Integration revisited

A while back I disagreed with Tim Wise's assessment that blacks do not want to live in so called "segregated" neighborhoods. Unlike most people I know who know Tim Wise' work, I don't give him a free ride just because he happens to get a lot of things right. The Black Commentator published a piece by Mr. Wise Entitled "Ghetto's Are Not a Game" in which he stated:

While only 10 percent of blacks say they prefer to live in all or nearly-all black neighborhoods, roughly three-fourths of African Americans actually live in such places, not because of choice so much as unequal access to housing markets.


According to several studies, blacks generally prefer well-mixed, integrated neighborhoods. It is whites, who by preferring no more than 10-15 percent people of color in their communities, effectively block such an arrangement from coming about. After all, if “too many” blacks or Latinos move in, whites begin to sell en masse, which means a net outflow of capital and thus falling property values, which results in more low-income persons gaining access to the area, and the eventual “tipping” of the neighborhood from mostly white to mostly of color, and poor. It is, in many ways, an ever-expanding, but nonetheless vicious circle of de facto race and class segregation.

I argued that the statistic regearding only 10% of blacks wishing to live in all black neighborhoods was way off mark. The reason I made this claim was because I know that many blacks lie to pollsters in order to not appear "racist" or to uphold "the dream." In a letter to the editor I pointed out that what most blacks would prefer is a majority black neighborhood with clean, well paved streets, more than decent grocery stores and other such quality of life items. Today I ran across an article in the Christian Science Monitor entitled: "After years in the suburbs, many blacks return to city life", that states that many blacks who live in suburbs are considering moving back into inner cities and largely black neighborhoods.

quote:
The trend - confirmed by real-estate agents, architects, community activists, and families clamoring to move in - is also clear in the numbers. Stephen Klineberg, a sociology professor at Rice University who does an annual survey of attitudes in Houston, found that last year 17 percent of African-American suburbanites polled said they were "very interested" in moving back into the city, compared with only 3.7 percent of whites suburbanites...

...But that's where it gets complex, says sociologist Monique Taylor, whose recent book, "Harlem between Heaven and Hell," looks at the trend of middle-class blacks returning to that neighborhood in the 1990s.


She found that longtime residents soon realized yuppies are yuppies, whatever their race. The conflicts grew, she says, as recent arrivals insisted on changes in the way public and communal space was used - angering longtime residents by, among other things, passing laws that prohibit loitering and public urination.


"Those African-Americans, who were coming into Harlem to 'be down' with the community, had to accept the idea that their interests were at odds with how the community worked," she says. "They had to really rethink: 'This is who I am and this is why I'm here.' "

You'll note that this study found 17 percent of suburban "Spot in the Milk" Blacks strongly interested in moving back to black neighborhoods. Almost double the statistic that Tim Wise quoted in his piece. This clearly underscored the correctness of my postion that the statistics concerning the assertion that blacks do not want to be in majority black neighborhoods. Secondly, my position that the issues surrounding black removal from majority black neighborhoods are those of "quality of life" are also addressed by this article.

Again I must say that we must be very carefull about the cart-blanch we give others to make cases for us that we ought to be making for ourselves.

Links:
http://www.blackcommentator.com/61/61_ghettos2.htm
http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0429/p01s02-ussc.html

The Mental Dangers of Racism

By Divine providence I was to see a link on my own very blog to a Healthnet which is so brief I'll just repost the entire thing here:

Racism Really Does Make You Stupid
Prejudice can diminish mental abilities, study finds

by Robert Preidt | May 08 '03

THURSDAY, May 8 (HealthDayNews) -- People who are racist may suffer a temporary lapse in mental capacity after interacting with people who are members of a racial minority.

Researchers from Princeton University and Dartmouth College found that white people with a high degree of racial basis experienced a decrease in "executive function" after spending time talking with black people. Their research appears in the May issue of Psychological Science.


Executive function is a key element of thought that involves the ability to fix attention on certain, high-level mental tasks.


The study included 59 white college students. They were given a test to assess the degree of racial bias in their thinking. The students then spent time talking with either a black or a white person and afterwards were given a test that measured their ability to concentrate on a challenging mental task.


The more racially biased the students were, the worse they did on the mental task after speaking with a black person. But racially biased students who spoke with a white person, even if they discussed racially sensitive issues, had no decline in mental function.


"When you have to control your behavior, it takes a lot of energy. And if you expend energy in a social interaction, then you don't have so much left over to do something else," researcher Nicole Shelton says in a news release

This is why I advise black people, who as a result of knowledge of the massive ugliness that have been visited upon Black people, to move to an emotionally detatched state on the issue ASAP. It took me a while to understand why Professor Fluker, of Tuskegee University was so adamant about people "Checking thier emotions at the door." When one emotively engages in the work of ending WS, one compromises ones ability to think clearly.

Libya

I told people earlier that when the Bush Administration claimed that the invasion or Iraq was what motivated Ghadafi to surrender "Weapons of Mass Destruction" that the claim was completely false.Ghadafi, by my estimates was at a point where the economic sanctions from both Europe and the United States was putting a stranglehold on Libya's economy. furthermore, with an aging military and the death of his daughter. Ghadaffi realized that military confrontation with both Europe and the United States was impossible, especially with the utter lack of support from the oft loud mouthed but rarely active Arab leaders to his east. Thus Libya had moved into modernization and economics big time while pushing for a more unified Africa (past issues with African states aside). Indeed his involvement with the OAU was probably as much of a wake up call. To watch 'leaders" to the south all under the economic stranglehold of the World Bank and the IMF must have been equally alarming. Surely then, given the prospect of being raped by those institutions or giving up some outdated Chemical agents and a couple of Libyan citizens was an easy choice. Such a move would also put Ghadafi on the side of World opinion regearding US global action. Once Libya resolved it's outstanding issues with Europe and the US these nations and organizations would either have to make good on thier promises or risk being seen as hypocrites. USA Today has a nice article that proves my position that Ghadafi was in fact attempting to change its global situation long before the Iraq war.

quote:
But the story of Gadhafi's long road to rehabilitation is more complex. Interviews with a half-dozen current and former U.S. officials, Libya experts and a Libyan-American close to Gadhafi's family show that Libya began discussing giving up weapons of mass destruction in 1992, when its arsenal was rudimentary. And it may have bought nuclear technology just to have something to give up in final negotiations.


"Gadhafi felt that the Americans wanted some more to get them interested, so he put some more on the table," says Mohammed Bukhres, a Libyan-American with close ties to Gadhafi's sons. "We tried for a long time to get relations with the United States. Don't let anyone tell you it's because of the invasion of Iraq."

Another article demostrates how now Europe is trying to not live up to their obligations to libya by introducing new conditions;

quote:
German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer welcomed Libya's rapprochement Monday but noted "obstacles" remained, including his government's demand for compensation from Libya for victims of the 1986 bombing at a West Berlin disco that was a hangout for American troops.


Two U.S. soldiers and a Turkish woman were killed and 229 people injured in the attack allegedly ordered by Gadhafi.


EU officials said they also would raise the case of six Bulgarian medics detained in Tripoli since 1999 on charges that they deliberately infected hundreds of children with the AIDS virus."

EU and Belgian officials said human rights would be raised in the context of Libya's aspiration to join the Euro-Mediterranean partnership. The application will have to be approved by EU governments.

One should note that China has been reported to have numerous Human Rights violations and yet enjoy "normal" relations with both Europe and America. Furthermore; Libya has the right to try anyone of any nationality that is accused of a crime in it's jurisdiction. Let Europe suspend ties to the US over the persons now locked up on Guantanamo with no legal rights whatsoever. Of course such a thing will not happen because, as libya knows and is trying to remedy: Cash and/or Arms rule.

Links:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2004-04-27-libya_x.htm
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2004-04-26-libya_x.htm

Is Kerry as Dumb as Bush?

I've recently surmised that the Democratic Party has been infliltrated by Republicans who are doing all they can to tank the party. Either that or the Democrats are just plain stupid. This morning on Good Morning America, Kerry attempted to answer the charge that he threw away his medals in protest against the Vietnam war. The Bush machine has been trying to paint kerry as an equivocating liberal. Given kerry's show this morning they don't need to do much in this department. Kerry is on a video verifying to an interviewer that he did in fact throw away some medals or ribbons and has gone on record a number of times saying that he threw away some veteran friends medals. This morning he went on to explain the difference between "medals" and 'ribbons" and then proceeded to complain about Bush. All n all he sounded like a teenager that had been busted with his pops stack of Porn. I cannot believe for one minute that his press people allowed Kerry to wing this or worse prepared kerry to answer the question in the way that he did. Here is what Kerry should have said:

"Good morning Charlie. Let me get right to the point of this non-issue. I served my country in Vietnam. I came back and discovered that this war was wrong and I took a stand. I respect every soldier that served his country in an honorable manner in that war and will, as president make sure that America takes care of them. However, I stand by my condemnation of the Vietnam war and make no apology for standing for my principles. You should ask Mr. Bush about his service. Thank you and good day."

With that one statement Kerry would have diffused the situation without giving the republicans a sound bite of " Yes I threw my medals away." He would have retained the support of war veterans. He would have come across as having a backbone and would have turned the tables back on Bush.

Brown V. Board

Brown V. Board When i graduated from Tuskegee I was full of youthful fire and zeal to let everybody know that I knew everything. I soon learned that i did not know everything. During this time I happened to stumble across a "desegregation" issue that had engulfed the Englewood Nj School system. At that time Dwight Morrow High, was ( and is) predominantly black and so called "Latino." It was widely known that white parents, and blacks that could afford it and felt so moved, paid to have their children go to High School in the neighboring town Tenafly. The town of Englewood under a supposed mandate to desegregate Dwight Morrow called a meeting. I attended this meeting intent on letting it be known that the Brown V. Board case contained very offensive suppositions about black people and that what Dwight Morrow ought to be concerned with was the schools access to proper teaching materials, proper salaries for teachers and a demanding curriculum. I was dismayed to find that one had to sign up before hand to speak so I was relegated to my seat for the duration of the meeting. Fortunately, a group of local pastors gave voice to my idea. The specific issue with Brown V. was that the majority decision includes a passage that says that Black students by being in separate facilities than whites would develop feelings of inferiority and thus needed to be in contact with white students in order to be properly socialised and educated. Mind you, no one asked whether or not white students have feelings of inferiority because they did not come into contact with black students. Also if one talks to persons who have gone to segregated schools you will find that a great many of them were quite well adjusted even if they believed that the facilities were sub-optimal. Indeed if one looks at the statistics one would find that a great majority of Black professionals were the product of "segregated" schools such as Tuskegee, Morehouse and Spellman. If this is so, then clearly "segregated" environments are positive for blacks so long as such environments provide educational and cultural support. 

 Today I ran across an article regarding a presentation given by Derrick Bell, where he flatly states that Brown V. damaged the educational prospects of many Black youths. I tend to agree with him. While middle class blacks have been able to take flight from "segregated" and underfunded schools, at least 30% of blacks live at or below poverty levels, these individuals have not benefitted from school desegregation. Quote:

  "From the standpoint of education, we would have been better served had the court in Brown rejected the petitioners' arguments to overrule Plessy v. Ferguson," Bell said, referring to the 1896 Supreme Court ruling that enforced a "separate but equal" standard for blacks and whites. While acknowledging the deep injustices done to black children in segregated schools, Bell argued the court should have determined to enforce the generally ignored "equal" part of the "separate but equal" doctrine. Rather than resolving the nation's racial dilemma, the Brown decision has made it more complex, Bell argued. "Racial disparities, wide and widening in every measure of well-being, overshadow the gains in status achieved by those of us black Americans who, by varying combinations of hard work and good fortune, are viewed as having 'made it,'" he said..... ...Instead, what Brown did for many African Americans was legitimate the status quo. While they remained poor and disempowered, their status was no longer a result of denied equality. Rather, Bell said, it marked a personal failure to take advantage of one's defined equal status.

Links: http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2004/april21/brownbell-421.html

About Those Civilians

Granma International has reported that some of the "contractors" in Iraq, a nice name for mercenary, are former Chilian ex-commandos and members of the South African secret police un der the Aparthied regime:

quote:
The article went on to say that apparently Blackwater was unable to contract a sufficient number of U.S. nationals – the majority of them former soldiers – for all its postings in Iraq and had started to use former Chilean soldiers who were active during Augusto Pinochet’s regime.

The South African press indicated that the dead guard was one Francois Strydom, a former member of the notorious Koevoet counterinsurgency group, implicated in numerous political murders in Namibia during the 1980s.

La Jornada refers to the Tiger Force unit from the 101st Airborne Division that was deployed in Viet Nam to assassinate guerrillas and civilian sympathizers.

More Phoenix operations. Same ole same ole.

Links:

http://www.granma.cu/ingles/2004/abril/juev8/16mercenarios.html

The Power of Propaganda

When I was at Tuskegee, an organization to which I belonged required potential members to go through an "orientation" session. One of the purposes of this session was to make sure that all the members had the same baseline knowledge of the subject matter we dealt with and to wean out those who weren't really in agreement with our principals. One of the things we dealt with was the use of propaganda. One thing we stressed was that regeardless to who in the organization was spoken to, any person inquiring about the organization or it's stand on a particular subject would get the same answer. No permutations were allowed, no "personally.." just the standard line. Some people could not understand why we did this or why we were so peculiar about how we presented ourselves to the public. But we knew that a consistent and persistent image and message was essential to further our agenda.

Today I ran across an article at Alternet entitled: How the Democrats were Betamaxed It is an excellent essay on the power of propaganda. I don't particularly care for Democrats, but I believe that for any reader that is serious about ending Global White Supremacy, this is an important read. This piece also adds evidence to the correctness of Dr. Welsing's definition of "racism" as we covered at the beginning of this blog as well as the issues of apparently unrelated phenomenon actually being related.

quote:

Republicans also understand the value of strategic communications and the importance of "naming and framing" legislation and policies. Naming and framing can turn the "estate tax" ("estate" sounds like it only applies to rich folks) into a "death tax" – we all die and it just doesn't seem right taxing the dead. When the GOP renamed the estate tax the death tax, they were able to frame it as a mainstream concern with 75% of Americans supporting its repeal, even though the estate tax does only apply to the rich, and it's paid by less than 2% of Americans.



They name legislation "No Child Left Behind," "Healthy Forests," "Clear Skies" and "Patriot Act," essentially forcing legislators to support their bills, lest they be accused of leaving children behind, favoring polluted forests and skies, or being branded as unpatriotic. It's sheer genius. It makes Microsoft's tactics for marketplace dominance look like child's play.



Another vital aspect of marketing is placement, or controlling the distribution channels. Republicans took this a step further by largely replicating Ted Turner's strategy of vertical integration of content and distribution. Cable maverick Turner recognized that he could become a formidable media force by owing both the channels of distribution – his TBS cable network – and content. So, he bought sports teams, acquired the MGM classic movie library and invented the 24-hour news network CNN to fill his cable channels.



Using this same vertical integration model, conservative think tanks and foundations, like the Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute, have been laboring intensively on the research and development of conservative policies, as well as their packaging in media-friendly ways. These policies provide the "content" to feed to three primary distribution channels: legislative distribution channels including elected officials, candidates, senior staff, and political appointees; judicial distribution channels; and various mainstream and dedicated media distribution channels, such as Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, the Washington Times, et al.

Links:
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=18395

A Jewish Conspiracy

There's a lot of talk about Black-Jewish relations and the supposed rise in Anti-Semitism in the AA community, specifically in the more "educated" portions of the AA community. Such So called "Anti-semitism," Itself a gross misnomer, is the result of the fact that we, educated blacks, can read and know when Jewish people, or specifically Jewish organizations, step into our business and manipulate our so called leadership. The most recent glaring example of this was the ouster of Cynthia McKinney from her Congressional seat by Denise Majette. Majette won largely due to cross over votes and heavy backing by jewish people. This was discussed in my February 7th, 2004 commentary entitled How Jews Run This where I heavily quoted a SF Bay article that demonstrated, with undeniable facts, how Jewish Organizations have influenced Black political figures.

On April 9th the Atlanta Jewish Times Posted an article on how the Jewish Community "worked tirelessly to elect Democratic US Rep. Denise Majette to office in 2002."

Quote:

It is a sentiment that has echoed widely in the days since March 29, when Majette amazed even her own staff in announcing her intention to run.

Among her many Jewish supporters, some have expressed anger, disappointment and confusion over her decision.

“I’m surprised,” said Larry Cooper, an oncologist who helped raise funds for Majette during her successful 2002 campaign to unseat 10-year Democratic Rep. Cynthia McKinney. “I frequently talk to her. I had no hint that this was coming down the pike.”

“I’m in shock,” added Steven Wertheim, an orthopedist who along with his wife Melinda hosted several fundraisers for Majette at their home in 2002. “I was given no advance notice.”

Wertheim, who calls Majette’s decision an “obvious misstep,” says people who this year have contributed money to what they believed would be her 2004 House re-election bid may now ask Majette for their money back.

“I think there will be a lot of people who do so,” he said.

Knowledgeable sources confirm that some Jewish supporters have already called Majette’s 4th District congressional office in Decatur demanding their money back.

Answering their concern, Majette told The Jewish Times, “It was not my intention to deceive anyone. I have honored my commitments. I have addressed Jewish concerns.

“Those who supported me will continue to have a voice in the Senate,” she continued. “I hope they will give me the opportunity to serve [there].”

Did I read that right? Apparently we have confirmation that Denise Majette was bought by the Jewish Lobby.

Some one needs to make a poster quick. Denise Majettes face with a big Negro for Sale sign on it.

Links:

http://atlanta.jewish.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=603

More Axe

There's a Bob Marley collection where the song 'Small Axe" is accompanied by a track "More Axe." I just read a story that definitely qualifies as "more axe." The Indepepended UK quotes one Sibel Edmonds who worked as a translator for the FBI:

quote:
A former translator for the FBI with top-secret security clearance says she has provided information to the panel investigating the 11 September attacks which proves senior officials knew of al-Qa'ida's plans to attack the US with aircraft months before the strikes happened.


She said the claim by the National Security Adviser, Condoleezza Rice, that there was no such information was "an outrageous lie".


Sibel Edmonds said she spent more than three hours in a closed session with the commission's investigators providing information that was circulating within the FBI in the spring and summer of 2001 suggesting that an attack using aircraft was just months away and the terrorists were in place. The Bush administration, meanwhile, has sought to silence her and has obtained a gagging order from a court by citing the rarely used "state secrets privilege".

Heads must roll.

Links:

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=507514

The Truth Comes in Dribbles

I usually never have to wait for "official" sources to know when the US has it's foot in something. In regards to Haiti the white faces, the perfect American English and the well armed rebels had "outside influence' written all over it. Today I stumbled across this piece at Granma International which reports that the "rebels' were funded by the US and trained in the Dominican Republic.

Quote:
SANTO DOMINGO.— The Xinhua news agency has reported that the groups which rose up against Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide were armed and trained by the United States in the Dominican Republic, according to a preliminary report presented today.


That statement is the provisional conclusion by the Haiti Investigation Committee made up of religious and legal representatives from several different countries and created in 1991 by former U.S. Justice Secretary Ramsey Clark.


"Two hundred soldiers from the U.S. Special Forces arrived in the Dominican Republic with the authorization of President Hipólito Mejía as part of a military operation to train Haitian rebels," revealed the report that was circulated in the Dominican capital, Santo Domingo.

This Bush Klan is really up on some illegal ish. I do hope that whenever he is put out of office that the someone manages to convict these people for thier crimes.

links:
http://www.granma.cu/ingles/2004/marzo/mier31/14haiti.html