Nov 26, 2007





A Racial Con Game
by MixMasterE


So let me get this right:

Asians and Whites are the brightest while..."Hispanics" and "blacks" struggle to keep up academically.According to the stats I read in the major dailies and scholarly journals, the outlook is grim. A few scientists have even labeled such dire statistics "inevitable" & the results simply prove that genetically(once again)
"blacks" and "browns" just don't have the mental hardware to change
this imbalance anyway as it is simply Destiny/Evolution.../God that makes it so.

((ahem))

Something doesn't add up, Mr Watson/Mr Murray/Mr Brand:

If "blacks" just don't cut it, how come African and Caribbean immigrantsare beating both whites and Asians academically? Are we not also "black"? Are we (I'm from the Caribbean)purposely left out of the statistics so that some twisted agenda/mind-set can be perpetuated? I think so. Racism is such a stubborn beast, but the simplest truth can inflict mortal wounds in its' ancient flesh. The truth is the "Asians" are no "model minority"--only selectively so as African/Caribbean peoples trump them in the very things that make them "model minorities". White people have no higher standard as a birthright--there's nothing inherent in their genetic coding that makes them smarter. And who are they to designate who a model minority is?

I've always said, any group that had the means & mentality to brutally enslave another group of people for close to 400 years then institute laws (post-Emancipation Proclamation) to prevent them from getting educated, voting & living with decency and dignity, then that group would have a hell of a head start in terms of a legacy of educational achievement & socio-political power (and all the benefits that come from this, such as wealth/assets passed on from generation to generation, overall health, housing and a legal framework that sweeps otherwise corrupt and illegal actions under the rug). And to think that historical currents can conveniently be swept away and forgotten & to pretend now that everybody is on the same playing field in this country, is just retarded. Of course, who benefits from this deception are the very ones whose ancestors profited handsomely from the dehumanization of Africans (who, paradoxically, are now trouncing their children in school) Indians and Chinese.

Frantz Fanon's observation that "...the fact of the juxtaposition of the white and black 'races' has created a massive psycho-existential complex.." is a fascinating one and fits right into the thick of this complex
I will detail the life of this very important historical figure at another time.

Bullshit theories about white intelligence and superiority have been part and parcel of Western societies for ages. Why does this nonsense persist? As stated earlier, there is a vested interest in keeping this delusion alive as it justifies so many things and keeps things moving along (white/black sentencing differences for the same crime, income disparities, red-lining, etc ) without having to expend the time,energy and resources to acknowledge & implement correctives for this dark tide of this nation's history.

What is nothing short of miraculous is the fact that in spite of all the hits that White Supremacy has hurled against "blacks" in particular the world over, we are still standing. Our artistry and genius still bubbles to the surface in dance, song, literature, science and religion. Take it away Bob Marley:

We're the survivors
In this age of technological inhumanity (black survival),
Scientific atrocity (survivors),
Atomic misphilosophy (black survival),
Nuclear misenergy (survivors):
Its a world that forces lifelong insecurity (black survival).



OneLove!

Cornel West on Knowledge

Nov 20, 2007

Censored!



The Top 25 Censored News Items of 2008

# 1 No Habeas Corpus for “Any Person”
# 2 Bush Moves Toward Martial Law
# 3 AFRICOM: US Military Control of Africa’s Resources
# 4 Frenzy of Increasingly Destructive Trade Agreements
# 5 Human Traffic Builds US Embassy in Iraq
# 6 Operation FALCON Raids
# 7 Behind Blackwater Inc.
# 8 KIA: The US Neoliberal Invasion of India
# 9 Privatization of America’s Infrastructure
# 10 Vulture Funds Threaten Poor Nations’ Debt Relief
# 11 The Scam of “Reconstruction” in Afghanistan
# 12 Another Massacre in Haiti by UN Troops
# 13 Immigrant Roundups to Gain Cheap Labor for US Corporate Giants
# 14 Impunity for US War Criminals
# 15 Toxic Exposure Can Be Transmitted to Future Generations on a “Second Genetic Code”
# 16 No Hard Evidence Connecting Bin Laden to 9/11
# 17 Drinking Water Contaminated by Military and Corporations
# 18 Mexico’s Stolen Election
# 19 People’s Movement Challenges Neoliberal Agenda (Free Trade through Central and South America)
# 20 Terror Act Against Animal Activists
# 21 US Seeks WTO Immunity for Illegal Farm Payments
# 22 North Invades Mexico
# 23 Feinstein’s Conflict of Interest in Iraq
# 24 Media Misquotes Threat From Iran’s President
# 25 Who Will Profit from Native Energy?

Nov 5, 2007

The Die-Off















Factoids:

*The rapid loss of species that we are witnessing today is estimated by some
experts to be between 100 and 1,000 times higher than the “background” or
expected natural extinction rate

*The current extinction phenomenon is one for which a single species - ours - appears to be almost wholly responsible.


*A total of 15,589 species of plants and animals are known to face a
high risk of extinction in the near future, in almost all cases as a
result of human activities.

^The state of the world’s threatened bird species is worse than ever.
Since 1994 the number of bird species threatened with global
extinction has risen to 12%. Of the new total, 1,175 (99%) are at risk
of extinction from human activities.

*The total number of threatened animal species has increased from 5,205
to 7,266 since 1996.

*Habitat loss and degradation affect 86% of all threatened birds,
86% of mammals, and 88% of threatened amphibians.


*Indonesia, India, Brazil and China are among the countries with the most
threatened mammals and birds

*Every time we lose a species we break a life chain which has evolved
over 3.5 billion years


*We (Humans) take natural habitats convert them to agriculture, to suburbia, to roads, to monoculture forestry. We fish the oceans so heavily we literally have these trolling nets that scrape the bottom of the ocean clean...


*Scientists have released an updated list of the world's most endangered plants and animals. It's called the
Red List, and it's widely viewed as the world's most authoritative guide to the status of disappearing plants animals.

*A species becomes extinct when its last representative dies.A reassessment of our closest relatives, the great apes, has revealed a grim picture. Their population has declined by more than 60% over the last 20-25 years

Sadly, we are killing the Earth..killing ourselves....and we go about our business as if it does not matter. I would prefer to think that most people just don't know and with a shift of focus, this sad tale can have a better ending. With that said, take a look at this informative clip and let's all try to do..and be...better.

Species Extinction

OneLove

Oct 21, 2007

Lucky Dube (August 3, 1964 – October 18, 2007)




I just read that the great Lucky Dube was shot dead in South Africa last Thursday. What a tremendous loss after a 25-year career recording 22 albums in Zulu, English and Afrikaans.

Listen to a few of his memorable tracks here:


MusicPlaylist
Music Playlist at MixPod.com

R.I.P my brother...

Oct 19, 2007

Poet's Nook: "You Don't Have to Act Crazy Anymore" by Hafiz




You Don't Have to Act Crazy Anymore
We all know you were good at that.

Now retire, my dear,
From all that hard work you do
Of bringing pain to your sweet eyes and heart.

Look in a clear mountain mirror -
See the Beautiful Ancient Warrior
And the Divine elements
You always carry inside

That infused this Universe with sacred Life
So long ago
And join you Eternally
With all Existence

- with God!

-Hafiz


OneLOve

:::MME:::

Oct 6, 2007

Cornel West Takes It To The Streets



Love him or hate him--one thing is undeniably clear: Cornel West is a rare genius who elucidates with impressive style the underpinnings of our complex, interwoven reality. His latest CD, "Never Forget" features some of the brightest lights in R&B and Hip Hop such as Prince, Andre 3000, Jill Scott, Talib Kweli and KRS-1.




Ruminate& Enjoy!

by MixMasterE

Oct 1, 2007

Musings



Fame is vapor
Popularity an accident
Riches take wings.
Only one thing
endures...character.




Sep 30, 2007

War As Spiritual Death
by MixMasterE

In war, truth is the first casualty. ~Aeschylus

The rhetoric of conquerors can be like a cool, soothing balm or fiery bromide inciting any given population to blindly support & acquiesce to the powers that be (the military-industrial-media triumvirate). This intent to deceive and furtively sabotage democratic principles is as old as empire itself, but in any given population, there is always a small minority that can recognize bullshit when they see (or smell) it. One of those people is Norman Solomon who produced the following documentary, "War Made Easy" which details a 50-year pattern of government deception and media spin/hypnosis that has dragged the citizens of the United States along from one war after another from Vietnam to Iraq.

It's amazing how people can accustom themselves to chains, but I guess if you feed them junk long enough, they get used to it and feel it's God's or Nature's Law that makes things the way they are. Hitler once said, "All propaganda has to be popular and has to accommodate itself to the comprehension of the least intelligent of those whom it seeks to reach". How true.


War Made Easy Trailer:


Click here for entire documentary

Sep 24, 2007

MME's Jam Of The Day

















One of my favorite Third World cuts, "Shine Like A Blazing Fire", still lights the skies of my hemispheres.


Sing a new song in the morning
Jah has done you no wrong
I awake and sing the rising sun
And like the birds fly free,
Human psychology and bad mind got to get a blow

Shine like a blazing fire, shine like a blazing fire

Just like the morning sun
Lord knows we got to shine, shine, shine
It’s not the love you take, it’s the love you give

Got your rightful place in this earth.....to live


-Third World



...and speaking  of shining like a blazing fire, check this out....

-MixMasterE

The Incredible Brain Pt 2

The Incredible Brain

Sep 23, 2007

The President Of The United States

A Nation Of Sleep-Walkers


"If you want to understand how a particular society works, you have to understand who makes the decisions that determine the way a society functions. In the U.S., the major decisions over what happens in a society (investment, production, distribution, etc.) are in the hands of a relatively concentrated network of major corporations, conglomerates, and investment firms. They're also the ones who staff the major executive positions in the government, and they're the ones who own the media, and are the ones who are in the position to make decisions. They have an overwhelmingly dominant role in the way life happens, what's done in this society. — Noam Chomsky

Licensed To Kill

Sep 21, 2007

Musings




"I who have cursed
The drunken officer of British rule, how choose
Between this Africa and the English tongue I love?
Betray them both, or give back what they give?
How can I face such slaughter and be cool?
How can I turn from Africa and live?"


-MixMasterE

Sep 13, 2007

Strange Fruit by MixMasterE





Reading and listening to the events in Jena, Louisiana reads like a scene from one of Amari Baraka's plays or one of many American slave narratives. Although I am not surprised, I am very much aggrieved by how this whole mess came about. It reminds me of this bizarre viral video, Chocolate Rain, by Tay Zonday. Lyrically, it speaks volumes upon volumes of the state of race (& class) relations in the U.S (and elsewhere) :

"Chocolate Rain
History quickly crashing through your veins
Chocolate Rain
Using you to fall back down again...

Chocolate Rain
The same crime has a higher price to pay
Chocolate Rain
The judge and jury swear it's not the face

Chocolate Rain
'Cross the world and back its all the same
Chocolate Rain
Angels cry and shake their heads in shame..."

Strange how we all react and take sides ( O.J Simpson, Amadou Diallo...), yet nothing really changes. An appeal to the intellect (reason) is hardly enough and historically, has never worked on its' own. Change, especially socio-political change , lives in the streets, in the alleys and tenements, in the dense over-populated, over-stressed, undervalued sectors where battling multi-headed dragons (stress) has become a way of life. We are the agents, the provacateurs, the sharply-focused lens & glinting swords for the shaping of a different way of being and loving in this world. We owe it to ourselves and our children (all children)and it starts with taking a stand against injustice/inhumanity wherever it raises its ugly, ancient head.

Sign the Jena 6 Petition Now.


It is going to be interesting come September 20th, 2007.

"Southern trees bear strange fruit,
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze,
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.

Pastoral scene of the gallant south,
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,
Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh,
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh.

Here is fruit for the crows to pluck,
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,
For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop,
Here is a strange and bitter crop."


-Billie Holliday

Poet's Nook: "Release" by Saul Williams













Inner breathlessness, outer restlessness
By the time I caught up to freedom I was out of breath
Grandma asked me what I'm running for
I guess I'm out for the same thing the sun is sunning for
What mothers birth their youngens for
And some say Jesus coming for
For all I know the earth is spinning slow
Suns at half mast 'cause masses ain't aglow
On bended knee, prostrate before an altered tree
I've made the forest suit me
Tables and chairs
Papers and prayers
Matter versus spirit
A metal ladder
A wooden cross
A plastic bottle of water
A mandala encased in glass
A spirit encased in flesh
Sound from shaped hollows
The thickest of mucus released from heightened passion
A man that cries in his sleep
A truth that has gone out of fashion
A mode of expression
A paint splattered wall
A carton of cigarettes
A bouquet of corpses
A dying forest
A nurtured garden
A privatized prison
A candle with a broken wick
A puddle that reflects the sun
A piece of paper with my name on it
I'm surrounded
I surrender
All
All that I am I have been
All I have been has been a long time coming
I am becoming all that I am
The spittle that surrounds the mouth-piece of the flute
Unheard, yet felt
A gathered wetness
A quiet moisture
Sound trapped in a bubble
Released into wind
Wind fellows and land merchants
We are history's detergent
Water soluble, light particles, articles of cleansing breath
Articles amending death
These words are not tools of communication
They are shards of metal
Dropped from eight story windows
They are waterfalls and gas leaks
Aged thoughts rolled in tobacco leaf
The tools of a trade
Barbers barred, barred of barters
Catch phrases and misunderstandings
But they are not what I feel when I am alone
Surrounded by everything and nothing
And there isn't a word or phrase to be caught
A verse to be recited
A man to de-fill my being in those moments
I am blankness, the contained center of an "O"
The pyramidic containment of an "A"
I stand in the middle of all that I have learned
All that I have memorized
All that I've known by heart
Unable to reach any of it
There is no sadness
There is no bliss
It is a forgotten memory
A memorable escape route that only is found by not looking
There, in the spine of the dictionary the words are worthless
They are a mere weight pressing against my thoughtlessness
But then, who else can speak of thoughtlessness with such confidence
Who else has learned to sling these ancient ideas
like dead rats held by their tails
so as not to infect this newly oiled skin
I can think of nothing heavier than an airplane
I can think of no greater conglomerate of steel and metal
I can think of nothing less likely to fly
There are no wings more weighted
I too have felt a heaviness
The stare of man guessing at my being
Yes I am homeless
A homeless man making offerings to the after-future
Sculpting rubber tree forests out of worn tires and shoe soles
A nation unified in exhale
A cloud of smoke
A native pipe ceremony
All the gathered cigarette butts piled in heaps
Snow covered mountains
Lipsticks smeared and shriveled
Offerings to an afterworld
Tattoo guns and plastic wrappers
Broken zippers and dead eyed dolls
It's all overwhelming me, oak and elming me
I have seeded a forest of myself
Little books from tall trees
It matters not what this paper be made of
Give me notebooks made of human flesh
Dried on steel hooks and nooses
Make uses of use, uses of us
It's all overwhelming me, oak and elming me
I have seeded a forest of myself
Little books from tall trees
On bended knee
Prostrate before an altered tree
I've made the forest suit me
Tables and chairs
Papers and prayers
Matter vs. spirit, through meditation
I program my heart to beat breakbeats and hum basslines on exhalation

::MME:::

Aug 19, 2007

Musings







I observe in the limited field in which I find myself,
That unless I can reach the hearts of men and women,
I am able to do nothing.
I observe further that so long as the spirit of hate persists
In some shape or other, it is impossible to establish peace
Or to gain our freedom by peaceful effort.
We cannot love one another, if we hate {Iraqis}.
We cannot love the English and hate {Africans}.
We must either let the law of love rule us through and through
......or not at all.
Love among ourselves based on hatred of others
Breaks down under the slightest pressure.
The fact is, such love is never real love.
It is an armed peace.
War will only be stopped when the conscience of mankind
Has become sufficiently elevated to recognize
The undisputed supremacy of the Law of Love
In all the walks of life.
Some say this will never come to pass.
I shall retain the faith till the end of my earthly existence
......that it shall come to pass.

Cornel West On Pres. Barack Obama



Interesting... OneLove :::MME:::

Micheal Eric Dyson On Barack Obama






Great argument!

Jul 29, 2007








Heart Of Life

John Mayer - Heart of Life (Acoustic).MP3 - John Mayer
I hate to see you cry lying there in that position
There's things you need to hear
So turn off your tears and listen
Pain throws your heart to the ground
Love turns the whole thing around
No it won't all go the way it should
But i know the heart of life is good

You know it's nothing new
Bad news never had good timing
Then the circle of your friends
Will defend the silver lining

Pain throws your heart to the ground
Love turns the whole thing around
No it won't all go the way it should
But i know the heart of life is good

Pain throws your heart to the ground
Love turns the whole thing around
Fear is a friend who's misunderstand
But i know the heart of life is good.
I know it's good.


autumn leaf

Jul 5, 2007

Musings


“God gave us a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have we used one to say..

"Thank You?"”

Jun 24, 2007






Did you hear about the rose that grew
from a crack in the concrete?
Proving Nature's law is wrong
It learned to walk without having feet.
Funny it seems, but by keeping its dreams,
it learned to breathe fresh air.
Long live the rose that grew from concrete
when no one else ever cared.


-2Pac

Selected Poems

Jun 23, 2007

Poet's Nook: :"Enigma" by e.alexander louisy








Alone

Upon entering this world

alone

Upon leaving.....

In between
Reflections
On the meaning of it All.......
What we are
Who we (think we) are

dissolves

Into some unknowable mist
That we strangely construct religions around

Not really knowing....

Musings




An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.

Tears From Heaven

Take Action

MixMasterE

May 16, 2007

Appreciating Epictetus




Born into slavery. Sold as a child. Constantly whipped by a vicious master...

Out of this came a diamond mind that greatly influenced generations upon generations.
The following quotes are taken from "The Art Of Living" which is a collection of wise sayings by this extraordinary philosopher:



All religions must be tolerated... for everyone must get to heaven in his/her own way.

Difficulties are things that show a person what they are.

First learn the meaning of what you say, and then speak.

First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.

For it is not death or hardship that is a fearful thing, but the fear of death and hardship.

Freedom is not procured by a full enjoyment of what is desired, but by controlling the desire.

Freedom is the right to live as we wish.

God has entrusted me with myself.

He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.

If evil be spoken of you and it be true, correct yourself, if it be a lie, laugh at it.

It is not he who reviles or strikes you who insults you, but your opinion that these things are insulting.

It takes more than just a good looking body. You've got to have the heart and soul to go with it.

It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.

Know, first, who you are, and then adorn yourself accordingly.

Make the best use of what is in your power, and take the rest as it happens.

Men are disturbed not by things, but by the view which they take of them.

Neither should a ship rely on one small anchor, nor should life rest on a single hope.

No great thing is created suddenly.
Epictetus

No man is free who is not master of himself.
Epictetus

The essence of philosophy is that a man should so live that his happiness shall depend as little as possible on external things.

The greater the difficulty the more glory in surmounting it. Skillful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempests.

The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best.

The two powers which in my opinion constitute a wise man are those of bearing and forbearing.

The world turns aside to let any man pass who knows where he is going.

There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.

To accuse others for one's own misfortunes is a sign of want of education. To accuse oneself shows that one's education has begun. To accuse neither oneself nor others shows that one's education is complete.

We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.

Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.

When you are offended at any man's fault, turn to yourself and study your own failings. Then you will forget your anger.

You are a little soul carrying around a corpse.


Sample 1

Sample 2

OneLove

:::MixMasterE:::

May 12, 2007

Hip-hop and the Corporate Function of Colonization





Having elsewhere looked at the function of mass media as primary mechanisms of the maintenance of colony, recent events have again emerged requiring further investigation into the function of corporate control over the cultural expression of colonized populations. Though not specific to hip-hop the example as explored through that most popular of cultural expressions may help to make more clear the imperative of organization and political struggle in 2007. Within the last few weeks alone we have seen recent decisions and trends evolve demonstrating the intent and need among those in power to further ensure that mass media will perform its primary (only?) function of manipulating popular consciousness for the purpose of manipulating behavior of the audience (victims). These developments can only be understood in the context of a continuing process of subjugation in which media play a primary role in suppressing dissent.

Most recently examples of this include the successful lobbying (legal bribery) of congress by Time Warner to increase postal rates for magazines making new or small magazines unable to start or compete for national distribution. There are the continuing efforts of EMI to sell itself off to either Warner Music Group or the newest media trend of a private equity firm. And then there was the Copyright Royalty Board issuing its new policy of charging commercial and non-commercial terrestrial and internet broadcasters per-song royalty fees which have been estimated to mean that 85% of internet broadcasters will fold unable to afford the cost of operation. This decision, it must be noted, also affects my own beloved Washington, DC Pacifica Radio affiliate WPFW whose song royalties fees, based on this decision, will no longer be covered by the right-wing-led Corporation for Public Broadcasting meaning further economic hardship for the network.

To this must be added the recent exposure of Interscope Records' "lyrics committee," who have determined that the recently released album from Young Buck would not include a track called Fuck tha Police due to its "violent content." These examples form a segment of what is the need of those in power to maintain intellectual boundaries established for their own protection. This elite uses the structure of corporate governance to maintain this control in relative anonymity where CEOs and commercial spokespeople become mere illusions masking their position as modern-day colonial administrators. At times called the petit-bourgeoisie, or even the Black bourgeoisie, they are simply that group which, as administrators, administer to society that which limits or confounds ranges of thought so as to keep people from stepping – intellectually or literally – beyond acceptable parameters. In thiss case these administrators become the intellectual equivalent of the guard at the gate telling you beyond this line you may not cross, that is, not without serious repercussion.

Continued references to Frantz Fanon, too often made with no equal reference or focus on what prompted his brilliant analyses, ignore the fundamental colonizing process still underway. This corporate-led lockdown of mass media and popular culture is part of a long historical process to maintain "order" over populations whose ability to produce and popularize a revolutionary culture and, therefore, conscious behavior would mean the end of established power. This threat, one that is and should be feared, is mitigated by a corporate structure designed, as Fanon explained, to not "destroy the culture of the colonized" but to instead allow certain forms to be carefully selected for promotion and popularity. This popularity then encourages perceptions of the colonized that support their colonization and, in fact, encourage a behavior among the colonized which produces self-inflicted wounds that while in reality result from externally-based oppression are justified via perception. Here, again, is how a Viacom-owned radio station would broadcast Don Imus while also broadcasting the very hip-hop later blamed for his remarks on BET, MTV, and here in Washington, DC on WPGC 95.5 FM, the city' s leading Black-targeted radio station. "We play what the people want and produce" is their claim. Yet when DC-area artists, such as Head-Roc, DJ EuRok, Pookanu, Asheru to name too few, produce high quality hip-hop critical of our colonial status, police brutality, impoverished schools, etc. or even make music that is just fun-loving and brilliantly worded they are suppressed. Censorship is political not linguistic. It's not the "fuck" in Young Buck's Fuck da Police that was censored.

The sociology of a corporation demonstrates its function. Boards of directors with interlocks that extend the influence of this tiny collective, themselves selected by controlling holders of stock, elect Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) who – as employees of those stockholders – work at the bidding of their further removed and mostly anonymous (certainly to us) bosses. What those bosses want is well beyond money, which itself exists only to manage/manipulate the behavior of the majority who have none, they want security and safety. Both require a popular consciousness or "manufactured" opinion which supports this by preventing even the idea of the righteous – even if forceful – redistribution of wealth and service. This is why songs saying "fuck the police" must be censored, attacked, omitted or demonized even if, as is the case with Young Buck, a video may picture Huey Newton but is actually more about an individual self-defense of selling dope than a collective self-defense in the furtherance of revolutionary intercommunalism or Black nationalism.

Corporate lockdown of popular media is a political necessity and scientific inevitability requiring further description of this process, along with suggested avenues of resistance, which will be the focus of subsequent columns. Our approach to the study of and response to media must be akin to that of Huey P. Newton who said he "studied law to become a better burglar."


Jared A. Ball, Ph.D. is an assistant professor of communication studies at Morgan State University. He is editor-at- large of the Journal of Hip-Hop and Global Culture from Words, Beats and Life

May 6, 2007

This Fatal Complacency by Desmond Tutu





What if dealing with climate change meant more than a flick of a switch? Would our friends in the industrialized world think differently if the effects of climate change were worse than extended summer months and the arrival of exotic species? Cushioned and cosseted, they have had the luxury of closing their minds to the real impact of what is happening in the fragile and precious atmosphere that surrounds the planet we live on. Where climate change has occurred in the industrialized world, the effects have so far been relatively benign. With the exception of events such as Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the inhabitants of North America and Europe have felt just a gentle caress from the winds of change.

I wonder how much more anxious they might be if they depended on the cycle of mother nature to feed their families. How much greater would their concerns be if they lived in slums and townships, in mud houses, or shelters made of plastic bags? In large parts of sub-Saharan Africa, this is a reality. The poor, the vulnerable and the hungry are exposed to the harsh edge of climate change every day of their lives.

The melting of the snows on the peak of Kilimanjaro is a warning of the changes taking place in Africa. Across this beautiful but vulnerable continent, people are already feeling the change in the weather. But rain or drought, the result is the same: more hunger and more misery for millions of people living on the margins of global society. Even in places such as Darfur, climate change has played a role. In the semi-arid zones of the world, there is fierce competition for access to grazing lands and watering holes. Where water is scarce and populations are growing, conflict will never be far behind.

In so many of the countries where the poorest live, governments are ill-equipped to cope. Katrina was a challenge for the US, so why should we be surprised that the annual cyclone season off the east coast of Africa continues to stretch the governments of Mozambique and Madagascar to their limits? Where governments are weak, the reliance on humanitarian agencies is greater.

People who work for bodies such as the UN World Food Program are finding their work is a humanitarian “growth industry”. Indeed, the numbers of people who know what it’s like to go hungry stands at more than 850 million, and they are still growing by almost 4 million a year. The increasing frequency of natural disasters makes the fight against hunger even more challenging. The World Bank estimates that the number of natural disasters has quadrupled from 100 a year in 1975 to 400 in 2005.

In the past 10 years, 2.6 billion people have suffered from natural disasters. That is more than a third of the global population - most of them in the developing world. The human impact is obvious, but what is not so apparent is the extent to which climatic events can undo the developmental gains put in place over decades. Droughts and floods destroy lives, but they also destroy schools, economies and opportunity.

Every child will remember the story of the three little pigs and the big bad wolf. In the world we live in, the bad wolf of climate change has already ransacked the straw house and the house made of sticks, and the inhabitants of both are knocking on the door of the brick house where the people of the developed world live. Our friends there should think about this the next time they reach for the thermostat switch. They should realize that while the problems of the Mozambican farmer might seem far away, it may not be long before their troubles wash up on their shores.




OneLove 


:::MME:::

May 3, 2007

Being Poor, Staying Poor







People are poor because they choose to stay poor.
People should stop complaining and pull themselves up by their bootstraps.
People have too many excuses.
People should just get a job and be productive members of society.


..aaaah yes...

Sheep are so imitative, so dull, so fucking ignorant. It's tempting to just turn around and walk away from all the bullshit floating around and let the foolish and ignorant just rot where they stand, but what is the value of doing that? Is it not better to engage and exchange viewpoints with the hopes of expanding one's vision and deepening one's awareness/compassion towards the poor & downtrodden, the disenfranchised and abused, the hungry and maligned, the deluded and compromised? But to do this, one has to make a choice to change focus and actively educate oneself beyond "accepted truths". Miseducation cuts deep, deep, deep......No wonder the rich are having the time of their lives! And as long as we waste our time on shit like how much weight some fat slob celebrity lost on Jenny Craig or on Paris Hilton's anorexic, dumb-as-bricks-heiress shenanigans or on American Idol (I see more talent at a Metro station), systemic forces (not blind by any means) will continue to drag us along the slipshod road of Diversions.

Check out this documentary which is a case history of massive exploitation that occurs all over --Latin America, Africa, Asia....







Let's make connections........


by MixMasterE

Apr 27, 2007

Show Your Worth....Show Some Love




BigUp to Zion Rebel for the following video. Lyrics and music by Lauryn Hill.





"If they only owned love, shown love, grown love, like this before
If they only knew love, true love, to love, like this before
If they only gave love, saved love, brave love, like this before
If they only called love, love love, called love, like this before
If they'd only showed love, they owed love,
owed love, like this before
If they only showed love, they owed love,
owed love, like this before
If they only knew love, true love, to love, like this before
If they only gave love, saved love, brave love, like this before
If they only showed love, they owed love,
they owed love, like this before...


- Lauryn Hill

-MixMasterE

Apr 24, 2007

Dystopic Reality








"It's better to be a dissatisfied human in a flawed reality than a satisfied pig in hog heaven". John Mill





Technology is making us into its' Fools.

I say this with a degree of sadness and long-suppressed fear, but I now realize that the more we saturate our lives with the signposts of 'civilization', that is, technology, the less we feel. The less we think ( for ourselves). The less we conversate and seek understanding. The less we empathize. The less we know. The more we overwhelm Nature with our dumb-asses...er...I mean, short-sightedness.

Being in the tech field for some time, I see first-hand the creeping rigamortis. The blank stares and automated gestures. The self-referential, tiresome hubris of 'go-getters' more than willing to lose their souls in their sad treks to oblivion (i.e the culturally-defined 'good life'). Then there are those on the opposite end--the burnt out and disgruntled. The restless and the bored--the dreamers of other roads, perhaps. It can be argued that the latter group should not be in the tech field if their dreams and talents are better suited for other endeavors. I submit that although this argument is indeed a valid one, it misses the critical point of my argument: how technological culture disembodies the individual whether or not he/she is a worker or consumer of its' products and processes. Aldous Huxley's, "Brave New World" truly embodies this human cost of technological society.

Technology in itself is not the problem: It is Man's relation to technology that is problematic to me. Personally, I find the field fascinating and impossible to keep up with as changes seem to occur at a unbelievable pace. Yet, over the years I have seen a number of my fellow techies fly around halls with a vaunted sense of self (ridiculously amusing!) as if anointed by the Technological Gods to spread the Irrefutable Word according to Teknos. This seems like some type of displacement to me--a means of avoidance ( of what, I don't know). A critical question arises with regards to this notion of displacement ( or alienation which is a more popular term): What does it mean to be human caught in the present socio-historical period where technology insinuates itself (most notably in highly industrialized societies) in the many things that we do from watching TV, listening to our iPODS, working on our computers to banking, tele-conferencing and reading the daily news (online)?

From my vantage point, we are becoming ( have become) the tools of our tools. The philosopher Foucault expanded upon this point of the dominance of technology exerted on Man and the resultant powerlessness and displacement felt. For those of us in the IT field, the monetary rewards can blunt the pain somewhat as a comfortable way of life is afforded, but left unexamined and undigested, this chosen path to earn a living can turn one into castaway from what is truly of value in this life.

To speak of the wreck that technology has made of Mother Earth is yet another sad tale that has been smothered/diluted by the coopted media as they, as expected, gush over the latest device. Let's take cell phones and computers.Where do you think they end up? In mountains of toxic waste from India to Africa ( the waste travels from the richer to poorer nations). How can one sing the praises of technology when this same technology chokes and strips this Earth of its beauty?

So what the fuck, right? Try telling that to your children or grand-children as they will reap what has been sown today. When individuals and societies are not forced to confront the consequences of their choices, a dystopic reality takes root and down, down, down we will surely go.



by MixMasterE

Apr 16, 2007

Malcolm X In Color




Malcolm Little. Malcolm X. El Hajj Malik El-Shabazz. A study of self-transformation, critical engagement and transcendence. Nuff said.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes :

"A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything."

"My alma mater was books, a good library... I could spend the rest of my life reading, just satisfying my curiosity."

"There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance next time."

"If you're not ready to die for it, put the word 'freedom' out of your vocabulary."

"I am not a racist. I am against every form of racism and segregation, every form of discrimination. I believe in human beings, and that all human beings should be respected as such, regardless of their color."

"You can't separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom."

"If you have no critics you'll likely have no success."

"In all our deeds, the proper value and respect for time determines success or failure. "

"Nobody can give you freedom. Nobody can give you equality or justice or anything. If you're a man, you take it"

"You're not supposed to be so blind with patriotism that you can't face reality. Wrong is wrong, no matter who says it. "



Speeches and Interviews (the Oxford University speech is simply brilliant):


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dmzaaf-9aHQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENHP89mLWOY

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=37588DDE4424F7EE



OneLove

:::MME:::

Apr 1, 2007

The Wonder Of Creation



A view of our Milky Way 10 million light-years away--quite awe-inspiring. The presentation speaks for itself...Click Here:

OneLove

MixmasterE

Mar 28, 2007

This Being Human




Interesting article by Barbara Ehrenreich analyzes something those of us from the Caribbean have always known. I always knew that wucking it up & playing mass all over the place had some root in our collective past. All pretenses are dropped around carnival time as folks mix and mingle in an electrifying, cathartic ritual celebrating something vital yet unnameable. Yeah mon, gwan an' whine an' wave you' flag like you jus' don't care! 

Check the article here:
 "http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3060/reclaiming_what_makes_us_human"

~MixMasterE

Mar 10, 2007

Envy by MixMasterE






"O! beware, my lord, of jealousy; it is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on"-Shakespeare in Othello


Of all things to be wary of on the job(&elsewhere) is that insidious, cutting and mortifying human stain termed envy. If there is one thing I have learned about people is that deep down inside they do not find much joy in another's good fortune or situation. Behind every slanderous insult or diminishing remark made about another person, there you will find the green-eyed miscreant crouched and ever-so ready to attack or guard.

Let's face it: Some people are more driven than others and are deserving of whatever good fortune they may inherit, whether it be in compensation and/or respect/kudos given by functional superiors. The sticky part for most comes when folks who know/do less leap-frog ahead of the pack not on the merits of job-related skills, but on the impressive gift for gab, charm and/or the taking of credit for other people's work. I guess this is why we often see fork-tongued incompetents at the top (not incompetent in waxing the right poles though, so credit must be given!). Thus, it is not only one's achievements/good fortune/vaunted rep that provide the breeding ground for envy, but also the calculated methods/tactics used in achieving one's ends. (Out of this sordid bed of intrigues, a wealth of tangential questions arise: Does work encourage/promote certain behavioral traits (competition, greed, aggression)over others (empathy, cooperation, humility? Has work become an unpleasant necessity in a market-driven culture that drives people to work simply for a check and not because they particularly like what they do? What is the effect of joyless work on our psyches & the collective? The examined life requires us to question, question, question. Only then can we start to overcome various social pathologies).


Life is way too short & precarious to get caught up envying other folk for whatever reason. If anything, envy those who have noble characters and work to achieve that--in the end, envy will be vastly diminished/destroyed.We are all well aware of the way this culture fosters certain attitudes, behavior and beliefs which are unquestionably poisonous and antithetical to ethical and spiritual principles & practices. Clearly, working against this tide should be actively pursued. Envy poisons and as Shakespeare observed through Iago's character, makes us all losers as it serves no other purpose than in seeking the destruction of another person's happiness and ultimately, the destruction of one's own soul.

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