The Liberator: Blog Comments

Re: Maafa 21: Black genocide in 21st century America

Rapnsum — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 11:17:09 -0000

I watched the entire film and I found it very well documented. The film has several African American experts who , it would appear to me , would be very concerned about racism. If you want to proceed with caution understandable- but investigate the documents and the information. They have books and writings from these eugenic founders of Planned Parenthood and they include audio quotes of Nixon and even one Planned Parenthood President. Whatever the motives, the documentation is stunning and I found the information interesting and scary. If this type of "under the radar" racism is happening today and I think Maafa21 proves undeniably that it is, then we had better wake up and look at it seriously. Given the message and the fact that the elitists rule the media, what are the chances this will air on prime time? That answer alone gives me cause to proceed with full force ahead in promoting this film !

Re: Ecuadorian Pres. Correa on capitalism, war, etc.

knpressley — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 01:47:21 -0000

//yes, our strongest relationships WILL remain with those who share more of our localized "direction", but we also can have a clear commitment to those that don't share it as well//

good point. i thnk that's a part that gets forgotten sometimes...the commitment to those who dont necessarily share your particular direction...b/c not everyone's gonna see this thing the same way & that's cool and necessary...it's easy to brush it off and could possibly become exclusive and that's where we all begin to fall apart cuz that's one more connection not nurtured in a sea of connections constantly under attack by the powers at large...

and even getting more personal...learning to approach relationships and associations with this type of viewpoint is key in my mind...conditioning yourself to a thinking that is balanced for your particular situation...you mentioned 'spontaneous rebellion' initially...and after thinking about, i feel like there has to be a habitual element of practicing an intentionality to point where it does just happen and can almost replace an old instinct...strategy and repetition but in a progressing way..

//at least promote the idea that we all have a responsibility to "to the best we can with what we have" and have the responsibility to think seriously about what our ratio can be... and then to be transparent about that with eachother to help manage expectations and better serve diplomatic ties between communities...//

manage expectations...good point...

after seeing the tavis/cornell post, again i wonder, in the '20%' realm, how do we engage these 'leaders' and the those that wholeheartedly listen to them in way that retains harmony? ...

and then what does all this mean for the way we use language(content) and form to transform ourselves and our 'locals'? i say this b/c so much of 'instinct' and 'environment' is continually created through these means and i wonder if there are strategies to maybe not reclaim them, but at least engage them on a different plane that has previously been either ignored or repudiated...

Re: From a Project point of view.

drez — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 20:29:50 -0000

hi i´d love to read your thesis dreachicas@gmail.com

Re: Moment, Momemtum, Movement = Change.

achali — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:26:11 -0000

heard. and no doubt. i look to them more for words than for actions. (some folks in our lives just don't always act out their words, but u can still learn from their words if u keep them in context)... cornel is good with em (words), despite my disagreeing with his market methods, and ivy league methods for that matter.

there are readers tho who get get value from their words tho... and i think from these words too. but im glad u said what u said cause if we're sharing the words without that context u pointed out (that makes them human (and flawed) themselves) then we missin the point.

Re: Maafa 21: Black genocide in 21st century America

dantresomi — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:18:45 -0000

interesting convo... one that me and several of my peers debate about.
when one looks at the abortion statistics it is staggering.

yet there are many sinister implications in all of this...

Re: Moment, Momemtum, Movement = Change.

dantresomi — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:15:48 -0000

zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

here has been my problem with both West and Smiley: they don't spotlight or support LOCAL grassroots activists UNLESS they see $$$.

Just try to book them for a gig. You'll see.

Both West and Smiley (west who is a market intellectual and Smiley who really is just a very mediocre "journalist) are really about the bottom line.

There are several grassroots organizations doing their thing. I look to places like Liberator magazine to learn about them and support them.

Re: Ecuadorian Pres. Correa on capitalism, war, etc.

achali — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:29:45 -0000

maybe we could also move towards looking closely at "groups" of circumstance... profiles almost and having recommendations for ratios...

like a single mother raising 2 kids might have a certain realistic ratio and it might even be something like 95/5... u know?

i know my moms ratio, because she supports family back in africa, has 3 children to worry about, a house and long term relationship to maintain, etc... has a different ratio than me. and because i understand it (key) im able to accept it and we're able to form a strategic unity despite us having different priorities...

a ph.d candidate's ratio might be 50/50 or something like that...

a freelance workers ratio might be 80/20, etc...

a high school students ratio might be 60/40... or whatever...

but if we can start to establish some recommendations maybe they can start to at least promote the idea that we all have a responsibility to "to the best we can with what we have" and have the responsibility to think seriously about what our ratio can be... and then to be transparent about that with eachother to help manage expectations and better serve diplomatic ties between communities...

Re: A whole lotta white foks at The Roots Family Picnic

achali — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 09:48:51 -0000

thanks for sticking with it. i think over time we can achieve a great balance between fighting local and broad battles... in fact we've been discussing it in detail over here:

http://weblog.liberatormagazine.com/2009/06/ecu...

Re: Maafa 21: Black genocide in 21st century America

achali — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 09:35:53 -0000

definitely. and always.

i contacted the filmmakers before posting but have yet to receive a response. i definitely think the trailer's interest is still valid, but i included ur comment in the post because i think its helpful in its caution. thanks

Re: Ecuadorian Pres. Correa on capitalism, war, etc.

achali — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 09:15:03 -0000

word. yeah i agree, the ratio can be adjusted -- even if u choose one initially. i just hope we as a larger community could move towards being more transparent about our ratios as individuals and, perhaps more importantly, organizations. i definitely think the more detailed and varied "hows" are something that will become clearer the more folks talk out and push through all their local logistics. and i def think its vital.

man... many organizations are coasting on their ambiguity, intentionally refusing to define their end goals in realistic terms (in addition to their ideal ones that are often quite easy to define) because they know they're not serious about having realistic long term vision, and in fact can milk more support if they remain ambiguous and settle into institutionalization. those ones, in my personal opinion, deserve to die. i def hope we can keep the liberator from being like that, at least.

and how's kansas in case of emergency? right in the middle. or maybe we want somewhere with boats and ships, etc... or a border place like minnesota or texas. lol

Re: Maafa 21: Black genocide in 21st century America

FelixFelix — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 08:23:31 -0000

I haven't checked this out and can't comment on the content, BUT... I noticed that the DVD was produced by a company called Life Dynamics, Inc. On their web page, LifeDynamics.com, they say their motto is: "Pro-Life: without compromise, without exception, without apology." And they boast that "Many pregnancy centers use our Tombstone poster to make abortion minded women aware of the women killed by abortion, which is an abortion risk that most women aren't told about."

Now, why would a film about racism be produced and sold by a hard-core pro-life organization (an incorporated one at that). There is a brand of conspiracy theory that claims that the US (and perhaps other Western powers) is deliberately conducting a campaign of depopulation/genocide in Africa through family planning programs and AIDS (understood to have been engineered for this particular purpose).

Much attention has focused on the National Security Study Memorandum 200, ordered by Nixon in 1974 and written under Kissinger's direction. It's subtitle is "Implications of Worldwide Population Growth for U.S. Security and Overseas Interests". It was followed by NSSM 201, with the title "Military Assistance and Arms Policy in Black Africa". Both documents were originally classified.

Last year a film called "Apocalypse Africa: Made in America", produced and directed by Del Walters, was released. It contains some interesting material, but I found out that one of the principal interviewees, one Brian Clowes, is, among many other things, the author of "The Facts of Life: An Authoritative Guide to Life and Family Issues" at the web site catholicsagainstcontraception.com.

I actually agree with these people about some things, like over-population being painted as a much bigger issue than it actually is. (After all there is enough arable land on Earth to sustain a much larger population than today's, and tons and tons of food is waisted every year for political and economic reasons.) But they are clearly engaging in some very sloppy thinking, and trying to disguise one message under the banner of another. Proceed with caution.

Re: Ecuadorian Pres. Correa on capitalism, war, etc.

knpressley — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:51:26 -0000

//we got a meeting point in case the world goes nuts tomorrow? LOL//

haha. i'm down to figure that out, for real, lol...this totally goes back to the maroon discussion for me...i was thnking the other day of where would i go even b/f stuff hit the fan. but, it's funny how technology has afforded these 'local' connections across geographic miles...

im about to hit the sheets and want to simmer on this more, but wanted to say that i agree with your 80/20 assessment...i was tryna find a way earlier to word this concern with the personal/individual direction vs. 'collective' direction...my question was, how do we do this... how do we continue to navigate & 'rebel' individually on our own internally determined terms and then at the same time still be moving in harmony with those around us, local and otherwise...i think you answered it well...

//rather than spending time arguing which is best we can just agree to not have to agree on everything... invest our 80% towards our "localized" preference of "direction" and agree to have a social contract binding us in 20% of our efforts and energies...//

agreed...whatever the numbers may be, what i'm seeing here is a clear strategy, which is something that i have lacked and am trying to locate at this moment...

Re: A whole lotta white foks at The Roots Family Picnic

ratsack — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:39:12 -0000

yeah I agree we must be concerned about both local and larger trends to be prepared for whatever suprises the global corporate machines send our way. They are paying billions of dollars to armies of people to find ways to infiltrate our minds in order to take what they believe is theirs - which is everything they can get. And they have no concern whether reaching their goals causes more division amongst us. I've been a student of community and freedom a long time and realize there is lots to learn and the learning can never stop. Thanks to forums like this we can share ideas and grow and keep the learning process alive and well.

Re: The Great American Bubble Machine

achali — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:07:53 -0000

i choose laughter, and quiet preparation. lol

but aint it a trip that good ol HU be pumpin yung sperms into Goldman? talk about post-black! where Danielle at? we need a quality rant :)

////Fast-forward to today. It's early June in Washington, D.C. Barack Obama, a popular young politician whose leading private campaign donor was an investment bank called Goldman Sachs — its employees paid some $981,000 to his campaign — sits in the White House. Having seamlessly navigated the political minefield of the bailout era, Goldman is once again back to its old business, scouting out loopholes in a new government-created market with the aid of a new set of alumni occupying key government jobs. Gone are Hank Paulson and Neel Kashkari; in their place are Treasury chief of staff Mark Patterson and CFTC chief Gary Gensler, both former Goldmanites. (Gensler was the firm's co-head of finance.) And instead of credit derivatives or oil futures or mortgage-backed CDOs, the new game in town, the next bubble, is in carbon credits — a booming trillion- dollar market that barely even exists yet, but will if the Democratic Party that it gave $4,452,585 to in the last election manages to push into existence a groundbreaking new commodities bubble, disguised as an "environmental plan," called cap-and-trade. The new carbon-credit market is a virtual repeat of the commodities-market casino that's been kind to Goldman, except it has one delicious new wrinkle: If the plan goes forward as expected, the rise in prices will be government-mandated. Goldman won't even have to rig the game. It will be rigged in advance. ////

Re: Ecuadorian Pres. Correa on capitalism, war, etc.

achali — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:18:26 -0000

and even in work i notice these ratios. like as publishers i think what we put together with the liberator is really a mix of that 80% and 20%... a lot of our stuff is definitely towards freeing folks from dysfunctional society, as maroons u could say, we try to live off the plantation and reach out through information to folks both trying to get out, and folks in need of inspiration from within... yet there's also a parts that are much more personal and directed towards folks who are already out the plantation... and yet even that crowd of folks who are off the plantation is to many various degrees... and then there's the folks who actively engage and contribute regularly and deeply who probably constitute the most localized direction in terms of what the liberator is really at heart, "doing" and "going"... but at the same time there's much intentional energy that we spend on different places along the spectrum. i think we see our job as just trying to maintain a viable balance in that "role" as grassroots media for our various (and varied) "people"

Re: Minutemen Do More Than “Secure” Borders, Also Kill Arizona Dad and Daughter

Donminique — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 19:42:07 -0000

I just did a report on these dudes for work-they have lost their damn minds. They claim we spend more money protecting ourselves from terrorist in Iraq then we do protecting our borders, but I've never heard of a Mexican Taliban. This needs to stop!

Re: Ecuadorian Pres. Correa on capitalism, war, etc.

achali — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:53:20 -0000

i'm definitely using "local" in a non-traditional sense... in a modern sense.. the current definition.

in our world local can be geographically global. so for example i consider u apart of a "local" direction for me, even tho ive only actually "met" u once... lol

so its more about the "direction" being "closer" to me in ur personal customization in terms of ur "radicality" (lol) towards this current dysfunctional society... but also -- because in world empire "yea yea" its obvious to see that we're defined by our resistance to it -- but also.. by the direction of our resistance... the fact that u do what u do, hone the skills u hone... yet also care about how u do it in the way that u do... THAN we could go into the fact that ur black, thus sharing a whole awareness of dysfunction in this world... are in my age group... and then we could also say that also u see having conversations like this as worthy of supporting (in ANY way) puts u pretty local to me despite our physical distance. so yeah i see this as part of my 80%... -- cause an actual place?, we're in our mid twenties, that can always be handled a bit later (and then, if deemed necessary, although i lean that way).

but maybe just for now if we wanna talk physical "local" in case the digital world is compromised... (hmmm...) a good convo would be do we got a meeting point in case the world goes nuts tomorrow? LOL

Re: Ashanti Alston Omowali, round 2

achali — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:22:41 -0000

im loving how the internet is allowing us to get deeper looks into these folks while they are alive. because yeah then we're able to read things like that while he's still here and better understand him... and create a more honest unity, that like u pointed out... aint based on rigidity... but on understanding (and even gasp... disagreement).... truth be told farrakhan was getting at this a long while back... but the career leaders weren't hearing it...

again... im loving how the convos are coming together...
http://weblog.liberatormagazine.com/2009/06/ecu...

Re: Is Black Radio today in Jeopardy?

achali — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:26:04 -0000

exactly. nonsense... makes this blog post all the more relevant.

btw, i think the convo here relates to the convo happening in this post:
http://weblog.liberatormagazine.com/2009/06/ecu...

especially regarding the michael basiden audience... do folks just need more exposure to real media? or would they deliberately choose baisden over good radio even if given the choice? i know for me it was just a matter of convenience... but the more folks share the more im empowered...

Re: Is Black Radio today in Jeopardy?

dantresomi — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:23:59 -0000

wtf AM station?
in NYC

Re: Is Black Radio today in Jeopardy?

achali — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:21:37 -0000

ah. thank u my friend. their zip code lookup aint workin. but found it... (820AM station) 2pm, in case anyone else is lookin

Re: Is Black Radio today in Jeopardy?

dantresomi — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:18:11 -0000

to be honest, i don't know
try here

http://www.npr.org/templates/stations/schedule/...

Re: Ashanti Alston Omowali, round 2

dantresomi — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:16:24 -0000

dope piece
i appreciated the fact that he talked about the problems of rigidity and how it turns people off and how one revolution in one place is not going to work for another in another.

he also touched on the diversity of ideas. Something we love to ignore

Re: Interview with The Foreign Exchange

achali — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:13:21 -0000

but hold up... u aint lame for disagreeing then coming right back to my conclusion tho? :)

nah real talk tho bro, i aint knocking phonte. but as a collector, i'm always thinkin about what elements of the recipe make it a classic when it comes to various sounds. and i definitely think nicolay has taken phonte from underground rapper who may or may not go down in history, to musical phenomenon with what they've been doing with Foreign Exchange. the stuff he doin with nic cannot be denied... and im talkin across genre.

put it this way...

Foreign Exchange is on some higher level shit than Little Brother simply cause Little Brother met a specific need of a specific community of listener. Foreign Exchange is making timeless music. But that dont discount the contribution and importance of Little Brother at all. Without them there would be no F.E.

Re: Is Black Radio today in Jeopardy?

achali — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:12:36 -0000

does Moore come on in NYC? can't find it on the npr or wnyc sites... grrr... if NYC ain't one of the "21" black markets the show comes on in ima be disappointed.