She called for more pervasive mass spying by US and international intelligence agencies, saying “We have to toughen our surveillance, our interception of communication.” We should realize that new wars and new police state measures will not cause liberty or justice. We know that ISIS came after the illegal invasion of Iraq in 2003 by America (aided by European countries including Britain, Spain, and Italy on the basis of lying claims that the Iraqi government would give weapons of mass destruction to Al Qaeda), the war in Libya (waged by the US and NATO along with using Al-Qaeda linked militias as proxy ground forces), and the proxy war in Syria (which has been involved by US, Europe, and various militias). Many of these militias use terrorism in Syria in order to destabilize the Syrian government. Washington and its European allies have supported the Islamist opposition throughout this bloody rampage, turning against ISIS only gradually after it attacked the US puppet regime in Baghdad in the summer of 2014. Even then, as France's PS government bombed ISIS targets in Iraq, it stated it would not bomb ISIS targets in Syria. Paris refused to deny media reports that it was refraining from attacking ISIS in Syria in order to avoid weakening the anti-Assad forces. France began bombing ISIS in Syria only after the January 2015 attack on Charlie Hebdo. Authorities are trying to find the alleged accomplices of Abdeslam including Najim Laachraoui and Mohamed Abrini. Laachraoui and Abrini, like virtually every other suspect involved in a string of terrorist attacks across North America, Europe, and Australia, were well known to Western security agencies, having both been documented as having traveled to Syria to fight against Damascus under ISIS, with Abrini having been arrested and jailed several times in the past, and Laachraoui already having a 2014 international arrest warrant issued for him in connection to a trial involving recruiting Europeans to fight for ISIS. The truth is that we are against terrorism and imperialism too.
My views on marijuana legalization as it relates to black Americans are the following. The War on Drugs is a failure. Alternatives should be done to not only save lives of those who experience drug addiction, but to protect the human rights of Americans in general. I believe in marijuana legalization for medical purposes. Also, marijuana prohibition is not enough. There must be an end to the war of Drugs and the end to laws that give massive sentences to those with nonviolent drug offenses. We have to address unfair sentencing practices and to combat the racist reality of how black people and non-black people use marijuana at similar rates, but black people on average serve longer sentences than non-blacks when dealing with nonviolent drug offenses. A long term goal is the the elimination of the prison industrial complex in general (as advocated by Angela Davis and other progressive human beings). Marijuana dispensaries are heavily controlled by the wealthy, by those with connections, and there are massive fees for people to participate in them. So, right now, these dispensaries are not extremely democratic. Wealth shouldn't be monopolized. So, marijuana dispensaries should change and be less monopolistic. There must be an end to the War on Drugs along with investments in jobs and education. Also, those, who have drug addiction, must have the adequate resources to assist them. The book called "Nixonland" shows the truth about Nixon and the War on Drugs. Yet, the War on Drugs existed long before Nixon. There was Harry Jacob Anslinger (who was the United States government official who served as the first commissioner of the U.S. Treasury Department's Federal Bureau of Narcotics) decades before Nixon promoting the war on Drugs in the black community and other communities. This isn't new information. Also, it is important to expose John Ehrlichman not just Nixon. John Ehrlichman was a notorious anti-black racist and he was an extremist. Nixon used policies to directly attack the Black Panther Party via raids, imprisonment, infiltration, and outright assassinations (as Fred Hampton was murdered under the reign of Nixon, Hoover, and Daley). The War on Drugs destabilized many places of Latin America. As other great people have mentioned here, white people with drug addiction are given much more sympathy and compassion by many in mainstream society than black people or people of color with the same drug addiction. This is one more piece of evidence that documents the extremism of the Nixon administration. Also, I do honor the sincere anti-war protesters decades ago who want real change against imperialism.
JFK, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton tried to do this (or begin the process of the normalization of relations between America and Cuba) and failed. President Barack Obama is the first President to visit Cuba in 88 years. This is a very historic time and we want the best for the Cuban people. We want the expansion of democratic rights in Cuba. What we don't want is for Cuba to be a corporate client state of America (as many Western corporations lust after the resources in Cuba. The Cuban people should control their own resources). Cuba has the right to be an independent nation and the embargo should end. Changes are coming in Cuba and we hope that Cuba will grow in a more progressive fashion. The Cuban people courageously overthrown the dictator Batista. We respect the resiliency of the Cuban people. Social activism is always important. This important story outlines the fact that we have an epidemic of rape in college campuses and throughout the Earth. Victims of rape exist among every background of humanity. We are in solidarity with the activists who want rape extinguished worldwide. We want any victim of rape or sexual abuse to receive support, counseling, and other forms of assistance, so the criminals are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The protesters from Howard University are showing the world that rape is intolerable, that human rights must be maintained, and that No means no. No one has the right to violate another person's space. We own our own bodies and no human should own another person's body, mind, our soul. Transparency is important to advance and we will continue to fight against rape. We will never be silent and the truth is always real.
There are a lot of superlatives to describe Phife. He was the heart and soul of the Tribe Called Quest. He was the principal founder of the group since 1985. He was a man with a lot of will, determination, and character. The Tribe revolutionized hip hop music from its lyrical content to its inclusion of jazz plus other musical influences in the genre. Phife exemplified strength and courage. His life is about the expression of music and human compassion. His family and his friends have been by his side and real people send condolences to his family and friends. The legacy of the Tribe Called Quest is eternal. Groups and artists today copy Phife's wordplay and other aspects of his musical delivery. For years, I knew of his records and his contributions to music in general. He will be missed and no one on this Earth can replace his talent.
RIP Brother Phife.
By Timothy
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