plight of black people. Donald Trump was accused of many crimes, and the prosecutors have gathered tons of evidence to document his crimes too. He has been convicted now of many violations of the law, but he refuses to accept accountability for his nefarious actions. In contrast, there is sociological evidence of the injustice found in the judicial system against black Americans. Also, black culture is not about mug shots or the glorification of crime. Real black culture relates to resiliency, family, human expression, community, and tons of positive aspects of human living from the music of Ella Fitzgerald to the activism of Ella Baker. The vast majority of black people in America reject Trump's agenda as authoritarian, racist, sexist, and antithetical to democratic principles.
Kenneth Chesebro, the attorney who helped Trump to promote the campaign's fake electors plot in 2020, concealed a secret Twitter account from Michigan prosecutors. He hid dozens of posts that undercut his statements to investigators about his role in the election subversion scheme. Trump is an authoritarian fascist who glorifies violence by saying that the police can rough up suspects and wants people to beat protestors. The situation in America now is as real as it gets. Trump is known for being a convicted money launder, liable for rape of a woman, and just a habitual liar. Danny Wimmer, a spokesman for Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said that his team will look into the Chesebro matter. There are more people in favor of democracy than those who hate democracy. So, we are on the right side of history.
There is an important Supreme Court case on social media. It deals with the First Amendment. The corporate media want nothing more than to promote overt censorship of real news from Operation Phoenix to the evils done by many corporate interests. Likewise, we believe in full transparency on the Internet. The Supreme Court is hearing a case on whether social media entities can restrict Trump from having a platform to show his views. The Supreme Court has shown skepticism about state laws in Texas and Florida designed to stop social media companies from showing conservative views. The truth is that social media companies should be allowed to ban hate speech or slander (which has nothing to do with free speech rights). The problem is that many innocent people (not Trump) have been unjustly censored on the Internet when they presented no slander, no hate speech, and no offensive language. Therefore, there should be a balance where slander is not tolerated in social media, but innocent people shouldn't be unfairly censored if they show speech that isn't derogatory towards anybody.
By Timothy
Monday, February 26, 2024
Nearing March of 2024.
Toronto's culture is filled with diverse, profound excitement, a multicultural ethos, and a powerful sense of history. Toronto has a large immigrant population that brings a great cultural essence to the city too. Many skyscrapers, musicians, parks, zoos, and sports facilities stretch all over Toronto. The city has the largest collection of Victorian-era industrial architecture in North America and the largest urban car-free community in North America. Kensington Market is a multicultural neighborhood in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is a historic site in Toronto. There is the annual Kensington Market Festival of Lights with a parade. There is the Carnival parade in the area with giant puppets, firebreathers, stilt walkers, and samba musicians. It was created by Ida Carnevali in 1987. The Toronto International Film Festival is one of the largest and most prestigious events of its kind in the world. We know about Caribana. This is a Caribbean cultural festival being the largest street festival in North America. Caribana represents a pan-Caribbean Carnival event being frequented by over 1. 3 million visitors every year. The festival's final parade and overall attendance can reach as high as 2 million people. It starts in July. It coincides with the August 1 Emancipation Day that commemorates the emancipation of slaves of African descent. The King and Queen Showcase, King of the Band, J'ouvert, food celebrations, galas, and other components are found in Caribana constantly. It has existed since 1967 as a gift from Canada's Caribbean community. We all salute our Caribbean Brothers and Sisters. Many people have visited Canada too from Malcolm X to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. People have experienced fun in the Beat Shoe Museum, the Aga Khan Museum, and the Hockey Hall of Fame where hockey is a cultural staple in Canada in general. Famous musicians are from Toronto or live in the city like Peaches, Rush, Drake, Jessie Reyez, Deborah Cox, Shawn Mendez, Alessia Cara, and The Weeknd. Art is promoted at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, John Street Round House Institute, TD Gallery of Unit Art, etc. The Toronto Music Garden was designed by musician Yo-Yo Ma as a consultant that has free orchestras in the summer. Many neighborhoods in Toronto are Forest Hill, Rosedale, Moore Park, The Annex, and other locations. The Trillium Park and the Black Creek Pioneer Village are famous parks in Toronto. The Entertainment District has many theater groups, galleries, and other high culture attractions. Punk, rock, and R&B Music (from Glenn Lewis, Melanie Fiona, Daniel Caesar and other people) are found in Toronto. The Toronto Raptors, the Toronto Blue Jays, the Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto FC, and the Toronto Argonauts were some of the professional sports teams in Toronto.
It may sound cliche, but the 2024 Presidential election remains the most important election in human history. Some people are skeptical and mention the lie that voting doesn't matter, or we can't do anything to change things. Over a century ago, my ancestors were slaves in America who were oppressed and got no income. Now, people came together to fight for the banning of legalized slavery in American society by 1865. If voting didn't matter, why are far-right reactionaries passing abhorrent laws censoring black history, harming human rights in general, and restricting voting rights? So, voting does matter as evil people want to further restrict the rights of Americans to vote. We have just five companies dominating over 60 percent of American grocery sales. That is why in 2022, grocery prices were worse than they had in over 4 decades even though inflation is slowing down now. President Joe Biden is not perfect, and I disagree with him on some issues. Yet, he made much better policies than Donald Trump (who made the racist comment that his mug shot and indictments appeal to black voters) by any metric. Biden has promoted student debt forgiveness policies to help many students pay off their student loan debt (i.e. 138 billion dollars of student loan debt were canceled by President Biden). I am fortunate to pay off all of my student loans, but millions of Americans struggle to do so (and they need real assistance), the infrastructure law rebuilt many places in America, investments in HBCUs, and policies that cut childhood poverty in half. This is an unprecedented change since the Great Society programs of the 1960's. Still, many Americans want to follow Donald Trump, because they are in a MAGA cult. This Trump cult is more vicious than the wicked Reaganism agenda was. We live in a new era of time where complex social and foreign policy issues are heavily discussed and debated like the war in the Middle East and the Trump federal trials (after being convicted as being liable for raping a woman). The IRS wants to crack down on corporate jet users who abuse the tax code. Trump's Project 2025 is clear on what the GOP desires including privatizing Medicare too. Therefore, we have to do our part in promoting democracy, justice, and freedom for all.
From 1928 to 1936, Lois Mailou Jones started a new chapter in her longevity. She started to teach people after finishing college. The director of the Boston Museum School refused to hire her for racist reasons. In 1928, she was hired by Charlotte Hawkins Brown after some initial reservations. Later, she founded the art department at Palmer Memorial Institute, a historically black prep school, in Sedalia, North Carolina. As a prep schoolteacher, she coached a basketball team, taught folk dancing, and played the piano for church services. By 1930, she was recruited by James Venon Herring to join the art department at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Jones was a professor of design and watercoloring painting until her retirement in 1977. She worked to prepare her students for a competitive career in the arts by inviting working designers and artists into her classroom for workshops. She was a great mentor and strong advocate for African American art and artists. In the early 1930s, Jones began to seek recognition for her designs and artwork. She began to exhibit her works with the William E. Harmon Foundation with a charcoal drawing of a student at the Palmer Memorial Institute, Negro Youth (1929). In this period, she shifted away from designs and began experimenting with portraiture.
Jones developed as an artist through visits and summers spent in Harlem during the onset of the Harlem Renaissance or New Negro Movement. Aaron Douglas, a Harlem Renaissance artist, influenced her seminal art piece The Ascent of Ethiopia. African design elements can be seen in both Douglas and Jones' paintings. Jones studied actual objects and design elements from Africa. In her works, Negro Youth and Ascent of Ethiopia the influence of African masks is seen in the profiles of the faces. The chiseled structures and shading renderings mimic the three-dimensional masks that Jones studied. Jones would utilize this style throughout her career. During this period, she occasionally collaborated with poet Gertrude P. McBrown; for example, McBrown's poem, "Fire-Flies," appears with an illustration by Jones in the April 1929 issue of the Saturday Evening Quill. In 1937, Jones received a fellowship to study in Paris at the Academie Julian. She produced more than 30 watercolors during her year in France. She made about 40 paintings during her time at the Academie using the en plein air method of painting that she used throughout her career. Two of her paintings were accepted at the annual Salon de Printemps exhibition at the Société des Artists Français for her Parisian debut. Jones loved her time in Paris as she felt fully accepted in society as opposed to the United States at this time. The French were appreciative of paintings and talent. After she was granted an extension of her fellowship to travel to Italy, she returned to Howard University and taught watercolor painting classes.
In 1938, she produced Les Fétiches (1938), an African-inspired oil painting that is owned by the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Jones painted Les Fétiches in a Post-Cubist and Post-Primitive style. Five African masks swirl around the dark canvas. She was able to view and study many different African objects and masks at the Musée de l'Homme and galleries through her fellowship in Paris. In Les Fétiches, masks from Songye Kifwebe and Guru Dan are visible. She worked hard in promoting her painting. By the 1940s, she ended up winning the Robert Woods Bliss Award for this work of art (called Indian Shops....), yet she could not pick up the award herself. Tabary had to mail the award to Jones. Despite these issues, Jones worked harder notwithstanding the racial biases found throughout the country at this time. During that time, the Corcoran Gallery banned African American artists from entering their artworks themselves, so she sent Tabary to enter her painting to circumvent the rule. In 1994, the Corcoran Gallery of Art gave a public apology to Jones at the opening of the exhibition The World of Lois Mailou Jones, 50 years after Jones hid her identity. Jones' Les Fétiches was instrumental in transitioning "Négritude" — a distinctly francophone artistic phenomenon — from the predominantly literary realm into the visual. Her work provided an important visual link to Négritude authors such as Aimé Césaire, Léon Damas, and Léopold Sédar Senghor. She also completed Parisian Beggar Woman with text supplied by Langston Hughes. In 1938, Jones' first solo exhibition was hung in the Whyte Gallery and would later be exhibited at the Howard University Gallery of Art in 1948.
Jones painted "Arreau, Hautes-Pyrenees" in France during one of her many trips to France between the years of 1945-1953 where she shared a summer studio with Celine Marie Tabary in Cabris, France. While in France a part of her inspiration was Tabary, also a painter, whom she worked with for many years. Tabary submitted Jones' paintings for consideration for jury prizes since works by African American artists were not always accepted. Jones traveled extensively with Tabary, including to the south of France. They frequently painted each other. They taught art together in the 1940s. Arreau, Hautes-Pyrenees which is an oil on canvas landscape that stars a hillside in the South of France. The French influence along with post-impressionist influences are highlighted as Jones employees uses rich oranges, yellows, tans complemented with clean blues and delicate greens while remaining tonally warm palette. The geometric houses echo, and asymmetric composition echo the post-impressionist influences on Jones at the time. This influence can be recognized through her landscape and documentary portraits of people and landscapes in France and in America between the years of 1948-1953. Over the course of the next 10 years, Jones exhibited at the Phillips Collection, Seattle Art Museum, National Academy of Design, the Barnett-Aden Gallery, Pennsylvania's Lincoln University, Howard University, galleries in New York, and the Corcoran Gallery of Art. In 1952, the book Loïs Mailou Jones: Peintures 1937–1951 was published, reproducing more than one hundred of her art pieces completed in France. At the Barnett-Aden Gallery, Jones exhibited with a group of prominent black artists, such as Jacob Lawrence and Alma Thomas. These artists and others were known as the "Little Paris Group."
Alain Locke, a philosophy professor at Howard University and founder of the Harlem Renaissance, encouraged Jones to paint her heritage. She painted her striking painting Mob Victim (Meditation) after walking along U St Northwest in Washington, D.C. She saw a man walking and was prompted to ask him to pose in her studio. She wanted to depict a lynching scene. The man had seen a person being lynched before and mimicked the pose that the man held before being lynched. The painting illustrates a contemplation of imminent death that many male African Americans were facing during the 1940s. Other paintings that came out of Locke's encouragement were Dans un Café à Paris (Leigh Whipper), The Janitor, and The Pink Table Cloth. Previously in 1934, Jones met Louis Vergniaud Pierre-Noel, a prominent Haitian artist, while both were students at Columbia University. They corresponded for almost 20 years before marrying in the south of France in 1953. Jones and her husband lived in Washington, D.C., and Haiti. Their frequent trips to Haiti inspired and impacted Jones' art style significantly.
There are a lot of African News going on. Namibia's Justice Minister Yvonne Dausab accused Germany of committing the first genocide of the twentieth century. This happened in real life when Germany brutalized the Herero and Nama people and noted that Namibia knows about occupation, colonialism, systematic discrimination, and apartheid. She wants the International Court of Justice (or ICJ) in The Hague, Netherland to support the human rights of Palestinian people. During the session, Professor Phoebe Okowa, a professor of public international law at the University of London and Namibia's spokesperson, emphasized that racist Israeli tactics in Palestine violate core human rights treaties and international law principles. At the end of the day, we want Israelis and Palestinians to have peace and justice. The UN Court rejected South Africa's request for urgent measures to safeguard Rafah. The attacks and destruction of black monuments in America continue. There has been a vandalism of a Dr. King monument in Denver, and we know about the destruction of the bronze statue of Jackie Robinson in Wichita, Kansas. These racists are vicious, but we will stand up for our human dignity as black human beings. The crisis in Congo with M23 attacking places like Sake and other locations threaten the food supply in the religion. Most of the mainstream media is silent in the crisis of Congo.
The car is a complex machine that we use and need constantly in modern-day society. Men, women, and children have been fans of cars for more than 155 years now. There are tons of parts of a car. Yet, to simplify things, you can divide the components of all cars into major features. At the heart of a car is the engine. That is a major part of any vehicle. The engine has cylinder block houses that have controlled explosions. Pistons are found within the cylinders using piston rings moving them up and down. It generates the energy to promote the combustion procession. This mechanical energy is the driving force that makes the wheels move in a car. There is the crankshaft and the camshaft. The crankshaft is a rotating shaft connected to the pistons that converts the linear piston motion into rotational power, carrying it to the transmission where it can be controlled. The camshaft runs the timing of the engine's valves that handle the inflow of air and fuel plus the outflow of exhaust gases. This makes sure that the care has optimal performance. It’s connected to the crankshaft via a timing belt or chain from its placement in the cylinder head, keeping the two synchronized for reliable performance. Sitting atop the cylinder block, the cylinder head houses intake and exhaust valves. These valves open and close at specific intervals to regulate the flow of air and fuel into the cylinders and the expulsion of exhaust gases, maintaining the delicate balance required for efficient combustion. The intake and exhaust manifolds deal with air and fuel. They help to make sure that the engines have the right air-fuel mixture and expel gas waste efficiently. There are different types of transmission in the car. There is an automatic transmission (complex system of planetary gear sets, hydraulic torque converters, and a series of clutches and bands), manual transmission (with gears, a clutch, and a gear lever which is old school), and continuously variable transmission. There is a driveshaft, clutch and torque converter, ignition system, spark plugs, throttle body, and ignition coils in a car. Cooling and lubrication with the radiator and cooling fans are critical parts of a vehicle. These things help to stop the car from overheating. People check their radiator and coolant levels twice a year. There is the oil pump, oil filter, water pump, hoses, the battery (which helps the car's electrical parts), starter motor, fuses, wiring harness, solenoid, and alternator.
People know about the car's suspension and steering like shocks and struts to keep the vehicle to have comfort and grow stability. Control arms, bushings, power steering pump, rack, and breaking systems (with brake pads, rotors, brake caliper, master cylinder, etc.), brake lines, abs module, and the exhaust system make any car work efficiently. The exhaust system has a muffler and a resonator. Oxygen sensors and wheels (with tire pressure parts) are key entities that we use in a car. The interior (like the headlight, mirrors, handles roof, windshield, hood, license plate, doors, etc.) and exterior parts of a vehicle deal with insurance, money, and other realities that we deal with constantly. How does the car run from the moment of ignition? A car ignition system produces the sparks used to ignite the air/fuel mixture in a petrol engine. It consists of an ignition switch, a battery, an ignition coil, and spark plugs. When the ignition switch is turned on by a key or a button, it activates the voltage from the battery to the ignition coil. The ignition coil transforms the low-voltage electricity into high-voltage electricity, which is sent to the spark plugs. The spark plugs ignite the fuel to make the vehicle run. A truck has massive similarities and differences than a truck. Trucks can haul cargo and trucks have a cargo bed like a flatbed with an open tub (like a pickup truck). Also, some trucks have an enclosed structure made by many materials. There is a physical divider between the passenger cab area and the cargo area. Trucks are much larger than cars, requiring more space to maneuver. People must be more careful driving a truck than a car (especially a smaller car. Yet, people driving a car or truck must follow the rules of the road regardless). Trucks can be very beneficial to tow more weight than a truck. Trucks can have a better fuel economy than cars.
Besides steam- and diesel-powered locomotives, many modern trains operate solely on electrical power. They get the electricity from a third rail, or electrical line, along the track. Transformers transfer the voltage from the lines and the electrical current drives the motors (AC or DC) on the wheels. Many of the parts of a train are the radiator, the radiator fan, the sandbox, the air compressor, the truck frame, the fuel tank, the air reservoirs, the main alternator, the electronic controls, the cab, the traction motor, the pinion and gear, the control stand, the batteries, the air intakes, the rectifiers/inverters, the headlight, the suspension track, the passenger locations, the auxiliary alternative, the drive shaft, the gear box, and the turbo charger.
Nearing Spring, we see a new era in our history. We experience the middle phase of the 2024 Presidential election filled with President Biden, Trump, Haley, and third-party candidates. Along with that, the conflict in the Middle East continues with protesters and other activists wanting an eliminated ceasefire. Now, a water crisis is happening in Mexico City with about 22 million people. Many people suffer from low rainfall, longer dry periods, and high temperatures with more demand. Many neighborhoods lack water for weeks. About 60 percent of Mexico City's water comes from its underground aquifer which has been over-extracted. There is the conflict in Ukraine lasting for over 3 years now. Zelensky warns that millions of people will be killed in Ukraine without U.S. aid to Kjiv. Ukrainian troops' deaths reach at least 31,000 human beings. It is clear, especially after the death of Navalny, to condemn Putin's cruel aggression against a sovereign nation. We found out that Alexander Smirnov is an accused Russian agent who promoted the lie against Biden and his son. Putin has committed war crimes against Ukraine's apartments, schools, stores, and other civilian locations. We see another new era of space exploration as the U.S. lunar probe Ulysses has successfully landed on the Moon for the first time in 52 years after Apollo 17. The moon mission of Artemis plans to send humans on the Moon by 2026. Former NRA leader Wayne LaPierre has been found guilty of financial corruption. Therefore, we realize that we live in extraordinary times.
We, as human beings, have existed in the world for thousands of years. We have existed as icons of scholarship, musicians, athletes, teachers, judges, family members, and other contributors to society. Throughout the millennia of human history, we have seen music. Music is a powerful invention that has inspired many human souls, promoted joy plus happiness, and existed in multifaceted forms. In our time, musical education has been promoted constantly among the youth. There are plenty of studies documenting how music can increase intellectual strength, calm human emotions, and develop creativity that makes the human experience more positive results. There is always a debate in music too. The truth is not in the two extreme views of all music being evil and the other extreme saying that music that promotes evil must be glorified. The truth is that music that promotes honor, joy, love, and respect should be cherished, and music that promotes overt evil must not be respected. As a child, I remember listening to diverse music from The Temptations, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, and so many other talented people. Modern musical culture in America spread into jazz, the blues, rock, R&B, gospel, classical music, pop music, country music, and other forms of human expression. All of these genres indeed helped to shape the modern world, especially after the end of World War II. With great power comes great responsibility. Many people have been rich in material wealth from musical careers, but their souls aren't happy for various reasons. Many people use dangerous drugs in a hazardous fashion and do other reckless actions to try to compensate for their unhappiness. That is why some working-class people with family, friends, and joy have more happiness than a lonely, insecure super wealthy person. It's a new time in 2024, and we should fairly critique music to improve society as a whole.
By Timothy
Sunday, February 25, 2024
Friday, February 23, 2024
End of the Week Commentaries about Life.
New York Attorney General Letitia James is prepared to seize Trump's assets after the fraud ruling if Trump refuses to pay the fine and accepts accountability. We know that one informant admitted being a Russian agent. Russian intelligence tried to interfere with the 2016 and the 2020 elections. The GOP's anti-Biden source is linked to Russian intelligence. When Tucker Carlson covers for Vladimir Putin, it should make us clear that Putin is an autocrat who promotes disinformation, lies, and suppression of democratic rights in Russia. It is not just many MAGA extremists supporting Putin. Many fake leftists support Putin in claiming that he is anti-imperialist and just wants peaceful coexistence in the world. That is a lie. Putin is an imperialist who invaded sovereign nations unjustly, and he desires massive chaos to grow his power. Putin won't even allow Navalny's body to see him by his own mother and wife.
The massive AT&T network outrage is really serious. It has lasted for many hours. Many customers couldn't place calls, text, or get to the Internet. AT&T released a statement to apologize for the inconvenience. Later, the Federal Communications Commission confirmed that the outage was widespread across America. The White House said that federal agencies are in touch with AT&T about the network outages to find the answers on how it came about. Many people don't know how the outages transpired in the first place. Verizon and T-Mobile reported some network outages but not as widespread as AT&T service outrages. The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI are researching the issue to find a way to find the origin of the crisis.
Some sad news is that Wendy Williams has been diagnosed with aphasia and frontotemporal dementia. This was shown by the representatives for Williams. She has struggled with Graves' Disease and Lymphedema. She received the diagnoses of aphasia and dementia in 2023. Wendy Williams has been on television and radio for more than 3 decades showing information about celebrity culture, especially about hip-hop culture (as Wendy Williams would regularly hang out with hip-hop artists all of the time in New York City and nationwide). She has been controversial. Many of the words that she has shown on her radio show are things that we say in private about celebrities. Her Wendy Williams TV show has lasted for years outlining interviews, fashion advice, and other forms of discussion about the complicated 21st century world. Some of her words have been uplifting and some of her words haven't. Yet, we believe in compassion and empathy as human beings. Sadly, Wendy Williams is suffering physical and emotional pain. We are reminded that we ought to respect each other and hope for the best for fellow human beings. Regardless, we hope that Wendy Williams gets adequate care and continues to live the best life possible.
My late first cousin was Elder Andrew Columbus Peeples Sr., whose descendants heavily live in the Peninsula of Virginia in the 757 (I'm from the 757, so the Peninsula refers to Hampton and Newport News, Virginia). The following information is new to me, and I haven't heard of the following information until recently on February 22, 2024. Many of my relatives are related to the Peeples family like my grandmother Fannie Peeples. Elder Andrew Columbus Peeples Sr. lived from December 7, 1929, to September 25, 2017. His parents were Eddie Mark Peeples (1889-1949) and Glennie H. Peeples (1900-1946). Eddie Mark Peeples's parents were my 2nd great grandparents of Charles Peeples (1855-1922) and Fannie Fronianna Susanna Virginia Brown (1857-1946). Charles Peeples's mother was Annie Peeples. Andrew Peeples Sr. married Vivian Louise Summerville on April 14, 1956, in Dinwiddie, Virginia. Their children are Alton Taylor (1953-1979), Tammie Faye Peeples (1964), Wanda S. Smith, Maxine Taylor, Nisheeta Peeples (b. 1967), Scarlette Allen (b. 1965), Sonja Goldstone (b. 1961), Jo Anne Mckinnon (b. 1955), Andrew Peeples Jr. (1959-2019), Everette Peeples (b. 1962), and Barry Columbus Peeples (b. 1955). My 2nd cousin Andrew Peeples Jr. (1959-2019) married Meisha Peeples and they had many children who are: Chaunci Xiovhan Peeples (b. 1986), Cornelius Walter Grover-Peeples (b. 1987), and Kenwon Roman Peeples (b. 1981). Andrew Peeples's four stepchildren are Terranette Hargraves, Taconna Boswell, Tavious Boswell, and Christopher Boswell. Andrew Peeples Jr. was born in Newport News, Virginia, and attended Menchville High School in the same city. He joined the United States Army and was part of the Zion of Joy Church of Deliverance (in Newport News, Virginia playing the drums, studying the Bible, and listening to gospel music). My 2nd cousin Everette Lee Peeples (b. 1962) married Nedra Marie Davis (b. 1966) on April 1, 1993, in Newport News, Virginia. Their children (or my 3rd cousins) are: Jamari Peeples (b. 1991), Christal Peeples (b. 1993), Malik Jarrell Peeples (1994-2009), Jameal Peeples (b. 1999), Maya Leigh Peeples (b. 1999), and Trey Trey. Nedra Marie Davis's other children are Kanesha Kelley Davis, TaRonda Davis, Ashley Davis, and Legela Davis. My 2nd cousin Jo Anne McKinnon (b. 1955) has a daughter named Shawynette Jycinda Peeples (b. 1976). Shawynette Jycinda Peeples married Edward Lewis Clements Junior (1979-2007). Their children are Alon Damier Clement (b. 1999), Teshawn McKinnon (b. 1996), and Jabree Clements. Andrew Peeples Sr. attended the Southampton County Public School system in Boykins, Virginia. He served in the United States Army for three years until he drove long-distance trucks for AW Temple for 10 years. He worked for the Newport News Shipbuilding business location too. He ministered the Gospel to human beings. He has 44 grandchildren, 54 great-grandchildren, and 1 great-great-grandchild. His wife Vivian M. Peeples was born in Littleton, North Carolina, and graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in Norfolk, Virginia. He taught students as a teacher, was the 2nd African American woman to join the Newport News Sheriff Department and formed a Childcare Center. Andrew and Vivian Peeples have been married for decades, and their love was very glorious.
Some sad news is that heroic activist Hydeia Broadbent passed away from natural causes on February 20, 2024. We know her when she was a child during the 1990's to stand up for her human dignity. I remember during the 1980's and 1990's, intolerant, narrow-minded people stereotyped, slandered, and showed hatred of people with HIV/AIDS. HIV/AIDS is a disease that doesn't discriminate, and it shouldn't be used as an excuse to show prejudice or bigotry against another human being regardless of background. All people are created equal and are entitled to justice without exception. Hydeia Broadbent talked on Oprah in 1996 to tell the world her story. She worked with Magic Johnson to educate people on HIV/AIDS, raise awareness, and fight discrimination against those who have HIV/AIDS. She won at life against the naysayers who said that she would pass away at 5. She passed away at 39 being a beacon of light and hope plus wisdom for so many human beings.
Rest in Power Sister Hydeia Broadbent.
By Timothy
Thursday, February 22, 2024
Wednesday, February 21, 2024
Late February 2024 News.
The South Carolina primary is coming up soon. Nikki Haley of South Carolina promises to stay in the race until the last person votes. The Republican Presidential candidate Nikki Haley has increasingly criticized Donald Trump on his age, policies, views on foreign policy, and leadership qualities. She wants to continue campaigning across America as she stated in a speech at Greenville, South Carolina. Super Tuesday will exist on March 5, 2024, when multiple states have their GOP primaries. South Carolina residents will vote on Saturday for the winner of the GOP primary. Nikki Haley lost to Trump in the New Hampshire primary by 11 points. Polls have consistently shown that Trump has a large lead over Nikki Haley in the South Carolina race. Haley wants to be the alternative to Trump and Biden. The issue with Haley is that she embraces far-right extremist views without the bombastic rhetoric of Trump. Haley said the lie that America was never a racist nation. Haley is known for her ageist and ableist prejudice rhetoric too. Therefore, Haley and Trump are wrong on many political issues, and that is truly self-evident.
After Navalny's death, Russia remains a place where the rule of law and democracy don't exist because the tyrant Putin brutally controls Russia. Now, hundreds of Russian people have been arrested or detained in Russia for just peacefully protesting. Innocent journalists and dissidents are imprisoned in Russian jails to this very day. Recently, an American journalist was arrested in Russia being charged with treason. The journalist's family denies that charge. Navalny wife's seeks justice for how her husband died. Now, I don't agree with all of Navalny's political views, but he doesn't deserve death. Now, Trump supporters have threatened political leaders and other people. Many people like Liz Cheney said that many people voted for not impeaching Trump for being scared for their lives.
There is a lot of news coming about. Biden wants to pass new sanctions against Russia after the death of Navalny in prison. Russian troops have advanced into the eastern town of Avdiivka after Ukrainian forces withdrew. President Biden blames House Republicans for the Russian forces taking control of Avdiivka. Navalny's mother is begging Putin to allow her to see the body of her son. The first group of Ukrainian pilots to complete U.S. F-16 training by the summer of this year. The Estonian government said that officials arrested many people with ties to a Russian-directed influence operation. These are 10 suspects who are accused of acting on behalf of a Russian special service. Estonia has been a member of NATO since 2004. We know now about the informant being charged in America who admitted having worked for Russian interests. Trump allies want to infuse theocracy in society according to Politico.
Addressing poverty is the prerequisite in making sure that our society reaches its height of democracy, equality, and justice. The MAGA agenda is overt in what it desires. Trump and his supporters desire immunity for police officers, imposing theocratic, bigoted policies in America (in contradiction to true Christian teachings), supporting autocrats and dictators overseas, whitewashing black history, and other evils. That is why more poor and working-class people are uniting for voting rights, universal health care, and ecological justice. In other words, trickle-down economics and tax cuts for the super-wealthy will not solve economic complications. Structural changes, investments for the poor and working class, living wages, labor rights protections, and other actions will conclusively address poverty. Voting rights should be strengthened not declined as found in many states of America, not just in the South. This struggle is global as we reject Hamas's terrorist actions against Jewish Israeli people and the far-right government of Netanyahu promoting war crimes, apartheid, and other injustices against Palestinian people. We want Israeli people and Palestinian people to live in peace and justice too.
Monday, February 19, 2024
Updates in Late February 2024.
Toronto grew to be bounded by the Humber River to the west and the Don River to the east by 1900. Many rivers and creeks in downtown were transformed into culverts and sewers. Toronto saw medical schools like Trinity Medical School and the Toronto School of Medicine (TSM). TSM became the medical faculty of the University of Toronto. There were emergency telephone call boxes linked to a central dispatcher. There were bicycles, motorcycles, and automobiles that shifted the police from walking the beat to fast reaction to reported incidents, including handling automobile traffic. By the 20th century, Toronto's business center moved west of the historic Town of York site. A new downtown to the west of Younge and King Streets was built. After the new downtown was heavily destroyed in the Great Toronto Fire of 1904, it was quickly rebuilt with new taller buildings. There was a single Union Station built. There was the construction of the Prince Edward Viaduct and the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) subway. Businesses grow. In 1923, two researchers at the University of Toronto, J.J.R. Macleod (1876–1935) and Frederick Banting (1891–1941), shared the Nobel Prize in Medicine for their 1921 discovery of insulin, putting Toronto on the world map of advanced science.
From 1926 to 1936, Toronto lawyer, financier, and practical joker Charles Vance Millar created the Great Stork Derby, a contest in which women had to give birth to the most babies within a ten-year period after his death, to qualify for an unusual bequest in his will for a residue of his significant estate. During World War II, Toronto became a major center for Canada's military. The Exhibition Place was taken over for military training and deployment. The Island Airport was taken over for training of the Royal Norwegian Air Force and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Civilian manufacturing companies, such as Inglis, were converted to wartime production of armaments. At Malton Airport and Downsview Airport, new aviation factories built many fighters and bombers to be used in Europe. After World War II, a continuous influx of newcomers from around the world and Canadians from Atlantic Canada contributed to the growth of Toronto. The large numbers of new Canadians helped Toronto's population swell to over one million by 1951, and double again to over two million, by 1971. The demographics of Toronto changed as a result also, as many immigrants were from countries other than the United Kingdom. The ethnic diversity grew and saw the development of enclaves such as Little Italy, Little Portugal, and two new Chinatowns. In 1967, the first "Caribana" festival was held celebrating the culture of the West Indies.
The provincial government created the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto, a metropolitan government that incorporated numerous local municipalities in 1954. The Metro Toronto government took over the construction and maintenance of region-wide infrastructure, building water treatment plants, roads, public transit, and expressways, to facilitate the growth of the suburbs. In 1954, Hurricane Hazel swept through Toronto, causing significant flooding; 81 people were killed. As a result, building on floodplains was banned, new flood control works such as dams and flood channels were built, and the lands of floodplains were cleared of buildings, and conserved as parklands and conservation areas.
In 1954, the original stretch of the subway was completed from Union to Eglinton stations on the Yonge line (later numbered as Line 1). This was followed by the construction of the Bloor-Danforth and University Avenue subways, connecting the core to the suburbs to the east and west. The Metro Government built the Gardiner Expressway and the DVP expressways in the late 1950s and early 1960s but plans to build a large network of expressways throughout the city died in 1971 with the cancellation of the Spadina Expressway. The new "urban renewal" movement made its influence felt in Toronto. Large areas, deemed "slums", were cleared. This included the areas of Regent Park, Lawrence Heights, and Alexandria Park. The streets and small homes were replaced by mega-blocks with limited streets and apartment buildings. The experiment in social housing would improve the number of affordable units available, at the expense of a large increase in the budgets of Metro and Toronto to maintain the buildings. By the 2000s, Toronto would be in serious arrears on maintenance, and in the 2000s, Toronto started to dismantle the large projects and replace them with designs more resembling regular neighborhoods.
During the 1970s, the population of Toronto continued to grow and surpassed that of Montreal. In 1971 the populations of the respective Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) for Toronto and Montreal stood at 2.7 million and 2.6 million. By 1981, Toronto had surpassed Montreal with a population of 3 million versus 2.8 million for Montreal. Factors for the growth of Toronto over Montreal included strong immigration, increasingly by Asians and people of African descent, the increasing size of the auto industry in Southern Ontario, due to the signing of the Auto Pact with the US in 1965, a calmer political environment (Quebec experienced two referendums on separation during these years, one in 1980 and the other in 1995), and lower personal income taxes than in Quebec. By the 1970's, there were more institutions built like new Toronto City Hall was opened; the Eaton Centre shopping and office complex; four new bank towers were built at the intersection of Bay and King Streets, the "MINT corners" and new towers along University Avenue. The new "urban renewal" movement made its influence felt in Toronto. Large areas, deemed "slums", were cleared. This included the areas of Regent Park, Lawrence Heights, and Alexandria Park. The streets and small homes were replaced by mega-blocks with limited streets and apartment buildings. The experiment in social housing would improve the number of affordable units available, at the expense of a large increase in the budgets of Metro and Toronto to maintain the buildings. By the 2000s, Toronto would be in serious arrears on maintenance, and in the 2000s, Toronto has started to dismantle the large projects and replace them with designs more resembling regular neighborhoods.
Toronto had been the junior partner in Canadian business to Montreal historically. This changed as Toronto grew rapidly after World War II. Another factor was the growing nationalist movement in Quebec, particularly with the success of the Parti Québécois in 1976, which systematically alienated Anglophone businesses. By 1995, Toronto controlled 48% of Canada's financial assets and 44% of the non-financial corporate assets, compared to 28% and 22% by Montreal. In the 1990s, Toronto was affected by the country-wide recession. As well, the senior-level governments of Canada and Ontario downloaded the delivery of services. The Ontario government transferred a section of the Queen Elizabeth Way to the Metro Gardiner Expressway, canceled the Eglinton subway line, and trimmed transit, housing, and welfare subsidies. The Canadian government formed independent agencies to manage the Toronto International Airport and the Toronto Harbour; the latter particularly controversial to Toronto as Toronto City Council wanted to take over the harbor as part of waterfront revitalization efforts. As well, the Canadian government eliminated its public housing programs. These changes would lead to budget crises for the Toronto government of the 2000s.
On January 1, 1998, Toronto was greatly enlarged, not through traditional annexations, but as an amalgamation of the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto and its six lower-tier constituent municipalities; East York, Etobicoke, North York, Scarborough, York, and the original city itself. They were dissolved by an act of the Government of Ontario and formed into a single-tier City of Toronto (colloquially dubbed the "megacity") replacing all six governments.
The merger was proposed as a cost-saving measure by the Progressive Conservative provincial government under Mike Harris. The announcement touched off vociferous public objections. In March 1997, a referendum in all six municipalities produced a vote of more than 3:1 against amalgamation. However, as the referendum had little to no legal effect, the Harris government could thus legally ignore the results of the referendum and did so in April when it tabled the City of Toronto Act. Both opposition parties held a filibuster in the provincial legislature, proposing more than 12,000 amendments that allowed residents on streets of the proposed megacity take part in public hearings on the merger and adding historical designations to the streets. This only delayed the bill's inevitable passage, given the PCO's majority.
North York mayor Mel Lastman became the first "megacity" mayor, and the 62nd Mayor of Toronto, with his electoral victory. Lastman gained national attention after multiple snowstorms, including the January Blizzard of 1999, dumped 118 cm of snow and effectively immobilized the city He called in the Canadian Army to aid snow removal by use of their equipment to augment police and emergency services. The move was ridiculed by some in other parts of the country, fueled in part by what was perceived as a frivolous use of resources. This only delayed the bill's inevitable passage, given the PCO's majority.
According to 2004 United Nations report, Toronto has the second-highest proportion of immigrants in the world, after Miami, Florida. Almost half of Toronto's residents were born outside Canada. The resulting cultural diversity is reflected in the numerous ethnic neighborhoods of the city. The proliferation of shops and restaurants derived from cultures around the world makes the city one of the most exciting places in the world to visit. Moreover, the relative tranquility that mediates between such diverse populations is a testament to the perceived tolerant character of Canadian society. Official photo of world leaders at the 2010 G20 Toronto summit. Toronto hosted the G20 summit on June 26–27, 2010, but it was not without protests. The protests were met with one of the most expensive temporary security operations seen in Canada and resulted in the largest mass arrests in Canadian history. The city continues to grow and attract immigrants. A study by Toronto Metropolitan University showed that Toronto was the fastest-growing city in North America. The city added 77,435 people between July 2017 and July 2018. The Toronto metropolitan area was the second-fastest-growing metropolitan area in North America, adding 125,298 persons, compared to 131,767 in Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington in Texas. The large growth in the Toronto metropolitan area is attributed to international migration to Toronto. Is their racism and oppression in Toronto? Yes. The common myth is that Canada has no racism. Racism and all forms of oppression in general exist worldwide. On March 23, 2020, a state of emergency was declared in Toronto by Mayor John Tory, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. This came six days after Ontario Premier Doug Ford declared a state of emergency in the province, which included the prohibition of all public events of over 50 people (later reduced to 5 people on March 28), closure of bars and restaurants (with the exception that restaurants may continue to provide takeout and delivery services) as well as libraries, theatres, cinemas, schools, and daycares.
Opposition leader Alexei Navalny died in prison. It is a fact that Navalny survived many assassination attempts. It is clear that we must know all of the facts, but blood is on Putin's hands directly and indirectly. Putin is the one who is a dictator, who is a murderer, who controls the prison system that once housed Navalny, and who contradicts the Christian faith with his deeds. Putin is a disgrace to the Russian people who desire freedom and justice. Ukraine is fighting for its survival in self-defense and many far-right people and some phony leftists support Putin. A dictator like Putin is supported and respected by Tucker Carlson and others. Putin suppresses dissent and protest in Russia, restricts religious liberty rights, and has been involved in suppressing independent media in Russia for years. More than 400 people have been detained across Russia for attending vigils and rallies for Navalny. This is fascism from Putin. It shows that Putin doesn't care about the Russian people or human freedom. Putin only cares about Putin. There is footage of the arrests at St. Petersburg, and we still don't know how Navalny died. Many people blame Russia for his death. We need to make a distinction between freedom-loving Russian people and Putin including his puppets who promote imperialism, suppression of democracy, and totalitarianism in Russia. Now, it is important to note that Navalny is not a perfect person, and I don't agree with him on many issues. Navalny doesn't deserve to die in that fashion, but it is important to disagree with some of his views when he's wrong too. Navalny was part of the far right when he came into politics by being part of the free market Yabloko Party and its Union of Right Forces in 2000. He co-founded the anti-immigrant group called the National Russian Liberation Movement. In 2021, Amnesty International temporarily stripped Navalny of the designation of "prisoner of conscience" for him advocating racial killings of people from Central Asia and the Caucasus, whom he used the racist slur to call them "cockroaches." So, Navalny was part of the capitalist oligarchy who wanted to ally more with America for political purposes. Therefore, I don't agree with Navalny's punishment in prison that led to his death (and I don't agree with the assassination attempts against him), but I disagree with his political views. MAGA extremists are heavily silent on Navalny either way because many of them support the tyrant of Putin. The solution in Russia is not to make Russia a puppet state of Western imperialism. It is not to allow Russia to invade all of Europe. Russia should be free from Putin to be truly an independent nation along with Ukraine being free from Russian invasion too. That is the wise independent policy that we all must embrace.
Now, it is time to be more in-depth about this story. The Millie Woodson Turner Home site was owned by ancestors almost 200 years ago and is found in a 1.8-acre land area near the areas of Capron and Courtland, Southampton County, Virginia. It was a farmstead lived by African Americans and Nottoway tribal members from 1852 to 1953. The land was part of the Nottoway tribal reservation land formed during the colonial era after the Iroquoian-speaking Nottoway people made a treaty with the officials of the English crown in 1714 after the Tuscarora War. As stipulated in these treaties, the Nottoway lands were surveyed and two reservations were established around their Native American towns, in the landscape of what is today, Southampton County. Later, the reservations were divided among the resident Nottoway human beings from around 1830 to 1880, and “allotment” farms of extended Native families were developed as private property homesteads.
After a 1953 chancery court-ordered auction of the land, the site left possession of Nottoway descendants, meaning before then the Millie Woodson-Turner Home Site had an uninterrupted indigenous tenancy, making it the only Iroquoian reservation site documented (to date) in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Many researchers found artifacts on the land. VDHR chief curator Laura Galke analyzed artifacts found from the Millie Woodson-Turner Home Site. The land is near agricultural land (filled with crops like corn, soybean, cotton, peanuts, and small grain). It has trees and other vegetation. My ancestors lived in the land from 1852 to 1952 being farmers, workers, and family members. Archaeologists and researchers found a chimney all on the property. My ancestor Millie Woodson was born in ca. 1831 and her grandmother was the Nottoway human being Winifred Woodson-Williams. Millie's mother was Patsy Woodson. Millie applied for and received her allotment of the land in 1852-1853 by order of Virginia's General Assembly. Close to the American Civil War, Millie Woodson built a frame cottage on the land. Many of her relatives had households around the land like the families of Artis, Bozeman, Crocker, Scholar, and Turner (who were Native Americans and African Americans). Millie married an African American freeman named Morefield Hurst, and they keep a small farm on the land raising 10 children. Later, Millie Woodson Turner's daughter Susanna Turner (b. 1865) controlled the farm's day-to-day operations. Susanna Turner loved to make apple turnovers. Susanna Turner married Rev. James Thompson Claud (her mother was my 4th great-grandmother and former slave Sarah Claud). James Thompson Claud was a day laborer and farmer growing corn, peas, and potatoes, and he raised pigs. Other of the Nottoway's tribal land was divided among Milie's siblings and their cousins like Edwin D. Turner Sr. By 1900, Susanna Claud’s family owned several tracts in the neighborhood. William Turner, Susanna’s brother, neighbored the allotment home site. He, along with his wife Romine and eight children, looked after his elderly parents, Millie Woodson-Turner and Morefield Hurst, until they died in the 1910s. Susanna Claud continued on the family farm, with assistance from her adult male children and her son‐in‐law. Susanna’s husband James Thompson Claude died in 1926, and through the 1920s and 1930s, Susanna’s children became more engaged in farming and managing family affairs. Many children and grandchildren of Millie Woodson Turner moved from Southampton County, Virginia to work in the urban centers of Norfolk, Virginia, Portsmouth, Virginia, and other cities. Some stayed in Southampton County to farm cotton and peanuts like Arthur Claud, Joshua Claud, and Nannie Claud Nickens. By the mid-1940's, my 3rd great grandmother Susanna Turner became sick and was taken care of by her son and my 2nd great-grandfather Arthur Claud across the Nottoway River. Mysteriously, the old family house was burned to the ground. The property was soon sold for debt and unpaid taxes. Susanna Turner Claud, the daughter of Millie Woodson-Turner, passed away in 1949. In 1952, one of Notttoway headman Edwin D. Turner’s granddaughters, Rosa Ellen Sykes, sold her life interests in two Indian Town Road reservation allotment tracts to her daughter. Another relative contested the transfer and, in 1953, a chancery court ordered the property be auctioned, and the monies arising from the sale divided in proportion to the descendants from the original allottee. As Edwin Turner, Jr. had married Mattie Claud (daughter of Susanna Turner Claud), their children and descendants were identified in the suit. So, William Turner and Bessire Turner (Harris), who were my cousins, lived with Susanna Turner when their parents moved to Portsmouth. They were viewed as interested parties. The court traced the Nottoway descendants in Southampton, as well as Susanna’s grandchildren and great-grandchildren in Philadelphia, for the monetary divisions from the auction. Today, the site of the Woodson-Turner reservation allotment is archaeological, which includes the remains of several reservation homesteads. Now, you know the story about my ancestors and their land in Southampton County, Virginia.
Also, it is important to salute the African American contributions to the world along with the contributions of all people in the black African Diaspora too. Our black people have been through a lot to be black inventors, scholars, athletes, musicians, judges, lawyers, teachers, authors, directors, and other legendary, iconic human beings. We stand on the foundation that our black ancestors built and without us black people, no human alive would be born on this Earth. Therefore, the principle of Black being always Beautiful is the truth that I will always embrace forever and ever. When we praise our accomplishments as black history, we don't advocate hatred of other people. What we will do is we won't view ourselves as inferior though. We are blessed, gifted, smart, and beautiful black people with strength, dignity, and creativity by birth. Being black is a joy, and I honor my black African heritage always forever and ever.
Sister Danai Gurira she is 46 years old. She was born in Grinnell, Iowa to Josephine Gurira, a college librarian, and Roger Gurira, a tenured professor in the Department of Chemistry at Grinnell College. Both parents later joined the staff of the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. She was born to Zimbabwean parents. She is the youngest of four siblings who are Shingai, Choni, and Tare. Gurira lived in Grinnell until December 1983. This was the time when she lived in the capital of Zimbabwe Harare. She attended high school at Dominican Convent High School. Then, she studied at Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology. Gurira earned a Master of Fien Arts in acting from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. Gurira taught playwriting and acting in Liberia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. She performed in the production of Ntozake Shange's play "For Colored Girls Wo Have Considered Suicide/ When the The Rainbow is Enuf." Gurira has been in theater plays for years. She is also an expert playwright who has been commissioned by Yale Repertory Theater, Center Theater Group, Playwrights Horizons, and the Royal Court. Gurira's play Eclipsed in 2015 was about the Liberian civil war with Lupita Nyong'o. Gurira has been on TV shows like Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Treme from HBO, and The Walking Dead. She played Afeni Shakur in the film All Eyez on Me about Tupac Shakur's life. She was in Black Panther, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Avengers: Endgame, and other films. She has helped victims of Hurricane Katrina, she took up against HIV/AIDS in Africa plus worldwide, and she endorses gender equality plus women's rights. Gurira is multilingual and can speak French, Shona, basic Xhosa, and English. She lives in Los Angeles and spends time in New York City being a Christian.
Ory Okolloh is a Kenyan activist, lawyer, and blogger. She is the Director of Investments at Omidyar Network. She was formerly the Policy for Policy Manager for Africa with Google. In 2007, Okolloh co-created Ushahidi (which is an open-source software application to collate and map data). Ushahidi is the Swahili word for testimony, closely related to the word of shahidi meaning witness. She earned an undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Pittsburgh and graduated from Harvard Law School in 2005. She promoted the parliamentary watchdog site Mzalendo to increase government accountability by systematically recording bills, speeches, MPs, standing orders, etc. She promotes lower Internet access costs and desires to improve Kenya in many ways.
By Timothy
Friday, February 16, 2024
The End of the Week Updates.
We are clear that the Republican Party is in a MAGA cult. The Republican Trump front-runner faces 91 felony charges in 4 separate cases, on counts ranging from violations of the Espionage Act to racketeering. One jury has already ruled that Trump committed sexual assault. Still, you have millions of people in America supporting Trump unconditionally which is disgraceful. Their justifications for supporting a criminal are diverse, but they are unified in their hatred of progressive values. The GOP leadership can't claim to be a party of morality or "law and order." I believe in law and justice instead. We know about how many large grocery chains and many giant corporations are using inflation as a means to excuse their jacking up prices and increase their profits. That is why research proves that corporate profits drove 53% of all inflation during the 2nd and 3rd quarters of 2023.
Some breaking news is that there was a shooting at Kansas City, Missouri at the end of the Kansas City Chiefs parade (at the West side of Union Station) where there was the celebration of their victory. One person was killed and at least 14 people were injured. Once again, we know the solution to this problem. We need a national gun control legislation program to address the massive epidemic of gun violence in America. There is nothing wrong with thoughts and prayers. Also, prayer must be supplemented with action in addressing the idol worship of guns in American society. Some people care more for a gun than innocent human life. Some people care more for a gun than saving a life. Some people disgracefully care more for gun idol worship than making gun regulations and other solutions to address tragedies. A celebration turned into a shooting is an occurrence that we should never stand for. Authorities and people who are involved in medical services help to save lives. Their sacrifice should be acknowledged fully. Missouri is a state with little to no gun regulations and heavily armed police, but tragedies like this still happen. This shows me that massive guns in the hands of people don't necessarily end mass shootings. Only gun regulation in law and in action will stop this madness. Three suspects are in custody. We should be angry at the status quo when men, women, and children can't celebrate a sports victory without violence or shooting.
Fulton DA Fani Willis defends her romantic relationship with the prosecutor in the Trump case. Work-related romances are always complicated in our generation (work-related romances among consenting single adults aren't immoral per se), and the best advice is to make sure that your romance doesn't violate conflicts of interest or legal rules in the job. Fani Willis denies all allegations of corruption and impropriety. Fani Willis is literally fighting for her legal career. Trump is seeking vengeance, and his hatred of her is not just about racism and sexism. Trump is jealous that a qualified black woman is bringing charges against him for his misconduct involving Georgia election procedures. The hearing will deal with financial issues and other events that will be evaluated thoroughly. Regardless of what the truth is, we wish all the best to Fani Willis. The legal system will determine if she will be disqualified from being in the Georgia election case or not. Fani Willis defends her conduct in the Trump criminal case.
Special Counsel Jack Smith has filed the Supreme Court response to the Trump immunity filing. Jack Smith wants the trial to occur as soon as possible. Trump desires a permanent delay of the trial, so he won't be charged with anything. Jack Smith has filed information in 39 pages. Jack Smith doesn't want a stay, because he won the Appeals Court. Jack Smith mentions that Trump has no unlimited immunity claim because he is an American citizen, and Americans are bound to follow national law. The Supreme Court will decide on whether to stay the case, accept the case, or reject the case on immunity issues. The D.C. District Court rejected Trump's claim that he has absolute immunity in his life. Jack Smith of the Supreme Court has asked the Supreme Court to make a decision on the Trump coup trial. A stay is a delay of the trial that DOJ's Jack Smith (who wants to expedite the case or make it come quicker) has completely rejected. There is the separation of powers where the executive, judicial, and legislative branches of government are co-equal branches of government. That means that the executive branch has no unlimited power in society which contradicts the concept of democracy or freedom in general.
There is new information about my family tree that I discovered on February 15, 2024. It is about my late cousin Mary Alice Faltz Boyd, who lived from October 31, 1929 to June 20, 2021. Her parents were Joseph Nathan Sr. (1901-195) and my 1st cousin Alice Rosetta Claud (1906-1988). Mary Alice Faltz Boyd married U.S. Navy MCPO Richard Joseph Boyd (b. 1928). Mary Boyd lived to be 91 years filled with life and vigor. She was born in Courtland, Virginia being one of 10 siblings. People called her MaAlice, and she was known to have expressed a southern accent. She went to the churches of A.M.E. David Temple in Courtland for years and was part of Oakwood Chapel Church of Christ. She worked for 26 years at the Navy Supply Center in Norfolk, Virginia. Renee Mebane (her niece who worked in New York City) and her nephew Michael Butler (both Renee and Michael are my distant cousins) would write to her and visit her to make sure that she was taken care of. Mary Alice Faltz Boyd and Richard Joseph Boyd had one daughter named Rhonda Nadine Boyd (1955-2020). Rhonda Boyd lived to be 64 years old, and she was born in Portsmouth, Virginia. She lived in Norfolk, Virginia too being a graduate of Norview High School in 1973 at Norfolk, Virginia. She earned her undergraduate degree Summa Cum Laude and master's degrees from Norfolk State University in special education/psychology by the age of 23 years old. She lived in San Diego for five years before moving back to Virginia. Rhonda taught in Virginia Public Schools for more than 17 years and taught psychology as an adjunct instructor at Tidewater Community College. Rhonda loved writing and created a home-based business called Nia Enterprises to help with writing, motivational speaking, etc. for many people. Her son is my 3rd cousin Joel Christopher Matthew Boyd (b. 1990), and Joel married Destany Ronchee Howard (b. 1989). Noel Sage Boyd or my 4th cousin is Joel Boyd's and Destany Boyd's daughter. Kashey is also Destany Boyd's son and Joel Boyd's stepson too.
Wednesday, February 14, 2024
Political Updates in February 2024.
Trump requests a stay of the Appeals Court ruling after the immunity claim is rejected. Trump claims that he can do what he wants when he doesn't. No President, no ex-President, and no American is above the law. Trump has a long legacy of corruption in his Presidency and outside of his Presidency (from being liable for sexual assault to slandering people). Donald Trump is desperate in trying to escape prison. Trump's legal team said that Trump authorities can assassinate people with him having immunity which is ludicrous. No President has the right to murder people without due process of law period. Trump wants a Supreme Court intervention in the D.C. election interference case, and Trump wants to grant him immunity to do what he wants. The Supreme Court may take on the immunity case. Trump's actions are similar to his attempts to steal the 2020 election with delay, lies, and hypocrisy. The GOP leadership is dominated by a MAGA cult, and folks have to reckon with that reality.
Donald Trump questioning Nikki Haley's husband's military service is disgusting and offensive but not shocking from Trump. The truth is that Trump is a totally reactionary person who doesn't care about the dignity of military servicemen and servicewomen. He is concerned about maintaining power. Trump desires his MAGA cult to flourish but millions of Americans reject his propaganda and his habitual lies. Military heroes have fought to end slavery in America, defeat the terroristic Nazis during WWII, and work in humanitarian efforts to help Americans and people of every color plus background throughout the planet Earth. Trump, in South Carolina, has escalated his fascist attacks on immigrants (which when immigrants are escaping persecution and violations to their rights), he wants to indemnify the police from being sued, and desires to be a dictator on Day One.
Andra Day singing the Black National Anthem during the Super Bowl in February of 2024 was very historic. It showed us that on Black History Month, we are unapologetically black with our voices and views. Many far-right conservatives didn't agree with Andra Day singing the Black National Anthem but they are wrong for many reasons. One is that Black History is American history and world history. The history of Medgar Evers, Harriet Tubman, and Angela Bassett is just as American as the story of President John F. Kennedy. Black people in America helped to build up American culture from music, the arts, STEM, education, and other aspects of modern civilization. Therefore, when we honor the Black National Anthem, we honor the best of ourselves. Andra Day has the free speech right to sing that glorious song that has inspired us for generations and generations. These same far-right people are silent when the Canadian national anthem is sung at baseball games too which shows their racism and hypocrisy all in one. We will continue to celebrate Black History Month now and forever and ever.
Putin is a terrorist, a liar, and a coward. For Tucker Carlson to interview a murderer, a far-right nationalist, and a dictator (who is Vladimir Putin) outlines Tucker Carlson's disrespect of democracy. Carlson is the person who once defended the Iraq War and promoted the replacement theory racist myth. Ukraine is fighting for its life after Putin's preemptive invasion of Ukraine. Putin's forces have bombed schools, apartment buildings, and other civilian targets in Ukraine which constitutes war crimes. What is more disrespectful than Carlson interviewing Putin is how some fake liberals support Putin when Putin jails progressive protesters in Russia and harbors hatred of progressive views in his own words. For example , Jill Stein is supposed to be a progressive but ally with Putin at a dinner years ago. Putin now has agitated rhetoric against NATO nations. We have been here before in the 1930's when radical isolationists were silent with Axis Powers raped, murdered, and destroyed people's lives in China, Poland, Germany, and other places during WWII. Trump said that Russia has the right to do whatever it wants which is shameful. Many Hoteps and far-right extremist MAGA bigots support Putin too. Radical isolationism is readily tied to many fascist movements in Hungary, Russia, etc.
Robert Kennedy Jr. apologized to his cousins who were offended by the Super Bowl's ad's reference to John F. Kennedy. Right now, Robert Kennedy Jr. is running his Presidential campaign as an Independent in 2024. The Super Bowl ad repurposed a spot from his uncle's 1960 campaign. It was a throwback to the old-school style of the 1960s campaigning. The commercial had the ageist comment about Biden being too old to fulfill his obligations as President with the comments of "A man who's old enough to know and young enough to do." Robert Kennedy Jr. said that the ad was created and aired by the American Values SuperPAC without any involvement or approval from his campaign. Americans Values 2024 has been accused of illegally contributing to Kennedy's signature-gathering efforts. Robert Kennedy Jr. has made controversial comments about vaccines and the COVID-19 lockdowns.
By Timothy
Tuesday, February 13, 2024
Monday, February 12, 2024
Updates on Life.
Fashion existed since the start of human history. Archaeologists found handmade sewing needles that have been dated to about 40,000 years ago. There were needles discovered from the Soltrean culture which existed in France from 19,000 to 15,000 B.C. There was evidence of dyed flax fibers from ca. 36,000 B.C. which was found in a prehistoric cave in the Republic of Georgia. Weaving was found in Dolni Vstonice in the Czech Republic in the form of impressions of textiles and basketry plus nets on pieces of clay in ca. 27,000 B.C. We know about the famous Venus figurines in ca. 25,000 B.C. in Western Europe. Early humans used clothes to be warm and dry. Some might have used them for spiritual or celebration purposes too. Humans, Neanderthals, and Cro-Mangnon people used clothing during ancient times. Clothing and equipment have been used with hides, bones, antlers, and feathers from many animal species for design and aesthetic purposes. Some people wore clothes with goat skin, bear hide, and other forms of material. One of the earliest civilizations of the Neolithic Age was the Sumerian civilization with tons of fashion culture. Sumerian people used dye textiles. Men and women wore skirts or tunics called Kaunakes. The length of the kaunake depends on the hierarchical rank in their society. The shorter the length of the skirt, the lower an individual was in society. The longer the length of the skirt, the higher an individual was in society. There were slaves, soldiers, servants, and royalty plus priests. In ancient Sumeria, women wore dresses with longer fabrics too. There was gold jewelry too with carnelian, a reddish-orange gemstone. The wheel, various systems of measurement, the cuneiform, cities, plumbing, and other inventions were in existence in ancient Sumeria.
In ancient Egypt, there were many textile materials with animal-based fabrics. Many of the priests had high-level products. The upper class had finer linens shown in statues and paintings. The cheaper and thicker linen was used by the lower class and the working class of ancient Egypt. Ancient Egyptians wore tunics and capes. Skirts were worn by women. Sandals had leather for shoes. Ancient Egypt had perfumes, makeup, and other forms of complex hygiene care. Some people shaved their heads and wore wigs. Some children wore one loc of hair on the right side of their head. Many ancient Egyptians had metal discs, ornaments, and body decorations plus piercings. Gold from Nubia was used in jewelry along with emeralds, pearls, and lapis lazuili. In ancient Minoan culture, the loincloth was worn by men and women. Dresses were long during that time. Many Minoan men wore their hair long with braids and knots. In ancient Israel, ancient Israelites wore clothing from the skins of animals. Some priests wore tassels or fringes. Scandals were usually made up of wood and leather straps not being worn in the house or in the sanctuary. Some women wore head coverings. In ancient Greece, they wore chiton, peplos, himation, and clamys. Many of them used different fabrics. The women were wearing peplos. Ancient Roman fashion is well known via art, literature, and archaeology. We know that the dress customs of ancient Etruscan people predate the classical Roman civilization. The Etruscan culture existed by 1200 B.C. in Italy. Many Romans wore toga and tunics. Many women wore dresses, bikinis, and other clothing. The bridal veil and the wedding ring existed in ancient Roman wedding attire. In ancient India, people wore sari, turbans, and dhoti. Cotton was used in the Harappan Era as early as 2,500 B.C. The Harappan civilization lasted from ca. 3300 B.C. to 1300 B.C. The Vedic period (from ca. 1750 - 500 B.C.) had garments for men and women having a single cloth wrapped around the body and over the shoulder. There were linen and cotton used in the Maurya Empire (322 - 185 B.C.).
Learning about architecture does relate to understanding about the institutions of architecture worldwide. There are currently 83,000 members of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). The National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) estimated that the number of architects licensed in America is at 105,847. Architecture firms employ about 158,000 people in the United States according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Post Modern architecture is so common in our time with architects like Cesar Pelli, William Pedersen, Denise Scott Brown, Eolo Maia, Charles Moore, John C. Portman Jr., and other human beings. One of the great architectural comebacks in history is the Notre Dame de Paris. It is found in the Seine River on the island in Paris called Ile de la Cite. The cathedral had embraced French Gothic architecture. Notre Dame had different styles than the usually Romanesque style. Notre Dame had the rib vault, flying buttress, the use of large, colorful windows, large church bells, and its sculptural decoration. The cornerstone was laid in 1163. It was completed in 1345. There was a huge fire at Notre-Dame on April 15, 2019, during the midst of a renovation and restoration project. It has been rebuilt by November 2020. The cathedral is expected to reopen on December 8, 2024, which was confirmed by French President Macron. Architectural resiliency is firmly real.
By 1786, Lord Dorchester came to Quebec City as Governor in Chief of British North America. He wanted to deal with the Loyalists after the U.S. War of Independence. At first, Dorchester suggested opening the new Canada West as districts under the Quebec government, but the British Government made known its intention to split the Province of Quebec into Upper and Lower Canada. Dorchester began organizing for the new province of Upper Canada, including a capital. Dorchester's first choice was Kingston but was aware of the number of Loyalists in the Bay of Quinte and Niagara areas and chose instead the location north of the Bay of Toronto, midway between the settlements and 30 miles (48 km) from the US. Dorchester purchased more than 250,000 acres of land from the Mississauguas in 1787 under the Royal Proclamation of 1763. After surveying the land, the Mississaugas objected to the purchase, and it was declared invalid. A revision to the Toronto Purchase was made in 1805, but this agreement too fell into dispute and was only eventually settled two centuries later in 2010 for CA$145 million. A townsite was surveyed in 1788 by Captain Gother Mann, and laid out in a gridiron, with government and military buildings around a central square. The purchase did not include the Rouge River valley, yet to be settled. More Loyalists came into the western part of Quebec, including the Toronto area. The Constitutional Act of 1791 was passed to deal with the issues by splitting the colony into two. The eastern portion of Quebec became the Province of Lower Canada, and the western portion of Quebec (including Toronto) became the Province of Upper Canada. A provisional Upper Canada government was set up in Newark (today's Niagara-on-the-Lake) in 1791.
Back then, Toronto was known as the Town of York from 1793 to 1834. In May 1793, Lieutenant-Colonel John Graves Simcoe, the first lieutenant-governor of the newly organized province of Upper Canada, visited Toronto for the first time. Simcoe was unhappy with the then-capital of Upper Canada Newark, and proposed moving it to the site of present-day London, Ontario but was dissuaded by the difficulty of building a road to the location. Rejecting Kingston, the choice of British Governor Lord Dorchester, the Toronto purchase site was then chosen by Simcoe on July 29, 1793, as the temporary capital of Upper Canada. Fort York had a natural harbor being formed in 1793. The area had 10 square blocks, closer to the eastern end of the harbor. This is near Parliament Street. The ten blocks are known as the Old Town neighborhood today. During Simcoe's time in Toronto, two main roads were laid out in the city: Dundas Street, named after Henry Dundas, and Yonge Street, named after Sir George Yonge, the British Secretary of State for War. The Queen's Rangers and conscripted German settlers hacked out the wagon path of Yonge Street as far north as the Holland River. Government buildings were erected near Parliament and Front Street. Simcoe had hoped to found a university in York during his time but was successful in establishing law courts in York. There was slavery in Toronto back then. Simcoe wanted a gradual abolition of slavery, passing legislation banning any further slaves, and the children of slaves would be freed when they reached their 25th birthday. Due to ill health, Simcoe returned to England in July 1796 on leave but did not return and he gave up his position in 1799. By this time, York was estimated to have a population of 240 persons.
Institutions grew in Toronto from the St. James Cathedral and St. Lawrence Market. There was the War of 1812 when American forces led by Zebulon Pike attacked York. After the British-Native force failed to prevent the American landings (in present-day Parkdale), British forces ordered a withdrawal, realizing that defense was impossible. Upon their departure, British forces rigged Fort York's gunpowder magazine to explode. The blast, powerful enough to perforate eardrums and hemorrhage the lungs of some American soldiers massed outside the Fort was said to have rattled windows 50 kilometers across the lake in Niagara. It exploded as the American forces were about to enter the fort, killing Pike and a contingent of his men. In the following days, American forces sacked the town and burned a number of properties including the Parliament Buildings. The town remained occupied until May 8, when American forces departed the settlement. Toronto was attacked on April 27, 1813. American forces attacked Canada again during the War of 1812 too. Toronto was attacked three times. After the Napoleonic Wars, York experienced an influx of poor immigrants from the United Kingdom, which was in a depression. The area to the northeast of St. James' became a slum. York had a red-light district on Lombard Street, and numerous taverns sprang up around St. Lawrence Market. The modern-day city of Toronto was incorporated on March 6, 1834. Citizens were on public meetings at Mark Square on July 29, 1834. Many revolutionaries (led by MacKenzie) had an insurrection in 1837 being suppressed by British authorities and Canadian volunteer units at Montgomery's Tavern on Yonge Street. In 1841, the first gas streetlamps appeared in Toronto. Over 100 were installed that year, in time for author Charles Dickens' visit in May 1842. Dickens described Toronto as "full of life, motion, business and improvement. The streets are well-paved and lighted with gas." Dickens was on a North American tour. There were tensions among political parties like the Tories and religions (between Catholics and Protestants that would end by the 20th century).
Toronto's population grew rapidly in the late 19th century, increasing from 30,000 in 1851 to 56,000 in 1871, 86,400 in 1881, and 181,000 in 1891. The total urbanized population was not counted as it is today to include the greater area, those just outside the city limits made for a significantly higher population. The 1891 figure also included population counted after recent annexations of many smaller, adjacent towns such as Parkdale, Brockton Village, West Toronto, East Toronto, and others. Immigration, high birth rates, and influx from the surrounding rural population accounted for much of this growth, although immigration had slowed substantially by the 1880s if compared to the generation prior. Rail lines came to the waterfront harbor area in the 1850s. A planned "Esplanade" land-fill project to create a promenade along the harbor, instead became a new right-of-way for the rail lines, which extended to new wharves on the harbor. Three railway companies-built lines to Toronto: the Grand Trunk Railway, (GTR) the Great Western Railway, and the Northern Railway of Canada. The GTR built the first Union Station in 1858 in the downtown area. The advent of the railway dramatically increased the numbers of immigrants arriving and commerce, as did the Lake Ontario steamers and schooners entering the port. The railway lands would dominate the central waterfront for the next 100 years. In 1873, GTR built a second Union Station at the same location. Toronto further grew with a streetcar network, railways, sewers being formed, medical schools, the growth of the police system, and the forming of Toronto Fire Services in 1874. Irish immigrants came to Toronto after the Great Irish Famine (1845-1849). German and French immigrants came into Toronto too along with Jewish people, Italians, Chinese people, and immigrants from Eastern Europe.
There are many unsung African heroes in the world in our time. Denis Mukwege is a Congolese Pentecostal pastor and Congolese gynecologist. She helped to treat women who have been raped by armed rebels. In 2018, Mukwege and Iraqi Yazidi human rights activist Nadia Murad were joined awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for "their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict." He was born in March 1, 1955. He earned a MD in the University of Burundi, an MA in the University of Angers, and a PhD from Universite libre de Bruxelles. He earned many awards like the Four Freedoms Award, the Civil Courage Prize, the Human Rights First Award, and the Legion of Honor. He treated thousands of women who were victims of rape since the Second Congo War. He survived an assassination attempt and continues to promote justice for human beings. Winnie Byanyima is a woman who is a Ugandan aeronautical engineer, politician, human rights activist, feminist, and diplomat.
By Timothy