war Wasts Lives
War Wasts Lives “WAR is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of the people. Only a small "inside" group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few, at the expense of the very many. Out of war a few people make huge fortunes. In the World War [I] a mere handful garnered the profits of the conflict. At least 21,000 new millionaires and billionaires were made in the United States during the World War. That many admitted their huge blood gains in their income tax returns. How many other war millionaires falsified their tax returns no one knows.How many of these war millionaires shouldered a rifle? How many of them dug a trench? How many of them knew what it meant to go hungry in a rat-infested dug-out? How many of them spent sleepless, frightened nights, ducking shells and shrapnel and machine gun bullets? How many of them parried a bayonet thrust of an enemy? How many of them were wounded or killed in battle? Out of war nations acquire additional territory, if they are victorious. They just take it. This newly acquired territory promptly is exploited by the few – the selfsame few who wrung dollars out of blood in the war. The general public shoulders the bill. And what is this bill?This bill renders a horrible accounting. Newly placed gravestones. Mangled bodies. Shattered minds. Broken hearts and homes. Economic instability. Depression and all its attendant miseries. Back-breaking taxation for generations and generations. For a great many years, as a soldier, I had a suspicion that war was a racket; not until I retired to civil life did I fully realize it. Now that I see the international war clouds gathering, as they are today, I must face it and speak out.” War Is A Racket by Major General Smedley D. Butler, USMC 1935
As we pause from our rat race to take a brief respite from the weariness and drudgery of mindless consumerism and some even stop during this “holiday” to honor fallen soldiers and loved ones, we should ask ourselves what has all this killing gotten us, how have we benefitted from all these wars and “police actions”? The propagandists will say the wars were fought for freedom and to maintain liberty. I say except for the war of Independence and 1812 which the Europeans fought to free themselves from British rule and intervention all the other wars Euro-AmeriKKKa fought were wars of covetousness, imperialism and greed. For us as oppressed Africans in a brutal and vicious social order based on color and “race” fighting wars on behalf of our oppressors netted us little. Except for a few Africans who were granted freedom for fighting in the Revolutionary War and the masses of Africans who directly benefited from their participation on the Union side (a few Blacks actually fought on the side of the Confederacy) which resulted in the end of slavery we have received almost nothing for shedding our precious blood for whites!
Warfare, bloodletting, pillage and plunder are the cultural legacy of Europeans. Check out their history both in Eurasia and around the world. Their true nature is seen within the context of this ongoing behavior pattern and the massive disruption of existing social and ecological orders it has caused. War and plunder are so natural for Europeans they really don’t need a reason. When you stop and think about it, what valid reason or justification could they possibly invent that could stand up to enlightened scrutiny for their abhorrent behavior over the last few thousand years? The only conclusion any sane and clear thinking person can come up with is, something is seriously wrong with white folks, they just love to kill, maim and slaughter. Looking at their entertainment whether it be books, movies or television they get a vicarious charge out violence. So we should not be surprised the current ruling elites have embarked on wars of conquest in Haiti, Columbia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia and are actively plotting and planning additional wars with Iran and Syria.
Edwin Star asked and answered the rhetorical question, “War, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing.” back in the ‘70's. But in 1935 a retired popular and highly decorated US Marine Major General named Smedley Darlington Butler after an illustrious career as a soldier and patriot wrote a small booklet entitled War Is Racket. This Memorial Day weekend I suggest you take the time to read it. It can be found Online at http://lexrex.com/enlightened/articles/warisaracket.htm Also take the time to visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smedley_Butler and read about Major General Butler. I rarely promote Europeans but reading his book and looking as his experiences especially the episode in his life where he exposed an attempted fascist coup to overthrow Franklin D. Roosevelt will give you deeper insights into current events both at home and globally.
Wars are an outgrowth of a state of consciousness on the part of one or several parties, tribes or nations. Mental preconditions and affinities towards aggression, bloodletting, covetousness and hatred always exist before the first spear is thrown, the first arrow is shot or bomb is dropped. In a war there is usually an aggressor who initiates the contact/hostilities either covertly or overtly. Defensive wars are fought as a last resort or to defend one’s self from imminent danger, after another tribe or nation has initiated hostilities. Throughout its’ history AmeriKKKa’s aggression and genocide against the indigenous inhabitants of this land reflected the barbaric cultural patterns of Europeans in general. It is important we recognize this behavior for what it is and what it represents. AmeriKKKans wanted more territory so they launched wars against Mexico and Spain. AmeriKKKa’s ruling elites want to control the land, resources and labor of the world so they joined their Europeans kin in WWI and WWII, they supported the French imperialism in Indo-China and they recently launched a “Global War on Terrorism’ as a pretext and justification for their covetousness.
War stimulates the US economy. Major General Butler noted it in his day,
“The World War, rather our brief participation in it, has cost the United States some $52,000,000,000. Figure it out. That means $400 to every American man, woman, and child. And we haven't paid the debt yet. We are paying it, our children will pay it, and our children's children probably still will be paying the cost of that war. The normal profits of a business concern in the United States are six, eight, ten, and sometimes twelve percent. But war-time profits – ah! that is another matter – twenty, sixty, one hundred, three hundred, and even eighteen hundred per cent – the sky is the limit. All that traffic will bear. Uncle Sam has the money. Let's get it. Of course, it isn't put that crudely in war time. It is dressed into speeches about patriotism, love of country, and ‘we must all put our shoulders to the wheel,’ but the profits jump and leap and skyrocket – and are safely pocketed. Let's just take a few examples: Take our friends the du Ponts, the powder people – didn't one of them testify before a Senate committee recently that their powder won the war? Or saved the world for democracy? Or something? How did they do in the war? They were a patriotic corporation. Well, the average earnings of the du Ponts for the period 1910 to 1914 were $6,000,000 a year. It wasn't much, but the du Ponts managed to get along on it. Now let's look at their average yearly profit during the war years, 1914 to 1918. Fifty-eight million dollars a year profit we find! Nearly ten times that of normal times, and the profits of normal times were pretty good. An increase in profits of more than 950 per cent. Take one of our little steel companies that patriotically shunted aside the making of rails and girders and bridges to manufacture war materials. Well, their 1910-1914 yearly earnings averaged $6,000,000. Then came the war. And, like loyal citizens, Bethlehem Steel promptly turned to munitions making. Did their profits jump – or did they let Uncle Sam in for a bargain? Well, their 1914-1918 average was $49,000,000 a year! Or, let's take United States Steel. The normal earnings during the five-year period prior to the war were $105,000,000 a year. Not bad. Then along came the war and up went the profits. The average yearly profit for the period 1914-1918 was $240,000,000. Not bad.” War Is A Racket Do you think the Carlyle Group, Haliburton, Kellogg Brown and Root, General Electric Lockheed Martin et al are the first companies to gauge US taxpayers during time of war? Not hardly. That’s why both political parties are pushing for more war, they’ll get rich supporting wars because “defense contractors” and their lobbyists pay for their campaigns, the golf outings, the hookers and junkets. That’s why the Democrats just caved in the Bu$h and continued funding the war in Iraq! As the flag draped caskets continue to return and the crippled, maimed and traumatized military personnel come home, remember General Butler’s words. If you really want to stop this carnage and prevent more wasted lives around the world ,begin to actively oppose the warmongers and their cheerleaders by thinking peace and refuse to support war in any form or fashion.
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Psychopathic Babble
Psychopathic Babble “psychopath: 1. an individual suffering from a mental disorder, 2 an individual with a personality disorder not psychotic in nature, which is lacking a manifest anxiety and involves inadequate social adjustment.” Dictionary of Psychology
Our venerated ancestor Amos N. Wilson reminded us that the true psychological nature of the European is not found in their psychology books or their intellectual dogma, rather their real psychological nature and functioning can best be discerned by looking at their history. Looking at the history of the Indo-European offers a clear indication that something is amiss with them mentally and spiritually. Their collective behavior towards themselves and humans worldwide indicates a collective (cultural) mental and personality disorder.
“History as seen through the clear eyes/vision of the knowledgeable and culturally connected AfriKan, has made it apparent that the misrule of the European (including his Arab/Semitic brothers/sisters) has been one characterized by an avalanche of murders, the desacrelization of the human spirit, the defilement of nature, the perversion of human development and the denial and domination of his feminine twin self. This is the legacy of ‘Western Civilization’”. The Sankofa Movement ReAfrikanization and the Reality of War by Kwame Agyei and Akua Nson Akoto Page 202
Looking at Europeans (those over there and their invader/settler kin around the world) in this light and from this perspective it is easy to see Europeans present a very imminent danger and threat to both humanity and the natural ecosystem. It is from this vantage point we must view the European ruling elites’ push for continuous war, ecological devastation and subverting of the natural order as a modern continuation of their millennial behavior patterns of incessant internecine tribal wars, invasions and assaults on Non-Europeans and an ongoing desecration of nature. With respect to the interaction with humanity, it is clear the Europeans’ have demonstrated an obvious inadequate social adjustment and lack of morality. The Bu$h administration’s War on Terror is merely them doing what they have done for thousands of years only now they conduct their looting, pillage and plunder as high tech barbarians.
Africans being the first humans and the first civilized beings recognized the importance of speech and language. Our ancestors also realized as great a tool as language is for communication, speech also carried with it a moral responsibility to speak truth, be positive and be of true word. From an African perspective speech is a metaphysical tool, it is divine aspect of our nature to be used as co-creators with Omniety.
“Indeed speech is the gift of the Creator. The often repeated formula whereby the Creator in the form of one of the divine aspects (e.g. Ptah) proclaims, ‘Words Spoken I have given all Life, Power and Health’, implies that not only did the Creator give those particulars, but also the words that convey the message, Medew Netcher or Divine Speech, thus encompasses what the Europeans designate as metaphysics, the branch of philosophy that deals with origins.” Jacob H Carruthers
MDW NTR Divine Speech A Historical Reflection of African deep Thought from the Time of Pharaohs To The Present Page 40
Looking at speech from an African perspective we can see how Europeans use speech is a clear indication of their collective mental and personality disorders (psychopathy). Europeans have a natural aversion to telling the truth, to using speech in a positive fashion. They lie so much it is to the point you cannot believe much of anything they say. Their greatest industries and institutions are those that specialize in lying: advertising, religion, education and politics. The Native Americans observed this about the pale faces, early on and said succinctly “The White Man speaks with forked tongue.”
From this perspective when the Bu$h cabal: Bu$h, Cheney, Powell, Wolfowitz, Rice, Rumsfeld et al, their NeoCon/Zionist cohorts in the mass media and Think Tanks lied about 9-11, lied about regime change in Haiti, lied about Osama bin-Laden, lied about the Taleban, lied about Saddam Hussein, lied about Social Security, lied about low unemployment, lied about the state of the economy and lied about the war in Iraq they were merely exhibiting a coordinated and deliberate form of psychopathic behavior. They are what our African ancestors would call workers of
Isfet (chaos, deceit, injustice).
Isfet the opposite of
Ma’at (Divine Order, Justice Balance, Harmony, Truth, Righteousness and Reciprocity).
Ma’at was the guiding principle of not only the ancient Nile Valley cultures but we find these notions of propriety, rectitude and harmonious social relationships practiced throughout Africa and most of the non-Indo-European world even today. Some theorize the melanin deficiency within Caucasians is one of the root causes of this malady, their inability to tell the truth or use language in an uplifting manner.
Contrast the African position on speech and righteousness with the past and recent history of Europeans and you begin to discern a fundamental difference between whites and humanity. From an African perspective where speech is seen as a divine tool we can see the speech of the Bu$h cabal also initiated universal metaphysical principles. However true to their a-spiritual barbarism, more war, more, death, more destruction of human lives, physical infrastructures and the planet’s ecosystem have resulted from their use of the tool of speech. This is a clear reflection of their consciousness or lack thereof. It is not a case of them not knowing better (there is a saying if they knew better they would do better). That is not the case. Europeans have a cultural pattern of lying, lying about themselves by creating a false and inaccurate self-image (white supremacy is a form of mental illness) and lying about non-Europeans (Xenophobia is also a form of mental illness). Their mental and spiritual maladies, their lack of self-control and self-restraint have resulted in social cannibalism, incessant wars and genocide, psychological damage and ecological devastation everywhere they’ve set foot on this planet. This savage history has been duly documented and is irrefutable. No matter what they say, their actions speak louder than their babble. For those whose eyes are open, the Europeans’ behavior and babble are signs of their deep seated and worsening psychopathy.
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Blacks Are Supposely Being Recruited By Al-Qaida
Blacks Are Supposedly Being Recruited By “Al- Qaida” “Al-Qaida is aggressively recruiting black Americans for suicide operations against the homeland, say FBI analysts who have reviewed recent videotaped messages from the terror group's leaders. A speech released May 5 by Osama bin Laden's deputy confirms earlier fears that African-Americans are the No. 1 recruiting target for the next generation of attacks. Al-Qaida has been trying to lower its Arab profile to reduce the odds that its terror cells will be subjected to security scrutiny.” http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55796
The Bu$h administration must be really desperate to amp up their fear mongering campaign. An article on the World Net Daily Website says the creation of the CIA Pakistani ISI and Israeli Mossad commonly called “Al-Qaida” is recruiting Blacks as terrorists in the US using Malcolm X as a recruiting tool. I’m serious it’s come down to this, the FBI is actually saying “Al-Qaida” leaders are attempting to lure Africans in AmeriKKKa into their terrorist network. This would normally be a laughable FBI COINTELPRO ploy especially since World Net Daily is a right wing leaning propaganda tool but too many AmeriKKKans are gullible enough to believe this type of nonsense. According to the World Net Daily in an article with no by-line but under a deliberate fright inducing banner of “Homeland Insecurity” we read, “
‘Federal and local law enforcement authorities should be aware that al-Qaida terrorists may not appear Arab,’ warns a recent Homeland Security intelligence report obtained by WND. ‘Non-Arab al-Qaida operatives could find it easier to avoid unwanted scrutiny since they may not fit typical profiles.’ In the latest message, al-Qaida No. 2 Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri clearly seeks to sow political and racial discontent among African-Americans. He makes frequent references to what he calls the ‘martyr’ Malcolm X, and says ‘I want blacks in America to know that we are waging jihad to lift oppression from all mankind.’” http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55796
Of course no names nor any intelligence agencies other than the long discredited FBI are mentioned in this article. The World Net Daily writers appear to be the ones attempting to escalate racial tensions and fear, amongst their gullible readers. (World Net Daily is the type of medium that promotes knuckle draggers like Ann Coulter. ) We know most whites are afraid Blacks will exact vengeance for what this system is doing (and has done over the years) to us anyway, so this is an opportune way for World Net Daily to juice up their fears while continuing to criminalize Black people at the same time. This is a classic “twofor”. The fear mongers, war hustlers and New World Order fascists continue to hype the “Al-Qaida” bogeyman while dragging Black folks in their omnipresent terrorist scenario.
Actually I’m surprised they haven’t done this earlier, what with the majority of Black folks opposing Bu$h’s reckless policies of war and regime change in Haiti, Afghanistan and Iraq. In a fascist state such as AmeriKKKa dissent is not tolerated. That is why most people who oppose the totally bogus “War on Terror” have been demonized by the US corporate media. But the NeoCon agenda is so bogus most people are starting to see through it now and speaking up and out against it. It’s not that most Black folks are that in tune with world geopolitics, we’re not, we’ve just intuitively known since day one George W Bu$h is an idiot. We figured out long ago Bu$h and his posse are up to no good, that they have a reverse Midas touch. Everything they do and touch turns to rust, ashes and disaster. But somehow miraculously for them, they end up making tons of money off of it. Ask the Iraqis and the residents of the US Gulf Coast.
But back to the World Net Daily piece, it claims the FBI is worried Blacks may become a fifth column for Al-Qaida recruiters/terrorists.
“The FBI worries blacks could be the next face of terror in America. Since 9/11, the agency has already disrupted several homegrown terror plots involving black Muslim converts, including: A group of black Muslim converts in Miami who allegedly conspired to blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago (some had rap sheets). A Chicago black Muslim, Derrick Shareef, who allegedly plotted to blow up a local shopping mall. A black U.S. soldier, Hassan Abujihaad, who allegedly fed terrorists classified information about U.S. battleship movements in the Strait of Hormuz. Black ex-con Muslims in Torrance, Calif., who allegedly planned to attack military recruiting stations and synagogues in the state. The plot was initially hatched in prison. Still, some analysts doubt al-Qaida's pitch will resonate in today's black community beyond a handful of malcontents. They point out that African-Americans are no longer held back by institutional racism, and are growing wealthier as evidenced by the expanding black middle class.” http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55796
Keep in mind this is the same FBI that was notorious for murdering, framing and slandering dissidents, militants and Black people of all stripes back in the ‘60's and ‘70's under its infamous COINTELPRO agenda, the same FBI that bungled the Oklahoma City bombing case, the very same FBI that dropped the ball on tracking the “terrorists” who supposedly executed 9-11. This is the same FBI that has admitted there is no evidence Osama bin-Laden actually was the perpetrator of 9-11 and the same FBI who after investigating Pro-Zionist spies in the US who the FBI knew turned sensitive information over to the Israelis allowed them to walk. Knowing the history of the FBI and this government it is highly unlikely they discontinued COINTELPRO. What they did was morph it into something else, something less obvious.
World Net Daily is being used as a media pawn to keep the fright and fear machine humming along. They also are water toters for the absurd notion Blacks have no reason to harbor any animosity or critique towards the US since so many of us are now “middle class”. According to the World Net Daily’s logic only psychopathic malcontents have any reason to question AmeriKKKa’s values or direction. Shows you just how out of it they are.
Recently the FBI has been involved in some very questionable and laughable headlines where undercover agents supposedly exposed alleged “plots” by looney tune type “terrorists” in Miami and New Jersey. The most recent one where six guys who had been in the country for over twenty years, long before 9-11 and who were not Arabs were supposedly planning to bum rush Fort Dix with assault rifles and small arms!? Six pizza delivery guys planning to attack an Army base with over thirty thousand US well equipped soldiers? Come on, AmeriKKKans are mentally challenged but we’re not that stupid. But psy-ops do take strange twists and shapes to bamboozle the public. I suspect the ruling elites in the media and government have latched on to and executed ways to capitalize on what Henry Mencken said years ago, “No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public.”.
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The Democrats Sold Us Out
The Democrats Sold Us Out “WASHINGTON: Democrats in Congress have relented on their insistence that a war spending measure set a date for withdrawing U.S. combat troops from Iraq. Instead, they moved toward a deal with President George W. Bush that would impose new conditions on the Iraqi government. The decision to back down was a wrenching reversal for leading Democrats, who saw their election triumph in November as a call to force an end to the war. It was the first time since taking power in Congress that the Democrats had publicly agreed to allow a vote on war financing without a timetable for troop withdrawal.” http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/05/23/news/cong.php
If there ever was any question the Democrats tricked the AmeriKKKan people into voting for them as anti-war candidates then sold us out by siding with the Bu$hites, Zionists and NeoCon warmongers, their recent capitulation to Bu$h on the Iraq funding bill should erase any lingering doubts. After all the hoopla about confrontation and demanding “time lines”, “withdrawal deadlines” and a skeptical approach to Bu$h’s escalation of the occupation of Iraq euphemistically referred to as “surge” by the corporate mind control apparatus, the Democrats showed their true colors and punked out big time. The same Democrats who rode into office last November on an overwhelming tide of anti-war sentiment, massive frustration over the Bu$h administration’s overall record of scandal, corruption, immorality and treason have essentially rolled over and played dead on order of the fascists. Now instead of pushing Bu$h to alter his foolhardy and disastrous policies and bringing the troops home, the Democrats have capitulated and are echoing the same mumbo-gumbo as the NeoCons about “benchmarks” and progress by an ineffective puppet regime in Baghdad!
To add insult to injury, the Democratic leadership in the Congress and Senate are spinning their betrayal as a “win”!? “Tying U.S. aid dollars to Iraqi progress was a concept pushed last week by a group of moderate Republicans but rejected by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid as too weak. On Tuesday, as Reid firmed up a deal with the White House and House leaders, the Democratic leader said passage of the proposal still marked a turning point.” Spin Machines Both Sides Claim Victory In Iraq Funding Agreement http://www.capitolhillblue.com/cont/node/2555
The Democrats who have a majority in both the House and Senate were unable to recruit moderate Republicans who will have to face voters in 2008 to battle Bu$h and force an override of Bu$h’s veto of the last funding bill they sent to the White House. Recent polls show the majority of AmeriKKKans oppose the ongoing Iraq occupation. Why not side with the people and continue to push the issue? “On the four-year anniversary of the Iraq war approaches with Congress debating an allocation of an additional $100 billion to fund war, a Zogby poll found that two-thirds (68%) of 1028 Americans questioned favored short-term withdrawal of troops. One year ago, 72% of the troops in Iraq themselves similarly responded that they favored short-term withdrawal from Iraq... About 90% of those identifying as progressive/liberal agreed that Congress should begin withdrawal from Iraq, as did 50% of self-identified conservatives and Republicans. Only one in four respondents disagreed with withdrawal.
Another significant finding in the Zogby poll was that a clear majority of respondents (62%) favored reversing tax breaks for oil companies and military contractors to pay for the estimated billion-dollar war deficit. This concept was strongly supported not only by Democrats (74%), but by a plurality of Republicans (47% agreed versus 42% disagreed). This relatively bipartisan result probably reflects long-standing American repugnance toward war profiteering and shirking one’s responsibilities in times of conflict.” http://democracyrising.us/content/view/840/164/
Keep in mind this was a poll taken and released in March of this year! What this shows is the spineless Democrats are totally out of sync with the majority of AmeriKKKans who voted for them! The Republicans are obviously still drinking Bu$h’s Kool Aid and are bent on defending their imbecilic leader to the bitter end. Many Democrats know their party has betrayed the people, but what the heck it’s business as usual. “‘There has been a lot of tough talk from members of Congress about wanting to end this war, but it looks like the desire for political comfort won out over real action,’ said Senator Russell Feingold, Democrat of Wisconsin, who was unsuccessful last week in his push for a withdrawal of combat troops by spring. ‘Congress should have stood strong, acknowledged the will of the American people and insisted on a bill requiring a real change of course in Iraq.’” http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/05/23/news/cong.php
To stand strong in the face of retrenched warmongering, profiteering and corruption requires courage, integrity and a sense of principles, virtues the Democrats obviously lack. Someone once said, “After all is said and done what is done matters more than what was said” . Alas after much tough talk, and posturing the gutless Democrats didn’t get it done. The most alarming aspect of the Democrats cave in is the fact while the front runners for the 2008 presidential nomination were MIA in standing up to Bu$h’s veto and passing legislation that reflects the will of the people, they all are just as eager to get into another war in Iran as is the moron that presently occupies the White House. “More public pressure may well get Clinton and Obama to back Senator Webb’s bill, and this would do a great deal to establish this as ‘the Democratic position.’ But unfortunately, these candidates, like McCain, still repeat the mantra that ‘no option can be taken off the table,’ which means that they implicitly support the threat of an attack on Iran that would be illegal in U.S. and international law, and would have disastrous consequences in the region.” Clinton, Obama and Edwards' position on Iran and their cow towing to AIPAC
and the rabid warmongering of the Zionists should be a warning signal to all AmeriKKKans that both major political parties are but two sides of the same coin. That being the case don’t be surprised as the Democrats continue to sell us out on every major issue out there.
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Phila Black Heritage Music Festival & Soul Patrol Convention
Philadelphia Black Heritage Music Festival & Soul Patrol Convention This week promises to be a very rewarding one for music lovers and folks who enjoy a good time. Beginning Thursday May 24 through Sunday May 27th in Clark Park located at 43rd and Baltimore Avenues in Philadelphia the 2007 Black Heritage Festival and Soul Patrol Convention will offer four days of free activities for the whole family, free concerts, a free movie festival, pertinent and relevant panel discussions on the state of Black Music, Black Culture and Black Radio plus a shake ‘em on down cabaret where many of the performers will meet and mingle with the party crowd. All the concerts and fun activities for children and families will be held in Clark Park from 12 Noon until 8 PM. The film festival and cabaret will be held at the Enterprise Center located at 46th and Market Streets. Mark Gains the founder of the Philadelphia Heritage Festival a grass roots five year old annual community event has teamed with Bob Davis of Soul Patrol an Internet based Black music preservation organization, Internet radio station and interactive community with over 50,000 members. The concerts will feature a cross section of Jazz, Blues, Old School Soul, R&B and Funk by artists like Jimmy Caster, Mandrill and twenty-five others.
For young people there will be Double Dutch contests, side walk chalk contests, face painting, African story telling, creativity over crime workshops (crime prevention), African drumming and much more. For music lovers there will be free concerts featuring some of the vintage artists, new and emerging independent artists across the spectrum of Black music. Mark Gains oriented the Heritage Festival around children and the community has supported the concept for the past four years. This year promises to be even bigger with the addition of the Soul Patrol Convention. Bob Davis is excited about coming to Philadelphia. The Soul Patrol has had national conventions in past years but this is the first time they’ve come to Philadelphia. “This gives us an opportunity to bring great Black music from the ancient to the future from Online to offline to make it real for younger people in the city of Philadelphia to experience Black culture that they don’t get to see and hear everyday, because there really was Black culture before the advent of BET MTV etc and there will continue to be Black culture going forward.
Everything is free except for the cabaret, the film festival which takes place at the Enterprise Center on Friday the 25th is free the concerts in Clark Park from 12 Noon to 6 PM are free and the panel discussions the Black Music Town Hall is free also.” Stated Davis. Gains and Davis partnered to give the Festival an added boost of free concerts featuring named and future talent from a wide genre of Black music. Davis a child of the 60's and 70's, envisions the Heritage Festival’s out-door concert as a “Black Woodstock”. Gaines has been producing the Heritage Festival for five years as a way to give back to the community. He works for a local charter school and created an after school art program called Creative Kids and started doing festivals to expand young people’s exposure to the arts.
“It’s so important to have this event dealing with the arts in general, for example there is an exhibit that’s here in Philadelphia King Tut, our children don’t even realize that that links back to their history and who they are. This is how important visuals are, and how important art is to one’s culture and heritage. So I took it upon myself to create this Heritage Festival to celebrate who we are. This is what this festival is all about and this is what Creative Kids is all about.” Shared Gaines.
Vending opportunities are still available for more information and a complete Festival and event schedule go to www.SoulPatrol.com Or contact Mark Gains at (267) 693-8191 or Bob Davis at (609) 351- 0154.
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Honoring Malcolm X
Honoring Malcolm X “We are living in an era of revolution, and the revolt of the American Negro is part of the rebellion against oppression and colonialism which has characterized this era . . .It is incorrect to classify the revolt of the Negro as simply a racial conflict of Black against white, or as a purely American problem. Rather, we are today seeing a global rebellion of the oppressed against the oppressor, the exploited against the exploiter.” Malcolm X
As we pause to celebrate the birthday life and legacy of Malcolm Little a.k.a. Big Red, Satan, Malcolm X and El Hajj Malik El Shabazz let us also make the connection to the oppressive systemic conditions and institutionalized pathologies that spawned Malcolm’s critique and resistance to AmeriKKKan society and not fall victim to the okey-doke and propaganda used to justify this system. Malcolm Little was born on May 19, 1925 in Omaha Nebraska the fourth of eight children born to Earl and Louise Little. The spark of African redemption was ignited early in Malcolm because his parent were Garveyites and his father was an organizer for the UNIA-ACL. Their home was one of pride in African history, accomplishment and the dream of African redemption and liberation. This pro-Black expectation and mentality was juxtaposed against the harsh realities of AmeriKKKan social existence for people of African heritage: virulent racism, color caste , privation, relentless and ruthless violence.
Malcolm Little was an extremely bright child and distinguished himself by graduating at the top of his junior high school class. His academic prowess was discouraged by racist teachers who cast doubt on his aspirations of being an attorney so he dropped out of school and got caught up in the negative street culture. Most of us are familiar with Malcolm’s history: how his father was found dead having been hit by a trolley car in Lansing Michigan, his mother’s deep depression and commitment to a mental institution because of her mental breakdown following her husband’s murder, he and his siblings were separated and in foster care, his life of crime, incarceration and conversion to Islam as taught by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. We can learn a lot about the human spirit by studying Malcolm’s life.
Because of his energy, enthusiasm and genius, Malcolm rose high into the hierarchy of the Nation of Islam becoming Mr. Muhammad’s national spokesman the head of New York City’s Temple and the most widely recognized member of the NOI (prior to Muhammad Ali becoming a member) in the country. A falling out with Mr. Muhammad and the NOI’s rigid isolationist policies led to Malcolm leaving the Nation of Islam to start his own organization, The Organization of Afro-American Unity. Malcolm’s view of the struggle was wider than Mr. Muhammad’s and Malcolm was unwilling to wait for Allah to strike down the “Blue Eyed Devils” and bring them to ruin as Mr. Muhammad taught.
Malcolm understood the nature of capitalist imperialism and like his mentor Elijah Muhammad he viewed the struggle in color and race terms. However Malcolm was also aware there were a few Caucasians who opposed Western imperialism. After he left the NOI Malcolm reached out to the Afro-Asian block of nations and leaders in an attempt to gain support for his plan to bring the Untied States before the world court on charges of genocide and massive human rights violations of Black people in the United States and around the world. Malcolm saw the US intervention in Vietnam as part of an overarching program of global white imperialism and violence.
While still a member of the NOI, Malcolm was livid when in 1962 the LA Police shot up the Mosque in Los Angles killing seven Muslims. Malcolm was not satisfied when Mr. Muhammad cautioned patience. When white violence against Southern Civil Rights advocates escalated, Malcolm urged Black men to defend themselves and their communities. “The time for you and me to allow ourselves to be brutalized nonviolently has passed. Be nonviolent only with those who are nonviolent to you. And when you can bring me a nonviolent racist, bring me a nonviolent segregationist, then I'll get nonviolent. But don't teach me to be nonviolent until you teach some of those crackers to be nonviolent.” He said. Rhetoric such as this terrified whites and put him at odds with the more staid and accepted “Negro leaders” whom Malcolm chided as being chumps and suckers for the white man.
Once out of the NOI Malcolm traveled more extensively as he pressed world leaders to help him bring AmeriKKKa before the world court. Just the thought of this sent chills down the spines of the power elites who were manipulating the US media to present a more favorable light on AmeriKKKa’s deeply entrenched “race problem”. Out of the NOI Malcolm softened his critique of some of the Civil Rights leaders and offered to work together with them for the common good. Malcolm’s courage and outspokenness alarmed blacks and whites who weren’t used to such bold articulation and eloquence. They knew his fearlessness and enthusiasm would soon catch on and ignite a wider struggle for liberation, which it did.
Malcolm X’s action made him a marked man. The US government could not allow him to stand tall and speak truth to power to they spied on him, tailed him and set the stage for his demise via an early
COINTELPRO set up. He was murdered on February 25, 1965. While it was black men who pulled the triggers they were doing the bidding of global white supremacy just as the young brothers who kill and maim other Blacks are doing the bidding of our oppressor due to their internalized self-hatred, anti-life and anti-African brainwashing. That is why it is so important to remember and honor the memory of Malcolm X. We need heroes and sheroes to model being African at its best and noble human beings who work for the greater good of humanity. It is people like Malcolm X we need to emulate and carry on their work. Ignoramuses, stooges and sociopaths like Condoleeza Rice, Debra Lee, Lil Kim, Snoop Dog, R Kelly and Nelly are put before us daily in the mass media. We are encouraged to emulate them because of their manufactured celebrity and their work on behalf of the New World Order while the same racist media relegates our real heroes to the white supremacist memory hole.
Let us not go for that okey-doke. Let’s think for ourselves and celebrate the life and legacy of Malcolm X and pay him his just due. Let us then take it to the next level. Let us continue the liberation struggle by committing our lives to bring about our awakening, redemption and liberation “by any means necessary”.
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The Real Origins of the US Mother's Day Celebration
The Origins of US Mother’s Day “ The ‘Mother's Day’ antiwar observances founded by Julia Ward Howe in 1872[3]Julia Ward Howe is sometimes claimed as the ‘founder of Mother's Day,’ implying that Julia Ward Howe's June 2nd occasion and Anna Jarvis' second-Sunday-in-May event are the same thing. It is even suggested that an antiwar and feminist holiday was co-opted by the forces of sentimentality, tradition, and Hallmark. But although Mother's Day was celebrated in eighteen cities in 1873, it did not take root. It continued in Boston for about ten years under Howe's personal financial sponsorship, then died out. Julia Ward Howe's Mother's Day, celebrated on June 2nd, was first proclaimed around 1870 by Julia Ward Howe's Mother's Day Proclamation, and Howe called for it to be observed each year nationally in 1872. As originally envisioned, Howe's "Mother's Day" was a call for pacifism and disarmament by women.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother%27s_Day_%28United_States%29
Most people in the US would find it ironic that one of the founder’s of the “Mother’s Day” was a pacifist who wanted a national day of peace. Mrs. Julia Ward Howe was an activist in her day something very unusual for the time. She wrote the
Battle Hymn of The Republic but also wrote anti-war poems and lectured widely against war. She was not only a lecturer she worked with widows and orphans on both sides of the US Civil War (an oxymoron is there ever was one, how can devastation and death be considered “civil”?). Howe decided peace was one of the most important causes in the world especially given the cultural proclivities of Europeans who fought and died at the drop of a hat. In 1870 Howe organized women to massively protest war and make a ruckus for peace. Julia Ward Howe was unsuccessful in rising a corps of feminist pacifists but she did have an impact on her time.
“In 1870, Julia Ward Howe took on a new issue and a new cause. Distressed by her experience of the realities of war, determined that peace was one of the two most important causes of the world (the other being equality in its many forms) and seeing war arise again in the world in the Franco-Prussian War, she called in 1870 for women to rise up and oppose war in all its forms. She wanted women to come together across national lines, to recognize what we hold in common above what divides us, and commit to finding peaceful resolutions to conflicts. She issued a Declaration, hoping to gather together women in a congress of action. She failed in her attempt to get formal recognition of a Mother's Day for Peace. Her idea was influenced by Anna Jarvis, a young Appalachian homemaker who had attempted starting in 1858 to improve sanitation through what she called Mothers' Work Days. She organized women throughout the Civil War to work for better sanitary conditions for both sides, and in 1868 she began work to reconcile Union and Confederate neighbors.” http://womenshistory.about.com/library/weekly/aa013100d.htm
I find it interesting to learn the origin of Mother’s Day centered around peace and equality. By today’s customs and advertising campaigns you would never know there were some serious pacifist feminists who spoke out and attempted to enshrine the notion of peace on the public consciousness. If Julia Ward Howe were around today she would probably be denounced by the Bu$hites and NeoCons as giving aid and comfort to “terrorists” and the enemy, such is the twisted mentality of the warmongers and fascists who currently rule AmeriKKKa. This weekend the AmeriKKKan economy will get a much needed boost with all the money spent on flowers, dinners, gifts and presents that will be given, more often out of guilt or custom than real love. Meanwhile the real reason for Mother’s Day, peace, has been flushed down the collective consciousness memory hole.
Julia Ward Howe and Anna Jarvis saw the horrors and devastation of the US Civil War and were moved to act. They acted out of a true sense of humanity, something unusual for white women to do especially during those times. Today the US corporate media keeps the images of AmeriKKKa’s numerous wars suppressed and as sanitized as possible so Joe and Jane Sixpack will not make the connection between the death, carnage and chaos US imperialism is causing around the world and their tax dollars. What if millions of AmeriKKKan women decided to act on their conscience and conviction for peace like Julia Ward Howe, Congresswoman Barbara Lee the only Congress critter with the wisdom and courage to buck the White House and vote against Bu$h’s War on Terrorism or Cindy Sheehan who lost her son Casey in Iraq to renounce war and killing? What impact do you think this would have on AmeriKKKan policy? Do you think the corporate mind control apparatus could suppress such a movement? Do you think warmongering fascists like Dick Cheney, Richard Perle, Charles Krauthammer or Hillary Rodham Clinton could overpower the conviction and passion of motherhood at its’ best? Do you think AmeriKKKa could remain asleep and apathetic to the harm and horror this nation is causing around the world if everyday ordinary mothers galvanized themselves in a movement of extraordinary passion and fervor for peace?
As you scramble to spend and celebrate Mother’s Day 2007 stop for a minute, reflect on the original Mother’s Day, the non-commercial and corporate co-option of Julia Ward Howe’s and Anna Jarvis’ idea of peace. Stop and think about how powerful the idea of peace is. Ask yourself if we actually thought enough of ourselves and loved ourselves enough to believe peace is a practical possibility, what would it take to make peace a reality. Julia Ward Howe and Ann Jarvis saw the devastation and suffering of war. Unlike them, we have turned a deaf ear to the cries of humanity. Unlike them we keep mindlessly running the rat race, oblivious to the carnage and suffering our government is causing. By our cowardice we are allowing the warmongers and fascists to wreck havoc on our planet. What would happen if we decided to be like Anna Jarvis and Julia War Howe and actively press for peace, make peace a priority and our reality? Food for thought on this Mother’s Day 2007.
Will Black Folks Ever Support Quality meida Programming?
Will Black Folks Ever Support Quality Media Programming? “(Multichannel News) Making it official, Black Family Channel closed its deal to cease operations as a linear cable channel, shifting its distribution slots to Gospel Music Channel http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6436052.html. As a result of the agreement between the two networks and a number of cable operators, Gospel replaced BFC in a majority of its markets, including New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Los Angeles, St. Louis and San Francisco. Gospel is gaining carriage on nearly 275 systems from Bright House Networks, Charter Communications, Comcast, Cox Communications and Time Warner Cable.” http://avid.broadcastnewsroom.com/articles/viewarticle.
How many of you have heard of or had access to
The Black Family Channel via your local cable franchise? Probably not too many of you based on recent developments. If a cable channel is unable to gain access to distribution and viewers via the major cable systems in major markets in is highly unlikely the channel will be profitable or survive. This is what happened to The Family Cable Channel. The Atlanta based Black owned company was founded eight years ago by attorney Willie Gary, entertainer Marlon Jackson, former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield, former baseball star Cecil Fielder and media man Alvin James recently announced it was ceasing operations due to its inability to gain access into the major cable markets. The network had sixteen million subscribers but was not able to penetrate into all the major markets or attract the type of advertisers that would catapult it into the black. the network plans to switch to Internet television.
It’ cruelly ironic that while Negroes were making a big issue over shock jock Don Imus and Gangsta Rap promoters like Russell Simmons who are putting mad dollars in corporate white boys' pockets a black owned cable programming company whose goal and mission was to produce and provide family oriented programming was being forced off the air because it could not gain enough exposure and access to attract viewers and advertisers to turn a profit. When BFC was launched it was touted as a programming alternative to the minstrelsy of Robert Johnson’s BET. Actor/Director Robert Townsend long a proponent of quality programming was hired to take charge of the channel’s production and programming. Their goal according to Gary was to provide programming that was family oriented, informative and entertaining.
My cable system the regional giant Comcast did not carry the BFC. Frankly I rarely heard anything about the channel in the Negro or conscious community media. While it is their responsibility to promote themselves, it’s as if the powers that be, the corporate conglomerates whose goal is to dummy us down decided to make sure BFC didn’t succeed. There are few if any Black folks that head a cable carriers like Comcast, Cablevision or Cox so we shouldn’t be surprised the BFC was not on more regional carriers. White folks want to keep us glued to BET because its’ programming fits their stereotypes of us. Sadly nowadays these stereotypes of criminality, hyper-promiscuity and immorality have been repackaged and taken to the absurd by a posse of Black folks like Bob Johnson and his successor.
According to the Associated Press, BFC’s parent company MBC has decided to pull the plug and seek to reinvent the network on the Internet via broadband Internet TV. BFC's demise is yet another example of Black folks not stepping up to support pro-Black or at least non-minstrel type programming. Recently Lionsgate Studio released the movie called PRIDE based upon the true successes of a Black man, Jim Ellis as a teacher, competitive Black swimming team coach and mentor. The movie starred Terrence Howard, Bernie Mack, Kimberly Elise, Tom Arnold and an excellent supporting cast. Sadly the movie only earned about 10 million dollars in theaters and was pulled after only three weeks. What does this say about our entertainment tastes? What does it say about us? Have we been conditioned to support the vilest forms of media while eschewing uplifting and inspiring stories and images of ourselves? When will we wake up, take responsibility and own up to the choices we make in our media consumption?
Why was it so easy for Black folks to jump on a Don Imus who was just doing what he got paid to do, while we stood by and allowed the BFC to go under? Don Imus will resurface stronger than ever, a few months from now, trust me. But what will happen to the Black Family Channel or film makers who want to make a movie like PRIDE? Is there a market for decent programming in the black community? Movies like PRIDE, Daddy’s Girls or Antoine Fisher didn’t do buffo business at the box office. That’s on us!! Those films weren’t made for white audiences, they were made for us! It was on us to support them. We are the ones who didn’t go to the theaters. Black folks were the ones who purchased the bootleg copies, thus depriving the studios, the actors, film makers and crews their just revenues. That in itself is a telling commentary on the values in our community.
Despite the recent Imus controversy cable channels like BET, MTV and VH1 are extremely popular with young black folks. Our children consume more media than any other ethnic group. But yet we won’t support conscious or positive black programming. Why is that? Have we been so conditioned to acquiesce and co-operate in our own debasement we refuse to break from the mold or engage in mental decolonization? We have accepted racist filth and junk from the media for so long, we seem to unconsciously say to our oppressors “We will always accept junk no matter who dishes it out”. Carter G Woodson said it succinctly when he observed,
“If you can control a man’s thinking you do not have to worry about his action. When you determine what a man shall think you do not have to concern yourself about what he will do. If you make a man feel that he is inferior , you do not have to compel him to accept an inferior status, for he will seek it himself. If you make a man think he is justly an outcast, you do not have to order him to the back door. He will go without being told, and if there is no back door his very nature will demand one.” The Mis-Education of The Negro Page 84-85.
When you go to the BFC Website
http://www.mbcnetwork.com/ You will see this message, “May 1,2007 - Black Family Channel is no longer on cable. Our slate of original, must-see, award-winning programs will soon be available free as a brand new, feature-rich broadband TV service. Close this window and visit our Corporate Page for more details.” While I was never able to view BFC's programming, if it was an alternative to the garbage on BET it had to offer at least some redemptive images and content for African people. But even if the owners of BFC go to the Internet where it will be free, unless we alter our consciousness, values and world view to demand quality programming, the BFCs of the world will never prosper.
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