December 4, 2009, represents the 40th commemoration of the murder of Black Panther Deputy Minister of Defense Fred Hampton and Mark Clark in Chicago, Ill. We should take time to pay tribute to our fallen comrades this December. It must be understood that the Chicago police, in conjunction with the FBI, systematically planned and carried the raid and cold blooded murder of these two courageous fighters. The details of the government's slimy role in carrying out these murders are well documented and need not be repeated here. The point of this article is to reinforce that the U.S. government has a long history of engaging in violence against people when those people express dissent against the daily capitalist agenda. In 1969 it was the murder of Fred Hampton and Mark Clark, among others. In 2009 its the illegal detention, torture, and murder of Iraqi and Afghani citizens. The systematic murder of Palestinians with weapons supplied to zionist israel by the U.S., and the murder of Mexican citizens due to the loss of social services as a result of the International Monetary Funds ridiculous structural readjustment programs.
We could go on and on talking about the terrorist activities that are financed and/or carried out against the people of the world by U.S. imperialism. The point here is that anyone in 2009 who still believes the U.S. is the land of democracy didn't pay attention to real history.
The other note regarding this issue is there these murders destroy the incorrect notion that free speech exists in the U.S. You can say what you want in the U.S. as long as enough people aren't listening and acting. When those things start to happen, you will immediately become the victim of repressive actions by the government. The murders of Hampton and Clark illustrate this just as the murders of MLK Jr., Malcolm X, Patrice Lumumba, Che Guevera, Salvadore Allende, Steve Biko, and thousands of others. All of these murders were carried out with either directly by U.S. imperialism, or from its urging. We can go forward adding the overthrow of a number of legitimately elected governments from the overthrow of Arbenz in Guatamala in 1954, Lumumba in the Congo in 1960, Sukarno in Indonesia, Bishop in Greneda, Aristide in Haiti in 1994, and on and on. Democracy under U.S. imperialism is defined solely as the candidate backing the U.S. agenda is the one who will be elected. If not, he/she will be removed.
So respect goes out to the memories of Fred and Mark. Forty years later, the U.S. continues to be the land for a fee and the home of the slaves.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Let's get Dumb!
Those are lyrics to an E-40 song. He is of course the popular rap star from the Bay Area whose lyrics about getting dumb reference the dance that is associated with the so-called "Hyphie" hip/hop movement that has its roots in the San Francisco, Bay Area. Although many people dismiss these types of lyrics as simply "having a good time" we should probably take a few minutes to examine the ideas behind the lyrics closer. Its important to do so because we don't want to reduce the concept of getting dumb to E-40 and hip/hop. Our youth already carry so much blame for the condition of African people when in reality, they are not responsible for any of the ills the African population faces. Instead, we want to talk here about the ideological concept of information, its proper use, and why and how intellectualism has become to be viewed as a fatal disease by many sectors of the population.
Let's start by clarifying that we would much rather talk here and now about the struggle in Somalia, Darfur, Sudan, Ethiopia, Southern Africa, the labor struggle in Guinea, the continued fight to protect and grow the Cuban revolution, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, etc., etc., etc. We won't talk about any of those or related topics today because before we can have more effective information flow on those very important topics, we have to address this dirty four letter word that is so essential to us being able to advance as a human population; READ. Yes, the concept of sitting down, taking out a serious book (not a novel, magazine, or comic book), studying its pages, and developing an analytical understanding of the topic being studied and any topic from which a person takes an interest in understanding.
The world today is dominated by the capitalist/imperialist profit over people network which is led by the multi-national corporations of the U.S. This system strives on keeping people ignorant. Ignorance is a critical component of capitalism because the system maintains its dominance through violence, manipulation, exploitation, lies, terrorism, and a level of evil that people could never sanction if they understood what takes place daily with their tax dollars and in their name. Consequently, the system has to insure ignorance is maintained as the dominant ideology so that it can continue to nurture its exploitative relationship to the world's populations. This has been accomplished by making the studying of ideas unpopular. Instead, the citizenry is programmed to seek self enjoyment immediately at all costs. We are taught it is against your interest to wait for self satisfaction and that anything that doesn't directly benefit your stimulus within 2 minutes is certainly not in your interest and a waste of your time. This explains the proliferation of drug use such as meth, weed, alcohol, and estascy. It also explains why the World Health Organization predicts that 97% of the U.S. population will be overweight by the year 2012 (because food has become another drug).
With the proliferation of cable and satellite television and the internet, people can achieve self satisfaction 24/7. You don't have to be interrupted by news, even worthless news. Instead, you can play video games, listen to mindless music, watch mindless immoral reality TV shows that teach us that it is perfectly ok to marry someone for money, take advantage of people for money, or do anything that requires you to see people as a means to an end. In fact, the message is that if you do these things, you will be rewarded. Intellectual ideas are discouraged and any discussion beyond the most superficial aspects of society is considered strange. Think about it. If you go to your job and start a discussion about American Idol, Marrying a Millionaire, the NBA, NFL, etc. No one would think anything of that. In fact, most of the people you encounter would have input about those shows from their perspective of watching them. On the other hand, if you state that you don't watch any of those shows, people will consider you strange and if you start a conversation challenging the U.S. real reason for confronting Somalia or North Korea, people will avoid you like the plague.
This ideology of product consumption and superficiality is very profitable for capitalism while insulating it from the type of critical analysis that will immediately expose its contradictions. Does any of this mean people shouldn't be able to enjoy themselves? Of course not. What it does mean is that somehow, someway, we have to figure out a way to encourage people that critical study is a good thing. This is the essential point because even many of the so-called activists are very guilty of a very poor ideological foundation which contributes to the eventual gradual acceptance of capitalist ideology. An example of this is someone like the late Leroy Eldridge Cleaver who in the 1960s denounced capitalism and who in the 1980s was a spokesperson for reactionary capitalist ideology. For those who would turn their nose up at Mr. Cleavers radical transformation, there are much more subtle examples that we see everyday. One is the gradual acceptance that African people should accept some responsibility for their oppression and that token advancement has become some sort of demonstration of progress for Africans within the capitalist system. Equally insidious, and hand in hand with that confusion, is the also subtle suggestion that institutions that exist specifically to oppress African and other poor people, like police agencies, are somehow legitimate and to be respected. Anyone who makes these types of insane arguments cannot be engaging in consistent revolutionary ideological development. All revolutionary thinkers know the history of police agencies and the purpose of their existence. We know that the people will never have the same interests as the police, regardless of how good a person an individual police officer may be.
Of course, if someone is confused they will convince themselves that their new found "balanced" perspective of capitalist institutions is some sort of new developing ideology when in fact, it is nothing more than another example of how imperialism dumbs down the citizens of the planet to believe in its institutions.
For those who want true revolutionary change the time is now more than ever to encourage people to study. Nothing else is more important. We cannot stop people's suffering until people understand the problems we are facing, the reasons we are having these problems, and the people behind the source of these problems. People have to understand the role of power in keeping people oppressed and why power is essential to changing the suffering conditions some people have. People have to learn that power alone doesn't corrupt provided the masses of people have it because the masses of people, properly organized, are the greatest protectors of fairness and equality in the society. The first step to all of this is organized study to combat this ignorance that is so dominant today and that has to start with the so-called old guard who claim to understand the contradictions in this society. Many of these people haven't picked up a book and read it in years and it shows in their weak analysis of current conditions.
So for those who still strive to defeat imperialism, don't be discouraged the next time you run into someone who formally believed revolution was the solution, but who now believes Obama will solve the problems. Instead, start a study group and stick with it. One of the most revolutionary things we can do right now is develop our ability to think critically. Once people know how to think critically, they will act critically and once people act critically, capitalism's days are numbered. Next time, we will discuss socialism in great detail since this principled system is very rarely discussed today, even by the so-called people who claim to support it. We will discuss why socialism is a very positive thing for the majority of the world's population. Its as Bob Marley said in his prophetic song "soon we'll find out who is, the real revolutionary..."
Let's start by clarifying that we would much rather talk here and now about the struggle in Somalia, Darfur, Sudan, Ethiopia, Southern Africa, the labor struggle in Guinea, the continued fight to protect and grow the Cuban revolution, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, etc., etc., etc. We won't talk about any of those or related topics today because before we can have more effective information flow on those very important topics, we have to address this dirty four letter word that is so essential to us being able to advance as a human population; READ. Yes, the concept of sitting down, taking out a serious book (not a novel, magazine, or comic book), studying its pages, and developing an analytical understanding of the topic being studied and any topic from which a person takes an interest in understanding.
The world today is dominated by the capitalist/imperialist profit over people network which is led by the multi-national corporations of the U.S. This system strives on keeping people ignorant. Ignorance is a critical component of capitalism because the system maintains its dominance through violence, manipulation, exploitation, lies, terrorism, and a level of evil that people could never sanction if they understood what takes place daily with their tax dollars and in their name. Consequently, the system has to insure ignorance is maintained as the dominant ideology so that it can continue to nurture its exploitative relationship to the world's populations. This has been accomplished by making the studying of ideas unpopular. Instead, the citizenry is programmed to seek self enjoyment immediately at all costs. We are taught it is against your interest to wait for self satisfaction and that anything that doesn't directly benefit your stimulus within 2 minutes is certainly not in your interest and a waste of your time. This explains the proliferation of drug use such as meth, weed, alcohol, and estascy. It also explains why the World Health Organization predicts that 97% of the U.S. population will be overweight by the year 2012 (because food has become another drug).
With the proliferation of cable and satellite television and the internet, people can achieve self satisfaction 24/7. You don't have to be interrupted by news, even worthless news. Instead, you can play video games, listen to mindless music, watch mindless immoral reality TV shows that teach us that it is perfectly ok to marry someone for money, take advantage of people for money, or do anything that requires you to see people as a means to an end. In fact, the message is that if you do these things, you will be rewarded. Intellectual ideas are discouraged and any discussion beyond the most superficial aspects of society is considered strange. Think about it. If you go to your job and start a discussion about American Idol, Marrying a Millionaire, the NBA, NFL, etc. No one would think anything of that. In fact, most of the people you encounter would have input about those shows from their perspective of watching them. On the other hand, if you state that you don't watch any of those shows, people will consider you strange and if you start a conversation challenging the U.S. real reason for confronting Somalia or North Korea, people will avoid you like the plague.
This ideology of product consumption and superficiality is very profitable for capitalism while insulating it from the type of critical analysis that will immediately expose its contradictions. Does any of this mean people shouldn't be able to enjoy themselves? Of course not. What it does mean is that somehow, someway, we have to figure out a way to encourage people that critical study is a good thing. This is the essential point because even many of the so-called activists are very guilty of a very poor ideological foundation which contributes to the eventual gradual acceptance of capitalist ideology. An example of this is someone like the late Leroy Eldridge Cleaver who in the 1960s denounced capitalism and who in the 1980s was a spokesperson for reactionary capitalist ideology. For those who would turn their nose up at Mr. Cleavers radical transformation, there are much more subtle examples that we see everyday. One is the gradual acceptance that African people should accept some responsibility for their oppression and that token advancement has become some sort of demonstration of progress for Africans within the capitalist system. Equally insidious, and hand in hand with that confusion, is the also subtle suggestion that institutions that exist specifically to oppress African and other poor people, like police agencies, are somehow legitimate and to be respected. Anyone who makes these types of insane arguments cannot be engaging in consistent revolutionary ideological development. All revolutionary thinkers know the history of police agencies and the purpose of their existence. We know that the people will never have the same interests as the police, regardless of how good a person an individual police officer may be.
Of course, if someone is confused they will convince themselves that their new found "balanced" perspective of capitalist institutions is some sort of new developing ideology when in fact, it is nothing more than another example of how imperialism dumbs down the citizens of the planet to believe in its institutions.
For those who want true revolutionary change the time is now more than ever to encourage people to study. Nothing else is more important. We cannot stop people's suffering until people understand the problems we are facing, the reasons we are having these problems, and the people behind the source of these problems. People have to understand the role of power in keeping people oppressed and why power is essential to changing the suffering conditions some people have. People have to learn that power alone doesn't corrupt provided the masses of people have it because the masses of people, properly organized, are the greatest protectors of fairness and equality in the society. The first step to all of this is organized study to combat this ignorance that is so dominant today and that has to start with the so-called old guard who claim to understand the contradictions in this society. Many of these people haven't picked up a book and read it in years and it shows in their weak analysis of current conditions.
So for those who still strive to defeat imperialism, don't be discouraged the next time you run into someone who formally believed revolution was the solution, but who now believes Obama will solve the problems. Instead, start a study group and stick with it. One of the most revolutionary things we can do right now is develop our ability to think critically. Once people know how to think critically, they will act critically and once people act critically, capitalism's days are numbered. Next time, we will discuss socialism in great detail since this principled system is very rarely discussed today, even by the so-called people who claim to support it. We will discuss why socialism is a very positive thing for the majority of the world's population. Its as Bob Marley said in his prophetic song "soon we'll find out who is, the real revolutionary..."
Sunday, June 28, 2009
The Fourth of the Lie
Here we are again... Looking at this year's annual lie filled story about the 4th of July representing freedom and independence for people living in the U.S. The lie will be presented in true imperialist patriotic fashion, complete with a smothering blanket of propaganda designed to tie the useless deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis and Afghani citizens and hundreds of U.S. service people to this fabrication about protecting U.S. democracy.
News flash: The U.S. wasn't founded on freedom and democracy and those things are not facets of this system today. The U.S. was founded on the exploitation of labor which was initially European labor along with Indiginous labor, and most prominantly in the South, African labor from the chattal slave system. Since the original U.S. system which was organized through the signing and institutionalization of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 was all about protecting the land rights of white men, this set in motion the initial wealth of white people in the U.S. Since this wealth was based on land and was transferred down, it institutionalized the disparity between white wealth and the lack of wealth of people of color and poor whites (who worked to provide wealth for the wealthy white emerging classes). So, white people today, who have generations of land ownership, if you check that history in each case closely, there is no question that at some point, that land ownership is tied to the exploitation of folks. This is why the majority of wealthy folks are white and the majority of poor folks are not white. It has nothing to do with hard work as the African, Latino, Asian, and poor white folks have worked harder than most wealthy white people would ever imagine possible. This isn't democracy and it certainly isn't freedom. Instead, its capitalism and that's what you celebrate every July 4th.
To underscore the point that 7/4 is all about wealthy white people, all you have to do is do the math. Since the D/I was signed in 1776, we know that chattal slavery as an institution continued in full form for another 87 years until 1863. If you count the segregation period of continued exploitation, that is another 102 years until the Civil Rights legislation of 1965 which outlawed "legal" segregation. If you understand capitalist exploitation, then you continue to realize that this still continues so there is certainly no merit for any African or logically thinking person of any nationality to consider July 4th a day of freedom. Instead, at best, it can be what it really is; a day for rich white people and the wealthy people of color who apologize for capitalism to celebrate their continued dominance of the world's resources and benefits from the exploitation of the majority of the world's populations.
We strongly suggest that those who celebrate this July 4th enjoy that party to the fullest because last call is coming soon. That party is in its final hour. Everything happening in the world today; from the economic slowdown in capitalist countries, to the rise of countries like North Korea and Iran in challenging imperialist hegemony. Its not a question of whether everything about Iran and North Korea's positions are correct. Especially since uncle sam the pimp is in no moral position to question the legitimacy of any claim for justice. Its a question of understanding that people are no longer going to permit uncle sam to run buckwild controlling all of the world's resources for the capitalist countries while the majority of people suffer in silence.
We celebrate the true progress of human existence. This can never be represented by false claims to justice as those made by the apologists for capitalist and imperialist exploitation. This can only be accomplished by the mass organization and forward movement of all justice loving peoples of the planet. As that progress continues, the Fourth of the Lie will continue to be exposed for what it is, the justification of rich white supremacy and the statement of continued exploitation of the planet.
News flash: The U.S. wasn't founded on freedom and democracy and those things are not facets of this system today. The U.S. was founded on the exploitation of labor which was initially European labor along with Indiginous labor, and most prominantly in the South, African labor from the chattal slave system. Since the original U.S. system which was organized through the signing and institutionalization of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 was all about protecting the land rights of white men, this set in motion the initial wealth of white people in the U.S. Since this wealth was based on land and was transferred down, it institutionalized the disparity between white wealth and the lack of wealth of people of color and poor whites (who worked to provide wealth for the wealthy white emerging classes). So, white people today, who have generations of land ownership, if you check that history in each case closely, there is no question that at some point, that land ownership is tied to the exploitation of folks. This is why the majority of wealthy folks are white and the majority of poor folks are not white. It has nothing to do with hard work as the African, Latino, Asian, and poor white folks have worked harder than most wealthy white people would ever imagine possible. This isn't democracy and it certainly isn't freedom. Instead, its capitalism and that's what you celebrate every July 4th.
To underscore the point that 7/4 is all about wealthy white people, all you have to do is do the math. Since the D/I was signed in 1776, we know that chattal slavery as an institution continued in full form for another 87 years until 1863. If you count the segregation period of continued exploitation, that is another 102 years until the Civil Rights legislation of 1965 which outlawed "legal" segregation. If you understand capitalist exploitation, then you continue to realize that this still continues so there is certainly no merit for any African or logically thinking person of any nationality to consider July 4th a day of freedom. Instead, at best, it can be what it really is; a day for rich white people and the wealthy people of color who apologize for capitalism to celebrate their continued dominance of the world's resources and benefits from the exploitation of the majority of the world's populations.
We strongly suggest that those who celebrate this July 4th enjoy that party to the fullest because last call is coming soon. That party is in its final hour. Everything happening in the world today; from the economic slowdown in capitalist countries, to the rise of countries like North Korea and Iran in challenging imperialist hegemony. Its not a question of whether everything about Iran and North Korea's positions are correct. Especially since uncle sam the pimp is in no moral position to question the legitimacy of any claim for justice. Its a question of understanding that people are no longer going to permit uncle sam to run buckwild controlling all of the world's resources for the capitalist countries while the majority of people suffer in silence.
We celebrate the true progress of human existence. This can never be represented by false claims to justice as those made by the apologists for capitalist and imperialist exploitation. This can only be accomplished by the mass organization and forward movement of all justice loving peoples of the planet. As that progress continues, the Fourth of the Lie will continue to be exposed for what it is, the justification of rich white supremacy and the statement of continued exploitation of the planet.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
The Legacy of Kwame Ture (formally Stokely Carmichael)
June 29th marks the birthday of Kwame Ture who most people still know as Stokely Carmichael. The capitalist media defines Kwame as a former organizer and chairperson for the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and Prime Minister for the Black Panther Party during the middle and late 1960s. Then, as is typical with capitalist media, they provide no further information until they report to you that Kwame died in November 1998.
With such a weak source of infomration, you are led to believe people like Kwame are has beens who made some noise 40 years ago and basically spent the rest of their lives living off of the reputation they established in the 1960s. Most people fall for this confusion because of a lack of understanding about history. For example, people today believe that South Africa is an independent country free of apartheid because of the spiritual presence of Nelson Mandela. Most people know nothing about the relationship of Southern Africa today to the role of Che Guevara and the Cuban presence in the Congo after the illegal overthrow and murder of Patrice Lumumba in the mid 60s. It was that initial Cuban presence in the Congo that contributed to the later Cuban presence in assisting the liberation of Guinea-Bissau from European colonialism and the 10 year assistance of Cuban troops in overthrowing the colonial presence in Angola. It was the victory of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola, which could not have happened without Cuban military assistance, that weakened the South African regime and helped pave the way for Zimbabwean independence and ultimately, the fall of settler colonialism in Azania, South Africa.
When we look at the life of Kwame Ture, we have to closely examine the last 30 years of his life which were spent in Conakry, Guinea, West Africa as an organizer member of the Democratic Party of Guinea and the All African People's Revolutionary Party. Kwame spent those years helping develop the theoretical foundation of the African revolution as articulated by his mentor; Kwame Nkrumah in the Handbook of Revolutionary Warfare, the textbook for Pan-Africanism.
Kwame's last 30 years was also spent laying out the foundation for the actual building of an All African Committee for Political Coordination which is the primary organizing mechanism to bring about Pan -Africanism which Nkrumah defined as the total liberation and unification of Africa under scientific socialism. I remember when I first joined the All African People's Revolutionary Party in 1984, the party had basically one organizer and presence in Africa. That was Kwame's physical presence in Guinea. Today, the A-APRP has an active organizing presence in several African areas including Ghana, Senegal, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Azania, South Africa, and Zimbabwe with contacts and work taking place in other areas of Africa as well. Kwame made his physical transition 11 years ago, but today the A-APRP is actively working to make Nkrumah's prediction about an All African Committee for Political Coordination come true. This committee will pave the way for a true A-APRP which is the life blood of the African revolutionary transformation to scientific socialism.
This theoretical and practical advancement of the African revolution can be gauged by looking at Kwame's work from 1968 to 1998 in Africa while also broadening your mind to understand the work of the A-APRP. At this stage of the struggle, the A-APRP's primary objective is to increase the political consciousness of the African masses to pave the way for a revolutionary consciousness which paves the way for a dominant revolutionary culture which will facilitate revolutionary change.
This is probably the most widely misunderstood aspect of the A-APRP's present program. Possibly, we just are not at the point where people can truly appreciate the necessity to achieve revolutionary consciousness before we can make any mass progress. Possibly, people just don't agree that the masses are the true makers of history so if the masses are not conscious, change can never occur. I'm not sure exactly what that answer is, but I think its a safe bet that Kwame's most important contribution to African and human progress took place between 1968 and 1998, the period where he was absent from the capitalist media. Not the period of 1966 to 1969 when he was in the capitalist media every day. RIP Kwame Ture and long live the African revolution!!!!!
With such a weak source of infomration, you are led to believe people like Kwame are has beens who made some noise 40 years ago and basically spent the rest of their lives living off of the reputation they established in the 1960s. Most people fall for this confusion because of a lack of understanding about history. For example, people today believe that South Africa is an independent country free of apartheid because of the spiritual presence of Nelson Mandela. Most people know nothing about the relationship of Southern Africa today to the role of Che Guevara and the Cuban presence in the Congo after the illegal overthrow and murder of Patrice Lumumba in the mid 60s. It was that initial Cuban presence in the Congo that contributed to the later Cuban presence in assisting the liberation of Guinea-Bissau from European colonialism and the 10 year assistance of Cuban troops in overthrowing the colonial presence in Angola. It was the victory of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola, which could not have happened without Cuban military assistance, that weakened the South African regime and helped pave the way for Zimbabwean independence and ultimately, the fall of settler colonialism in Azania, South Africa.
When we look at the life of Kwame Ture, we have to closely examine the last 30 years of his life which were spent in Conakry, Guinea, West Africa as an organizer member of the Democratic Party of Guinea and the All African People's Revolutionary Party. Kwame spent those years helping develop the theoretical foundation of the African revolution as articulated by his mentor; Kwame Nkrumah in the Handbook of Revolutionary Warfare, the textbook for Pan-Africanism.
Kwame's last 30 years was also spent laying out the foundation for the actual building of an All African Committee for Political Coordination which is the primary organizing mechanism to bring about Pan -Africanism which Nkrumah defined as the total liberation and unification of Africa under scientific socialism. I remember when I first joined the All African People's Revolutionary Party in 1984, the party had basically one organizer and presence in Africa. That was Kwame's physical presence in Guinea. Today, the A-APRP has an active organizing presence in several African areas including Ghana, Senegal, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Azania, South Africa, and Zimbabwe with contacts and work taking place in other areas of Africa as well. Kwame made his physical transition 11 years ago, but today the A-APRP is actively working to make Nkrumah's prediction about an All African Committee for Political Coordination come true. This committee will pave the way for a true A-APRP which is the life blood of the African revolutionary transformation to scientific socialism.
This theoretical and practical advancement of the African revolution can be gauged by looking at Kwame's work from 1968 to 1998 in Africa while also broadening your mind to understand the work of the A-APRP. At this stage of the struggle, the A-APRP's primary objective is to increase the political consciousness of the African masses to pave the way for a revolutionary consciousness which paves the way for a dominant revolutionary culture which will facilitate revolutionary change.
This is probably the most widely misunderstood aspect of the A-APRP's present program. Possibly, we just are not at the point where people can truly appreciate the necessity to achieve revolutionary consciousness before we can make any mass progress. Possibly, people just don't agree that the masses are the true makers of history so if the masses are not conscious, change can never occur. I'm not sure exactly what that answer is, but I think its a safe bet that Kwame's most important contribution to African and human progress took place between 1968 and 1998, the period where he was absent from the capitalist media. Not the period of 1966 to 1969 when he was in the capitalist media every day. RIP Kwame Ture and long live the African revolution!!!!!
Saturday, June 6, 2009
U.S. Spies for Cuba? Please! Just Tell Us Anything!
The U.S. State Department has now announced that they have arrested Kendall and Gwen Myers, two high level state department employees, and charged them with providing classified information to the Cuban government for the last 30 years. This allegation has come with the usual full assortment of lies and propaganda about how the ugly enemies of America, who are jealous of the wonderful freedom that capitalism provides, are working overtime to sabatoge American democracy.
Of course, the U.S. version of this story will focus exclusively on the above premise that the U.S. is somehow wronged and betrayed in this story. Of course, the truth that the U.S. government has initiated, supported, financed, and perpetuated acts of illegal espionage, sabatoge, murder, and mischief against the Cuban Revolution since its inception in 1959. This sabatoge was amped up in 1962 (when the Cuban Revolution declared its intentions to build a socialist revolutionary system) with the imposition of the now 47 year old illegal political and economic stranglehold embargo against Cuba.
Beyond the embargo, what you won't hear in mainstream capitalist media is the truth about who is the spy and who is the victim as it rpertains to U.S. and Cuban relations. Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, and NBC, can say whatever they want to propagate the capitalist perspective of the Myers story, but no matter what they can accuse the Myers couple of doing, or even what the Myers couple may have actually done, it pales in comparison to the vicious nature of sabatoge the U.S. has engaged in against Cuba for 50 years. Even the Iran/Contragate hearings over a decade ago revealed the criminal nature of the U.S. government when evidence was presented (to substantiate the U.S. illegal activity in Nicaragua as a result of illegal gunrunning with Iran) that the CIA worked with the American Mafia to organize over three dozen assassination attempts against the life of Fidel Castro. These attempts included sending people illegally into Cuba and having those people attempt to poison Castro's food, his cigars, locate and shoot him, and sabatoge government activities. There is now clear evidence that efforts were made to destory Cuban crops, illegally sabatoge medical research, sell drugs to Cuban citizens, and foment false opposition against the Cuban government. Even these heinous activities proved minimal compared to the support given to terrorists who conducted illegal and deadly operations against the Cuban people. These efforts included the bombing of a Cuban airliner in 1977 that killed 73 people. This act was masterminded by Luis Carrilles Posada, a disgruntled terrorist in South Florida who currently lives in comfort on the dime of the U.S. taxpayers.
Then, there is the continued illegal radio and television propaganda that is beamed daily into Cuba in violation of international law. This, along with the continued illegal plane incursions into Cuba b y U.S. supported anti-revolution terrorists who bomb sovereign Cuba terroritory represents the systematic efforts to destabilize the Cuban Revolution. These types of examples could be given for pages and pages, but the point is that clearly, it is the U.S. government, and not Cuba, who is, and has always been, the instigator of espionage. As a result, anything anyone is doing on behalf of the Cuban government, whether it is the Myers, the Cuban 5, or even everyday people in the U.S. who simply desire justice, is just to try and give Cuba a chance against the big imperialist bully from the north.
But then, we know that the bully always perpetuates the myth that it is they who are under attack.
Of course, the U.S. version of this story will focus exclusively on the above premise that the U.S. is somehow wronged and betrayed in this story. Of course, the truth that the U.S. government has initiated, supported, financed, and perpetuated acts of illegal espionage, sabatoge, murder, and mischief against the Cuban Revolution since its inception in 1959. This sabatoge was amped up in 1962 (when the Cuban Revolution declared its intentions to build a socialist revolutionary system) with the imposition of the now 47 year old illegal political and economic stranglehold embargo against Cuba.
Beyond the embargo, what you won't hear in mainstream capitalist media is the truth about who is the spy and who is the victim as it rpertains to U.S. and Cuban relations. Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, and NBC, can say whatever they want to propagate the capitalist perspective of the Myers story, but no matter what they can accuse the Myers couple of doing, or even what the Myers couple may have actually done, it pales in comparison to the vicious nature of sabatoge the U.S. has engaged in against Cuba for 50 years. Even the Iran/Contragate hearings over a decade ago revealed the criminal nature of the U.S. government when evidence was presented (to substantiate the U.S. illegal activity in Nicaragua as a result of illegal gunrunning with Iran) that the CIA worked with the American Mafia to organize over three dozen assassination attempts against the life of Fidel Castro. These attempts included sending people illegally into Cuba and having those people attempt to poison Castro's food, his cigars, locate and shoot him, and sabatoge government activities. There is now clear evidence that efforts were made to destory Cuban crops, illegally sabatoge medical research, sell drugs to Cuban citizens, and foment false opposition against the Cuban government. Even these heinous activities proved minimal compared to the support given to terrorists who conducted illegal and deadly operations against the Cuban people. These efforts included the bombing of a Cuban airliner in 1977 that killed 73 people. This act was masterminded by Luis Carrilles Posada, a disgruntled terrorist in South Florida who currently lives in comfort on the dime of the U.S. taxpayers.
Then, there is the continued illegal radio and television propaganda that is beamed daily into Cuba in violation of international law. This, along with the continued illegal plane incursions into Cuba b y U.S. supported anti-revolution terrorists who bomb sovereign Cuba terroritory represents the systematic efforts to destabilize the Cuban Revolution. These types of examples could be given for pages and pages, but the point is that clearly, it is the U.S. government, and not Cuba, who is, and has always been, the instigator of espionage. As a result, anything anyone is doing on behalf of the Cuban government, whether it is the Myers, the Cuban 5, or even everyday people in the U.S. who simply desire justice, is just to try and give Cuba a chance against the big imperialist bully from the north.
But then, we know that the bully always perpetuates the myth that it is they who are under attack.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
African Liberation Day 2009
African Liberation Day (ALD) is about peace and justice loving people in the world coming together to commemorate the struggles for a righteous world. This means that although ALD is specifically the struggle of African people (Black people) to regain our self determination on a worldwide level. ALD acknowledges that African people are humanist and support all just people's struggles. That means the struggles of the peoples of Europe, and even poor white people in the U.S., and of course the struggles of the indigenous peoples of the Western Hemisphere, the struggles of the Asian peoples, Arabs, and all other segments of the human family.
ALD is about acknowledging that woman are full human beings, not physical commodities, who should be supported in their efforts to regain their dignity and self respect. ALD is about acknowledging people are more important than profits. That socialist development really means, free education, free healthcare, free childcare, a guaranteed job, housing expenses being no more than 10% of your income by law, and making sexism, racism, and other ills illegal. ALD is about recognizing that any person with common sense would at least want to examine the benefits of having those things in society.
ALD is about acknowledging the primacy of Africa and that Africa must be redeemed after centuries of exploitation. The core of the problem of African self sufficiency is in the redemption of Africa, not the U.S.
Finally, ALD is about acknowledging that the despite relative difficulties on some levels in recent months, life for citizens in the U.S. and the other industrialized countries is built and maintained on the exploitation of the majority of the world's populations and this has got to stop! The only way to stop it is through organized revolution because the forces who set up this system will never relinquish power without the demand of the revolutionary force to take it from them.
ALD 09 is being organized by the All African People's Revolutionary Party throughout Africa, Europe, the Caribbean, and the U.S. Other organizations like the African People's Socialist Party are also organizing ALD commemorations. Unlike some of the pronouncements from people allegedly speaking for the APSP, the A-APRP will never set trip and denounce any organization's efforts to organize the people for liberation. We encourage people to support the APSP and all formations making an effort for positive social change. We encourage people to join the A-APRP, APSP, and all organizations working for change and we charge that anyone who doesn't understand the necessity of functional unity today is either the enemy or stupid because they are doing the work of the enemy for free.
On the West Coast of the U.S. the A-APRP invites you to attend ALD in Oakland, California on Saturday, May 30th from noon to 6pm at Bobby Hutton Park (Defermery Park) in West Oakland. For more info, call 510-669-9894
ALD is about acknowledging that woman are full human beings, not physical commodities, who should be supported in their efforts to regain their dignity and self respect. ALD is about acknowledging people are more important than profits. That socialist development really means, free education, free healthcare, free childcare, a guaranteed job, housing expenses being no more than 10% of your income by law, and making sexism, racism, and other ills illegal. ALD is about recognizing that any person with common sense would at least want to examine the benefits of having those things in society.
ALD is about acknowledging the primacy of Africa and that Africa must be redeemed after centuries of exploitation. The core of the problem of African self sufficiency is in the redemption of Africa, not the U.S.
Finally, ALD is about acknowledging that the despite relative difficulties on some levels in recent months, life for citizens in the U.S. and the other industrialized countries is built and maintained on the exploitation of the majority of the world's populations and this has got to stop! The only way to stop it is through organized revolution because the forces who set up this system will never relinquish power without the demand of the revolutionary force to take it from them.
ALD 09 is being organized by the All African People's Revolutionary Party throughout Africa, Europe, the Caribbean, and the U.S. Other organizations like the African People's Socialist Party are also organizing ALD commemorations. Unlike some of the pronouncements from people allegedly speaking for the APSP, the A-APRP will never set trip and denounce any organization's efforts to organize the people for liberation. We encourage people to support the APSP and all formations making an effort for positive social change. We encourage people to join the A-APRP, APSP, and all organizations working for change and we charge that anyone who doesn't understand the necessity of functional unity today is either the enemy or stupid because they are doing the work of the enemy for free.
On the West Coast of the U.S. the A-APRP invites you to attend ALD in Oakland, California on Saturday, May 30th from noon to 6pm at Bobby Hutton Park (Defermery Park) in West Oakland. For more info, call 510-669-9894
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Swine Flu? What Concerns Should We Really Have?
In April 2009, we find ourselves in the midst of an international panic over the apparent spread of the swine flu. Mexico has approximately 160 deaths in recent weeks that have been attributed to this alleged swine flu outbreak. The disease has surfaced in several countries, including the U.S., Canada, and other technologically developed countries. The World Health Organization (WHO) is warning that the disease has pandemic potential. Since the primary objective of the capitalist media is to sell the story, not to educate, there is very little useful information going out to people about swine flu beyond encouraging people to wash their hands several times a day.
We know that swine flu is an influenza caused by a virus that usually infects pigs. The existence of this disease in human beings was virtually unheard of before 2009. In fact, according to the WHO, transmission from pigs to humans is so uncommon that before the current outbreak, there had only been about 50 recorded transmissions from pigs to humans in the last 60 years. When this transmission takes place, it is called the transmission of the zoonotic swine flu.
We also know that the strain currently grabbing headlines is a much more virulent strain than previously known. It is a virus subtype called the H1NI. Scientists are claiming that this 2009 strain has evidently surfaced as a result of a previously unprecedented combination of human influenza, avian (bird) influenza, and two separate strains of swine flu. The World Organization of Animal Health is reporting that the H1NI strain transmits much easier from pigs to humans than previously known strains of swine flu.
As can be expected, the WHO and all of the national health organizations such as the Center of Disease Control (CDC) in the U.S. have no idea what caused the violent mutation from traditionally known strains of swine flu to the H1NI strain that is apparently threatening pandemic levels now. Again, since ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, FOX, and all the other CIA networks are in business primarily to sensationalize news to get you to watch so they can sell advertising space for higher premiums, as usual, the critical questions that should be asked right now are not being asked. The critical questions are not just how you can avoid catching swine flu right now. That's obviously the most pressing concern in this emotionally charged and nurtured environment in which information flows in a capitalist society, but the critical questions go far beyond just survival from the latest human menace. Swine flu poses a threat to human beings that it has never posed before. Why in 2009, are we faced with unprecedented mutations of swine flu, HIV, and other diseases? Why does everyone know one or more persons who have contacted cancer when 40 years ago that disease was unheard in comparison to current levels. Why does everyone today know someone with Altsheimers disease or dementia when 30 years ago these diseases were virtuely unknown?
We are not prepared today to provide answers to these questions, but we can provide critical food for thought. We believe that you would either have to be a terribly naive person or a proudly ignorant one to think that the recent proliferations of all of these pandemics and problems is just a coincidence. This point isn't to suggest that there is some secret society plotting against the people of the planet. We are not arguing that Skull & Bones, the Tri-Lateral Commission, or even the Council of Foreign Relations are planning to thin out the world's populations (although all of those groups play significant roles in causing stress and oppression for the majority of the world's people). The suggestion here is that the systematic and exploitative nature of the imperialist system permits it to cause human suffering just by the very mechanisms of its existence. Want an example? Corporations produce products as cheaply as possible in order to maximize profits. As a result, deadly chemicals are disposed of as cheaply as possible. Just like some of you may decide to dump motor oil into the sewer instead of paying to take that motor oil to an authorized recycling station, corporations decide to dump toxic chemicals into water ways in areas where they are least likely to get penalized for doing so. This standard practice has created toxic conditions in primarily technologically underdeveloped countries like Mexico, and in poor neighborhoods throughout the U.S. It would be foolish to assume that the influx of these toxic chemicals does not have some devastating impact on the human DNA of the people who inhabit the planet. By the same token, corporations use the same cost cutting measures (to maximize profits) to make food products as cheaply as possible. As a result, chemicals that are not compatible to human chemistry are being pumped full scale into processed foods that are consumed by millions of people daily. These toxic foods make up the nurtitional foundation of millions of children until their toxic substance begins to break down the bodies natural strengths and immunities (which makes us more susceptible to disease). Again, it would be terribly naive for anyone to believe this is not happening on a mass scale.
So, to summarize, we are not prepared to say where swine flu, AIDs, cancer, dementia, or any of these ills originates from. We are prepared to say that people need to stop listening to and expecting the spokespersons for evil to tell us the truth as it relates to our wellbeing. The capitalist news outlets are nothing more than mouthpieces for international imperialism. We need to talk to each other, recognize trends, and spread information to organize ourselves to solve these problems. We need to learn to not react emotionally to problems, or to attempt to ignore any problem we can't handle on an emotional level, but to learn to critically study problems and come to logical solutions that will benefit humanity.
We know that swine flu is an influenza caused by a virus that usually infects pigs. The existence of this disease in human beings was virtually unheard of before 2009. In fact, according to the WHO, transmission from pigs to humans is so uncommon that before the current outbreak, there had only been about 50 recorded transmissions from pigs to humans in the last 60 years. When this transmission takes place, it is called the transmission of the zoonotic swine flu.
We also know that the strain currently grabbing headlines is a much more virulent strain than previously known. It is a virus subtype called the H1NI. Scientists are claiming that this 2009 strain has evidently surfaced as a result of a previously unprecedented combination of human influenza, avian (bird) influenza, and two separate strains of swine flu. The World Organization of Animal Health is reporting that the H1NI strain transmits much easier from pigs to humans than previously known strains of swine flu.
As can be expected, the WHO and all of the national health organizations such as the Center of Disease Control (CDC) in the U.S. have no idea what caused the violent mutation from traditionally known strains of swine flu to the H1NI strain that is apparently threatening pandemic levels now. Again, since ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, FOX, and all the other CIA networks are in business primarily to sensationalize news to get you to watch so they can sell advertising space for higher premiums, as usual, the critical questions that should be asked right now are not being asked. The critical questions are not just how you can avoid catching swine flu right now. That's obviously the most pressing concern in this emotionally charged and nurtured environment in which information flows in a capitalist society, but the critical questions go far beyond just survival from the latest human menace. Swine flu poses a threat to human beings that it has never posed before. Why in 2009, are we faced with unprecedented mutations of swine flu, HIV, and other diseases? Why does everyone know one or more persons who have contacted cancer when 40 years ago that disease was unheard in comparison to current levels. Why does everyone today know someone with Altsheimers disease or dementia when 30 years ago these diseases were virtuely unknown?
We are not prepared today to provide answers to these questions, but we can provide critical food for thought. We believe that you would either have to be a terribly naive person or a proudly ignorant one to think that the recent proliferations of all of these pandemics and problems is just a coincidence. This point isn't to suggest that there is some secret society plotting against the people of the planet. We are not arguing that Skull & Bones, the Tri-Lateral Commission, or even the Council of Foreign Relations are planning to thin out the world's populations (although all of those groups play significant roles in causing stress and oppression for the majority of the world's people). The suggestion here is that the systematic and exploitative nature of the imperialist system permits it to cause human suffering just by the very mechanisms of its existence. Want an example? Corporations produce products as cheaply as possible in order to maximize profits. As a result, deadly chemicals are disposed of as cheaply as possible. Just like some of you may decide to dump motor oil into the sewer instead of paying to take that motor oil to an authorized recycling station, corporations decide to dump toxic chemicals into water ways in areas where they are least likely to get penalized for doing so. This standard practice has created toxic conditions in primarily technologically underdeveloped countries like Mexico, and in poor neighborhoods throughout the U.S. It would be foolish to assume that the influx of these toxic chemicals does not have some devastating impact on the human DNA of the people who inhabit the planet. By the same token, corporations use the same cost cutting measures (to maximize profits) to make food products as cheaply as possible. As a result, chemicals that are not compatible to human chemistry are being pumped full scale into processed foods that are consumed by millions of people daily. These toxic foods make up the nurtitional foundation of millions of children until their toxic substance begins to break down the bodies natural strengths and immunities (which makes us more susceptible to disease). Again, it would be terribly naive for anyone to believe this is not happening on a mass scale.
So, to summarize, we are not prepared to say where swine flu, AIDs, cancer, dementia, or any of these ills originates from. We are prepared to say that people need to stop listening to and expecting the spokespersons for evil to tell us the truth as it relates to our wellbeing. The capitalist news outlets are nothing more than mouthpieces for international imperialism. We need to talk to each other, recognize trends, and spread information to organize ourselves to solve these problems. We need to learn to not react emotionally to problems, or to attempt to ignore any problem we can't handle on an emotional level, but to learn to critically study problems and come to logical solutions that will benefit humanity.
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