Thursday, October 16, 2008

Jared Ball presents - Amiri Baraka, Tom Porter, Rosa Clemente Debate Electoral Politics

 Jared Ball on his program Midday Jazzn'nJustice presents a firey, stimulating discussion which we should all be listening to. The speakers bring a miriad of ideas to the table, they have different approaches, they are discussing issues and strategies which we all can benefit by hearing. The discussion gets hot and heavy now and again  but as "warm-blooded people" we can handle it. :)
 The more we involve ourselves in discussions such as this, the more we will be able to formulate a strategy to empower ourselves. Yes it takes more than talking but we do need to communicate enough to get on the same page. 

 Props to prof Ball.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Who said racism was dead?

 An I saw article on Afro-Netizen serves as a harsh reminder that good ol' American style racism has not in fact breathed it's last breath. I don't know how many Americans this cyclist's t-shirt slogan speaks for but it has to be too many.

 The lines are being drawn and I'm not sure where the whole thing is headed but it feels to me like we're not going in the right direction. All the conditions for facism or even worse, seem to be dropping into place. Civil rights appear to be going into lock-down or lock-out, money is being taken out of circulation or at least being re-distributed among the few, sizable minorities of the population are being vilified or demonized and the populace is almost totally dependent on a limited number of corporations for everything they/we need.  This means that if you don't play ball with those pulling the strings they are in a position to simply cut you out of the supply chain.
 If you're too much of a threat, there are new prisons or containment centers apparently under construction even now. 

 Anyone else worried?

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Manning Marable an Interview

I came across quite a few mp3 files featuring Prof. Maning Marable and found them all very
informative and interesting.  One that I found to be very good listening was -

WBAI senior producer Dred-Scott Keyes, interviews Dr. Manning Marable of Columbia University's Institute of Black Studies. 

In the interview  Dr. Marable discusses his book 
"The Great Wells of Democracy"
In the interview he covers diverse topics ie.
  • The nature of modern racism
  • The affect of Globalization on Black Nationalism
  • The Prison Industrial Complex
  • Disefranchisment as a result of imprisonment
  • The econonic consequences of mass incarceration

Click to listen to Part 1.