Genesis 3:9 –ADAM WHERE ART THOU? ( A Father’s Day question)

November 18, 2013 admin Leave a comment

By Dr. Samori Swygert

As Father’s Day approaches, I pondered about this question God asked Adam in the Garden of Eden. I feel this is an apropos question during these times. We’ve grown accustomed to news reports and police briefings about children that have been kidnapped and/or abducted. Local and statewide authorities will typically issue an Amber Alert to the public to make citizens aware of the abduction. What happens when the parents blatantly disregard their offspring and abandon their children?

Many parents have surrendered, forfeited, neglected, and purposefully defaulted on their call to duty of parenting. There is an alarming trend of parents in both genders that have chosen the AWOL and MIA pill. However, the child is left to swallow and experience the side effects of their parents’ choice. The irony of this scenario is this, as humans we struggle to prove independence, maturity, and adulthood. We walk around the city, workplace, neighborhood, and demand respect from strangers, colleagues, friends and family, but yet some of us aren’t performing the duties worthy of the title of man, woman, father, and mother.

The terminology of man and woman is often distinguished from boy and girl by age, physical maturation, and more importantly, ownership of responsibilities. Have we morphed into a society that condones adult s*x, but reneges and relinquishes responsibility, when it comes to caring for the life created from our own tissue that didn’t volunteer to be here?

There are understandable explanations at times, but there are also unacceptable excuses. Some parents may be subjected to violent spousal abuse, and this can be both physical and psychological. I wouldn’t encourage anybody to remain in a violent and volatile environment where their psychological hygiene and physical being are at risk of destruction.

However, there are derelictions of duty on the premises of selfishness, laziness, fear, incompatibility, anger, finance, new romantic interests, and a myriad of other excuses. Excuses are easily exposed by a simple question from the child to the parent in question. Why did you leave me? If the answer revolves around the prior list, then you probably made an excuse for a dereliction of duty. It is understandable, and real that some people are just not meant to be together, however it is not a get out of parenting free card.

When parents agree to terminate the relationship, they should fortify the plans for consistent involvement in the child’s life. Many children are left to the streets and unpredictable acquaintances of their surrogate guardians. Many kids today grow up in an environment where the mother is the TV, the father is the computer, the sister is the cell phone, the brother is the radio, and the grandparents are the streets.

These precarious familial structures often result in social tragedy and mental instability for many youth today. There is often no concrete accountability to the child, and at any given moment the streets and the new interim guardian can turn their back on the child, and leave the child feeling betrayed and broken hearted. This domestic dynamic is occurring in several homes in many communities across America.

However, on a more positive note, this domestic quagmire can be fixed and repaired. When these situations arise, the child must become top priority. Children are our seeds, and seeds need watering to grow. Both parents must put aside any and all excuses, accept reality and hydrate the child with the love it deserves. A flower will not grow by one glass of water once a week in the face of sunshine.

The sun will eventually dehydrate the flower, and too much water without sunshine will drown the flower. A proper balance of sunlight and water must be applied for proper cultivation.

This metaphor exemplifies the mandatory balance of both parent’s influence in the child’s life. Parents should exhaust every effort to provide the child with the love of a parent or stepparent without confusing it with the desires, expectations, animosity and resentment of a love once enjoyed, but currently defunct. A good relationship with your child’s mother is not a prerequisite to caring for your child, and caring for your child should not be contingent upon the mother being with you.

There are many good, strong black men that are actively fathering in a two parent household. There also men that are separated from the mother of their child, but still handle their fatherly responsibilities with diligence. Kudos and accolades should be granted to these men during this upcoming holiday. HAPPY FATHER’S DAY TO THE MEN THAT ARE FATHERS! However, to the transient male that has produced a child, Genesis 3:9 has a question for you to answer. Adam where art thou?

Science & Technology

Rise of the new police state: Predictive Policing in effect!

November 18, 2013 admin Leave a comment

By: Dr. Samori Swygert

We are at the dawn of a new era in law enforcement. There is an expansive and proliferating trend that grants unprecedented authorities and capabilities to our police. This year we’ve witnessed the supreme court ruling, that authorizes cops to take and warehouse the DNA of individuals that have been arrested (more so for “serious crimes”) in a database.

We’ve seen the re-implementation of STOP and FRISK policing on the public. We’ve seen the New York State Senate pass a bill that Okays the arrest of a citizen that annoys, and even harasses a cop, with a punishment of up to 4 years in jail and a felony conviction on their criminal record.

I posted an article that discussed how a new gunshot recognition system records the video, photo, biometric facial scan, and audio of individuals once a shot is fired in the city. We’ve seen the use of license plate scanners mounted on police patrol cars to identify the status of the car, and identify the respected driver.

Police departments across the country have now added a new tool in their crime fighting efforts. This is called PREDICTIVE POLICING, and the company developing the program is known as PredPol. This system is currently in use in California, Washington, South Carolina, Arizona, Tennessee, Illinois, and even the United Kingdom.

The system is data driven, and uses the information from prior crimes, and current crimes. The company has specific modeling algorithms that compiles: date, time, type of crime, geographic location and other data parameters. Statistical analysis allows the system to generate the probability of a certain type of crime in a specific location and time. These locations and time stamps are referred to as HOTSPOTS. The hotspots are then marked on maps of the city for police to patrol and do reconnaissance work if they are not involved in an active pursuit.

Many police departments like the system because it grants a virtual or real time circumstance where they can exercise proactive interventions of criminal activity. The software is accessible on their cellphones and laptops. Pete Cribbin, Assistant Chief of Tacoma, Washington Police Department, was quoted as saying “we have had several successes of catching the offender ‘red-handed’ and making arrests.” The police departments like the PredPol system also because it conserves monetary resources. They’ve not had to hire more officers and waste time on general patrols, because they have hotspots and projected potential crime scenes based on data analytics.

My Thoughts

This seems a bit like the movie Minority Report to me, where you are almost anticipating and forecasting behavior. I understand data driven software models, but this seems a bit much! The articles I read said that the developer did not design this to profile individuals. However, I have numerous questions. Who inputs the data? How do you remove or compensate for bias or prejudice of the data user? Won’t you eventually develop a profile if you implement this in Hotspot? For instance, if you set this up in a highly populated African American community that is plagued with unemployment, drugs, and crime, won’t you eventually say that police should look for a black male, on this date and time,. And find someone that fits the description a computer generated? They just have to add race to their parameter (I’m sure they have, but just haven’t disclosed it in the articles I’ve read), and you will have a racially based system of patrol. This can turn unwitting innocent citizens into potential suspects by just being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

This really makes me believe that this is tied to a guaranteed 90% occupancy of private prisons. The police departments and states can furnish this data, and crime statistics to bolster their support for the construction of more private prisons. When you can predict, forecast, anticipate, and project crimes that have yet to crystallize, you are walking on thin ice. The system can generate the hotspot, but when the officer arrives and encounters a potential suspect, the imperfect human factor gets introduced into the equation, and that’s the wild card! Thus, we must also factor in several components such as: police and community relations, race relations, financial incentives, influence of elicit and illegal drugs or alcohol in the patrolmen, dirty cops, quotas, and the psychological state/condition of the officer on duty. We can find ourselves in a situation where officers are trying to make arrests to fit the data generated by the system, or “make the ends justify the means”! This can result in thousands of Trayvon Martins, Sean Bells, and Amadou Diallos (innocent men targeted).

There are also things that the system can’t account for such as: people’s morals, values, ethics, religious principles, moments of clarity, character, and standards that may abort an individual’s involvement in a crime.

So in closing, we have STOP and FRISK, DNA extraction, Felony for harassment, Real Time gunshot audio, video, photo, and facial scan technology, license plate scanners, the NDAA, and now predictive policing under our law enforcement umbrella. This seems like the rise of the new state of the art American Police State to me. The strategies above seem to provide safety benefits, but they also have a duality of potential perversion and abuse of authority that was unaccounted for and not calculated into the system. We should definitely keep an eye on this, and query our local police departments and city council if they plan on implementing this. Okay be blessed!!! Next article………..TATTOO DATABASES

REFERENCES

Science & Technology

Dr. Samori Swygert: Will you be jobless in 2 years?

November 18, 2013 admin Leave a comment

By: Dr. Samori Swygert

We are being replaced by technology. The creations and innovations that bring us tremendous convenience and speed are reducing human utility into obsolescence. Automation, digitization, robotics, and software engineering are replacing humans at lightening speed.

The news outlets routinely report and forecast the unemployment rate. We are also familiarized with the influx of immigrants, and competition with foreigners in this global economy. However, we must address our silent competitor, TECHNOLOGY!

First, it’s important to understand that owners and employers don’t create jobs as a moral obligation to society. Owners and CEOs only hire because an employee is an essential liability to produce their products or operate the services they provide. Owners would be exuberantly thrilled if they could keep the money spent on payroll as revenue and profit! I’m going to share the impetus and reasons why employers are addicted to this downsizing and phasing out of human capital.

Why use technology over humans?

Robots, machines, software, and automation don’t require scheduled lunch breaks. Employers don’t have to worry about holiday schedules or holiday pay. Job productivity is easily predictable, uniformed, measured, consistent, and non-emotional. Theft and employee shrinkage is a nonissue with an inanimate object. Computers can get viruses, but employers don’t have to worry about pregnancy and maternity leave. Attendance is a nonissue because all equipment is onsite 24/7, and this eliminates call-ins, and tardiness.

Moreover, employers are not responsible for provision of health insurance, supplemental life insurance for the employee, and their family. Robots, software and the like, don’t get injured, and thus this relinquishes any responsibility of the employer in worker’s compensation cases. Employers are not bogged down in battles between labor unions, because the employer’s workforce is not based on human resources.

Furthermore, with the use of technology employers eliminate the issues of whistleblowers, insubordination, workplace violence, and s****l harassment. Technology also reduces the legal risks of the employment process for owners, because it eliminates religious, racial, gender, and age discrimination lawsuits.

Oh, I almost forgot, all the payroll money is converted to revenue, or small time insurance/warranty policies that pale in comparison to the cost of a fulltime employee. Technology is void of emotions and is programmed for precise algorithms and protocols of production. Technology lacks poor habits, and is easily upgradable and updated seamlessly.

Samori show me the proof!

This transition of culture in the work environment is happening as I type. Think of the following cases. Blockbuster video used to hire human employees, and now we rent from a Redbox, Netflix, or download our movies. We used to book vacations using a travel agent, and now we use Travelocity or the plethora of online travel sites. Grocery store cashiers have been replaced with automated express checkout lanes. The surge in ATMs starts reducing the need for bank tellers. Courtroom stenographers can be easily replaced by voice to text software like Dragon. Secretaries are now in the palm of executive’s hands with a smartphone, because they have calendars, schedules, alarms and contacts at the tap of the screen. When we call the businesses that we have an account with, we typically get an automated greeting, and the Rosetta Stone assisted language of choice if you press a specific number.

Allow me to be more current, and in depth with the illustration of my argument, consider these developments. What is the use of the Airforce or pilots if we now have drones? Furthermore, the United Nations is currently petitioning countries to stop making robot soldiers (yes they have robot soldiers).1 Bars, lounges, and restaurants are now ushering in robot bartenders (so long to the cute bartender with the good convo fellas, unless you like Computer Love).2 MIT’s technology review reported how Toyota is currently developing robotic nurses.3 Forbes magazine produced an article in November 2012 that detailed how driverless trucks are being used in mining and other transportation endeavors.4 How will this affect the vast number of human truckers, bus drivers, cabs, limo drivers, and train conductors in America? DARPA is under The Department of Defense (DoD), and has created so many mind blowing robotic innovations that you have to ponder your job security. Will we literally evolve into the “Hunger Games”, where our only use is the shear entertainment of the wealthy in the years to come?

I say develop laser like focus on the needs, wants, and demands of society, become your own boss. Acquire resources now, and create an independent impenetrable network of like minded individuals to facilitate some sort of sustainability in our communities. Develop our own systems of commerce, trade, and production. Corporate greed is not concerned about the implications and ramifications of human substitution.

References

1.http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/31/world/europe/united-nations-armed-robots.html?_r=1&

2.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/01/monsieur-drink-robot_n_4017095.html

3.http://www.technologyreview.com/view/426090/meet-toyotas-robotic-nurses/

4.http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2012/11/26/dont-tell-the-teamsters-but-driverless-trucks-are-already-here/

5.http://www.darpa.mil/our_work/tto/programs/darpa_robotics_challenge.aspx

Health and Fitness

Life and death is in the tongue [Part 1]

November 18, 2013 admin Leave a comment

By Dr. Samori Swygert

We are being marked for deαth. Currently, we are engaged in a nutritional, chemical, and environmental war on our bodies. As consumers we are targeted by profit driven competitors in the food industry. This is the battle of WEALTH vs HEALTH! I highly encourage you to read this top to bottom and share with friends and family.

The quality and source of our food supply is being compromised by environmental pollutants that result from oil spills (BP, Exxon), nuclear radiation leaks (Fukushima Reactor), Fracking (hydraulic fracturing), by products of industrial manufacturing, and other environmental manipulation.

Furthermore, our dietary consumption has become inundated with steroids, antibiotics, pesticides, and genetically modified organisms (GMO). The food industry, FDA, and Biotech industry has morphed into an almost clandestine triad with fraternity like partnerships. Each component supports the others at the ignorance of the consumer.

Our babies, children, and ourselves are consuming food that has been adulterated with artificial sweeteners, preservatives, dyes, additives and other ingredients. When you read the ingredients of a food product, it almost sounds like you are reading the back label of a hair care product. We then wonder why we are experiencing and witnessing such high rates of cancer, endocrine disorders, and cardiovascular disease.

Let’s Get Specific

The availability and accessibility to grocery stores with an adequate supply of nutritious and organic produce at affordable prices are sparse to scarce in low income communities. However, a ubiquitous and ever-present covenant of fast-food chains are standard fixtures in middle to low income communities. The usual suspects (KFC, McDonald’s, Burger King, Taco Bell, Popeye’s, Pizza Hut, and etc), can all be found within a 1 mile radius of each other in low income landscapes. The main menu items are processed foods that are loaded with salt, sugar, fat, cholesterol, and cooked in grease. However, their products are strategically formulated, tested, and streamlined to the desirability of our taste buds.

You may be dismissive of this, but I encourage you to think of the cumulative amount of diseases and ailments over time. Individuals in middle to low income communities with fast-food chains in close proximity to their homes have a high incidence rate of strokes, heart attacks, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, high cholesterol, kidney disease, and obesity.

The Veil of Secrecy

It has become fashionable for companies and governmental agencies to say, “we are about transparency now”! Our health institutions encourage us to always, “know your status“, “be informed”, “get tested”, “ask your doctor”, but their actions are paradoxical. The FDA, congress, and food industry has yielded and pandered to biotech firm money.

These firms have lobbied, and encouraged the suppression of labeling GMO based foods. This removes the ability of the consumer to make an independent, well informed decision about their health. The FDA says that GMO foods are safe for consumption, but has yet to furnish any long-term study results to substantiate their position. How can you say these products are safe, and you have no 5, 10, 20 years studies on humans that consumed GMO over an extended period of observation?

Some of the biotech and fast-food companies use food industry sponsored researchers to conduct studies, and this introduces biased results that are skewed in favor of the companies. This type of research also leads to the censoring of negative results.

Members of congress quietly allowed passage of the Monsanto Protection Act into legislation. Why are they conducting policy and operations in such a clandestine, insidious, and surreptitious manner? WHERE IS THE TRANSPARENCY THAT YOU PROMISE? If you will not afford the public the opportunity to make informed dietary choices, and indirectly force these foods on us by not labeling them, then we all need free health insurance for life! We don’t know what the long term effects will be, and we should not have to pay a dime for any ailment linked to these foods in the future.

Real Talk!

To my Muslim and Jewish readers, are you aware that the citrus industry is in the process of making GMO oranges, and they are going to either use the genes from spinach or the pig to modify the orange? Will they be transparent about this on the labeling? The engineers believe that splicing these pig genes into the current genome of oranges will help combat the Citrus Psyllid disease that has ravaged the Florida Orange Groves.

To my seafood lovers, a company named Aqua Bounty is in the process of gaining approval from the FDA to market and sell genetically engineered Salmon. Furthermore, Fracking spill-off in a Kentucky stream has killed off a whole line of fish according to a U.S. Geological Survey and Fish /Wildlife Services.

To my sweet toothr’s and diabetics, high amounts of sugar, corn syrup, and fructose load our sodas, soft drinks, milkshakes, and candy. Are you aware that research has found that the main energy source for the growth of cancerous tumors is glucose? The growth of cancer malignancies may be linked to excessive sugar intake in our diets.

To my water lovers, we must be conscious at all times. We are in a climate when a prescription is generated for anything. There has been a surge in the diagnosis, and prescriptions for ADHD medication in our children. However, are you aware that the consumption of lead, even in small amounts, manifests the exact same symptoms of ADHD. It is quite possible that lead paint, and plumbing that our children drink and bathe in can be causing ADHD symptoms, but our children are just victims of a toxic and polluted environment.

To my chicken and fried rice lovers, Arsenic has been found in vast amounts of rice supplies and the chicken line of our poultry chain. The FDA and other food regulatory agencies choose to take a cavalier dismissive approach about the levels in the food. I would like people to remember that these are chemicals and should not be present. It would only be right to try and downplay the issues to avoid public hysteria, and massive amounts of litigation in court cases. Arsenic is a cancer causing agent.

This will conclude Part 1 of Life and Deαth in the Tongue. I will post part 2 later this week. I will illuminate more environmental and corporate assaults on our health and how others are profiting off our planned misfortune and disinformation. Until then, be safe, and choose to be healthy, God Bless!

Health and Fitness

Life and Death is in the tongue: [Part 2]

November 18, 2013 admin Leave a comment

By: Dr. Samori Swygert

This week I wrote a post detailing the various ways in which our health is under attack by profit driven corporations. I encourage you to read part 1. Let’s jump right into the final part.

What’s at stake/or at “steak”?

Two pharmaceutical classes of drugs are being introduced into our dietary consumption (antibiotics and hormones). The regulation appears to be insufficient. Have you noticed the recurrent meat recalls? Do you question the logistics behind the cause?

Think of all the farms that raise cattle, hogs, chicken, and etc. These are just farmers, they are not doctors! However, farmers are dosing our meat supply with antibiotics. As a healthcare practitioner, I understand how diseases are assessed, and how antibiotics are prescribed. A patient will enter the hospital, and may receive a prophylactic dose of antibiotics (ABX). However, if the patient is fully admitted, the M.D. will order blοod and sputum cultures to find out what specific infection the patient has, and what drugs the organism is susceptible or resistant to.

Does each farm in the United States have an onsite veterinarian that assesses each and every animal, and prescribe the appropriate drug for each specific infection? The answer is no! Nationally, we have farmers untrained in the medical field that may be giving animals inappropriate drugs for infections.

August 2013, NPR did an interview with doctors from the University of Minnesota, and researchers at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University.¹They confirmed that there is overuse of antibiotics with no true oversight. They revealed that the FDA only releases an annual report of how many types of antibiotics are sold to animal farms. However, that doesn’t reveal how much is used, or if the drugs are given at the right dose per animal, or if it is for the right infection. Imagine being given Penicillin to treat HIV! This is contributing to drug resistant bacteria in our food supply.

The researchers said the agricultural and pharmaceutical industry don’t think this is causing harm to humans. Well, in July 2013 there was 50,000 pounds of beef recalled due to E. Coli contamination by National Beef Packing Company, and this same company recalled 23,000 pounds of beef in June 2013 for E. Coli contamination.²

Furthermore, the beef industry has been adding a pharmaceutical class of drugs to beef called, Beta-Agonists. This drug is used in humans to treat asthma, but in cattle it’s shown to add 15-30 pounds of beef in the last phase of fattening (~3 weeks). However, Guy Loneragan, a professor of food safety and public health at Texas Tech University, revealed data at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association proving that the cattle receiving this drug are dying faster than the cattle that weren’t .³The drug maker, Merck, still thinks that the drug is safe.

Too Chicken to talk about this!

Just a few days ago, Foster Farms has come under tremendous scrutiny because 300 people in 17 states got sick from a multidrug resistant strain of Salmonella bacteria. Three of their processing plants are under investigation, and being evaluated by the CDC. However, according to an article by Consumer Reports, the company expressed that the chicken should just be cooked well, and they have not officially declared a recall!⁴

You’re not “slick”!

NPR published an article in August 2013, which detailed how the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has allowed oil companies to dump their oil waste in the Wind River of on an Indian Reservation in Wyoming.⁵A tribal leader, Wes Martel, had a legitimate point. He basically pondered the legitimacy of this, because this runoff goes into the drinking water, land irrigation, cattle feed, and aquatic wildlife of their reservation. Rob Jackson, a professor of environmental science at Duke University, assessed the situation and revealed that this runoff is contaminated. The samples he evaluated contained metals, radioactive elements like radium, and benzene. He also stated that the levels have been “150 times of that allowed for drinking water”.⁵

Tying it all together!

Corporate industries have very little regard for our heαlth, and are willing to cμt corners, cheat, cover-up, and deceive us just to get a buck! We are being victimized by a cabal of industries, and it all starts from our taste buds! I believe 7 industries are profiteering from our taste buds.

Prolonged consumption of fast-food or contaminated food will eventually result in hospitalization. This will occur by food poisoning, heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, or cholesterol. The Kaiser foundation stated that the average hospital admission costs up to $14,662, and up to $27,100 for surgical admissions.⁶ The food industry gets their cμt first, then the healthcare industry gets a c*t due to hospitalization (diagnostics, admissions, surgeries). Next, the doctor prescribes medication, and thus the pharmaceutical industry gets a c*t. Let’s not forget the pharmaceutical industry gets paid twice from the antibiotics and hormones they sell to farmers! The insurance industry then gets a cμt, because we become a high risk policy holder due to our diseases. They then sell us high insurance premiums. The diet and fitness industry then takes a cμt, because we must have a lifestyle change. This lifestyle change makes billions from Atkins, South Beach, Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, Slim Fast and etc. The fitness component gets a cμt through the latest workout DVDs like: P90x, Hip Hop abs, Insanity, Tae-Bo, or even fitness equipment like the Ab-Roller, Total Gym, or Nordic Track. The clothing industry gets a c*t by selling the sneakers, sweat suits, fitness apparel, and even the new wardrobe as our weight fluctuates. Lastly, the TV industry makes off like a fat rat, because it costs millions just to have a 90 second commercial or infomercial.

Lastly, don’t be fooled when certain government agencies and biotech companies tell you that certain foods are okay and safe. Think for yourself and be logical. Watch this YouTube link about Camel Cigarettes from 60 years ago, and see how they had doctors telling us smoking was okay and preferred by them. YouTube link

References

http://n.pr/19DksYA
http://huff.to/17svu1V
http://n.pr/16dTvcb
http://bit.ly/1bJnFgQ
http://n.pr/19Os7cj
http://bit.ly/KV7TQg

Science & Technology

Genetically Modified Babies: Is man playing God?

November 18, 2013 admin Leave a comment

By: Dr. Samori Swygert

We’ve arrived at a benchmark in our science and technological advances. The scientific community has already mapped and sequenced the entire human genome. This allows for breakthrough cures, remedies, and treatments. Stem cell research and gene therapy is giving individuals with life threatening conditions another chance at a healthy and fruitful life.

However, with each new discovery comes the potential for corruption, and perversion of an initially noble motive. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted a California based company a patent for a technique that allows them to specifically target and select gene traits for babies.¹

The author, Gau Tam Naik, explained that the company, 23andME, will be able to select genes for hair color, eye color, and etc. The potential donor of an egg or sperm can be screened for any genetic abnormalities, and predisposed genes. This was already being performed in fertility clinics but on a more nonscientific basis. Potential parents could preview profiles of donors and make choices based off info supplied to their profile, but they never had the donor’s full genetic sequence! This new patented technique will screen out individuals with undesirable traits. This gives potential parents choices on both disease related traits, and cosmetic non-disease traits.

According to the article, Catherine Afarian, a spokeswoman for the company, indicated that cosmetic trait selection is not the premise for this patented technique. However, even though that is not the intention, the patent approval is there and this can be practiced in the future, legally.

Positive Implications

As a healthcare practitioner that sees critically ill patients on a routine basis, I understand the role and importance in genetic testing and engineering. Many patients and an overwhelming demographic of the U.S. population suffer from genetic diseases such as: Down Syndrome, Sickle Cell Anemia, Huntington’s Disease, Cystic Fibrosis (CFTR gene), Breast Cancer (HER2 gene), and specific Diabetes types. These advances can save many lives, and prevent many diseases if implemented and utilized appropriately. This can save money, cμt health insurance premiums, and give a peace of mind to parents.

My Concerns

Several concerns come into play when I think about the potential perversion of such a powerful scientific capability. I think of this wave of obsession with Botox lip injections, Breast Augmentation, Gluteal (Bμtt) Implants, and the physical and psychological impact on individuals. I think of eugenics and Hitler’s Nazι experimentations to breed a so called “superior race”. I think of the silly recurrent debates of light skin versus dark skin, “good hair” and “bad hair”. How will this affect our love relationships and marriages when it comes to family planning?

This reminds me of a novel I read by Aldous Huxley called, Brave New World, and individuals were no longer being born, but bread in lab and assigned to a particular social class based on genetic superiority or inferiority that was predetermined by the ruling class.

Moreover, as science continues to progress, the potential to gain an advantage comes into play if more discoveries of intellectual and physical traits can be illuminated. Based on the current financial predicament, those that have adequate finances to use this service may have a “one up” on individuals that can’t afford to get the appropriate genetic remedy, and once again, poorer children would suffer unnecessary health conditions based off the lack of money.

I think of ethnic cleansing, and the current climate, and racial tension in America today. WE HAVE A SEVERE RACE PROBLEM THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SOLVED, AND PEOPLE ARE SCARED AND UNWILLING TO MATURELY AND PUBLICLY ADDRESS IT. I feel this denial, and avoidance to have a mature public discourse on the resolution of racism in America will be the main downfall of our nation.

The article also says that “a patient would first specify certain traits that he or she wants in a child, and based on the patient’s own genetic profile, a computerized system then performs inheritance calculations pertaining to the traits of interest and identifies one or more preferred donors for the recipient”.

I think this concept applied with the specific medical purpose of disease management has a place, but I also fervently believe that strict and stringent governance, guidelines, reviews, and audits should be routinely enforced to restrict abuse of this power.

What are your thoughts on this? Please read the article by visiting the link below. God Bless, and have a wonderful day!!

Reference: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303492504579113293429460678

Business & Financial News

The reason companies are trying to buy up Detroit and Your Home Too

November 18, 2013 admin Leave a comment

By: Dr. Samori Swygert

This week, an article was posted on YOURBLACKWORLD.NET, about an African American homeowner that lost his home due to unpaid property taxes.⁹ Investors are buying tax liens and obtaining ownership of residential properties nationwide. This strategy is very disheartening to the unfortunate homeowners that may not be able to afford to pay their taxes for whatever reason. This is compounded when we factor in urban renewal, gentrification, and gerrymandering of political districts.

There are hedge-funds, and private equity firms that are buying these properties by the bulk! Their goal is to purchase as many homes possible, and turn them into single family rental homes. These companies are not looking to sell the homes. These firms are maintaining ownership and keeping them as rental assets.¹

What does this mean? This means there will be fewer residential properties available for you to purchase. Land and homes are tools that generate wealth, because you can rent them as they are, also the monies you pay in mortgage go to actually owning property. Renters can pay monthly rent and when the lease is up, you own zero. Houses, land, and estates can be transferred to generations to manage, expand, use as collateral for investments, and convert into home businesses.

You can grow trees and plants, but you can’t grow earth, and this is the dilemma of the haves and the have nots.

Who are the players?

The largest private equity firm, The Blackstone Group (owners of the Hilton Hotel chain), Colony Capital LLC, Cerebrus Capital Management, Oaktree Capital Group LLC, KKR &Co, GTIS partners, Och-Ziff Capital Management LLC, and Waypoint Real Estate Group LLC are the main players in this game of real life Monopoly.^1,3,4,5,8 However, there are small investment groups and individual investors that are participating in this “LAND GRAB”. The head of The Blackstone Group, Stephen Schwarzman, is a heavy donor to Republican Superpacs.

What are they doing?

During the housing crisis, so many single family homes went into default, foreclosures, and homeowners went into bankruptcy. Communities across America were decimated when the housing market crashed. Many homeowners had to perform short-sales to try and salvage any piece of investment and dignity of homeownership. Many just walked away from their homes. Now private equity firms such as Blackstone are buying all these foreclosed homes and tax delinquent residences by the bulk.³ The aims of these firms are to own the property, and strictly rent them to single families. The Blackstone Group has been purchasing through foreclosure auctions, short sales and cash in hand buyouts from smaller local real estate companies.^1,2,7

What are the facts and figures?

According to an article in Bloomberg News, Blackstone has spent more than $2.5 billion on 16,000 homes to manage as rentals from $13.3 billion it raised last year. Blackstone already owns $1 billion worth of homes in October 2012, and Blackstone chairman Stephen Schwarzman said that the company is spending $100 million a week on houses.¹ The conversion of private property to single family rental homes is projected to be approximately a $3 Trillion market.⁷ Blackstone is currently the largest investor of single family homes for rent in the following 9 markets: Chicago, Northern and Southern California, Detroit, Miami, Tampa, Phoenix, Atlanta, and Las Vegas.^1,3 Blackstone is also leveraging their strategy by getting a $600 million dollar line of credit from the Deutsche Bank.^1,3To understand how strong Blackstone’s money is, they acquired Sam Zell’s Equity Office Properties Trust for $39 billion including assumed debt.¹A report by Keefe Bruyette & Woods, says that $ 6 to 8 Billion dollars can buy 40,000 to 80,000 properties.³

DETROIT, MICHIGAN is the bulls-eye, and ground zero for these investors, and the individual investor. The following case studies were published in a Bloomberg News article.² A 32 year old man, Peter Grosso purchased 29 Detroit homes for $90,000. Nate Heaps, a 32 year old investor purchased 290 Detroit properties for $189,600. Sameer Beydoun, 33 years old, purchased 1,000 Detroit properties for approximately $5 Million with his investment group. Jasmine Mc Morris purchased 332 Detroit homes and paid an average $2,500 per property and sells them to larger real estate investors. There are even investors from England, Cambodia, China, and Australia that are buying into the market.²

I would like to inform our audience that there is a formal blueprint for Detroit that these investors are acting off of. The name of the blueprint is Detroit Future City; this is a 50 year plan to bring Detroit back to recovery.^2,6 The plan is to have green space and farms, and is assuming the Detroit population will drop to 615,000.²

Take Home Message

All individuals that own property need to keep their property. We as African Americans need to practice group economics and purchase this land like Dr. Claud Anderson says.¹⁰ We need to talk with our parents and grandparents and make sure all taxes are paid. Parents don’t buy your son or daughter a car for graduation; purchase them some of these properties to own. Lastly, we need to B.M.F., and not drug deal, but, B.M.F. (Buy. More. Foreclosures). By owning these properties we can actually help struggling families regain wealth buy selling them at a fair market price, as opposed to just a system of rental Feudalism.

References

Science & Technology

Dr. Samori Swygert: Asteroid has so much gold that it’s worth $20 Trillion Dollars!!

November 18, 2013 admin Leave a comment

By: Dr. Samori Swygert

I’m very passionate about sharing knowledge with people. I fervently believe knowledge should be shared and not hoarded for personal gain. I would like to share some info about Gold that many of you may not be aware of. There is Gold in space, and tons of it!

Have you ever wondered what NASA does in space? We routinely hear how a new shuttle has launched into space off of Cape Canaveral, and later we welcome it back to earth to much fanfare for a safe return. The news outlets never really go into depth about what they discovered in space. Yes we understand that they have built spacestations, there may be life on Mars, new planets have appeared in our galaxy, but that is typically the extent. What they don’t fully disclose, but you have to research, is the amount of wealth this country and others are competing for, a literal STARS WARS.

What’s it worth in $?

The United States is no longer focused solely on “their GOD” (Gold. Oil. Diamonds). These material items are not my GOD. However, the United States is “Asteroid Mining”. According to an article from the BBC, an asteroid named, Eros, has been noted to contain 20,000 million Tonnes of Aluminum, and equal amounts of Gold, and Platinum. This data that I’m reporting is old news to the space community, because that article was published July 22, 1999. The asteroid itself is quoted to be worth $20,000bn. Yes the numbers, commas, and units of monetization are correct; please view the original article at your leisure from reference number one.¹ Scientists report that an asteroid less than a mile in diameter could be worth $20 Trillion dollars, because of the precious and industry metals within it.² Brent Spiner reported to Forbes Magazine, that there approximately 9,000 asteroids in Earth’s vicinity that are available for mining.³

Who are the players?

Many billionaires and privately owned mining firms are jumping into these unbelievable expeditions. A few of these companies are: Space X, Planetary Resources, and Deep Space Industries. Google executive Larry Paige and ex-presidential candidate Ross Perot have even invested with the company, Planetary Resources.^4,5 The precious metals are not the only things these aerospace explorers and investors are interested in. The companies are also using crowd funding as methods of fundraising for their endeavors. Many of these asteroids contain copious amounts of hydrogen and oxygen. This reservoir of these elements expands the possibility of water resources for fueling and other uses.^4,5 Deep Space Industries already have two spacecrafts ready for launching and mining called, The Dragonfly and The Firefly.⁶ These companies and executives are set to become the new Vanderbilts, Fords, Rockerfellers, Carnegies, and Morgans of the space frontier.

The take home message

These companies have imagined, studied, planned, and are now executing their plots. As blacks, I see no reason why this should be an exclusive domain to a few. Based on this information, I think we should definitely encourage our children to become active competitors and participants in this field. We already had Dr. Mae Jemison (a black female medical doctor and astronaut). Also, these can be good investment opportunities for those that have the money or practice group economics. Lastly, this is motivation to think BIG, and don’t think anything is impossible. There are other links you can access to read up on this, and view some videos.^7,8Be blessed, motivated and share the knowledge. God Bless!

References

Global Issues

Dr. Samori Swygert: Is Africa for sale?

November 18, 2013 admin Leave a comment

Dr. Samori Swygert: Is Africa for sale?

Africa, THE MOTHER LAND, has been the “cradle of civilization”, and is still the placenta of global economics. Africa is revered as the continent where life first started, and the birthplace of math, science, spirituality, and philosophy. However, the allure and fascination with this continent among foreign nations is the abundance of wealth and resources it contains.

Historically speaking, Africa has been the target of conquest and domination. This statement is best illustrated, and supported by the usurpation of land, and slaughter of the Zulu tribe of South Africa by the European Voortrekkers, King Leopold of Belgium, and Cecil Rhodes. I will go in depth about these endeavors in a part 2 follow up to this post, because it’s too lengthy.

Let’s fast forward into the 20^th and 21^st centuries. First, to gain perspective of extent and enormity, 1 metric ton equals 2,204 pounds, and 1 standard ton equals 2,000 pounds. March 1^st 1984, the New York Times published an article that detailed a discussion with Clive Knobbs, the Vice President of the Chamber of Mines in Johannesburg. Knobbs said that gold production would peak at 792 tons per year by the end of the decade. He reported that South Africa had produced 750 tons of gold in the previous year, and that production would drop to 560 tons of gold by 2005. Keep in mind this was in 1984.¹

In Zambia, Africa, companies are now repairing the railroad lines to ship copper to South African ports for export. Zambia is the continent’s largest producer of copper. According to an article in Bloomberg news, they want to upgrade 746 miles of railway. Copper is used for pipes, wires, and cables. They are projecting output to reach 1.1 million metric tons of copper annually by 2015. In 1975 Zambia produced 6 million tons of copper. The deterioration of the railways accounted for a decrease in exportation. In 2009 exportation declined to 690,000 tons of copper from Zambia. Currently in 2013, Zambia Railways has increased the number of trains for transport to 68, and thus project 1.1 million tons of copper for export. The majority of the mines in Zambia are Chinese owned.²

In Nairobi, Kenya, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and Radar Technologies International discovered enormous water aquifers. The report revealed that a minimum reserve of about 66 Trillion gallons of water resides below Kenya. They also reported that precipitation in Kenya and Uganda replenishes them with approximately 898 billion gallons of water annually. They have so far discovered 5 aquifers. The Lotikipi Basin Aquifer is approximately the size of Rhode Island, another is named; Lodwar Basin Aquifer. The other three are still being prospected. Kenya, the United Nations, and Japan are in talks about how to use this for irrigation for the Kenyan people and other uses (other uses?).³

The Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa is pregnant with Tin, Tungsten, and Tantalum. These three metals are used in the manufacturing of smart phones, digital cameras, and laptops. These metals are being exported in a manner reminiscent to Blood Diamonds. The drive to procure these metals caused U.S. lawmakers to introduce acts similar to the Kimberley process for diamonds. The name of the acts are; The Congo Conflict Minerals Act, The Extractive Industries Transparency Disclosure Act, and The Dodd-Frank Law. These acts mandate that major electronics corporations like Apple, Samsung, Nokia, Nintendo and others disclose the specific mines they receive their Gold, Tin, Tungsten, and Tantalum from.⁴ The Congo has also quadrupled their gold output over that last 5 years, and has produced 26 metric tons of gold in 2012 alone.

Kinshasa is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa was previously named Leopoldville, after the violent Belgium conqueror King Leopold. Currently Kinshasa and Zambia have some of the largest Cobalt mines, and China is prospecting these Cobalt sites for mining and extraction. According to the 2011 United States Geological Survey, between 2009 and 2013, more than 100,000 tons of cobalt is being extracted per year. Cobalt is one of the most unique and necessary metals of our time. Cobalt has unique strength and thermal stability, and is thus used as alloy in turbines, batteries of cell phones, laptops, electric and hybrid car batteries, and munitions.⁵

Lastly, the United States has established drone bases in West Africa, North Africa, and East Africa under AFRICOM (Africa Command arm under the Pentagon). The U.S. military operations expands into Niger, Djibouti, Ethiopia, and has opened a drone base in the Seychelles off the African coast to conduct further East African surveillance. Furthermore, President Obama has pledged $7 Billion over the next 5 years to 8 countries (Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, and Mozambique). The ultimate goal in accordance with the International Energy Agency is to have universal electricity access to the Sub-Saharan region by 2030. The final price tag is estimated to be $300 Billion.⁶

Moreover, The Gates Foundation has formulated, and executed a vaccination campaign in Africa. Their goal is to eradicate Polio, by using satellite photography and GPS to find all their targeted villages and dispense oral Polio vaccines to the people.⁷ Bill Gates has pledged $1.8 Billion by 2018 to accomplish this campaign, and his subsequent campaign will be to target Malaria in a similar protocol. Bill Gates has also partnered with Monsanto (purchased 500,000 shares of Monsanto stock) and other biotech giants to map, sequence, and analyze the genomes of African fruits, vegetables, and plants. The aim is to battle malnutrition, famine and address concerns about agricultural sustainability in the African continent.

Take Home Message

Honestly, I’m somewhat skeptical and cynical about the various foreign endeavors into the African continent. I’m also aware of the malfeasance and corruption that goes on inside some of the African nations. However, I see a silent reincarnation of imperialism and colonialism happening under the guise of philanthropy, humanitarianism, and benevolence. Terms like “sustainability” and “infrastructure” cater to receptive ears, because the continent does need these improvements. However, with the vast amounts in exports of raw material, African people are still impoverished in many nations, but the multinational companies are getting filthy rich. The lifestyles of the African people has not been ameliorated or improved from the wealth they possess. I also have my own concerns about biotech industries and the African people, but that will be discussed in a future post. Africans in America and abroad should return to the continent, and show the people how to use the materials that are exported. The continent can then competitively manufacture the same products for retail in global commerce as China, and own the resources.

References

National & Local Politics

Humanity versus Hu”money”ty

November 18, 2013 admin Leave a comment

Humanity vs Humoneyty = American Hypocrisy

By Dr. Samori Swygert

The secret is out! The government of the United States of America is officially SHUTDOWN! This may come as no surprise to many citizens. The Democrats and Republicans have come to a stalemate yet again. The citizens are again the collateral damage in the clash of egos, arrogance, philosophy, and greed.

This repetitive battle has become an infuriating conundrum among the people. As citizens, we work hard, sacrifice, and pay taxes. The government’s payroll, and services operate off the tax base of our hard earned money. However, members of congress are embracing the belief that they can operate with impunity, unaccountability, and still receive a paycheck for not doing their jobs.

Tea Party members and Republicans have a consistent complaint of their American tax dollars going to welfare programs. Many of these individuals feel that their money will be funding citizens that won’t work, and just collect a paycheck! Ironically, they are exercising the exact accusations they make of individuals on welfare now. Our congress men and women decided not to work, and still collect a paycheck for services not rendered.

We’ve been indoctrinated with the hypocrisy of cliched patriotic slogans, and mottos. Routinely we hear: “Liberty and Justice for All, In God We Trust, Be Patriotic, Provide Humanitarian Aid, This land is your land-This land is my land”. When do we get past the platitudes and elegant rhetoric of an American Utopia? The fact is, America is broken, been broken, and is currently breaking!

Where is the true sense of God, humanity, and patriotism? Our elected officials should be harangued, and lambasted out of office. Their actions demonstrate that they have no HEART or CONSCIENCE. Approximately 890,000 individuals will be out of a job due to their lack of commitment to the citizens they pledged to serve. I say, “even one day out of work is too much!”

Many people are so financially strapped in this economy, that each dollar of their paycheck is itemized and accounted for in their household budget before it’s spent. The wealth gap has expanded tremendously that the line between middle class and poor has dissolved. I have long felt that we are a society of “haves and have nots”, but this makes it evidently clear if you had prior doubts.

How do we continue to embrace these insults? They have dismantled Affirmative Action, which was put in place to show some form of acknowledgement of wrong done to blacks, and that got watered down and diluted to the point that anybody fits the criteria. They have dismantled the Voting Rights Act. They have dismantled the SNAP program that provided welfare and public assistance to struggling families. They have closed public schools and allowed the privatization of charter schools to flourish.

They have tried numerous times to increase the interest rates on student loans. They have allowed the proliferation and privatization of prisons. They have allowed the shipping of manufacturing jobs overseas, which increases the U.S. unemployment rate, and allow multinational corporations to warehouse $32 Trillion dollars in offshore accounts, but then complain about a debt ceiling! They allow companies like McDonald’s and Walmart to profiteer off employees with out paying them wages that are congruent to the contemporary living standards. Families are going into bankruptcies and foreclosures from predatory loan lenders.

They allow banks and other financial institutions to operate while conducting all kinds of monetary malfeasance, and get away with Golden Parachutes and slaps on the wrists. Many CEOs have even been given bonuses. We want wars overseas, and still haven’t processed the VA hospital benefits of over 860,000 veterans. So 860,000 veterans benefits have yet to be fully processed, and about 890,000 citizens are out of work? Urban renewal and gentrification is occurring nationwide. IS ANYONE TALLYING THE ENORMITY AND TOTALITY OF THIS DATA? Is this America?

Members of congress have amassed so much in pay, and have accumulated so much from corporate lobbyists that they feel they are above the fray ,and are immune or exempt from any kind of scrutiny and punitive actions. Maybe they feel secure because they have insulated their family, friends, finances, and partnerships from the impending collapse of the American economic system. Maybe they are comfortable and able to retreat to the security of quiet luxury homes, estates, condos, private schools, and suburban fortresses.

It’s convenient to embrace these “Disneyland Kumbaya Moments”, when there is national tragedy such as hurricanes, earthquakes, mass shootings, and acts of terror. However, what happens to the continuum of humanity and care for your fellow citizen, neighbor, and brother when the National Day of Prayer is over, and individuals go back to their separate realities of life?

890,000 citizens out of work is unacceptable and represent 890,000 households affected by these political wargames. Our congressmen and women need to comeback to the negotiation table or need to be kicked out the house. American families, children, elderly, and infirmed have no time for this grandstanding. STOP PLAYING WITH OUR LIVELIHOOD, and that goes to both political parties!