Category Archives: Socio-Cultural Commentary

Section for cultural views, critique, analysis

New World Water Part 2

New World Water Part 2: The 2014 Global Water Summit (Click here to read Part I)

by Dr. Samori Swygert

What does it mean to you when heads of major hedge funds and private equity firm managers speculate on the profitability of water?

First, I’d like to be fair and address the current need for water management:

Reasons that water management should be exercised

We’ve witnessed oil spills like the Exxon Valdez and the BP oil spill. We’ve also seen millions of gallons of toxic coal ash leak into North Carolina’s Dan River and the toxic spill into West Virginia’s drinking water supply. We’ve also witnessed and continue to hear about the nuclear spill from the Fukushima Nuclear Reactor, which has made way to the west coast. Portions of Iowa and other states that rely on agricultural commerce have seen a pervasive infiltration of nitrates into their water supply from fertilizer. We’ve witnessed an increase in water deficits in drought-prone areas throughout the Midwest to California. Many remember Shane Snyder, an ecological toxicologist who elucidated the increase of feminized male marine life in Lake Mead (Nevada), the Potomac River (DC), Denver, and California.  This phenomena was occurring due to “traces of codeine, Prozac, Valium, common antibiotics, insect repellents and a host of chemicals termed endocrine disruptors into the Lake Mead reservoir.”

We must remember the Uranium contamination of Red Water Pond Road of the Navajo Nation of the Native Americans. Their reservation is the site of the largest Uranium dump in America. The remaining groups of the Navajo tribe will be displaced from their reservation because the EPA has ruled it too toxic for inhabiting due to Uranium mining and dumping (their cattle and kids play in contaminated water).

Lastly, the Supreme Court recently said that ex-military and North Carolina plaintiffs couldn’t be rewarded from a lawsuit against an electronics company that is responsible for toxic contamination of drinking water at Camp Lejeune. The water was tainted with benzene, Trichloroethylene,  and other chemicals that led to generations of individuals with rare forms of leukemia, liver, kidney and other cancers…….Yes, mater Management and oversight are needed!

The technology

Big corporations have procured the best scientists and engineers to devise water treatment systems that multinational corporations are investing in, encouraging nations to adopt, and develop international standards. According to the agenda of the Global Water Summit of 2014, they’ve designed bacteria that breaks down waste, ultrafiltration membranes, advanced desalination systems, nanofiltration technology, hydrolysis, reverse osmosis systems and a myriad of other “solutions”.

My issues

When have you ever seen the privatization of earth’s natural resources turn out good? Throughout the Global Water Summit agenda, a specific theme is: Repetitive, Ubiquitous, and Diffuse. The theme is maximization of profit and how to impose this technology on nations and local municipalities for profit. I wouldn’t have a problem if the approach was noble in effort, but money and profit always pervert noble motives.

I believe this will evolve into a system of “hoard and ration.” The major corporations have hundreds of billions of dollars to sway politicians to present logical arguments on water conservation, but it will ultimately lead to “hydro-austerity.” The fact that this summit wasn’t even in the news or the traditional newspaper outlets speaks volumes. The exclusivity of the summit allows the privileged, wealthy, and powerful conglomerates to posture themselves for windfall profits because water is mandatory for life.

Examples of my hypothesis

California has already initiated proposals and standards to be imposed on its citizens. An article in the Sacramento Bee highlighted future mandates. “All urban water districts in California must decrease water usage per person at least 20 percent by 2020. By 2017, all pre-1994 homes must be retrofitted with low-flow plumbing fixtures in showers and toilets. The city faces a 2025 deadline under state law to finish metering all customers.” Furthermore, they are shrinking lot sizes of properties that are on the market to regulate water consumption.

These are means to reduce water consumption, but this will also lead to increase in water bills and taxes. The forced adoption of new water efficient technology is a pat on the back to the designers of the technology that attended the conference. They will get rich by imposing new laws and standards centered on the science and technology they developed and marketed around the globe.

How can we apply this knowledge of the Global Water Summit as African Americans?

The EPA said that we will need to spend at least $380 Billion dollars to upgrade our water infrastructure. Maybe we can get finance expert and scholar Dr. Boyce Watkins to explain how to invest in Tax Free Municipal Bonds that are set aside for the upgrades nationwide. Also, now is the time to thoroughly survey your property and find out if you’re sitting on water, and look into purchasing water rights too.

For comedy sake

We may have more water available if they didn’t waste so much hosing us down during civil rights protests. I also know that these company executives are studying how to charge us for water as they smoke cigars in their jacuzzi. Maybe all this depletion of water will eventually result in the recovery of Malaysian Flight 370 (yeah right!). I project that the division between the rich and poor will produce a real “Watergate” — rich on one side, and poor on the other. We need Moses to come and tap some of these rocks to spew forth some fresh water. Man I miss water balloon fights and Super Soakers.

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 (Part 1 of this article)

Did you know that a bunch of wealthy people gather to discuss how to control your water?

The New World Water part 1: The Global Water Summit of 2014

by Dr. Samori Swygert

One of my favorite emcees is Mos Def. A while ago, he made a song titled “New World Water” on his first album. Now fast forward to 2014 and we realize that the record is more than just a song.

Water is a natural resource made available to all inhabitants on Earth. Many believe that the accessibility and availability of water is a human right. Now may be the time to reexamine these premises and assertions. Are you aware that the GLOBAL WATER SUMMIT OF 2014 just concluded this past April in Paris, France? Were you aware that they have GLOBAL WATER SUMMITS?

This summit is the “Who’s Who” of global executive leaders, private equity firms, hedge fund managers, technology strategists, and infrastructure development experts. Yes, the water we know, need, and love is currently being speculated on for venture capital investments as an emerging market.

The itinerary of the summit consisted of 45 sessions that addressed desalination, advanced water treatment technologies, water transport, developing public policies for urban water use, and devising sustainable water solutions in: Africa, Singapore, Israel, India, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Pakistan, and Bahrain.

Here are 5 titles of the 45 sessions that were presented

  1. Water’s impact on Profitability, New Metrics Underpinning Investment in Water Management Programmes
  2. Water conflict and peacemaking in Future Cities
  3. Venture Capital Investments in Water: Ingredients to success
  4. Technology investor focus: Which water treatment technologies are getting investors’ attention and why
  5. Competition in the urban water supply chain: What are the emerging trends?

This is the lexicon of speculators. It sounds more than just sustainability and environmental conservation.

Why is this important?

Globally and domestically, there are companies and individuals that are buying up water rights. What are water rights?  When you purchase property, people typically think of acreage, square feet, and overall perimeters they will own. However, real estate savvy individuals recognize the importance of what is below your land. Your property may be pregnant with gold, oil, coal, water, and more. You can purchase the rights to own those resources below your property.

Some people own property but someone else may own the water rights to the H2O beneath it. Bloomberg Businessweek produced an article that detailed how the Royal Dutch Shell is buying groundwater rights in Colorado, Nestle is purchasing water rights throughout America, and investors in Australia are buying water rights and reselling it to farmers at a marked up value.

The article also details how an old Texas oil tycoon, T. Boone Pickens, owns 68,000 acres in the Texas Panhandle that sits on the Ogallala Aquifer that contains a QUADRILLION gallons of water. He projects that he will eventually sell 65 billion gallons a year to Dallas.

This is important because government agencies forecast that the demand for water will exceed the supply by 40 percent by 2030. The demand is based on increased population, climate change, urbanization, and industrialization. The principle basis of economics is scarcity. How do you manage scarce resources, and match it with the demand of the public, while making a profit? Throughout America, water rights are being purchased like home foreclosures. This is occurring in Florida, Texas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, and other states.

The proposed technology and infrastructure

The proposed and current technological processes deal with desalination of ocean and seawater. This process is similar to hemodialysis. Water filtration plants are being built and renovated throughout America. The filtration plants will suck up ocean water and filter out the salt content so that it’s suitable and safe for human consumption and redeposit the remaining salt back to the ocean.

There is also reverse osmosis. This process is being used and heavily proposed nationwide. This takes groundwater, sewage waste water and systematically separates the particulate matter, contaminants, microorganisms, pharmaceuticals, and carcinogens and then passes them through ultrafiltration membranes, ultraviolet lights, and ozone to “purify” it. I encourage you to read everything on your bottle of Dasani, that’s all I will say.

Furthermore, according to three different stories in USA Today, The Huffington Post, and The Washington Times, the U.S. Navy has confirmed that they’ve developed a method that can convert seawater into jetfuel. We all know our country’s thirst for war (no pun intended).

Proponents for reverse osmosis feel that it’s safe for consumption, but currently many companies and utilities use it for agricultural irrigation, toilet, bath, cleaning, industrial needs (thermonuclear energy, semiconductors, and etc.).

It’s all about the Benjamins Baby

The Environmental Protection Agency said that America will need to spend at least $380 billion to upgrade the nation’s water infrastructure. This is why you have Private Equity Firms like Blackstone in attendance at the summit. The Clark County Water Reclamation District is currently estimating spending $585 million to construct a 17 mile long water pipeline to supply Las Vegas. California constructed a $481 million Groundwater Replenishment System that conducts reverse osmosis. In the U.K., a water service provider was propositioned by a conglomeration of Kuwaiti, Canadian, and British investors for $8 billion. In Melbourne, Australia a company named Tandou Ltd has approximately $30 million in water rights. Nikko Asset Management, a Tokyo based subsidiary tried to raise $100 million from Australia for water funds. A utility company called, Canadian River Municipal Water Authority purchased 43,000 acres of water in Texas for $14.5 Million.

The story gets even deeper… Stay tuned for “The New World Water Part 2.” This is too much info for one article.

Global Water Summit 2014 Itinerary link: http://www.watermeetsmoney.com/agenda

Rapper Mos Def was prophetic (Youtube link) New World Water, listen closely: http://youtu.be/IxvQKZPb6Wo

Read Part 2 Here

Black men are angry, Muslims are terrorists, and White men are______?

Black men are angry, Muslims are terrorists, and White men are______?

by Dr. Samori Swygert

One of the most frequently frustrating labels to me is the “angry black man”.  I detest and abhor it.  American society has persistently found a way to stigmatize and bastardize the black male image.  The media has utilized their cinematic, audio-visual apparatus to stereotype black men for ages.

My Issue With Subjective Media Labeling of Black Men
I harbor such disdain for this label because often times, black men aren’t angry.  When black men decide to vocalize opinions or feelings, society chooses to equate our expressions with hostility.  When we refrain from speaking, then we are pushed over, ignored, and considered docile, unsure, and “feckless.”  This places black men in a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” dynamic.
Much is said about black men. However, it’s almost taboo to truly address, and more importantly, create a label for white men.  America has been ducking and ignoring this conversation for a long time.
See, it’s okay for the news outlets to call black men gangsters, thugs, hoodlums, and menaces to society whenever there is a gang shootout or random inner-city murder.  Yes, it’s easy, expected, and convenient to slap these negative monikers, and other stereotypical nomenclatures on us.

However, when white males commit ghastly and atrocious murders, the conversation shifts to mental health, support, and help.  When has the media considered mental health as a contributing factor in murders committed by black men?  The answer is very few and far between.  I can only think of Colin Ferguson (the Long Island Railroad shooter) and the Washington Navy Yard shooter.  You can’t even say John Muhammad because it was ruled that in his case it was a well orchestrated and methodical plot.

A Probable Theory

I think that many white men who have committed “mass murderous acts” are mentally ill, but I also believe there are other confounding variables that America dismisses.  It’s my opinion that many of these white male mass murderers suffer from a trifecta of issues: 1) mental illness 2) belief in white supremacy 3) belief in white privilege.

I think all three fuel and feed each other.  I’ve carefully listened to, and replayed Elliot Rodger’s video before he committed his murders in Santa Barbara, California.  These three themes were recurrent throughout the video.
The media persistently conducts a smear campaign that ultimately propagandizes black men as criminals.  However, this is not entirely true or close to the truth.  Just as all white men aren’t mass murderers, all black men aren’t gangsters, thugs, pimps, and players.  American society needs to get familiar with its black male constituency and quit the disparaging imagery and rhetoric, unless it chooses to come to grips with the atrocities that certain demographics of white males commit.  The black community is chock full of doctors, lawyers, business men, scientists, Ph.D’s, inventors, and just all around stand up honest hardworking black men.
This demonizing imagery has contributed to the placement of multitudes of black men into the cross hairs of police, which results in daily targeted harassment and stop and frisk-type policing.  This also happened to Muslim Americans after 9/11.  Sectors of African American men and Muslims become the poster-child for the whole group, but this doesn’t apply to white men. Why?

If you’re white and reading this, think about how many cool, respectable, honest, hardworking, intelligent black men you work with and are friends with.  Does that friend resemble anything of the street thugs that pop up in media mugshots?  I doubt it.

How Does White Privilege Play a Role In These Murders?

The focusing on black males and Muslims has allowed white males to go unchecked and allows them to accomplish the most unimaginable and horrific schemes in American history.  This occurs because local authorities are distracted on young men with sagging pants and a hoodie, or a man in a turban with a full beard.

Just think for a moment…….Would a Muslim man by the name of Abdul Hasan Fareed be able to order thousands of rounds of ammunition and high powered assault rifles online without the government knocking on his door?  We already know the answer to that.  However, this is how many of these mass shooting killers acquired their ammo and firearms (online).
Elliot Rodger felt compelled to kill people because he was denied sëxual experiences.  His family is worth millions of dollars from the film industry.  The dynamic of white privilege allowed Elliot Rogers to commit these heinous murders.  The Alta Vista cops say they were aware of the videos and threats but they failed to make a full intervention. Why?  They said he appeared to be okay.  Yet, you have a person saying that he would “make a mountain of skulls, and a river of blood”, and  “go into the sorority house and kill every girl.”  Why would you not take death threats serious, or at least give the due diligence to notify the college campus and the sorority house about these threats?
 

I have some questions:  If Elliot Rodger was a Muslim and made these type of threats, would his video be ignored?  If Elliot Roger was a Muslim, would the police inquiry simply stop at a doorstep wellness interview?  Eliot Rodger was given the benefit of the doubt and that doubt resulted in multiple murders and injuries.  However, we have innocent Muslims that have a whole NYPD task squad dedicated to dissecting each fabric of their lives (and they haven’t made one threat).

How Can White Supremacy Contribute to Mental Illness?

What happens to a person that believes that they are better and superior to all races, and then discovers that they aren’t?  When a person believes they’re smarter than another person just because of skin color, and then fails out of school, how does that person feel?  When a person believes they are the most sexiest person because they are white, but can’t get a date, how does that person feel?  When a person believes they’re stronger than everyone else because they’re white but loses every street fight, how does that person feel? When a person believes they are privileged because they’re white but lives in a shack, how does that person feel?
I think this creates cognitive dissonance because what they believe, and what’s reality, are two opposite realities.  I think this makes the person feel like a loser, and a failure because they are not living up to a false standard placed on them.  This may result in murder in some cases because the act of murder may be viewed as a final display of power and control.  This false perception of achieving power through murder is a last minute validation of the power they’ve been seeking all along.
Not all of the following white male murderers and domestic terrorists fit the proposed trifecta that I mentioned.  However, I think it is something to consider. I also think honesty is what’s really lacking in this conversation of violence and race.  Not all black men are thugs and killers, however we do have a significant segment that engage in a lot of unscrupulous behavior.  Not all white men are psychopathic in nature, but there are segments that choose to kill innocent people they don’t even know.
I say we all need to come to the table and engage in a mature, respectful, and honest conversation.  This is the only way to resolve these issues.  We may be surprised with what we come up with, but denial will kill us just like denying you have cancer.  The ideology of white supremacy is destructive and breeds nothing but hate and division in a country that depicts itself as  loving and welcoming. I also believe gun control is not the answer — a demented person will just find a different weapon to inflict pain and harm on their target.

Lastly, Mark Cuban said he would cross the street if he saw a black kid in a hoodie approaching him. Yet, he could have crossed the path of a psychopath like Elliot Rodger (who looked harmless), and Elliot Rodger could have shot him to death……..think about it.

I would like you to look at these names and events and think about them in their entirety, and research them.  This is what I did prior to writing this article!

  • Charles Manson
  • Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols with the Oklahoma City Bombing,
  • Ted Kaczynski the “Unabomber”
  • Eric Robert Rudolph ( 1996 Atlanta , Georgia Olympic park bomber, antisemite and felt white people were God’s chosen people)
  • James Eagan Holmes ( the Colorado theatre shooter),
  • Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold (the Columbine High School shooters),
  • Adam Lanza (the Newtown Connecticut Elementary School shooter)
  • Ronald DeFeo Jr (the real life character of the Amityville Horror movie)
  • Mitchell Johnson and Andrew Goldman (Jonesboro, Arkansas school shooters)
  • Dennis Rader “The BTK killer”
  • Ted Bundy
  • Jeffrey Dahmer
  • David Berkowitz “the Son of Sam”
  • The Zodiac Killer (all survivors and authorities describe a white male)
  • John Wayne Gacy (killer of 33 teenage boys and basis of the movie “Gacy” and “To Catch a Killer”), Albert DeSalvo “The Boston Strangler”
  • Gary Ridgway “The Green River Killer” (convicted of 48 murders, and confessed to over 71 murders)
  • Buford O Furrow Jr (1999 Los Angeles Jewish Community Center Shooting, fired 70 shots in the center, and was a white supremacist),
  • Wade Michael Page ( Wisconsin Sikh temple shooter, killing 6 and injuring 4 Sikh parishioners)
  • Douglas Williams (The Lockheed Martin Plant Shooting, where 14 coworkers were shot with a shotgun)
  • John List (planned and executed the murder of his own mother, wife, and 3 children),
  • Charles Whitman (engineering student that killed 13 people, and injured 32 others from the observation deck of the University of Texas tower)
  • Jared Loughner (shot congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in the head, killed 6 others, and injured 12 other attendees to a political event)
  • George Hennard ( the mass murderer in Killeen, Texas that drove his truck through the front of a cafeteria and shot 43 people and then killed himself)
  • “Whitey”Bulger,
  • The Tsarnaev Brothers (bombed the Boston Marathon)
  • Nathan Campbell (attempted multiple vehicular manslaughter on Venice Beach)
  • Michael Brandon Hill (went into an Atlanta elementary school with AK-47 with 500 rounds but was talked out of killing by a black staff member)
  • Elliot Rodger ( 22 year old Santa Barbara, California virgin mass murderer)
  • Frazier Glenn Cross (73 year old Kansas Jewish Center murderer)
  • Paul Anthony Ciancia ( 23 year old Los Angeles Airport shooter)
  • John David LaDue ( 17 year old in Minnesota that made bombs, had several firearms and plotted to kill his family, then set off bombs,  go to school kill the security guard, chain the doors and then shoot as many kids as possible but was intercepted by a lady who called the police on suspicion)
  • Alex Hribal ( 16 year old Alex Hribal, stabbed 20 students and an adult in a Pittsburgh High school)
  • Charles Carl Roberts IV ( 32 year old male that murdered several students in an Amish school in Lancaster, Pennsylvania with  a Ruger Bolt action rifle, 12 gauge shotgun, and 9mm handgun)
  • Thomas “ TJ” Lane ( 17 year old, murders students in Chardon High school in Chardon, Ohio)
  • Geddy L Kramer ( 19 year old, shoots 6 coworkers in Atlanta, Georgia at a FedEx plant and kills himself)
Also I encourage  knee-jerk trolls and commentors to watch this video about White Privilege by Tim Wise that radio show host Warren Ballentine recommended.  This video further supports my position on Elliot Rodger, and the “angry black man” label: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YN8pmhQwcnY
Remember a murder can be a “manslaughter” or another “mans-laughter.”

Donald Sterling and the DNA of hate

Donald Sterling and the DNA of Hate

by Dr. Samori Swygert

I have another angle and final thought about Donald Sterling that America should really consider.

This is how racism is transmitted from generation to generation to generation:

Donald Sterling  imposed this racist practice on his female trophy acquaintance. What do you think he would instill and indoctrinate in his offspring — someone he has a genuine vested interest in, someone that bares his last name and bloodline?  If he was concerned about how his friends and colleagues viewed his “glamour girl,” I’m speculating he would be even more concerned about how they view his children.

This is what cripples any hope about fixing racism.  Babies are born and children of various ethnic backgrounds will play together in fun and pleasantries, but the ideologies on race are encoded into the psyche of a young impressionable, and vulnerable mind.

Eventually this conditioning leads to habit, then to belief, and finally manifestation.  I remember growing up and going to summer camps in different states and cities.  I made good friends with children of all ethnic and cultural backgrounds; we shared lunches, played dodgeball, bowling, roller skating, baseball, basketball, had arts and crafts, went on biking trips and numerous field trips.  The irony was that we all got along, we were ignorant to the dynamic of racism.  Our concern was having fun and how we could make the next moment better.

However, we grow older, and centuries of indoctrination gets placed on a fragile mind.  We get fed disinformation about humanity, superiority, inferiority, and our innocence becomes corrupted.  That’s what’s so dangerous about Donald Sterling’s comments.  Children look to their parents for guidance, direction, support, and instruction.  As a child you are more liable to accept what your parent says because you have no true knowledge of the world and how it works.  Kids will believe their parents primarily because these are the individuals  that were routinely involved in their feeding, cleaning, clothing, education, spiritual development, and etc. So although racism is taught, it’s people like Sterling who are responsible for the transfer of racism like a bad chromosome or a contagion.

You then have to ask yourself: Where did he learn this, and who taught him this?  Who are these friends that he caters to about race relations?  What do these friends teach their kids about how to interact with African Americans and other ethnic groups?   No, I don’t know his children at all, thus I can’t make a statement about their beliefs.  However, you have to wonder what it would be like to be a fly on the wall in Donald Sterling’s household during conversations on race.

You have to think about the young fledgling  recruits in the KKK, Neo Nazis, Skinheads, and other hate groups. Think about these public acts of violence.  Many of these may be attributed to psychosis, but how many are racially motivated?

Donald Sterling is not an anomaly, I’m certain there’s  lot more people that concur with his sentiments. Sadly, there’s probably another young generation that probably supports him because they were taught this hate speech.  This fosters what I call, blind hate.  This is the type of hate you have for someone you never even met, and are willing to exact hateful ACTIONS or IN-ACTIONS……..just because.

Comments

Athletes shouldn’t get to excited about the ban on Sterling

Athletes may be banned for life now

by Dr. Samori Swygert

As many professional athletes revel in their delight of NBA Commissioner Silver’s banning of Donald Sterling, they need to be cognizant of their own emotions while playing and in the locker room.  The commissioner’s ruling is not restricted to NBA owners. It seems to apply to all individuals within the league.  This has set a precedent that players need to  think about.

Many times players get so caught up emotionally that they let racial and sëxual epithets out during a confrontation with another player or referee.  This ruling will now be held to such a stringent standard that the most miniscule slip of the tongue can result in players being banned for life from the profession they love.

The byproduct of this ruling will place many athletes under scrutiny when they express derogatory and inflammatory phrases during the game and off the court/field.  Being that this punishment was so stern to a wealthy owner, I’m sure the level of tolerance will be lowered for a player like Riley Cooper or what happened with the Miami Dolphins.  This ruling has essentially opened Pandora’s Box for insensitive remarks and appears to foster a zero-tolerance policy in the league.

Players will no longer be able to hurl the word N*gga /Nigg*r (however you want to interpret the phraseology) and try to explain the dubious cultural interpretations and derivations of it. You can no longer explain away how you pronounce, accentuate, or syncopate on a vowel or consonant.  The moment this happens, the news, owners, lawyers, and offended parties will cry foul and unfairness.

This also goes to players that may call another player a fagg*t or a s*ssy.  You will run the risk of being banned for life.  I’m only extrapolating the outcome, but I put money on this.  So it’s wise to think before you speak and control your emotions because you never know where the next hot mic is or locker room drone.  I’m also sure this will spill over into the music industry, but I’ll wait to speak on that.  I think I’m going to start a new career as a professional sports language referee,  I’ll run up and down the court with a high fidelity microphone watching players mouths.  That’s job creation! :-D

Pro-boxer recieves Sterling like punishment

Boxer suspended for racial slur

by:  Dr. Samori Swygert

previously wrote an article addressing the warranted jubilee expressed by NBA players and other sports affiliates on the NBA’s decision to ban Donald Sterling for his racist remarks.  My angle was that the NBA’s ruling will set a historical precedent that can also apply to the athletes on teams and other sports.  I gave an example of how Riley Cooper could get banned or suspended now if he said his earlier statements after the banning of Donald Sterling.

I asserted and extrapolated what the future implications of the decision would be.  My hypothesis is that athletes can soon expect to be banned from sports when they utter expletives like: nigg*/nigg*r, fagg*t/ que*r and other racial and sëxual oriented insults when they become emotionally fueled on and off the court.

In the comment section I was berated for having foresight and understanding how America applies precedents and interpretations after monumental rulings.  However, no more than a week later, this has begun to manifest in boxing.

According to the Daily Mail, an African-American boxer named Adrien Broner has been indefinitely suspended until he publicly apologizes to the WBC, his opponent, and explains what he meant to the satisfaction of the world for tweeting that he “beat the f*ck out of a Mexi-can.”

This is an excerpt from the statement released by WBC, as reported by Daily Mail article :

‘The World Boxing Council holds human equality as its banner and will not accept a former WBC champion to make racially offensive statements.

Since words have different meanings and can be interpreted in different ways , the WBC is issuing this open letter to Adrien Broner to either clarify what he meant with his words or to issue a public apology if those words were intended to be despective and offensive.

Adrien Broner is hereby suspended from participating in any WBC sanctioned Championship and will be excluded from the WBC Ratings until the time he makes a public apology satisfactorily to the public of the world.’

So as I said in my previous article, it’s good that the sports world and NBA are holding Donald Sterling responsible for his racial diatribe with his girlfriend, but athletes need to be cognizant that this is not a one-way street: You can and will be banned and suspended for what you say.  Furthermore, I encourage commenters to think a little, extract, and then extrapolate information into future scenarios before casting such belittling commentary.  I only try to provide my perspective without disrespect to the readers. Thank you and peace

Video proves the feminization of black boys

Black boys officially sabotaged and people think it’s cute: Watch this sick video

by: Dr. Samori Swygert

In the most disgusting, disrespectful, feminizing display of the degradation of black male character, we have sunk to a new low. My friend showed me one of the most saddest videos yesterday.

People always want to act like there isn’t a deliberate, intentional, and malicious attempt to sabotage the masculinity of black males these days. I’ve grown tired of the acceptance of bad behavior masquerading as fashionable contemporary expression.  This stuff is killing our community.  I’m here to tell you it exists, and it’s in full effect.  These skinny jeans (denim leotards), skirts, and sagging pants are all methods of a strategy to attack black males via fashion.  The TV shows do it through media, and now a song has hit YouTube called “ Throw Dat Boy P*ssy.

This videos has our young black men in spandex shorts twerking to a beat that is easily considered a club banger, and will hypnotize and tranquilize the average unassuming ear.  You have no idea of how devastating this is until you actually see the video.  The quest for fame, stardom, and notoriety has our children doing any and everything now because they aren’t receiving the proper and healthy attention and recognition from inside our homes.

We have officially allowed pop culture to co-opt our young boys, using our own culture of hip-hop to accomplish their mission.  PARENTS GET ON TASK!!! GRANDPARENTS GET ON TASK!!! PREACHERS GET ON TASK!!!! TEACHERS GET ON TASK!!!! WE’VE GOT WORK TO DO, STOP THE EXCUSES.  WE’LL THEN BE WONDERING WHO WILL MARRY OUR DAUGHTERS!

I’m sick of this.  We’ve become so obsessed with being acceptive of inappropriate behavior, and obsessed with freedom of expression that we are failing to analyze the failures of freedom of expression.  Furthermore, true freedom of expression is false now because when you try to express your opposing view, you’ll be effectively ostracized, blacklisted, and branded.  So freedom of expression is only applicable to the dictators of contemporary pop-culture.  I’m not saying we need a dictator, but where are the boundaries and red lines of inappropriateness, and cultural pride?

We’ve become an exploited commodity and mockery for the world to see.

Look at how we’ve been tricked into pop culture:

  • You don’t see music videos of Asian, East Indian, Muslim or Jewish men twerking like women.
  • You don’t see “Divorce Court” featuring Asian, East Indian, Muslim or Jewish husband and wives acting silly on camera and arguing over child support.
  • You don’t see “reality shows” with Asian, East Indian, Jewish or Muslim men and women acting like they have no home training or respect for themselves.
  • You don’t see Asian, East Indian, Jewish or Muslim men and women on Jerry Springer and Maury Povich getting exploited for money and TV ratings.
  • You don’t see Asian, East Indian, Muslim, or Jewish communities exploiting their women as strippers for music videos.
  • You don’t see Asian, East Indian, Muslim, or Jewish communities making songs about how they will kill their brethren.

No you don’t, and I’m not entertaining anybody’s one or two examples they’ve witnessed once just to have a comment in the comment section in an attempt to look unique or deep.  Go somewhere else with that.

You do see the Asian, Middle Eastern, Jewish, and East Indian demographics quietly getting their financial and economic demands met, controlling resources, and having soci0-political impact.  I’m not beholding to any of the aforementioned demographics but they’re an excellent demographic to illustrate what they do and do not participate in.  They have a fortified solidarity dedicated to the perpetuation of their cultural posterity.

The new black leadership has to start at home, not at any political convention, not on Capitol Hill, not at some rally, not at some march, not even at these fake Hollywood churches… It has to start at home. Unplug that idiot box and detox.  The case for increased mental and spiritual hygiene is here!

D.C. murder case proves the desperate need for fathers

D.C. murder case pleads the case for fathers

by Dr. Samori Swygert

We’ve heard about how actor Terry Crews was criticized on public TV for saying that boys need fathers in their lives. Well consider this story!  This may be lengthy but trust me, it’s worth your while, I’ll never write about nonsense to waste your time.

What you are about to read is a true story.  This is centered in the streets of Washington, D.C., however, it reads like the climax to the plot of an inner city crime novel or a big screen MiraMax film.  Unfortunately, this is real life like an episode of  “The First 48.”

I highlight this story as a cautionary case study for parents, family members, and our youth.  The role of a parent is crucial.  I also say that the presence of a contributory, productive, concerned, and dedicated father is critical.

This incident literally touches on poverty, drugs, incarceration, fatherless children, drugs, robbery, homicide, police corruption, police informants, and bad social environments.

The following individuals are either implicated, murdered, or sentenced.  The main youth Arvel Crawford was just sentenced to 75 years in jail.

  • Arvel Crawford- convicted and incarcerated, first documented murder at age 18
  • Arvel Alston- 40-year-old murdered by his son, Arvel Crawford
  • Johnquan Wright- 18-year-old victim of homicide secondary to retaliation
  • Nolan Cooper- Victim of homicide, 61-year-old innocent bystander
  • Tyrone Herring- 45-year-old, targeted drug dealer
  • Jarvis Clark- accomplice
  • Roshun “Too sharp” Parker- 27-year-old accomplice, and police informant
  • Reginald Jones- 40-year-old corrupt D.C. police officer
  • Lynn Wilkerson- cousin of police officer, and auto-shop owner

Let’s get started

On May 2014, a D.C. court judge sentenced 23-year-old Arvel Crawford to 75 years in prison for the murder of Johnquan Wright and Nolan Cooper.  Arvel Crawford was only 18-years-old at the time of those murders (2008).  However, at the time he was sentenced for 75 years, he was already serving 18 years in shooting and killing his father (Arvel Alston) in a botched robbery of a drug dealer (2009).

Arvel Crawford was born six months after his father was incarcerated in 1990 for the shooting death of a man during a robbery.  His father (Arvel Alston) was sentenced to 25 years, but the sentence was reduced to 17 years.  Arvel Crawford’s father was released in 2007, less than a year later he would be murdered by his own son (accidentally).  Arvel Crawford would only know his dad as a free man for a matter of months because from birth to 2007 his father was incarcerated.

In 2008, Arvel Crawford’s cousin was killed.  Crawford allegedly figured out who killed his cousin.  His cousin’s alleged killer was Johnquan Wright.  Late one night, Arvel Crawford crept up behind Johnquan with a .45 caliber handgun and fired multiple shots into his back.  One shot was an entry-exit wound, which went through Johnquan and hit 61-year-old Nolan Cooper.  Nolan Cooper was a 61-year-old homeless innocent bystander, Nolan fatally succumbed to his wounds.  Arvel was not caught for that double homicide.

In 2009, Arvel Alston ( the father), orchestrated a robbery of a local drug dealer.  Arvel Alston  enlisted the help of his own teenage son, a few of the above the above accomplices, and a D.C. police officer ( Reginal Jones) that was down on his luck financially.  The target of the robbery was a local drug dealer by the name of Tyrone Herring.

Arvel Alston ( the father), Arvel Crawford, Reginald Jones ( D.C. cop), Lynn Wilkerson, and the rest of the crew met at Lynn Wilkerson’s auto-shop to devise the plan to rob Tyrone Herring.

That night, the crew posted up in the parking lot of Tyrone’s girlfriend’s apartment, and awaited his exit.  They were going to apprehend him at gun point, and push their way into her apartment to rob her, then take his Infiniti to his house and rob him of all money, drugs, and whatever else was considered valuable. The robbery scene would be watched and protected by the D.C. police officer.  He would serve as lookout and scare away anyone that approached the scene of the robbery.  Some of the scheme went according to plan.

Tyrone exited his girl’s apartment.  He was approached by the group, a gun was drawn on him, and he was dragged to the door of his girl’s apartment.  They rang her buzzer but she never responded.  The scuffle continued as they tried to get him into his Infiniti.  Tyrone screamed out for help to the D.C. police cruiser, but no help was afforded him because the D.C. cop was in on the robbery.

Arvel Crawford drew his gun and fired.  He missed and shot his dad in the torso.  His dad got out the Infiniti, and eventually stumbled to the ground while asking his son, “What the f*ck are you doing?”  Arvel Crawford was screaming, ” Get up dad, Get up!”.

Rashun ” Too sharp” Parker snitched on all his partners to get a reduced sentence.  Rashun Parker had a long history with D.C. police on informing them of crimes and committing crimes, he had a give-and-take relationship with D.C.P.D.

Reginald Jones (the cop) was already upside down in his mortgage ($28,000 in delinquent mortgage payments), facing foreclosure, and had tens of thousands of dollars in consumer debt.  Reginald Jones plead guilty and was sentenced to 15 years in jail.

The other accomplices were charged with murder because they were accomplices in commission of a crime when somebody was killed.  Tyrone Herrings was found with $ 4,700 in cash and 31.4 grams of crack on the night in question. Reportedly, his misdeeds revealed his secret girlfriend to his wife, and he faces legal troubles stemming from the drug possession.

So May 2014, Arvel Crawford was sentenced to an additional 75 years for the double homicide.

This young man will never see the light of day as a free man.  He never really knew his father, and his father never really knew himself.  His father served 17 years in jail, basically his son’s whole life (at the time) just to get released and involve his son in criminal activity that ultimately led to his own son shooting and killing him by accident.  The Bible talks about how the sins of the father shall visit upon the children ( Exodus 20:5).  His father robbed and killed a man in 1990, and the karma came back twice as hard.

This father had a chance to tell his son not to emulate him and to teach him to be everything he’s not and to seek higher ground.  His father could’ve intervened, or been an obstacle to his son’s road to destruction.  So much can be said about this story, but I tried to be brief for readers’ sake.  However, this must be said:  We must also actively assume a father figure in lives of our young black men.  We never know who they are looking to for guidance and direction.  We don’t have to be related by blood and DNA to claim the kids of our village.

Check out the original Washington Post articles here and here for full details.

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Tennessee bill will mass incarcerate drug addicted mothers

Tennessee bill will jail drug addicted mothers

by Dr. Samori Swygert

The state of Tennessee has passed House Bill 1295, a bill that criminalizes a mother that uses narcotics during pregnancy. The bill has passed both houses and just needs to be signed into law.

Here’s a quote directly from the bill: “ Criminal Offenses – As introduced, provides that a mother can be prosecuted for an assaultive offense or homicide if she illegally takes a narcotic drug while pregnant and the child is born addicted, is harmed, or dies because of the drug“. – Amends TCA Title 39

I’m torn in two directions of this bill.  I’m completely against a mother using drugs while pregnant and/or breαstfeeding for the obvious reasons of fetal harm.  However, I’m also aware of the power of addiction.  It’s easy for lawmakers and some individuals to tout this bill, but many have never really dealt with true addiction.  I also wonder why treatment and/or rehabilitation is not considered as an option as opposed to incarceration.

Also, what is to be done to mothers that smoke tobacco during pregnancy?  Cigarette smoke is just as detrimental to fetal development, but there is no law that criminalizes pregnant women for smoking cigarettes.

We must also gain a clear itemization of which drugs are considered “narcotics” in Tennessee.  We see the trend in marijuana use.  If marijuana is considered a narcotic like cocaine, crack, heroin, crystal meth, and LSD, there could be a potential problem.  A mother may not use marijuana but individuals in her domestic environment can be heavy users and the possibility of a positive blood test (from second hand smoke, like tobacco) can put her at risk of criminal prosecution.

This bill also feeds into the drug testing business that many states are pushing for. Health care practitioners would be inclined to run a drug screen on every baby born with physical abnormalities.  The child may have a genetic disorder, but because the disorder is present, they would run a drug screen to see if narcotics played a role.

Subsequently, this leads to mass drug testing and a financial boom for the drug testing industry. I discussed the potential financial gains from mass drug testing and how the private equity firm, The Carlyle Group, purchased the blood and drug testing arm of Johnson and Johnson (Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics) for $ 4.15 Billion dollars a few months ago.

I never even considered the money to be made from mandatory drug testing and criminal prosecution of pregnant mothers.

I really am in a bind trying to weigh this bill out.  I really see the humanistic portion in the protection of babies, and the discouragement of drug use, but I also see the financial profiteering of the prison industry and drug testing industry.  Are states crafting legislation to generate penalty based revenue?

What do you think about all this?  Where do you stand? Also, should treatment and rehabilitation be the other option before incarceration?

Click here to read my original drug testing article.

Movie Review: Hidden Colors 3 a smash hit must see

Movie Review: Hidden Colors 3 a smash hit must see!

By: Dr. Samori Swygert

The ground breaking documentary series, Hidden Colors, debuted its’ 3rd installment (Hidden Colors 3: The Rules of Racism) last night (6/26/2014) in select theaters across the country. Hidden Colors 3 was a masterful production, and I consider it to be mandatory viewing. I fervently believe that our youth need to see this, and its’ prior series. The historical information revealed through dates/times, legislations, public policies, and the unique perspectives of the interviewees brings everything full circle.

Tariq Nasheed is the director of the documentary. The actors/participants in the film include: Tariq Nasheed, Dr. Frances Cress Welsing, Carol Anderson, Nas, George Fraser, Paul Mooney, d**k Gregory, Dr. Phil Valentine, David Banner, Dr. Kaba Kamene, Dr. Umar Johnson, Shahrazad Ali, Joy Degruy, and Khalil Gibran Muhammad.

George Fraser’s confident Godfather demeanor and delivery of iron clad approaches to business resonated with me.

I also loved that they presented facts.  Many times we fall into the trap of ideological debate with various demographics of American society.  However, facts are irrefutable.  The only way to shut a person down in a debate is with: dates, events, and laws.  Remember the phrase, ” you can have your own opinion but not your own facts”.

They debunked historical, and racial myths of African Americans in the United States with surgical precision. I recommend getting a pen and paper when watching the documentary, because they reveal the specific names, laws, and court cases that have been hidden and concealed, but were the tools to the subjugation of Africans in America. They even illuminated the topic of organ harvesting of African Americans, in which I did a write up on a few months ago on: www.blacktimetravel.com.

I really offer my kudos for this production because after all the history and perspective, they dedicated a whole segment on solutions. Many times intellectuals, scholars, and historians wax poetic on our origin and legacy. I have no problem with that, but we have to become solution oriented in thought and philosophy while simultaneously embracing our cultural heritage. The key theme in the solutions is, African Americans need to unite economically, place high importance on education, obtain resources and capital, and a whole lot more.

I won’t go any further into detail to avoid spoiling the experience for you. I encourage you to buy this series and watch it with your man, woman, husband, wife, children, friends, and others.

I remember my mother sitting my brother and me down as a family to watch, Eyes on the Prize, in 1987 when I was in elementary school. I didn’t understand everything at the time, but I was able to understand much of what the series was conveying. The documentary made me ask my mother a ton of questions, and being a African American History school teacher, she eagerly obliged.  My eyes started opening at a very young age about society, race, history, and where I fit.

I feel Hidden Colors in its’ own right, is the Eyes on the Prize of the millennium. I think it’s imperative that our youth watch this, because history and particularly African American history has been removed from school curriculums, and the mediums that are responsible for communicating our heritage is being strategically censored from the annals of American History. It’s one thing to know where you are, but understanding how and why you arrived in the present is tantamount.

I’ll also add that the Avalon Theater in Washington, DC was packed to the maximum, and the film ended with a loud round of applause from the movie goers.

I don’t know what Siskel and Ebert would give this film, but I know that Malcolm and Garvey give this TWO THUMBS UP! Add this to your library.

Purchase Hidden Colors 3: http://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Colors-The-Rules-Racism/dp/B00L5Y8GJC/ref=sr_1_1/188-6221691-0807119?ie=UTF8&qid=1403866775&sr=8-1&keywords=hidden+colors+3