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!

Human and Civil Rights

J. Edgar Hoover’s 3-prong attack on black leadership is still alive today!

November 18, 2013 admin Leave a comment

By: Dr. Samori Swygert

Our black leaders have either been assassinated, incarcerated, or vilified. I was listening to the Warren Ballentine Show last week on the Empowerment Radio Network. Warren had reiterated that statement throughout the show, and it resonated with me because it was the truth.

I think of Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Marcus Garvey, Fred Hampton, Assata Shakur, Angela Davis, Huey Newton, Geronimo Pratt, and a long list of others that were victims of those 3 MUTING METHODOLOGIES.

Warren also discussed how J. Edgar Hoover (Director of the FBI, and developer of COINTELPRO) had his own plan to stop the rise of a “Black Messiah”. Why are blacks considered a threat just because we choose to improve our situation, establish solidarity, foster camaraderie, develop economic sustainability, and gain equal rights and protection under the law?

That question reminded me of the story of King Herod in the Bible. I won’t go in depth, because you can read it at your personal leisure. However, I will give a brief synopsis.

A Brief Synopsis

Mary and Joseph sought private confines for the birthing of Jesus to avoid public scrutiny, because the conception was nontraditional. The word of Jesus’s birth got back to King Herod, and he sent out 3 wise men to conduct reconnaissance work for him. The 3 wise men arrived bearing gifts to the baby Jesus, and decided not to report back to King Herod. Joseph had a dream that the King would be sending for his family and fled to Egypt to avoid capture. King Herod got word of the betrayal, and then sent out his soldiers to kill each child 2 years of age and younger. This was done to prevent the possibility of any forecasted Messiah of taking his throne, and the deliverance of the people in his kingdom.

Translating this to the Black Experience in America

This seems so pertinent when you translate it to the black experience in America. For centuries a system of racism and white supremacy has dominated the sociopolitical and economic system of America. The barbaric violent system of slavery, and Jim Crow allowed white supremacists and their descendants to accumulate, and amass vast amounts of wealth and power for free, or pennies on the dollar. This imbalance of power resulted in the transfer of generational wealth and inheritance for the families, and friends of those in power. Moreover, even if you were not a slave owner, or even a racist, the system was engineered in way that just because you had white skin you were afforded the privileges, benefits, advantages, and accoutrements of a free society.

When African Americans were “freed” from slavery, that removed all free labor assets, and we became a liability to the system. We were now considered competitors for resources, because our food was no longer rationed, our domain was not a plantation shack, our bodies were no longer a free count for state representatives, and the poor working class whites had to compete.

Time progressed from decades to centuries, we deserved more rights, inclusion, representation, education, and to declare our inherent independent sovereign human rights that are divinely granted to mankind, and not just whites. However, this was considered a threat, and this resulted in vagrancy laws, night riders, Klan raids, nationwide lynching’s, voting restrictions, Eugenics programs, separate and unequal social programs, and etc.

The hunger in the voices for freedom and restitution became louder and more vocal as the quest for our GOD given human rights surged. Many prominent black leaders emerged from these voices. I assume that fear of insurrection, and a nationwide revolution scared many white supremacists who were reluctant to share or relinquish the power and authority they dominated for centuries.

This is the same type of fear King Herod had when he heard of Jesus coming to deliver his people. The same modus operandi that King Herod used to slaughter all children 2 years of age and younger, appears to be the same thought process that white supremacists had with our black leaders. This is the same type of fear and trepidation that J Edgar Hoover felt. What else would make you scared of a “Black Messiah”. This fear spawned a hatred that led to the sociopolitical castration of our black leaders. The moment when it seemed blacks were on the upswing to recalibrating the scales of justice, our leaders were slaughtered like the children under King Herod.

This became a recurrent theme that eventually neutered our drive for justice. This 3 prong attack method of assassination, incarceration, and vilification serves as a conditioning mechanism, because it discourages the black ambition. The potential pool of black leaders is thus diluted because many are afraid to take the helm, and be placed in the crosshairs of this strategy.

The King Herod Effect, and the practices of Hoover are still alive but are executed in a more stealth and subtle manner! Why kill our kids when they can lock them in a private prison for cheap labor? We can vilify and ostracize like the results of Rev. Wright, and Minister Farrakhan, with our TV and social media propaganda apparatus. Moreover, if it’s necessary to kill a generation, then flood our neighborhoods with drugs, guns, negative theme music, close schools and remove resources. That is a recipe for self annihilation, and removes the fingerprints of white supremacy. This profoundly reduces any chance of blacks achieving success and deliverance from our strife and plight.

Furthermore, by no means am I equating President Obama to a “Black Messiah”, but look what type of vitriolic hatred his election brought out of white supremacists. There were 43 white male presidents, and the one moment in history when protocol was broken, all h**l has to break loose? The other question to ask is, “is America paranoid of its’ own karma?” Lastly, this is about racist white supremacists. d**k Gregory always keeps me in check when he breaks down the contribution of John Brown and other whites that have helped through the ages.

THE TAKE HOME MESSAGE: “LET’S PROTECT OUR YOUTH AND LEADERS THAT HAVE A CLEAR VESTED INTEREST IN OUR PROGRESSION!”

Science & Technology

Gunshot recognition technology is revolutionizing crime prevention!

November 18, 2013 admin Leave a comment

by: Dr. Samori Swygert

In the wake of recent shootings the issue of gun control has become a hot topic. Gun control has maneuvered its way to center stage of American politics and mass media. The country has been divided by the viewpoints and beliefs of many organizations. The NRA (National Rifle Association), the Tea Party and many other groups advocate a pro-gun position, while many victim’s rights groups lobby for tougher gun control.

Urban inner-city gang violence, racially motivated homicides, crimes of passion, or mass shootings like Virginia Tech, Newton, and even domestic governmental attacks like shootings at Washington Navy Yard, and Fort Hood have captivated and paralyzed America.

However, a new crime fighting tool has emerged a little over a decade ago. A program called Shotspotter, originally developed by the Department of Defense, has cities nationwide opting in to implement this new technological strategy. This system employs the use of sound sensors placed on city streetlamps and buildings that detect and record the audio when a gunshot occurs. The data is transmitted over a secure Wi-Fi connection in 3 to 5 seconds from the location of incident, to a command center or police station. The alert registers in the station with a unique audio signature or acoustic fingerprint. The fingerprint denotes the time, location, and is accurate to within feet of the shots fired.

The system has even been upgraded to record photos, and video footage now. The company claims the system’s video component is adaptable to any video source and camera specifications. This enhancement allows authorities to record footage of escape routes, number of individuals at the scene, and a wide array of forensic evidence necessary to conduct a thorough investigation. This strategy is almost real time monitoring of a crime, and aids in the rapid life saving deployment of medical assistance, quick apprehension of criminals with reduction of unsolved cold cases. This also decreases the chances of mistaken identity, and tampering of the scene of the crime.

CURRENT USE

Currently Shotspotter is being used in over 73 cities in the U.S.. The published cities of note include: Seattle, Washington, Baltimore, Maryland, Gary, Indiana, Englewood, Chicago Lawn, Harrison and Grand Crossing portions of Chicago, Illinois, Hempstead, Roosevelt, and Uniondale, Long Island, New York, Newark, New Jersey, and Washington D.C..

The photo, and video upgrades added a tremendous edge to this system, but that’s not the tip of the iceberg!! The system will use Safety Dynamics’ camera that will direct a high resolution camera at the shooter’s face for facial recognition. The image is then ran through a biometric software database named, Face First Software, hosted by a company named, Airborne Biometric Group. This seeks to make a match with in prior records of individuals in their database. The software is said to create a profile for new shooters. Many of the faces compiled into their database are sourced from 3rd party affiliates such as Facebook, and dating sites.

I think that this has some applicable uses especially when we consider the number of homicides in Miami, Chicago, Detroit, New York, and other major cities. We are losing a large amount of our young brothers and sisters to senseless violence, and so much beautiful young potential has gone to waste. This does seem a little “big brotherish” in scope but I can see some good. This would also allow individuals to keep their guns for true home protection and self defense use, and not wanton criminal abuse of a firearm.

Furthermore, this can reduce cases of “my word against your word” police shootings of unarmed individuals. I think criminals and police alike, will think twice about how they conduct themselves knowing that they will be videotaped, photographed, recorded, and facially scanned when discharging a firearm. I wonder what would have been the outcome of Sean Bell, Amadou Diallo, Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis, and countless other victims if the prosecution had video, photo, and audio evidence.

They have also developed a tattoo recognition database, but I will post that article with other new practices like this pre-crime system they have developed. Until next time, be blessed!!

References

http://www.govtech.com/Chicago-Depoloys-Gun-Shot-Detection-Technology.html

http://www.govtech.com/Gunshot-Detection-with-Facial-Recognition-Instantly-IDs-Shooters.html

http://www.govtech.com/public-safety/Seattle-Considering-Gunshot-Detection-System.html

http://www.govtech.com/public-safety/Newark-NJ-Expands-Gunshot-Location-System.html

http://www.govtech.com/products/Gunshot-Location-and-Detection-System-Adds.html

http://www.govtech.com/e-government/99358014.html

Socio-Cultural Commentary

Hollywood is kidnapping our kids!!

November 18, 2013 admin Leave a comment

Hollywood is kidnapping our children?

by: Dr. Samori Swygert

It’s imperative that we become vigilant stewards and guardians of the quantity, and most important the quality of entertainment that our children ingest. Outbreaks of violence have become almost predictable and clockwork. However, as concerned citizens and family members we must take a proactive position in the intervention of the fate of our youth.

Routinely we hear about a massacre, a mass shooting, gang shootout, new recreational street drug, some new lewd and inappropriate dance, or behavioral trend. We must ask ourselves, “where is all this coming from?”. We can no longer expect the entertainment industry to have a moral conscious in the production of their material.

We are in an era where the family infrastructure is being redefined on a daily basis. Traditionally, we were accustomed to mom, dad, sister, and brother. Currently, these roles have been usurped and hacked by this digital age contagion. This has substituted the TV for mother, Computer for father, Cellphone for brother, Radio for sister, and has eroded the family bond. These new mediums consistently inundate and bombard our children with messages that are repeatedly proving to be hazardous for the youth.

The world has morphed into a narcissistic, attention driven, and instant satisfaction society. The entertainment industry is culpable in the deterioration of society, but rarely is the entertainment industry reigned in for responsibility of material and palatability of content.

Take a sober view and assess the covers of the magazines in your grocery store lines, the video games advertised, the movies featured, the records in rotation, reality shows aired, music videos produced, new age books published, and tell me if you see a recurrent decadent and destructive theme.

The entertainment industry is profiteering hundreds of billions of dollars off the demise of our children! Sexually explicit videos, movies, and books have pushed adolescent sexual promiscuity, teen pregnancy, and sexually transmitted diseases to a new plateau. When we fail to regulate, monitor, filter, and talk about this material with our children, we allow the entertainment industry to subconsciously impose hazardous behavior into our children’s psyche, and the children passively accept it as innocent entertainment.

Hollywood makes the profit, and we are left with the byproducts to deal with ( early pregnancy, teen abortion, STDs). The oversaturation of sex in books like 50 Shades of Grey, and other lustful ghetto street literature induce a dangerous curiosity into the minds of adolescents that are not yet mature, or responsible enough to manage all aspects of adult behavior by themselves. Sex is a beautiful thing with the right person, and most importantly in a marriage.

However, the ubiquitous and omnipresent emphasis of sex has to contribute to the scores of young children sexually abused, raped, digitally abused on the internet (via compromising videos and pictures) and trafficked.

Do you remember the Steubenville rape case, where these young men engaged in raping an unconscious high school female, and then posted the pictures all over the internet via cellphone pictures, and destroyed this teenager’s reputation and physically violated her without consent? The allure of trying to become famous by asserting their male sexual prowess got these young men serving jail time.

Look at videogames like: Grand Theft Auto, Black Ops Call of Duty, Thrill Kill, and Soldier of Fortune and observe how pervasive gun violence, and brutality are interweaved in the plot. Think about movies and TV shows like : The Purge, Blow, Kill Bill, Breaking Bad, Lock Up Raw and a plethora of others and ask yourself “why is drug culture, prison life, and random acts of violence so celebrated now?”.

We have arrived at the clichéd fruition of, art imitating life and life imitating art. When shooting episodes like Virginia Tech, Newtown, Connecticut, Aurora, Colorado, Columbine High school, and Jonesboro, Arkansas occur, think about what the youth are consuming. Think about what they are being conditioned and indoctrinated with under the veneer and alias of entertainment. We arrest adolescents on the streets for drug dealing and incarcerate them for the violent acts associated with the drug culture. However, we give Emmys and Oscars to the producers of shows that prompt youth to experiment with this dead-end lifestyle. NPR published an article this week detailing a research study in the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. The study revealed that as of 2009, PG-13 movies have more gun violence than Rated-R movies.1

The music has become the soundtrack to self destruction. When we can turn on the radio and they are rapping about shooting, killing, drugs, sex, and frivolous wasting money, we have a few seconds left before its all over. The music videos have become soft porn, and encourage our young daughters and sisters to mimic the mannerisms of strippers.

Reality shows teach our women nothing but raucous, ratchet behavior. Think about shows like Real Housewives of Atlanta , Love and HipHop, Bad Girls Club, and others. The shows basically demonstrate and instruct young women how to scream, argue, and instigate violent conflicts without any modeling of positive, mature, lady-like conflict resolution. The emphasis is this ultra-diva like female that is money hungry, argumentative, irrational, and self-centered. This is not the type of woman any man wants as a wife, but these shows have our young women believing this is the path to womanhood. The men depicted in these shows are just as bad. Routinely the males are father to multiple baby mommas, absentee, consistently delinquent, players with excuses and stories to explain poor decisions they made.

Ironically, I can express what I’m saying by using a movie. A movie came out a few years ago called, Inception. The plot involved an agent that performed a psychological manipulation called, Inception. While performing Inception on his target, he was able to implant thoughts into their mind without them knowing, and the person would then execute the desired goal.

What am I saying?

We need to press the reset button and return to family and community. We need to have regular communication with our family members and neighbors and redevelop concern about what our kids are doing. We need to actively and regularly review our children’s phones, tablets, computers, TV shows, radio shows, and videos on Youtube, World Star HipHop, and any other electronic/ digital forms of social media, because our kids are under attack. The results are devastating and the devil doesn’t leave his fingerprints at the scene of the crime. He just leaves you with the tragedy to clean up, and the bill to pay.

Who profits?

The financial profit lies in high yield earnings for the private prisons for those that engage in illegal drug activity, pay day for drug companies that get new patients on Plan B abortificient pills, Antibiotics, or Antiviral medication from high risk sexual activity, a stimulus plan for gun and ammo manufacturers. Every time a mass shooting occurs, gun sales skyrocket because people feel the government will ban firearms, and people buy as much as possible to avoid being gunless.

The fashion industry makes a killing from young teens purchasing clothing to mimic and emulate the characters or stars in movies, music, and magazines. The movie industry and gaming industry makes more for the production of more films and games. The whole time we as a community are suffering the collateral damage of reckless indoctrination of our youth. It’s 2013 do you know where your children are?

People are to scared to speak up and call BS (bulls$it) when it happens. Benefactors of the industry say it’s “creative and edgy”. That’s a lie, it’s self destructive BS, and people are scared to be called a hater for voicing real concerns. These actors won’t complain, and will call you a hater because you are interfering with their paycheck, reputation, endorsements, and contracts. I don’t care about these bought and paid for minstrels, the posterity of our black youth are not for sale!! I may be on my soapbox, but so what, somebody has to speak up! Like Gil Scott Heron said, ” we got to do something to save the children”. CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW!!!???

Reference