From The Ramparts
Sunday, June 26, 2016
From The Ramparts
Junious Ricardo Stanton
US Prisons The New Slavery
"'Insourcing,' as prison labor
is often called, is an even cheaper alternative to outsourcing. Instead of
sending labor over to China
or Bangladesh , manufacturers
have chosen to forcibly employ the 2.4 million
incarcerated people in the United States. Chances are high that if a
product you’re holding says it is “American Made,” it was made in an American
prison".http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-insourcing-of-prison-labor-seven-us-corporate-household-names-use-prison-labor-to-produce-their-goods/5492033?utm_campaign=magnet&utm_source=article_page&utm_medium=related_articles
If you
haven't read Michelle Alexander's best selling book The New Jim Crow Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
please read it soon. She documents the creation and rise of the prison
industrial complex's underclass of Black and Brown prisoners who have been
stripped of: their citizen rights, the
right to vote, the right to serve on a jury, severely minimizes their
employment opportunities, eliminates financial aid for education, and their ability
to secure public housing. The sad reality is the US gulag system was ramped up by
President Bill Clinton with major support from his wife Hillary who campaigned hard
for legislation that created a sharp spike in federal and state prison
construction and the rise of Wall Street traded private prisons.
When our
people are locked up they are usually forgotten except by their families.
Unless they are a celebrity, very little is known about what happens once those
steel doors slam behind them and become engulfed into the prison culture. Even
if they are not subjected to atrocities, torture or horrid conditions they are for all intents
and purposes now slaves.
Slavery in
the US
was legally outlawed by the Thirteenth Amendment but that amendment contains
language that says, "except for punishment of crimes." So what we have is not just a new Jim Crow
(apartheid) in the US
but also slavery. Many of us are familiar with US history following the War
Between the States and the end of so called "Reconstruction" whereby Southern
Blacks were routinely arrested on bogus and trumped up charges sanctioned by
legislation enacted by most of the former Confederate States called the Black Codes. These laws
reinstituted the subservient status of Black people, severely restricted their movement
and activities. Once Blacks were
arrested they were often "hired out" to plantation owners, the railroads, mines or
did forced labor for the county or state. That system still exists today.
Racism and
class bias are endemic in the "justice system" and seeking fairness
and justice is not easy. The costs of securing a competent legal criminal
defense and all that goes with it such as investigators and support staff are
prohibitive for most people. Most people are forced to rely on the Public
Defenders who are overworked and overwhelmed by the volume of their caseloads.
This overload is due to the draconian laws passed at the behest of lobbyists
who pushed for anti crime laws that mandated prison time that benefited their
clients; the for profit private prison companies.
State and
federal prison systems actively collude with corporations to use their inmates
to make the corporation's products. These companies only pay inmates a pittance
in some cases less than $1 a day. http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-insourcing-of-prison-labor-seven-us-corporate-household-names-use-prison-labor-to-produce-their-goods/5492033?utm_campaign=magnet&utm_source=article_page&utm_medium=related_articles.
More and more corporations are turning to prison labor to increase their
profits. Corporations that directly or indirectly use prison labor are: At&T, Walmart, McDonalds, Whole Foods, Victoria 's Secret,
Wendy's Starbucks, Verizon, Sprint to name a few. For an extensive list of
companies involved in prison labor use go to
https://www.popularresistance.org/identifying-businesses-that-profit-from-prison-labor/.
America imprisons more people than
any country in the world. It's not about reducing crime, it's about profit. Prison
labor the new slavery is one of the reasons.
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Friday, June 17, 2016
Something's Fishy In Orlando
Junious
Ricardo Stanton
Something's Fishy In Orlando
In the aftermath of the shooting
in Orlando it
appears that there are numerous anomalies many critical thinkers and skeptics
are pointing out about the government narrative. Many of these anomalies have
become standard operating procedure in what are becoming increasingly apparent
in these psychological operations/false flag ops. There is something very fishy
about the Orlando
shootings. I am not saying people weren't shot injured or killed in the Pulse
nightclub, what I am saying is the corporate mind control apparatus/government propaganda
machine's "official" narrative do not add up.
What first
caught my attention was the media kept replaying the same scenes over and over
again: we repeatedly were shown the exterior of the nightclub, police cars with
flashing lights that had cordoned off the immediate area and repeated scenes of
"civilians" assisting the wounded. Even as time went on, hours passed and the days
wore on the scenes didn't change that much except for the various people interviewed.
What raised a red flag for me was what we were not shown: the inside of the
club (granted the carnage may have been to gruesome to show), we did not see
any ambulances on the scene or vans transporting injured people or body bags
from the nightclub or scenes outside the medical examiners office.
We saw the
FBI, mayor, several local elected officials making statements but no hospital
or coroner representatives were ever shown explaining the process of
identifying the victims or the types of medical treatment they were getting. To
me this was extremely fishy and indicated there is something amiss in this
affair, something irregular and even nefarious. Again I am not saying there was
no shooting, I am saying the narrative, media accounts and visuals are
disingenuous.
When I
first heard about the incident I scoured the Internet to get more information.
Obviously not everything on the Internet is factual but it is a valuable source
of information and a way to cross reference and double check what has been
reported. based upon what I saw, immediately I became skeptical. According to
the reports an off duty police officer working security at the nightclub
engaged the perpetrator Omar Mateen in a gun battle outside the nightclub at
which time Mateen ran into the club. Another version stated Mateen went intothe
club and a firefight ensued with the security guard. Then three additional police officers
responded and they went into the club and engaged in a firefight with Mateen.
But
according to several eye witnesses there was more than one shooter and one man
even blocked the exit preventing people from escaping! The corporate mind
control apparatus has so far ignored that lead or account. Then we get several
differing accounts about what happened inside the club. They say people ran
into the bathroom. Was it the same bathroom or different bathrooms? Supposedly
Mateen came into the bathroom(s) asked if there were any Black people in there?
Supposedly one person responded yes. One witness said Mateen stated "he
didn't have anything against Black people". Another witness said Mateen
started shooting wounding and killing several patrons who were in the stalls
several who were Black!?
Then he supposedly barricaded himself in a
bathroom with hostages for three hours. Subsequently SWAT teams arrived, the
order was given by the Orlando Police Chief and they created a "controlled
explosion"; meaning they blow a hole in the outside wall of the nightclub
(which supposedly allowed several trapped patrons to escape). Then after that
they breeched the bathroom wall and several more hostages ran out. Subsequently
Mateen came out shooting and was subsequently killed by police and Sheriff's
officers.
Amidst all
the focus on Mateen and the accounts by the media talking heads there were no
visuals of the inside of the nightclub or bodies being removed in body bags.
The initial reports stated Mateen used an AR-15 but when people started saying
that weapon was used in other mass shooting, the story changed to he used a Sig
Sauer MCX.
Okay I can see that as an honest error, but
then again it wasn't changed until a few days later when people like me made
the connection with Orlando
and other mass shootings and the use of an AR-15! In a piece I initially wrote
about the shootings, I questioned the designation of the Orlando
shooting as the "deadliest mass murder in US history". I pointed out
massacres of Indigenous peoples here in this country and the deadly race riots
in Tulsa Oklahoma
as far more deadly.
The
mainstream propaganda machine countered by saying the Native American killings
were military actions while the Orlando
shooting was a individual action. No mention about Rosewood or Tulsa
was made in the Washington Post rebuttal https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2016/06/16/serious-reporters-address-your-viral-orlando-shooting-hoaxes-theories-and-conspiracies/
to the supposed "conspiracy theories" about the Orlando shootings. The Washington Post gave the modern
definition of "mass shooting" as " more than four people killed in a single
incident by a criminal gunman (or, rarely, gunmen or gunwomen)." Then they
provide a list of US mass shootings and the number killed. Many of these
incidents are also suspected by many as false flag ops.
More and
more people are questioning the official narrative and critiquing the photos
and visuals. One thing that stands out is that it was civilians who were
rescuing and treating the victims not first responders. Where were the first
responders other than the police in all this?
There is strong
suspicion many of the so called eye witnesses are what are called "crisis
actors" people who are paid to act like victims, give prewritten accounts
of the happening or act like grieving friends relatives and bystanders. A key
way to tell is if they don't shed real tears they just mimic emotion. We saw
some of that with the Orlando
situation.
In one
visual some "civilians" carry a "wounded" man and place him
in a open ended pick up truck!? This was all for show because the truck doesn't
drive off and even if it did who knows where it went?
Who
benefits from something like this whether they were directly behind it or not?
There are several very obvious agendas at play here. We saw one when it was
stated that Mateen (correctly or not) was a radicalized Muslim linked to ISIS even though no actual proof was supplied, so the
anti-Islam perpetrators win. The deep security state and military industrial
complex win, the US CIA Director just testified before Congress that ISIS is at the gates. The media wins because events like
this generate more viewers, more advertising and they can sow more fear, more
anti-Islam ooga booga, which in turn generates more money for domestic spying
and draconian laws to further the police state!
Homosexual,
transgender, alternative lifestyle activists really win. They mobilized so fast
it was almost like they were ready in waiting for something exactly like this
to happen. They have defined it as a "hate crime" even though no
facts have been provided to support such a claim. CNN has been using this angle
since Monday, gaining sympathy, empathy and connection with the GLTBQ
communities. Now they are saying Mateen was gay himself so where is the hate
angle?
Of course the anti-gun crusaders will win
there is even talk about repealing the Second Amendment to the US
Constitution! Obama and the Democrats will push for more gun control laws and
guns will be demonized rather than the criminogenic, violent culture we live
in.
Who loses?
Us in the form of more mind entrainment, more laws that treat ordinary citizens
as terrorists and more of our tax money being used to fund the deep security police state
as opposed to fixing the infrastructure, the economy and working for global
peace. Don't fall for the okey-doke,
keep an open mind, question everything and think for yourself!
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Sunday, June 12, 2016
Weird Things About The Orlando Shootings
From The Ramparts
Weird Things About The Orlando
Shootings
On June 11,
2016 a supposed lone gunman walked into an Orlando Florida
nightclub that was a popular hang out for homosexuals and transgender patrons opened
fire killing over fifty and wounding fifty-three. I've scoured the Internet
looking at corporate and alternative media sources and here is what is being
said: the shooter Omar Mateen who was killed by police was twenty-nine years
old, he was born in New York his parents were from Afghanistan, he lived in Fort
Pierce Florida and had no prior police record, he had been interviewed in 2013 by
the FBI in connection with "terrorist related cases" but he was not
charged or put on a watch list. (There are conflicting reports he was on a list
of potential radicals.) Mateen worked as a security officer with one of the
nation's largest security companies, G4S Secure Solutions. he was trained and
licensed in weapons.
I confess, I'm
skeptical about these types of events. I don't trust the government or the
media especially since 9-11. We've been lied to on so many occasions I
automatically question the government and corporate media narrative. We're
being asked to believe that a man armed with a pistol an AR-15 semi-automatic assault
weapon and an undetermined number of rounds allegedly went to Pulse a night club
and just started shooting? The lone gunman (another common government theme)
was killed during a shootout with police and Sheriff's officers. That's is another
common pattern, the perpetrator gets killed thereby eliminating any chance of
being interrogated to see if others were involved or why he did it?
There are
two differing accounts as to why the Orlando
police determined it was a hostage situation. In one the Orlando police stated they treated the circumstance
as a hostage situation when Mateen went into the nightclub after a brief shootout
with police near the nightclub. An alternative
account states he exchanged gun fire with a security officer inside the nightclub
and police who arrived regarded it an hostage situation and SWAT was called in.
Yet we've seen no report on what happened
to the "hostages" or any of the club patrons saying they were personally
held hostage.
The man's
father stated his son was not affiliated with a religious or radical terrorist
group despite reports in the media that he called 9-11 to pledge allegiance to ISIS during the shootings. Details about the shooting are
sketchy but there are some things that make you go hmmm? First Mateen fits the "lone gunman",
"lone kook" narrative we have been spoon fed ever since Abraham Lincoln
was assassinated in 1865 by John Wilkes Booth . He followed the usual
government and police script: he acted alone, there were no associates or accomplices
etc. etc.
Another "coincidence"
is, he used an AR-15 assault rifle. The AR-15 is the seeming weapon of choice
for mass shooters. Several other "lone shooter" mass killers in
recent years have used an AR-15 to do their dirty work. An AR-15 was used in the
Sandy Hook, San Bernadino, Umpqua Community College and Colorado "Batman" movie shootings.
Any coincidence there? Makes you wonder., what is he mathematical probability
of those people using the exact same type of weapon?
Mateen was
married but the marriage supposedly only lasted a few months. His former wife who
refused to identify herself said he was violently abusive and had "anger
management issues" (here's more of the emotionally unstable profile). Yet
they say he was incensed when he saw two men kissing in front of his son in Miami earlier. How old is
his son and who is the boy's mother? So
now we have a Muslim who goes off shoots up a gay nightclub who is being touted
as the perpetrator of the "the largest mass killing in the nation's
history".
Really?
What about the times the US
military killed innocent Native Americans like the Massacre at Wounded Knee South
Dakota where US Army killed over one hundred fifty men women and children! Or what about the massacre at Sand Creek where
700 drunken Colorado Militia attacked 200 Cheyenne , Arapaho tribesmen
killing 170 mostly women and children! What about Tulsa Oklahoma
and Black Wall Street ?
I could go on and on but you get my drift.
Any loss of
life is a tragedy, we must not allow another government and media rush to judgment
or false flag operation to psyche us into falling for a hidden agenda to: promote
fear of "Islamic terrorists" like
al-Qaeda and ISIS we know were created and funded by the US, domestic gun
control, and sexual and gender reorientation. Let's wait to see if there is a
serious investigation and collection of all the facts or more questionable
narratives by the government and media.
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Saturday, June 04, 2016
Muhammad Ali, Champion
From The Ramparts
Junious
Ricardo Stanton
Muhammad Ali, Champion
"Float like a butterfly sting like a bee rumble young man rumble"
- Bundini Brown exhorting Muhammad Ali
One of the
most charismatic athletes of the twentieth century is a Black man who was born
and originally named Cassius Clay but later changed his name to Muhammad Ali. He
burst onto the international scene as a boxer during the 1960 Rome Olympics
where he distinguished himself in the light heavyweight division because of his
fluid style, hand quickness and radiant personality. Prior to going to Rome Ali
had won the AAU amateur boxing championship in 1959.
The Rome Olympics
catapulted Clay into the national consciousness. Americans love a winner, especially
one who wins for the country which Clay did as the 1960 Olympic Gold Medal
Champion. Doors opened quicker for him
because of his Olympic success. Due to his fame, skills and work ethic he was
able to rise up to become a contender in the heavyweight division.
Clay joined
the Nation of Islam lead by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and was tutored by
Malcolm X. He changed his name while
training for his heavyweight championship fight with Sonny Liston. The world
was shocked by this young man's brashness and style. Liston was the champion but
he was far less charismatic and articulate compared to his younger opponent and the press flocked around Clay (Ali) as he put on a
show in and out of the ring. After he
successfully dethroned Liston in 1964 he
announced to the world he had changed his name to Muhammad Ali.
The impact
of Ali's membership in the Nation of Islam was huge. It occurred at a time when
the Civil Rights struggle was intensifying and the separatist philosophy of the
NOI differed sharply with the assimilationist views of the mainstream Civil Rights
leaders. But its message of do for self, Black pride and militancy resonated
with large numbers of everyday Black folks. The Vietnam War was escalating and
the nation was torn between the imperialist policies of the US government
and the growing resistance and peace movements. Ali was pressured by the
establishment to support war like champions and celebrities before him had done.
As a young
man Ali was bound to register for the military draft. He was drafted into the
military in 1966 but refused induction on April 29, 1967 on grounds of being a conscientious
objector and a follower of Elijah Muhammad. Ali put a racial and geo-political spin
on his very public refusal to be inducted when he said, "Why should they
ask me to put on a uniform and go ten thousand miles from home and drop bombs
and bullets on brown people in Vietnam
while so-called Negro people in Louisville
are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights? No, I am not going ten
thousand miles from home to help murder and burn another poor nation simply to
continue the domination of white slave masters of the darker people the world
over. This is the day when such evils must come to an end..."
By taking
that courageous stand Ali's prestige rose even higher among most younger Blacks.
But he was vilified and demonized by the white establishment; the same establishment
who cheered him when he won the gold medal in Rome . As punishment they stripped Ali of his
title, took his boxing license and his passport to prevent him from continuing
to speak out against what he felt was a racist and unjust war. He was convicted
of evading the draft and sentenced to five years in prison and fined $ 10,000. At
that time with the exception of Martin Luther King Jr. very few Black leaders
publically opposed the war. Nonetheless Ali stood his ground..
He appealed
his conviction, his case went all the way to the US Supreme Court which finally
overturned his conviction on religious grounds. His tenacity and his
willingness to fight for his beliefs earned him the respect of millions around
the world. His next challenge was to try to get his license back so he could
box professionally again. Ali was successful and this led to a series of celebrated
bouts against the best fighters of his era. To his credit, Ali never ducked an
opponent. His fights with Joe Frazier were legendary in their intensity and
fiery but he also fought all the greats of his day: Sonny Liston, Floyd
Patterson, Ernie Terrell, Ken Norton, Ernie Shavers, Ron Lyle, Leon Spinks, George
Foreman and Larry Holmes to name a few.
Ali's
popularity grew over the years and he eventually overcame the animus many held
against him for not going into the US Army and for being a Muslim. Ali was a
celebrated figure around the world and remained famous for decades after he
retired. To me and most of my peers growing up in the 1960's, Muhammad Ali was
a true hero. Ali fought the system and won. He showed us it was possible for a Black man to
stand for something and have the courage of your convictions. That is why so
many honor him to this day.
In later
years, Ali suffered from Parkinson's Disease a debilitating neurological
condition which impacted his ability to speak which must have been frustrating
for him because he loved to talk and be the center of attention everywhere he
went. Despite his illness, Ali was still admired and respected until he made
his transition on June 3, 2016. Muhammad Ali is still our champion.
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