I don't know the person who doesn't like to see the new year as an opportunity to move their life in a much more abundant direction.  People use many different tactics to symbolize a new direction, new energy, and a positive course of action.  For me, I always start out each new year by thinking of three critical historical events that took place in January that have had a profound impact on my life, and the lives of millions of people.  The first of those events is the Cuban Revolution which celebrated it's 52 anniversary on January 1st.  Regardless of what you know or don't know about Cuba, the undeniable facts are if you compare the lives of the people there to the lives of the people in neighboring Haiti, Jamaica, or Puerto Rico, there is no comparison that the people in Cuba enjoy a much higher quality of life under their socialist system.  People often use issues such as racism, homophobia, and sexism to discredit the Cuban Revolution, forgetting that those were problems there long before the revolution and that there is an overwhelming strong argument that the revolution has improved the attitude and practics around those issues in an accelerated fashion.  Cuba serves as an example of moving humanity forward to me, in spite of their shortcomings and they give me inspiration to continue to fighting for a better world...A socialist world.  The second and third events occurred on the same day.  January 17th is the infamous day in which both Patrice Lumumba of the Congo, Central Africa, and Alprentice "Bunchy" Carter and John Huggins of the L.A. Black Panther Party chapter, were murdered at Campbell hall in UCLA.  Lumumba represented the excitement and potential of the Congo and all of Africa when he was elected as the Congo's new Prime Minister in 1960.  The desire of his Congolese National Movement was to take the massive mineral wealth of the Congo, the diamonds, uranium, gold, etc., and use that to empower the Congolese people in particular and Africa in general.  The Central Intelligence Agency, in conjunction with Union Mineral in Belgium, and other European companies, assassinated Lumumba on January 17, 1961 and this event tossed the Congo into a tailspin of chaos and instability that continues today.  In fact, after the 1960 election, the Congo didn't have their next election until 2007.  The situation in the Congo is an example as to why all of Africa is in the situation it's in today.  Regarding Bunchy and John in L.A., that tragic incident speaks to the efforts of the federal government, the FBI, to sabotage the Panthers by turning the U.S. Organization against them.  The shootout on January 17, 1969, was the end result of the FBI'S illegal efforts and it caused the Panthers to lose two of their most dynamic leaders.  Bunchy Carter was a local gang leader turned political revolutionary.  Something that is the worst fear of this power structure.  So, I use the Cuban people, Lumumba, Bunchy, and John to start off each year.  If I can just work to approach the principled struggle of those people, I can make quite the contribution to moving society forward.  It's my intention to live up their shining examples!

I don't have any strong political messages to spread today.  Only a simple message.  Many people will tell you to follow your dreams, but you'll find most people don't really believe in you while they are telling you this.  Understand that you have to believe in yourself and that your belief will be tested to the core, especially by those you may consider to be close to you.  It's funny how that works.  Still, that's what happens more often than not.  So, you have to decide what you want to do, develop a plan on how you will do it, and forge ahead.  Understand up front that any support you get, even from your loved ones, is a bonus and isn't anything you can count on.  Even if you don't get support, as long as you know your plan is stable, stick with it and carve out time each day to dedicate to it, no matter what.  Make it a priority.  Understand that the reward won't be instant.  It will take tons and tons of hard work.  I speak from experience.  I wrote my book.  Now I am finishing up the sequel.  The sequel if almost 500 pages.  Presently, I'm reading each page out loud to try and catch as many errors as I can before I have this sequel professionally edited.  It's painstaking, tedious, and soooo long, but it is my plan.  My dream, and I'm going to make it happen.  I plan to transform this sequel, entitled "Beautiful Flower, Deadly Thorns" into a screen play.  I'm already inquiring with film companies about it.  Its going down.  And, when it does, all the people who have kicked my dream, I will smile at them and wish them well.

As the debate rages around the so-called Military Detention Act where the U.S. legislature is attempting to make it policy to lock up citizens simply for their political beliefs, its appropriate that we remember Fred Hampton.  The 21 year old Chicago man was the Chairperson for the Ill Black Panther Party.  He was a fearless and tireless leader who worked successfully to broker peace agreements with the the then named Blackstone Rangers and Vice Lords.  Chairmen Fred's attempt was to politicize those street organizations and get them to understand their enemy wasn't eachother, but the oppressive capitalist system.  The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), under its infamous counterintelligence program, or COINTELPRO, targeted the Black Panther Party for destruction.  Freedom of Information Act documents confirm that between 1967 and 1971, the Panther Party accounted for 233 of the 278 COINTELPRO activities.  The government targeted specific individuals like Chairman Fred to disrupt his very successful political activities.  Their initial attempt was to frame Fred on a trumped up charge of stealing $71 from an ice cream truck.  When that ridiculous trick didn't work, they tried, through provocatuers, to set Fred up for murder.  When that wasn't successful, they turned to William O'Neal, an FBI informant who was offered the choice of working for the FBI against the Panthers, or going to jail on criminal charges.  O'Neal infiltrated the Panther chapter and tried a number of techniques to implicate Fred in violent and illegal activities.  Being unable to lure the dedicated Hampton into any wrong doing, O'Neal followed the direction of Roy Mitchell, the Chicago FBI field office director, under the direction of Richard Held and Cartha DeLoach in the FBI national office, to provide the FBI with a diagram of Fred Hampton's bedroom.  The details of what happened are widely available today, but the quick version is on December 4, 1969, at 4am, nine Chicago police raided Fred's Chicago apartment and fired 99 shots into the small apartment, woundiing several unarmed occupants and killing Mark Clark, and Fred Hampton.  The Cook County Coroner's office confirmed that Hampton was actually killed by two close range execution shots which confirms the account given by the other occupants of the apartment who heard gunshots in Hampton's bedroom and officer's saying "he's good and dead now."  In spite of the FBI's criminal and gangster activity to silence the voices for justice and their continued attempt to intimidate and harass those who dare speak out, we honor Chairman Fred in December by recalling the words of Black Panther Party Co-Founder Huey P. Newton at the moment of

The above was a popular saying by the late Kwame Ture, formally Stokely Carmichael to us party organizers when discussing the disgusting behavior some human beings demonstrate when dealing with the rest of humanity.  Just a few short weeks ago, this blog was besieged by rightwing pen hoes who are paid to write empty headed comments attacking truth seeking commentary such as that displayed here.  These sorry excuses for human beings expressed support for sorry individuals like Herman Cain and called me names for daring to call Cain the sellout uncle tom that he is.  Now, the entire world knows what I said already.  Cain's nothing, but a sexual predating, selfish, self indulging, bottom of the shoe piece of crap.  The latest accuser says she has phone records.  Pretty hard to talk your way out of that one.  I guess that's why I haven't heard from the pen hoes lately.  Or, maybe it's that the pimps that pay them to write have stopped the checks?  Who knows what the deal is with those idiots.  The point is that truth crushed to Earth will always rise again.  That's what we do do here.  Tell the truth.  Not based on personal interest or emotion, but based on historical analysis and data.  We encourage everyone to get involved and take responsibility to make this world the place we want and need it to be. 

We have to give them credit.  They have mastered the art of illusion.  They have convinced literary billions of people worldwide to accept their sick, twisted, and untrue version of history.  They do this so that they can justify and generate support for their murderous assault on humanity.  When I say they I'm talking about the multi-national capitalist corporations whose interests are represented through their organizations of influence:  The Council of Foreign Relations, Tri-lateral Commission, Democratic Party, Republican Party, Ford, Chevron Foundations, Ad Council, and the many university administrations, library committees, media companies, and the many other organizations they use to advance their agenda.  They use holidays like "Thanksgiving" or what we call Thankstaking, to annually confuse everyone into subtely accepting their murderous assault against the Native peoples under the guise that all you are doing is getting together with family and friends.  While you are eating and watching football, they don't want you to even consider the truth that the "Thanksgiving" holiday grows specifically out of the 1637 violent assault against the Pequot Tribe in the area known today as Virginia by English and Dutch terrorists.  There was no feast of Indians and White people.  This was a myth created by the framers of history mentioned above to take a murderous home invasion robbery and turn it into a holiday that has been celebrated annually for hundreds of years.  It would be no different than having a national holiday to celebrate people who stormtrooper busted into your house, raped your family, stole your house and everything you own, and then celebrated their barbarism by having a feast in your house.  But, don't worry, it's just a dinner with family and friends right?  It's just college and NFL football right?  You aren't doing anything to contribute to that horrific story from 400 years ago.  You're just enjoying a much deserved day off right?  All of that is more than likely true, but pay attention to your youth on Thursday.  When they are playing while the adults socialize, watch when one of them finds a quarter or dime on your floor.  What will that child's reaction be?  Will it be "here's a quarter of yours I found!" or will it be "I just found a quarter!"  More than likely it will be the latter and although you may grin at this scene, don't miss the fact that you are observing the results of 400 years conditioning that has trained us that whatever you can take, whatever you can get, you can make it yours.  Its the American way and these holidays serve one purpose and one purpose only....To make you believe it.

This is a weak kneed advisory......The following message is unhealthy for all those apologists for the gestapo police state agents and their supporters!!    Are police a part of the 99%?  This has become an almost common theme coming from the primarily White middle class oriented participants in the Occupy movement.  I certainly don't criticize them for being White or middle class, but it is what it is.  As an African man who emerged from the terrors of the innercity that all you fake macho pro-police/military cowards would quake in your boots if you had to venture in there without all your hardware (and I'm sure even with your hardware).....I can tell you honestly that from the perspective of the African working class (and I'm sure every other working class community as well), calling police our allies is like telling a family whose relatives were killed by Mafioso hitmen that the hitmen are their allies.....It's only the Dons and godftathers who gave the order that are the enemy.  As long as they protect the interests of the ruling class before they decide to defy that stupidity and act like working class people......Police are unfortunately not allies to working class people.  And believe me, as a person working to help secure participants in the Occupy movement, I can tell you there are many people who share our point of view.  And everyday, with each peaceful demonstrator police viciously beat, they are doing more than we could ever do to bring more and more people over to our way of thinking.

I completely realize that you rightwing pen hoes get money to post your stupid comments.  You don't even have enough respect for your views to post them unless you're getting paid so that says all that has to be said about the level of integrity you have for your idiotic points of view.  Plus, you are so stupid that you don't even understand that your close attention to this site, inspite of your false efforts to post comments that attempt to display your mental superiority to the movements for social justice, provides clear proof that you are all very worried in deed about this movement and the momentum it is creating among millions of people across this world.  I know you scum are concerned because you don't even have the intellectual capacity or the moral integrity to develop and supply a plausible response to the issues.  Instead, all you do is issue personal threats against me while leveling absolutely ridiculous accusations.  It's ok though because I get a big kick out of causing you  rats so much irritation just by telling the truth.  This occupy movement is catching on worldwide fools and the truth is you are here because there is absolutely nothing you can do to stop it.  So you continue to post stupid comments here attacking Obama when I've made it clear I'm neither a democrat or republican.  I don't support Bush or Obama.  I support the people and socialist revolution.  So for all you sick rightwing gun nuts who think you are doing something by threatening me please don't be confused.  I am providing 100% respect for this non-violent movement for civil disobediance, but that's not my philosophy.  Make your threats, but if any of you attempt to carry them out, understand you get one shot.  Then its my turn fools and unlike you all, I'm no coward.

The occupy movement throughout the U.S. isn't just young hippies, although they are involved.  It isn't just homeless people, although they are involved.  It isn't just political radicals, although they are involved.  It isn't just anarchists, although they are involved.  It isn't just White people either and the people are definitely being non-violent and peaceful.  This movement is all of the above, plus women, students, working people, elderly people, people of color, people born outside the U.S.  How do I know?  Because I am participating here in Portland, Oregon, where I live.  I was there Saturday night and Sunday morning.  I saw the police attack people who were behaving in a peaceful, non-aggressive, and  passive fashion.  I wasn't on the protestors line because I'm not willing to subscribe to the honored tactic of non-violence.  If one of those gestapos were to touch me it's on and crackin!  So, I served as an observer and I observed their barbaric behavior.  Now, I'm really not interested in the stupid comments that you rightwing writing hoes will post, but for those of you who are reasonably minded individuals, I just have questions for you?  Why is it even necessary for police to use force against a peaceful demonstration?  Why is it necessary for hundreds of police to even be present at a peaceful demonstration?  There were so many cops present, if I was a criminal here I would have looked at Saturday night and Sunday as a free pass to commit crime against people because the police had attacking peaceful demonstrators who were protesting the evils of capitalism as their priority.  Then, I watched the media and the police, working hand in hand to protect the interests of their capitalist bosses, conspiring to portray the occupy movement here as being a bastion of homelesses and crime.  This was the reason they used to evict the protestors from the parks in the first place.  I'm sure all of you understand pretty well that homelessness, drug abuse, and all the related petty crimes were here in plentiful supply long before the Occupy movement.  It doesn't take a genius to figure out that since the occupy movement feeds people and provides medical services for free, it's going to attract those folks who can't get those basic services anywhere else.  So it's intellectually and morally bankrupt to blame those problems on the occupy movement.  All the movement did was expose those problems that were already well in existence.  For that the movement should  be praised since that's a major part of why this movement came about in the first place.  And, to those who complained about your park being unavailable, no progress ever occurs without a sacrifice.  I'm sorry you had to sacrifice your lunchtime meditation session in the parks for five weeks, but there are much more important issues than your personal comfort.  In fact, maybe it's a good idea that you were uncomfortable.  Whatever it takes to wake you up that there's a problem.  Finally, don't be a hypocrite.  Whatever gains come from the occupy movement or any movement that struggles against oppression, at least be honest and acknowledge the gains you benefit from as a result of other people's sacrifices.  It was the Communist Party USA that initially raised the idea of the eight hour work day in America. They were the ones who called for worker's compensation, sick leave, paid vacation, and social security and aide to families with dependent children.  The FDR regime highjacked their ideas and created the New Deal shich was passed in 1945.  So all you anti-communists out there......Since you deplore anything to do with social advancement, I fully expect you to work 20 hour days and give back all those benefits you didn't struggle for since you have such hatred towards the people who did.  But, I guess that's the problem with a society that calls crooks who stole land and people heroes.  It sets a precedent.  It creates an environment where anything you can convince people of becomes truth regardless of how reprehensible and criminal it is.  Big respect to those who are participating in the occupy movement.  Continue to participate and take the next step and either join or create permanant organizations struggling for justice!  For those not interested and willing to do that.......At least help the pollution problem by keeping your ignorant mouths shut.

Unlike the rightwing pen hoes who regularly write the stupid comments they are paid to write, I don't get paid to express my political point of view.  I would never want to get paid because I don't do this for money.  I do it because of my passion for justice.  It's that passion that has taught me to look at things analytically.  For the last ten years we have been unindated with cries to support the troops who are serving in the U.S. military.  I think it's time we broke down exactly what that means and what it doesn't mean.  First, let's retrace the history.  As a result of the rude treatment U.S. military personnel received from anti-Vietnam war protestors, the minds that craft propaganda learned a couple of things from the Vietnam war that unofficially ended in 1975.  They learned not to show the U.S. people many visuals of the war ala dead U.S. troops.  Thus, you have seen virtually no images of dead U.S. service people in the media.  Then, they learned to pump this campaign to portray U.S. troops as heroes and people who should be venerated for their service.  Now it's not my intention or desire to use this forum to attack those in the military because I understand that U.S. capitalism provides very little options for working class people and therefore uses military service as motivation, using benefits, to recruit people who often see themselves as having no other options to create a job and career for themselves.  That process comes with intense propaganda about how wonderful it is to be in the military.  You can see this from the constant stream of commercials in magazines, on television, etc. promoting a career in the U.S. military.  So although I believe them to be misguided, I understand why people join the military.  The purpose of this post is to expose the false declaration of support for these working class people by the capitalist supporting right (and left) wing elements in this country that truly support imperialism.  Besides the point that no U.S. military action is engaged in for any reason beyond corporate profits (not freedom or any of the other lies they always tell), it's important that I note that it has always been the African (Black) service vets who have encouraged....No......Demanded that I not ever consider joining the military.  The first one was my own father who was drafted during the Vietnam war in the 60s.  From day one he strongly condemned the racism in the military and he told me that if I ever considered joining he would disown me.  He wasn't serious about the disowning part, but even if he was, the concept of joining never once occurred to me because I was blessed to be in an environment with lots of people like him.  These brave and courageous souls articulated to me and thousands of other disenfranchised African youth in ghettos like the one I was in that racism was the byproduct of U.S. capitalism.  They explained to me that up until the Vietnam war U.S. military practices were segregated.  What that meant was during WWII, when African troops fought courageously and died, they could not enjoy the quality of treatment that even captured German troops enjoyed.  This was along with the fact that in the country they lived in, they were not permitted to enjoy the right to vote, live where they wanted, work where they were qualified, or have any of the freedoms they were supposedly fighting for Europeans to have in Europe.  This contradiction crystalized during the Vietnam war and the contradiction was picked up by Nguyen Al Thoc, better known as Ho Chi Minh, the leader of the Vietnamese resistance, who actually went to shcool at Columbia University and lived in Harlem, New York.  As a result, Nguyen knew and experienced first hand the racism in U.S. society and he used that knowledge to regularly send that message to Black U.S. trooops in Vietnam.  The Vietcong would release Black troops with this message often, similar to how the Allatolah Khomeini released Black hostages in 1980 at the U.S. Embassy in Iran.  What's my point?  It's that these Black troops figued out that it didn't make any sense for them to put their lives on the line fighting for freedom for other people when they didn't have it here in their own country of birth.  So, those troops came back and joined the Black Panther Party and other organizations fighting for justice.  Geromino Ji Jaga (RIP), was a purple heart receipient who served in Vietnam in 1967, 68.  He came back and organized in L.A.  He was illegally convicted of an FBI trumped up charge in 1972 and spent time in prison until 1997 when he was released.  The FBI had to subsequently admit its illegal activity to frame brother Geronimo in an attempt to curtail his political work and they paid out a $4.5 million settlement in 2000.  His story is just one of many.  The point being if there was any real legitimacy to these wars than people like him could not exist.  Also, if people truly supported these troops they would start first with those thousands who are homeless, unemployed, and desolate on the streets.  Then they would fight to block the criminal attempts to take away these people's benefits once they return from these wars broken down physically and mentally.  They don't do that.  Instead they criticize people like me who point out the contradictions.  The reason for this is they really don't care a rat's behind about the troops.  In fact, when most of them wear those "support the troops" shirts and have those bumper stickers, what they are really saying is "go over there...fight....and die if you have too.....just keep me from having to sacrifice any of the comforts I enjoy from the suffering of the masses of people on the planet..Stop those people from fighting to control their resources because if we can't steal them....Then I have to live like they do....You."   It's a sad, sad reality, but one that's so true.  So for you two bit writing hoes who are only willing to express opinions that you are paid to express, if you want to spout your simple minded pro-industrial military complex rhetoric I have plenty of Black veterans who I can introduce you too.......Of course on this, like any intelligent challenge, you sorry people will respond with the same empty analysis that your pathetic political positions contain.

In spite of having a masters degree in economics, the information obtained in this post didn't come to me through any of those studies.  Instead, this is the result of the extensive political education program of the All African People's Revolutionary Party.  The International Monetary Fund (IMF) was founded in 1944 in Bretten Woods, New Hampshire.  The IMF was founded as a so-called independent banking source to provide the infusion of capital into developing economies around the world.  That's their official mission, but if you study their body of work, it becomes obvious to the informed observer that the primary objective of the IMF is to finance the interests of international capitalism.  Approximately 50% of the IMF's budget is financed by the U.S.  So, like the United Nations, which is also financed by capitalist countries, it's naive to think those insititutions are there to serve the interests of underdevloped countries.  Take the case of Zambia, Southern Africa for example.  Zambia is a country of a few million people.  Approximately four out of ten people in Zambia are HIV positive or have full blown AIDS.  The country's national budget is overwhelmed with an IMF loan to finance a hydro-electric plant that is actually owned by European firms.  So consequently, the Zambian government pays the equivalent of $30.00 per person to service this IMF debt that does nothing, and will do nothing, to benefit the Zambian people.  At the same time, the Zambian government pays only $15.00 per person for HIV medications, something that would directly benefit the people of that country.  I can give you examples like this in Africa and South America all day long, but the point is the IMF is nothing, but another pimp run entity of imperialism to pimp the people of the planet.  These are the things that people in other countries are upset about.  They don't have a problem with you because they know you don't make policy decisions, but they are getting increasingly upset at your unwillingness to even understand what's happening not to mention doing anything about it.  There is so much information available about these types of injustices.  I only encourage you to investigate it for yourself.  Don't be closed and narrow minded like the write for money hoes who comment on this blog.  It's your responsibility to see right through stupid comments like I can only write because of military actions overseas.  Anyone who says something that stupid I would invite to walk down Third Street in San Francisco where I grew up and see how safe you are and how safe U.S. military action in Iraq is making you when one of the many victims of capitalism finds you and ganks you....What a joke.  If people had any real concern for U.S. military personnel they would be trying to get them away from these wars where they are only fighting and dying for the interests of criminal entities like the IMF.