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Democratic Blackness vs. Republican Blackness By EZRAH AHARONE |
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Posted by: monkmo on 12/01/2011 01:46 AM
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Ever
since Republican Herman Cain, a self-described "Black conservative," remarked that
two-thirds of Black Democrats are "brainwashed," the question of his "Blackness" has
been contrasted with that of President Obama. Beyond the resentment from
brainwashing claims, this issue should prompt discourse and partisan introspection
to determine if Blackness "politically exists" in either party. First, what is
Blackness and how is it measured? Originally, before its 1960s incarnation, Black
was derogatory. But during the Civil Rights/Black PowerMovements we embraced Black.
Understanding that White establishmentarian practices were self-serving and
antithetical, Blackness not only signified color, but moreover consciousness. Among
others, a consciousness that our common and collective self-interests should not be
compromised to accommodate White interests . . . A consciousness that we are the
first and last lines of defense against manmade inequalities . . . |
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Capitalism Coming Home to Roost By EZRAH AHARONE 10/2011 |
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Posted by: monkmo on 11/01/2011 12:23 AM
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Capitalism Coming Home to Roost By EZRAH AHARONE 10/2011
http://saharareporters.com/article/capitalism-coming-home-roost
http://blackstarnews.com/news/135/ARTICLE/7733/2011-10-24.html While capitalism is
upheld by Western-European nations as the paradigm for economic fairness and
efficiency, it conversely has a 400-year history of profiteering that traces to
shameless enslavement and colonizing of non-European people by the same nations.
Today, capitalism's tentacles of debauchery reach beyond the so-called "third world"
to now roost among citizens within these very European nations, including America.
Once fiscally robust, America is debt-addicted and job-starved, with near-bankrupt
states and crippled infrastructures of roads, bridges, schools and airports. In
fed-up response, protesters of the Occupy Wall Street Movement (OWSM) are rightly
ranting over capitalism's recent malfeasance. Yet, in broad-spectrum, it must be
reckoned that the descendants of those who were once enslaved or colonized, comprise
a majority of people who now live in poverty. The sum of Westernize capitalism
– from its extirpations of yesterday to free-market enterprise today –
has left trails of billions of impoverished non-European people all around the world
wherever labor is performed, services are provided, and resources are located. With
Africa particularly, it is not coincidental that its currencies and economies are
among the weakest in the world, while the currencies and economies of Western
colonial nations are among the strongest, even though most lack comparable natural
resources of the African states they colonized. Capitalist hegemony over Africa
siphoned unknown trillions in labor and resources, upon which Western economies
unfairly stand. True, the OWSM cannot undo capitalism's ugly past. |
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Geopolitics, Globalization, and Terrorism |
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Posted by: monkmo on 05/29/2011 10:33 AM
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By EZRAH AHARONE 5/2011
There's a political and planetary solar system at work, where the earth revolves around the sun, while it comprises near-200 nations that revolve around various interests and ideologies that cooperate, compete, and clash. In short, regardless of norms or ideals, no government or society has escaped the gravitational pull of geopolitics and globalization, which are bookend forces that configure today’s "balance of power" to the advantage of select nations while -- either artfully or inadvertently -- breeding seeds of terrorism along the way. Globalization in benign terms refers to the world's ever-growing interconnectedness via common markets, technology, and development. Within this necessary interdependency however, colonial-like political and corporate arrangements are maintained whereby power and wealth remain largely concentrated within the orbital grips of Western nations and institutions. This is reflected in the 67-year-old Bretton Woods outcome whereby only Americans would head the World Bank and only Europeans would head the IMF. Hence, the EU's adamancy that former-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn (who resigned amid rape charges) must unquestionably be replaced by a European. |
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Black History and Vindicationalism |
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Posted by: monkmo on 02/20/2011 11:21 PM
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By EZRAH AHARONE 2/2011
As we celebrate another Black History Month during these political times of world turmoil and uprise, it's important for America to project a world image that it has "turned the page" of racism in its own blood-stained history. And while the relevance of this month has even been called into question since the advent of a Black president, I'm reminded of the African proverb that: "Until the lion has his historian, the hunter will always be the hero."
As such, when it comes to slavery and what is popularly categorized as "Black History," America practices the seductive allure of what I call "Historical Vindicationalism," where the harsh realities of events and narratives are masked and sterilized, while the end-product of Americanization gets epitomized as being lofty-enough to excuse and acquit the otherwise flagrant inhumanities of its means. Thus, we as African Americans are psychologically expected to deem the inflicted pains of our history as well worth the ascribed value of the prize of Americanization. |
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Open letter to Congress By Monica Davis |
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Posted by: monkmo on 02/20/2011 11:15 PM
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In response to US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack’s 2009 letter claiming
that it was a “new era at USDA”, and before he shoved his boot in his mouth with
the premature firing of Shirley Sherrord over a highly edited clip showing her
“racist ways,” Lesa Donnelly, a former USDA Forest Service fire fighter who is
now an activist/mediator, wrote:
I am experiencing déjà vu from your 14 action items. While they sound like a
good start, excuse me if I am somewhat skeptical of your plan to bring in a new
era of civil rights at USDA - I’ve heard it before. And while past “new
approaches” took years to implement, employees continued to lose their
financial, emotional and physical well-being from harassment and retaliation.
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Culture, Constitution, and Religious Conformity |
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Posted by: monkmo on 10/28/2010 11:27 PM
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By Ezrah Aharone 10/10
The Juan Williams incident and the rhetoric of Bill O'Reilly that caused Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar to walkoff the set of The View, fan the flames of an unbroken theme in history where no other "belief" has arguably been as unifying yet divisive,peaceful yet violent as religion. Although the proposed Mosque at Ground Zero is widening the gap of intolerance between some Christians and Muslims, the tragedy of 9-11 (which involved extremist Muslims) is no more a window into Islam than the Atlantic Slave Trade (which involved extremist Christians) is a window into Christianity. Extremists have historically slain innumerable others in the name of all 3 major faiths of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. And just as there are doctrinal distinctions among the world's estimated 1.9 billion Christians such as Mormons, Anglicans, Catholics and Coptics of Ethiopia in East Africa, there are likewise distinctions among the world's estimated 1.6 billion Muslims such as Sunnis, Shias, Ahmadiyyas and Murids of Senegal in West Africa. So it's either dimwitted or deliberate agitation for someone like O'Reilly, who is Harvard-educated, to wholesale indict and generalize that "Muslims killed Americans on 9-11."
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How far will the Right go? |
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Posted by: monkmo on 10/15/2010 10:53 PM
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A billboard in western Colorado that uses caricatures to depict President Barack Obama as a terrorist, gangster, Mexican bandit and a gay man has drawn bipartisan scorn from political officials.
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Corporate Hip Hop, Corporate Media & Mainstream Black “Leadership” |
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Posted by: monkmo on 10/04/2010 10:01 PM
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Justified Comparisons
One of my mentors once told me, “When it comes to 21st century black leadership in America, most of the people who are truly of value to our community, the masses may unfortunately never know about”. He then went on to explain that many (not all) who are truly doing progressive and potentially sustainable work on behalf of oppressed people, will never be given an opportunity to freely articulate their ideas and thoughts on the mainstream corporate media’s airwaves. When it comes to African/black “leadership”, the corporate dominated mainstream airwaves are reserved for black/African people who are deemed “safe” enough. In essence, these dis-action figures for hire, and their ideologies, are of no significant threat to an elitist white supremacist power structure that continues to bludgeon poor communities of color with oppressive policies and practices. The corporate media goons know all too well that when they ask many of their black guests to “participate” on various programs (emphasize the word programs) that they will only go so far in their non-critical analysis of America and its continued policy towards people of color, the world over. Having a “safe” person of color on their stations gives their mass programmed audience the illusion that they (the corporate media) accurately report on, and discuss, critical issues affecting so-called minorities. However, in all reality it is almost as staged as a Hollywood flick. |
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Shirley Sherrod and USDA Discrimination |
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Posted by: monkmo on 07/26/2010 08:03 PM
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BLACK FARMERS & AGRICULTURALISTS ASSOCIATION
Contact: Gary R. Grant, President at (252) 826-2800
As the president of the 20,000 plus members of the Black Farmers & Agriculturalists Association (BFAA) and the sixty-six year old son of two lead plaintiffs in the Wise v. Venneman class action, the late Matthew and Florenza Moore Grant whose 30 year old case was supposedly settled but painfully never paid, I would like to weigh in on the racially embedded political/media controversy and the “destroy the black woman syndrome” of the Shirley Sherrod incident. |
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The Rise of the Modern Day Black Public Intellectual |
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Posted by: monkmo on 07/20/2010 10:55 PM
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| The great Pan-African and scholar W.E.B. Dubois spent most of his life actively working to improve the social conditions that plagued African Americans during the 20th century. During his life, America was, as it still is, a cesspool of institutional racism and injustice. Despite his countless accomplishments, Dubois tirelessly worked on behalf of African people worldwide. Beyond authoring masterpieces such as The World and Africa he significantly contributed to organizations like the NAACP, Pan-African Congress, organizing five Pan-African Congresses, the Council of African Affairs, as well as his work on the Stockholm Peace Petition. |
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The New “We the People” |
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Posted by: monkmo on 07/18/2010 07:21 PM
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By Ezrah Aharone 7/10
This July 4th marks 234 years of US independence. And although America’s ongoing “melting pot experiment” is theoretically unbiased to Blacks, Latinos and Muslims, the Southern Poverty Law Center reports that hate groups, like the well-armed Hutaree militia, have increased 200 percent since President Obama’s 2008 election.
Texas, the former rebel republic and current headquarters of the Guardians of the Free Republic is now waging new ethnic and ideological battlefronts, by arming schoolchildren with conservative-bent textbooks that re-sculpt some of America’s most traditional outlooks. In Arizona, new immigration legislation now gives a tacit eyewink for police to roundup and shakedown Latinos. And if you didn’t know, the catchy slogan “If you see something, say something” is a discreet way of saying “keep a close eye on all Muslim people.” |
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Placebos of Black Political Power |
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Posted by: monkmo on 12/09/2009 05:12 AM
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By Ezrah Aharone
The election of President Barack Obama is shifting America’s axis of race in ways that have yet to be politically quantified. But from a standpoint of Black political leadership, it signals a definite “changing of the guards.” The once-popular preacher/protester ilk of leadership from the 1960s finds itself gasping for 21st century oxygen, as young Black leaders are card-carrying democrats who can now “eyeball” whomever they please.
Perception suggests that African Americans are finally becoming politically powerful as a people. But every industrialized nation with an ethnically diverse population has a general “pecking order” of power, starting with the dominant group most able to leverage capital might into political influence that shapes foreign, domestic, and military policies. All other simulations of power (freedoms of speech, press, assembly etc.) are like political window-dressings of democracy that may boost patriotism, but lack utility for minority people to command such influence. |
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Advocacy Groups Decry Profiteering by Vulture Funds in Liberia |
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Posted by: monkmo on 12/09/2009 05:08 AM
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UK Judge Awards Funds $20 million, More Than Liberia’s Total Spending on Education Last Year
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009 (Washington, DC) – Leading global development and Africa advocacy groups reacted with outrage today to news that a London court recently awarded two Vulture Funds a $20 million judgment against Liberia. This amount of money represents the country’s entire education budget and 150% of their spending on health in 2008.
On November 26, the British High Court announced that Vulture Funds Hamsah Investments and Wall Capital were to be awarded $20 million based on a default judgment received in 2002 by previous creditors in New York courts. The Vulture Funds had recently acquired the loan to Liberia on the secondary market. The original credit, dating back to 1978, was estimated to be worth $6 million, but it had been in default since 1984.
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UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND STUDENTS MARCH ON ADMINISTRATION BUILDING |
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Posted by: monkmo on 11/08/2009 04:44 PM
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S.T.A.R.E - STUDENTS TAKING ACTION TO RECLAIM OUR EDUCATION
Watch clip online at this link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWf7rqbL7U4
The student body at the University of Maryland at College Park will be
marching today, Thursday November 5, 2009 From the Nyumburu Cultural
Center down the mall to the front steps of the Administration building
to demand:
1. 1) The reinstatement of Dr. Cordell Black as Associate Provost for Equity and
Diversity. Dr. Black has been essential to the development of diversity on campus
over the last thirty years, from helping to integrate Maryland's faculty to
establishing the Nyumburu Cultural Center and the office of LGBT equity. He has been
an invaluable resource to students and faculty of all cultural backgrounds. His
removal and replacement with a part-time worker indicate a weak commitment to
diversity by the administration and the provost's office. Diversity is not a
part-time job. We demand his full reinstatement effective immediately.
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Uncovering Indoctrinated Racism |
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Posted by: monkmo on 10/05/2009 11:51 PM
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By Ezrah Aharone 10/09
Since he wasn’t the first and won’t be the last president to address the nation’s youth, it’s peculiar that claims and fears circulated that Barack Obama would somehow “indoctrinate” children during his recent back-to-school address. After all, everyone knows that America is a free country, while indoctrination only happens in foreign countries like North Korea . . . Right?
Well, apart from known connotations of brainwashing, “Indoctrination,” means exactly what its 3 words infer: To adhere “In” the “Doctrine” (teachings/beliefs) of a “Nation.” People in all nations are thusly impacted, good and bad, in varying degrees by ideals, ethos, traditions, and politics that are taught and believed. This particularly applies to the US because, more so than citizens in any other country, Americans are “American” by virtue of creed and ideology, as opposed to bloodline or ethnicity. |
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Zimbabwe Global Political Agreement: One-Year Forward |
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Posted by: monkmo on 09/17/2009 10:21 PM
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Wednesday, September 15, 2009 (Washington, DC) – Today is the one-year anniversary of the power-sharing accord that resulted in the creation of the new Zimbabwe unity government in early 2009. One-year forward, Africa Action notes that while serious challenges remain, significant changes have been made to improve the economic and political conditions on the ground.
Gerald LeMelle, Executive Director of Africa Action said today, “The unity government has made some successful steps in providing democratic space in Zimbabwe. Civic leaders have been able to begin discussions on how best to organize and regroup to realize the potential for political and economic reform in the near future.”
Africa Action notes the ban on international media has been lifted and independent organizations and journalists are set to report from Zimbabwe so to allow greater media diversity. |
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Corporate Hip Hop, White Supremacy and Capitalism |
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Posted by: monkmo on 09/17/2009 10:10 PM
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by Solomon Comissiong
Huge media corporations literally bought up Hip Hop in the early to mid-1990s,
imposing “cookie cutter themes of senseless violence, excessive materialism, and
misogyny.” Progressive voices in rap were silenced. The clear message was, “the
minute you dare try to step outside of the 'box' and attack their power structure,
you will be omitted.”
Corporate Hip Hop, White Supremacy and Capitalism
by Solomon Comissiong
“I won't believe the hype I understand the Media dictates The mind and rotates The
way you think And syncopates slow pace… Brains Can't maintain A certain Insipid
inane crass rain. Insane lame Traditions All praise fame Positions Want to be a
star. Drive a big car. Live bourgeois…And won't know who you are. Lost in the source
And praising the dollar” - Kool Moe Dee (1989)
It is undeniable that hip hop culture is one of the most powerful marketing tools
America has seen in quite sometime. Had hip hop been around during the earlier part
of the 20th century the unscrupulous public relations pioneer, Edward Bernays, would
have probably also used it to promote the smoking of Viceroy Cigarettes to women.
Various aspects of hip hop culture, mainly rap music, generate billions of dollars.
However, who is generating this wealth, where is it going and at what cost?
“Their unfettered corporate feeding frenzy was similar to that of the European
conquest of lands inhabited by people of color.”
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Are All Men Really "Created Equal"? |
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Posted by: monkmo on 07/28/2009 11:24 PM
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By Ezrah Aharone
July 2nd, 2009 marked 45 years since President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil
Rights Act to initiate racial equality. This anniversary coincides with the recent
Senate Resolution “Apologizing for the Enslavement and Racial Segregation of
African-Americans,” which expressed America’s “recommitment to the principle that
all people are created equal.” While these gestures appear impressive as political
theory, in actuality, “Created Equal” on paper differs from “Created Equal” in
practice.
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Congress Acts to Tame Prowling Vulture Funds |
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Posted by: monkmo on 07/19/2009 05:06 PM
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* Africa Action * JubileeUSA Network * TransAfrica Forum *
Today advocacy organizations and debt relief campaigners welcome the reintroduction of the Stop Very Unscrupulous Loan Transfers from Underprivileged Countries to Rich, Exploitive Funds or “Stop VULTURE Funds” Act (H.R. 2932) This bill, introduced in the House of Representatives, is designed to protect developing nations from lawsuits by so-called Vulture Funds.
The Stop VULTURE Funds Act introduced by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) would prevent U.S. companies from buying the debt of impoverished countries at cut-rate prices and then suing to collect exponential profits. The bill would limit the excessive profits that companies and hedge funds collect off the backs of the world’s poorest citizens by capping the interest amounts for which the companies could sue at six percent. The legislation also increases transparency of these funds, requiring full disclosure from any fund that pursues Vulture Fund activity through the U.S. courts. |
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Financial Food Poisoning and the War on Farmers: Where’s a good movie director when you need one? |
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Posted by: monkmo on 07/19/2009 05:04 PM
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By Monica Davis
There’s a war going on. It’s happening mostly behind the scenes,
at the desks of a coven of crooked bureaucrats and banksters nationwide. If you
thought the bank bail out ate a hole in your pocket, watch what the banksters,
unindicted bureaucrats and land thieves are doing to the nation’s farmers and to
the security of your food supply.
The ongoing thievery in the banking, insurance and real estate
industry has ripped the heart out of the economy. As the result of organized
financial crime in the financial services and real estate industry, Americans
have lost billions of dollars in real estate equity, retirement accounts and
investment equity. Real estate values have dropped so much, that millions of
homeowners now owe more on their homes than the home is worth.
The drop in real estate value, combined with the catastrophe in
the investment industry has eviscerated the economy, creating a financial
inferno, which continues to consume jobs, home equity and retirement
investments. |
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