Bellcrack: Let Freedom Ring!!!!

My Tribute to Dr. Manning Marable

2011-04-02T09:53:00.003-04:00

My Tribute to Dr. Manning Marable (RIP)

Today I pay tribute to the Towering intellectual Dr. Manning Marable. Dr Manning Marable was always an icon to me. I first encountered his works when I was a teenager. In 1983, as a young African-American Radical, just 15 years of age, I was in Hakim's Bookstore, on 52nd Street in Philadelphia and Dawud Hakim, the owner of the store, had just gotten Dr. Marable's Book in the store. I had just finished reading Walter Rodney's "How Europe Underdeveloped Africa" and I asked Hakim if there was a book that put Dr. Rodney's views in an African American context. That is when he gave me a copy of " How Capitalism Underdeveloped Black America". I read the book from cover to cover and asked many questions to myself and activists in the radical community of Philadelphia. I was mesmerized and impressed by the clarity and depth of Dr. Marable's analysis of how Black America had been exploited and victimized from slavery to the present. That is a painful process that continues today with massive imprisonment and right wing policies designed to enslave poor people and African-Americans on a more systemic and institutional level.

As a young budding intellectual getting my associates degree in African American studies from Temple University, I finally met Manning Marable through Dr. Joseph Schwartz, former head of the Political Science Department and Board Member of Democratic Socialists of America. Dr. Marable was giving a talk on "Race and Politics and the progressive legitimacy of the Jesse Jackson Campaign of 1988". Marable talked about how African American college students ought to become involved in the Campaign because the Jackson campaign would bring in a wave of political thought and activism that is needed in the African-American community. I took on the Marable-call for political involvement and ended up becoming a speech writer and surrogate speaker for the Jesse Jackson campaign in 1988.

When Dr. Marable went on to Columbia University, I watched and studied his analysis of race in America on shows like Democracy Now, a show that I watch religiously and daily. His analysis of the Obama presidency was rather thoughtful and clear. "Be involved with Obama, but be careful as to not forget that Obama has to be challenged". Dr. Marable believed in democracy, but he also believed that we had to challenge the system of government that we have as it exists. I also visited Dr. Marable's page on Columbia University about Malcolm X. I grew up hearing many leftist organizations speak about the progressive tradition of Malcolm X and read a lot of analysis of the speeches of Malcolm X.

Dr. Marable, however, dedicated the remaining years of his life writing about the progressive thoughts and life of Malcolm X. I even downloadedspeechs and traveled to New York City a number of times to attend his lectures on the progressive tradition of Malcolm. Here is the Malcolm X project that Dr. Marable organized at Columbia http://goo.gl/ixHzj . Here is the Malcolm X biographical page http://goo.gl/u2z8q. Dr. Marable became so deeply dedicated to the study of Malcolm X that a new field of study was created called "Malcolmology".

Dr. Marable, in the spirit of all intellectuals and activists committed to social justice, the realization of true democracy and the elimination of all forms of oppression, you will be missed. We know, however, that you have left your works to live on in us and with us as we continue to fight.

A Luta Continua!!!!

Vaughn
http://goo.gl/GxOO

3 Upcoming Innovations from Google

2010-07-02T18:35:00.001-04:00

I recently downloaded the Andriod 2.2 update for my Nexus One and the new update runs powerfully and allows for Flash Videos from Online to be played over my phone. Also, today I have seen that Flash is now integrated in the Chrome Browser. No updates and No extra-installation required. This should send a direct message to the Techo-Dictator who runs a red sweet fruit that there is life with Flash and also HTML5 can be used also. Google, a much more democratically runned and open-source embracing company, continues to be on the cutting edge of innovation. The Techno-Dictator while innovating, continues to use the legal system to persecute reporters, maintain a closed-system, charge High Fees through a cellular company and block the presence of other competitors in the United States.

Google, on the other hand, has been the most principled and innovative among companies. My aim is to share three upcoming innovations with you that are still floating around in the media but seem to be coming to retail stores and computers before 31 December 2010.

The biggest of all innovations that are soon to come is Chrome OS. This is the open source browser that now has Adobe Flash built into it. The Operating System will be builtt around the browser and you will be able to use all of the many functions that Chrome OS has including watching videos and listening to music. If I were purchasing a computer, I would wait because Chrome OS will be a game-changer and an industry move that will take Computers from the desktop to the browser/cloud. Ironically, the engineer who started Chrome OS has now gone to Facebook.

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"If I were purchasing a computer, I would wait because Chrome OS will be a game-changer and an industry move that will take Computers from the desktop to the browser/cloud."

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Facebook is working with Microsoft on an online version of Office 2010 and I assume Facebook is now trying to create an OS to compete with Google Chrome OS. I believe that any partnership with the Blue Dinosaur will ultimately fail because the Blue Dinosaur is more motivated by profit and not innovation. Google is managed and runned by young, energetic, brilliant engineers who are always looking for ways to improve and create new services.

Google Me will be the next big product from Google. Google me, according to reports, will combine all of its technological prowess into a new Social Networking service that is robust and simple. Google Me will be similar to Orkut. I am sure however it will include some calling services. If Google were to include the talking features of Gizmo5, that would be excellent. Google Wave, Google Talk, Google Voice and Google ME, should have voice connectivity features. The connection between voice driven technology and social networking is not being used and should be used today.

Google Editions is a new service where Google will allow subscribers to download books and read those Books on any devise. This is important because I have Kindle, which is Amazons' e-reading software. If you do not have Amazon's software installed on your computer, you cannot read books that you download electronically from Amazon. The same goes with the iPad. If you do not download your ebooks via Apple, you cannot read the books on any other devise. Google has been working on electronically storing books through Google Books for some time and is in talks with major book publishers to start selling books before December 2010.

I believe that these three innovations will be released with Google Chrome OS. Google is also working on a Music Service,a Skype like calling service from the purchase of Gizmo 5 and other innovations as well. I do not believe that the music service or other services will be as impacting as Google Chrome OS, Google me and Google Editions.

On another note, two Google technologies that I thought were game-changing have been discontinued. The Nexus One Phone and Google Wave are to be discontinued. I believe that the products are excellent, however, Google had the wrong approach when marketing the products. Google, at no point, allowed users of the Nexus One or Google Wave to be the marketers and conveyors of the products. Google tested both products internally and their engineering-educated work-force was "WOWed" by the products. The consumer and user world, however, was not impressed. The Nexus One was sold far above a competitive price and was sold exclusively through Google. Buyers in the US were not buying the Nexus One because comparable Android phones were made elsewhere. (The phone is now sold via Vodafone in Europe and to Developers in USA). Google Wave is a revolutionary service and is the most powerful electronic tool available for communication; however, because Google does not have a mass exodus of people migrating to Google Wave, management at Google has decided to discontinue the service. I would say to Google Executives directly, a few YouTube videos and jazzy press conferences are not enough to get the public hooked on technological innovations.

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"I would say to Google Executives directly, a few YouTube videos and jazzy press conferences are not enough to get the public hooked on technological innovations. "

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You have to have average internet users throughout the world be beta-testers of your innovations and allow the non-technological laity to offer their input. Google Wave is a powerful tool and is too powerful to be discontinued. I have stated in a sidewiki that this is discontinuation is a grave mistake ( http://goo.gl/I3q5 ) . Work on getting more people using the service and more average users communicating about the value of Google Wave.

Overall, Google is moving ahead with further innovations and I believe that non academic and technological people should be allowed to advocate and use the products. This is the brilliance of the red fruit company, they market products that have excellent hardware and technology, but the products are also easy to use. Hopefully Google can learn, at least this, from their rival. I look forward to purchasing a Chrome OS computer. I look forward to using the powerful social network called Google Me. I am already an avid user of Google Buzz. I look forward to reading books using Google Edition on whatever devise I choose. Let average users tout the benefits and ease of these great products.

Let Freedom Ring,

Vaughn

vaughn@bellcrack.com

http://goo.gl/GxOO

My Reflections on Listening to Chomsky at Harvard

2010-03-07T11:25:00.000-05:00

I sat there in the Heart of Harvard Yard at a Memorial Church across from Widener Library-- sitting on the balcony listening to Noam Chomsky. When I went to sit down I sat next to two graduate students in the department of Physics. They came also to hear Noam Chomsky and the prominent and provocative journalist Amy Goodman of Democracy Now. As an ideological student and an activist, I wondered about the belief system of the students that I sat next to. When I saw a student three seats over take out his Acer laptop and boot up Ubuntu on his computer, in some way, I knew that I was in the right place. These students, nearly one thousand, assembled in this place of the sacred and the scholarly, listening attentively as Professor Chomsky gave his deep and radical analysis about the happenings of the world. Amy Goodman raised the right questions related to the Obama Administration, Israel and Palestine, and a life of dissent. Out of this talk I gathered three things that I think are imperative for us to do as The Progressive Left.

The first thing that we must do as activists is value the Public Intellectual--those individuals who dedicate their lives to speaking out against the imperialistic grips of the empire. Chomsky and others like him provide a progressive discourse that is informative and helps to enlighten left discourse. Goodman gave many examples of how Chomsky, throughout his nearly seven decades of writing, informed the left from East Temor to the situation in the Middle East particularly where America is not of the opinion like other nations that the situation in Isreal must be a two-state solution. Also, Chomsky has taken stands that help to validate the stands of students on the left. In other words, if I as an activist take a stand such as in the case of the closing of Gitmo, I can use the opinion of Chomsky to validate my point. Chomsky is a professor at MIT and the weight of his statements is much more valid than my statements. Finally, the public intellectual inspires generations to make USAmore democratic. There is not a single social movement in America that was not inspired by the involvement of and writings of public intellectuals. Dr. King's "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" got a generation of non-African American moderates to join the Civil Rights Movement. Nelson Mandela's writings became the fuel, along with other factors, for the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa. Frederick Douglass's writings in the North Star helped to inform and inspire the Abolitionist Movement in the South. Cornel West has given an intellectual dimension to African American culture and is now leading a challenge to the realization and validation of democratic and courage meanings of the Obama Administration.

Second, we must be willing to be dissenting, wise and couragous voices within this experiment in democracy. Holding on to positions and muzzling our mouths because of financial interests does not make USA stronger. We have to be willing to analyze and articulate the contradictions within democratic structures whether those structures profess to be on the ideological left or the ideological right. The ultimate pain in the progressive movement is experiencing an injustice and not being willing to speak out against it because of fear.

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"The ultimate pain in the progressive movement is experiencing an injustice and not being willing to speak out against the injustice because of fear."

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This reminds me of when Dr. King publicly opposed the War in Vietnam. He stated that there comes about a time when if a person is silent it could mean betrayal. We must also realize that when we take unpopular stands there is a world of solidarity that takes stands with us. Chomsky spoke about the unpopular stands that he took in his writings such as the writings that opposed the Vietnam War . I know of how in my life being a member of Democratic Socialists of America, I am connected with Socialist International--a world wide organization whose members include the New Democratic Party of the Canada, The Labor Party of the England and the African National Congress of South Africa. When I went to school in England, because of my affiliations I actually worked for the National Union of Students and was a member of the Labor Party. Chomsky, as an author, has been quoted by many leaders of the world who have alternative views about the US hegemony including Hugo Chavez of Venezuela.

Finally, we must commit ourselves to reading, writing and being informed about the world around us. We must fully embrace the technological resources that exist on the Internet. I listen to and watch Democracy Now daily by Amy Goodman. I also watch The National from Canada and Al-Jazeera in English. I read the Nation, In These Times, the Guardian from London. Grandma in English from Cuba. I read the works of public intellectuals such as Cornel West and Noam Chomsky. You can watch the speeches of West and Chomsky on Youtube. MSNBC is not nearly enough. We should do this on a routine basis. This also includes writing. I always hope to blog each week, tweet on Twitter, Buzz on Google Buzz and Update my Status on Facebook. You can also subscribe to Google Reader to get all your news in one place.

This rigor of learning and stimulation cannot only be routine for students and academics, this has to be the case for working and poor people, the underemployed and unemployed. We need informed circles of discourse on the left in every corner of American society--to counter the absurdity, ignorance and idiocy that exists from the Right. We need circles of discussion, networks of information and activism within our communities. This is what we need instead of those "activists" who seek after money and status and do not educate the poor and working class and also do not allow themselves to be educated by the poor and working class. True education is from Worker to Organizer and Organizer to worker and the two are involved in the decision making process about the future of the progressive movement. This is what I got from listening to Chomsky. Yes, Chomsky was critical of Obama and how Obama is furthering some of the policies and practices of his predecessor. We have to, however, as the left that elected Obama, not be afraid to challenge him. This is what Chomsky has done to leaders for nearly nine decades. Chomsky has lived a life of speaking outrightly and forthrightly without fear of retribution or loss. Chomsky has paid the ultimate sacrifice and is still respected among workers, the poor, students and academics today. Let the discourse of dissent continue.

Let Freedom Ring.

Vaughn

http://goo.gl/GxOO

9 Google Apps for Progressives

2009-11-29T01:42:00.000-05:00

I have been an Organizer most of my life, meaning that I grew up in the Labour and Community Organizing Movement and my mother was a Community Organizer and Labour Organizer. This, in my view, makes me uniquely qualified to speak about organizing and building whether to deal with changes needed within a community or within a place of business where workers are violated. Today, however, my aim is not to talk about organizing in the sense of my background or even how to organize. I want to talk about a set of tools that make Organizing more effective and more thorough and these tools are all internet based.
Google.

Progressive Organizations will find the next five years of learning and knowing Google to be vital to their success just as knowing WAPEO was important to an Organizations success from 1995 -2010. The next decade (2010-2020) will be the decade of Google, Open Source Computing and cloud based computing. The hard drive as we know it today will be obsolete in the next 5 years. Organizers/labor leader needs to know this and adopt this today. The failure to adopt these services will dramatically reduce and diminish the relevancy of their organizations in the next 3 years or less. To continue down the path of the Glossy Blue dinosaur is dangerous and ultimately fatal.

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"2010-2020 will be the decade of Google!!!"

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Here are the steps that you as an organizer/labor union can take now for the sake of your survival:

Every Organization must move away from a website based on a server from the dinosaur and move to adopting Google Apps. This will save your company tremendous amounts of money and because of the open source nature of Google licensing fees will disappear over time. As Organizers, you can build a email group with your own domain name for $10.00 per year (http://is.gd/56uFI).
Every Organization should begin using the Android Operating system and abandon mobile devices that are historically unstable. You have a variekty of services through Android that did not exist in the dinosaurs environment. You can create online Videos on Youtube that can be communicated to your workers. You can use Latitude to find ways of how your organizers are campaigning geographically. A phone from a certain red fruit does not have the full capacity or potential as the Android Phone. By the way, Google now has Google Maps Navigation installed on all Android phones with the operating system at version 1.6 or above. The Droid from Verizon Wirelss is a perfect example of how Android is being utlized. This would be able to merge your GPS and your Mobile Phone into one robust and functional devise (http://is.gd/56uUE).
Google Voice is a critical program for any organizer or organization. As organizers, I am accustomed to having workers call a variety of numbers to reach me concerning a variety of issues. It takes an exhaustive amount of time to find out what number a worker called such as my cell number, my office number, my home number etcetera, Google Voice unifies all of these numbers for you and provides transcripts of calls when your voice mail is reached instead of you. Various companies now and in the past have attempted to utilize one number technology and have failed miserably. Google Voice also has a conference calling feature that allows you to connect through your Google Voice number to any number of callers. SMS can also be answer via your Google Voice number (http://is.gd/56vjr).
Google Docs is absolutely imperative for an organization and for a forward thinking organizer. Through Google Docs you can do anything that you are used to doing using WAPEO and have access to it from any computer. You can also do collaborative computing where you and a worker can work on a document together. It is fair to say that Google Docs and WAPEO are not yet equals. WAPEO still has the most features. Google, for organizers and progressive movements, must have a way of creating software that merges Google speadsheets with addresses into Google Maps that create walk lists in neighborhoods. If the technology exists via Google, then that technology ought to be released freely and not withdrawn for profiting purposes. Any social movement has to have free mapping and spreadsheet merging at its basis. Google can help in equipping this movement. Essentially, Google Docs is important (http://is.gd/56vxk).
Google Maps is vital because mapping determines a great deal in how campaigns are launched. Google maps is much more user friendly than other map services. Google Maps can also be sent to android devices and is more accurate than GPS devices. Once Google released the Navigation service, GPS companies had a decline in value on Wall Street. I also cancelled the Telenav service that I was using and went with Google Maps Navigation. I admit that I am not usng the full functionality of Google Maps. I need to spend more time learning the full features of what Google Maps can do. This is not meant to devalue what other mapping services offer or can do. I would say further that the mapping experience is simple, accurate and user-friendly. Therefore, it would be important for any progressive organization and organizers to learn Google Maps or utilize it fully in a campaign or organization (http://is.gd/56vRS).
Google News still remains the information source for any effective organizer, despite what Ruppy and the Blue Dinosaur try to conspire to defeat Google. I get Google alerts about the organization that I work with. These news alerts come daily. I also use Google News to find out about local news in the community in which I am organizing so that I can speak to the issues that concern neighbours in that area. When I go to Google News I deal with news that concerns me such as the Open Source Movement, the Ubuntu Operating System and , of course, Google. Every Organizer and company should keep up with Google and use Google News to share articles with organizers about what is happening about their organization externally and internally. Google News is important in that way. I would also add Fastflip to this list of services because this service helps users to get a full page view of what is happening in the media (http://is.gd/56wuv).
Gmail is the best mail system online. This has been proven to be the case time and time again. Email correspondence is saved as conversations and you have the option to save word documents as google docs. The email is also searchable. I know the dinosaur has a email system that uses some of the services found in one of the programs of WAPEO, is still however find Gmail to be quicker, simpler and stable. Technical difficulties to plague and haunt the dinosaur and cause me not to have access to my emails when I need them. Google emails are accessible from any devise and at any time without causing technical problems or barriers, Anyone who does not have a gmail account needs to have one and any organization that runs on the dinosaur's server should switch to Google Apps for stability, searchability and simplicity. In other words, through using Gmail you save money, time and information (http://is.gd/56wOk).
Google calendar is better than any group calendar used in a business and can be shared without requiring an enormous amount of licensing fees. Google should innovate more in the area of calendaring and does have a labs section to the google calendar that is open to innovation. Google calendar appointments, meetings and events sync automatically with the Android Operating System, giving Android Phone users access to meetings and calendar related events on a automatic basis. The tasks feature which is in calendar and gmail is very important. I encourage you, once signing up for Gmail to try Google Calendar (http://is.gd/56x4h).
Google Wave is an organizational and personal communicating necessity!!!! Google Wave combines, Google Talk, Gmail and Orkut--Google's social networking tool, in a powerful way. Google Wave is social networkin on steriods. You have real time communications, combined with real time typing and colllaboration all in one service. Facebook is to Googlewave what a water-drop is to a Tsunami!!!!! Googlewave also intergrates google search, Google mapping etcetera. Googletalk can be used for inter-office, person to person communication within an organization. I would imagine that Google is working on applicaiton to fully apply Googlewave as an android application within the Google Market. If I were Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, I would work on releasing a Google Wave Android Application ASAP (http://is.gd/56yXO).

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"Google Wave is an organizational and personal communicating necessity!!!"
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These are my recommendations to progressive organizations and organizers that should be taken into consideration immediately. I am not a Google expert nor a Google employee. I am not compensated for writing this article. In fact, I once was a have endorser of WAPEO and the blue dinosaur. However, as I kept encountering the blue screen or death, I knew that I would be headed to my own blue funeral if I did not start heading down a different path. I started using the Ubuntu Operating System and then Google and before I knew it I was syncing simply, computing comprehensively and researching with stability. Google grabbed me with ease and without technological hassle. There are other Google Services that I use actively such as Google Chrome and Google Talk. I am not, however, impressed by their sluggish march towards the Linux Operating System. I am happy about the upcoming Google Chrome OS and there collaboration with Canonical/Ubuntu. I follow the Chromium Project and Ubuntu religiously. I will, however, wait to see what happens with Chrome OS before recommending it to anyone. I do not endorse Google Chrome in the Dinosaur's Operating System environment because all PC users and MAC users deserve a stable, free and open-source operating and communicating environment.

As netbooks become released over the next three years, I would encourage all organizers and labor leaders to cease using the dinosaur and adopt the Google netbook with Chrome OS installed. Get Android devices for your organizers!!! Strip yourself of WAPEO. If you need to use an operating system until Google Chrome OS is released for Desktops and Servers, I would use Ubuntu (visit: http://www.ubuntu.com ). Keep up with Google through the Youtube Google channel (visit: http://www.youtube.com/google ). Let the Open Source, Google Revolution continue!!!!!!!

Vaughn Goodwin
vaughn@bellcrack.com
Let Freedom Ring!!!!!!!!

learn about Google Chrome OS & Google Wave

Google, Ubuntu and the Future of the Web

2009-07-09T04:05:00.000-04:00

Google announced today that they are planning to introduce a New Operating System called Chrome OS, an operating system centered around the Chrome Web Browser. This ambition of Google is nothing new. News reports have been circulating throughout the Net for sometime that Google has been planning to introduce a New Operating System. I am an actively and devoted Googler, so I fully understand the positives in Google developing their Open Source Operating System to the public.
Google has been courting Ubuntu, the open-source Debian-based Operating System for the past few years with a desire to do what Ubuntu has done--Create a thriving open source platform. The main difference about Canonical, the company that sponsors and runs Ubuntu, is that Canonical only monitors and maintains the operating system--not the browser. Google seems to want to create a whole new Net Universe. With Google Wave, Google is creating a whole new interactive protocal for online communicating. With Android, Google is using Mobile technology and the web to create a seemless and snycfull enviroment. With Google Voice, Google is developing VOIP that integrates all of your telephone numbers in one number not based on Geography nor one particular number. This is all quite radical and will definetly change how we view technology and the Web.

I use all of the preceding technologies that I have mentioned and much more of what Google offers. I am also a loyal devotee to the Ubuntu Operating System and believe that Google will not seek to compete with Ubuntu through the Chrome OS platform. The beauty of open source is that programs and the OS are always being developed and critisized. Open Source Technology is a true democratic way of using Technology. If you have not used open source technology I must say you are not learning computing. I advise you to try the Ubuntu Operating System. You can download Ubuntu for free at
http://www.ubuntu.com/GetUbuntu/download or a Free CD from the website. While many suggest using Google Chrome, I do not believe that Google Chrome is ready for primetime. FireFox from Mozilla is a more steady and more integrated Webbrowser and has been shown time and time again to be better than Internet Explorer. You can download FireFox at
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/upgrade.html.
Firefox comes preloaded on Ubuntu by Default.

For word processing, spreadsheets, presentations and database managment, I no longer use the expensive Gloosy Office Suite. I use Open Office and Google Docs regularly. Open Office is much better than Google Docs, however, Google Docs will be going through a transition over the next year. I can almost certainly say that a new version of Google Docs will most likely be released with the new Google OS in the next two years.

As an activist, I want to see most labor Unions and community based organizations transition over to open source technologies in the next two years or less.
The Big Blue Dinosaur from Seattle is dying gradually. Binging their way to success will not happen like it did back in the Netscape days. Most honest consumers have learned their lessons from Vista and the prior Blue Screen of Death.
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"Binging their way to success will not happen like it did back in the Netscape Days."

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Google seeks to be simple, useful and innovative. Canonical and the Ubuntu operating system has better ethical principals. Google as the corporate mega-millionizer, has to avoid becoming another Dinosaur. In the next two years, with the release of Android, the Chrome OS, The Chrome Webbrowser and Google Wave, we shall see what Google becomes.

Michael Jackson: His Character, Our Country, The Controversy

2009-06-26T02:43:00.000-04:00

I, like you, heard the shocking news about the death of Michael Jackson. He past away at the age of 50 after a distinguished and well-accomplished musical career that inspired generations of fans and music lovers. I grew up listening to the music of Michael Jackson and would often marvel at his ability to connect with audiences throughout the globe no matter where he went. In Michael Jackson I saw the power of Universal Love and the adoration for youth. Michael's adoration for children, unfortunately, was often misinterpreted by many religious fundamentalists that could not believe the extent to which Michael Jackson would express his adoration for children. I remember how many right-wing media outlets sought to label Michael as less than ethical and honorable when allegations of abuse surfaced about him a number of years ago. This right-wing onslaught and the declining sales of his later recordings is what caused him to settle abroad and only return to America for court appearances, visit his family and resolve legal battles in later years.

Because of the enormous pressure that Michael was under and his controversial reputation, Michael was reclusive and simply sought to try to figure out ways to perform to show that he still had talent and to satisfy mountainous debts that came from his troubled reputation. In a sense, the pressures of trying to live a super surreal life also destroyed Micheal. Michael attempted to cosmetically transcend ethnicity. This often caused his mentality to be questioned. Michael took bold steps to remain juvenile and altruistic.
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"Michael was a product of the USA as a victor and a victim."

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Michael was the a product of the USA as a victor and a victim. He was a victor for all that he accomplished coming from Gary, Indiana to becoming a world icon and yet the ruthless nature of Americas insatiable desire for controversy by diminishing prominent personalities caused him to have issues with America. This type of tragedy has effected many similar personalities before Michael Jackson. I would say that Paul Robeson comes to mind in this case.

While I remember Michael along with countless individuals throughout the world, I also remember what drove him to were he finally ended up. May we all learn lessons from the life of MJ.

Dick Cheyney and his Cash Cow losing Milk

2009-05-22T16:19:00.000-04:00

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"It should be clear to all Americans that Cheyney, from 1995 the present, has been either directly or indirectly a spokesperson for the Military Industrial Complex and Private Profiting Warmongers such as Haliburton and KBR."

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This week Dick Cheyney has been on a campaign to dismiss President Obama's efforts to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay. Many viewers many wonder why Dick Cheyney is taking such unprecedented measures. I am not surprised because this is to be expected from an unpopular former Vice President. I will tell you why this countering-Obama-in public is not a surprise to me. Dick Cheyney was the CEO of Halliburton from 1995-2000. Dick Cheyney was the Vice President of USA from 2001-2008.From 2001 to the end of 2007 Halliburton earned 6.217 billion dollars. Most of the profits that Halliburton earned were from Military Contracts in Iraq which were worth over 90 millions dollars. Halliburton also has a lucrative contract concerning Construction and security with the prison in Guantanamo Bay that is worth over $300 million dollars.

While Bush was in office, the former CEO of Halliburton may have been working behind the scenes to secure lucrative contracts for his former employer. The "War President" who was a spokesperson for the Military Industrial Complex and Empire also had a shadow lobbyist in a Vice-President. The profits from the private companies associated with Bush and his associates including Dick Cheyney are clearly detailed in the video "Iraq for Sale" by Robert Greenwald.

Using Shock Doctrine and fear, Bush and Cheyney were able to use monies to finance the War in Iraq of which Gitmo is a part. This also is detailed in the compelling book "Shock Doctrine" by Naomi Klein.

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"Halliburton also has a lucrative contract concerning Construction and security with the prison in Guantanamo Bay that is worth over $300 million dollars ".

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When Barack Obama, during his presidential campaign, spoke of closing the prison in Guantanamo Bay and removing soldiers from Iraq, this was a direct sign to Halliburton and Dick Cheyney that the lucrative war-time Gravy Train was over. While the Republican pro-war right was trying to secure and further their profiting war machine through their Pro-War Hero John McCain, Americans, Republican and Democrat, clearly demonstrated through Obama that the private profiting of corporations, the violations of International and Human Rights , and America's unjustified presence in Iraq was unacceptable.

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"When Barack Obama, during his presidential campaign, spoke of closing the prison in Guantanamo Bay and removing soldiers from Iraq, this was a direct sign to Halliburton and DickCheyney that the lucrative war-time Gravy Train was over".

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Today, whenever our president makes a statement about closing Guantanamo Bay, Dick Cheyney uses media appearances to publicly counter our president. Cheyney is not only speaking for his interests, Cheyney is speaking for the interests of his military profiteering assoiciates who want to continue to make millions from Guantanamo Bay by justifying torture and calling the detainees in Gitmo "a threat to National Security".

It should be clear to all Americans that Cheyney from 1995 the present has been either directly or indirectly a spokesperson for the Military Industrial Complex and Private Profiting Warmongers such as Haliburton and KBR. Cheyney may be able to stir up his old supporters from the Republican Right, however the Progressive Left is not fooled. Cheyney who is now a former Vice President, should dedicate his last living years to reflect over his mistakes in Iraq and Gitmo and stop wasting his time trying to be a Drum Major for Shock Doctrine and Deception.

We as the Progressive Left must continue to educate others about the links between Dick Cheyney and War Profiting. We should also continue to advocate and call our US Senators and US Representatives to close GITMO. We should also continue to urge our politicians to get out of Iraq. I support Obama in closing GITMO and coming out of Iraq. We must study war no more and cease making profits from oil and blood. The same goes for our unneccesary presence in Afghanistan. Use multi-lateral diplomacy to fight "The War on Terror" not our military presence.

Let Freedom Ring, nationally and internationally,

Vaughn

A need for Ethics and Unity in the Labor Movement

2009-05-09T10:26:00.001-04:00

I was raised in the Labor Movement and the Labor Movement is in my blood. My Grandfather Samuel Goodwin was a porter on the Pennsylvania Railroad. My grandfather migrated to Pennsylvania from Greenwood, South Carolina searching for a better standard of living as did many African Americans during the Jim Crow South. He was a very active worker on the Pennsylvania Railroad and was a great and deep admirer of A. Philip Randolph who I heard my grandfather speak of frequently. My mother, Sandra Mae Goodwin, was an active nurse/hospital worker of 1199 in the City of Philadelphia and was eventually an organizer under the leadership of Henry Nicholas who is now the head of 1199C. My father was a trucker for the Teamsters. Therefore, labor and the value of the labor movement runs deep within me.

Today, I find myself doing what my mother and my foreparents did. I am as Dr. King called "a drum major for justice". I am organizing workers, particularly in the Healthcare industry. These are workers who never had a union before and are now beginning to understand the value of having a collective voice and the necessity for raising there living standands. I am proud to further this great tradition. What disturbs me however is any division that I find within the labor movement. As a political activist and a trained ethicist having come out of a college that focused on ethics I am deeply concerned about the direction of the labor movement as a whole and how the division within the labor movement impacts upon the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). Every day on the right of the political spectrum conservatives and the business community are trying to weaken the original language of the act so that bosses can still have a window of opportunity to intimidate and discourage employees from having Unions. On the left, many Democrats believe that the possibility of passing EFCA is slim and only if the original language in the proposal is compromised.

This dichotomy of an adversial position and a compromising position has caused an enormous rift not only towards EFCA but even within the movement itself. The adversial activists who have traditionally come out of a strong ideologically and politically leftist past do not believe in concessions with management and believe that management can never be trusted. These adversialists also prefer to work through locally based councils and federations and within internally organized bargaining units. Over the last decade and probably score of years;unfornately, there has been a continued decline in the growth of the labor movement. While adversialists have continued to negotiate and in-fight--the focus has been on-serving and not new organizing. For example, according to the National Bureau of Labor statistics,the numbers of workers belonging to a Union fell from 20.1% in 1983 to 12.1% in 2007. These are statistics that even the adversialists cannot deny.

On the other side is the position of compromise. The compromising position states that instead of allowing a class of workers to get to the point where they do not have a contract during bargaining, there are compromises that have to be made. These compromises, according to some adversalialists, may result in the loss of gains for workers and also may lead to the defeat of the worker. Compromisers believe that it is necessary to have compromises to save union contracts because without a compromise workers are at a total and complete loss without any concessions whatsoever. Unfortunately, some compromisers have been thought to have engaged in "secret-back door deals" to save workers and cut deals "with the boss". Compromisers because of there focus on concessions and agreements have seen a marginal growth in the labor movement. Adversialists believe however that over time focus for compromisers have gone from advocating and representing workers to focus on union-growth, new-organizing and being a "bosses-union'.

Adversialists have been trying to save themselves. Compomisers are willing to adopt new technologies and grow the Union by any cost. From these two ideoligical camps is some level of abuse on both sides. On the adversial side, particular leaders have come out publicly and tried to humiliate other unions and wage campaigns that supposedly "represent workers". One large state in the USA has been engaged in a large battle that has lead to the establishment of another local that aims to compete with the larger Union. Adversialists claim to be into grass roots organizing for workers and compromisers claim growth through mergers and acquistions.

On the compromising side, there has also been the language of "imploding a local from within" and engaging in inner rivalry campaigns from Unions within a federation that seem to be dwindling. As the days count down towards EFCA's necessary passage, labor organizations of the two ideological camps have joined together by necessity because without the passage of EFCA the marginal and slugglish growth in the labor movement will continue.

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"President Obama is committed to the passage of EFCA."

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President Obama is committed to the passage of EFCA. I as a Union Organizer am also committed to the passage of EFCA. I am however against visible and open disunity within the Labor Movement that leads to victory for bosses and corporations on the right and loss for workers and unions on the left. We need a united labor movement today, whether we be primarily focused on the service-model or the new organizing model. No one model is the absolute answer for the problems in the Labor Movement and new one leader and no one collection of labor organizations has the absolute answer. We need a hybrid organization that can allow for local autonomy and freedom but can centralize the resources of Unions when necessary to accomplish collective goals.

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"Those who lose from a disunited Labor Movement are the Workers."

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We have seen in 2008 the growth of Unions from 12.1% participation to 12.4% participation. We have seen how Unions worked together to elect Barack Obama, our first African American president. Let's stay United and adopt a ethical system that honors and values workers not as classes of employees to be manipulated for Union dues but as honorable individuals and organic-intellectuals who want a raise in living standards and a raise in consciousness.

Workers are the Blood, Sweat and Tears of the American Labor Movement. Let's join together under one house inwardly and collectively because those who lose from a disunited Labor Movement are the workers.

A house divided against itself cannot stand.
United we stand and divided we fall.

A luta continua!!!

Vaughn

A humane shift is coming!!!

2009-05-03T06:50:00.001-04:00

Jan Miller of Wainwright Bank

Mark Shuttleworth of Canonical Software

Jim Sinegal of Costco Wholesale

USA is going through a necessary ideological shift. For years, big bankers have been able to rape and take advantage of the Working Poor by paying workers limited wages and making unethically high amounts of profits that result in living a lavish lifestlye. Whether we mention Ken Lewis of Bank of America, Bill Gates of Microsoft or any of the individuals on the Forbes 100 list, exhorbitant profits are never ever justified. For instance, Ken Lewis last year made $20,300,000. in total compensation while the median hourly wage for a Bank of America employee was $10.42 per hour. With the Microsoft Corporation the focus is on selling inferior technical products such as the Windows Operating System at high costs and charging for Liscencing, Services, Fees, Updates etcetera. This create a form of customer loyalty and yet the system does not work. This was the case with Windows Vista. Vista was a technical flop. Many companies and invididuals were hoodwinked into purchasing Vista and realized that the system and security wholes and flaws and could not survive in a corporate environment.

While Vista continued to plummet the profits of Microsoft were outrageously high. In the first quarter of 2008 Microsoft made $15,000,000,000. while Vista was a flop. Bill Gates also became once again the Richest man in the world by possessing $40,000,000,000. of wealth. These profits happen while the average information worker at Microsoft makes $39,000 per year. While many limited wage workers admire the likes of Ken Lewis in Banking and Bill Gates in Microsoft, I admire Jan Miller of Wainwright Bank in Banking, Mark Shuttleworth of Canonical in Technology and Jim Sinegal of COSTCO in retailing. Each of these CEO's pays their workers fairly and are not trying to reach the "RICHEST" person in the world category.

Yes, there is a shift in our economy. Ken Lewis of Bank of America was recently removed from being Chairman of Bank of America. Microsoft reported its first loss in quaterly profits in its 23 years of existence. Meanwhile socially conscious banks like Wainwright are reporting record profits and the Ubuntu Operating System is growing steadily.

Am I saying that I dislike the earning of profits? Am I also saying that I dislike Capitalism? I am saying that I do believe in a Free Market System, however, that market should be one where workers are guaranteed Free Health Care and Free Education and make living wages that support them and their families. I am further saying that their should be a ceiling on the amount of income that CEOs are able to make regardless of the field in which CEOs are employed. The economic inequality of USA is inhumane. On that note, I do agree with some of the actions taken by Obama to limit executive compensation. However, there are members within the Obama administration who partially contributed to this economic inequality such as Gary Gensler and Timothy Geitner. Ironically, Goldman Sachs donated $980,945 to Obama for his presidential campaign. This may be the reason for these Goldman Sachs-Obama Appoitments.

As we continue to be under the Obama administration, teaching workers about the excesses in Corporate and Capitalistic Weatlh are important. This is why I support the campaings by various organizations to publisize and oppose the likes of Ken Lewis and Private Equity Companies. We should also advocate the importance of the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act in these troubled times when workers are being laid off and terminated by enormous amounts. This is the time for class-education and establishing Popular Education Institutes for workers. These are challenging times. We must challenge CEOs and realize that there is always an alternative to the lavish life that many CEOs live on the Backs of Workers. The struggle continues!!!!

Obama and Chavez: What does this handshake really mean?

2009-04-18T19:54:00.000-04:00

Today's New York Times featured an article showing President Obama and Hugo Chavez of Venezuela Shaking Hands. This article also pointed out that Obama has lifted travelling and trade restrictions placed by the Bush Administration for Cubans Travelling to Cuba. The goal of this lifting, in the view of the Obama administration, is to allow Cuban Americans to begin engaging Cubans on the Island. Obama seems to be saying the "right things" at the Summit of the Americans being held in Trinidad and Tobago today. I personally have to wait-and-see whether or not there is any substance to Obama's statements. Obama is a young and wise politician, but I wonder whether he is saying this because many states in Latin and Central American Countries were planning to confront Obama on the need to lift the embargo against Cuba.

The statements from Raul Castro, Hugo Chavez and Barack Obama have been overwhelmingly open and positive. Raul Castro was recently reported to have said:"We've told the North American government, in private and in public, that we are prepared, wherever they want, to discuss everything -- human rights, freedom of the press, political prisoners -- everything, everything, everything that they want to discuss,". Hugo Chavez's remarked about Obama, ""I hope President Obama is the last president of the Yankee Empire, and the first president of a truly democratic republic, the United States," . President Obama said about Cuba," The United States seeks a new beginning with Cuba. I know that there is a longer -- (applause) -- I know there's a longer journey that must be traveled to overcome decades of mistrust, but there are critical steps we can take toward a new day."

Hearing our President, the President of Cuba and the President of Venezuela speaking positively, openly and favorably is strange and peculiar. For so long, previous presidents, excluding Carter, spoke negatively of Cuba and her allies in the Latin America. While presidents critisized the Castro Regime, Castro offered things to his citizens that we as Americans still do not have today such as free quality education, a superior and free health care system, free medical education and superb medical doctors that serve throughout the world. Bush was rather foolish in his approach to Cuba, especially after Fidel wanted to send 1,000 Cuban Trained Physicians to help the United States after Hurricane Katrina. Bush's refusal at that time was an outright disgrace to the International World.
Chavez, Fidel's close ideological comrade, has worked with Cuba to develop programs for the poor in his country.

While the US Government in the past viewed Chavez and Castro as evils and dictators Barack is starting with a new beginning. I am happy for Cuban Americans as they can now travel to Cuba without restriction. As an African American, I think however that the time to lift the trade embargo on Cuba is now. I agree with Fidel that this trade embargo is a form of genocide that is gradually depriving the people of Cuba. Using human rights as a reason to keep sanctions is no longer applicable because the USA negotiates and operates openly with nations that are far more oppressive and repressive than the Fidel Regime. Obama needs to lift the embargo and allow Americans to begin establishing commercial and diplomatic ties with the island of Cuba. This lifting would elimate Cuba's ability to demonize America but also give Americans the opportunity to interact with citizens of Cuba. Until the Trade Embargo is lifted, the handshake pictured above will be just a hypocritical photo opportunity that does not change Cuba into a country in which democracty is a possibility.

Fatherhood

2009-04-13T18:36:00.000-04:00

Today, I pondered deeply over topics that I could write about. This weekend I spent some desperately needed time with two of my children. Mu'adh, my son, who is both energetic and inquisitive and always asked me questions that I find to be profound and simple. Alisha, my step-daughter, who has the bravery of a Native American Warrior. These are the two children that I and my wife are responsible for and we love them deeply. At this point, let me also mention Sophia, the oldest daughter who is temporarily outside of our home. She is in the Southern States and my wife and I pray that she returns to Massachussettes--the Mecca of Western Education. I am dealing with the challenges and responsiblities of Fatherhood. While statistics show that most African-American households are headed by African Ameican Women, my wife who is African-American and I are co-partners in raising our children. My wife is more of the soft, listening and compassionate one. I am the stern disciplarian who tries to ensure that our children stay balanced and adherent to the orders and rules of their mother/parents. In the past, I was to strict of a disciplinarian and am learning through counseling to use more talk-therapy to resolve issues and acts of disobedience in my household.

Our oldest daughter had left our presences for a number of months to be educated by an elder and when she returned she was rather defiant. This occured because the particular elder uses the Permissive Style of parenting to raise her children. This Permissive Style, while pleasing to a child/teenager, does not result in obedeint and lawful children. The oldest child, unfornately left home on her own and has been dealing with challenges. I, unlike my wife, was raised using the Authoritative Style and that Style is what has served me well in raising my three children. My grandmother and parents who raised me always used the Authoritative Model and that model resulted in great things happening for me.

These parenting styles should be known especially when getting into a marriage with somone. My wife and I used to clash for the first five years of our marriage because our parenting styles are different. She was raise with someone who started off as an authority but my wife's parent gradually loss the zeal to be authoritative. I was raised by my grandmother who still maintains her authority over me, though I am an adult about 4o years of age.

Today, African American parents, single or married, need to use the Authoritative style with their children. Teenagers do not like this model;however, many child pscychologists and educators have proven this model to work. Alisha and Mu'adh, my two youngest children respect this model and are compliant are doing well academically in school. Mu'adh was recently chosen as "Student of the Month" at his school. Alisha is involved in after-school programs and is always encouraged to do well academically.

Mel King, Ubuntu and My Step-Daughter

2009-04-02T19:18:00.000-04:00

I am tonight with my step-daughther in the Computer Lab of Mel King. Mel King is an activist in the Boston area who represents everything that I wish I could stand for--disciplined eating, liberal appreciation, an intense love for people and the streets of Urban areas and a desire to see Social Justice in the community. On a weekly basis, I try to attend the legendary brunch of Mel King, a feast that has gone on every Sunday morning for a number of years. While sitting here looking at my step-daugther, I am amazed by her level of comprehension and flexibility while being in the lab of Mel King, a lab located in the South End of Boston that utilizes the Ubuntu operating system and Linux. My step-daughter, ever since she was little has had a deep appreciation for computers. I could expose her to the already corporate-capitalist world of the often crashing Blue Screen of Death, however, when she is exposed to Ubuntu, she is learning about an operating system that is free and utililized by many people the world over. I as a Union Organizer and activist would like to see a day when many young people, liberals and radicals are using the Ubuntu system. The Blue Screen of Capitalism is not like Ubuntu. Ubuntu is free and open source and is brown just like me. (This is not meant to imply something racial in meaning.) I am merely saying that Ubuntu is open and free. This is what I want my step-daughter to be --open and free. Ubuntu promotes this. Mel promotes this. My daughter is learning to promote this openess and freedom. I am glad to be here in the Lab of Mr. Mel King.