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2024-03-28T14:35:49Z
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Rock Mayfield Presents Brand New Single, ''2:30 AM" Featuring Lilly Whyte
https://www.theblacklist.net/profiles/blogs/rock-mayfield-presents-brand-new-single-2-30-am-featuring-lilly
2019-11-25T04:48:16.000Z
2019-11-25T04:48:16.000Z
BlackList Media
https://www.theblacklist.net/members/BlackListMedia
<div><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}3828622965,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img class="align-full" src="{{#staticFileLink}}3828622965,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="3828622965?profile=original" /></a></p><p>Artist Rock Mayfield is a lyrical storyteller born in Racine, Wisconsin, but rooted not far from home in Burlington, Wisconsin. He was raised in a single parent household with a determined mother fighting to make sure he had the best of the world we live in. Despite his mother efforts, Rock meet tragedy early on. At the tender age of 4, Rock was exposed to domestic violence due to alcoholism from a family member and by the age of 5 his father left as he was sent to prison.<br />Rock Mayfield grow older and tragedy continued. During his Freshman Year of High School, his close cousin was murdered in a homicide shooting. Within the same timeframe, he became suicidal, began to self inflict harm on himself, and continuously lashed out on others while dealing with an unhealthy teen romance. Reflecting on the struggles and tragedies he faced, he decided to live and use his words through music to help and inspire others to live unapologetic and well. Music helped Rock Mayfield deal with a lot of unresolved feelings and as a result, Rock and his father mended their broken relationship 3 months before his father died. Tragedy Strikes again! This time through music, Rock Mayfield was able to cope. In honor of his father, the artist decided to add “Rock” in front of his last name “Mayfield” to remind him of his father and to remain hard like a “Rock” in hard times.<br />Today, Rock Mayfield states his claim on the world of music. Determined to be a voice for those unwilling to speak for themselves, he decided to turn real life situations into words that would command the ears of listeners. Musical Influences from artists like Tupac, Travis Barker, The Game, T.I. and Eminem to name a few fueled his fire as their lyrics were able to reach his soul. With thoughts of his influencers in mind, mixed with his love for Rap, Punk Rock, and Alternative Rock, he put a pen in his hand and forced a pad to hold the lyrics his music displays today.<br />When asked what do you want to be remembered for, Rock Mayfield replied, “For being a diverse artist and using my lyrics to help all people despite race to use music as their comfort zone.” Music has been a comfort zone for Rock Mayfield. Some may even say it saved his life. Known to his fans for his unique recreation of cover songs, he left listeners speechless with his original track “Redemption” which is currently out and streaming worldwide. The song “Redemption” is about him finding vindication from self harm and suicidal thoughts. Rock Mayfield wants listeners to remember Tupac said it best “Only God Can Judge Me.” Redemption is a choice for those who seek it.<br />Rock Mayfield is currently performing and completing his upcoming album. Early this year, 2019, he released a new song with Bizarre from D12 titled "Cuz I'mma' Rapper" where he pays homage to gangster rap and pokes fun at the current state of Hip-Hop. The song, “Cuz I'mma' Rapper” is currently available on all digital music platforms." With His mom, Mayfield Mafia fanbase, and support system in mind, he plans to deliver more original music geared toward helping more people. Stay tuned for more from the artist. Be sure to search “Rock Mayfield” on Spotify, Itunes<br />, Soundcloud, and Amazon Music.<br />On November 2nd 2019 Rock Mayfield released his new song "2:30AM" featuring Hip-Hop/R&B artist Lilly Whyte. In Rock's new song "2:30 AM" Rock talks about catching his then girlfriend cheating on him with her ex at "2:30 AM."</p><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}3828622812,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img class="align-full" src="{{#staticFileLink}}3828622812,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="3828622812?profile=original" /></a></p><p>Listen to 2:30 AM Featuring Lilly Whyte by Rock Mayfield on #SoundCloud:</p><p><iframe width="100%" height="300" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/706819594&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true"></iframe></p></div>
VA Rapper 7city Ghost Blanco Brings In The Spring With A New Single “Winter 2 Summer”
https://www.theblacklist.net/profiles/blogs/va-rapper-7city-ghost-blanco-brings-in-the-spring-with-a-new
2019-03-30T19:00:34.000Z
2019-03-30T19:00:34.000Z
BlackList Media
https://www.theblacklist.net/members/BlackListMedia
<div><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}3828611600,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img class="align-full" src="{{#staticFileLink}}3828611600,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="3828611600?profile=original" /></a></p><p>Blanco ends the winter with another fire track produced by BBP. The VA rapper tells the story of how he ran up his numbers this past winter over a dope trap beat. Winter 2 Summer is now available on all streaming platforms, click the link below now to listen:</p><p><iframe width="100%" height="300" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/578178567&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true"></iframe></p><p><a href="https://song.link/Winter2Summer">https://song.link/Winter2Summer</a> <br />Also follow 7city Ghost Blanco and his team on social media: <br />IG: @7cityghostblanco <br />@bbp_makesperfect <br />@_familion_real_ <br />@b.ent_bbp_prod <br />@jbeezy86_ <br />@nvastppromo <br />@nvastpgrinding <br />Twitter: @7cg57_blanco <br />@jaybrown86 <br />Facebook: @Royal Blanco <br />@Brandon Nvastpgrinding Williams <br />@Jay Brown <br />YouTube: BBP 7city Ghost Blanco <br />El Familion Real <br />Royal Fam Entertainment Group</p></div>
Boston Recording Artist Yung Kizz Presents Brand New Single “Promises” On His 21st Birthday!
https://www.theblacklist.net/profiles/blogs/boston-recording-artist-yung-kizz-presents-brand-new-single
2018-05-04T19:38:11.000Z
2018-05-04T19:38:11.000Z
BlackList Media
https://www.theblacklist.net/members/BlackListMedia
<div><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}3828605150,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="750" class="align-full" src="{{#staticFileLink}}3828605150,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="3828605150?profile=original" /></a></p><p>Yung Kizz Is A 21 Year Old Rapper From Boston, MA. He has been writing music ever since he was 11 years old and is really passionate about it! Ask him what he does everyday and he’s going to respond “I write music every single day” His main focus is making girl/relationship tracks but switching it up is not a problem for him at all<br />Check out ''Promises'' ft. Yesiliana:</p><p>><iframe width="100%" height="300" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/437642655&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true"></iframe></p></div>
Boston Recording Artist Yung Kizz Has A Hot Single “Scary Sight” Featuring Jojo Simmons. Word Is That They Have A Video In The Works! Check Out The Song
https://www.theblacklist.net/profiles/blogs/boston-recording-artist-yung-kizz-has-a-hot-single-scary-sight
2018-03-28T22:12:53.000Z
2018-03-28T22:12:53.000Z
BlackList Media
https://www.theblacklist.net/members/BlackListMedia
<div><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}3828604147,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="750" class="align-full" src="{{#staticFileLink}}3828604147,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="3828604147?profile=original" /></a></p><p>Yung Kizz Is A 20 Year Old Rapper From Boston, MA. He has been writing music ever since he was 11 years old and is really passionate about it! Ask him what he does everyday and he’s going to respond “I write music every single day” His main focus is making girl/relationship songs but switching it up is not a problem for him!<br />Check out ''Scary Sight'' by Yung Kizz:</p><p><iframe width="100%" height="300" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/385236281&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true"></iframe></p></div>
Lexus' Genius Product Placement in Marvel's Black Panther Movie Highlights Growing Influence of African Americans' Buying Power
https://www.theblacklist.net/profiles/blogs/lexus-genius-product-placement-in-marvel-s-black-panther-movie-hi
2018-03-09T20:25:07.000Z
2018-03-09T20:25:07.000Z
SendMeYourNews
https://www.theblacklist.net/members/SendMeYourNews
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<p><strong>African Americans continue to have a supersized influence on the U.S. economy. By 2020 African Americans are projected to have a buying power of<span class="xn-money">$1.5 trillion</span> with a cumulative growth of 16% and a compound annual growth rate of 3% from 2015-2020, according to market research firm Packaged Facts in the report <i><a class="linkOnClick" href="https://www.packagedfacts.com/African-Americans-Demographic-10293172/" target="_blank">African-Americans: Demographic and Consumer Spending Trends, 10th Edition</a></i>.</strong></p>
<p>Skeptics about the cohort's financial clout have to look no further than the recent success of the 2018 blockbuster Marvel superhero movie <i>Black Panther</i>, which has enjoyed record shattering returns and which to date has grossed more than <span class="xn-money">$900 million</span> globally. The film was a surefire success almost from its creative inception and official announcement four years ago as the news sent a simmering excitement through a black community starved for more minority representation in comic book movies.</p>
<p>While Disney's Marvel Studios cheered the film's success, so too did car maker Lexus. Movie goers got a look at Lexus' new luxury LC coupe which is featured prominently in a major chase scene through the streets of <span class="xn-location"><span><span>South Korea</span></span></span>. The scene marked two years of collaboration between Lexus and Marvel Studios.</p>
<p>Packaged Facts' research revealed that product placement in movies and television shows resonates with African-American consumers. For example, black consumers are more likely to remember the brand name product characters use in a movie and try products they have never tried before that they have seen in a movie. Seeing a product used in a movie is also more likely to reassure black consumers that the product is a good one. Furthermore, when African-American consumers are online or in a store and see a brand name product they recognize from a movie, they are more likely to buy it than its competitor.</p>
<p>Car manufacturers featuring their vehicles in comic book movies isn't anything new. However, as AutoNews.com states in an <a class="linkOnClick" href="http://www.autonews.com/article/20180304/RETAIL03/180309689/lexus-black-panther" target="_blank">article</a>, Lexus' multicultural marketing agency, <span class="xn-person"><span>Walton Isaacson</span></span>, openly admits that the idea to for collaboration and product placement in <i>Black Panther</i> represented an opportunity to link the car maker with a cultural event. </p>
<p>In addition to the product placement in film, Lexus leading up to the <i>Black Panther</i> release commissioned an original graphic novel, Black Panther: Soul of a Machine, featuring the LC 500 and a Lexus takumimaster craftsman as heroes. And don't forget the Black Panther-themed Super Bowl ad for Lexus.</p>
<p>In the end it proved to be a shrewd strategy for Lexus. AutoNews.com reveals that there was "an explosion" of ad impressions across TV, social media, and in theater due to the film and the product tie-in. Further, in the week following <i>Black Panther's</i> domestic premiere on <span class="xn-chron">February 16</span>, online searches for Lexus at shopping site Autotrader were up 15% from the previous week. Likewise, Autotrader revealed that online traffic for the LC 500 specifically was up 10%.</p>
<p>It's impossible to say how many of these searches were performed by African Americans, However, based on Packaged Facts' previously referenced research on the impact of product placement on African Americans combined with the fact that Lexus is already popular with minority consumers, it's fair to deduce at least a portion of the searches were by black shoppers.</p>
<p>Packaged Facts' data also revealed that African Americans are among the biggest car buyers in America. Between 2012 and 2015 spending by African-American consumers on new cars and trucks increased from <span class="xn-money">$13 billion</span> to <span class="xn-money">$20 billion</span>. Further, the 51% increase in spending by black households on new automotive vehicles significantly outpaced the 27% increase registered by other households. But it's not just new cars that get lots of love. Spending by African-Americans on used cars and trucks grew more than twice as fast as comparable expenditures by other consumers.</p>
<p><b><u>About the Report</u></b> </p>
<p><b><i>African-Americans: Demographic and Consumer Spending Trends, 10th Edition</i></b> analyzes recent consumer spending and demographic trends for the African-American population in <span class="xn-location"><span><span>the United States</span></span></span>. View additional information about the report, including purchase options, the abstract, table of contents, and related reports at Packaged Facts' website:<a class="linkOnClick" href="https://www.packagedfacts.com/African-Americans-Demographic-10293172/" target="_blank">https://www.packagedfacts.com/African-Americans-Demographic-10293172/</a>.</p>
<p><b><u>About Packaged Facts</u></b> </p>
<p>Packaged Facts, a division of MarketResearch.com, publishes market intelligence on a wide range of consumer market topics, including consumer demographics and shopper insights, consumer financial products and services, consumer goods and retailing, consumer packaged goods, and pet products and services. Packaged Facts also offers a full range of custom research services.</p>
<p>For more essential insights from Packaged Facts be sure to follow us on Twitter and Google+. For infographics, tables, charts and other visuals, follow Packaged Facts on Pinterest.</p>
<p>Please link any media references to our reports or data to <a class="linkOnClick" href="https://www.packagedfacts.com/" target="_blank">https://www.packagedfacts.com/</a>. </p>
<p><b>Press Contact:<br /></b><span class="xn-person"><span>Daniel Granderson</span></span><br />240.747.3000<br /><a class="linkOnClick" href="mailto:dgranderson@marketresearch.com" target="_blank">dgranderson@marketresearch.com</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news/packaged-facts" target="_blank">SOURCE Packaged Facts</a></p>
<h4>Related Links</h4>
<p><a title="Link to http://www.packagedfacts.com" href="http://www.packagedfacts.com/" class="linkOnClick" target="_blank">http://www.packagedfacts.com</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lexus-genius-product-placement-in-marvels-black-panther-movie-highlights-growing-influence-of-african-americans-buying-power-300611592.html" target="_blank"><strong>ROCKVILLE, Md., March 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --</strong></a></p>
<p><span style="font-size:18pt;"><strong>ALSO READ:</strong></span></p>
<h3 class="title"><a href="http://theblacklistpub.ning.com/profiles/blogs/black-business-success-model-countering-the-myths-of-weaknesses-i">Black Business Success Model: Countering the Myths of Weaknesses in the Black Business Community</a></h3>
<h3 class="title"><a href="http://theblacklistpub.ning.com/profiles/blogs/nielsen-insights-reveal-black-dollars-matter-the-sales-impact-of-">Nielsen Insights Reveal Black Dollars Matter: The Sales Impact of Black Consumers</a></h3>
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Former Dallas School Board alumni, Ron Price's "open-minded views" on the situation in Charlottesville, VA.
https://www.theblacklist.net/profiles/blogs/former-dallas-school-board-alumni-ron-price-s-open-minded-views-o
2017-08-18T14:01:54.000Z
2017-08-18T14:01:54.000Z
TheBlackList-Publisher
https://www.theblacklist.net/members/TheBlackListPublisher
<div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align:left;"><br /><h1 style="background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#373737;font-family:Montserrat, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:40px;font-weight:400;line-height:1.2;margin:0px 0px 10px;">The Last Four Letters of American Are 'I CAN'</h1>
<div class="subtitle" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#373737;font-family:Montserrat, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:18px;line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:10px;"><a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news/ron-price" target="_blank">Ron Price</a>, Statesman and former Dallas School Board alumni, shares his views regarding the right to free speech.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear:both;text-align:center;"><a href="https://photos.prnewswire.com/prnvar/20161129/443654?max=1600" style="clear:left;float:left;margin-bottom:1em;margin-right:1em;"><img border="0" src="https://photos.prnewswire.com/prnvar/20161129/443654?max=1600" alt="443654?max=1600" /></a></div>
<br /><div style="background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#373737;font-family:Montserrat, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:16px;line-height:1.8;margin-bottom:35px;"> Statesman and former Dallas School Board alumni, <span class="xn-person"><a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news/ron-price" target="_blank">Ron Price</a></span>, spoke to local media yesterday regarding the situation in <span class="xn-location">Charlottesville, VA</span>, and the resulting nationwide racial tensions. He delivered open-minded views on freedom of speech, the President, our Country's history and its future, as well as a can-do motto for Americans.</div>
<div style="background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#373737;font-family:Montserrat, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:16px;line-height:1.8;margin-bottom:35px;">"We should all condemn Neo-Nazis, the KKK, & all hate groups. However, they still have the right to speak," said Price. He recalled the sniper attack in <span class="xn-chron">July 2016</span> that left five <span class="xn-location">Dallas</span> police officers dead and how they "gave their lives here in <span class="xn-location">Dallas</span> protecting the rights of those who were protesting, to ensure they still had the right to speak."</div>
<div style="background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#373737;font-family:Montserrat, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:16px;line-height:1.8;margin-bottom:35px;">While many Americans are divided about how the President is handling the situation in <span class="xn-location">Virginia</span>, Mr. Price suggested that it is, "un-American to criticize President Trump and his children personally; however, it is pro-American to criticize his policies."</div>
<div style="background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#373737;font-family:Montserrat, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:16px;line-height:1.8;margin-bottom:35px;">Price went on to address the national Confederate monument battle by suggesting that the memorials remain where they are or move them to a museum rather than destroying them. He stressed the importance of these symbols of a painful time in our country's African-American past that should not be forgotten. Furthermore, he stressed that without these reminders or memorials, "we shouldn't be shocked if history repeats itself."</div>
<div style="background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#373737;font-family:Montserrat, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:16px;line-height:1.8;margin-bottom:35px;">Mr. Price then turned his attention toward the future by saying, "Our nation has an ugly past; however, it's time that we come together and make our future beautiful for our children."</div>
<div style="background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#373737;font-family:Montserrat, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:16px;line-height:1.8;margin-bottom:35px;">As a unifying gesture, Price closed his interview by encouraging everyone to take pride in being an American, "If you were born in <span class="xn-location">the United States</span>, that makes you an American. The last four letters of our name spell out - I can! I CAN make a difference in our country!"</div>
<div style="background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#373737;font-family:Montserrat, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:16px;line-height:1.8;margin-bottom:35px;"><b>About the Honorable Ron Price:</b></div>
<div style="background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#373737;font-family:Montserrat, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:16px;line-height:1.8;margin-bottom:35px;"></div>
<ul style="background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#373737;font-family:Montserrat, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;margin-bottom:35px;margin-top:0px;" type="disc"><li style="font-size:16px;line-height:1.8;">Past Chair of the National Black Caucus of School Board Members</li>
<li style="font-size:16px;line-height:1.8;">Past President of the National Association of African American School Board Members</li>
<li style="font-size:16px;line-height:1.8;">Dallas Independent School District Trustee, 1997-2009</li>
<li style="font-size:16px;line-height:1.8;">Past President of the National Caucus of <span class="xn-person">Young School Board Members</span></li>
<li style="font-size:16px;line-height:1.8;">Past President of the Texas Black Caucus of School Board Members</li>
<li style="font-size:16px;line-height:1.8;">Past Bylaws chair of the Texas Association of School Board Members</li>
<li style="font-size:16px;line-height:1.8;">Past President of the Metro Plex African American School Board Members Association</li>
<li style="font-size:16px;line-height:1.8;">Past President of the Dallas School Board</li>
<li style="font-size:16px;line-height:1.8;">Past 1<span style="font-size:12px;line-height:0;top:-.5em;vertical-align:baseline;">st</span> President of the Dallas School Board</li>
<li style="font-size:16px;line-height:1.8;">Past Secretary of the Dallas School Board</li>
<li style="font-size:16px;line-height:1.8;">Past Chair of the DISD Budget and Finance Committee</li>
<li style="font-size:16px;line-height:1.8;">Past Chair of the DISD Education Committee</li>
<li style="font-size:16px;line-height:1.8;">Past Chair of the DISD Personnel Committee</li>
<li style="font-size:16px;line-height:1.8;">Created the Dallas Teen School Board</li>
<li style="font-size:16px;line-height:1.8;">Helped establish the DISD Student Uniform Policy</li>
<li style="font-size:16px;line-height:1.8;">Championed Citywide Early Childhood Program </li>
</ul><div style="background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#373737;font-family:Montserrat, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:16px;line-height:1.8;margin-bottom:35px;"><b>For more information, contact:</b></div>
<div style="background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#373737;font-family:Montserrat, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:16px;line-height:1.8;margin-bottom:35px;"><span class="xn-person">Patricia Almand</span>, Universal Media Group<br />
214.810.0864<br /><a class="linkOnClick" href="mailto:patricia@umgad.com" style="background-color:transparent;color:#00837e;" target="_blank">patricia@umgad.com</a></div>
<br /><br /><br /><br /></div></div>
How to Play the Coming Gold Supply Crisis
https://www.theblacklist.net/profiles/blogs/how-to-play-the-coming-gold-supply-crisis
2017-06-27T13:25:03.000Z
2017-06-27T13:25:03.000Z
PhoneMeYourNews:6468205210
https://www.theblacklist.net/members/PhoneMeYourNews6468205210
<div><p></p><div class="row"><div class="col-sm-10 col-sm-offset-1"><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}3828595890,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="750" src="{{#staticFileLink}}3828595890,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-full" alt="3828595890?profile=original" /></a>Growing geopolitical tensions and 'Trumpflation' have spurred a dramatic increase in safe haven demand, and the ongoing Bitcoin craze clearly proves it.</p></div></div><div class="row"></div><div class="row"><div class="col-sm-10 col-sm-offset-1"><p>Bitcoin prices have more than doubled in the year-to-date, while those of its closest peer, Ethereum, are up an eye-popping 4,500 percent.</p><p>Yet, extreme volatility by digital currencies makes them a poor hedge against future uncertainties. Bitcoin has a downward deviation six times greater than gold's, making it extremely risky for use as currency.</p><p>Gold remains the pre-eminent and time-tested safe haven asset for hedging against macroeconomic upheavals. Companies in focus include large miners such as: Tahoe Resources Inc. (NYSE: TAHO), Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE: GG), Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE: ABX), Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (NYSE: AEM), Franco-Nevada Corporation (NYSE: <a href="http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/prnews?Page=Quote&Ticker=FNV" class="linkOnClick" title="FNV" target="_blank">FNV</a>)</p><p>Evidence keeps piling up: Future supply of the world's most important precious metal is now under threat. After years of falling gold prices, major miners everywhere have been forced to slash their exploration budgets, with many downsizing operations or completely shutting down.</p><p>Prior to the gold rally of 2017, gold prices had been falling since 2008 as economies around the world gradually improved in the post-financial crisis period, forcing producers to fold up operations. Even today, no new big mines are being developed across the world.</p><p>The <a class="linkOnClick" target="_blank" href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/commodities/news/one-shocking-chart-on-the-death-of-a-gold-nation-2017-2-1001797204">spectacular collapse</a> of <span class="xn-location">South Africa's</span> gold industry, formerly the world's largest, was the classic canary in a coal mine. At just 140 metric tonnes per year, the country's current production is a far cry of what it was a couple of decades ago.</p><p>The situation in <span class="xn-location">South Africa</span> foreshadowed a coming decline in global production.</p><p>Last year marked the first time that global gold output declined since 2008, with all major producers except <span class="xn-location">China</span>recording significant declines.</p><p>The fact that we are now past 'peak gold' is a criminally underreported phenomenon, and the situation is expected to worsen as the years roll on.</p><p>The sad fact of the matter is that we live on a small, finite planet, and it's just a matter of time before the gold market has to climb a major wall of worry in the form of small and dwindling supply.</p><p>Against this backdrop, here are our 5 picks to get into gold right now, whether you're looking for an entry point that offers outsized gains or a consistent dividend safe house:</p><p><b>#1 Tahoe Resources</b> (NYSE: <a href="http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/prnews?Page=Quote&Ticker=TAHO" class="linkOnClick" title="TAHO" target="_blank">TAHO</a>)</p><p>For Tahoe, the main attraction right now is dividend yield. This company is paying double its peers, and blows pretty much everyone else away. That's unusual in gold. But it's not that black and white. This stock hasn't done well over the past few years, and the declining price of silver has taken its toll. It's also had trouble in <span class="xn-location">Guatemala</span>, and it's suffering from high production costs due to a string of acquisitions. But still, even though some of its peers' stocks are doing better, Tahoe still has the highest dividend yield. So why is that?</p><p>Tahoe is trading at 9 times its cash flow-way below its closest rivals. If it were trading higher, its dividend yield would fall. But that's not the only reason. It's also simply got a better dividend policy from a shareholder perspective. It's fixed at <span class="xn-money">$0.02</span> per share (per month) or <span class="xn-money">$0.024</span> per share per year. So, the dividend isn't based on cash flow. You might think this would be a problem for Tahoe, but it's not. The company actually has a strong cash balance sheet.</p><p>So while you might look at all of Tahoe's problems and be put off-or you might not like what's going on in <span class="xn-location">Guatemala</span>, or all the expensive acquisitions, from a purely dividend perspective, this is our number one pick right now. At the end of the day, it's all about dividends after all.</p><p><b>#2 Osprey Gold</b><b> (</b><a class="linkOnClick" target="_blank" href="https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/OS.V/?p=OS.V"><b>OS</b><b>.</b><b>V</b></a><b>;</b> <a class="linkOnClick" target="_blank" href="https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/OSSPF/?p=OSSPF"><b>OS</b><b>S</b><b>PF</b></a><b>)</b></p><p>This small-cap company isn't likely on your radar-yet. But it should be. That's because not only is it a good time to start getting back into gold, but it's a good time to start looking at different ways to get back in, and it might be best to think out of the box. What stands out here is the cheap open-pit mining, new technology that is making it even cheaper, and a return to one of the most prolific gold rush venues in the world-<span class="xn-location">Canada's</span> <span class="xn-location">Nova Scotia</span>.</p><p><span class="xn-location">Nova Scotia</span> has already supported three major gold rushes, and we're looking at a fourth in the making. Miners with new technology are rushing back here to scoop up the easy pickings, and Osprey is the only real entry point here.</p><p>Osprey has moved into <span class="xn-location">Nova Scotia's</span> Goldenville-and it's a gold miner's dream.</p><p>Here, the technology is the key because it's making expensive underground mining operations obsolete. Geologists have recently developed a technology that allows miners to assess mineralization of host rocks through which gold veins run-so in a historical first in <span class="xn-location">Canada</span>, they can mine gold in open pits. That means lower productions costs, reduced risks, and improved ability to scale.</p><p>And the Goldenville property is phenomenal from this respect. It's unlike any other place in the world because rocks from nearly every age are already exposed so Osprey's got the fast-track to gold here, and right across the street, another company has make a <span class="xn-money">$250-million</span> project doing the same.</p><p>At the end of the day, this is the key entry point because it's a <a class="linkOnClick" target="_blank" href="https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/OS.V/?p=OS.V">small-cap company</a> (only <span class="xn-money">$7.5 million</span>) sitting on what could be <span class="xn-money">$560 million</span> in gold.</p><p><b>#3</b> <b>Wheaton Precious Metals</b> </p><p>Wheaton is another good dividend play, paying out 20 percent of the cash it generates from operations racked up in the previous four quarters. The last quarterly dividend paid to shareholders was <span class="xn-money">$0.07</span>, but this one fluctuates, so we've seen it dip as low as <span class="xn-money">$0.03</span> and soar as high as <span class="xn-money">$0.14</span>.</p><p>But beyond this, Wheaton is a great stock to own. Formerly Silver Wheaton, this company has seen shares rise more than 500 percent since 2005, and from most perspectives, it's going to continue on the upwards climb.</p><p>The reason for this is its unique business structure-and it's resulting high margins. Wheaton is unique because it doesn't just dive into mining. Instead, it looks for other major miners who need capital to expand existing projects. It seals its percentage of production at cut rates in this way, with long-term contracts that guarantee consistent cash flow. And it doesn't have to pay direct day-to-day mining costs. While at the same time it's incredibly savvy with its own overhead, it pays a minimum due to brilliant management.</p><p>With its multiple streams and diversity in combination with unique structure and stellar management, this stock is a smart choice on any given day.</p><p><b>#4 </b><b>Newmont Mining</b> </p><p>This is the only gold mining stock listed on the S&P. Newmont is another favorite because of its strong balance sheet and asset value growth, but what you should be looking at here is how its restructured its portfolio to reduce risk and improve operational performance. With Newmont now you'll get exposure to stable gold and a nice, continuous cash flow. And it's expected to outperform.</p><p>Newmont's Q1 results impressed. Revenue soared 13 percent to <span class="xn-money">$1.7 billion</span> on higher pricing and volumes.</p><p><a class="linkOnClick" target="_blank" href="https://www.financialstrend.com/newmont-mining-corp-nysenem-q1-2017-revenue-jumps-13-39906.html">Attributable gold production</a> jumped 9 percent to 1.23 million ounces for the three-month period as new production from Long Canyon and Merian nicely offset geotechnical concerns at <span class="xn-location">Carlin</span>. Exceptional weather affected operations in <span class="xn-location">South America</span> and <span class="xn-location">Australia</span>. GAAP net income from continuing operations came at <span class="xn-money">$69 million</span> while adjusted net income stood at <span class="xn-money">$133 million</span>.</p><p><b>#5 </b><b>Franco-<span class="xn-location"><span><span>Nevada</span></span></span></b> (NYSE: <a href="http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/prnews?Page=Quote&Ticker=FNV" class="linkOnClick" title="FNV" target="_blank">FNV</a>)</p><p>FNV is also set to outperform this quarter, and this is a great play for the dividend-focused. This is the precious metals/royalty streaming business, so it's different than putting your money into direct mining. FNV provides cash up front to precious metals miners in return for the right to buy those metals at reduced rates in the future.</p><p>This is a high-margin business-over 70 percent. So, when gold prices have been weak, FNV is still increasing dividends. And we love the conservative operating strategy. You won't see yields as high as the direct miners, but you will see a very nice dividend consistency.</p><p>And while FNV has traditionally been all about gold and silver (or metals, in general), it's now moving quickly into oil and gas, which represented some 6 percent of its revenues in the first quarter of this year-and it's moving more in this direction.</p><p><b>Honorable Mentions in this space: </b> </p><p><b>Barrick Gold Corp.</b> (NYSE: <a href="http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/prnews?Page=Quote&Ticker=ABX" class="linkOnClick" title="ABX" target="_blank">ABX</a>) and <b>Goldcorp Inc.</b> (NYSE: GG)<b>:</b> All eyes are on the billion-dollar partnership these two giants are forming in <span class="xn-location">Chile's</span> gold belt. Goldcorp is putting up <span class="xn-money">$1 billion</span> to get in on this deal as miners scramble for new sources of growth. This joint venture will see the two giant miners operate three properties in <span class="xn-location">Chile's</span> Maricunga region, and these will be major catalysts for both.</p><p><b>Agnico Eagle Mines</b> (NYSE: AEM)<b>:</b> Q1 was stellar for Agnico, especially for cash flow. Cash went onto this balance sheet despite all the spending on growth projects, and the rest of year looks set to be just as good. Follow the catalyst of construction at Meliadine, which has just launched and promises to be a massive project.</p><p><b>Alamos Gold</b><b>:</b> We might be in for an earnings surprise with this one, so this could be a good buy right now. A number of equities research analysts have raised their price objectives on this stock. With Desjardins estimating from <span class="xn-money">C$13.25 to C$13.50</span>.</p><p>By. <span class="xn-person">Charles Kennedy</span><br /><br />Legal Disclaimer/Disclosure from OilPrice.com: This piece is an advertorial and has been paid for. This document is not and should not be construed as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to purchase or subscribe for any investment. No information in this Report should be construed as individualized investment advice. A licensed financial advisor should be consulted prior to making any investment decision. We make no guarantee, representation or warranty and accept no responsibility or liability as to its accuracy or completeness. Expressions of opinion are those of Oilprice.com only and are subject to change without notice. Oilprice.com assumes no warranty, liability or guarantee for the current relevance, correctness or completeness of any information provided within this Report and will not be held liable for the consequence of reliance upon any opinion or statement contained herein or any omission. Furthermore, we assume no liability for any direct or indirect loss or damage or, in particular, for lost profit, which you may incur as a result of the use and existence of the information, provided within this Report. All content contained herein is subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the original article posted on Oilprice.com and subject to the terms and conditions therein.</p><p>DISCLAIMER: OilPrice.com is Source of all content listed above. FN Media Group, LLC (FNM), is a third party publisher and news dissemination service provider, which disseminates electronic information through multiple online media channels. FNM is NOT affiliated in any manner with OilPrice.com or any company mentioned herein. The commentary, views and opinions expressed in this release by OilPrice.com are solely those of OilPrice.com and are not shared by and do not reflect in any manner the views or opinions of FNM. FNM is not liable for any investment decisions by its readers or subscribers. FNM and its affiliated companies are a news dissemination and financial marketing solutions provider and are NOT a registered broker/dealer/analyst/adviser, holds no investment licenses and may NOT sell, offer to sell or offer to buy any security. FNM was not compensated by any public company mentioned herein to disseminate this press release.</p><p>FNM HOLDS NO SHARES OF ANY COMPANY NAMED IN THIS RELEASE.</p><p>This release contains 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. 'Forward-looking statements' describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as 'may', 'future', 'plan' or 'planned', 'will' or 'should', 'expected,' 'anticipates', 'draft', 'eventually' or 'projected'. You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, and other risks identified in a company's annual report on Form 10-K or 10-KSB and other filings made by such company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included herein, and not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date hereof and FNM undertakes no obligation to update such statements.<br /><br /></p><p><b>Contact Information:</b><br />Media Contact e-mail: <a class="linkOnClick" href="mailto:editor@financialnewsmedia.com">editor@financialnewsmedia.com</a> <br />U.S. Phone: +1-954-345-0611</p><p>SOURCE <a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news/oilpricecom"><strong>OilPrice.com</strong> <br /><span class="xn-location"><span><span>LONDON</span></span></span><span>, </span><span class="xn-chron">June 27, 2017</span><span> /PRNewswire/ --</span></a><br /><br /></p><p></p></div></div><p></p><div class="prev-next-article hidden-xs"></div><p></p><p></p></div>
Attention Shoppers: Do You Really Need That Plastic Bag?
https://www.theblacklist.net/profiles/blogs/attention-shoppers-do-you-really-need-that-plastic-bag
2016-11-25T16:30:00.000Z
2016-11-25T16:30:00.000Z
Joyful Living Coaching
https://www.theblacklist.net/members/JoyfulLivingCoaching
<div><a href="http://ezinearticles.com/members/mem_pics/Maryanne-Pope_578673.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://ezinearticles.com/members/mem_pics/Maryanne-Pope_578673.jpg" class="align-full" alt="Maryanne-Pope_578673.jpg" /></a> By Maryanne Pope | "The plastic bag is an accepted part of Canada's shopping culture, but it shouldn't be. Every year we use over 9 billion plastic shopping bags in Canada. That's 17,000 bags a minute."<p></p><p>- Greener Footprints</p><p>Canadians use 9-15 billion plastic shopping bags every year</p><p>To get a feel for just how many bags that actually is, picture this: if we tied 9 billion bags together, they would circle the earth 55 times (Greener Footprints).</p><p>Holy Dinah!</p><p>Every year it's estimated between 500 billion and 1 trillion plastic bags are used across the globe. Although they weren't widely used until the 1980s, their impact has already been felt around the world.</p><p>A quick stroll through your neighbourhood can often reveal how pervasive plastic bags are when it comes to the problem of litter. Hanging from tree branches or tangled in hedges, plastic bags have become a depressing fixture in urban green spaces like parks, schoolyards, and sports fields. Such litter is not only unsightly; it can also contribute to major environmental issues.</p><p>Large buildups of discarded plastic bags can clog drainage systems and contribute to major floods. Such flooding caused widespread destruction in Bangladesh in 1988 and 1998. Manila has also been vulnerable to flooding as a result of plastic-bag clogged sewers. In 2009, more than 80% of the Philippines' capital was submerged. Hundreds were killed and thousands more were left homeless when entire neighbourhoods were swept away.</p><p>Other aquatic chaos created by plastic bags has proven deadly to those who live in the water as well.</p><p>Approximately 100,000 whales, seals, turtles and other marine animals are killed each year by plastic bags, which can strangle their victims or cause them to starve to death, according to Planet Ark, an international environmental group. A dead gray whale that washed ashore in Seattle in 2010 was found to have more than 20 plastic bags in its stomach.</p><p>A 2012 University of British Columbia study found that 93 per cent of beached northern fulmars (migratory seabirds related to the albatross) had bellies full of plastic - a substantial increase from the last time they were tested, in 1980.</p><p>In fact, plastic packaging is accumulating so quickly, it's expected to outnumber fish in the sea by 2050, according to a recent report by the World Economic Forum.</p><p>Yikes.</p><p>According to the David Suzuki Foundation, "Few plastic bags are recycled. Most are used for a short time to carry groceries, and then maybe re-used as garbage bags or to wrap dog poop before ending up in the landfill or the ocean. Some people argue that, because they make up about one per cent of the volume of waste in landfills, we shouldn't worry. But one per cent of the massive amounts of what's in landfills is a lot, especially since plastic doesn't biodegrade."</p><p>Most plastic bags are made from polyethylene and can take hundreds of years to decompose.</p><p>But steps are being taken to reduce the environmental footprint of plastic bags. Use of plastic bags is either restricted or completely banned in over a quarter of the world's countries.</p><p>China, Italy, Bangladesh, South Africa, and parts of Australia have banned plastic bags outright, while municipal bans exist in parts of India, Mexico, Britain, the U.S., and Canada.</p><p>Plastaxes - taxes on plastic bags paid by consumers - and new recycling laws have also been brought in to help address the issue.</p><p>In February 2016, Walmart Canada began phasing out one-use shopping bags at Canadian Walmart stores. In place of these, customers will be offered discounted reusable bags for 25 cents. But plastic bags will still be offered for five cents in an effort to reduce the number of single-use bags they distribute.</p><p>In my neck of the woods (Sidney, British Columbia), the grocery store I frequent doesn't have plastic grocery bags but they do offer single-use brown paper bags - or, of course, you can use reusable grocery bags or a reusable cardboard box, specifically designed to hold the weight of groceries. My personal preference is a box and several reusable bags.</p><p>Although my community is supposedly very environmentally-friendly, I would have to say that, based on my personal observations, the majority of the grocery store customers still choose the single-use brown paper bag over the reusable bag and/or box. And I'm not sure why. Convenience, perhaps?</p><p>What about those little produce bags?</p><p>However, when it comes to bagging my fruits, veggies and bulk foods, I still find myself reaching for the small clear plastic bags off the roll-dispenser every time I go to the grocery store. So this is an area I'm going to work on improving: remembering to bring back to the store my plastic produce & bulk food baggies so I can reuse them a few times, instead of always getting new ones.</p><p>7 Simple ways to reduce the use of shopping bags</p><p>1. Use reusable cloth shopping bags (keep them in your vehicle or a place where you'll remember to use them)</p><p>2. Consider using a reusable cardboard box, specifically designed for carrying groceries</p><p>3. Consult customer service or send a letter/email to stores to inquire about what they're doing to reduce the use of plastic bags</p><p>4. Assess whether you need to use bags as garbage liners - if you don't need to use them, then don't</p><p>5. Re-use plastic bags as much as possible</p><p>6. Recycle the bags you can't reuse by taking them back to the grocery store for recycling (or utilizing other plastic bag recycling programs)</p><p>7. Avoid unnecessary use by telling the cashier you don't need a bag for one or two items</p><p>Reusable bags are the solution</p><p>A sturdy, reusable bag will last for years, and only needs to be used 5 times to have a lower environmental impact than a single-use bag.</p><p>It's not difficult to use a reusable shopping bag... but it is a choice to make it a priority.</p><p>The solution to reducing plastic bag waste is literally in the bag: use less bags in the first place. And, if you do have to use one, then be creative in getting multiple uses out of it. And when this isn't an option, be sure to recycle it.</p><p>Maryanne Pope is the CEO of Pink Gazelle Productions and the author of the creative non-fiction book, A Widow's Awakening. Maryanne also writes screenplays, play scripts and blogs. For further details about A Widow's Awakening or to read Maryanne's blogs, please visit <a href="http://www.pinkgazelle.com/">http://www.pinkgazelle.com/</a>. To sign up to receive the Face the Future environmental blogs, with tips on how to reduce your environmental footprint, please visit <a href="http://www.pinkgazelle.com/contact/face-the-future-subcription/">http://www.pinkgazelle.com/contact/face-the-future-subcription/</a>.<br /> ~<br />Article Source: <a href="http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Maryanne_Pope/612618">http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Maryanne_Pope/612618</a><br />~<br />Article Source: <a href="http://EzineArticles.com/9581112">http://EzineArticles.com/9581112</a></p></div>
Birth Of A Nation: Nat Turner's Mental and Military Motivations
https://www.theblacklist.net/profiles/blogs/birth-of-a-nation-nat-turner-s-mental-and-military-motivations
2016-10-27T11:35:54.000Z
2016-10-27T11:35:54.000Z
SendMeYourNews
https://www.theblacklist.net/members/SendMeYourNews
<div><p><a href="http://www.blackstarnews.com/sites/default/files/styles/news-detail-page/public/field/image/turnerrevolt-1.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.blackstarnews.com/sites/default/files/styles/news-detail-page/public/field/image/turnerrevolt-1.png" class="align-full" alt="turnerrevolt-1.png" /></a>By <span><span class="username">EZRAH AHARONE | </span></span> Nate Parker's movie The Birth of a Nation has revived the question: What caused Nat Turner's 1831 uprising?</p>
<p>Turner, first of all, was not a deranged misfit who acted outside of a historical context of previous African freedom fighters. Throughout slavery's duration, resistance was not only constant and fatal, but twofold-- Africans equally resisted both slavery and Americanization.</p>
<p>Contrary to popular "feel good" versions of history, the "fight against slavery" should not be presumed as a "fight to become American." For enslaved Africans like Turner, Americanization was the obstacle -- not the vehicle -- to the freedom they sought.</p>
<p>A largely overlooked factor that forged Africans into Americans was their inability to muster enough weapons to militarily free themselves from Americanization. Along with the 2nd Amendment which allowed Whites to bear arms, slavery was also backed by America's military, which is why 800 soldiers deployed against Turner. Within this context of warfare (which fomented at least 313 recorded armed uprisings), there is provable evidence that Africans became Americans -- not by virtue of winning the Civil War -- but by virtue of prior military defeats.</p>
<p>CNN Town Halls won't discuss this, but numerous captives were already soldiers in Africa beforehand, who like Turner, held deep monotheistic beliefs. Once in America these battle-tested troops launched guerilla forms of warfare whenever possible, using whatever weapons possible, with clear theological convictions that fused spirituality with revolution.</p>
<p>Naturally, after being forcibly uprooted 5,000 miles from long-lived kingdoms and cultures, they deemed Euro-Americans as new adversaries, and Americanization was certainly not their goal. This explains why tens of thousands of Africans militarily fought with the British against America during the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. Plus, another 100,000 fled or died fleeing to join British forces.</p>
<p>Conclusive stats are unknown, but from a sheer combat perspective, the Revolutionary War could be framed as the largest uprising of Africans who ever unified to militarily free themselves from Americanization-- including Africans reportedly owned by George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.</p>
<p>Despite being defeated, it is still necessary to credit legitimacy to such Africans, beyond distorted narratives that label Turner an "African American" even though men like him sought America's military downfall. Olaudah Equiano (an Ibo, captured at age 11, who published the first surviving "slave account" in 1789: The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano) wrote, "When you make men slaves, you compel them to live with you in a State of War." Once freed in 1792, he bolted like lightning to England.</p>
<p>Haiti's independence (1804) ignited further military motivations. On July 4th, 1804, instead of recognizing US independence, hundreds of Blacks in Philadelphia stormed Independence Hall to live Haitian independence vicariously.</p>
<p>Flanked in military formations, they carried swords and attacked Whites for two days, chanting "we will show them [Whites] St. Domingo [bloodshed like Haiti]."</p>
<p>So, by the dawn of his 1831 uprising, Turner was just one cog in a long continuum of such idealists. Other notable military operations involved: Fort Mose in Florida (1738-1763); the Stono Uprising in South Carolina (1739); the German Coast Uprising in Louisiana (1811); Negro Fort in Florida (1815); and David Walker's Appeal (1828) advocated revolution and religion (even though Walker was more an assimilationist than sovereignist).</p>
<p>Men like Turner also equated themselves to other hemispheric freedom fighters (in nations like Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Columbia) who gained independence-- including Euro-Americans. For example, before being hanged for their 1800 planned uprising, one of Gabriel Prosser's soldiers retorted, "I have nothing more to offer than what General [George] Washington would have had to offer, had he been taken by the British and put to trial. I have adventured my life in endeavouring to obtain the liberty of my countrymen, and am a willing sacrifice in their cause." Translation, he meant, "Bring It: I stand upon universal principles of freedom that -- just like you -- I will never compromise."</p>
<p>Interestingly, in a 60 Minutes interview, Nate Parker paralleled Nat Turner to George Washington in terms of their shared idealisms to "Birth a Nation." From this perspective, whether you agree or disagree with Turner's guerilla tactics, his comparative cause to end tyranny was no less honorable than America’s founders.</p>
<p>Tyranny however can be a very peculiar and subjective creature, since "one man's tyranny can be another man's liberty." Hence, George Washington, who enslaved and tyrannized over 300 Africans is deified on Mt. Rushmore as a hero, while conversely, Nat Turner who fought against slavery's tyranny is demonized as a savage.</p>
<p>To this contradiction, James Baldwin once quipped, "In the US, violence and heroism have been made synonymous . . . except when it comes to Blacks."</p>
<p>~~~~~~~~~~~<br />This article was culled in part from The Sovereign Psyche: Systems of Chattel Freedom vs. Self-Authentic Freedom by Ezrah Aharone who is an adjunct associate professor of political science at Delaware State University. He is also a political and business consultant on African affairs, as well as the author of Sovereign Evolution and Pawned Sovereignty. He can be reached at <a href="http://www.ezrahspeaks.com/">www.EzrahSpeaks.com</a></p>
<p><span style="color:#993300;" class="font-size-1"><em>From: <a class="_rpc_i1 o365button"><span title="ezrah@ezrahspeaks.com" style="color:#993300;">ezrah@ezrahspeaks.com</span></a></em></span></p>
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Stacy Washington: Sorry, Washington Post: EVERYONE Should Reject Statements Demeaning to Women
https://www.theblacklist.net/profiles/blogs/stacy-washington-sorry-washington-post-everyone-should-reject-sta
2016-10-15T00:30:00.000Z
2016-10-15T00:30:00.000Z
SendMeYourNews
https://www.theblacklist.net/members/SendMeYourNews
<div><div><strong><a href="http://www.nationalcenter.org/images/washingtons_sm.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.nationalcenter.org/images/washingtons_sm.jpg" class="align-left" alt="washingtons_sm.jpg" /></a>B</strong><strong>lack Conservative Leader Stacy Washington Was Called Out by Post Columnist for Saying Americans Should Be Outraged by Demeaning Statements Made By Musicians and Others, Not Just Politicians</strong><strong><a href="http://www.nationalcenter.org/images/washingtons_sm.jpg" target="_blank"><br /></a> <br />Washington Calls on All Americans to Push Society in "A Just and Honorable Direction"<br /></strong></div>
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<p><span id="x_auto_lnk_id"><font color="#404040"><em>St. Louis, MO /Washington, D.C.</em> - <a href="http://trk.cp20.com/click/czdc1-4kggz0-sbsv989/" target="_blank" name="x_Stacy" id="x_auto_assign_link_num_3">Stacy Washington</a>, <a href="http://trk.cp20.com/click/czdc1-4kggz1-sbsv980/" target="_blank" name="x_Urban" id="x_auto_assign_link_num_4">Urban Talk Radio host</a> and a national spokesman for the black leadership group Project 21, has issued this response to a Washington Post article attacking <a href="http://trk.cp20.com/click/czdc1-4kggz2-sbsv981/" target="_blank" name="x_Washingtons" id="x_auto_assign_link_num_5">Washington's contention</a> that music with lyrics demeaning women coarsen and harm our culture:</font><span id="x_email_"></span></span></p>
<p><span><font color="#404040">The Washington Post goes to great lengths to discredit the idea that culture impacts the behavior of the people who partake in it. Individuals will always miss the mark, but what we widely accept as culturally appropriate will raise or lower that mark for everyone.<br /><br />I'm not arguing that rappers or music artists are running for president. I'm arguing that the acceptance of degrading music as "art" is hypocritical if you're going to judge the private conversations of others differently no matter who they are or what office they aspire to.<br /><br />Our current expressions of art run the gamut; with utter beauty and fascination at one end and utter debasement at the other. Much of rap music falls at the lower end. To deny that it's having an impact on our children and young adults is to ignore the statistics which show society's decline away from a morally just and honorable direction.<br /><br />The author says reasonable people will laugh at my assertion. I disagree. For decades now religious groups, parent groups, mothers, legislators and elected leaders have decried the violent, sexually-perverse direction America's music, movie, theater and art scenes have taken. Reasonable people aren't laughing; they're crying in shame.</font></span></p>
<p><span><font color="#404040">The Post's Janelle Ross, in <a href="http://trk.cp20.com/click/czdc1-4kggz3-sbsv982/" target="_blank" name="x_an" id="x_auto_assign_link_num_6">an October 12 article</a> now popping up in newspapers nationwide, attacked Washington's observation that hip-hop music affects culture, and that we in turn as Americans, in accepting music and other elements in the popular culture that demean women, influence our elected officials.<br /><br />"Ross's article appears to give musicians and artists a pass, even as she writes that it would be 'illogical' to claim various works of music, literature and art whose contents were criticized 'had no influence at all,'" said Amy Ridenour, chairman of the National Center for Public Policy Research. "Ross states merely that degrading or controversial art, music and literature did not lead to 'the ruination of mankind.' That's a rather low standard! But Ross is ludicrous as well in the way she picks and chooses. Beyonce is compared to Michelangelo. Michelangelo's works have stood the test of time. Beyonce is gifted, but will her art be celebrated in 500 years?"<br /><br />"Ross even makes the ludicrous claim that criticism of art forms demeaning to women, on occasions in which the artist is black, is the cousin of a 1989 incident in which a white man shot his pregnant wife and told the police an unknown black man had done it, causing the police to stop black men as part of their investigation," added Ridenour. "Ross is focusing on the wrong thing. Stacy Washington is standing up for the CONSISTENT promotion of decency across our entire culture. Washington urges EVERYONE to join in building a culture that goes, as she put it, in a 'just and honorable direction.' It's regrettable that Janell Ross and the Washington Post have chosen to stand for lower standards for some, which inevitably reduces standards for all."<br /></font></span></p>
<p><font color="#404040" face="Verdana"><span>* * *</span></font></p>
<p><span><font color="#404040">Project 21 is sponsored by the National Center for Public Policy Research. Project 21 members have been quoted, interviewed or published in the news media over 40,000 times since the program was created in 1992.</font></span></p>
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<p style="text-align:center;"><span>The National Center for Public Policy Research</span><br /><span>20 F Street, NW #700</span><br /><span>Washington, D.C. 20001</span><br /><span>(202) 507-6398</span><br /><span>E-Mail: </span><a href="mailto:info@nationalcenter.org" target="_blank">info@nationalcenter.org</a><br /><span>Web: </span><a href="http://trk.cp20.com/click/czdc1-4kggzd-sbsv981/" target="_blank" name="x_wwwnationalcenterorg" id="x_auto_assign_link_num_">www.nationalcenter.org</a></p>
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The Mission To Educate Black Children Sparks A Match Made in Heaven - Nigeria's Bino & Fino @ Liberated Minds Black Homeschool and Education Expo
https://www.theblacklist.net/profiles/blogs/the-mission-to-educate-black-children-sparks-a-match-made-in
2016-06-26T18:30:00.000Z
2016-06-26T18:30:00.000Z
TBL_Promoter
https://www.theblacklist.net/members/TBLPromoter
<div><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}3828586076,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="484" src="{{#staticFileLink}}3828586076,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="3828586076?profile=original" /></a><span style="color:#993300;" class="font-size-4"><strong>The Mission To Educate Black Children Sparks A Match Made in Heaven</strong></span><br /> <br />The 2016 5th Annual Liberated Minds Black Homeschool and Education Expo and the highly acclaimed Nigerian cartoon series, Bino and Fino, say their vows as they marry forces, the first of its magnitude with a powerful mission to educate children of African descent about their remarkable culture and heritage. Both organizations have caught the worldwide attention of Black parents and educators alike through their unprecedented approach to sharing the tools that build a strong sense of identity and self esteem by way of putting African history and family values at the core of their message.</p><p>The Liberated Minds Black Homeschool and Education Expo was founded in Atlanta, Georgia in 2012 by Queen Taese, a homeschooling Mom of 20 years, who has successfully homeschooled 7 of her own children and hundreds of others. She decided to homeschool as a result of recognizing her obligation to tailor make each of her children's educational road map to fit their innate gifts and how critical a strong cultural foundation would play into that, in order for them to thrive. During her homeschooling journey, there were many trials and triumphs. When asked some of the key elements of her homeschooling success, she states "I've always stayed a student, as well as an educator. We as parents have so much to learn and even unlearn. Being with my children is sacred time to me, bonding time. Keeping in mind the seriousness of the goal, I still remember to flow and have fun allowing the facilitation of their growth and development to propel mine. The way it naturally works is such an exciting and divinely complementary process. Therefore, even with all the challenges, the rewards are astoundingly infinite and everlasting."</p><p>Bino and Fino, the Nigerian based cartoon series as featured on CNN as Africa's answer to Dora the Explorer, is sweeping the planet with an incredible message to Black children worldwide. This magnificent message is one that is raising the self-esteem of Black children everywhere. For those who have seen it will concur that it has a message that positively educates African history and culture, as well as math, science, geography, and so much more. The idea for Bino and Fino came about in 2007, first in the heart of the Nigerian creator, Adamu Waziri, who realized that there was a lack of true African made children's educational cartoon shows that<br />exemplified an honest reflection of themselves. Knowing the power of children's media, this brought serious concern. Waziri, with an amazing team that strongly believed in this vision, worked tirelessly to produce what has now become one of the most phenomenal African cartoons ever.</p><p>"The timing couldn't be better with all of the negative stereotypes and abuse of Black people depicted in the media. Bino and Fino is a tool that can be used to assist in the education of both children and adults alike, and it's fun. My children love it!" Queen Taese shares.</p><p>And so, the union is solidified! Bino and Fino will be at the Monumental 5th Anniversary of the 2016 Liberated Minds Black Homeschool and Education Expo in Atlanta taking place at Georgia Piedmont Technical College on Saturday July 16th. The full weekend Expo has drawn thousands from across the nation and worldwide as Black parents take action in assuring a quality education for their children. There is no other place like it in the world. The offerings speak to why this is such a significant event for so many to attend.</p><p>The Liberated Minds Expo has a multitude of lectures, workshops, and training sessions that specifically meet the needs of Black parents and educators sharing on how to best educate Black children to succeed. The workshops are taught by top Black scholars, successful parents, and amazing educators and are aimed at building competence and confidence. The Liberated Minds Expo also boasts an Exhibitor Hall with all Black owned businesses selling products and services that provide parents with culturally relevant books, curriculum materials, a variety of educational support, networking, programs and resources. Three years ago we also added workshops for younger children 410 (Children's Watoto Village) and teens 1117 (Sankofa Scholars University). Parents have praised the dynamic experience their children are able to experience in one day.</p><p>When asked about her inspiration for organizing the Liberated Minds Expo, she explains, "I created the Expo because I know how imperative it is for us parents and educators, whether we are homeschooling or not, to have effective culturally relevant training, educational resources, a solid support system and a social network that specifically fits the needs of developing the black child to their greatest potential. It was a huge challenge for me figuring things out along the way. I want to share the knowledge I have<br />gained and continue to acquire on the journey, to make the road a little easier for others."</p><p>Liberated Minds has become a consistent pillar that families can rely on every step of the way. This year is a special anniversary. We have reached a 5 year benchmark that signifies our perseverance and resilience and are quickly becoming a household name across the globe. Bino and Fino being a part of this milestone is extraordinary! The relationship between Liberated Minds and Bino and Fino is special because when it comes to the love and cultivation of African children, it is truly a match made in heaven.</p><p><strong>There will be something for the whole family to enjoy as The Liberated Minds Expo big screens a variety of Bino and Fino episodes. There will be fun handson activities related to the theme of the cartoon, and a surprise Live guest appearance by the Bino and Fino Mascots themselves. This will prove to be memorable and educational for all. For more information visit <a href="http://www.LiberatedMindsExpo.com">www.LiberatedMindsExpo.com</a> or call 6783688593 .</strong></p><p><span style="color:#993300;"><em><strong>ALSO READ:</strong></em></span><br /><a href="http://theblacklistpub.ning.com/forum/topics/the-annual-liberated-minds-black-homeschool-education-expo" style="font-size:1.17em;">The Annual Liberated Minds Black Homeschool & Education Expo - Cultivate the Black Genius in Your Children - Atlanta</a></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p></div>
Artist/Producer/Dat boi Scan On Da Track releases the visual to his hot new single "She's Bad".
https://www.theblacklist.net/profiles/blogs/she-bad-
2016-05-02T19:30:00.000Z
2016-05-02T19:30:00.000Z
Deejay Smoke (@PromoMixtapes)
https://www.theblacklist.net/members/DeejaySmokePromoMixtapes
<div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align:left;"><div class="separator" style="clear:both;text-align:center;"><span style="font-family:times, 'times new roman', serif;margin-left:1em;margin-right:1em;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XZ9MekEs5kQ/VybEw8SpuJI/AAAAAAAAGcU/L8fAC0HPiX44AhXzlEpO1joA9_4-4EmJQCLcB/s1600/imagepng_0%2B%25281%2529.png" style="margin-left:1em;margin-right:1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XZ9MekEs5kQ/VybEw8SpuJI/AAAAAAAAGcU/L8fAC0HPiX44AhXzlEpO1joA9_4-4EmJQCLcB/s320/imagepng_0%2B%25281%2529.png" width="320" alt="imagepng_0%2B%25281%2529.png" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear:both;text-align:center;"></div><div style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-family:times, 'times new roman', serif;"><span style="background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#222222;"><b><u>S'Miles Bio</u></b></span><br style="background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#222222;" /><br style="background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#222222;" /><span style="background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#222222;">Artist/Producer an songwriter S'Miles aka Dat Boi Scan Birth name Scandar V</span><br style="background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#222222;" /><span style="background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#222222;">Myles Born in a small city called Amite Louisiana known for the art of pro</span><br style="background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#222222;" /><span style="background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#222222;">live percussionist,pianist,singer also a past hip hop artist background</span><br style="background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#222222;" /><span style="background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#222222;">credits as a producer list of artists.</span></span></div><div style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-family:times, 'times new roman', serif;"><span style="background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#222222;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-family:times, 'times new roman', serif;"><span style="background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#222222;">He has produced for includes Lil</span><br style="background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#222222;" /><span style="background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#222222;">Cali, Magnolia chopper, Grind an hustle by Ddreezy ft Max pain,</span><br style="background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#222222;" /><span style="background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#222222;">Bigdawg Cloc, Salvage Squad, UNLV an a host of underground unsigned up &</span><br style="background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#222222;" /><span style="background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#222222;">coming artists! Finally landing credibility from the transformation of</span><br style="background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#222222;" /><span style="background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#222222;">producing tracks into a full packages solo artist genre an style consist of</span><br style="background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#222222;" /><span style="background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#222222;">R&B/Club/Pop with a hip hop feel stay tuned in for the turn up BofMgt 985</span><br style="background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#222222;" /><span style="background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#222222;">Stand up!!</span></span><br /> <span style="font-family:times, 'times new roman', serif;"><span style="background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#222222;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-family:times, 'times new roman', serif;"><iframe width="100%" height="250" frameborder="0"></iframe></span></div><div style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-family:times, 'times new roman', serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align:center;"></div><div style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-family:times, 'times new roman', serif;">Artist/Producer/Dat boi Scan On Da Track releases the visual to his hot new single <b>"She's Bad"</b>...</span><br /> <span style="font-family:times, 'times new roman', serif;"><br /></span> <br /> <span style="font-family:times, 'times new roman', serif;">This is song an ode to all of the bad females around the way. Press play and checkout my dude <b>Scandar</b> he's heatin things up with this one!</span><br /> <span style="font-family:times, 'times new roman', serif;"><br /></span> <br /> <br /><div style="text-align:center;"><div style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-family:times, 'times new roman', serif;"><b>Youtube: </b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=8H41ol0fWgI">https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=8H41ol0fWgI</a></span><br /> <span style="font-family:times, 'times new roman', serif;"><b>Audio: </b><a href="http://www.audiomack.com/song/dj-smoke-mixtapes/she-bad">http://www.audiomack.com/song/dj-smoke-mixtapes/she-bad</a></span></div><div style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-family:times, 'times new roman', serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-family:times, 'times new roman', serif;"><b>Google Play:</b> <a href="https://play.google.com/store/search?q=s%27miles%20she%27s%20bad">https://play.google.com/store/search?q=s'miles%20she's%20bad</a></span></div><span style="font-family:times, 'times new roman', serif;"><b style="font-family:'times new roman';">Amazon: </b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/social/swf/B01E9SVZPC/o=ShareProduct/ref=tsm_1_aw_swf_d_sp?vs=1" style="font-family:'times new roman';">http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/social/swf/B01E9SVZPC/o=ShareProduct/ref=tsm_1_aw_swf_d_sp?vs=1</a></span><br /></div><span style="font-family:times, 'times new roman', serif;"><b><br /></b> <br /> <b>FB:</b> <a href="http://facebook.com/mrmusic77">Facebook.com/mrmusic77 </a></span><br /> <span style="font-family:times, 'times new roman', serif;"><b>IG:</b> <a href="http://instagram.com/s_miles985">Instagram.com/s_miles985 (@S_Miles985)</a></span><br /> <span style="font-family:times, 'times new roman', serif;"><b>Tweet:</b> <a href="http://twitter.com/smiles985">Twitter.com/smiles985 (@S_Miles985)</a></span><br /> <span style="font-family:times, 'times new roman', serif;"><br /></span> <br /> <b><span style="font-family:times, 'times new roman', serif;">CONTACT</span></b><br /> <span style="font-family:times, 'times new roman', serif;"><b>MGMT:</b> Ball of Fire Music Management</span><br /> <span style="font-family:times, 'times new roman', serif;"><b>Email:</b> Balloffiremgt@gmail.com</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear:both;text-align:center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OLRj0hS0lyM/VybEyfAdbkI/AAAAAAAAGcY/gfsqIB16tgMIbiWjJHia47r4D3bQho3ywCLcB/s1600/C__Data_Users_DefApps_AppData_INTERNETEXPLORER_Temp_Saved%2BImages_12998399_995349320554195_5275089663644909222_o.jpg" style="margin-left:1em;margin-right:1em;"><span style="font-family:times, 'times new roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="116" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OLRj0hS0lyM/VybEyfAdbkI/AAAAAAAAGcY/gfsqIB16tgMIbiWjJHia47r4D3bQho3ywCLcB/s200/C__Data_Users_DefApps_AppData_INTERNETEXPLORER_Temp_Saved%2BImages_12998399_995349320554195_5275089663644909222_o.jpg" width="200" alt="C__Data_Users_DefApps_AppData_INTERNETEXPLORER_Temp_Saved%2BImages_12998399_995349320554195_5275089663644909222_o.jpg" /></span></a></div></div></div>
Democracy denied: US turning Haiti into another vassal state
https://www.theblacklist.net/profiles/blogs/democracy-denied-us-turning-haiti-into-another-vassal-state
2015-12-15T11:54:01.000Z
2015-12-15T11:54:01.000Z
TheBlackList News
https://www.theblacklist.net/members/TheBlackListNews
<div><p><span class="font-size-7"><strong><span style="font-family:'comic sans ms', sans-serif;">Cynthia McKinney:</span></strong></span></p><div id="Stretcher"><div class="ContentBlock"><div id="msgbody"><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default"><div><div><a href="https://img.rt.com/files/2015.10/original/5624be29c46188ea548b45e4.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="https://img.rt.com/files/2015.10/original/5624be29c46188ea548b45e4.jpg?width=350" width="350" class="align-full" alt="5624be29c46188ea548b45e4.jpg?width=350" /></a></div><div>After serving in the Georgia Legislature, in 1992, Cynthia McKinney won a seat in the US House of Representatives. She was the first African-American woman from Georgia in the US Congress. In 2005, McKinney was a vocal critic of the government’s response to Hurricane Katrina and was the first member of Congress to file articles of impeachment against George W. Bush. In 2008, Cynthia McKinney won the Green Party nomination for the US presidency.</div></div><div><strong><em>Published time: 14 Dec, 2015 15:57 Edited time: 14 Dec, 2015 16:03</em></strong></div><div><div><a href="http://on.rt.com/6zgn">Get short URL<br /><span class="font-size-1">~</span></a></div></div><div><div><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}3828577760,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="750" src="{{#staticFileLink}}3828577760,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-full" alt="3828577760?profile=original" /></a></div><div><div><span class="font-size-1"><em>Former U.S. President Bill Clinton (L) shakes hands with Haiti's President Michel Martelly © Andres Martinez Casares / Reuters </em></span></div></div></div><div><div><span class="font-size-1">~</span></div></div><div>Robert Baer just made an incredibly important admission that for me comes way too late, but still it’s good to know. The former CIA officer admits he was given millions of dollars which he used successfully to bribe politicians in Yugoslavia to betray their country’s interest. Robert Baer describes how the US brought democracy to Yugoslavia by destroying it.</div><div><p>Of course, this policy financed by my tax dollars, didn’t benefit me or my next door neighbors; but certain individuals in both the US and Yugoslavia benefitted handsomely from the gambit. Oops, too bad about those hundreds of thousands of lives; too bad about Srebrenica. So, now, Robert Baer is trying to make amends, of sort, by exposing the whole affair. </p><p>Therefore, it is with this backdrop in mind, that I want to explore how US policy can hurt multitudes of people, yet benefit a small clique, and so, be deemed <em>“successful.”</em> US policy in Yugoslavia literally wiped the country off the map. If you are not a peace and justice kind of person, it could be said that the US policy to destroy that country was effective and successful, despite the tremendous loss of life that resulted. And now, the US is attempting to bring <em>“democracy”</em> to Haiti.</p><p>Haiti is currently in the midst of an electoral crisis because the US wants to dictate who the next president will be. In 2010, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton interfered in Haiti’s election results denying the people their right of self-determination. According to the previous (and now current) head of Haiti’s Presidential Electoral Commission (EC), Pierre Louis Opont, the EC had prepared election results to be publicized; those results were passed on to Cheryl Mills, the Chief of Staff of then-Secretary Clinton. But, instead of announcing the two winners, who would then compete in a runoff, Mills announced a completely different result. Opont and the remaining Commission members were shocked, but said or did nothing at the time and allowed the fraudulent result to stand.</p><p>In July 2015, Opont went <a href="http://www.ijdh.org/2015/07/topics/politics-democracy/new-claims-of-us-backed-fraud-in-haitis-2010-presidential-election/" target="_blank">public</a> with the saga, just as Haiti was about to commence its Presidential campaign for 2015. Needless to say, the US-backed Michel Martelly, an entertainer known onstage as <em>“Sweet Mickey”</em> went on to <em>‘win’</em> the Haitian election, defeating Jude Celestin, who had the backing of outgoing President Rene Preval, a Jean-Bertrand Aristide ally. Democracy denied.</p><p>During the 2010 election, the US State Department had made comments like Celestin <em>“was too close to [Venezuelan President Hugo] Chavez.”</em> The US government took it upon itself to deny democracy to Haitians because they had voted for a Chavez ally to lead them. Well, Hugo Chavez is no longer an issue, nor is the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, which just handed Chavez protégé President Nicolas Maduro a crippling blow in Parliamentary elections on December 10, 2015.</p><p>Meanwhile, it was later revealed that Secretary Clinton had awarded, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) a <a href="http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/7/15/usaid-funded-group-supporting-haitian-president.html" target="_blank">$100,000 donation</a> to an organization that supported Clinton’s choice for President, Martelly. After his inauguration, one of Martelly’s favorite slogans was <em>“Haiti is open for business.”</em> For the then-Secretary of State that proved to be an understatement. First, there was the revelation that Tony Rodham, the Secretary’s brother, was awarded a contract to mine Haitian gold. Tony Rodham has no special insights into gold mining except that he is Hillary Clinton’s brother. </p><p>Moreover, the Haitians have refused to mine for more gold because they have steadfastly demanded the return of their gold bullion, <a href="http://www.iacenter.org/warcrime/leblanc.htm" target="_blank">taken</a> for <em>“safe keeping”</em> by the US in 1915. The US militarily <a href="https://history.state.gov/milestones/1914-1920/haiti" target="_blank">occupied</a> Haiti until 1934, but maintained economic control over the country. It is this economic control over Haitian resources that is at the center of the Haitian struggle for self-determination. Now, Secretary Clinton is running for President of the United States, but has yet to answer the question of how her brother came to gain a gold mining contract in Haiti during her tenure at the State Department. Her official answer is that she doesn’t know.</p><div><div><div><div><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}3828577635,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="750" src="{{#staticFileLink}}3828577635,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-full" alt="3828577635?profile=original" /></a><span class="font-size-1"><em>© Lucy Nicholson / Reuters</em></span></div><div><span class="font-size-1">~</span></div></div></div></div><p>More recently, another revelation has come to light of the Clinton Foundation having a for-profit peanut business in Haiti. <a href="https://www.clintonfoundation.org/our-work/clinton-giustra-enterprise-partnership/programs/acceso-peanut-enterprise-corporation" target="_blank">Acceso Peanut Enterprise Corporation</a>, known as Acceso Haiti, is a project of the Clinton Foundation and Canadian mining magnate, Frank Giustra. Candidate Clinton has yet to be asked about her investments in Haiti that have spawned from the 2010 changed election results.</p><p>In addition to finding gold in peanuts, as <em>“Sweet Mickey”</em> is on his way out of the Haitian Presidency (the Haitian Constitution prohibits Presidents to succeed themselves), yet another Clinton Foundation donor was awarded a contract in Haiti. In October 2015, President Martelly <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-44DE0GKdA" target="_blank">awarded</a> an Israeli company, HLSI, the right to secure Haiti’s land and sea borders.</p><p>Now, with the prospects of having yet another election stolen, the people of Haiti have <a href="https://www.rt.com/in-motion/320756-haiti-clashes-marred-election/" target="_blank">erupted</a> to protect their right of self-determination and, moreover, to protect their resources from more Clinton pillage. This Haitian struggle for independence and dignity today is as important for this small Caribbean country as was a similar struggle that resulted in the Haitian Revolution in 1804.</p><p>Recognizing that the situation could easily slip from their control, the US Embassy called Presidential candidate <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsSOO-9SpI0&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">Jude Celestin</a> in for <em>“consultations.”</em> The result was that Celestin got up and walked out of the meeting. He declared at the time,<em>“I am not a dealer, I am a leader.”</em> Celestin, however, did not reveal the contents of the <em>“deal”</em> that was discussed. There certainly is enough on the table. But, the US Embassy should not be in the position of protecting ill-gotten gains of US Presidential candidates against the will of the people in the affected country.</p><p>Jude Celestin has already had one election stolen from him by the Clintons; but this time, he has forged a relationship with the other candidates. They call themselves <em>“the G8.”</em> So far, the G8 have held firm and called the Presidential election, Round One, fraudulent and they will not recognize any election outcome announced by the already-tainted Presidential Election Commission without an independent investigation of the allegations of fraud. </p><p>The US Embassy has not been able to peel away individual candidates who form the G8. On a recent trip to the country, Ambassador Kenneth Merten came away <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/haiti-on-the-brink/2015/12/11/1fd38b5c-9f7b-11e5-a3c5-c77f2cc5a43c_story.html?hpid=hp_no-name_opinion-card-e%3Ahomepage%2Fstory" target="_blank">empty-handed</a>. Now, a special delegation from the United Nations is on the ground in Haiti trying to fix this mess because neither the US nor the Organization of American States has been able to move the G8 from its united position.</p><p>Today, the G8 remain united in their call for an investigation of the election fraud that marred the first round of the Presidential poll.</p><p>The US brought democracy to Yugoslavia and it no longer exists. The US has spent $5 billion according to the State Department bringing democracy to Ukraine and today Ukraine is in turmoil. In the end, neither the people of Yugoslavia, nor the people of Ukraine have benefited from US democracy. And so it goes with the people of Haiti. But the list of non-Haitians who benefit from US <em>“democracy”</em> is long, indeed. And the Clinton Foundation family and donors top this list.</p></div><p>The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.</p></div>-- <br /><div class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div><b> <span>-----------------------------</span><span>-----------------------------+</span><br /><span>| __o CONTINENTAL CRITICAL MASS </span><br /><span>| _`\;,_ come ride with me</span><br /><span>| (*)/ (*) </span><br /><span>| </span><a href="http://bikepeace.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Bike4Peace</a><span> Across the USA </span><br /><span>------------------------------</span><span>-----------------------------+</span></b><br /><br /><a href="http://claritypress.com/McKinneyII.html" target="_blank">http://claritypress.com/McKinneyII.html</a><br /><a href="http://www.claritypress.com/McKinney.html" target="_blank">http://www.claritypress.com/McKinney.html</a><br /><a href="https://www.facebook.com/CynthiaMcKinneyOfficial" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/CynthiaMcKinneyOfficial</a><br /><a href="http://www.allthingscynthiamckinney.com/CynthiaSpeaks" target="_blank">http://www.allthingscynthiamckinney.com/CynthiaSpeaks</a><br /><br />Silence is the deadliest weapon of mass destruction. OPEN SOURCE EVERYTHING!</div><div>"My weapon is media, lectures, protest, organization." Kenneth S. Carr (Dedon Kamathi)<br /><br />"The Bush family has a political dynasty that the Kennedy family was not allowed to have." <br />Steve Cokely<br /><br /><div><div>"Be true to who you are. Don't worry how others may view you. Society is ill, infected with racism, homophobia, and violence. Always remember, it is no measure of health to be well-adjusted to such a profoundly sick society." Coretta Scott King</div></div></div>"We as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values." Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.<br /><div><br /><font size="2"><span><font face="Verdana">"</font></span></font>The biggest weapon in the hands of the oppressors is the minds of the oppressed." Steve Biko<br /><br />"Make your spirit flexible, and nothing will ever bend you out of shape." Wisdom by Taro Gold</div></div></div></div></div></div>_______________________________________________</div><div><br />Updates mailing list<br />Updates@lists.allthingscynthiamckinney.com<br /><a href="http://lists.allthingscynthiamckinney.com/listinfo.cgi/updates-allthingscynthiamckinney.com">http://lists.allthingscynthiamckinney.com/listinfo.cgi/updates-allthingscynthiamckinney.com</a></div><div>~</div><div><strong><span class="font-size-4"><em><a href="https://lists.riseup.net/www/viewmod/theblacklist/63a805a0479c646e3ffdb38978d1c5c3/msg00000.html">[hq2600] From Cynthia McKinney: The U.S. Is Turning Haiti Into A Vassal State</a>, HQ, 12/14/2015</em></span></strong></div></div></div><p></p><p></p></div>
Are Dictators The Only Alternative To Islamic Fundamentalists?
https://www.theblacklist.net/profiles/blogs/are-dictators-the-only-alternative-to-islamic-fundamentalists
2015-12-03T17:48:48.000Z
2015-12-03T17:48:48.000Z
TheBlackList-Publisher
https://www.theblacklist.net/members/TheBlackListPublisher
<div><div id="article-content"><p><a href="http://ezinearticles.com/members/mem_pics/John-Powell_854023.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://ezinearticles.com/members/mem_pics/John-Powell_854023.jpg?width=350" width="350" class="align-full" alt="John-Powell_854023.jpg?width=350" /></a><em>By <a href="http://ezinearticles.com/expert/John_Powell/921287" title="EzineArticles Expert Author John Powell">John Powell</a><span class="author-divider"> | </span></em>It is becoming increasingly clear that the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, has a more realistic approach to the crisis in Syria than the Western leaders. With the power of hindsight, it can now be seen that if President Assad had been supported, instead of the opposition, there would have been no Islamic State in Syria and probably not in Iraq either. It is now up to the West to accept the leadership of Russia and try to avoid Syria going the way of Iraq and Libya, where the removal of the strong men caused the countries to descend into chaos.</p>
<p>The stated aim of Western leaders is to give the Moslem populations of Middle Eastern and North African countries an opportunity to embrace democracy. However, given an opportunity to vote, Moslems have tended to elect an Islamic party to power which then establishes a permanent theocracy with Sharia law and effectively one party rule. Historically, the only alternative has been a take-over by a strong personality, usually from the military, who also imposes one party rule by dictatorial means. Both systems involve ideas and methods that are undemocratic and barbarous, with imprisonment of political opponents, torture and capital punishment.</p>
<p>The fundamental aim of democracy is to give people a choice of government. In a Western democracy, the choice is maintained by allowing general elections to be held at intervals of a few years. This system, with universal suffrage, is still relatively young in historical terms, even in Europe and North America. Before democracy, the leadership of nations was settled by civil war, with the strongest warlord surviving as ruler until a more powerful rival emerged. This is still the system operating in most Moslem countries. Even in a nominal democracy such as Pakistan, the leader is regularly changed by assassination or military coup.</p>
<p>When a dictator is removed, as in Iraq or Libya, or even Egypt, and an election is held, the electorate divides along religious lines and the strongest Moslem sect seeks to impose its form of Islamic state. Apart from domestic abuses, problems arise when the regime seeks to export its ideology, destabilising the region and threatening to disrupt international energy supplies. From a Western viewpoint, a strong dictator is preferable to an Islamic state, although both offend susceptibilities with regard to respect for human rights and the rule of law.</p>
<p>As stated in the Constitution of the USA, Western democracy separates governance from religion, seeing the latter as a matter of individual conscience and thereby allowing a diversity of religious belief within the nation. In Islam, governance is determined by religion and therefore inseparable. So until a majority of Muslims can advance in political maturity, seeking to impose democracy seems doomed to fail. In the meantime, the West can follow Mr Putin in restoring stability to the region by backing the strongmen who have chosen themselves to rule.</p>
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<div id="article-resource"><p><strong><em>My novels set in Ghana: The Colonial Gentleman's Son and Return to the Garden City, as well as my children's book: Saint George: Rusty Knight and Monster Tamer, together with many pictures of Ghana are featured on the website <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ghanabooksjwp.com/">http://www.ghanabooksjwp.com</a> and the books are available on amazon at <a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Return-Garden-City-John-Powell/dp/184624949X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1442856892&sr=8-1&keywords=Return+to+the+Garden+City">http://www.amazon.co.uk/Return-Garden-City-John-Powell/dp/184624949X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1442856892&sr=8-1&keywords=Return+to+the+Garden+City</a> and other booksellers.</em></strong></p>
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<p><strong><em>Article Source: <a href="http://ezinearticles.com/expert/John_Powell/921287">http://EzineArticles.com/expert/John_Powell/921287</a></em></strong></p>
<p><span><br /><br />Article Source: <a href="http://EzineArticles.com/9239156">http://EzineArticles.com/9239156</a></span></p>
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Affirmative Action: Black Conservatives Join Supreme Court Legal Brief Demanding End to Race-Based University Admissions
https://www.theblacklist.net/profiles/blogs/affirmative-action-black-conservatives-join-supreme-court-legal-b
2015-09-15T13:30:54.000Z
2015-09-15T13:30:54.000Z
SendMeYourNews
https://www.theblacklist.net/members/SendMeYourNews
<div><p><strong><a href="http://www.nationalcenter.org/images/cooper_sm.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.nationalcenter.org/images/cooper_sm.jpg?width=238" width="238" class="align-full" alt="cooper_sm.jpg?width=238" /></a></strong></p>
<ul><li><em><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>Affirmative Action Returns to the U.S. Supreme Court</strong></span></em></li>
<li><em><strong>Black Conservatives Join Supreme Court Legal Brief Demanding End to Race-Based University Admissions</strong></em></li>
<li><em><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>Schools Accused of Trampling Constitution for Politically-Correct Diversity Goals</strong></span></em></li>
<li><em><strong>U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Same Racial Preferences Case Twice in Almost Two Years</strong></em></li>
</ul><div><span><strong> <br /></strong></span></div>
<p><span><font color="#404040"> <a href="http://trk.cp20.com/Tracking/t.c?8ri3u-txm4z-sbsv987&_v=2" name="Project" target="_blank">Project 21</a>, a leader in the promotion of black conservative public policy opinion and activism, has joined a new legal brief to the U.S. Supreme Court opposing racial preferences in school admissions.<br /><br />Project 21 joined an <a href="http://trk.cp20.com/Tracking/t.c?8ri3u-txm50-sbsv984&_v=2" target="_blank">amicus curiae</a> ("friend of the court") legal brief written by the <a href="http://trk.cp20.com/Tracking/t.c?8ri3u-txm51-sbsv985&_v=2" target="_blank">Pacific Legal Foundation</a> and also joined by the Center for Equal Opportunity, American Civil Rights Institute and National Association of Scholars in the case of Abigail Noel Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, et al.<br /><br />This is the second time the Fisher case will come before the U.S. Supreme Court. In the case, Abigail Fisher, who is white, claimed that race preferences prevented her acceptance at the University of Texas at Austin in favor of a lesser-qualified minority applicant.<br /><br />In 2013 the Court ruled 7-1 that race-conscious admissions policies must be narrowly tailored in order to be constitutional, and sent the case back to the federal 5th Circuit Court of Appeals to be reheard. The Supreme Court justices told the 5th Circuit to retry the case under standards of "strict scrutiny." The lower court sided with the University of Texas at Austin again. In July 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court accepted the case for a rehearing to determine if the 5th Circuit properly followed the Supreme Court's instructions.<br /><br />A date for oral arguments at the Supreme Court has not been announced. A decision is expected by June 2016.<br /><br />"The Supreme Court's earlier rulings make it clear that quotas and other kinds of broad-based racial preferences are impermissible," said Project 21 Co-Chairman <a href="http://trk.cp20.com/Tracking/t.c?8ri3u-txm52-sbsv986&_v=2" target="_blank">Horace Cooper</a>, a legal commentator who taught constitutional law at George Mason University and was a leadership staff member for the U.S. House of Representatives. "One would think that, in 2015, no school would think it necessary to rely on a racial test to balance out its student body. In this case alone, however, the Court has given every opportunity for the lower court and the University of Texas itself to reassess its race-based admissions policy. Yet it appears only direct intervention by the Court will now be sufficient. The days for race-based social engineering are numbered."<br /><br /> Project 21's Cooper is a University of Texas at Austin graduate.<br /><br />Fisher and her supporters, including Project 21, asked the Court to determine if the lower court followed the orders of the justices to thoroughly and thoughtfully re-examine if the University of Texas at Austin's race-conscious admissions policy is narrowly tailored and consistent with the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.<br /><br />When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2003 that race preferences for the sake of campus diversity were permissible, the University of Texas at Austin immediately instituted the race-conscious admissions policy challenged in the Fisher case. It was instituted despite other schools' use of additional considerations to achieve their own diversity goals, factoring in things such as parental income, parental educational histories, general family history and even a Texas policy that guaranteed state-run university enrollment for students in the top percentages of their high school graduating classes. The Project 21 brief notes:</font><em><span>Washington, DC -</span></em></span></p>
<p><span><font color="#404040">There is no evidence that the University considered many of these race-neutral options, nor has it documented why these options would fail to produce a critical mass of underrepresented students and the educational benefits a diverse student body provides.<br /></font></span></p>
<p><span><font color="#404040">The brief also argues that "the University has failed to prove that its race-conscious program is narrowly tailored" to benefit alleged diversity goals because the assertion is not proven, the university has not seemed to weigh the costs and benefits of a race-conscious admissions policy nor has it proved it pursued all available alternatives to a race-conscious policy.<br /><br />Furthermore, the brief explained this problem is not limited to the University of Texas at Austin:</font></span></p>
<p><span><font color="#404040">There is no evidence that universities have weighed the undeniable costs of racial preferences against the benefits that purportedly result from classifying individuals on the basis of race. And there is no evidence that universities have given serious thought to whether these benefits can be achieved through race-neutral means. This demonstrates that universities nationwide continue to flout the Court's limits on the use of race in admissions decisions.<br /></font></span></p>
<p><span><font color="#404040">Because the situation is not unique, Project 21 and the other organizations on the PLF-written brief noted the Court must definitively address the issue of the constitutionality of race-conscious admissions policies:</font></span></p>
<p><span><font color="#404040">This Court's most recent decision in Fisher - emphasizing the need to exhaust race-neutral measures before turning to race-based classifications - has not changed the behavior at our nation's public universities...<br /><br />[P]ublic institutions are not considering the costs attendant to racial preferences, and whether those costs outweigh the purported benefits.<br /><br />"Over a century ago, Justice John Marshall Harlan said 'Our Constitution is colorblind and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens.' The justices who underwhelmed almost everyone by sending the Fisher case back to the 5th Circuit in 2013 now have another chance to reaffirm Constitutional principle," said Project 21's <a href="http://trk.cp20.com/Tracking/t.c?8ri3u-txm53-sbsv987&_v=2" target="_blank">Joe R. Hicks</a> , the former executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference's Greater Los Angeles chapter. "Justice Clarence Thomas got it right on Fisher when he wrote 'I would... hold that a state's use of race in higher education admissions is categorically prohibited by the Equal Protection Clause.' And, as my friend Richard Sander -- a UCLA law professor and expert on social and economic equality -- has patiently explained, race preferences hurt the supposed beneficiaries. These students, he wrote in The Atlantic, 'fall behind from the start and become increasingly lost as the professor and her classmates race ahead... the experience may well induce panic and self-doubt, making learning even harder.'"<br /></font></span></p>
<p><span><font color="#404040">The brief additionally cites "academic mismatch" as a perilous byproduct of poorly-crafted race-conscious admissions policies, noting that "racial preferences... cause acute harm to those who receive them." By placing minority students in schools above their academic aptitude so that the institution can achieve its diversity goals, the brief noted "[t]he result is a significant gap in academic credentials between minority and nonminority students at all levels." This may lead to changed majors, dashed hopes and - worst of all - disparate dropout rates among minority students.<br /><br />Project 21's Hicks added: "The broader debate surrounding 'affirmative action' has changed since the Court last ruled on this case. This time, they are thankfully afforded a second chance to end the divisive practice of race preferences."<br /><br />In sum, the Project 21 brief points out to the justices that:</font></span></p>
<p><span><font color="#404040">When an educational institution discriminates on the basis of race, narrow tailoring requires that it prove independently how racial preferences are the least harmful means to secure the educational benefits of diversity... The Court can ensure that students are treated equally under the law by holding that the University's decision fails to satisfy the narrow tailoring requirements of the Equal Protection Clause.</font></span></p>
<p><span><font color="#404040">Additional information about this case and the amicus brief just filed can be found in a blog post by the author of the brief, attorney Joshua Thompson, at the Pacific Legal Foundation website<a href="http://trk.cp20.com/Tracking/t.c?8ri3u-txm54-sbsv988&_v=2" name="here" target="_blank">here</a>.<br /><br />Project 21 members have been interviewed or cited by the media on current events and politics in tens of thousands of instances since its founding in 1992. Most recently, this has included Fox News Channel programs such as "Special Report with Bret Baier," the "O'Reilly Factor," "Fox and Friends" and "The Kelly File" as well as CNN's "The Situation Room," HLN's "Dr. Drew," Blaze TV, America One News Network, TVOne, RT and Newsmax TV. On radio and in print, Project 21 members have appeared on or been cited by the Salem Radio Network, Sean Hannity, Jim Bohannon, Bill Martinez, Radio America, American Urban Radio Network, Bill Cunningham, Roger Hedgecock, Mike Siegal, Dana Loesch, Thom Hartmann, the Progressive Radio Network, EurWeb, Orlando Sentinel, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, SiriusXM satellite radio and 50,000-watt talk radio stations that include WGN-Chicago, WBZ-Boston, WJR-Detroit, KDKA-Pittsburgh and WLW-Cincinnati.<br /><br />Project 21 has participated in many cases before the U.S. Supreme Court regarding race preferences and voting rights and defended voter ID laws at the United Nations. Its volunteer members come from all walks of life and are not salaried political professionals.<br /><br />Members of the Project 21 black leadership network are available for media comment on this case as well as the overall issue of race preferences in what some call a "post-racial" contemporary America.<br /><br />A leading voice of black conservatives for over two decades, Project 21 is sponsored by the National Center for Public Policy Research, a conservative, free-market, non-profit think-tank established in 1982.<br /><br />Contributions to the National Center are tax-deductible and greatly appreciated.<br /></font></span></p>
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<p><span>-30-</span></p>
<div><div><font face="Verdana" size="2"><span> <br /></span></font></div>
<div><span>Note: The views of individual Project 21 members are not necessarily the views of the National Center for Public Policy Research or of all other Project 21 members. </span></div>
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<p>~</p>
<p><span>Press Release: September 15, 2015</span><br /><span>Contact: Judy Kent at (703) 759-7476 or </span><a href="http://secure.campaigner.com/CSB/Campaigns/jkent%40nationalcenter.org" name="LinkIsNotTracked" id="ecxauto_lnk_id" target="_blank">jkent@nationalcenter.org</a></p>
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Council on American-Islamic Relations Questions Feds' Silence After Oklahoma Business Joins 'Muslim-Free' Movement
https://www.theblacklist.net/profiles/blogs/council-on-american-islamic-relations-questions-feds-silence-afte
2015-08-16T14:30:00.000Z
2015-08-16T14:30:00.000Z
TheBlackList-Publisher
https://www.theblacklist.net/members/TheBlackListPublisher
<div><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}3828574227,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="750" src="{{#staticFileLink}}3828574227,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-full" alt="3828574227?profile=original" /></a>The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today said that an <b><span class="xn-location"><span><span>Oklahoma</span></span></span> survival equipment store</b> has joined the growing number of businesses nationwide that have declared themselves <b>"Muslim-free."</b></p>
<p>CAIR also questioned why, despite repeated requests for action, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has remained silent on the "clearly illegal" religious ban, which the <span class="xn-location">Washington</span>-based group compared to <b>"whites only"</b> businesses excluding African-Americans prior to the Civil Rights Movement.</p>
<p><b>The Save Yourself Survival and Tactical Gear store in <span class="xn-location"><span><span>Oktaha, Okla.</span></span></span>,</b> has a sign in its window stating it is a "Muslim free establishment." The sign also states, <b>"We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone,"</b> which is the same language used by businesses that refused to serve African-American customers in the 1950s.</p>
<p><b>SEE: 'Muslim-Free' Sign at Save Yourself Survival and Tactical Gear </b><a href="http://www.cair.com/images/press_releases/muslimfree.jpg" target="_blank"><br /> http://www.cair.com/images/press_releases/muslimfree.jpg</a></p>
<p>"It is sad to see an <span class="xn-location">Oklahoma</span> business join the clearly illegal movement to deny service to American Muslims, and it is equally sad to note the silence of our government on this denial of religious freedom and equal access to public accommodations," said <b>Veronica Laziure, civil rights director of CAIR's <span class="xn-location"><span><span>Oklahoma</span></span></span> chapter</b>. "As a nation, we rightfully moved past 'whites only' businesses, but our national leaders seem unwilling to challenge 'Muslim-free' public facilities."</p>
<p>"We ask Americans who support constitutional rights to contact the businesses that announce these segregationist policies and urge their owners to follow the law by serving customers of all faiths and background," said <b>CAIR-Oklahoma Executive Director <span class="xn-person"><span>Adam Soltani</span></span></b>.</p>
<p><b><span class="xn-person"><span>Brady Henderson</span></span>, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of <span class="xn-location"><span><span>Oklahoma</span></span></span></b> (ACLUOK), said: "If the ideas of public segregation and second-class citizenship belong anywhere, they belong in the past. Whether a business's policy is 'no coloreds' or 'no Muslims,' it is making the same choice to put hate and ignorance ahead of traditional American values like freedom and equality. It is important that we as citizens speak out against the growing movement to resurrect <span class="xn-person">Jim Crow</span>."</p>
<p>Businesses in <b><span class="xn-location"><span><span>New York</span></span></span>, <span class="xn-location"><span><span>Kentucky</span></span></span>, <span class="xn-location"><span><span>Florida</span></span></span>, <span class="xn-location"><span><span>Arkansas</span></span></span> and <span class="xn-location"><span><span>New Hampshire</span></span></span></b> have already been declared "Muslim-free zones."</p>
<p>CAIR recently called on the U.S. Department of Justice to address the "illegal and un-American phenomenon." </p>
<p><b>SEE: CAIR Asks DOJ to Address Spread of 'Muslim-Free Zone' Business Declarations </b><a href="http://www.cair.com/press-center/press-releases/13100-cair-asks-doj-to-address-spread-of-muslim-free-zone-business-declarations.html" target="_blank"><br /> http://www.cair.com/press-center/press-releases/13100-cair-asks-doj-to-address-spread-of-muslim-free-zone-business-declarations.html</a> </p>
<p>Earlier this year, CAIR did receive a letter from the DOJ announcing a decision to "monitor" a <span class="xn-location">Hot Springs, Ark.</span>, shooting range that has been declared a "Muslim-free zone" by its owner. No further action has been reported.</p>
<p><b>SEE: CAIR Welcomes DOJ Decision to 'Monitor' Arkansas Shooting Range Declared 'Muslim-Free Zone' by Owner <br /></b> <a href="http://www.cair.com/press-center/press-releases/12944-doj-to-monitor-arkansas-shooting-range-declared-muslim-free-zone-by-owner.html" target="_blank">http://www.cair.com/press-center/press-releases/12944-doj-to-monitor-arkansas-shooting-range-declared-muslim-free-zone-by-owner.html</a> </p>
<p>CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.</p>
<p><b>CONTACT:</b> CAIR-OK Civil Rights Director <span class="xn-person">Veronica Laziure</span>, 405-430-9877, <a target="_blank" href="mailto:vlaizure@cair.com">vlaizure@cair.com</a>; CAIR-OK Executive Director <span class="xn-person">Adam Soltani</span>, 405-248-5853, <a target="_blank" href="mailto:asoltani@cair.com">asoltani@cair.com</a>; CAIR National Communications Director <span class="xn-person">Ibrahim Hooper</span>, 202-744-7726, <a target="_blank" href="mailto:ihooper@cair.com">ihooper@cair.com</a>; CAIR Communications Coordinator <span class="xn-person">Nabeelah Naeem</span>, 202-488-8787, 202-341-4171, <a href="mailto:nnaeem@cair.com" target="_blank">nnaeem@cair.com</a></p>
<p></p>
<p>SOURCE Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)<br /> ~<br /><a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cair-questions-feds-silence-after-oklahoma-business-joins-muslim-free-movement-300128348.html" target="_blank">WASHINGTON, Aug. 13, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --</a></p>
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Jalil A. Muntaqim: A Mother’s Loss - For the Mothers who lost a child from an unjustified police shooting.
https://www.theblacklist.net/profiles/blogs/jalil-a-muntaqim-a-mother-s-loss-for-the-mothers-who-lost-a-child
2015-01-18T21:00:00.000Z
2015-01-18T21:00:00.000Z
TheBlackList-Publisher
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<div><p class="ecxMsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:left;">To lose a child under any circumstances is heart-wrenching for any parent. This is especially true when it is done by a representative of government. When the police kill, particularly a child, more specifically a man-child of color, it raises many questions about justification. As the rash of such police killings has created a national debate, it is important to recognize law enforcement in America has evolved into a militarized institution. Like many American institutions, it has been awarded with various forms of immunity, a type of exceptionalism. The contradictory dichotomy between becoming a hero or villain is based on the intent of the police officer who takes a civilian life, and how the law interprets that intent. The problem is that, when a person takes and passes the civil service exam and is sworn in as law enforcement personnel, they are granted the presumption of immunity. Yet the philosophy endemic and common to all law enforcement agencies is that they are guardians of a social order, as defined by law. Impressed upon this philosophy is the evolving of an ideology and a culture that reinforces an ideal, almost a belief system. Such a belief system creates a socio-political environment of a “them” and “us” paradigm, setting them apart and above the civilian population. Here is where the problem begins, which is especially significant when the horrific history of race is added to this evolving institutionalized culture. Just as all police officers are not villains or heroes, the culture of the Blue-line makes it difficult to distinguish them apart, especially when they consistently rally around each other whether right or wrong. Within a known racially biased judicial system, they in essence protect the ideal of their immunity and the sanctity of their institutionalized culture.</p>
<p class="ecxMsoNormal">It is with this understanding that a Mother must know when they lose a child to a police shooting, it is more than the individual cop they have to confront, it is the culture and institution that they represent. In this regard, while it is not necessary here to offer insight into the well-documented historical relationships between the system of slavery and the development of the police system, I must quote from Steve Martinot, “White Identity, Constitutionality, and its Double Legal System,” where he recounts:</p>
<p class="ecxMsoNormal">“Both the police and the impunity of slave masters belong to the same paradigm of dual system of law, sanctioned by the law, in producing the subjection of people of color. What contemporary juridical procedure has done, by valorizing police impunity, is to regenerate the double system of law of the slave system … Thus, both manifest the component elements of white racial identity: paranoia … violence …, and white solidarity …”</p>
<p class="ecxMsoNormal">Hence, the reality of the situation is our community is not confronting individual cops or police agencies, but a historical cultural dynamic that has been institutionalized, not unlike the prison industrial complex and the school to prison pipeline as trinity of repression. It is apparent that these oppressive conditions are not circumstantial, it is policy driven and codified in law. For example, the well-known disparity in sentencing for crack possession compared to cocaine possession, or the number of Black folks stopped and arrested for marijuana possession compared to white folks being stopped and arrested. As a recent Times/CBS poll discovered, 45 percent of Black people, compared to 7 percent of white people, believed they had experienced a specific instance of police discrimination because of their race. Such is the case that 31 percent of white folks recognize police are more likely to use deadly force in Black neighborhoods than in white neighborhoods. If there is to be a remedy to this national problem, it is essential that Mothers of children lost to unjustified police shootings create a national database to identify the extent of the problem. To ensure a national dialogue on this problem demands congressional hearings on how best to De-Centralize and De-Militarize police forces across the country.</p>
<p class="ecxMsoNormal">In this way, this struggle has the potential to demystify the invincibility of the police culture of impunity and immunity. Obviously, this debate needs to strengthen the argument the police are to represent the interests of people above the profits of the capitalist system. Essentially, Mothers who have lost children to police killings and the community must take a position that law enforcement is not above the law. Secondly, passing a civil service exam does not exempt law enforcement personnel from prosecution for the unjustified killing of innocent civilians. Since the culture of law enforcement supports the impression they are above the law, people must argue that legislation be passed that Community Review Boards have investigative and subpoena power, and are capable of demanding the prosecution and/or firing of police officers who have been found to violate people’s civil and human rights. In this way, the community, especially Mothers of lost children, will be able to take control of the narrative in defining the relationship between the community and law enforcement. This may seem extreme; however, Martin Luther King, Jr. is reported to have instructed: “The question is not whether we will be extremists but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice, or will we be extremists for the cause of justice?” I believe all will agree there is nothing more extreme than the unjustified killing by police of Black children and men.</p>
<p class="ecxMsoNormal">I am sorry for all the losses of these children, and Black boys, based on the failure of the Black Panther Party to pass on to the next generation lessons from the Cointelpro onslaught on the BPP. It is extremely unfortunate that such an important institution (police force) embedded in our community maintains a culture that seemingly epitomizes a “them” and “us” dysfunctional relationship. Obviously, community policing, in which police officers live and work in the community, would be best to engender a better relationship with law enforcement. But because of all that has been expressed above, the potential for that to happen is a far-fetched ideal. However, the fight for community policing empowers the community to take control of crime and punishment in the community. We can only hope that by virtue of Mothers’ losses and the struggle to remedy such tragedy, we will win a more improved and appreciated relationship by lessening dependence on the police, and not cultivate negatively perceived belief in the police as an occupying force to keep the natives in control.</p>
<p class="ecxMsoNormal">I would like to close by making one other observation. There is a need for the inhabitants of our community to take control of the community to lessen the need for police patrols. Street violence and drug dealing that puts everyone’s lives in jeopardy, including cops, is the responsibility of the community. This is a collective failure, despite all of the political and socio-economic policies and decision-making that reinforce impoverishment, joblessness, homelessness and hopelessness … crime in the community is a principle enemy. Collectively, we must confront Black on Black crime to preserve the future of our youth. This means that our youth must be recruited and trained to become community activists in the fight opposing political policies that disenfranchise and impoverish the community. The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense held that criminal activity in the community was reactionary, and potentially counter-revolutionary. We have lost several generations since the Cointelpro destruction of the Black Panther Party to prison and the grave as a result of police repression. We must make every effort as part of challenging the current wave of police killings to eliminate the need for police entrenchment in the community. This requires the community’s responsibility to end Black on Black crime.</p>
<p class="ecxMsoNormal">This is the hard discussion that must be held as part of the national debate to eliminate these police killings, further eliminating the need for the overwhelming police presence in the community. A Mother’s loss of a child to police or street violence makes this demand on all of us, as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. instructed:</p>
<p class="ecxMsoNormal">“Every step toward this goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.</p>
<p class="ecxMsoNormal">The First Line of Defense IS Power to the People!</p>
<p class="ecxMsoNormal">Fist Up! Fight Back!</p>
<p class="ecxMsoNormal">Remember: We Are Our Own Liberators!</p>
<p class="ecxMsoNormal">Jalil A. Muntaqim<br /> Attica 1/5/15</p>
<p class="ecxMsoNormal"><strong><span>Anthony Jalil Bottom</span></strong> #77A4283<br /> Attica Correctional Facility<br /> P.O. Box 149<br /> Attica NY 14011-0149</p>
<p>~<a href="http://www.petitionbuzz.com/petitions/jerichocointelpro" target="_blank" style="font-size:large;"><br /> SIGN THE JERICHO COINTELPRO PETITION!</a></p>
<div class="ecxgmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><font size="4"><br /><span>Free All Political Prisoners!</span><br /><a href="mailto:nycjericho@gmail.com" target="_blank">nycjericho@gmail.com</a><span> • </span><a href="http://www.jerichony.org/" target="_blank">www.jerichony.org</a></font></div>
</div></div>
Preface for "As if We’re Half Animals", by Filep Karma - West Papua
https://www.theblacklist.net/profiles/blogs/preface-for-as-if-we-re-half-animals-by-filep-karma-west-papua
2015-01-04T21:52:09.000Z
2015-01-04T21:52:09.000Z
TheBlackList-Publisher
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<div><div><div><span>Below is the preface that Jim Elmslie wrote for Filep Karma’s book, ‘As if We’re Half Animals’</span></div>
<div><span class="ecxs5">Jim Elmslie is a Master of International Studies</span><span class="ecxs2"> </span><span class="ecxs5">and </span><span class="ecxs5">Doctor of Philosophy (Economics) at Sydney University. His Ph.D. thesis entitled </span><span class="ecxs2">Irian Jaya Under the Gun: Indonesian Economic Development versus West Papuan Nationalism</span><span class="ecxs5"> was published by the University of Hawaii Press in 2002</span></div>
<div><p class="ecxs2"><span><a target="_blank"></a></span></p>
<p class="ecxs2"><span> ------------------------------------------------------</span></p>
<span><br /></span>
<p class="ecxs2"><span><span class="ecxs3">Preface for </span><span class="ecxs4">As if </span><span class="ecxs4">We’re</span><span class="ecxs4"> Half Animals, </span><span class="ecxs3">by </span><span class="ecxs3">Filep</span><span class="ecxs3"> Karma.</span></span></p>
<p class="ecxs2"><span><span class="ecxs2">Deiyai</span><span class="ecxs2"> Publishers, </span><span class="ecxs2">Jayapura</span><span class="ecxs2">, 2014.</span></span></p>
<p class="ecxs2">Preface</p>
<p class="ecxs2"><span class="ecxs2">Jim Elmslie</span></p>
<p class="ecxs2"><span> </span></p>
<p class="ecxs2"><span><span class="ecxs2">File</span><span class="ecxs2">p Karma’s life embodies the story of West Papua since the Indonesian takeover in 1962-3. Born in 1959 he has lived his entire adult life under the shadow of</span><span class="ecxs2"> the</span><span class="ecxs2"> Indonesian military</span><span class="ecxs2">. In one of the darkest chapters of West Papua’s dark history </span><span class="ecxs2">since 1962</span><span class="ecxs2">– the Biak Massacre of</span><span class="ecxs2"> 6 July</span><span class="ecxs2"> 1998 – Karma was the key player in </span><span class="ecxs2">peacefully </span><span class="ecxs2">confronting the Indonesian state</span><span class="ecxs2"> and demanding independence</span><span class="ecxs2">. His philosophy and prac</span><span class="ecxs2">tice of non-violence protest were</span><span class="ecxs2"> met with extreme violence by the</span><span class="ecxs2">Indonesian military</span><span class="ecxs2">. T</span><span class="ecxs2">he veil of civility that shrouds West Papua was ripped aside and the true nature of the forces confronting the Papuans </span><span class="ecxs2">was exposed</span><span class="ecxs2">. Karma survived </span><span class="ecxs2">the violence of that day and his first long prison term, </span><span class="ecxs2">and is viewed by many </span><span class="ecxs2">in Papua and beyond as a kind of saint – a man prepared to give</span><span class="ecxs2"> up everything to peacefully express an ideal – that his country should be free. For that he has been </span><span class="ecxs2">beaten, shot, serially incarcerated</span><span class="ecxs2"> and threate</span><span class="ecxs2">ned with death.</span></span></p>
<p class="ecxs2"><span class="ecxs2"> </span></p>
<p class="ecxs2"><span><span class="ecxs2">The title of this book, </span><span class="ecxs5">As if We’re Half Animals</span><span class="ecxs2">, is a powerful statement;</span><span class="ecxs2"> five words that seek to explain 52 years of</span><span class="ecxs2">mis</span><span class="ecxs2">treatment under Indonesia. The</span><span class="ecxs2"> fact is that</span><span class="ecxs2"> West Papuans have b</span><span class="ecxs2">een treated like ‘half-animals’</span><span class="ecxs2"> and that treatment continues <a target="_blank">until today</a></span><span class="ecxs2">,</span><span class="ecxs2"> from Jayapura all the way up to Wamena in the central highlands, and throughout the country. Papuan men and women are caught up in </span><span class="ecxs2">‘sweeping’ operations, or police road blocks or at simple protests over basic rights and are imprisoned, tortured and killed, seemingly at random. Not only are perpetrators of the </span><span class="ecxs2">even the worst </span><span class="ecxs2">violence not held accountable (they are promoted), but soldiers gleefully record their </span><span class="ecxs2">atrocious </span><span class="ecxs2">acts on their cell phones as ‘trophies’. Like the big game hunters in Africa posing with dead lions, they </span><span class="ecxs2">are seen to </span><span class="ecxs2">squat proudly over the corpses of slain Papuans, grinning. In the taunts the soldiers make</span><span class="ecxs2"> in one notorious video of a disemboweled and dying man in his</span><span class="ecxs2"> village</span><span class="ecxs2">, </span><span class="ecxs2">they speak as if to</span><span class="ecxs2"> a ‘half-animal</span><span class="ecxs2">’, as if the Papuans do not deserv</span><span class="ecxs2">e the right to be treated as humans</span><span class="ecxs2">.</span></span></p>
<p class="ecxs2"><span class="ecxs2"> </span></p>
<p class="ecxs2"><span><span class="ecxs2">This ent</span><span class="ecxs2">renched inhumanity was most </span><span class="ecxs2">wrenchingly revealed to me at the Biak Massacre Citizens Tribunal, held at S</span><span class="ecxs2">ydney University on July 6, 2013</span><span class="ecxs2">. One survivor of the massacre, Tineke Rumakabu, described her treatment at the hands of a group of soldiers within an army facil</span><span class="ecxs2">ity. Twelve women and girls are</span><span class="ecxs2"> stripped, beaten</span><span class="ecxs2"> and raped by the soldiers. In</span><span class="ecxs2"> chilling words</span><span class="ecxs2"> </span><span class="ecxs2">Tineke</span><span class="ecxs2"> told the Tribunal:</span></span></p>
<p class="ecxs7"><span class="ecxs6">I saw a man showing us a little knife, the one you use to shave, and then he said ‘we are going to use this to cut off your vaginas, from above and below, and from the left and from the right.’ I saw a little girl, they raped her and then she died. All over the place it was blood everywhere because women’s vaginas and clitorises had been cut out and they had been raped many, many times. They also hit another woman with a bayonet and then cut off the neck and also the breasts of the woman.</span></p>
<p class="ecxs2"><span><span class="ecxs2">Why? How can one answer that? How can one look ins</span><span class="ecxs2">ide another man’s head and figure out what</span><span class="ecxs2"> chain of thoughts</span><span class="ecxs2"> (or orders)</span><span class="ecxs2"> must flow</span><span class="ecxs2"> to </span><span class="ecxs2">come to the conclusion that this is a reasonable thing to do? </span><span class="ecxs2">Of the twelve women, eight are killed; four, including Tineke, manage to escape when Christian soldiers intercede on their behalf. Her testimony under oath and before eminent Australian lawyers is corroborated by reports of dozens of mutilated bodies being washed up on the shores of Biak, including t</span><span class="ecxs2">hat of a naked, headless woman, in the days and weeks after <a target="_blank">July 6</a></span><span class="ecxs8"><a target="_blank">th</a></span><span class="ecxs2"><a target="_blank">.</a></span></span></p>
<p class="ecxs2"><span class="ecxs2"> </span></p>
<p class="ecxs2"><span><span class="ecxs2">The</span><span class="ecxs2"> treatment of Tineke Rumakabu was</span><span class="ecxs2"> not an isolated </span><span class="ecxs2">event. A theme of Indonesia’s 52</span><span class="ecxs2"> year occupation of West Papua is extreme sexual </span><span class="ecxs2">and other </span><span class="ecxs2">violence carried out against both men and women, with impunity and apparent relish. Again, why? Rape and torture are a feature of every war, and the strange and horrible war that has unfolded in West Papua since the Indonesian takeover is no exception. Yet the accounts of cruelty meted out to the Papuans, such as to Tineke, go beyond rape, beyond ‘torture for information’. They are gratuitous acts</span><span class="ecxs2">, as Dr Budi Hernawan has shown</span><span class="ecxs2">. Acts performed for the pleasure or amusement of the perpetrators</span><span class="ecxs2"> and as a demonstration of arbitrary power</span><span class="ecxs2">. </span><span class="ecxs2">Would</span><span class="ecxs2"> soldiers and police</span><span class="ecxs2"> do this to their</span><span class="ecxs2"> own</span><span class="ecxs2">mothers, or wives, or sisters? No. Are they acts done in hidden locations by deranged maniacs? No. By soldiers, on duty, in their base. Presumably with the knowledge of their superiors. Something is seriously wrong here.</span></span></p>
<p class="ecxs2"><span class="ecxs2"> </span></p>
<p class="ecxs2"><span><span class="ecxs2">File</span><span class="ecxs2">p Karma’s explanation is that Indonesian treatment of the Papuans is based on profound racism</span><span class="ecxs2"> and religious prejudice</span><span class="ecxs2">. That to the Muslim </span><span class="ecxs2">and </span><span class="ecxs2">Asian Indonesian soldiers the (predominantly) Christian Melanesian Papuans are grossly inferior. So inf</span><span class="ecxs2">erior that it is morally justifi</span><span class="ecxs2">able to mutilate them for pleasure; to kill them for sport. Many years ago John Rumbiak, the great Papuan human rights campaigner who suffered a </span><span class="ecxs2">debilitating </span><span class="ecxs2">stroke in 2005,</span><span class="ecxs2"> also</span><span class="ecxs2"> told me that at the heart of the problems in West Papuan was racism. Not just Indonesian racism, but the racism of the Western countries</span><span class="ecxs2"> and the United Nations</span><span class="ecxs2"> that allowed the 1969 Act of F</span><span class="ecxs2">r</span><span class="ecxs2">ee Choice to proceed with only 1025 Papuan representatives voting out of some 800,000 people. Why? Because it was widely agreed</span><span class="ecxs2"> in Western and UN circles</span><span class="ecxs2"> that the Papuans were too unsophisticated (read primitive, inferior, backward) to be able to comprehend the voting process, even when that process was meant to be </span><span class="ecxs2">deciding their future.</span><span class="ecxs2"> So Western racism underscored and reinforced Indonesian racism</span><span class="ecxs2">; so</span><span class="ecxs2"> the occupation of West Papua became a racially based occupatio</span><span class="ecxs2">n with Indonesian settlers encouraged to stream in at will</span><span class="ecxs2">.</span></span></p>
<p class="ecxs2"><span class="ecxs2"> </span></p>
<p class="ecxs2"><span><span class="ecxs2">Of course no histo</span><span class="ecxs2">rical process involving several million</span><span class="ecxs2"> people over many decades can be reduced to one word. I</span><span class="ecxs2">ndeed the family history of File</span><span class="ecxs2">p Karma shows that he</span><span class="ecxs2"> came from the elite of West New Guinea/West Irian/</span><span class="ecxs2">Irian Jaya. </span><span class="ecxs2">His father was a senior public servant under the Dutch and went on to serve as a regent of Wamena aft</span><span class="ecxs2">er the Indonesian takeover. File</span><span class="ecxs2">p is highly educated, articulate and has travelled internationally. On the surface the Karma family seems to have been a beneficiary </span><span class="ecxs2">of both colonial</span><span class="ecxs2"> system</span><span class="ecxs2">s</span><span class="ecxs2">, rewarded with high office and the perk</span><span class="ecxs2">s that go with it. Yet when File</span><span class="ecxs2">p joins the protests against then</span><span class="ecxs2">President Suharto in </span><span class="ecxs2">early </span><span class="ecxs2">1998, and starts to call like many others for West Papuan independence, in fact leading the movement on Biak, he awake</span><span class="ecxs2">n</span><span class="ecxs2">s the</span><span class="ecxs2"> new, supposedly reforming, L</span><span class="ecxs2">eviathan</span><span class="ecxs2"> of post-Suharto Indonesia</span><span class="ecxs2">. This book provides an inside view into the events on Biak in 1998 which allow the reade</span><span class="ecxs2">r to comprehend the true nature</span><span class="ecxs2"> of</span><span class="ecxs2"> Indonesian rule over West Papua. It is a journey into</span><span class="ecxs2"> a moral abyss.</span><span class="ecxs2"> The L</span><span class="ecxs2">eviathan is unleashed in the form of Indonesian soldiers turned loose to indulge their gruesome whims. To inflict premeditated terror on the population. For control.</span></span></p>
<p class="ecxs2"><span class="ecxs2"> </span></p>
<p class="ecxs2"><span><span class="ecxs2">The</span><span class="ecxs2"> Biak Massacre showed that the L</span><span class="ecxs2">eviathan</span><span class="ecxs2"> still</span><span class="ecxs2"> ruled</span><span class="ecxs2"> in Indonesian West Papua</span><span class="ecxs2">, even after the downfall of Suharto</span><span class="ecxs2">. This is something that most West </span><span class="ecxs2">Papuans instinctively know. File</span><span class="ecxs2">p Karma rationalizes it by his title: </span><span class="ecxs5">As If We Are Half Animals. </span><span class="ecxs2">For how could a gove</span><span class="ecxs2">rnment supposedly engaged in</span><span class="ecxs2"> </span><span class="ecxs2">promoting the</span><span class="ecxs2">welfare of its citizens condone this </span><span class="ecxs2">behavior? By relegating the Papuans to a sub-human </span><span class="ecxs2">category. This is similar to the situation in apartheid-era South Africa and the pre-war American South. Dehumanising the victim to rationalize control, to justify atrocity. The Papuans are not accused of being communists, but of being separatists, which means traitors, enemies of the nation, a threat </span><span class="ecxs2">that must be dealt with by the L</span><span class="ecxs2">eviathan.</span></span></p>
<p class="ecxs2"><span><span class="ecxs2">File</span><span class="ecxs2">p Karma is a </span><span class="ecxs2">“</span><span class="ecxs2">separatist</span><span class="ecxs2">”</span><span class="ecxs2">. He wants West Papua to be an independe</span><span class="ecxs2">nt nation. He believes that independence</span><span class="ecxs2"> is a right to which the West Papuan people are entitled.</span><span class="ecxs2"> (Although, of course, i</span><span class="ecxs2">t can be argued that, as Theys E</span><span class="ecxs2">luay used to say before he was assassinated by army special force in 2001</span><span class="ecxs2">, Papuans are not separatists because they never –</span><span class="ecxs2"> voluntarily -- </span><span class="ecxs2">joined Indonesia in the first place.)</span><span class="ecxs2"> </span><span class="ecxs2">Most West Papuans agree with Filep, but the Indonesian government</span><span class="ecxs2">, and </span><span class="ecxs2">probably </span><span class="ecxs2">most Indonesian people do not. For them West Papua is not only</span><span class="ecxs2"> an</span><span class="ecxs2">integral part of Indonesia, it is also the site of final victory over the Dutch East Indies Empire, who had ruled for 350 years with the whip and the club and the avowed racism that underpinned all white colonialism. </span><span class="ecxs2">The whites were eventually tossed out, not just in Indonesia but from almo</span><span class="ecxs2">st all their erstwhile colonies:</span><span class="ecxs2"> </span><span class="ecxs2">by both pressure from independence movements and by the fact</span><span class="ecxs2"> the European powers lost the stomach</span><span class="ecxs2"> or capacity</span><span class="ecxs2"> to wield the whip and club with sufficient force to keep the colonial peoples cowed.</span></span></p>
<p class="ecxs2"><span class="ecxs2"> </span></p>
<p class="ecxs2"><span><span class="ecxs2">In the resulting</span><span class="ecxs2"> asymmetrical struggle the Indonesian state holds almost all the cards</span><span class="ecxs2"> over the Papu</span><span class="ecxs2">a</span><span class="ecxs2">ns</span><span class="ecxs2">. Certainly overwhelming military power and a vast apparatus of semi-military social control. A population </span><span class="ecxs2">“</span><span class="ecxs2">imb</span><span class="ecxs2">alance</span><span class="ecxs2">”</span><span class="ecxs2"> of</span><span class="ecxs2"> two hundred or so</span><span class="ecxs2"> to one</span><span class="ecxs2">in Indonesia as a whole and now a settler majority in Papua itself</span><span class="ecxs2">. Monolithic international support with the exception of Vanuatu. The active encouragement</span><span class="ecxs2"> and support</span><span class="ecxs2"> of global big business, eager for access to West Papua’s resources</span><span class="ecxs2">. It would appear a hopeless cause but the West Papuans con</span><span class="ecxs2">tinue to struggle on. Among</span><span class="ecxs2"> the Papuan people the desire for freedom still burns, but</span><span class="ecxs2"> action</span><span class="ecxs2"> is stymied at </span><span class="ecxs2">almost </span><span class="ecxs2">every turn by the state through violent repression and by the kno</span><span class="ecxs2">wledge, on all sides, that the L</span><span class="ecxs2">eviathan</span><span class="ecxs2"> is always in the background</span><span class="ecxs2">.</span></span></p>
<p class="ecxs2"><span class="ecxs2"> </span></p>
<p class="ecxs2"><span><span class="ecxs2">There</span><span class="ecxs2"> </span><span class="ecxs2">is a dilemma for Indonesia - </span><span class="ecxs2">the</span><span class="ecxs2"> L</span><span class="ecxs2">eviathan does not just inhabit </span><span class="ecxs2">West Papua but haunts the nation. From the mass killings in </span><span class="ecxs2">Java in </span><span class="ecxs2">1965, to</span><span class="ecxs2"> the massacres in East Timor, Poso,</span><span class="ecxs2"> Aceh</span><span class="ecxs2">, and elsewhere</span><span class="ecxs2">, Indonesians know that </span><span class="ecxs2">brutality </span><span class="ecxs2">lurks </span><span class="ecxs2">not far below the surface of their nation. This is certainly something not confined to Indonesia: brutality is a universal trait of humanity; civilization the process of containing it. How can it be contained</span><span class="ecxs2">in West Papua? Only with truth and openness and uninhibited dialogue</span><span class="ecxs2">.</span></span></p>
<p class="ecxs2"><span class="ecxs2"> </span></p>
<p class="ecxs2"><span><span class="ecxs2">I spent some years o</span><span class="ecxs2">n the Sepik River in Papua New Guinea</span><span class="ecxs2">, running a safari lodge in a river-bank village called Tambanum. Life </span><span class="ecxs2">is still very traditional there;</span><span class="ecxs2"> subsistence farming</span><span class="ecxs2"> and</span><span class="ecxs2">fishing</span><span class="ecxs2">, with a little cash income</span><span class="ecxs2"> from selling artefacts</span><span class="ecxs2">. There are no ‘chiefs’ as such. Decisions are made collectively. The men meet in their </span><span class="ecxs5">Haus Tambaram</span><span class="ecxs2"> to rest</span><span class="ecxs2"> and to discuss issues that affect the whole village. I was there once when a major debate was underway on </span><span class="ecxs2">whether or not to attack a</span><span class="ecxs2"> village downstream that had been established on the Tambanum’s traditional land when white missi</span><span class="ecxs2">onaries</span><span class="ecxs2"> moved</span><span class="ecxs2"> an inaccessible tribe to the river’</span><span class="ecxs2">s bank. </span><span class="ecxs2">Another tribe had then taken the land</span><span class="ecxs2">that</span><span class="ecxs2"> the first one</span><span class="ecxs2"> had vacated and</span><span class="ecxs2"> so</span><span class="ecxs2"> they were unable to return.</span><span class="ecxs2">Some men</span><span class="ecxs2"> thought that if the i</span><span class="ecxs2">nterlopers were not attacked</span><span class="ecxs2"> they would be</span><span class="ecxs2">come</span><span class="ecxs2"> further entrenched, that traditional land would be los</span><span class="ecxs2">t and that the problem would grow worse</span><span class="ecxs2"> for their children and descendants</span><span class="ecxs2">.</span><span class="ecxs2"> </span><span class="ecxs2">Other men thought that if they did attack the police would eventually respond by attacking Tambanum, randomly beating and arresting people and burning down houses. There was no consensus.</span></span></p>
<p class="ecxs2"><span class="ecxs2">Discussions went on for many days.</span></p>
<p class="ecxs2"><span class="ecxs2"> </span></p>
<p class="ecxs2"><span><span class="ecxs2"> In the Men’s H</span><span class="ecxs2">ouse there wa</span><span class="ecxs2">s a </span><span class="ecxs2">large carved wooden</span><span class="ecxs2"> Orator’</span><span class="ecxs2">s Chair, in the shape of a</span><span class="ecxs2">human-sized </span><span class="ecxs2">figure </span><span class="ecxs2">with a seat at waist height,</span><span class="ecxs2"> placed in the middle of the earth-</span><span class="ecxs2">floored and grass-thatched</span><span class="ecxs2"> building. On the stool’s</span><span class="ecxs2"> seat lay </span><span class="ecxs2">a bundle of bound leaves from a</span><span class="ecxs2"> hibiscus bush called a </span><span class="ecxs5">ta</span><span class="ecxs5">ngat</span><span class="ecxs2">. Each man would take his turn in the debate by clasping the </span><span class="ecxs5">tangat</span><span class="ecxs2"> and striking the Orator’s Chair </span><span class="ecxs2">with it </span><span class="ecxs2">as he made each point. After a few minutes he would finish and lay the </span><span class="ecxs5">tangat</span><span class="ecxs2"> back on the s</span><span class="ecxs2">tool’s seat, signifying that the floor was open and the next man would move forward and say his piece. Meanwhile most of the men of the village reclined on the black palm bench</span><span class="ecxs2">e</span><span class="ecxs2">s all around or squatted next to the smoky little fires. They talked quietly and pu</span><span class="ecxs2">ffed on their home grown</span><span class="ecxs2"> cigars</span><span class="ecxs2">as they listened</span><span class="ecxs2">.</span></span></p>
<p class="ecxs2"><span><span class="ecxs2">After everyone who </span><span class="ecxs2">had </span><span class="ecxs2">wanted to</span><span class="ecxs2"> speak</span><span class="ecxs2"> had spoken no vote was taken;</span><span class="ecxs2"> rather those who wanted to attack the village down river got together and headed off armed with their axes and spears. Those who did not want to attack stayed behind. The conflict with the interlopers was never really resolved –</span><span class="ecxs2"> there are people</span><span class="ecxs2"> still there</span><span class="ecxs2"> today</span><span class="ecxs2"> but they h</span><span class="ecxs2">ave not stolen much</span><span class="ecxs2"> land. The police did come and arrest and beat a few men, but </span><span class="ecxs2">did not burn down any houses. T</span><span class="ecxs2">he problem was no</span><span class="ecxs2">t resolved, b</span><span class="ecxs2">ut mitigated, and the act of</span><span class="ecxs2"> p</span><span class="ecxs2">rotracted dialogue built an</span><span class="ecxs2"> understanding of what other people thought and why. </span><span class="ecxs2">Dialogue allows you to understand why you disagree w</span><span class="ecxs2">ith someone; it is an essential component of human interaction</span><span class="ecxs2">.</span></span></p>
<p class="ecxs2"><span class="ecxs2"> </span></p>
<p class="ecxs2"><span><span class="ecxs2">With the</span><span class="ecxs2"> election of President Joko Widodo in 2014</span><span class="ecxs2"> a new era begins for Indonesia. Jok</span><span class="ecxs2">o</span><span class="ecxs2">wi visited West Papua twice in his election campaign and has made i</span><span class="ecxs2">t clear that he wants to tackle</span><span class="ecxs2">this profound</span><span class="ecxs2"> conundrum. He can </span><span class="ecxs2">move</span><span class="ecxs2"> </span><span class="ecxs2">quickly </span><span class="ecxs2">on critical issues that the Papuans are facing: human rights violations; health and education services</span><span class="ecxs2">,</span><span class="ecxs2"> land rights</span><span class="ecxs2"> and environmental</span><span class="ecxs2"> </span><span class="ecxs2">and resource </span><span class="ecxs2">issues.</span><span class="ecxs2"> While t</span><span class="ecxs2">he long term effective survival of the Papuan</span><span class="ecxs2"> people</span><span class="ecxs2"> hangs on these issues, they also need and deserve</span><span class="ecxs2">more than economic development. The</span><span class="ecxs2">y</span><span class="ecxs2"> need to be able to tell their stories, to be heard and acknowledged.</span></span></p>
<p class="ecxs2"><span><span class="ecxs2">President </span><span class="ecxs2">Widodo</span><span class="ecxs2"> also has the opportunity to put a line under the repressive policies of the past – to </span><span class="ecxs2">start a new era.</span><span class="ecxs2"> His election has already created a ripple of optimism amongst the Papuans who have been</span><span class="ecxs2"> so badly let down in the past. </span><span class="ecxs2">Jokowi</span><span class="ecxs2"> can</span><span class="ecxs2">emphasis that a new regime is </span><span class="ecxs2">in </span><span class="ecxs2">power with definite actions such as freeing political prisoners, by lifting media restrictions and by investigating past abuses,</span><span class="ecxs2"> </span><span class="ecxs2">including the Biak Massacre. He can transform the atmosphere from one of fear and cynicism to one of hope for a better future.</span></span></p>
<p class="ecxs2"><span class="ecxs2"> </span></p>
<p class="ecxs2"><span><span class="ecxs2">Jok</span><span class="ecxs2">o</span><span class="ecxs2">wi</span><span class="ecxs2"> also wants to tame the L</span><span class="ecxs2">eviathan. He wants to strengthen democracy in Indone</span><span class="ecxs2">sia and reinforce human rights in West Papua</span><span class="ecxs2">. This is a direct threat</span><span class="ecxs2"> to t</span><span class="ecxs2">he dark forces within </span><span class="ecxs2">the nation</span><span class="ecxs2">and an existential threat for his Presidency</span><span class="ecxs2">. The </span><span class="ecxs2">most favoured lair of the L</span><span class="ecxs2">eviathan in Indonesia is West Papua: it lives there hidden in the obscuring mists </span><span class="ecxs2">of </span><span class="ecxs2">military</span><span class="ecxs2">, corporate and conglomerate</span><span class="ecxs2"> domination. How do you fight such a beast? </span><span class="ecxs2">By hearing</span><span class="ecxs2"> stories</span><span class="ecxs2"> of the victims</span><span class="ecxs2">. By allowing the light in. By giving people a </span><span class="ecxs5">tangat</span><span class="ecxs2"> to make their points. To use words not bullets.</span><span class="ecxs2"> To use words as bullets of enlightenment.</span></span></p>
<p class="ecxs2"><span class="ecxs2"> </span></p>
<p class="ecxs2"><span><span class="ecxs2">File</span><span class="ecxs2">p Karma</span><span class="ecxs2">’s </span><span class="ecxs2">is </span><span class="ecxs2">the story</span><span class="ecxs2"> of West Papua and Indonesia. Through him we learn that however much a person is made to suffer there are some ideals that are worth more than life itself. By his courage we come t</span><span class="ecxs2">o understand the nature of the L</span><span class="ecxs2">e</span><span class="ecxs2">viathan and how it can be overcome</span><span class="ecxs2">. It’s a story as old as humanity: </span><span class="ecxs2">good people</span><span class="ecxs2"> standing up to</span><span class="ecxs2"> injustice with truth their main</span><span class="ecxs2"> weapon</span><span class="ecxs2">.</span></span></p>
<p class="ecxs2"><span class="ecxs2"> </span></p>
<p class="ecxs2"><span><span class="ecxs5">Jim Elmslie is a Master of International Studies</span><span class="ecxs2"> </span><span class="ecxs5">and </span><span class="ecxs5">Doctor of Philosophy (Economics) at Sydney University. His Ph.D. thesis entitled </span><span class="ecxs2">Irian Jaya Under the Gun: Indonesian Economic Development versus West Papuan Nationalism</span><span class="ecxs5"> was published by the University of Hawaii Press in</span><a target="_blank"></a></span></p>
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<p><br /><span class="font-size-3"><strong>SOURCE: <a href="https://lists.riseup.net/www/arc/freewestpapuacampaign" target="_blank">https://lists.riseup.net/www/arc/freewestpapuacampaign</a>(you will need to enter your user details and/or create a password) To subscribe to this group (in case you got this forwarded), send an email to: freewestpapuacampaign-subscribe@lists.riseup.net FREE WEST PAPUA!! PAPUA MERDEKA!!</strong></span></p>
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Activists Call 50th Anniversary of Civil Rights Act Enactment "Bittersweet" Occasion
https://www.theblacklist.net/profiles/blogs/activists-call-50th-anniversary-of-civil-rights-act-enactment-2
2014-07-01T13:30:00.000Z
2014-07-01T13:30:00.000Z
TheBlackList-Publisher
https://www.theblacklist.net/members/TheBlackListPublisher
<div><div><p class="ecxMsoNormal"><font face="Verdana"><span style="color:#ff0000;" class="font-size-5"><em><strong>Black Activists Call 50th Anniversary of Civil Rights Act Enactment "Bittersweet" Occasion, Since Many Fail to Recognize the Progress That Has Been Made.</strong></em></span><br /></font> <em style="font-family:Verdana;"><strong><a href="http://www.nationalcenter.org/PROJ21.gif" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.nationalcenter.org/PROJ21.gif?width=250" width="250" class="align-full" alt="PROJ21.gif?width=250" /></a><span class="font-size-5">"The Civil Rights Act changed American culture... racist sentiment became largely outdated and unacceptable ...black people... are now the masters of their own destiny."</span></strong></em></p>
<p class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="color:#ff0000;" class="font-size-5"><font face="Verdana"><em><strong>"Today, black Americans and other minorities no longer face the daunting obstacles that existed prior to 50 years ago. The public square and corridors of commerce are overwhelmingly accessible by blacks and whites, men and women alike."</strong></em></font></span></p>
<p class="ecxMsoNormal"><em style="font-size:medium;font-family:Verdana;">Washington, DC -</em><span style="font-size:medium;font-family:Verdana;"> Five decades after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed into law, activists the </span><a href="http://trk.cp20.com/Tracking/t.c?6u9oc-e31bg-sbsv985&_v=2" target="_blank" style="font-size:medium;font-family:Verdana;">Project 21</a><span style="font-size:medium;font-family:Verdana;"> black leadership network are commenting on its impact and legacy. Many believe the overwhelmingly positive efforts of the Act are being downplayed by "race-obsessed" critics.</span></p>
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<p><font face="Verdana"><font color="#000000" size="3">"The 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act is a bittersweet occasion. As we assess what its passage means for American society and why it came about, we also must lament those who treat 21st Century USA like the Jim Crow America of yesteryear," said Project 21 Co-Chairman <a href="http://trk.cp20.com/Tracking/t.c?6u9oc-e31bh-sbsv986&_v=2" target="_blank">Horace Cooper</a> , a legal commentator who formerly taught law at George Mason University and was a leadership staff member for the U.S. House of Representatives. "Today, black Americans and other minorities no longer face the daunting obstacles that existed prior to 50 years ago. The public square and corridors of commerce are overwhelmingly accessible by blacks and whites, men and women alike. Sadly though, for too many of us, broken families and undue faith in government programs serve as a modern hindrance to black achievement and success."<br /><br /> President Lyndon Johnson signed the <a href="http://trk.cp20.com/Tracking/t.c?6u9oc-e31bi-sbsv987&_v=2" target="_blank">Civil Rights Act</a> into law on July 2, 1964. The new law created sweeping protections against discrimination based on race, gender, religion and national origin. It covers issues such as access to government facilities, public accommodations, voter registration and workplace discrimination, among other things.<br /><br /> While the Civil Rights Act brought about fundamental change in the way American law handles the topic of race and helped usher in a new era of equality, Project 21 members note there are members of the civil rights lobby and self-appointed black leadership who still insist the United States is inherently racist.<br /><br /> "On the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, we are sure to hear that little has changed for black Americans. The usual batch of self-proclaimed black leaders will jockey for the opportunity to do so. They are wrong," said Project 21's <a href="http://trk.cp20.com/Tracking/t.c?6u9oc-e31bj-sbsv988&_v=2" target="_blank">Joe R. Hicks</a> , a community activist in Los Angeles who was formerly the executive director of the Los Angeles City Human Relations Commission and the Greater Los Angeles chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference -- a civil rights group formed by Martin Luther King, Jr. "Simply put, the Civil Rights Act changed American culture. Within a matter of years, racist sentiment became largely outdated and unacceptable. Race-obsessed black leaders unrealistically demand a racial utopia, but they miss the fact that black people have achieved something far more important. They are now the masters of their own destiny."<br /><br /> "The passage of the Civil Rights Act was a signpost that America demonstrated she is more committed to the idea of equality under the law than any point since the Declaration of Independence. But, unfortunately, black leaders often fail to give our nation the credit it's due," added Project 21's Cooper. "It was quite a galvanizing act when the nation came together to ensure the commitment that all Americans would be equal under the law was secured. Unfortunately, instead of stepping out and embracing the reality of Dr. Martin Luther King's dream of a colorblind society open to all Americans of good will, too many continue to focus on injustices of the past."<br /><br /> "It's been five decades since the Civil Rights Act was signed. It's a time for us to reflect upon the sacrifices made so that equality and freedom can be shared with all men," said Project 21's<a href="http://trk.cp20.com/Tracking/t.c?6u9oc-e31bk-sbsv989&_v=2" target="_blank">Demetrius Minor</a>, a youth minister and former White House intern. "It's a mix of the heroism of individuals such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks, who gave us the boldness and courage to fulfill our dreams, and a bipartisan coalition in Congress who codified their crusade into law. While there is obviously more work necessary to further the cause of civil rights, it remains largely at the personal level and not with society as a whole. It is with a grateful heart that I salute the heritage of the past that made my successes in life possible today."<br /><br /> In 2014, Project 21 members have already been interviewed or cited by the media over 800 times -- including TVOne, the Philadelphia Inquirer, Fox News Channel, Westwood One, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, SiriusXM satellite radio and 50,000-watt talk radio stations such as WBZ-Boston and KDKA-Pittsburgh -- on issues that include civil rights, entitlement programs, the economy, race preferences, education and corporate social responsibility. Project 21 has participated in cases before the U.S. Supreme Court regarding race preferences and voting rights and defended voter ID laws at the United Nations. Its volunteer members come from all walks of life and are not salaried political professionals. <br /><br /></font></font> <em><strong><font face="Verdana"><font color="#000000" size="3">Project 21, a leading voice of black conservatives for over two decades, is sponsored by the <a href="http://trk.cp20.com/Tracking/t.c?6u9oc-e31bl-sbsv980&_v=2" target="_blank">National Center for Public Policy Research</a>, a conservative, free-market, non-profit think-tank established in 1982. <a href="http://trk.cp20.com/Tracking/t.c?6u9oc-e31bm-sbsv981&_v=2" name="Contributions" target="_blank" id="Contributions">Contributions</a></font></font><font face="Verdana"><font color="#000000" size="3"> to the National Center are tax-deductible and greatly appreciated</font></font> <font face="Verdana"><font color="#000000" size="3">.</font></font></strong></em></p>
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50 Years After Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" Speech—Amerikkka Is Still A Goddamn Nightmare! 3 Points and a Challenge in Response to Obama's Speech!
https://www.theblacklist.net/profiles/blogs/50-years-after-martin-luther-king-s-i-have-a-dream-speech
2013-08-30T16:16:02.000Z
2013-08-30T16:16:02.000Z
Carl Dix
https://www.theblacklist.net/members/CarlDix
<div><p><span><strong>1)</strong></span> Barack Obama stepped to the mic and spoke of the importance of non-violence … for oppressed people. When any representative of the U.S. ruling class preaches non-violence, they mean non-violence for those who might get in the way of their empire. Obama was referring to people who had suffered under Jim Crow segregation and lynch-mob terror. This from the commander-in-chief of the global Amerikkkan empire, who has presided over more than 280 drone missile strikes, maintains a torture chamber prison at Guantánamo Bay and presides over a criminal injustice system that is carrying out a slow genocide aimed at Blacks and Latinos. There might as well have been blood dripping from his jaws as he spoke.</p><p><span><strong>2)</strong></span> Obama said: "If we're honest with ourselves, we'll admit that during the course of 50 years, there were times when some of us, claiming to push for change, lost our way. The anguish of assassinations set off self-defeating riots." That's Bull Shit! People didn't lose their way in the '60s: In fact, they were beginning to find their way, coming to see that the horrors they were up against were built into the very fabric of this set-up and couldn't be reformed away. But they were met with vicious repression—leaders assassinated, activists dragged into court on trumped-up charges, and railroaded off to prison and more. In the face of all that, the movement of that period wasn't able to develop the understanding needed to do what was needed: make revolution and end the horrors Amerikkka enforced on humanity then and continues to enforce today.</p><p><span><strong>3)</strong></span> Many, many people are asking big questions about the unjust nature of this system, and this has forced Obama to speak to some of the problems Black people face today. But he doesn't get into the depths of these problems or what to do about them, except to say rely on him to work on them. For example, he didn't say a fucking word about the more than two million people warehoused in prison. He did say that the unemployment rate for African-Americans has consistently been about twice that of whites and that the wealth gap between Blacks and whites has GROWN over the past decades. But he talked about this like it had nothing to do with the system he presides over.</p><p><span><strong>THE CHALLENGE</strong></span>—There is a way to uproot all these horrors. It'll take Revolution—Nothing Less! I speak to this in depth in a recent talk: "<a href="http://www.vimeo.com/73295340" target="_blank">We Don't Need a New Civil Rights Movement—We Need Revolution!</a>" Watch that talk at <a href="http://www.revcom.us/revolution/current-en.html">revcom.us</a>. And dig into <a href="http://www.revcom.us/movement-for-revolution/BAE/film.html"><em>BA Speaks: REVOLUTION—NOTHING LESS!</em></a></p></div>
A GHANAIAN IMAGE FROM SUNGLASSES OF AN ANTILLEAN FEMALE ARTIST
https://www.theblacklist.net/profiles/blogs/a-ghanaian-image-from-sunglasses-of-an-antillean-female-artist
2012-03-05T12:38:15.000Z
2012-03-05T12:38:15.000Z
asyla ten holt
https://www.theblacklist.net/members/asylatenholt
<div><p>LAST DECEMBER 2011 I MADE A BIG DECISION AND TOOK THE URGE TO GO AND VISIT GHANA-ACCRA. THIS 'ARTS AND CULTURAL' ORIENTATION TRIP UNTIL MID-JANUARY 2012, WAS POSSIBLE THROUGH DONATIONS AND SELLING MY CARDS AND PAINTINGS. THIS PROJECT CONSISTED OF A VISIT TO 'OTIAKROM', ONE OF TRIBES-VILLAGES WHICH IS IN A PROCEEDING DEVELOPMENT AND MUNICIPAL SURROUNDINGS IN- AND OUTSIDE ACCRA'S COMMUNITIES. MY STROLLING UP AND DOWN ALLEYS -VALLEYS, MARKETPLACES, ART CENTERS, DISCUSSING WITH SOUL-MATES, INDULGING AND BEARING THE RED EARTH, BEING AMAZED BY THE WALKING ART OF BATIK, URGED ME TO PUT MY ASTOUNDING, HEARTFELT AND TRANSFORMED APPROACH INTO WRITING A SHORT ESSAY ON THIS SUBJECT ( INCL.COLORED PICTURES). MORE THAN EVER DO I FEEL PART OF THE ESSENCE OF BEING BLACK INSIDE A COMMUNITY LIKEWISE BUT SMALLER. BEING CONCERNED ABOUT OUR OWN STRONG EMANCIPATION PROCESS INSIDE OUR LOWER ANTILLES TO ALMOST BEING BARRICADED BY GREED, I REGRET THAT WE DON'T EVEN HAVE THE 80-20% LIABILITY FOR LEGITIMATE LABORS-RIGHTS, ONLY BECAUSE OF STUBBORNNESS INSIDE POLITICAL SYSTEM, ENDORSING ITSELF TO COLONIALISM. NONETHELESS LIFE GOES ON AND SINCE WE'RE ON THE SUBJECT, ABLE TO KNOW AND DISCUSS ALL THE WAY WE CAN AND HANDLE GLOBALLY, JOINED CAN WE SUCCEED.<a href="{{#staticFileLink}}3828534726,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="750" src="{{#staticFileLink}}3828534726,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-right" alt="3828534726?profile=original" /></a></p></div>
ACTION ALERT: S.O.S. Save Inner City Broadcasting From Bankruptcy and Hostile Takeover
https://www.theblacklist.net/profiles/blogs/action-alert-s-o-s-save-inner-city-broadcasting-from-bankruptcy
2012-02-14T14:48:33.000Z
2012-02-14T14:48:33.000Z
Gloria Dulan-Wilson
https://www.theblacklist.net/members/GloriaDulanWilson
<div><p>By Gloria Dulan-Wilson</p><p>I hope I have sufficiently shocked you to attention, because there is a disaster brewing right under our noses, right in the Black family community, that has been flying low under the radar.</p><p>As a matter of fact, I and others would probably not have become aware of it had it not been announced at Rev. Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Push 15th Anniversary Wall Street Initiative, during a panel discussion on the disappearing Black media.</p><p>Talk about a shock! When James L. Winston, Executive Director and General Counsel for NABOB (National Black Owned Broadcasters), an organization of Black TV and Radio station owners, made the announcement that the venerable Inner City Broadcast Company (or System), founded by the late, great Percy Ellis Sutton, had filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy* in the courts, for indebtedness of over $180 million, it was though as though everyone in the room suddenly had been punched in the stomach.</p><p>And while the discussion went on to deal with other problems in the Black media, the 800 pound gorilla in the room was: <span class="font-size-3" style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="color:#ff6600;">"What are we going to do if we lose the only Black owned radio station in New York City? What happens if it falls into white hands? What happens to the Black voice of New York?"</span></span></p><p>Ken Smickle of Target Market News <span style="color:#0000ff;">(<a href="http://www.targetmarketnews.com">www.targetmarketnews.com</a>)</span>, summed it up rather succinctly: "We, as Black people, have to wake up. We have to respond in our own best interest. We are losing Black media. When we lose Black media, we're losing Black life as we know it! We're losing political, social power and economic power. We are losing the ability to be seen. When WBLS is no longer available in this town, every white person (as well as our own Black brothers and sisters worldwide) is going to think a litte (a whole lot) less of us. Every single one of you will be affected, not just them {the Sutton family} - oh, no,no,no,no,no! It's not just them; not that it "didn't work out!" or that "they did this; they didn't do that right..." <span class="font-size-3"><em><strong><span style="color:#ff6600;">No!</span></strong></em></span> It's like, "there they go!" <span style="font-family:'comic sans ms', sans-serif;"><em><strong><span class="font-size-4" style="color:#ff6600;">They is YOU, US!!!</span></strong></em></span> So it is time to act like 20th Century African Americans who know something about survival!!"</p><p>Per NABOB's James Winston, the genesis of the problem stems from 11 radio stations purchased by Pierre Sutton ten years ago for $200 million. With the current economic downturn, and the fact that Newt Gingrich, during the Bush Administration, had caused the tax incentives to be overturned, which would have made the purchases profitable, the stations became losing propositions for Inner City. Couple that with the fact that we're losing a great many of our Black Newspapers and TV stations across the nation.</p><p>As Rev. Jesse Jackson stated, <span class="font-size-3"><em><strong><span style="font-family:'arial black', 'avant garde';">the Black media is under siege.</span></strong></em></span></p><p>When asked what could be done to save the stations, particularly New York's own WLIB and WBLS, audience members suggested they contact Bill Cosby, Oprah Winfrey, Jay-Z, Don King and others who were more likely to have the financial wherewithal to help save the properties, as well as keep it in Black hands.</p><p>Others also strongly recommended that there be a change in management, once the stations were rescued, in order to avoid future problems, or the recurrence of perennial problems (don't exactly know what that means).</p><p>Producer, writer and entertainer, Verinia Taylor stated, angrily, <span style="color:#ff6600;"><em><strong>"This is a Black Icon in the community, how could he (Pierre Sutton) not inform the Black community that ICBC was having this problem. We could have had fundraisers, or lobby some of America's wealthy African American millionaires to correct this problem. Now the organization that Black people had a voice is now threatened by white racist media (ClearView, which is owned by Mitt Romney) Now you put him in a position to take out the voice we have in ICBC. To the current management don't let false pride allow you to lose our most valuable asset! See what ViaCom did to BET!"</strong></em></span></p><p>When further queried about why we were just learning about the situation, Winston further stated, <span class="font-size-3"><strong><span style="font-style:italic;color:#ff6600;">"the owners did not reach out to the Black community,"</span></strong></span> the audience vociferously responded that it was just such a situation that has caused so many Black families to lose homes and businesses. There appears to be a disconnect between them and the community - something that has to be remedied.</p><p>Others recommended that they jettison the recently purchased stations and just focus on the flagship stations of WBLS and WLIB. "If we lose them, all that Mr. Sutton worked and sacrificed for for the Black community will have gone for nothing."</p><p>So while you're finger popping, listening to your latest rap, R&B artist, or the latest information about the Black community, think about how you'll feel if you no longer have WLIB or WBLS. What kind of schmucks will we be to sit idly by and allow our institutions to be cannibalized before us. We've got a lot to do with the way this plays out, and we'd better be about it.</p><p>Anyone who is interested in assisting Inner City Broadcasting, or who may have a solution to the situation, can reach out to Mr. James Winston, President, NABOB <span class="font-size-3"><strong><span style="color:#0000ff;">jwinston@nabob.org.</span></strong></span> We must all pull together as the Black Family Community that we are.</p><p><span style="font-style:italic;">*FYI: Chapter 11 bankruptcy is intended primarily for the reorganization of businesses with heavy debt burdens, most often associated with corporations. Chapter 11 allows the debtor to propose a plan for profitability post-bankruptcy, which may include trimming costs and seeking new sources of revenue or income, while temporarily holding creditors at bay. While Chapter 11 provides more time to file a plan and the opportunity to reorganize, it is more time-consuming and costly than other forms of bankruptcy. In the Chapter 11 Process either the debtor or its creditors may file a petition for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Once the petition is filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, the case begins and an automatic stay of all collections actions is put into effect. This means creditors may not pursue existing or new collection activities for unpaid debts unless the court issues a modification to the stay. This provides an opportunity for the debtor to draft a reorganization plan and negotiate more feasible repayment terms without worrying about its debt obligations. After the petition is filed, the business continues about its affairs without interruption. Meanwhile, under the supervision of the bankruptcy court, the debtor turns its attention to figuring out a repayment plan for its creditors. Repayment amounts typically are much lower than the original debt totals. Throughout the case, the debtor may review its creditors' claims and make objections where it makes sense. Monthly operating reports filed by the debtor keep the court apprised of its progress. - <a href="http://www.Findlaw.com">www.Findlaw.com</a></span></p><p>During the recently held Wall Street Project conference, Rev. Jesse Jackson continually commented on the demise of Black businesses and the fact that there are no programs in place among us to come to each others' rescue when faced with the threat of financial ruin or extinction. We cannot expect others to care more about our institutions than we do.</p><p>It is up to us to develop the protocols and programs that not only shield our business from the onslaught of economic down turns, but to have the wherewithal to provide jobs,homes, assistance, guidance and support while those who have been affected put the shreds of their lives back together. That is the true strength and and measure of self-empowerment - not just buzz words and tee shirts.</p><p>It was what the <em><strong><span class="font-size-3" style="color:#ff6600;">Black United Fund of New York (BUFNY)</span></strong></em> did, before Elliott Spitzer destroyed it. And it's unfortunate that in the time since it's demise we have not seen fit to either re-establish it, or to come up with a program that does the same or more.</p><p>Kermit Eady founded BUFNY so that we would not be at the mercy of such rapacious situations. While they might not have been able to save 11 Broadcast stations, they certainly would have been able to assist InnerCity's flagship stations. Additionally, through their program, "The <em><span class="font-size-3"><strong><span style="color:#000000;">Helping Hand That Is Your Own"</span></strong></span></em> they would have been able to provide the ongoing financing so many of us are struggling to obtain via hostile banks and lending institution, because the money came from our own payroll deductible contributions. Not some outside source that wants to nickle and dime you to death and hold you hostage. </p><p>The one thing that should have come out of the Wall Street Project, as well as all the other Black oriented conferences that we attend is how to <span style="font-family:'arial black', 'avant garde';"><strong><span style="color:#ff6600;">reinstate the BLACK UNITED FUND OF NEW YORK'S</span></strong></span> principles in our own self-sufficiency. We could have regenerated our own Black economic base long ago with the $1.50 per person per week contributions into a mutual fund which is how BUFNY raised $111 million a year to help Black people - <em><strong>USING NO FEDERAL DOLLARS WHATSOEVER.</strong></em> This was all money raised by Black People for Black People - hence the slogan <em><strong><span style="color:#ff6600;">"THE HELPING HAND THAT IS OUR OWN"</span></strong></em></p><p><em>don't get me wrong - I have nothing against federal dollars - money is money - but with BUFNY, those who needed help, but fell outside the so-called federal guidelines could get the assistance they needed because they were Black and they needed it. Not because they made a nickle more or less than the criteria, or because they didn't live in a particular statistical demographic. <br /></em></p><p>With so many of our businesses, homes, educational centers media outlets facing extinction, because we are the low man on the Totem Pole (an old American Indian saying, which means on the bottom) <strong>we need to be contacting</strong> <span style="font-family:'arial black', 'avant garde';color:#993366;"><strong><span class="font-size-3">Kermit Eady and saying "where are you? We need you?"</span></strong></span></p><p>We will be monitoring the Inner City Broadcasting as they go through this challenge. However, a more pro-active outreach on the part of the family to the community is going to be required <span style="color:#993300;font-family:'arial black', 'avant garde';"><strong>NOW</strong></span> if we are to begin to stop the hemorraging that is destroying our institutions, culture and communities..</p><p><span style="font-family:impact, chicago;"><strong><span class="font-size-4" style="color:#ff6600;">NOW THAT YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?</span></strong></span></p><p>Stay Blessed &</p><p>ECLECTICALLY BLACK</p><p>Gloria Dulan-Wilson</p><p>PS: I originally wrote this article 2 weeks ago. Sorry you're getting it on Valentine's Day, but what better way to show your love than to reach out to some one in our community and show them you support and care about them. We need to do that for Inner City Broadcasting Now.</p><p>Happy Valentine's Day and Much Love to All My ECLECTICALLY BLACK Brothers and Sisters - GDW</p></div>
ABORTION, "Silent No More: A Major Crisis in the African-American Community"
https://www.theblacklist.net/profiles/blogs/silent-no-more-a-major-crisis-in-the-african-american-community
2011-10-04T17:42:03.000Z
2011-10-04T17:42:03.000Z
TheBlackList
https://www.theblacklist.net/members/TheBlackList
<div><div><h1 class="hdr1_FeaturedArticle" title="Silent No More: A Major Crisis in the African-American Community"><span class="articleAuthor"><strong>by Rev. John J. Raphael, SSJ</strong><br /><span class="font-size-4">Howard University, Washington, DC</span></span><br /><span class="font-size-4">(Page: X of 14)</span></h1>
<div align="center"><table id="table1" border="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td valign="top" align="left"><p class="tblPadding"><img border="0" hspace="3" alt="Silent No More : Abortion A Major Crisis in the African-American Community" vspace="3" align="left" src="http://www.nbccongress.org/images/bcm/abortion_crisis.jpg" width="200" height="144" />Do you know what the leading cause of death in the African American Community since 1973 is? Think about it for a minute. Is it heart disease-2,266,789 deaths since 1973, cancer-1,638,350, or accidents-370,723? Is it AIDS-203,695, or violent crimes-306, 313? There is one possibility that is often overlooked. It happens 1452 times a day in our community. It has taken over 13 million Black lives within the last 30 years. It has taken 1/3 of our present population. What is it? ABORTION!</p>
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<p class="tblPadding">Don't believe it? Well, you don't have to, but you would be a fool not to because the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has provided the tragic statistics. According to the CDC, since 1973, the year of the Supreme Court Decision <i>Roe vs. Wade</i>, 13 million (13,000,000) African American lives have been lost to abortion. The CDC reports that of the approximately 4000 abortions that are performed daily in the United States, 1452 of them are performed on African American women and their pre-born children. This means that although African Americans represent only 12% of the population of the United States, they account for 35% of the abortions performed in this country.</p>
<h2 class="hdr2_TrebuchetMS">A Crisis in Civic Leadership</h2>
<p class="tblPadding">What is so amazingly alarming about these statistics is not only the staggering number of African American deaths that are legally sanctioned, but the relative apathy of the overall African American population to this slaughter-when is the last time you were at a Pro-Life Rally-and, even worse, the active promotion and support of legalized abortion and the extension of so-called reproductive or abortion "rights" by the overwhelming majority of African American politicians and civil rights leaders.</p>
<p class="tblPadding">Currently in Congress every member of the Congressional Black Caucus identifies him or herself as <i>pro-choice</i>. Because of the peculiar mix of race and politics in America in general, and especially in Washington, DC, on the political level Respect for Life concerns and legislation have by and large been cast as a one party issue. The result is that today there are no African American voices raised in defense of the unborn in our nation's federal legislative branch.</p>
<p class="tblPadding">The same folks who profess to fight for the interests of African Americans in health care, educational and employment opportunities, voter representation, affirmative action and all those other areas of civic life for which early civil rights pioneers fought so hard, have abandoned the cause of justice in reference to respect for the lives of innocent and defenseless pre-born African-Americans. They have sided with those who use the Supreme Court decision <i>Roe vs. Wade</i> to deny a whole class of persons the right to exist.</p>
<p class="tblPadding">The irony here is especially tragic since the Constitution of the United States sanctioned slavery and the "3/5ths clause" which relegated Africans in America to the status of chattel slavery. It was the Supreme Court that continued to support this same Constitutional "de-personalization" and the consequent second class status of people of African descent through two infamous decisions, namely <i>Dred Scott</i>, which upheld the fugitive slave law, and <i>Plessy vs. Ferguson</i>, which affirmed the Jim Crow system of segregation in the south. The famed decision mandating the dismantling of segregation "with all deliberate speed" in <i>Brown vs. The Board of Education of Topeka, KS</i> (the case argued by the late Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall) was a significant <i>reversal</i> of the Court's hitherto support of less than equal protection under the law for persons of African descent in America.</p>
<p class="tblPadding">This abandonment by major Black leaders of the newest unprotected class, the pre-born, was made painfully clear in January of this year when Reverend Al Sharpton, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for the presidency of the United States, addressed the NARAL (National Abortion Rights Action League) Pro-Choice America Dinner in Washington, DC. After proudly announcing that he had just crossed the picket line of pro-life protesters using his now famous line "it is time for the Christian Right to meet the right Christians," Sharpton went on to defend his vociferous support of legalized abortion. He said:</p>
<blockquote><p class="tblPadding">I trust the decisions of women because it is a human right that <i>Roe vs. Wade</i> decided on. This is not about abortion, this is about human rights, this is about human dignity, this is about women having their say-so over their own body and over how they will decide to proceed with their life, and if America is to be America, we must protect women's right to choose for themselves.</p>
<p class="tblPadding">It is hard to follow the logic of the above statement, after all, this debate, this crisis, is about abortion and the human dignity of a pre-born life, it is about the body of a woman and also about the body of her child that will be dismembered and thrown away as if it were trash without even the benefit a decent burial. What one does learn from Sharpton's further remarks is that, for him, the legal sanction to destroy a pre-born baby is a civil "right" just as the other rights Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and others fought for. He illustrates this by linking the fight to establish Dr. King's birthday as a national holiday with the fight to preserve legalized abortion on demand today. This is how Sharpton phrased it:</p>
<blockquote><p class="tblPadding">But let's not forget, we didn't get Dr. King's birthday because someone donated it, we had to march, we had to petition, we had to fight, we had to lobby to get that birthday, and in the end it was a great victory because even in the deep South, where he was castigated, where he was denounced, yesterday federal buildings were closed in honor of his day. We must have the same determination to keep fighting. Remember how we got <i>Roe vs. Wade</i> in the first place. Some of us may have to roll up our sleeves, but it does not matter, we cannot let them roll back the clock.</p>
</blockquote>
<p class="tblPadding">Note in particular the use of the words <i>we</i>, <i>us</i>, and <i>them</i>. Who is being designated by these terms? Is the pro-abortion "community," or is the African-American community being designated by the terms <i>we</i> or <i>us</i>? Has he linked the two groups inseparably? Are those who support the unborn person's right to live being designated by the term <i>them</i>? If the defenders of unborn lives are <i>them</i>, then Sharpton's is a particularly perverted understanding of civil rights. However, this speech is a classic example of the rhetoric employed by many national African-American political and social leaders in support of a practice that is the cause of the greatest number of African-American deaths in this country.</p>
<h2 class="hdr2_TrebuchetMS">II. Have We Lost Our Traditional Respect For Life?</h2>
<p class="tblPadding">How can it be that the African-American community, so long noted for its traditional love and respect for human life, in spite of great hardship, injustice and struggle, has now become so receptive to the wanton destruction of human life through abortion? I do not intend to exhaustively answer this question, but I would like to point out a few influential factors.</p>
<p class="tblPadding">A major cause is the reality that African-Americans, like all other Americans, have been subjected to and influenced by the shrill and deceptive campaign of abortion advocates for over thirty years. By now most are familiar with phrases such as "a woman's right to choose" or "a mass of cells" or "termination of a fetus." We have become so familiar with these terms that we really don't examine what they mean anymore. Should we re-examine them, we might find that they say, or more accurately don't say, everything they represent.</p>
<h2 class="hdr2_TrebuchetMS">Pro-<i>Choice?</i></h2>
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<p class="tblPadding">For starters, why does the phrase <i>pro-choice</i> immediately call to mind the issue of abortion? Almost every time we read an article or hear a report about an abortion related issue we hear the phrase <i>pro-choice</i>. Is there any inherent and exclusive connection between the terms <i>choice</i> and <i>abortion</i>? We have been conditioned to think and to speak in this manner. The truth is that "choice" equally applies to all issues. The question about being for or against choice can be applied to various issues. For instance, is it morally permissible to be pro-choice on slavery? What about segregation? Can I be pro-choice on wife-beating, or rape?</p>
<p class="tblPadding">If being pro-choice is good enough for abortion, why not for these and other controversial issues? Is abortion-the destruction of a pre-natal human life-less significant, less serious, less offensive than these other issues which presuppose a living person and a violation of that person's dignity?</p>
<p class="tblPadding">What about the choice itself? What is being chosen? In the other areas mentioned above simply being pro-choice is not good enough. One must take a stance. There is something wrong with being pro-slavery. There is something wrong with being pro-segregation, pro-wife-beating, and pro-rape. Isn't there something wrong with being pro-abortion?</p>
<p class="tblPadding">There, I said it, pro-abortion! Do you notice that we don't hear that phrase too often, although we get its contrary-"anti-abortion foe"-all the time? But that is exactly what the "pro-choice" crowd is for. Even those who are "personally opposed" to it! Recall all those people in the years leading up to the Civil War who were personally opposed to slavery-didn't even own any-but unwilling to impose their moral and religious convictions on those in states where slavery was legal. They were pro-choice on slavery, invoking "states' rights" to justify their non-participation in the struggle to abolish slavery as the slave states invoked the same to justify their commitment to the institution of slavery.</p>
<p class="tblPadding">So we need to know what the choice is about if we are going to be honest about determining the moral quality of the choice. Usually that information is withheld from the public and especially from the mother who is contemplating an abortion. It is typically withheld from her parents, boyfriend, and friends who are encouraging, if not coercing her to "get rid of" her baby. Here are a few descriptions of procedures used corresponding to the three trimesters during which an abortion is legal. Yes, in the United States a baby can be aborted up to the moment of birth!</p>
<p class="tblPadding"><b>Suction aspiration:</b> <i>First trimester.</i></p>
<blockquote><p class="tblPadding">A suction tube is inserted into the mother's womb. The suction and cutting edge dismember the baby while the hose sucks the body parts into a collection bottle.</p>
</blockquote>
<p class="tblPadding"><b>Dilation and evacuation (D&E):</b> <i>Second trimester (24+ weeks).</i></p>
<blockquote><p class="tblPadding">A forceps is used to grab parts of the baby and then tears the baby apart. The baby's head must be crushed in order to remove it because the skull bone has already hardened.</p>
</blockquote>
<p class="tblPadding"><b>Dilation and extraction (also known as D&X or partial-birth abortion):</b> <i>Used well into the third trimester (as late as 32 weeks old).</i></p>
<p class="tblPadding">The abortionist reaches into the mother's womb, grabs the baby's feet with a forceps and pulls the baby out of the mother, except for the head. The abortionist then jams a pair of scissors into the back of the baby's head and spreads the scissors apart to make a hole in the baby's skull. The abortionist removes the scissors and sticks a suction tube into the skull to suck the baby's brain out. The baby's head is crushed and the abortionist pulls the baby's body out the rest of the way.</p>
<p class="tblPadding">These are some of the "choices" made by or supported by those who are "pro-choice." These are the deadly choices made by the doctors and other practitioners in the abortion industry who make a living off the babies they kill.</p>
<h2 class="hdr2_TrebuchetMS">A Child, Not a Choice</h2>
<p class="tblPadding">But is it a baby that is being killed or just a "bunch of cells?" In one sense the answer depends on whom you ask. Ask any "expectant" mother and she will tell you about the baby in her womb, not the fetus, zygote, or mass of cells. As soon as she finds out that she is pregnant, her thoughts go to the new life living within her and all the plans, hopes and aspirations that accompany that experience. Does a change in the circumstances of pregnancy, namely unwanted, unplanned, or inconvenient pregnancy, change the nature of the life within the mother's womb?</p>
<p class="tblPadding">We hear much of "viability," <i>i.e.</i> the baby's ability to survive outside the mother's womb. It is true that for most of the pregnancy a baby is not viable outside the mother's womb, but neither is a child already born that viable without the constant input of human care. Viability does not constitute a change is the essential nature of the pre-born child. Each of us who engages this discussion today, regardless of the side we are on, was once non-viable in many ways. At no point during the biological process that began when that particular sperm donated by our biological fathers fertilized that particular egg donated by our biological mothers was there ever a possibility that we who are the results of that process should turn out to be dogs, rabbits, or anything other than human beings.</p>
<p class="tblPadding">Today's medical and scientific knowledge clearly affirms the integral human characteristics of the pre-born much earlier in the pre-natal process than ever thought before. Even in the earliest stages, and keep in mind that most women are not even aware of being pregnant until several weeks after conception when much development has already taken place, but even in the earliest stages a biological process has begun that terminates in humanity. If every person were to trace her origin as a human being back to its roots, that journey would lead her to her mother's womb. I was I on the day I was conceived and I am still I today!</p>
<h2 class="hdr2_TrebuchetMS">III. Margaret Sanger, Planned Parenthood, and <i>You</i>?</h2>
<p class="tblPadding">Planned Parenthood. Sadly just about every teenager, and these days even pre-teens, knows all about this organization. That's where you can get condoms and birth control pills-if they don't already distribute these at your local public school. That's also where a girl can go to get an abortion. In some states, this can be done by teens without parental notification. This was the case in September of this year when a teenage girl died after taking the RU-486 abortion pill she received from a Brazos Valley Planned Parenthood clinic. Planned Parenthood espouses a philosophy that encourages young people to have so-called "safe-sex."</p>
<p class="tblPadding">The only "irresponsible" behavior from their point of view is un-contracepted sex. Planned Parenthood is where parents (and, in their place-sometimes without their knowledge-school officials) who have failed to teach their children the virtue of chastity take the same children to stock them up with the means necessary to be sexually active with the least amount of immediately detectable consequences. This alone is enough to make one eschew this organization, but that is not all that can be said about this group.</p>
<p class="tblPadding">Planned Parenthood not only provides contraceptives such as Norplant and Depo-Provera-by the way, many of these "contraceptives" are abortifacients in their secondary function. If they fail to prevent the fertilization of the egg by the sperm, they then function in such a way as to prevent the <i>conceptum</i> (the earliest stage of human life) from attaching to the uterine wall, hence causing its demise-Planned Parenthood is also the largest single abortion provider. Quite disturbing is the fact that the overwhelming number of its clinics are located in predominantly minority neighborhoods. This is disturbing, but it is not surprising when one examines the life of the founder of Planned Parenthood, Margaret Sanger. Despite being once headed by an African American, woman, Faye Wattleton, the origins and foundational philosophy of Planned Parenthood are steeped in the worse kind of racism.</p>
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<p class="tblPadding">Margaret Sanger associated with and was sympathetic to a number of open racists and eugenicists. But you don't have to take my word for it, here is how openly "pro-choice" African-American commentator Julianne Malveaux describes Sanger in an article written for <a href="http://www.womensenews.org/">www.womensenews.org</a> on July 18, 2001:</p>
<blockquote><p class="tblPadding">For all her positive influence, I see Sanger as a tarnished heroine whose embrace of the eugenics movement showed racial insensitivity, at best. From her associates, as well as from some of the articles that were published in Sanger's magazine, The Birth Control Review, it is possible to conclude that <i>"racially insensitive" is too mild a description. Indeed, some of her statements, taken in or out of context, are simply racist.</i> And she never rebuked eugenicists who believed in improving the hereditary qualities of a race or breed by controlling mating in order to eliminate "undesirable" characteristics and promote "desirable" traits (emphasis added).</p>
</blockquote>
<p class="tblPadding">It is simply amazing that the commitment to abortion on demand has led those who are typically the most vocal denouncers of historical racism to give a "pass" to Sanger and the organization that perpetuates her legacy. What a contrast to recent successful public outcry about comments made by former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott who seemed to endorse the segregationist positions once openly espoused by the late Senator Strom Thurmond. Lott had to go despite a public apology, but Sanger remains, for Malveaux and others sharing her position, a <i>heroine</i>!</p>
<p class="tblPadding">Especially offensive is the fact that many African-Americans support Sanger and Planned Parenthood even though she was the inspiration behind the so-called "Negro Project." African American columnist Deborah Simmons commented on a paper written by Tanya Green, "The Negro Project: Margaret Sanger's Eugenic Plan for Black Americans" in <i>The Washington Times</i> on February 8, 2002. She wrote:</p>
<blockquote><p class="tblPadding">Sanger and a precursor to Planned Parenthood, the Birth Control Federation of America, decided to turn their attention to black folk. They devised a plan for an "experimental" clinic that Sanger said would "reduce the birth rate among ... elements unable to provide for themselves, and the burden of which we are all forced to carry," writes Tanya L. Green, author of "The Negro Project: Margaret Sanger's Eugenic Plan for Black Americans."</p>
<blockquote><p class="tblPadding">Sanger convinced black ministers, doctors and teachers - including NAACP co-founder W.E.B. DuBois - and others who straddled the upper echelons of black America, that so-called family planning programs (including abortion, hush-hush) were a good thing. Blessedly, not all were so easy convinced. After holding a mass meeting on Sanger's behalf at the hugely popular and powerful Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, many blacks sensed the undercurrent of eugenics. In fact, the Rev. Adam Clayton Powell Sr., whose son succeeded him in Abyssinian's pulpit and later became a congressman, was an adviser to Sanger and her band of population-controllers, and took considerable criticism for his role for allowing "that awful woman in his church," Ms. Green writes. "Eventually, the Urban League took control of the clinic, an indication that the black community had become ensnared in Sanger's labyrinth." (You can read more about this at <a href="http://www.cwfa.org/">www.cwfa.org</a>.)</p>
</blockquote>
<p class="tblPadding">One cannot avoid a certain sadness when examining the way in which some elitist members of the African American community, then and now, forged alliances for the sake of short term and short-sighted gain with individuals and organizations that have wreaked havoc on the African American Community.</p>
<p class="tblPadding">The alliance is even more powerful today, and more open. The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (<a href="http://www.rcrc.org/">www.rcrc.org</a>) is a coalition of predominantly African American "Christian" organizations and churches that are dedicated among other things to "protecting a woman's right to choose." Sexual and reproductive freedom are presented under the guise of novel interpretations of Scripture which ultimately negate the teaching of Scripture as it is faithfully passed on through teaching of the Catholic Church and other tradition-minded Christian bodies concerning the sanctity of human life and the sacredness of sex within the context of heterosexual, monogamous, lifelong and fruitful marriage.</p>
<p class="tblPadding">This predominantly "Christian" organization has as affiliates groups such as Clergy for Choice. They specifically target African American Youth at their annual Black Church Initiative Conference held every summer at the Howard University Divinity School where they provide information about and access to contraceptives and abortion services, with the "blessing" of participating pastors. The spirit of Margaret Sanger and the work of her brainchild, Planned Parenthood, continue to destroy the physical and moral fabric of the most vulnerable members of the African American Community, sadly with the assistance of some of our very talented minds.</p>
<h2 class="hdr2_TrebuchetMS">IV. Two Difficult Circumstances</h2>
<div><a title="Comment on Featured Articles in the forum" href="http://www.nbccongress.org/forum/forum_topics.asp?FID=13"><img title="Comment on Featured Articles in the forum" border="0" hspace="6" alt="Comment on Featured Articles in the forum" align="left" src="http://www.nbccongress.org/images/forum/discussion-forum-feature.jpg" width="300" height="44" /></a></div>
<p class="tblPadding">Some may be saying, "All this is true, but in the real world things are far more complicated. You don't know what it is like to be in difficult straits and having the fears and burdens of a pregnancy. And you have not addressed the case of a woman impregnated through rape or a woman whose life is threatened by her pregnancy." I agree that there is a difference between theoretical discussions of issues such as abortion and real life crises. However, that doesn't mean that there is no relationship between the two. In fact, it is the application of the theoretical truths to the real life crisis that will ultimately bring about the best result.</p>
<p class="tblPadding">These two situations are often mentioned as possible exceptions when legalized abortion should be allowed. The context is obvious. A rape is a horrible thing. The thought of a woman being violated in that manner is sickening to any sane human being, so it seems to follow that a pregnancy caused by a rape would be a further complication of an already horrific situation. All of this is true, but does it follow that the right and the best solution is the killing of the baby conceived through this horrible act?</p>
<p class="tblPadding">Let us identify what is offensive about rape. It is a violation of a woman's body. It is a violation of her will. It is a violation of her dignity. It leaves her wounded physically emotionally, psychologically and spiritually. Because she is a human being, she has a right to be respected and protected from such intrusive behavior on the part of another. But if you look closely at these reasons, don't most of them apply to the child as well. And this application does not diminish the effect this has on the woman. True the conceived child is not capable at this point of experiencing the emotional, psychological and spiritual damage as the woman does, but the violation to the child's physical integrity which is the source of all that will one day enable him or her to experience the other dimensions of human life is just as radical.</p>
<p class="tblPadding">Also, invoking the principle "two wrongs don't make a right," the killing of the child will not only not take away the pain, hurt and trauma of the rape, it will also expose the woman to all of the ongoing grief of what is called "post-abortion trauma syndrome." Professionals who work in post-abortion counseling have chronicled the ongoing struggles of women who have aborted babies and in some cases years later still have recurring crises connected to the guilt and pain they experience as a result of the abortion. In addition to post-rape trauma, post-abortion trauma will be added to the woman's burden</p>
<p class="tblPadding">Another question must be raised here, namely, should the child be required to pay with its life for a crime committed by another? None of us has anything to do with determining the circumstances of our conception. Is my life more valuable than the life of another person simply because we were conceived under different circumstances? Is my potential any greater? Have not the children of privilege often squandered their advantages and the children of want excelled in the face of overwhelming adversity?</p>
<p class="tblPadding">Is not adoption the far better option? Is the carrying to term of a child more horrific than being sexually violated? In no way do I suggest that this would be an easy task. But the reality in a situation like this is that the greater trauma has already taken place. The one good that could come out of this type of tragedy is that a new life made in God's image and likeness could be allowed the opportunity to thrive.</p>
<p class="tblPadding">In reference to the life of the mother being jeopardized, we know that more and more today we find mothers harming or even killing their children who are already born. Thankfully we have not yet become desensitized to this. We are still shocked by it. Often, the reasons given relate to the mother's health-usually her mental health. Yet we do not see this as being a justifying cause for murder. Somehow the image of a mother risking her own life to save her endangered children is more impressed on our psyches than any other image as being the norm.</p>
<p class="tblPadding">Parenthetically, it is worth mentioning that when "health or life of the mother" exception clauses are inserted into legislation regulating abortions, very subjective criteria such as mental anguish can be invoked to justify an abortion. This, in effect, nullifies the legal protection ostensibly granted to the pre-born child since mental anguish is such a broadly applicable category.</p>
<p class="tblPadding">Perhaps it is because the overwhelming experience that humans have had of motherhood is the experience of the bond of love being so strong between a mother and her child that she is willing to sacrifice herself for her child. From that perspective alone one can begin to see why, in the case of the pre-born one might expect the law to at least to be neutral with respect to both lives. Nonetheless, given the utter dependence of every pre-natal human person on its mother, and the inability of the pre-natal human to speak for or to defend him or herself, again the fundamental dignity which belongs to all by virtue of being human demands that everything be done to preserve both lives and that at the very least, nothing direct be done to end the life of the child.</p>
<div><a title="Comment on Featured Articles in the forum" href="http://www.nbccongress.org/forum/forum_topics.asp?FID=13"><img title="Comment on Featured Articles in the forum" border="0" hspace="6" alt="Comment on Featured Articles in the forum" align="left" src="http://www.nbccongress.org/images/forum/discussion-forum-feature.jpg" width="300" height="44" /></a></div>
<p class="tblPadding">In attempting to justify the invitation extended to Sharpton, the pastor of St. Sabina's was quoted by the <i>Chicago Sun Times</i> as saying, "He (Sharpton) is going to talk about civil rights and black history..." The problem, however, is that we know from Sharpton's NARAL speech given the previous month, that for him access to abortion is a civil "right." Disappointingly, no African American Catholic voices were publicly raised in protest of this debacle. This flaunting of the Church's clearly stated teachings concerning respect for life can only serve to deceive and mislead Catholic people even further than many already are.</p>
<p class="tblPadding">Thanks be to God there is also good news to report! One example is the foundation and the activity of the National Black Catholic Apostolate for Life, (<a href="http://www.blackcatholicsforlife.org/">www.blackcatholicsforlife.org</a>). Inaugurated by Fr. James Goode, OFM, the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus, and the Franciscan Solid Ground Ministry, with the support of the late John Cardinal O'Connor of New York and the Office of Black Ministry of the New York Archdiocese, NBCAL is busy about the work of getting the word out that African Americans and African American Catholics stand united for life. Affiliates are being added regularly and the word is slowly getting out. In its Fall 2003 newsletter, NBCAL boldly proclaims, "Black Catholics in America are Not Silent on the Issue of Abortion." What a powerful statement! Presently it is more a hope and an aspiration, a goal and a prayer than it is a reality in every African American Catholic parish, institution, foundation or organization. But the wheels are already in motion and for that we give thanks!</p>
<h2 class="hdr2_TrebuchetMS">VI. Quo Vadimus?</h2>
<p class="tblPadding">Where do we go from here? We go forward. We pick up our instruments and we march in faith to the victory that is promised those who hunger and thirst for justice and righteousness. Back in 1977 Rev. Jesse Jackson wrote an essay for <i>Right to Life News</i>. This is what he had to say back then:</p>
<blockquote><p class="tblPadding">The question of "life" is <i>The Question</i> of the 20th century. Race and poverty are dimensions of the life question, but discussions about abortion have brought the issue into focus in a much sharper way. How we will respect and understand the nature of life itself is the over-riding moral issue, not of the Black race, but of the human race.</p>
<p class="tblPadding">The question of abortion confronts me in several different ways. First, although I do not profess to be a biologist, I have studied biology and know something about life from the point of view of the natural sciences. Second, I am a minister of the Gospel and therefore, feel that abortion has a religious and moral dimension that I must consider</p>
<blockquote><p class="tblPadding">Third, I was born out of wedlock (and against the advice that my mother received from her doctor) and therefore abortion is a personal issue for me. From my perspective, human life is the highest good, the <i>summum bonum</i>. Human life itself is the highest human good and God is the supreme good because He is the giver of life. That is my philosophy. Everything I do proceeds from that religious and philosophical premise.</p>
<p class="tblPadding">Another area that concerns me greatly, namely because I know how it has been used with regard to race, is the psycholinguistics involved in this whole issue of abortion. If something can be dehumanized through the rhetoric used to describe it, then the major battle has been won. So when American soldiers can drop bombs on Vietnam and melt the faces and hands of children into a hunk of rolling protoplasm and in their minds say they have not maimed or killed a fellow human being, something terribly wrong and sick has gone on in that mind. That is why the Constitution called us three-fifths human and then whites further dehumanized us by calling us "niggers." It was part of the dehumanizing process. The first step was to distort the image of us as human beings in order to justify that which they wanted to do and not even feel like they had done anything wrong. Those advocates of taking life prior to birth do not call it killing or murder; they call it abortion. They further never talk about aborting a baby because that would imply something human. Rather they talk about aborting the fetus. Fetus sounds less than human and therefore can be justified.</p>
</blockquote>
<p class="tblPadding">Back then, Rev. Jackson understood the issue and he knew what had to be done. By 1988, when running for Democratic nomination for the presidency of the United States, Jesse had changed his tune. His new position, "Women must have freedom of choice over what to do over their bodies…it is not right to impose private, religious and moral positions on public policy."</p>
<p class="tblPadding">Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and other African American leaders have dropped the ball and we all suffer as a result. I repeat, we all suffer! I have not by any means exhaustively treated this issue. I have not spoken about the role of fathers and the impact the abortion epidemic has had on them. I have not spoken about the specific ways in which Catholic and other communities can come together to build a life-affirming environment that reaches out to women who are pregnant in difficult circumstances.</p>
<p class="tblPadding">have not spoken about the resources already available such as Project Gabriel which gives real and meaningful assistance to pregnant women, and Project Rachel which offers essential counseling services to post-abortive women. I have not spoken about the particular need to have active and committed Black Catholic participation in the work of L.E.A.R.N. (Life Education And Resource Network), the most effective and faithful African-American Respect for Life network, (<a href="http://www.blackgenocide.org/">www.blackgenocide.org</a>).</p>
<p class="tblPadding">All these elements and more form the content of the conversation we must begin and continue to have at every level. The ball has been dropped, but we must pick up that ball so that all God's children might have life and have it more abundantly!</p>
<p class="tblPadding">If anyone is interested in or in need of prenatal/postnatal care please visit Project Gabriel's website at: <a href="http://www.gabrielproject.com/">http://www.gabrielproject.com/</a> for more information.<br /><br />If anyone is interested in or in need of post-abortive counseling services, please visit Project Rachel's website at: <a href="http://www.hopeafterabortion.com/">http://www.hopeafterabortion.com/</a> for more information.</p>
<p class="tblPadding"> </p>
<p class="tblPadding"><b>By Rev. John J. Raphael, SSJ</b><br />Roman Catholic Chaplain<br />Howard University, Washington, DC</p>
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<p class="tblPadding" align="right"><a href="http://www.nbccongress.org/features/abortion_silent_no_more_07.asp"><img border="0" hspace="5" alt="Abortion: Silent No More (Continued)" vspace="5" src="http://www.nbccongress.org/images/assets/btn-continue.gif" width="96" height="23" /></a></p>
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<p class="tblPadding" align="right"><a href="http://www.nbccongress.org/features/abortion_silent_no_more_05.asp"><img border="0" hspace="5" alt="Abortion: Silent No More (Continued)" vspace="5" src="http://www.nbccongress.org/images/assets/btn-continue.gif" width="96" height="23" /></a></p>
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<p style="text-align:center;" class="tblPadding" align="right">Submitted <b>From:</b> <a title="jft3092@gmail.com" href="mailto:jft3092@gmail.com">john anthony</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;" class="tblPadding" align="right"> </p>
<div><div><b>Sent:</b> Monday, October 03, 2011 8:33 AM</div>
<div><b>Subject:</b> INSTEAD OF THE SLAVE PLANTATION THE PLAN IS TO NOW ATTACK YOU IN THE WOMB....17 MILLION ABORTIONS = MORE THAN SLAVED KILLED! WHICH PARTY SUPPORTS THIS?? HOW COULD YOU SMART GENIUSES BE DECEIVED SO EASILY??</div>
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Diversion Needed! Let's Kill Troy Davis!
https://www.theblacklist.net/profiles/blogs/diversion-needed-let-s-kill-troy-davis
2011-09-08T14:30:00.000Z
2011-09-08T14:30:00.000Z
TheBlackList News
https://www.theblacklist.net/members/TheBlackListNews
<div><p>by <strong>Mary Neal</strong> ~</p><p><span style="font-size:small;">Wednesday, September 7, 2011</span></p><p style="text-align:left;"> </p><h3 style="text-align:left;" class="post-title entry-title"><span style="font-size:small;font-weight:normal;"><a target="_blank" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7tbY3r3odRA/Tmfl5-7heAI/AAAAAAAAAis/Uf9_4KuJsSA/s1600/TroyDavis.jpg"><img class="align-full" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7tbY3r3odRA/Tmfl5-7heAI/AAAAAAAAAis/Uf9_4KuJsSA/s1600/TroyDavis.jpg" alt="TroyDavis.jpg" /></a></span></h3><div style="text-align:left;" class="separator"><font size="2"> Troy Anthony Davis (Oct. 9, 1968 - ? )</font></div><div class="separator"><font size="2"><br /></font></div><p><font size="2"><br /> <b>What do American decision makers do</b> whenever We the People begin to unite and press for social and economic justice? <u>They create a diversion</u>. The Vietnam War diverted attention and momentum from the civil rights movement when African Americans, whites and others joined together at the Poor People's March and other justice initiatives. Today people are UNITING to protest wars without provocation, mass incarceration for prison profits, the assault on workers' rights, environmental injustice, and other problems caused by the Elite Integration of government and international corporations. This time, the plan is to polarize the races by executing Troy Davis for an unproved murder. <b>According to news reports, an order to execute Davis sets a window between Sept. 21 and Sept. 28 for the execution.</b> I urge everyone to remember that tens of thousands of whites as well as black people have registered their objections to executing Troy Davis in the absence of irrefutable proof of guilt. Do not allow THE MAN to defraud you into riots the power structure may hope to use as an excuse to call Marshal Law.<br /> <br /> <span><b>BOYCOTT 4 JUSTICE! NO SHOPPING. </b></span><br /> Ordinarily, we publish a request that conscious people refrain from shopping on the 9th of every month in a peaceful, powerful financial protest to remind corporations and government officials that we are their customers and constituents and we demand justice. However, it is time to BOYCOTT FOR JUSTICE IMMEDIATELY AND ONGOING until Troy Davis is granted a stay of execution. We do not have to sign any more online petitions, march, hold rallies, or resort to violence for justice. All we need to do is <b>KEEP OUR MONEY. KEEP YOUR MONEY. TELL YOUR FRIENDS, FAMILY, AND ONLINE GROUPS TO KEEP THEIR MONEY.</b> Do no shopping in retail stores or online. Make no purchases beyond those that are absolutely necessary, such as food and gasoline. BOYCOTT 4 JUSTICE FOR TROY DAVIS AND FOR YOURSELVES. When corporations lose enough profits, they will tell THEIR judges and elected officials to give Troy Davis a stay of execution and improve justice in America.<br /> <br /> What might the power structure hope to accomplish by executing Troy Davis?<br /> <br /> 1. <b>Disunity between black and white Americans. </b> Elitists feel threatened by our collective strength.<br /> 2. <b>An excuse to take over the Internet. </b> There were riots in London last month following police overuse of force. Authorities there blamed Twitter users for contributing to the riots. Nazis in government want to place the Internet in the U.S. under the Justice Department through a congressional bill that is already pending, S.968. If there civil unrest follows Davis' execution, that may be used as an excuse to finally extinguish net freedom. Senate Bill 968 would complete the takeover of mass media in this country, as mainstream media is already government-controlled. The bill proposes giving Attorney General Holder and his successors the power to decide what can be posted online and what can remain there that is already posted, redirect links, and control Internet browsing.<br /> 3. <b>Possible Martial Law. </b> In January 2009, Rep. Alcee Hastings (Black D-FL) introduced H.R.645, a bill to erect six (6) concentration camps within America FOR Americans. The language of the bill said the "FEMA Centers" would be for "Katrina-like disasters." We all know who was most impacted by Katrina, and America said "NO THANK YOU" to Hasting's bill. Later in 2009, Americans were urged to line up and submit Our Bodies to H1N1 vaccines that were not through clinical trials. Massachusetts even passed a Martial Law bill for mass quarantine of people who refused to take the vaccines in case an "emergency" was called. I asked Georgia representatives if similar plans were in place in my state, and I received an email about FEMA help for storm victims in response. That seemed evasive to me. My Voting Central polls asking Americans if they wanted town hall meetings before setting aside the Bill of Rights and enforcing vaccines vs. FEMA camps were attacked and finally taken offline. Some people believe vaccinations may be related to population control. Americans must be careful to remain peaceful even if unjust executions are carried out. It seems our officials might be spoiling for an excuse to warehouse us in camps.<br /> 4. <b>Corporate Takeover. </b> Residents of Benton Harbor, Michigan report that their city officials were essentially fired recently and replaced by a city manager with ties to Whirlpool because of the city's insolvency. The residents assert that their city's insolvency was caused in the first place by Whirlpool's tax breaks. Rev. Edward Pinkney, a community organizer and Blogtalk Radio host, said there are 200 more city managers now in training. Is one of them for your city? Is government of, for, and BY the People ending in the United States? Are so many sheeple awakening now that it is deemed necessary to do something drastic to speed up the process? <br /> <br /></font></p><div class="separator"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8f3QQtHg7Gg/TmfmfuWv9KI/AAAAAAAAAiw/iqslABtu7aM/s1600/Commute+Troy+Davis.jpg"><font size="2"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8f3QQtHg7Gg/TmfmfuWv9KI/AAAAAAAAAiw/iqslABtu7aM/s1600/Commute+Troy+Davis.jpg" border="0" alt="Commute+Troy+Davis.jpg" /></font></a></div><p><font size="2"><b>I have followed Troy Davis' case for years and published numerous articles</b> to educate the public about his prosecution and reveal how corrupt Georgia courts are, where Troy still awaits a "just day in a fair court" (his words). Google "Mary Neal Troy Davis" to get information you will find nowhere else about Troy Davis' case. The last article I published about Mr. Davis carries links to others, <b>"Troy Davis' Appeal Rejected by U.S. Supreme Court,"</b> at this link: <a href="http://marylovesjustice.blogspot.com/2011/03/troy-davis-appeal-rejected-by-us.html">http://marylovesjustice.blogspot.com/2011/03/troy-davis-appeal-rejected-by-us.html</a> . My writing is so censored that all my blogs were attacked recently, and 11,000 of my tweets at Twitter were taken offline in December 2010. Thank God that Google and Twitter overcame the damage that hackers did and reinstated my work. Truth-telling suffers violence in America. I just tried to tweet this article's link and got this message: "403 Forbidden: The server understood the request, but is refusing to fulfill it." That was likely done by my hackers and not by Twitter. I may have to go use a computer not under the immediate control of neighborhood citizens police they positioned in foreclosed and rental houses around my home to monitor and control our phone calls and Internet access and to send stalkers whenever I leave home. Google "citizens police."<br /> <br /></font></p><div class="separator"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-F-U4J28rGaQ/TmfnomIthMI/AAAAAAAAAi4/hQvj-oYDOu4/s1600/Hank+Skinner.jpg"><font size="2"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-F-U4J28rGaQ/TmfnomIthMI/AAAAAAAAAi4/hQvj-oYDOu4/s200/Hank+Skinner.jpg" border="0" height="200" width="148" alt="Hank+Skinner.jpg" /></font></a></div><p><font size="2"><b>Hank Skinner's execution date was also set.</b> Skinner was granted a stay of execution in March 2010 by the U.S. Supreme Court because SKINNER'S GUILT IS NOT PROVED. He was denied a DNA test to prove his innocence, and that is still the case today. But Texas intends to kill Hank Skinner on November 11, 2011, despite the fact that he may be innocent. See my article entitled "Hank Skinner's Last Wish - Justice." <a href="http://freespeakblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/hank-skinners-last-wish-justice.html">http://freespeakblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/hank-skinners-last-wish-justice.html</a> It was published right before the U.S. Supreme Court granted his stay of execution last spring, and nothing has changed.<br /> <br /> <b>REMEMBER THIS</b> as Troy Davis and Hank Skinner face execution for crimes they may not have done, denied new trials on substantial post conviction evidence or refused a simple DNA test: THEIR "INALIENABLE RIGHTS" ARE EQUAL TO YOUR OWN. Executions of American citizens, black and white, without proof of guilt should make us all take a "civil rights checkup." If your test results come back CIVIL RIGHTS LACKING, don't blame your white, Latino, black, Native American, or Asian neighbors. The blame belongs to elitists in power who care zero about Troy Davis, Hank Skinner, you, me, or our families. Do not allow New World Orderlies to divert our collective attention and zeal from demanding CHANGE in the social and economic structure. The battle is not between the races, but it is a matter of the <i>Wars and Corporations vs. We the People.</i><br /> <br /> <b>I can prove Troy Davis' execution order is a New World Order tactic. </b> My online articles and comments about Troy Davis are censored by the same cyberdogs who were hired to censor me when I write against mass incarceration, loss of workers' rights, the impending takeover of the Internet by the Justice Department through Senate Bill 968, The (Johnnie) Cochran Firm fraud, criminalizing mental illness to benefit prison investors, and other justice subjects. The common denominator in every instance greedy elitists banning together against the perceived "slave class" on an individual and collective basis. The power structure probably hopes to turn the People against each other and keep our minds off them. While 95% of the People engage in infighting, 5% of the population enjoy 95% of the nation's wealth - and they want to keep it that way. Executing Troy Davis is probably a WAR TACTIC in the war on middle class and poor Americans to keep us divided. I tried repeatedly and was prevented from posting the following comment at the Creative Loafing Atlanta site regarding the new execution date set for Troy Davis.<br /> <br /> <b>Judge signs order to execute Troy Davis,</b> by Thomas Wheatley, Sept. 7, 2011<br /> <br /> <b>Mary Neal's comment: <i>I think they are ready for a showdown.</i></b> <i>This innocent man's execution could be the catalyst for awful things in America. Let us all advocate for justice for Troy Davis and a full investigation into Officer MacPhial's murder, something that did not happen when Davis was arrested on the word of a man who was present at the murder and admitted to having a gun fitting the caliber of the murder weapon. If Davis is lynched, please stay home and BOYCOTT 4 JUSTICE. A financial protest is more effective than marching and signing petitions alone, because our decision makers care more about money than anything I know about. Hank Skinner also has an execution date set for November 2011, although he was denied a DNA test after his stay of execution was granted by the U.S. Supreme Court in March 2010. These stays of execution are only to appease the public, not to grant new trials with substantial post-conviction evidence or give DNA tests an opportunity to exonerate the innocent. Remember as Davis and Skinner prepare to DIE that their "inalienable" civil rights are equal to your own.</i> - My comment was repeatedly prevented from posting at this link: <a href="http://clatl.com/freshloaf/archives/2011/09/07/judge-signs-order-to-execute-troy-davis">http://clatl.com/freshloaf/archives/2011/09/07/judge-signs-order-to-execute-troy-davis</a><br /> <br /></font></p><div class="separator"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-afGSJ69-FTc/TmfmzMtImMI/AAAAAAAAAi0/qfBxATzieWw/s1600/Diversionary+Tactics.jpg"><font size="2"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-afGSJ69-FTc/TmfmzMtImMI/AAAAAAAAAi0/qfBxATzieWw/s1600/Diversionary+Tactics.jpg" border="0" alt="Diversionary+Tactics.jpg" /></font></a></div><p><font size="2"><br /> WHO ARE THE OFFICIALS AND OTHERS WHO MAY WISH TO DIVIDE THE RACES (SHEEPLE) BY EXECUTING TROY DAVIS IN THE ABSENCE OF PROOF OF GUILT? They are NOT people who care about Troy Davis or Americans of any race. I am censored and stalked to prevent exposing the secret arrest and murder of my mentally, physically disabled brother, Larry Neal, by some of the same black "leaders" who urge us to protest for justice for Troy Davis. Those people care no more about Davis than they do about Larry, who's government lynching they help to hide and allow or facilitate censorship and terrorist attacks against my family to prevent disclosure. We are just as black and victimized as Davis and his family, and my brother is just as dead as Troy is intended to be. All requests for records and accountability regarding Larry's three weeks of secret arrest in Memphis/Shelby County Jail and his unexplained death were DENIED by the jail and by the United States Department of Justice. The Neals being denied DOG JUSTICE regarding Larry's death proves that murder does not really matter to people in the justice system except as an excuse to execute citizens now and then to keep the populace intimidated by their power. My help requests to large civil rights organizations that pretend to care about Troy Davis were disregarded about Larry's death, as is my stalking online and in person. Certain organizations and officials ignore 1.25 million other mentally ill Americans wrongly incarcerated to boost prison profits and numerous people who are wronged in and by the justice system besides Larry and Troy.<br /> <br /> <b>For many officials and other decision makers, race and party loyalty took a backseat to their New World Order affiliations long ago.</b> Even national patriotism is secondary to self-interest. Otherwise, why are Americans' jobs being outsourced overseas and to prisons continually? While blacks, whites, Native Americans, Latinos, Asians, Jews and Muslims engage in infighting, the elite unite and collude against us. I planned a protest to expose <i>Elite Integration v. the Working Class</i> at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial dedication that would have happened on August 28 but was postponed because of the earthquake. Read my announcement in this article: MARY NEAL GOES TO WASHINGTON FOR YOUR JUSTICE QUEST - <a href="http://freespeakblog.blogspot.com/2011/07/mary-neal-goes-to-washington-for-your.html">http://freespeakblog.blogspot.com/2011/07/mary-neal-goes-to-washington-for-your.html</a> - FYI: I am a Christian capitalist without any capital. Capitalism is honest trade of goods and services for financial gain. The Bible says that a good woman looks after the needs of her household then takes her wares (skills or products) to the marketplace. FAIR trade is Biblical. I object to imperialism and Nazism.<br /> <br /> <b>Did you know</b> that many successful cons depend on more than just the gullibility of victims, but also their larceny? I hope the prejudice that is in the hearts of many Americans will not be used to make the country self-destruct. I have read many Internet posts, including messages from respected organizations and individuals, that exploit the Tea Party against blacks, blacks against Jews, and liberal whites against conservatives. Someone is playing Americans like a master puppeteer. Division and strife are not of God. "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand." - Matt.12:25. Dr. King warned, "Learn to live together as brethren, or perish together as fools." Abraham Lincoln said, "America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." Let us pray, boycott shopping, sign petitions, hold peaceful rallies, and otherwise protest Troy Davis' execution over the coming weeks. IF THEY KILL TROY DAVIS despite objections by hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people around the world, then let us keep to our houses and keep our money in our pockets so long that they regret their audacity in killing Americans whose guilt is not proved.<br /> <br /> <b>The Bible says "The Love of Money Is the Root of All Evil."</b> The best thing we can do to SAVE TROY DAVIS and HANK SKINNER and ourselves is to remain calm; be resolved to stay peaceful. Let us keep our focus during this battle. Most of all, LET'S KEEP OUR MONEY. It is money that elitists treasure above all else, so PURCHASE NOTHING until they abandon this unjust course. <span><b>BOYCOTT 4 JUSTICE!</b></span><br /> <br /> Mary Neal, director of Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill <a href="http://www.care2.com/c2c/group/AIMI">http://www.care2.com/c2c/group/AIMI</a> - Website: Wrongful Death of Larry Neal <a href="http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com/">http://WrongfulDeathOfLarryNeal.com</a> Blogs: Free Speak Blog <a href="http://freespeakblog.blogspot.com/">http://FreeSpeakBlog.blogspot.com</a> and Mary Loves Justice <a href="http://marylovesjustice.blogspot.com/">http://MaryLovesJustice.blogspot.com</a> and Justice Gagged <a href="http://justicegagged.blogspot.com/">http://justicegagged.blogspot.com</a> -<br clear="all" /><br />-- <br />Mary Neal's Google Profile - <a href="http://www.google.com/profiles/MaryLovesJustice" target="_blank">http://www.google.com/profiles/MaryLovesJustice</a> - Get the RSS feed for my Care2 Sharebook at: <a href="http://www.care2.com/c2c/share/rss.html/513396753/0/" target="_blank">http://www.care2.com/c2c/share/rss.html/513396753/0/</a> - Get the RSS feed for my Twitter KOFFIETIME at <a href="http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/59790083.rss" target="_blank">http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/59790083.rss</a> - Current, urgent justice issues from a laywoman's viewpoint at my primary blog <a href="http://freespeakblog.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://FreeSpeakBlog.blogspot.com</a> (the name is a joke, believe me) Recommended articles - <a href="http://topsy.com/site/freespeakblog.blogspot.com" target="_blank">http://topsy.com/site/freespeakblog.blogspot.com</a> - Address: <a href="mailto:MaryLovesJustice@gmail.com" target="_blank">MaryLovesJustice@gmail.com</a> (some emails reach my box)</font></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p></div>
Pray for Brother Gil Noble as he Battles to Recover from a Stroke
https://www.theblacklist.net/profiles/blogs/pray-for-brother-gil-noble-as-he-battles-to-recover-from-a-stroke
2011-08-04T03:30:00.000Z
2011-08-04T03:30:00.000Z
TheBlackList
https://www.theblacklist.net/members/TheBlackList
<div><div class="gmail_quote"><br /><br /><table cellspacing="0" border="0"><tbody><tr><td valign="top"><table width="513" cellspacing="0" border="0"><tbody><tr><td><table width="513" cellspacing="0" border="0"><tbody><tr><td width="513" height="39" bgcolor="#333333"><h1><b><font face="Century Gothic" size="1" color="#EEEEEE">Pray For Gil Noble As He Battles From Stroke</font></b></h1>
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<p><span style="color:#777788;font-family:'Century Gothic';font-size:x-small;">08-03-11</span></p>
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<td width="300"><div><font face="Century Gothic" size="2" color="#000000">Gil Noble; a rare and wonderful light on earth</font></div>
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<td width="490"><table width="490" cellspacing="0" border="0"><tbody><tr><td><div><font face="Century Gothic" size="2" color="#000000"><span>[Tribute To A Legend]</span><span><br /><br />My dear brother and friend, Gil Noble, renowned journalist and long-time host of "Like It Is" suffered a stroke last week, people in contact with his family inform me.<br /><br />Several people in close contact with the family say brother Gil Noble is hospitalized. Some people in contact with the family say his condition is serious enough that relatives are traveling from Jamaica to be near this beloved chronicler of African stories everywhere.<br /><br />Bother Gil Noble's family, understandably, has been dealing with this profound health setback in a private manner. At the same time, millions of people love Gil Noble, for the honesty, love, dedication and devotion he brings to covering all issues that impact Africans and people of African ancestry everywhere in the world. He has also invited renowned historians on his show to remind the world of Africa's rich history and culture and he's also interviewed some of the greatest musicians who have walked this earth.<br /><br />Indeed, because Gil Noble's show airs Sundays at noon on WABC channel 7, many people complain to me about their weekly dilemma; should they attend church services or stay at home and watch "Like It Is."<br /><br />So, today, I humbly invite all those who love Gil Noble and what he's done to educate the world about the African experience --on the continent and in Diaspora-- to take a moment and say some words in prayer for brother Gil Noble in this his hour of need.<br /><br />I have been an admirer of Gil Noble and fan of "Like It Is," for many years, even before I received my own journalistic training in the early 1990s at Columbia University. Later, I was very extremely humbled and even taken aback, when Gil invited me to appear on his show. After having watched some of the large figures who had been guests on "Like It Is," --including some of the earlier interviews that he replayed, with Kwame Ture, Dr. Ben-Jochanan, Dr. John Henrik Clarke, Robert Mugabe, Michael Manley, Fannie Lou Hamer-- I did not believe that I had yet earned such honors.<br /><br />Brother Gil Noble has had me on "Like It Is," several times.<br /><br />Now, often, when I enter an MTA bus, drivers refuse to accept my fare, saying they are happy to drive someone who has been on "Like It Is." Countless people have stopped me on the streets of Harlem just to shake my hand. Young ladies on the subway have asked permission to leave their seats and come sit next to me--all because of my appearances on "Like It Is." This is how much Gil Noble and "Like It Is," are admired and loved.<br /><br />On "Like It Is," I have often shared the floor with: the tireless and philosophical reporter, historian, and educator, Herb Boyd; the people's political champion, New York City Councilmember Charles Barron; South African-born Pan-African and entrepreneur, Shikulu Shange, and; the peerless brilliant journalist and former Newsday editor, Les Payne.<br /><br />Beyond journalism, what most people may not know about Gil Noble is that he has the largest heart of any living person I know. He has a<br />profound and infectious love for African peoples. This is a very busy man who still always finds the time to call me to check on how I'm<br />doing; especially during the recession when he wanted to make sure my refrigerator was not empty. <br /><br />On many occasions, I also stop by his offices at WABC at Lincoln Square to chat and to admire his collection of books and African art. During a recent visit he showed me a breath-taking bust that he had sculpted himself years ago. We sometimes chat about his love of music; he once played the piano and might have become an accomplished professional musician. He says after he heard the musical legends, he settled on journalism.<br /><br />Muhammad Ali is one of Gil's heros. He says as a rookie reporter Ali spotted him and granted him an exclusive interview and waved off established reporters from so-called mainstream media. Ali told him to always "give back" to the community; Gil Noble has made that his life's mission. He says Ali taught him not to be "afraid of being Black."<br /><br />Whether we speak on the phone or in person, Gil's first words are always: "Milton, what's going to happen to our people? Our people are<br />catching hell here and in Africa." Another thing he always says is: "How can you know where you're going if you don't know your history?" He mourns the demise of Black History courses in schools throughout the country.<br /><br />Whether documenting the historical achievements of Black people, or celebrating their great music and arts, or inviting a guest to critique the contemporary public schools system, I'm sure most viewers will agree that "Like It Is," is simply the best program of its type. Gil abhors fluff and his show delivers the best in analyses and critique.<br /><br />Fans of "Like It Is" also know that WABC's management has in the past reportedly tried to cancel "Like It Is" and would have succeeded had it not been for rallies to support the show that were organized by the Committee to Eliminate Media Offensive to African Peoples (CEMOTAP) under Betty Dopson and Dr. James McIntosh.<br /><br />Gil Noble could have turned his back on the African community --like many other reporters who were let into the upper floors in corporate<br />journalism-- and worked like a media "star" promoting his own career by ingratiating himself towards his employers. He refused and he stands out as a great inspiration to young journalists everywhere regardless of their gender, race or nationality.<br /><br />Of course, Gil Noble has the greatest appreciation for the history of the suffering and exploitation of African peoples so he's devoted his life<br />and career towards seeking and sharing information to help uplift their conditions on this often cruel earth.<br /><br />Gil is a beautiful man who has made me a much better human being.<br /><br />As brother Gil Noble today gallantry fights to recover his health -- a challenging battle whose outcome is unpredictable-- it's important for people who love him and "Like It Is," to let WABC management know that they expect the show to continue. The station mustn't be allowed to use Gil's health setback as an excuse to eliminate the show.<br /><br />There are several very worthy hosts who can warm the seat for brother Gil Noble, including Les Payne, who brings profound intelligence and brilliant analytical capabilities to journalism. Les Payne has been a "Like It Is," guest on numerous occasions. Les Payne would do an excellent job --and make it impossible for WABC to get rid of the show-- until such a time when its host, our creator willing, resumes his great mission of Speaking Truth To Power.<br /><br />This is the time for every person who cares about serious journalism to call WABC at <a target="_blank">(212) 456-7777</a> or <a target="_blank">(212) 456-7000</a>; tell the show's producer to let WABC management know that they expect "Like It Is" to continue. Also contact CEMOTAP at <a target="_blank">(718) 322-8454</a> and see what help Sister Dopson and Dr. McIntosh need in keeping the flames of "Likt It Is" burning eternally.<br /><br />This is the very least that people can do in return for the love and devotion that Gil Noble has shown for African peoples everywhere.<br /><br /><br /><span>"Speaking Truth To Empower."</span><br /></span></font></div>
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Middle Passage Reversal Project: "COMPLETING THE CYCLE OF FREEDOM" - Caribbean cruise
https://www.theblacklist.net/profiles/blogs/middle-passage-reversal
2011-07-11T13:30:00.000Z
2011-07-11T13:30:00.000Z
TheBlackList News
https://www.theblacklist.net/members/TheBlackListNews
<div><table id="yiv1543434066bodyDrftID" class="yiv1543434066" border="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="font-family:arial;font-size:10pt;" id="yiv1543434066drftMsgContent"><div id="yiv1543434066"><table class="yiv1543434066" border="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="font-family:arial;font-size:10pt;"><div><table class="yiv1543434066" border="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="font-family:arial;font-size:10pt;"><div><table class="yiv1543434066" border="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="font-family:arial;font-size:10pt;"><div><table class="yiv1543434066" border="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="font-family:arial;font-size:10pt;"><div><table class="yiv1543434066" border="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="font-family:arial;font-size:10pt;"><div><table class="yiv1543434066" border="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="font-family:arial;font-size:10pt;"><div><table style="background-color:#e6e6e6;width:100%;color:#000000;font-size:10pt;" class="yiv1543434066SOLID" border="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="font-family:arial;font-size:10pt;"><h1 style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;" align="left"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:8pt;"><font face="Wide Latin"><font size="4"><font color="#C00000">HERITAGE REVIVAL</font></font></font></span></h1><h1 style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;" align="left"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:8pt;"><font face="Wide Latin"><font size="4"><font color="#C00000">PROJECTS, INC.</font></font></font></span></h1><h1 style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;" align="left"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:8pt;"><font size="4" color="#C00000" face="times new roman, new york, times, serif"><em>Middle Passage Reversal Project</em></font></span></h1><h1 style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;" align="left"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:8pt;"> </span></h1><h1 style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;" align="left"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:8pt;"><font size="4" color="#0000BF" face="times new roman, new york, times, serif">"COMPLETING THE CYCLE OF FREEDOM"</font></span></h1><h1 style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;" align="left"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:8pt;"><img src="http://www.juneteenth.com/mp2.jpg" width="406" border="0" height="286" alt="mp2.jpg" /><img alt="Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas" src="http://www.artofrealestateinvesting.com/images/Freedom_Exterior.jpg" width="435" height="250" /></span></h1><h1 style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;" align="left"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:8pt;"><font size="3" face="lucida console, sans-serif">INVITES YOU TO JOIN THE</font></span></h1><h1 style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;" align="left"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:8pt;"> </span><font face="Wide Latin"><font size="3"><span><font color="#007F40">HERITAGE REVIVAL</font></span> <span style="font-weight:normal;"><font color="#007F40">CARIBBEAN CRUISE</font></span></font></font></h1><p style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="yiv1543434066MsoNormal" align="left"><b><span style="font-family:serif;font-size:16pt;">On the</span></b> <b><span style="font-family:serif;font-size:16pt;">Royal Caribbean - Freedom of the Seas</span></b></p><h1 style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;" align="left"><span style="font-family:serif;"><font size="4">November 27th , 2011 to December 04th , 2011</font></span></h1><h1 style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;" align="left"><span><font size="3" color="#C00000"><em>ITINERARY</em></font></span></h1><h1 style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;" align="left"><span><font size="3" color="#0000BF">Pt Canaveral, Orlando – Labadee, Haiti – Falmouth, Jamaica – Georgetown, Grand Cayman – Cozumel, Mexico – Pt Canaveral</font></span></h1><h1 style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;" align="left"><span><font size="3" color="#C00000">Oceanview $879 Balcony 1 $995 Balcony 2 $ 1059</font></span></h1><h1 style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;" align="left"><span style="font-family:serif;"> </span><span style="font-family:'sans-serif';font-size:9pt;"><font size="3">The Heritage Revival Caribbean Cruise 2011 is organized under the single trade mark logo of “The Middle Passage Reversal Projects, by the Heritage Revival Projects (HRP) Inc. and the Afro-Pilgrimage Travel and Tours (APT), Corp., to both celebrate 2011 as the International Year for People of African Descent, as was proclaimed by the United Nations; and be a platform to launch the framework for a global dialogue among all peoples of African descent.</font></span></h1><h1 style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;" align="left"><span style="font-family:'sans-serif';font-size:9pt;"> </span><span style="font-family:'sans-serif';font-size:9pt;"><font size="3">Entitled “Rejuvenation of the Broken African Family: healing the wounds from slavery through dialogue”, its goals are to promote greater understanding among peoples of African descent; foster the appreciation of the bonds of common heritage that bind them, and advance a buy-in on the potential value of the wholesomeness of the global Africana community. As outcomes based structured conversation, it will be led by eminent scholars, experts, community leaders, cultural specialists, Pan African thinkers and leaders from the global Africana community. The proceedings will be video recorded and uploaded on the www and social media networks to spark an ongoing global dialogue among peoples of African heritage with a view towards developing a global agenda for their communal development.</font></span></h1><h1 style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;" align="left"><span style="font-family:'sans-serif';font-size:9pt;"> </span><span style="font-family:'sans-serif';font-size:9pt;"><font size="3">The cruise will also provide the backdrop for the unveiling of plans for the launching of the first of a series of Middle Passage Reversal Journey ( MPJ). The MPJ will be an organized transatlantic voyage designed to symbolically reverse the effects of the journeys of enslaved African ancestors, debunk the myth of the doors of no return, and complete the cycle of freedom for peoples of African descent.</font></span></h1><h1 style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;" align="left"><span style="font-family:'sans-serif';font-size:9pt;"> </span><span style="font-family:'sans-serif';font-size:8pt;" xml:lang="en-gb" lang="en-gb"><font size="3">Each passenger <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">must</span> have a valid passport at departure date.</font></span></h1><p style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="yiv1543434066MsoNormal" align="left"><font color="#C00000"><strong><font size="4"><span style="font-family:'sans-serif';font-size:9pt;" xml:lang="en-gb" lang="en-gb">Payment schedule is as follows:</span></font></strong></font></p><p style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="yiv1543434066MsoNormal" align="left"><span style="font-family:'sans-serif';font-size:9pt;" xml:lang="en-gb" lang="en-gb"><span> </span><font color="#C00000"><strong><font size="4">Deposit: <span style="font-family:'sans-serif';font-size:9pt;" xml:lang="en-gb" lang="en-gb">$250 non-refundable–no exception June 15th 2011</span></font></strong></font></span></p><p style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="yiv1543434066MsoNormal" align="left"><font color="#C00000"><strong><font size="4"><span style="font-family:'sans-serif';font-size:9pt;" xml:lang="en-gb" lang="en-gb">Final Payment September 02, 2011</span></font></strong></font></p><p style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="yiv1543434066MsoNormal" align="left"><span style="font-family:'sans-serif';font-size:9pt;" xml:lang="en-gb" lang="en-gb"> </span></p><p style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="yiv1543434066MsoNormal" align="left"><font size="5"><span style="font-family:'sans-serif';font-size:8pt;" xml:lang="en-gb" lang="en-gb"><em><font color="#0000BF"><font size="3">Rates are cruise only per person for double occupancy all port taxes included without gratuities.</font> <font size="3">Availability is subject to change.</font></font></em></span></font></p><p style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="yiv1543434066MsoNormal" align="left"> </p><p style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="yiv1543434066MsoNormal" align="left"><span style="font-family:'sans-serif';font-size:8pt;" xml:lang="en-gb" lang="en-gb"> </span><font size="5"><span style="font-family:'sans-serif';font-size:10pt;" xml:lang="en-gb" lang="en-gb">Minerva Travel-Accessible Travel Specialist Tel: 718-377-2071</span></font></p><p style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="yiv1543434066MsoNormal" align="left"><a href="http://us.mc1107.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=minitravel@hotmail.com" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:'sans-serif';font-size:10pt;" xml:lang="en-gb" lang="en-gb"><font size="3">minitravel@hotmail.com</font></span></a> <a href="http://www.minervatravel.net/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:'sans-serif';font-size:10pt;text-decoration:none;" xml:lang="en-gb" lang="en-gb"><font size="3">www.minervatravel.net</font></span></a><a></a><span style="font-family:'sans-serif';font-size:10pt;" xml:lang="en-gb" lang="en-gb"> </span></p><p align="left"> </p><p align="left"> </p><p align="left"><strong><font size="4"><font color="#C00000">THERE ARE FEW SEATS LEFT, PLEASE CALL FOR CURRENT RATES</font></font></strong></p><div><p style="color:#00007f;"><img class="rg_i" name="S_IpdgroJX9MEM:" src="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT4hlBsnPE2Qbd4bNfBaK_c6r8kX6rFumEc-iyYau1cp_YAgQbSHg" id="S_IpdgroJX9MEM:" width="202" height="151" alt="images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT4hlBsnPE2Qbd4bNfBaK_c6r8kX6rFumEc-iyYau1cp_YAgQbSHg" /><img style="margin:0px 0px 0px -12px;" class="rg_i" name="uiTXTRg9fXMJJM:" src="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRdLPLvhV1lURjaQkRhQ0V5h4MoR6enCWpUaAriIwRI2JKh7NH8vQ" id="uiTXTRg9fXMJJM:" width="231" height="154" alt="images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRdLPLvhV1lURjaQkRhQ0V5h4MoR6enCWpUaAriIwRI2JKh7NH8vQ" /><img style="width:275px;height:183px;" id="rg_hi" class="rg_hi" src="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ2pSR_oCfi0QiCfB2t_AR9srLtB72SH3pzB8hPUZaVXziO1i91eA" name="rg_hi" width="275" height="183" alt="images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ2pSR_oCfi0QiCfB2t_AR9srLtB72SH3pzB8hPUZaVXziO1i91eA" /><img style="width:267px;height:189px;" class="rg_hi" src="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRTD44tTGWVgblGIc8hKokWewcUDVHf3cwflIQqR_ObPoa_rpzF" width="267" height="189" alt="images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRTD44tTGWVgblGIc8hKokWewcUDVHf3cwflIQqR_ObPoa_rpzF" /></p></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><div id="ms__id1148"><div><p style="color:#00007f;"><font color="#033D21"><font color="#800000">"You cannot plow a field by turning it over in your mind"</font></font> <font color="#00007F">Unknown</font></p></div><p style="color:#00007f;"> </p></div><p style="color:#00007f;"><a id="yiv1083024638thumbnail" href="http://www.maptown.com/products/odt3.jpg" target="_blank" name="yiv1083024638thumbnail"><font color="#0000BF"><font color="#0000BF"><img style="margin:10px 10px 0px;float:left;border:1px solid;" alt="See full size image" src="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:rUrL5A9AAvtqFM:http://www.maptown.com/products/odt3.jpg" width="113" height="80" /></font></font></a></p><p style="color:#00007f;"><font 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Confessions of an Marxist Ideologue
https://www.theblacklist.net/profiles/blogs/confessions-of-an-marxist
2011-04-19T01:39:26.000Z
2011-04-19T01:39:26.000Z
TheBlackList News
https://www.theblacklist.net/members/TheBlackListNews
<div><p><strong><a href="http://muohio.edu" target="_blank">Rodney D. Coates</a></strong> ~ <br /><br /></p><p> Well, my colleague (Sam Friedman) has challenged me to identify the Marxist ideologues that I refer to in my most recent blurb. The problem with friends is that they hold us accountable. And if confession, as my Baptist friends constantly remind me, is good for the soul, then let me here and now confess –that yes once I was a Marxist ideologue. Where do I begin –at the beginning I suppose. </p><p>Most of you know that I was in the military, a Viet Nam veteran, and during that period became involved in the Viet Nam Veterans Against the War (VVAW). Actually, I was one of the founding members of the Illinois Branch of the VVAW, as well as charter members of the national body. It was in this organization, and generally in the peace literature, that I began reading and my curiosity regarding revolutionary movementswas piqued. I became very much interested in the writings of anybody that was “radical” and the most radical I could find were Marxist. With time my views increasingly became dominated by the likes of Du Bois, C.L.R. James, Che Guevara and watched with glee as Castro began his work in Cuba.</p><p>We, in E. St. Louis it seemed were at the other end of the world and languishing. A small cell began reading everything we could get our hands on that had the semblance of being revolutionary. We quickly rejected the calls for overt violence of, and the do nothing policies of Adam Clayton Powel (Burn Baby Burn). The integrationist strategy of King and the N.A.A.C.P. seemed too tame, and well it was what our parents had embraced, so it could not be that radical –could it. Although we frequently listened to the message of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, and probably would have went Muslim if Malcolm X had of been more than the National Spokesman. Consequently, we found more and more intriguing the writings of Huey, Baraka, and Bobby. We started the local branch of the Black Panthers, and began in earnest reading Huey P. Newton, H. Rap Brown, and Bobby Seals. </p><p>We met daily to read and discuss from Huey P. Newton’s Ten Point Program, Mao’s <u>Little Red Book</u>, and F. Nietzsche’s <u>The Will to Power</u>. More than anything we were inextricably drawn to the rhetoric of Stokely Carmichael and the awesomeness of the concept of “black power”. No one had every suggested that blacks were anything but trash, problems and victims. But –the idea of black people could have power took us to a new level. We took the party line in literally “hook, line and sinker” –we stood on the corners, shouting all power to the people and sold the<u>Black Panther</u> official newspaper. We were fully committed to the liberation of the black race. As many of us were Viet Nam veterans, we already had the jackets, shirts, and boots to join the militant ranks of the Panthers. With all the idealism of youth, we fervently believed that we were the advanced guard of the revolution that would free our people, take over our communities, and put ‘whitey’ in his place.</p><p>In the barbershops, in the pool rooms, on the streets –anywhere we could get a crowd of more than ourselves - we preached the liberation, we condemned the ‘whitey’, and we proclaimed our resolve to tear down the racist Amerikkan structure. Did I say we were young, did I say we were niave, did I say we were idealist –well yes, and we were dumb. How dumb? I will let you be the judge.</p><p>On one particular hot day, we had decided that we were going to do our most dramatic action –we were going to form a human chain around the E. St. Louis Police Station –and shut down that “instrument of exploitation”. We, all 26 of us, formed a human chain and marched to the Station to “liberate” our brothers who had been unduly hassled, unjustly arrested, by the “pigs” representatives of the racist structure. We got there about 12 noon, as planned, painted signs in hand, suitably and militantly dressed, we began our chants through our bull horns. “Pigs, pigs, racist pigs have gotta go. Free our brothers, now. 1,2,3,4 the Racist Pigs have gotta go. Free our brothers, now. No justice, no peace. 1,2,3,4 racist pigs have gotta go.” No -we were not that creative. But we got our message across, and we got action. The police quickly proceeded to arrest us on disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace charges. And then began my odyssey, where I learned the true meaning of power.</p><p>My one free call, was to –who else –my mother. She came down to see why her son had been arrested. When she found out, she had me brought into an interrogation room. There, she looked at me, with tears in her eyes and asked me one simple question “Have you lost what little sense you had when you came back from Viet Nam?” Dumbfounded, I looked her in the eyes and said –absolutely nothing. Silence - you could cut through with a butter knife -filled the room. And again, she looked at me and said “Well. You made your bed, now you just wallow in it.” That was it, she left, and I was taken back to my cell. During the night, my fellow Panther Brothers made bail, or were released. Me, I was held over for ‘justice’. Within a couple of days, I was taken to the Alton and the Illinois State Mental Facility where I was committed. Yes, I was committed, and placed in a psychiatric ward. Yes, somebody had signed papers attesting to the fact that I had lost it, I was a threat to myself and/or others. That I was certifiably –“nuts”.</p><p>Who, you might ask had done this to me. Oh, forgive me. Did I mention that one of the Pigs that I was protesting against was my –FATHER. Yep, my father, was in the first group blacks to integrate the E. St. Louis Police Department. And yes, my father the “PIG” was not happy with his second son who had not only embarrassed him to all his fellow officers, but felt personally insulted by my choices, attitudes, and activities. My father, determined to show me just what real power was –was not satisfied with me being arrested, no, he had to demonstrate to me that my whole world could be taken from me. Jail and misdemeanors such as disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace were too trivial as punishments. I needed to learn what real power was.</p><p>Well. I did not stay in the “facility” long. Actually, after my assessment, I was released to make room for the really sick folks. But that was not the real difficulty. I now had no place to call home. During my stay –my father had had my meager possessions packed up and deposited at the Panther Headquarters in E. St. Louis. The headquarters –well actually three rooms that we, now six homeless black men, struggled to pay the monthly $100.00 rent. </p><p>After a couple of weeks, my mother finally relented and agreed to meet me for lunch. You know, black men and their mothers –nothing stands between them for long. We met at the local park, she actually brought some of her chicken and potato salad. With some soda, we had a nice lunch. And after, she shook her head, and said “Rodney, I am not proud of what you did. What were you thinking?” Looking at this woman who loved me more than life itself. (I know for she had almost died to give birth to me!) I had no response. So she proceeded to fill in the blanks.</p><p>“How could you call your father a pig? A pig? Really? He is the man that put his life on the line everyday so that you could have a place to live, something to eat, and clothes on your back. A pig? He is the one who dropped out of school to get a job to support me and our family, so that you could be born. A PIG? He is the one who constantly denies himself so that you can have the things that he did not have. A PIG –Son, he is a hero, he is one of the few black men who dared to challenge the all white Police Department to hire them. The first group of black men who daily had to deal with an entrenched white community that refused to see blacks as anything more than victims, thugs, and hoodlums. And he is the Black Man that each day puts on that uniform, shines his shoes, and goes out to serve and protect you and our community. And you had the audacity to not only call him a PIG, but to do it in front of the whole police department. You are the one with the problem –not your father.”</p><p>You know, no one can make you feel as small as your mother. And no one knows where to hit that really hurts then your mother. And no one can make you see reality like your mother. And –well I guess you know the rest. So what could I do –</p><p>I waited for the appropriate time –which is a nice way, I waited till it hit me, just how wrong I was –not only about my father, but a whole lot of other things –and went to see my father. There and then, humbly, and with the deepest of respect I begged my father for his forgiveness. And you know what –he gave it to me –with the following caveat. “In the future, get to know the whole story, check you facts before you open your mouth.” My response -“Yes, sir.”</p><p>Obviously, I had to reconsider Huey P. Newton’s statement that I had so engrained in my head.</p><p>“The policemen or soldiers are only a gun in the establishments hand. They make the racist secure in his racism. “<br />For clearly, my father was a policeman, and he had a gun –but he clearly was not there to make racist secure in their racism. What else was wrong with the ideology of the ideologues?</p><p>As I began checking the facts, I became distressed with many of the ideological positions of the Black Panthers. I did some more reading. I learned that Amiri Baracka advocated and confessed to practicing rape on black women and that:<br />“Most American white men are trained to be fags. For this reason it is no wonder their faces are weak and blank. … The average ofay [white person] thinks of the black man as potentially raping every white lady in sight. Which is true, in the sense that the black man should want to rob the white man of everything he has. But for most whites the guilt of the robbery is the guilt of rape. That is, they know in their deepest hearts that they should be robbed, and the white woman understands that only in the rape sequence is she likely to get cleanly, viciously popped.”</p><p>This was not prominently found in the various revolutionary tracts that we had available to us. But buried in his more literary texts. I am not sure if this was written in truth or just to scare the white world. What I do know is that I could not condone nor align myself with anyone who could even write such –in jest, in revolutionary fervor, or in-sane. Now I began to wonder, just what was behind the slogans, the glibness, and the militant persona. I looked at the Panther Cartoon books, and saw my father, my mother, and many of my friends. And I saw myself, with a gun in my hands. Damn, hadn’t I just spent a time advocating peace, pacifism. How had I sank so low, how had I been –again – so wrong. My father had it –I was too gullible, too naïve, and too damn stupid. And know what –stupid falls for anything. Yes –fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me..but fool me three times….i must be a fool. When Angela Davis and several other prominent black women left the Panthers chastising them for being sexist, chauvinist pigs –again the ideological rigidity of the Panthers and their bastardization of Marxism was even more revealed. </p><p>I learned that C.L.R. James had severed himself from other marxist ideologues, because they were blind to the plight of Africa and the African struggle. But then I learned that C.L.R. James had been read by African revolutionaries such as Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah. In fact it was Nkrumah that led me to more critical appreciation of multiple modes of thought, and to the multiple ways that social transformations can be accomplished. It was Nkrumah that led me to began to see in the reality that revolutionary and revolutionaries often are trapped in their ideologies, and that true change comes about more slowly. By the way, it did not help when Eldredige Cleaver decided to become a republican and run for the senate. Wow, how much can one change. Such change is better appreciated as transformative rather than revolutionary, and thus my critical education actually begun. And thus ended my brief stint as an Marxist ideologue. </p><p> </p><p>*Note: Rodney D. Coates is a professor of sociology at Miami University. He can be reached at <a href="http://muohio.edu" target="_blank">coatesrd@muohio.edu</a>.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p style="margin-bottom:0in;" class="western"><font color="#993300"><font face="Arial, sans-serif"><u><strong>Posted by TheBlackList</strong></u></font></font> <font face="Tahoma"><u><strong>– <br /></strong></u></font><a href="http://www.theblacklistpub.nin.comwhat/"><font color="#000000"><font face="Arial, sans-serif"><font size="2"><span style="font-style:normal;"><u><strong title="http://www.theblacklistpub.nin.comwhat/ CTRL + Click to follow link">http://www.theblacklistpub.nin.com</strong></u></span></font></font></font></a><font color="#993300"><font face="Impact, sans-serif"><span style="background:#ffff99;"><br />Follow me on <a title="http://twitter.com/theblacklist CTRL + Click to follow link" href="http://twitter.com/theblacklist">Twitter</a> and on <a title="http://www.facebook.com/KwasiAkyeampong.theblacklist CTRL + Click to follow link" href="http://www.facebook.com/KwasiAkyeampong.theblacklist">Facebook<br /></a>PhoneMeYourNews @ <span class="skype_pnh_print_container">646-820-5210</span> <span dir="ltr" class="skype_pnh_container"><span class="skype_pnh_mark">begin_of_the_skype_highlighting</span> <span dir="ltr" title="Call this phone number in United States of America with Skype: +16468205210" class="skype_pnh_highlighting_inactive_common"><span class="skype_pnh_left_span"> </span><span title="Skype actions" class="skype_pnh_dropart_span"><span class="skype_pnh_dropart_flag_span"> </span> </span><span class="skype_pnh_textarea_span"><span class="skype_pnh_text_span">646-820-5210</span></span><span class="skype_pnh_right_span"> </span></span> <span class="skype_pnh_mark">end_of_the_skype_highlighting</span></span><br /></span></font></font></p></div>
THE WAR AT YOUR DOOR! A Generation of Black men living and dying right here on U.S. soil.
https://www.theblacklist.net/profiles/blogs/the-war-at-your-door-a
2011-04-12T13:30:00.000Z
2011-04-12T13:30:00.000Z
TheBlackList
https://www.theblacklist.net/members/TheBlackList
<div><strong>Afghanistan, Pakistan,</strong> <b><strong>Iraq and</strong></b> now <b>Libya</b>.. Ongoing wars and a blank check written for spending. Military hardware manufacturers must feel like they’ve died and gone to capitalist heaven….<br /><p><font size="3">But there’s another war being waged that will seldom receive worldwide news coverage commensurate with the above wars and never be given the funding that these other “perceived conflicts” obtain… Or for that matter a fraction of it<b><i>…</i></b></font> <br /><br /></p>
<p><font size="3">That is… the war for the lives of <b>A Generation of Black men living (and dying) right here on U.S. soil ..in urban America.</b></font> <b><i><font size="3"><br /></font></i></b></p>
<p><font face="tahoma, new york, times, serif"><font size="4">Now …why should one view the plight of young Black men here in America as that of a “War”?</font></font><b><i><font size="3"> </font></i></b></p>
<p><font size="3">The reality that young Black men presently face here in America’s urban centers is not only tantamount to war, but a protracted war, a battle that has been waging for many decades. <br /></font></p>
<p>The exposure of many young black men to an ongoing environmentally induced conditioning process, breeding self-hatred, drug and alcohol use and various forms of violence, all set the stage for life (or death) here on the urban battle field. <br /><br /></p>
<p>Social science and educational experts have not yet been able to fully equate just how much of an impact the many factors found prevalent throughout urban warzones have on the psycho-spiritual and physical development and well being of Black youth. Or at least.. have not, or will not develop the comprehensive, strategically “master” plan necessary that will prepare black youth with the necessary tools and armor to stand toe to toe with the many adversities and adversaries found on the battlefields in which they live. <br /><br /></p>
<p>As we examine our collective condition closer we then may better understand why this has been and continues to be the case. <br /><br /></p>
<p>According to a <a target="_blank" href="http://www.cgcs.org/publications/Call_For_Change.pdf"> study released</a> by the Council of the Great City Schools, by the fourth grade only 12 percent of Black male students read at or above grade level, while 38 percent of white males find proficiency in this academic area. By eighth grade its just 9 percent for black males, 33 percent for whites. Black male students are twice as likely as white males to drop out of school. And in many urban cities the dropout rate is above 50 percent.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><font size="4">Many children in the school systems of America are being diagnosed “or mis-diagnosed” with conditions known as ADD, ADHD and DD (defiant disorder).</font></p>
<p><font size="3"> </font></p>
<p><font size="3">In the Black community there is an overwhelming phenomenon taking place. Everyone has a child or knows someone who has a child (or two) who is on the verge of being medicated or has fell victim to the legal drug pushers. Many of our female comrades, the mothers of these young men, have no clue what to do. So they go along with the plan. Drug em..and keep em quiet .</font></p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0PDoX1di6NNLWYAQ26JzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTBpZm5udGl1BHBvcwM1BHNlYwNzcgR2dGlkAw--/SIG=1lkdb9iq2/EXP=1302592477/**http%3A//images.search.yahoo.com/images/view%3Fback=http%253A%252F%252Fimages.search.yahoo.com%252Fsearch%252Fimages%253Fp%253Dchemist%252Bin%252Blaboratory%2526ei%253Dutf-8%2526y%253DSearch%2526fr%253Dush-mail%26w=724%26h=483%26imgurl=0.tqn.com%252Fd%252Fchemistry%252F1%252F0%252F6%252FS%252F1%252Ffemale-chemist-with-flask.jpg%26rurl=http%253A%252F%252Fchemistry.about.com%252Fod%252Fphotogalleries%252Fig%252FPhotos-of-Chemists%252FFemale-Chemist-with-Flask.htm%26size=30KB%26name=This%2Bfemale%2Bchem...%26p=chemist%2Bin%2Blaboratory%26oid=1510923537a522e2665c28d50ac59329%26fr2=%26no=5%26tt=28200%26sigr=130rqvu4r%26sigi=11te2n7l8%26sigb=13285vhls%26.crumb=C.73wRvdq34"></a></p>
<p><font size="3"> </font></p>
<p><font size="3">Children of the war zone are being proscribed medications with many known and obvious side effects, much of the time without follow-up or proper and full diagnosis. These side effects can range from sleep disorders and insomnia, weight loss, loss of appetite, irritability and heart problems. In young people who may be already susceptible to depression there may also be thoughts of suicide. This can be referred to as the urban communities version of “Gulf War Syndrome”</font></p>
<p><font size="3"> </font></p>
<p><font size="3">The enemy behind the lines are the pharmaceutical multinationals, their agents and their many vendors, who stand to make enormous net profits out of every single individual diagnosed and young Black man medicated. This dollar figure must then be multiplied by the tens of millions to get a true feel for the multinational profit margin. No harm, no foul…after all….We are at War!</font></p>
<p><font size="3"> </font></p>
<p><font size="3">And in all wars somebody has to lose …In this case young Black men and the Black community as a whole.</font></p>
<p><font size="3"> </font></p>
<p><font size="3">Upwards of seventy five percent of black children in America are raised in single parent households where no father is present (National Center for Health Statistics).</font></p>
<p><font size="3">This reality helps set the stage for the young would be lawyers, doctors and community leaders to instead become new victims of a system already in place way before they were born. <br /></font></p>
<p><font size="4">It has been determined that approximately one third (33%) of African American males born after 1991 will spend some time during their life incarcerated (Department of Justice).</font></p>
<p> </p>
<p>If a US soldier is taken prisoner of war (POW) in Afghanistan and is then lucky enough to be released, he is then usually welcomed home as a “hero” by his peers and his countrymen.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>We find a very similar dynamic which takes place in the urban warzone as wave after wave of young men “POWs” go in and out of the juvenile and adult prison system. Many of them coming home each time to be greeted with love and accolades by old friends and family,(comrades) happy that they were able to survive the enemies camp. But then what?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Over ninety five (95) percent of Black men released from corrections return within the first five years of being paroled. There are thousands of black men who have spent their entire youth in juvenile institutions and then as an adult in the Prison Industrial Complex. They represent the epitome of human exploitation exhibited through the privatized, for profit system of corrections, which in short represents modern day slavery. Many of us have become willing volunteers for this aspect….of the war zone.. </p>
<p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}3828524897,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="160" src="{{#staticFileLink}}3828524897,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-full" alt="3828524897?profile=original" /></a>Black men in the United States have the shortest life expectancy (69.5 years) of all other racial and ethnic groups, averaging over six years less than white men who live 75.7 years (2005 National Center for Health Statistics)</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The number one cause of death for young black men15-24 year old is homicide (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)</p>
<p> <a href="{{#staticFileLink}}3828524935,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="160" src="{{#staticFileLink}}3828524935,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-full" alt="3828524935?profile=original" /></a></p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0PDoS2XjaNNBSsABZiJzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTBqNzhwMWg1BHBvcwMzMARzZWMDc3IEdnRpZAM-/SIG=1r8ol0f8h/EXP=1302593047/**http%3A//images.search.yahoo.com/images/view%3Fback=http%253A%252F%252Fimages.search.yahoo.com%252Fsearch%252Fimages%253Fp%253DYoung%252Bblackmen%252Bin%252Bthe%252Bstreets%2526js%253D1%2526b%253D21%2526ni%253D20%2526ei%253Dutf-8%2526y%253DSearch%2526xargs%253D0%2526pstart%253D1%2526fr%253Dush-mail%26w=2081%26h=1346%26imgurl=thyblackman.com%252Fwp-content%252Fuploads%252F2010%252F09%252Fblackonblackcrime.jpg%26rurl=http%253A%252F%252Fthyblackman.com%252F2010%252F09%252F28%252Fwhy-do-african-american-youth-kill-each-other-the-lack-of-cultural-alignment%252F%26size=236KB%26name=and%2Bpeer%2Brelatio...%26p=Young%2Bblackmen%2Bin%2Bthe%2Bstreets%26oid=49ab01c99a70f3337ad0640d2d6896c0%26fr2=%26spell_query=Young%2Bblack%2Bmen%2Bin%2Bthe%2Bstreets%26no=30%26tt=1570%26b=21%26ni=20%26sigr=13f14d380%26sigi=1208dg4fd%26sigb=14bv1e9h4%26.crumb=C.73wRvdq34"></a></p>
<p> In the war zone it can be viewed by many as a badge of honor to show that you have the nerve, the killer instinct to shoot down another Black man in cold blood….and live to talk about it. Many who do so find the same fate, getting shot down themselves as the cycle of violence continue to escalate in uncontrollable fashion.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><font size="4">Guns can be found real easy in wartime.</font></p>
<p> <a href="{{#staticFileLink}}3828524970,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="160" src="{{#staticFileLink}}3828524970,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-full" alt="3828524970?profile=original" /></a></p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0PDoTHWe6NN7ggAM6eJzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTBpc2ozM2gzBHBvcwM0BHNlYwNzcgR2dGlkAw--/SIG=1i3enp4va/EXP=1302588502/**http%3A/images.search.yahoo.com/images/view%3Fback=http%253A%252F%252Fimages.search.yahoo.com%252Fsearch%252Fimages%253Fp%253Dblack%252Byouth%252Bshot%2526js%253D1%2526ei%253Dutf-8%2526y%253DSearch%2526fr%253Dush-mail%26w=576%26h=500%26imgurl=96.0.66.141%252Fimages%252FSHOTGUNS.JPG%26rurl=http%253A%252F%252Fcrimeindetroit.com%252FHaywardLeslieBrown.html%26size=183KB%26name=Hayward%2BLeslie%2BB...%26p=black%2Byouth%2Bshot%26oid=368b4afd1a05ea4ea9080bc0db040c2b%26fr2=%26no=4%26tt=22200%26sigr=11hvf1akt%26sigi=10v09h1ko%26sigb=132uo00nb%26.crumb=C.73wRvdq34"></a><a target="_blank" href="http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0PDoTEhg6NNKAkA_2ajzbkF/SIG=12ebmo83u/EXP=1302590369/**http%3A//sofgearguy.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/bw-gun17.jpg"></a></p>
<p> As everyone in the black community knows <strong>“we don’t make no guns”</strong> but yet every Black urban community faces the same dilemma. Young men caught in the cross hairs. On one side, brother killing brother, on the other side police killings of unarmed Black men continue to rise. Mothers continue to cry, funeral homes and parlors are big business here… in the urban war zone..<a href="{{#staticFileLink}}3828525008,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="400" src="{{#staticFileLink}}3828524980,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-full" alt="3828524980?profile=original" /><img width="400" src="{{#staticFileLink}}3828525008,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-full" alt="3828525008?profile=original" /></a></p>
<p><font size="4">Dietary Warfare</font></p>
<p><font size="3">Like those who they emulate, many black children consume high-fat, high-sugar synthetic foods that have been proven scientifically unsafe even by corrupt American standards.</font> <a href="{{#staticFileLink}}3828524997,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="160" src="{{#staticFileLink}}3828524997,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-full" alt="3828524997?profile=original" /></a> <a href="{{#staticFileLink}}3828525022,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="536" src="{{#staticFileLink}}3828525022,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-full" alt="3828525022?profile=original" /></a> <font size="3">Young Black men in the US are more obese and at risk for more types of preventable illness and disease than in any other group on the entire planet.</font><br /><br /><font size="3">Young brothers as young as nine years of age, representing the potential future leaders of our communities, are being diagnosed in record numbers with conditions such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease and type 2 diabetes .</font><font size="3">Reports have also surfaced from the Environmental Protection</font> <font size="3">Agency (EPA) regarding pesticides levels and children.<br /><br />According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Academy of Sciences, standard chemicals are up to ten times more toxic to children than to adults, depending on body weight. This is due to the fact that children take in more toxic chemicals relative to body weight than adults and have developing organ systems that are more vulnerable and less able to detoxify such chemicals.<br /><br />And there is more disturbing news for the parents of the many young geniuses whose greatness is being suppressed through chemical intoxication.</font></p>
<p><font face="Calibri" size="3"><br />In blood samples of children aged 2 to 4, concentrations of pesticide residues are six times higher in children eating conventionally farmed fruits and vegetables compared with those eating organic food. And in addition, over 300 synthetic food additives are allowed by the FDA in conventional foods. This includes can goods, packaged and frozen foods and meats. <br /></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><font face="comic sans ms">None of these chemicals are allowed in foods that are USDA certified organic. But as you know we must keep an eye</font> <font face="comic sans ms">on them.</font></font> </p>
<p><font size="4">Living in the war zone!</font>.<br /><br /><br /><font size="3">Lack of physical activity combined with "standard" meals means too many of our young soldiers are suffering from poor health. As it stands each generation gets worst. The future, with each and every bite.. is looking dimmer. <br /><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}3828525056,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="106" src="{{#staticFileLink}}3828525056,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-full" alt="3828525056?profile=original" /></a>War produces an entire economy. Every item needed for war must be provided. This includes planes, artillery, tanks, uniforms, the latest technology and plenty of food for hungry soldiers. <br /></font></p>
<p><font size="3">Not only is our community a target for gun manufacturers and hustlers to dump weapons in (plan for genocide), cartels in cohesion with corrupt agencies to dump illegal drugs in, the target of excessive pollution from industry and factories effecting the health and well being of our children (environmental warfare) but also the “nuclear bomb” of community attacks….which involves synthetic, hormone and toxin filled fake foods around every turn and on every corner in which we live. We see this high saturation of dietary death all around us as the ultimate form of attack, of “Chemical Warfare” against the community and particularly our youth. We are indeed fighting a war for the lives of those present and also for the many generations yet unborn!</font></p>
<p><font size="3"> </font></p>
<p><strong><font size="4">A pro-active struggle</font></strong></p>
<p><font size="3"> </font></p>
<p><font size="3">In that the purpose of this communication is a pro-active one, we will not remain forever in dialog regarding the reality of the established condition. But let’s face it, we are in deed at war…an all out, do or die battle for the minds, spirits and the very lives of our young men.</font></p>
<p><font size="3"> </font></p>
<p><font size="3">It’s easy sometimes to get caught up focusing on the problems, this taking into account all that we have and continue to experience down in the fox hole.</font></p>
<p><font size="3"> </font></p>
<p><font size="3">There are however some very distinct essentials that we need to put in place in order to assist in dealing with this reality and changing forever the landscape, the terrain, of the present war we find ourselves in. If we can find the strength…if in fact we can muster the will.</font></p>
<p><font size="3"> </font></p>
<p><font size="3">Let’s establish some basic elements our young Black men (and women) need to prepare for the battle that has been waged against them:</font></p>
<p><font size="3">____________________________________________________________</font></p>
<p> </p>
<p> <b><font size="3">Our youth need conscious family and community guidance, this whether their biological mother or father is present or not.</font></b></p>
<p><font size="3"> </font></p>
<p><b><font size="3">Our youth need proper and fulfilling educational institutions with caring and concerned instructors/leaders. </font></b></p>
<p><b><font size="3">Our youth need character and esteem building cultural programs that will give them the many missing tools they need to be well rounded men in this day and time. To be able to stand toe to toe if necessary with racism, indoctrination and all out lies regarding who we are, where we are from, and where we should in fact be going as individuals and as a people. (go to: <a target="_blank" href="http://www.steptothefuture.org/">www.steptothefuture.org</a> for progressive youth development).<br /> </font></b></p>
<p><b><font size="3">Our youth need exercise and fitness programs throughout our community and the re-establishment of adequate gym (fitness classes) in all schools in our community and throughout the country. <br /></font></b></p>
<p><b><font size="3">Our youth need proper self defense training that will assist them with the knowledge and confidence to protect themselves, their families and community….furthermore the ability to stand in the face of aggressive ignorance that they will undoubtedly encounter and also defend intelligent, conscious ideals and decisions. </font></b></p>
<p><b><font size="3"> </font></b></p>
<p><b><font size="3">Our youth and their families need proper dietary education and counseling so as to be able to ward off the generation scourge of obesity, high blood pressure and other various preventable illnesses plaguing the Black and Latino communities across America. As a direct result of these improper dietary practiced our children are being diagnosed in record numbers with a host of illnesses that will follow them throughout their lives and on into the next generation to come, literally being led to slaughter. Our children need our protection from the use of this form of advanced chemical warfare against them.</font></b></p>
<p><b><font size="3"> </font></b></p>
<p><font size="3">Now in the effort to step outside of mere rhetorical dialog and philosophical jargon we would like put forth a basic format that can be used and or duplicated, in any city, county, state or area of the Nation where we find our people, particularly young Black men. Our people are in need of all the armor and ammunition we can get to fight this battle.<br /> </font></p>
<p><font size="3">This is the foundation of a much needed plan. No, we did not say this is “THE PLAN”, it is a plan, a starting point for the many organizations, schools, churches, masjids and agencies that find themselves spinning their wheels, never obtaining the necessary traction needed to create the order, the organization , the workable process to fight against such an overwhelming adversary. (See attachment for Plan)</font></p>
<p><font size="3"> </font></p>
<p><font size="3">You already have a plan…great …Just what a conscious person wants to hear. Put it on the table. Share it with the community. Make it available so that we can take from it that which is applicable to assist in this critical situation.</font></p>
<p><font size="3"> </font></p>
<p><font size="3">To all of the Black mothers, be proactive. Don’t think that you should wait till your son begins to hang out or get into trouble or that the war will just cease to exist as a result of your being able to move to a more affluent neighborhood or town. Although affluence does have some bearing, if we look a little closer we will see that these drugs, guns, gangs, and police executions of young Black men are to be found in every city, county and state throughout America.</font></p>
<p><font size="3"> </font></p>
<p><font size="3">We have been trying to run from it for generations, but just like the grade school bully it keeps catching up with us. We try and find another route….but hear he comes again. It’s time to stop running brothers and sisters, acknowledge that we are in a war “Strap Up”…. and fight for the lives of ourselves and our youth.</font></p>
<p><font size="3"> </font></p>
<p><font size="3">We need concrete strategies on all fronts. We are far past the stage of political posturing, photo opptation and mental gymnastics. It is time now to step up to the plate to do this work.</font><b> </b> </p>
<p> </p>
<p><b><font size="3"> </font></b></p>
<p><font size="3"><font size="4"><strong>To our Brothers</strong></font>……. please forward this communication and info to every Black parent with young men you know.</font></p>
<p><font size="3"> </font></p>
<p><font size="3"><strong><font size="4">To our sisters</font></strong>….please do likewise. But also forward this communication to all brothers who you know who would be willing to assist in the trenches in getting this work done.</font></p>
<p> </p>
<p><font size="3">Let them know that the next generation of doctors, lawyers and teachers…or….gang bangers, thugs and potential young Black male corpses await their next move and decision. Time is of the essence.<br /> </font></p>
<p><font size="3">For more information about the STEP organization, to donate to this worthy cause and or to volunteer in this critical mission, please contact us at:</font></p>
<p><font size="3"> </font></p>
<p><font size="3"><strong>Phone: <a target="_blank">(973) 842-8212</a></strong></font></p>
<p><font size="3"><strong>Email: <a target="_blank" href="http://steptothefuture.org/">steptothefuture.org</a></strong></font></p>
<p><font size="3"><strong>On the web: <a target="_blank" href="http://www.steptothefuture.org/">www.steptothefuture.org</a></strong></font></p>
<p><font size="3"> </font></p>
<p><font size="3">Only those who are truly serious about assisting with the progressive, proactive, holistic development of young black men need apply.</font></p>
<p><strong><font size="3">__________________________________________________________<br /></font></strong></p>
<p><strong><font size="3">Brothers…this is to share with single mothers with young Black men.</font></strong></p>
<p><strong><font size="3">Sisters…..this is to share with the progressive Black men in your circle.</font></strong></p>
<p><strong><font size="3">Parents….this is to read with you sons….and grandsons.</font></strong></p>
<p><strong><font size="3">Young Black men….this is to read and share with your peers</font></strong></p>
<p><strong><font size="3">We have work to do!</font></strong></p>
<p> </p>
<p><font size="3"><strong>From the Battlefield!</strong></font></p>
<p><font size="3"><strong>The Brothers Of S.T.E.P.</strong></font></p>
<p><b class="gmail_sendername">Step Inc</b> <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:step_incnj@yahoo.com">step_incnj@yahoo.com</a>></span><b> </b></p>
<p> </p>
<p><b><br /></b></p>
<div> </div></div>
The Plot To destroy Social Security
https://www.theblacklist.net/profiles/blogs/the-plot-to-destroy-social
2011-04-01T04:55:35.000Z
2011-04-01T04:55:35.000Z
TheBlackList News
https://www.theblacklist.net/members/TheBlackListNews
<div><strong>From The Ramparts</strong><br /><a href="http://comcast.net" target="_blank">by Junious Ricardo Stanton</a> ~ <br /> <br /> <em>“You know it’s funny when it rains it pours, they got money for wars but they can’t feed the poor.”</em> Tupac Shakur<br /><br /> The duplicity and hypocrisy of the US government is mind blowing. Doing the bidding of the corporations and special interests who bribe them to keep them fat and content, the president and Congress have initiated policies that have driven the US economy over a cliff. Now they say they have to take the initiative for fiscal sanity to save the government from default after they gave trillions of our tax dollars to the very crooks who caused the implosion in the first place!? Fine, but what’s their plan? They've cut taxes on the rich (General Electric paid no federal taxes I repeat no taxes in 2010) while they cut the social safety net on the poor and raise our taxes. In the midst of all this, Obama starts bombing yet another Muslim country. <br /> <br />Wars are costly and extremely expensive. Yet the US always finds a reason not to go to war unless it is against a country that can't really fight back with their own weapons of mass destruction. In effect the US has morphed into the world’s school yard bully who enjoys ganging up on smaller, weaker countries to take their lunch money, or in the case of Iraq, Libya, Somalia and Afghanistan, their natural and mineral resources.<br /> <br />Meanwhile at home both Democrats (Cuomo in New York) and Republicans (Christy in New Jersey, Walker in Wisconsin, Corbett in Pennsylvania, Kabish in Ohio) are attempting to balance their budgets on the backs of the working poor and middle class while giving humongous tax breaks and exemptions to the corporations that fund their campaigns. These heartless money grubbers don’t care about the little people they are hurting. All they care about is their ideological and class agendas. <br /> <br />If they were serious about balancing their budgets they would make the corporations pay their fair share. Profits are at an all time high, production is up but job creation is down! Don’t believe the CNBC and Wall Street folderol that the rich deserve a tax break because they create the jobs. What jobs? If they were creating jobs, unemployment won’t be at an all time high, people wouldn't be losing their homes and living in tent cities.<br /> <br />On the federal level the Klepotcrats on both sides of the aisle are attempting to gut Social Security and ruin one of the most effective programs the federal government operates even if it is a modified Ponzi scheme. It’s very unscrupulous so stay with me. The Social Security program as it was set up by the Social Security Act of 1935 is a pay as you go program. This means that funds taken from worker’s pay checks today are used to pay current benefits to the disabled, elderly, widows and dependent children. From day one, the money went directly to the people and any left over went into the Social Security Trust Fund. Due to the population demographics when it was first enacted, the Social Security Trust Fund was able to meet present demands because the money paid out in benefits was much less that the money taken in. So in its early years, the Social Security Trust Fund enjoyed a surplus of revenue.<br /> <br />But by the 60's during the Johnson administration the bills for the Vietnam War and “Great Society” programs were eating up the budget and Johnson was running huge deficits. Someone in his administration suggested they use the Social Security tax money to pay the bills to keep from having to borrow even more money at interest from international bankers and foreign governments. Johnson listened and started a precedent that has continued to this day. <br /> <br /> Under Johnson and every president since, the money taken from your paycheck for Social Security pays the benefits of all the people drawing Social Security for whatever reason and the money left over is used by the government to pay its bills. The government takes the money from the Social Security Trust Fund and puts an IOU back into the Social Security Trust Fund. These IOUs are in the form of non-commercial, non interest baring certificates. In effect the government is borrowing from itself. But unlike US Treasury Notes they are not sold to the public to raise money and they bare no interest. Its just a piece of paper to denote how much money the government has “borrowed” from the Social Security Trust Fund. <br /> <br />Without all this "borrowing" the Social Security Trust Fund would have trillions of dollars in reserve. But alas since the late 60's Uncle Sam has been taking it to keep the government rolling. From the Johnson administration on whether it was a Republican or Democratic administration, they’ve been “borrowing” from the Social Security Trust Fund to pay the bills and make it look like the government’s deficit is lower than it actually is, because they are paying the bills from money from the Social Security Trust Fund. This way they don’t have to borrow from the Federal Reserve Bank or auction T Bills to make ends meet. This was the source of the bogus “surplus” Bill Clinton keeps talking about. <br /> <br /> Keep in mind people are living longer, a Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) and early retirement were added to the original Social Security Act which meant more money was being taken in from taxes to pay for the increased benefits and beneficiaries. Also keep in mind the government was taking out money to pay their bills and not paying it back because more money was still coming in than was going out. But by the time of Reagans “trickle down” idiocy the government needed more and more money to cover the deficits Reaganomics caused. In fact under Ronald Reagan they had to increase the amount of money they took from us every pay day just to keep the scheme going. This was what the so called “bipartisan” plan to save Social Security where they started taxing Social Security benefits was really about.<br /> <br />But now the baby boomers are retiring, many illegal immigrants are getting benefits for their children, the population curve is in a downward trajectory and we are in an ongoing economic slump. So now more money is going out and less is coming in. Here’s where the plan to gut Social Security comes in. In order to extend the Bu$h tax cuts for the super rich Obama and the Democrats sold us out by agreeing to lower the amount of money taken out for Social Security under the guise of giving us more spending money to boost the economy. On the surface it sounds like a good idea but what this is doing is lowering the money coming into the Social Security Fund. But meanwhile the benefit costs are increasing and the government still “borrows” money as it comes in from this “pay as you go” system to pay its ever increasing bills. <br /> <br />What they are doing is setting Social Security up to go bust. As more boomers retire every day, more benefits are going out but less money will come in. The economy is still in a protracted tailspin and less tax money is coming into the Social Security coffers thanks to the “bipartisan” tax cut deal. This will hasten the day when Social Security pays out more than it actually takes in. When that happens the fascists will say, “See the system is costing us money, dissolve it.” Keep in mind the IOUs in the Social Security Trust Fund aren’t worth anything so the government can’t sell or auction them off to raise funds. They will be forced to either raise taxes or borrow even more money; this time outside the government to pay the Social Security benefits. Talk about a Catch 22 situation.<br /> <br /> So in effect these psychopaths have deliberately created a debt time bomb to implode Social Security thereby accomplishing what they’ve been trying to do for years; destroy or privatize it. Keep in mind your beloved Obama is in on it! Everything the oligopoly tells him to do he does. This could be the beginning of the end of Social Security unless some righteous politicians take a stand on our behalf.<br /><br /><p style="margin-bottom:0in;" class="western"><font color="#993300"><font face="Arial, sans-serif"><u><strong>Posted by TheBlackList</strong></u></font></font> <font face="Tahoma"><u><strong>– <br /></strong></u></font><a href="http://www.theblacklistpub.nin.comwhat/"><font color="#000000"><font face="Arial, sans-serif"><font size="2"><span style="font-style:normal;"><u><strong title="http://www.theblacklistpub.nin.comwhat/ CTRL + Click to follow link">http://www.theblacklistpub.nin.com</strong></u></span></font></font></font></a><font color="#993300"><font face="Impact, sans-serif"><span style="background:#ffff99 none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"><br />Follow me on <a title="http://twitter.com/theblacklist CTRL + Click to follow link" href="http://twitter.com/theblacklist">Twitter</a> and on <a title="http://www.facebook.com/KwasiAkyeampong.theblacklist CTRL + Click to follow link" href="http://www.facebook.com/KwasiAkyeampong.theblacklist">Facebook<br /></a>PhoneMeYourNews @ 646-820-5210<br /></span></font></font></p><br /><br /></div>
The 1st National Black TEEN Empowerment Expo Presents FAME: Fashion, Art, Music & Education
https://www.theblacklist.net/profiles/blogs/the-1st-national-black-teen
2009-02-14T23:55:05.000Z
2009-02-14T23:55:05.000Z
R. Lee Gordon
https://www.theblacklist.net/members/RLeeGordon
<div><p style="text-align:left;"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}3828506722,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="" width="836" height="402" /></p>Good day and blessings.On behalf of our teenage generation who needs us more today than ever before, please consider supporting and / or participating in this event, and sharing this information among your circles of influence:Happy Black History Month, sisters and brothers, and those to whom it should concern:As my “calling" is to uplift the quality of life and learning for our young generation in a country and media-based society seemingly more intent on turning our children into prisoners and prostitutes rather than productive, positive people, I am currently organizing The 1st National Black TEEN Empowerment Expo Presents FAME: Fashion, Art, Music & Education in New York City, summer 2009. And to ensure we consistently engage as many youth as possible, the expo is being planned as a semi-annual event, and currently scheduled to be held in Atlanta, winter 2010, and in Detroit, summer 2010.Designed to enrich the hearts, minds, bodies and spirits of today’s male and female teenagers between 12 and 18 years of age, the expo will expand perspectives, critical thinking, access to local programs and resources, capabilities and confidence levels, and narrow achievement gaps, technology divides and drop-out rates.The 1st National Black TEEN Empowerment Expo will feature FAME (fashion, art, music and education), a proven “edu-tainment” model that leverages our teenagers’ interests in fashion, art and music while integrating effective educational approaches to stimulate their academic achievement, as well as social and professional development.Here are the primary goals of the NBTEE:1. Strengthen our teenagers’ minds, hearts, bodies and spirits to help them rise above and overcome the all-too-many negative influences of society, media, environment and peer pressure.2. Instill within our teens a greater understanding of economics and politics (in conformance with New York State social studies and politics standards) so they know how to command change in their communities, and become influential citizens and enlisted activists in the process and progress.3. Better connect teens to groups and caring citizens so they achieve academically and succeed professionally.4. Strengthen communication and collaboration among youth and community resource providers so that our children are more consistently aware of and involved in available programs and services.5. Provide more recognition of and support for community, youth and educational resources, and find better ways to get them to our children on the streets and in the schools.6. Attract and supply tutors and mentors for participating youth.7. Promote discussions about and delivery of effective ways to reach and teach today’s young generation.8. Build stronger “working” relationships with students and in schools.9. Develop consistent initiatives that uplift communities of teenagers.The NBTEE will also bring together, under one roof, many community and youth service providers so that we can begin to build a collaborative support system for our younger generation, locally and regionally, and work towards the formation of a national youth movement with strength in numbers and political clout.To date, more than 135 groups and individuals throughout the country have indicated an interest in supporting and / or participating in the NBTEE, including:Access To Arising Artists (New York City)Agnes Johnson (New York City)AJ – The A Spot (Atlanta)Amanda Gayle (New York City)Andrea M. McCaskill (Detroit)A.R.A.H.A.S. Productions (New York City)ARISE Detroit! (Detroit)Armory Track (New York City)Asunte, Inc. (Atlanta)Ballet International Africans (New York City)Black and Male in America (New York City)Black Educators of Excellence (New York City)BOAN Consults, LLC (Savannah, GA)Brooklyn College (New York City)Center For Educational Outreach (Ann Arbor, MI)Chauncey Hanshaw (Baltimore)Cheryl Lacey Donovan (Houston)CKG Ministries (New Jersey)Coy Creations (Houston)Denise Williams International (Atlanta)Devin Robinson (Atlanta)Divalicious, Inc. (New York City)Divine Essence (Phoenix)DLC Youth Ministry (Baltimore)Doll E Daze Project (Mansfield, MA)Dr. Barbara Murrell (Atlanta)Dr. Darryl Tukufu (Tennessee)Dr. Deborah Sims (Virginia)Dr. James C. Perkins (Detroit)Encourage Me I’m Young (Detroit)EZ Wear Classic Clothing (San Ramon, CA)Frances A. Jackson (North Carolina)Frederique Porter Photography (Washington, DC)Freedom Industrialists (Bluefield, WV)Fusicology (Detroit / Los Angeles)Gina M. Jackson (San Diego)Good News TV Network (Detroit)Hamilton & Associates Consulting (Gardena, CA)HBCU Kidz (Virginia / Florida)Historical Inspirations (Baltimore)Hustler’s University (Atlanta)Informed Decisions (New York City)Ja’Ski (Washington, D.C.)Jerry Craft (Connecticut)Jordan Coleman (New Jersey)Jullien Gordon (New York City)Katika Mercer (Baltimore, MD)Kimi Rhochelle (Inland Empire / Los Angeles, CA)L.E.A.D. (Florida)Lisa Morris (New York City)Lovely & Delicious Enterprises, Inc. (Atlanta)Macy’s (New York City)Majestic Entertainment News (New York City)Marilyn Jones (Houston)Mark Anthony (New Jersey)Mia Cruz (New York City)Mozell Fleming (Orlando)National Alliance of Black Student EducatorsNot Ur Momma’s News (Houston)PortraitEFX of Middlesex (New Jersey)Prisonworld LIVE (Atlanta)Project Fr3sh (Chicago)Property of God Management (Detroit)Safe Horizons (New York City)Shay Date Guide, LLC (Atlanta)Smells Good Team (North Carolina)The Black Child Rites of Passage Program (New York City)The Black Economic Advocacy Party (New York City)The Black Star Project (Chicago)The 1st Law Network (New Jersey)The Master Griot Project (Philadelphia)The Write Stylz PR Firm (Atlanta)Thunder X (New York City)The Single Parent Resource Center Youth Leadership Program (New York City)Ultimate Events (Las Vegas)Urban Chic (New York City)Urban Leadership Institute (Baltimore)W. Skeet Jiggetts (New Jersey)Warren Green (Atlanta)Wayne Harris (New York City<a href="http://www.bigtimebiz.com">www.bigtimebiz.com</a> (New York City)<a href="http://www.blackpeopleone.com">www.blackpeopleone.com</a><a href="http://www.dynamicyouth.org">www.dynamicyouth.org</a> (International)<a href="http://www.h2ionline.com">www.h2ionline.com</a> (Ann Arbor, MI)<a href="http://www.HBCU247.com">www.HBCU247.com</a> (New Jersey)<a href="http://www.ourblacknetwork.com">www.ourblacknetwork.com</a> (Los Angeles)<a href="http://www.showcasemagdir.com">www.showcasemagdir.com</a> (New Jersey)<a href="http://www.streetpositive.com">www.streetpositive.com</a> (San Bernadino, CA)Xposed Youth Communications (Columbus, OH)Please note the above list doesn’t completely represent the substantial outpouring of interest and support from individuals via social media networks, or else, and if I’m overlooking any one in anyway, do let me know, with my genuine apologies. Many of these impressive individuals and groups are already involved in essential work with our children and communities, and some will serve on the NBTEE local or national planning committees, and / or ensuing sub-committees relevant to their specific area(s) of expertise. Collectively, we will initially establish sponsor and funding sources, develop marketing communication strategies and products, and then create the powerful education programming and highly creative curriculum for the expo(s).The participation of fashion designers, models, artists and artisans, musical acts, performers, “edu-tainers”, vendors, etc., as well as promotional support via media and Internet resources, is also vital to the NBTEE’s success.If we are supportive, strategic and creative in ensuring this first event is created to collectively benefit all those it engages, we will transform the way our communities better support their children, and simultaneously arrive at better ways to reach and teach today’s teenagers.The NBTEE has recently received the full endorsement of The National African American Congress and its more than 300 members strong. We, too, are at our best and strongest when we work together towards a common cause and greater good. Thus, your input, feedback, suggestions, support and potential participation is greatly valued as gratefully appreciated.Please feel free to reach me at rgordon@uniteedesign.com, or directly at 734.395.3079.We have all the required resources to enrich the quality of learning and life for our younger generation. Now, let’s prove it.R. Lee Gordon<a href="http://www.uniteedesign.com">www.uniteedesign.com</a><a href="http://www.betterdetroityouth.org">www.betterdetroityouth.org</a><a href="http://www.nbtee.org">www.nbtee.org</a> (coming Winter ’09)<a href="http://www.greaternewyorkyouth.org">www.greaternewyorkyouth.org</a> (coming Summer ’09)WHAT: The 1st National Black TEEN Empowerment Expo Presents FAME: Fashion, Art, Music & EducationThe 1st National Black TEEN Empowerment Expo is the first event of its kind solely dedicated to uplifting African-American teenagers, and achieving greater levels of youth and community activism.Event goals are to: transform the way our communities support our children; engage teenagers using powerful forms of the arts and “edu-tainment”; assess and deliver better ways to reach and teach today’s teens; and help our children build stronger minds, bodies and souls. Participating youth will also be able to benefit from on-site mentoring and tutoring opportunities. Other important topics will include peer-to-peer empowerment, politics, economics and community involvement.This two-day event will bring together a broad array of individuals and groups who want to enrich the quality of life and learning for our young generation. Through an appealing and comprehensive variety of teen “art-ivities”, forums, seminars and workshops, we will help to flourish the promise and potential that lives within each of our children. Every teenager will be empowered to establish goals, be engaged in productive and positive activities, and be inspired by his and her proud history, beautiful heritage and accomplished culture.The ultimate hope of the 1st National Black TEEN Empowerment Expo is that every participating youth take home the inspiration and confidence to believe, achieve and succeed, and be committed to bettering our people and planet.This event will incorporate the FAME (fashion, art, music & education) model developed by The Better Detroit Youth Movement (BDYM) and UniTee Design, Inc., FAME helps to rally our communities; demonstrate to our children the power and beauty of the many genres of fashion, art and music; and create an “edu-tainment” event that appeals to participants and audience alike. FAME is an effective way to engage children and teens in positive, productive and constructive “art-ivities” that create critical-thinkers, and more disciplined and well-rounded academic achievers.The educational component of FAME actively supports the development of professional, social and business skills in our children via teen empowerment, rites of passage, health, fitness and nutrition topics, and entrepreneurial and professional development curriculums. Based on its successes in effectively engaging and enriching children, FAME is now being developed by The BDYM as an after-school program for Detroit high schools.While primarily designed to uplift teenagers, the expo will also benefit many others:Provides vending, exhibiting and sales opportunities for local businesses, entrepreneurs, artists, artisans and others.Provides promotional opportunities for community and youth groups, youth educators, motivational speakers and / or others (to share information, and solicit financial support and volunteerism, etc.).Provides promotional and / or sales opportunities for entertainers, fashion designers, models, hair designers and others.Provides the general public ways to support our youth in each event market and beyond.WHO: Those of us committed to working together to improve the quality of life and learning for our youth. A variety of individuals and groups will have an opportunity and forum to empower our teen population at this event:Artists and ArtisansMusiciansVocalistsComediansSpoken Word ArtistsPerformance ArtistsDancersDJsFashion DesignersModelsHair DesignersPhotographersVideographersVideo Game DevelopersCommunity GroupsYouth EducatorsYouth GroupsHealth, Fitness and Nutrition ExpertsLocal Businesses and Business ProfessionalsCommunity ActivistsCommunity LeadersPoliticiansMediaAnd More . . .WHEN: August, 2009WHERE: New York City (venue TBD)WHY: To prove Black America has all the resources necessary to uplift the quality of learning and life for today’s young generation.HOW: “If we can move a Black Man into The White House, just imagine where, together, we can take our children!”If you’d like to be a part of The 1st National Black TEEN Empowerment Expo, or for more information, please contact R. Lee Gordon at 734.395.3079 or rgordon@uniteedesign.com.Let it be known that the NBTEE embraces the support and welcomes the participation of all cultures and ethnic groups who can strengthen our mission and benefit from it.UniTee Design is a Black Youth Education & Empowerment Enterprise. Our products and programs uplift our people, and inspire our children to believe, achieve and succeed. We are currently working on a Black Economics initiative to hold our elected public officials (politicians) accountable for their demonstrated contributions to our communities, and a Black Child rites of passage program that will help today’s youth become influential citizens and tomorrow’s leaders.The Better Detroit Youth Movement is a volunteer-driven, grassroots, non-profit group that is bringing together caring citizens and providing them many ways to work with students and schools to improve the future for Detroit’s young generation. Plans are underway to build youth movements in New York City, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Houston, Oakland and Los Angeles.</div>