Bill O’Reilly is done at Fox News, its parent company 21st Century Fox said Wednesday.

“After a thorough and careful review of the allegations, the Company and Bill O’Reilly have agreed that Bill O’Reilly will not be returning to the Fox News Channel,” the company said in a statement.
More to come…..http://money.cnn.com/2017/04/19/media/bill-oreilly-out-fox-news/

Carmelo Anthony is checking out of La La Land.

New York Knicks superstar forward Carmelo Anthony, 32, has separated from his wife, La La, after seven years of marriage, TMZ reports. The high profile duo are currently living separately, and La La, 37, has moved out of their home into her own New York City apartment, sources told the gossip site. “They have been fighting for about a year,” says a source close to the couple. “The marriage has always been a rocky one, so this is no surprise.”

The split is reportedly amicable, and while there are no plans yet for a divorce, the pair recently showed a united front at a basketball game for their 10-year-old son Kiyan,The couple’s public romance began in 2004, and their wedding six years later was documented in the VH1 reality show “La La’s Full Court Wedding,” which chronicled the former MTV VJ’s journey as she prepared for her nuptials to the star athlete. The pair then parlayed the show’s success into a five-season VH1 series, “La La’s Full Court Life,” which tracked their wedded bliss and New York life.

The “Power” actress was a staple at Melo’s games at Madison Square Garden, often supporting her husband courtside.
The split is just the latest chapter in an already tumultuous stretch for Anthony, who has been the subject of trade rumors for months. The Knicks opted not to move the 10-time NBA All-Star this past February, but team president Phil Jackson said last week that Anthony “would be better off somewhere else,” where he’d be able to use his talent to win a championship.

Though Anthony has been absent from his wife’s social media accounts for several weeks, the two paid tribute to their romance with separate Instagram posts on Valentine’s Day.

“HAPPY VALENTINES DAY from us to you,” she captioned a photo of her with Anthony and their son. “Sending lots of love and kisses to whoever needs it today. Remember LOVE YOURSELF FIRST.”
Anthony, meanwhile, shared a smiling selfie of his wife, with the caption, “Happy Valentines Day

#StayMe7o.” http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/carmelo-anthony-splits-wife-la-la-article-1.3066086

I ran across this today on the web , I almost forgot about this bit of work which my father is incredibly proud of . Our relationship is a strained and torturous one which I hope I could change .
I recognize however that he is who he is and I ?
Well I am who I am as well !

Book of Poetry .
Not your father’s poetry written by my father.
Our love for writing may be all we have in common.

I know how proud he is of this work. I cannot deny him that pride I too am proud of it , I recommend it to anyone who love poetry .
It is a good read .

Over the years and straddling several Administrations of both political parties ,several Hotels  and roadways  have been built in Jamaica with much fanfare and hoopla about  the amount of jobs expected to be generated for Jamaicans.
In the end what we have gleaned is that hardly any top management jobs actual go to Jamaicans. What has been reported is that by and large only low level manual labor positions and a few mid level spots here and there have gone to Jamaicans when those projects are initiated.
In addition to that we hear many stories of indifference, disrespectful treatment, and poor salaries meted out to our nationals.
Now I do understand quite well that some of our people are not exactly the easiest to get along with but that’s a different conversation for a different time.

The gist of the arguments surrounding this issue of  Jamaicans being shut out of the upper level jobs from these deals is that our Government simply do not demand those jobs as part of the negotiations when these deals are being negotiated.
Seemingly just getting a hotel property built on the Island is seen as a victory by the Governments of both political parties.
In the end those victories turn out to be  largely Pyrrhic victories because of the lack of jobs for Jamaicans and the fact that for the most part the proceeds from these hotel properties does not remain in Jamaica.

Case in point, when we borrow money from the Chinese ,we see  lots of Chinese  Nationals in supervisory positions doing much of the technical work, while Jamaicans  are hired to do manual low paying jobs on these sites. The same is true of the Spanish properties built on the western end of the Island. Spanish management and workers ,alleged bad treatment of our people on the lower end of the ladder.
There is a simple explanation for this.
The Chinese maintain that they have 1.3 billion people, if you want to borrow their money their workers go where their money goes.

Conversely, our leaders fail to understand the value of our country as a destination, sun, sea, clean air, beautiful beaches, good food and music all of this is brand Jamaica . That’s what we have to create our wealth.
At the same time our people must show more civic pride in the country we claim to love so much.
How about we stop saying with our mouths how patriotic we are and show some respect for the environment?
How about when we drink from those plastic bottles we do not throw them in gullies and drains?
How about we stop defecating in the gullies, and while we are at it, lets stop defacing public buildings and monuments ?

When  investors come to do business in our  Country we should demand the best deal for our people. They will acquiesce as long as our demands are not outlandish.
They expect us to.
Over the decades our leaders have sold us short because of a lack of basic understanding of what our brand is and how it is supposed to empower our people. So they negotiate deals from positions of weakness.
“Here just build we are just happy to have you“.
No !!!!
Investors coming into our country have already done their homework .They already have the market surveys which lays out for them different scenarios given worst and best cases market conditions.
Having done the risk assessment they still decide to come.
That speaks to the quality of our country as an investment option, as such our leaders must do better to extract better concessions from potential investors, so that we don’t end up with a well furnished country while our people can only look on from the outside.
In fact that has been the contention of many Jamaicans for years.
We must change that.

But there is another component to this issue .
Over the years more and more Tourists have come to Jamaica, yet the average person has benefited less and less from tourism, commensurate with the number of visitor arrival.
Jamaica should be extracting as much as possible from each and every visitor who grace our shores.The reverse seem to be true.

Several years ago I invested in a Barber shop , I did a simple survey of the amount of people who were coming through the doors each week , from those numbers I extrapolated on average, how much each individual was spending.
I had much space, as I had gone into an under-served area  and was able to get rental dirt cheap on a 10 year lease.
My investment wasn’t happenstance , I had spoken to law enforcement, business people  and other stake holders  with a view to getting a feel for whether the area was on the down-swing or whether it was on the upswing?
I hired a staff at seven at the offset.

I found out from speaking to those stake holders that the area had bottomed out and that there were moves afoot to begin a revitalization effort with serious law enforcement as the tip of the spear.
Nevertheless landlords were quite happy to have tenants for however little they could get for commercial space at the time.
Having a desire to extract maximum returns on my investment for the life of my 10 year lease , I brainstormed on what else I  could add to the space which men would be drawn to, since they were already coming for haircuts?

Then it hit me , men are largely into toys. we are also more impulsive buyers than our female counterparts.
The answer was easy .
Electronics !!!
My small Electronics business was born.
I was able to maximize on the amount of money I could extract from each person walking into my business place , using the same amount of space.
A great way to start a new business without much of the risks outside those parameters.

So getting back to maximizing our efforts from what we already have in existence we have to make our product more attractive.
I am sure I will be accused of not understanding just how attractive Jamaica is as a destination.
Some will cite reports indicating that Jamaica is among the top countries in which to invest.
That mindset takes us back to my initial observation that we do not extract enough concessions for our people so of course Investors are excited about coming to Jamaica to invest.
Imagine if we truly understood the value of Jamaica and took steps to keep it pristine?

CRIME ,THE ELEPHANT IN THE CHINA SHOP (no pun intended)

Added to the fact that we do not demand fully what we should  for our workers, we have unwittingly reduced the leverage we have to bargain, because of the high crime numbers.
This is an issue I speak of like a broken record.
Over the years because of the burgeoning crime problem nations have issued travel advisory to their nationals who want to travel to Jamaica.
For too long we have scoffed at this fact, arguing that this happens to other countries and we need look no further than the increasing number of visitors gracing our shores each year.
You know the spiel “ crime de ebri weh.”

I humbly submit that for the most part that’s all many of the tourists are doing, they are merely gracing our shores.
When they do decide to stay they are shepherded into all inclusive resorts, funneling whatever monies they do spend into fewer and fewer hands.
Just ask the craft vendors or the people who have the quaint little restaurants across the Island just how much they are making from the tourist arrivals.
Even our own nationals returning to our country are turning more and more to all inclusive resorts for the duration of their stay out of concern for their safety.
Those are undeniable facts.

People are afraid to tell their relatives when they are visiting, even when they do  trust their relatives , they are afraid their relatives will unwittingly tell others they are visiting the Island placing them in danger.
When they  return home they now devise a series of measures to protect themselves.
Not telling their relatives when they are coming to visit. Not telling where they are staying. Not telling when they are leaving . Not hanging out.
Dressing down as much as possible . Wearing shorts and exercise wear to show they have no money on their persons. Not wearing jewelry. Not flashing cash.Not renting cars. Hiding their expensive cell phones.

The long held belief that as long as you stay away from certain areas you are safe no longer hold true.
As Jamaicans we all know what those certain areas were. Rema .Tivoli. Jungle. Sufferers  Heights. Back-Bush. Flankers. Rivoli. Red Square. Thawes Pen. The list goes on and on.
As Police officers we fought to contain crime as best we could  . Cutting off the tentacles, but we knew that given time with the type of policies our leaders subscribed to and the size of our country , it was just a matter of time until we ran out of places where people could feel safe.
That time is here, one doesn’t have to stay away from the garrison the garrison has come to the every-man.
The tentacles of crime was destined to catch up with all of the country and given enough time will eventually suffocate the lifeblood from it.
Law enforcement continued to be reactive , a wack a mole type thing, orchestrated by the Island’s political leaders creating the present situation which obtains today

Imagine if the Island’s leadership fully understood how important it is to stamp out crime, or cared to, as against paying lip service to crime with the hope of holding on to political power?

Veteran South African anti-apartheid activist Ahmed Kathrada has died aged 87, his foundation says. It says Mr Kathrada passed away peacefully in a Johannesburg hospital “after a short period of illness, following surgery to the brain”.

Along with Nelson Mandela, Mr Kathrada was among eight African National Congress activists sentenced to life imprisonment in 1964. They were convicted of trying to topple the white minority government.

He is due to be buried on Wednesday at a private ceremony, but President Jacob Zuma has said that flags should fly at half mast in his honour and that public memorial service will also be held. Mr Kathrada, affectionately known as Kathy, was not only one of Mr Mandela’s closest friends, but also a human rights activist in his own right who had a long history in the struggle against discrimination and apartheid, says the BBC’s Milton Nkosi.

The death of Ahmed Kathrada emphasises that a golden generation of anti-apartheid heroes has nearly gone.

Along with the likes of Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo and Walter Sisulu, he was part of a group untainted by corruption, acting as a moral compass for the nation. His generation literally gave up most of their adult lives to fight to liberate black people from the yoke of white minority rule. “Uncle Kathy” stayed relevant to the struggle of the downtrodden till the end.

He was critical of the current administration, asking President Zuma to resign following a damning court judgement against the president. His significance in the anti-apartheid struggle was also to deracialise it.He proved that the fight was not just left for black Africans to wage on their own, and that is how I will remember him.

What was apartheid?

Apartheid was a legalised system of discrimination against non-white people introduced in South Africa in 1948. But laws that discriminated against non-whites existed prior to that. Born into a family of Indian origin in 1929, Mr Kathrada was affected by those laws.

Why was he jailed?

Mr Kathrada spent more than 26 years in prison, 18 of which were on the notorious Robben Island, where Mr Mandela was also jailed. He was arrested in 1963, along with several others, at a farm in the Johannesburg suburb of Rivonia. They had been meeting there in secret to plan the armed struggle against the apartheid government.

The following year Mr Kathrada was found guilty of conspiring to commit acts of violence. Seven other defendants, including Mr Mandela, were also convicted of conspiracy and three other charges.

They all received life sentences and most went on to spend the majority of their time in jail on Robben Island.

Under apartheid, even prisoners were treated differently depending on their racial origin: White prisoners got the most privileges, followed by those of Indian origin, while black people got the least.

Mr Kathadra refused to accept his privileges unless they were also extended to his black comrades.

Image copyrightEPA

In 1982, he was moved to Pollsmoor prison on the mainland, from where he was freed in 1989.

After South Africa’s first democratic elections in 1994, President Mandela persuaded Mr Kathrada to join him in government as his political adviser.

Mr Kathrada left parliament in 1999, but remained active in politics,

He went on to chair the Robben Island Museum Council, set up to preserve the prison as part of South Africa’s heritage.

A life of struggle

Image copyrightEPA

He was the fourth of six children born in the North West Province, previously known as Western Transvaal.

Mr Kathrada was a campaigner from a young age and joined the Young Communist League at the age of 12.

He later became a member of the Transvaal Indian Congress, which spearheaded campaigns against laws that discriminated against Indians, and joined their protests at 17.

In 1952, he received a suspended sentence for helping to organise an anti-apartheid defiance campaign, with black activists including Mr Mandela and Walter Sisulu.

Four years later he was charged with high treason, but was acquitted after a long trial.

In 1962 he was placed under house arrest and then took his activities underground to work with the military wing of the African National Congress.

Pain ‘same as Mandela’

Fellow anti-apartheid campaigner Winnie Madikizela-Mandela has been reflecting on the news of Mr Kathrada’s death. “I’m experiencing the same pain I was experiencing at the death of Madiba [ex-husband Nelson Mandela]. When Madiba passed on, part of his soul was left in Kathy, he was just an extension of our family.

“So, the pain is the same, and somehow it feels like a closure of a chapter in history.

“A very painful chapter, of men and women who dedicated themselves to this country, who fought for their values and principles they thought we’d instil in our society.”

South Africa’s Nobel Peace laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu has also added his voice:

“Ahmed Kathrada was one of those leaders. A man of remarkable gentleness, modesty and steadfastness.

“He once wrote to the president to argue that he did not deem himself important enough to be awarded a high honour.”

What happened to the Rivionia defendants?

Image copyrightREUTERS

After Mr Kathrada’s death, there are only two surviving members of the group who were convicted at the Rivonia trial in 1964.

Denis Goldberg, 83, continues to speak out on South African politics. He told the BBC that “Kathy” was “much more than a friend. [He was] a comrade. We faced the prospect of the gallows together”.

Andrew Mlangeni, 91, is also still alive. He served as an MP in the country’s first democratically elected parliament from 1994 to 1999.

Nelson Mandela died in 2013 at the age of 95. He became South Africa’s first democratically elected president in 1994.

Walter Sisulu died in 2003 at the age of 90. He was deputy president of the ANC from 1991 to 1994.

Govan Mbeki died in 2001 at the age of 91. He served in the upper house of South Africa’s parliament from 1994 to 1999. His son Thabo succeeded Mr Mandela as president.

Raymond Mhlaba died in 2005 at the age of 85. He served as the national chairperson of the South African Communist Party, he also was the country’s high commissioner in Rwanda and Uganda.

Elias Motsoaledi died in 1994 at the age of 69 the day before Mr Mandela was inaugurated as president. Story originated here.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-39414785

There is much angst in America across many Immigrant communities at the recent travel ban imposed by the tRUMP administration.
Even as as I use the term immigrant, to define the communities unnerved by  the executive action, it becomes less clear as to what actually constitutes immigrant within that context . This as people with valid visas and green cards and we are told even US citizens are being turned away from entering and re-entering  the country.

The roll-out of the executive order are at this moment for seven countries. They are Libya, Iran, Syria, Iraq, Sudan Yemen and Somalia.
However many expect that this roll-out is a trial balloon, floated by senior tRUMP adviser Steven Bannon the Alt right white Nationalist who now sits on the National security council, and is reported to be his most trusted advisor.

To support this claim that this is just the beginning the La Times reported that tRUMP’s top advisors and  chief strategist Steve Bannon and senior advisor Stephen Miller, see themselves as launching a radical experiment to fundamentally transform how the U.S. decides who is allowed into the country and to block a generation of people who, in their view, won’t assimilate into American society.

Finally finding it’s voice on things outside bullying small nations, Human Rights Group Amnesty International issued an urgent call for Britain to do more to fight the policy, which effectively bans citizens from three African and four Middle Eastern countries from entering the US. It was accompanied by a 120-day suspension of all US refugee programmes.

Euronews says tRUMPS travel ban has crushed lives but it’s just the beginning. http://www.euronews.com/2017/01/31/trumps-travel-ban-has-crushed-lives-but-it-is-just-the-beginning.
CNN.com says Donald Trump’s travel ban fundamentally changes American history.
Only time will tell if Trump’s travel ban comes to be regarded in the same light as the Alien and Sedition Acts signed into law by President John Adams in the late 18th century, which made it easier to deport foreigners and imposed restrictions on new immigrants.
Other historic parallels could include the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II and the witch hunts by Senator Joseph McCarthy against alleged communists in politics and the arts in the 1950s. cnn said.

As the storm cloud gathers the main stream media engages in a circle of stupidity over whether the executive order constitutes a ban.
Sean Spicer the white house press secretary said the action is not a ban even though he himself said it was a Muslim ban previously.
But Spicer is not important , tRUMP himself said it was a travel ban .
So lets see whether it is a ban!
People from the 7 countries named will not be allowed to enter the United States for at least 90 days , even though they have green cards or valid visas .
If they cannot come in, is that a ban or not ? If the Syrians are stopped indefinitely ,is it or is it not a ban , you decide?

USA today said “The chilling effect is just enormous”, ‘World is going to start closing the door.
Despite the outrage , it must be acknowledged that dONALD tRUMP is doing exactly what he said he was going to do .
For almost two years he campaigned on these very same policies.
He promised to do exactly what he is doing if elected to the white house.
Interesting times are ahead, reports indicate that there are new executive orders in the draft stages being circulated in the white house which will target immigrants with green cards right here in the United States.

Those who sat on the sidelines and pretended that this was a joke must now agree that the joke is on them.
Those who for one moment believed that this presidency would be about anything but what tRUMP campaigned on is in for a rude awakening.
Sure today the Muslims feel what it feels like to be black.
We saw women turn up in numbers across the country after the inauguration to protest , but where were they before the elections?
The likelihood that more and more groups will be affected by this presidency in real ways is almost guaranteed.
Tragic though this is it may indeed be the turning point which finally once and for all turns this ugly putrid racism in this country on it’s head.
The more people who come together to say “no” the more likely it is that discrimination will finally be a thing of the past.

Its easy in the excitement of National collegiate football finals to miss a very important fact.
Both quarterbacks in this highly anticipated football game are African-American. Neither ESPN the sporting world’s medium , or any of the other networks will bother to highlight this little fact.

What you will hear much about is  the genius of Alabama’s coach Nick Saban (much deserved ) and Clemson”s Dabo Swinney.
We are not in the business of predicting winners and losers in college football .
Neither do we begrudge these two fantastic head-coaches.
But since they won’t bother to expand or expound on this little fact, even the black analysts, sheesh , particularly the black analysts >
So we just though we would bring this little nugget up.

We just thought that you will hear the names of these two outstanding young athletes a lot. But no no one will bother to tell you that in the big wide world of American collegiate football these two standouts just happen to be black.
Enjoy the game …….

Through popularity and sickness, Craig Sager was always humble, hard-working reporter …….

Craig Sager was always in on the joke. That’s what you liked about him. He was the guy that found the proper balance between taking his job seriously but never himself. The kind of person you wanted to be around.

That’s why Sager worked so well with Marv Albert and Charles Barkley, the resident wise guys at Turner Sports who made Sager and his colorful outfits the butt of the countless jokes for nearly two decades.

When Howard Cosell was at the height of his popularity, having him and ABC’s Monday Night Football in your city meant it was a big event. Sager and his wardrobe did the same for the NBA and TNT on Thursday’s.

We were seated next to each other in Boston nearly 10 years when an irate Knicks fan – is there any other kind? – threw his jersey onto the court once the Celtics extended their lead to 50. Sager looked at me, smiled, and said that it may be a while “before the Knicks are back on TNT again.”

Sports world reacts to the loss of TNT’s NBA reporter Craig Sager

“He understood that the job was about entertainment and presentation,” said his long-time colleague and friend Scooter Vertino. “Craig never lost sight of that.”

NBA players show their appreciation for Sager at the ESPY awards earlier this year. (CHRIS PIZZELLO/CHRIS PIZZELLO/INVISION/AP)

Vertino was a field producer when he first met Sager 21 years ago, a kid trying to make a name in the business while learning from an established reporter. Read more here : http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/craig-sager-humble-hard-working-reporter-article-1.2912379

Her baggage now includes a felony conviction.

The JetBlue flight attendant from Queens who kicked off her designer heels and sprinted down an up escalator when caught with 60 pounds of cocaine in her luggage at LAX last March pleaded guilty to conspiracy Monday. Marsha Gay Reynolds, 32, appeared in Los Angeles federal court wearing a white jail uniform and entered her plea to one felony count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute.She faces 10 years to life in prison at her sentencing set for March 13.

JetBlue employee charged with smuggling coke due in court

“She’s doing fine. She’s not a jailbird,” her lawyer Stuart Goldfarb told the Daily News after the hearing. “This is the first time she’s been charged with anything like this.” He declined to say how much his client knew about the multimillion-dollar cocaine trafficking scheme, but stressed Reynolds’ plea was not tied to any agreement with prosecutors to testify against possible co-conspirators. “If someone accepts responsibility, there’s a possibility of (her) getting less time,” he said. “(But) she’s not cooperating. She’s not doing that.”

Drug mule cuffed at Kennedy Airport in failed smuggling attempt

The Jamaica-born former beauty pageant contestant — a runner-up in the Miss Jamaica World pageant in 2008 — was paid thousands of dollars to smuggle carry-on bags through airport screening checkpoints and then hand them off to a co-conspirator on the other side before the individual boarded flights, prosecutors said.

As a JetBlue employee, Reynolds had access to the Known Crew Member (KCM) checkpoints that are generally exempt from TSA baggage screening except in rare cases of random searches.

Prosecutors said Reynolds and the co-conspirator — identified only by the initials G.B. in court records — traveled together between New York and Los Angeles on multiple flights between October 2015 and March 2016.

It was March 18 that Reynolds was attempting to get the 60 pounds of cocaine through a KCM checkpoint at Los Angeles International Airport when she was flagged by the computer for a bag search.

JetBlue launches flights from Kennedy Airport to Havana

She became visibly agitated and spoke to someone on her cell phone in what sounded like a foreign language before she ditched her shoes and made her daring dash, leaving the bags behind, court documents said. Security officials opted to worry about the risk posed by the abandoned luggage rather than chase after her, and she disappeared from the terminal, the court paperwork said. Her co-conspirator boarded a flight and later tried to persuade Reynolds to flee to Jamaica, authorities said. Instead, Reynolds staffed a flight back to New York on March 19, then failed to show up for work the next day, according to court documents.

Turbulence on JetBlue flight sends 24 to Rapid City hospital

She was arrested March 23 after meeting with G.B. in New York and receiving a “burner phone” to communicate without government surveillance, court documents said. Already in the U.S. illegally and using stolen identities, G.B. boarded a flight from New York to Miami on March 23 and then fled to Jamaica, authorities said. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles said he couldn’t comment on any effort to find and charge G.B., calling the case an ongoing investigation.  http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/jetblue-flight-attendant-queens-guilty-cocaine-scheme-article-1.2908347

For all  that which has been attributed to Castro both negative and positive , nothing resonate more with me than his decision to send Cuban troops to fight to end apartheid and white hegemony on the continent of Africa. He did so while western nations threw their support behind the racist despotic apartheid regime which as a minority group terrorized the legitimate majority black population in their rightful homeland.
Gracias-el-Presidente……..

Recognizing the life and work of Fidel Castro is not a zero sum game .
It is perfectly okay to disagree with the communist ideology the former revolutionary so dearly embraced ,while acknowledging the positive contribution he made when supposed friends did not see fit to stand on principle.
He did !!!

Scratching the surface of the life and times of Fidel Castro does not give an adequate reveal of whether the formally trained lawyer started out as a communist sympathizer as some with whom he attended college seemed to believe .
Or whether he was forced into embracing the Soviets as a last resort after been rebuffed by the Americans.
The  much reported-on repeated attempts on his life , not the least of which was the bay of pigs debacle.  could certainly not have endeared him to America and capitalism.

As tributes pour in after his passing, those opposed to the Cuban leader  line up in unrighteous indignation to his very existence .
Like the true Pharisees they are , the say they are Christians, their lips dripping with the lies and deception of perdition.
No-ones worldview matters but theirs. Those who see things differently are ridiculed and demeaned.
True to form these blinkered   purists are focused on the singular issue which defines their outlook of this controversial leader, the exile Cuban community in Miami Florida.

His incredible accomplishments on education and health-care for the Cuban people are lost on his critics. Never mind that everything he accomplished has been done while facing half a century of stringent American economic blockade.
Standing on principle by putting Cuban troops in Angola to fight the oppressive racist interloping apartheid regime in South Africa was singularly momentous to this writer. He did so while western powers stood in stoic support of a racial regime which systematically tortured raped and murdered black Africans on their own soil.
For that Fidel Castro is an Indelible Icon in   my eyes.

One does not have to be a supporter of all of what has been attributed to Castro. One doesn’t even have to support or believe in communism to speak to the brave progressive stance President Fidel Castro took when others wouldn’t.
One doesn’t have to agree with everything someone ever did in order to credit them for that which was commendable. Unless the good they did is not what you would have wanted . If that be the case then we understand, but please step aside so that those who have been positively impacted may pay their respect.
Like President Barack Obama who began a thaw with Cuba , Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau  issued the following statement on the death of his family’s friend.

“It is with deep sorrow that I learned today of the death of Cuba’s longest serving President”. “Fidel Castro was a larger than life leader who served his people for almost half a century. A legendary revolutionary and orator, Mr. Castro made significant improvements to the education and healthcare of his island nation. “While a controversial figure, both Mr. Castro’s supporters and detractors recognized his tremendous dedication and love for the Cuban people who had a deep and lasting affection for “el Comandante”. “I know my father was very proud to call him a friend and I had the opportunity to meet Fidel when my father passed away. It was also a real honour to meet his three sons and his brother President Raúl Castro during my recent visit to Cuba. “On behalf of all Canadians, Sophie and I offer our deepest condolences to the family, friends and many, many supporters of Mr. Castro. We join the people of Cuba today in mourning the loss of this remarkable leader.”

 The ink on the Prime Minister’s statement wasn’t dry before two Hispanic US senators jumped on it to gain attention.
I found the indignation of these two particularly galling, in light of their support of Donald Trump a racist xenophobe who is infatuated with the like of Vladimir Putin, Saddam Hussein and Kim Jong Un despotic murderers.

 

Marco RubioVerified account‏@marcorubio

Marco Rubio Retweeted….CanadianPM “Is this a real statement or a parody? Because if this is a real statement from the PM of Canada it is shameful & embarrassing”.
Shameful and embarrassing to whom?

Ted CruzVerified account‏@tedcruz

Ted Cruz Retweeted… Ted Cruz..Obama & Trudeau, before slobbering adulation on tyrants, take a min to look into the eyes of victims of communism.

I say in  your blinkered idiocy take a look into the eyes of millions of Africans whom were freed from the tentacles of racial oppression , maybe you will learn some humility and self worth.
In the eyes of these two right wing zealots, nothing mattered but their narrow minded world-view. Of all those who could comment , these two who rose to the near pinnacle of political power  only to kick away the ladder so  others like themselves may not climb up are particularly repugnant.

I  pay attention to the lives of those who stood for more than their own personal ambitions . Those who defied the odds and stood on principle. Those who stood on the strength of their convictions.
I have zero regard for those who stand on the shoulders of others for personal enrichment and political power. Scant regard for those who do not see wrong in rape and murder on the twisted notion of racial superiority.
Yet have the nerve to open their mouths to criticize those who have struggled and sacrificed for what is ultimately right.
I have no evidence of what they accused Castro of doing. I speak to what I saw. The courage to stand against oppression and racial bigotry. To build schools in  other countries so that children can have access to education they normally wouldn’t. To put doctors in foreign hospitals so that lives may be saved .
To me that’s humanity.
RIP El Presidente…….We disagreed on a lot . I hate communism but I do not judge you .
You will live on into posterity , your work will absolve you.

The danger of posting intimate images.

-Errol McLeish –
Ermarlii16@hotmail.com

A beautiful young Italian national , Tiziana Cantone , aged  31,    shared  a video  on the social media website Whatsapp with four friends of  her and her  boyfriend  having sex.  Unfortunately for Ms. Cantone, the video was somehow posted on several other social website, including Facebook, which went viral and attracted over a  million hits.

Ms. Canton tried to get the video removed from the internet but failed in her bid, attracting litigation cost of € 20,000. She was shunned and ridiculed in the process.
Driven by despair, Ms Canton committed suicide.

There are many lessons to be learned from Ms. Canton’s error in judgment. The need for caution for persons using social media to be careful when posting sensitive information cannot be overemphasized. The reality is, once posted in the public domain it cannot be retracted.

I have often said that the Internet world, with its  numerous social websites ,  attractive interactive mechanism which capture instant  images and information,  and divulging it  in real time, can be a dangerous place to explore.
One must trod with exceeding caution when using it . It is dangerous primarily because the information you share can easily be manipulated and circulated within seconds to millions of users.

There are many persons who are oblivious of the potential negative impact this can have on their lives. I would hope that with the many instances of documented misuse of person’s images,   users of the net would exercise prudence when divulging information of whatever form, to friends via the net, some of whom have ulterior motives.

Unfortunately in many instances this has not been the case, Ms. Canton’s case is one such instance.
If only those who engage repeatedly in these practices would stop and think that it’s better preserving one’s sanity than give it away in one moment of indiscretion.,
Were this warning to be heeded perhaps then we may see a reduction in these embarrassing incidents yet tragic incidents.

On July 24, 2015, the Weirton, W.Va., Police Department announced the hiring of three new officers for the force. All three men were celebrated for bringing some much needed youth to an aging department in the sleepy rural city 35 miles outside of Pittsburgh. Zach Springer was just 20. Adam Mortimer was 21. And the old head among them was Stephen Mader, who was 24.

Maybe they knew it. Maybe they didn’t. But Stephen Mader was a find, a gem, a blessing for that little department. Even though he was just 24 when they hired him, Stephen Mader was already a bonafide hero — one of the good guys. Mader had spent four years in the Marines. In the announcement that he was hired by the Weirton Police Department, I noticed that it said Mader was a Marine. I took a chance and Googled “Stephen Mader Marines” and immediately found several stories of a Marine named Stephen Mader who served in Helmand Province in Afghanistan. A special report was done on him and his amazing explosive-sniffing dog, Maxx. This Stephen Mader joined the Marines in 2009 and became an improvised explosive device dog handler with the 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines, Regimental Combat Team 6.

I couldn’t verify for sure if it was the same man. It definitely looked like him. Then I searched his name on Facebook and there he was — Stephen Mader from Weirton, West Virginia, a Marine, with his trusted dog Maxx. It was him — except now, Mader is no longer a police officer. He got fired. While his hiring made the local news there in Weirton, his termination has gone national.  Bad police officers are known for keeping their jobs in spite of brutality, corruption, harassment and even murder. The Chicago Police Department has hundreds of officers with 20 or more brutality complaints. Daniel Pantaleo, the NYPD officer who used a deadly chokehold on Eric Garner, not only avoided prosecution, but has kept job and received bonuses over the past two years. He’s somehow bringing in a salary two to three times the average schoolteacher in spite of his actions in Garner’s death, as well as costing New York City in several other lawsuits before that.

It’s a rare thing to see a police officer get fired. When it happens, it’s normally for two reasons — they’ve committed a crime that they will likely be found guilty of or they are bucking the system somehow and have seriously pissed off their bosses. Read more here :http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/king-ex-marine-fired-w-va-officer-failing-shoot-article-1.2790284

What is it about America’s police Departments which makes them feel they have the right to stifle people’s God given rights to free speech and their constitutionally guaranteed right to demonstrate against their Government?
If police are opposed to people’s right to free speech and their constitutionally  guaranteed freedoms  to dissent, does the police serve the interest of the people, or do they serve their own narrow interests ?

Police in Santa Clara California who threatened to boycott working games for the San Francisco Fortyniners over the stance of Colin Kaepernick now appear to be backing away from that stance.

Kaepernick, a biracial man,  has taken the stance that he will sit during the singing of the national anthem. He argues that police are killing black men and are getting paid leave and are not held accountable.
The police Union demanded that the Niners discipline  Kaepernick. The  Forty niners organization has thus far stood by  Kaepernick’s right to free speech.

According to the New York Daily News, after a letter from Santa Clara mayor Lisa Gillmor, the Santa Clara Police Officer’s Association says they “will encourage and support officers to voluntarily work at 49er games and other stadium events.”.

The indications from the police union is that Kaepernick’s right to free speech should be curtailed and he should be also disciplined for speaking about factual occurrences which everyone knows to be true?
If that was done isn’t that the definition of a police state?
When does police get to demand the curtailment of the rights of individual citizens to demonstrate against their government?
Isn’t  Kaepernick and every other dissenter’s right to free speech guaranteed by God Almighty and by the first amendment to the United States Constitution?

Police must work where they are told to, or they may quit and go get jobs as carpenters , laborers, or whatever else they chose.
Working Football games is outside their obligations as police officers , when they do work those games, they do so as security guards. If they chose not to work, it’s their right not to.
In which case someone else will step in and earn that money. It’s that simple…
They simply do not get to dictate who say what, and when.

What makes these cops feel that they get to determine when and how people express themselves ? The stated values of America , enshrined in the Constitution are the very guarantees these cops and their unions seek to take from citizens. It goes exactly to the heart of what Colin Kaepernick is speaking out against.
Do they place themselves above the constitution ? Are they above being criticized? The answer is yes as demonstrated by their reactions whenever people react to their oppressive and brutish behavior!
The fact of the matter is that Kaepernick wasn’t even demonstrating against that particular police department. His actions are against broad injustice in the system which has nothing to do with  the Santa Clara Police Department.

As a former police officer I was obligated  to march alongside and offer protection to citizens even when they demonstrate against police. The Santa Clara Police and it’s so-called board of directors argue that the work it’s members do frequently requires personal and family sacrifices.
That little problem can can be fixed real easy . Stay home.
Private security guards will be happy to work for the money.
Their officers are quite free to stay home with their families.
I doubt they are doing any favors for the monies they receive.

Everyone is absolutely free to support the candidate of their choice that is how things work in  a democracy.
Yet we are sometimes left scratching our heads when we hear the reasons some potential voters give for supporting a particular candidate.
When CNN asked an African American woman in a depressed section of north east Ohio who she believe will fix up her neighborhood she said Donald Trump.
Now neither Hillary Clinton nor Donald Trump will do a damn thing about that woman’s neighborhood , if it is going to be  fixed it will be fixed by private entities not some president or other bureaucrat .

Which brings me to my most recent fixation, the black pastors whom have thrown their support to the new york self-styled billionaire Donald J Trump .
Look the Democratic party hasn’t exactly been a bastion of support for it’s most loyal voting block.
In fact a lot of the policies which have enhanced racial oppression against black Americans have been policies which the democrats either instituted or signed onto with Republicans. We certainly do not see many Democratic elected officials out there on the front lines with Black-lives-matter activists.
Neither have we seen a legislative agenda which would rein in aggressive, overzealous  and abusive police tactics, which in many cases are escalated from insignificant issues which needed no policing.
So Yes Democrats have been weasels, undeserving of the black vote , but even so,  Blacks absolutely have to vote democratic as a means of survival.
Republicans have been openly hostile and downright dangerous to the well-being of blacks in America.

Republican support for aggressive policing , it’s policies which openly discriminates against the community on generally all issues including the right to vote are well known.
In fact the party doesn’t even bother to pretend that it doesn’t hate blacks. The party and It’s support base actively pursue everything that is antithetical to the black community.
Which is why it is so stunning to see the list of black pastors who have lined up in support of Trump.

I could write an epistle on whether these so called pastors are really called of God, but as the scriptures command I am going to let the wheat and the tares grow together until the day of harvest. I will always remember that God is the ultimate judge.
When we look at the hostility of the Republican party to the African American community,one has to wonder what exactly did Donald Trump give, or promise to give to these Pharisees?
Though Mark Burns and James Davis are not the only slave traders who are willing to sacrifice their congregation and as many others who are stupid enough to be influenced by them, they certainly have been two of the most vocal, conspicuous, and even vitriolic against the nation’s first African American President. They openly lie about his and his Administration’s record without batting an eye, or be guided by the constraints which would normally influence other men of the cloth.
Again if you are a pastor and you allow yourself to perpetuate lies I have serious doubts about your legitimacy but once again I will not judge.

WHAT DID THEY GET ?

Sufficing to say I will allow another man of the cloth to characterize the pastors who visited Trump Tower in New York City and met with the developer turned republican nominee for president.
Reverend Jamal Bryant referred to them as prostitutes. Speaking to the media after the pastors summit with Trump, Bryant and James Davis had a heated back and forth on CNN.
Reverend Bryant labeled Davis  a “pawn“.
I concur, I did too.
He labeled them prostitutes . So did I .

Davis insisted they had their voice heard plenty, dismissing Bryant’s concerns as just one of the liberal “minions” telling African-Americans who are open to non-liberal points of view to “get back on the plantation.”He even said Bryant should “probably have his ministerial credentials revoked. according to cnn.com.
When Davis challenged Reverend Bryant on the prostitute characterization the goodly reverend Bryant apologised stating   “I want to apologize, because prostitutes get money. And the 100 that went in there walked away with nothing, they did it for free.”
Now the latter part of Davis’ statement really had me laughing, the bow-tied enslaver wants the man who speak truth to be punished . Yet he who is openly out there politicking and trying to sell the gullible back into servitude shouldn’t ?
As a matter of fact are their churches still tax-exempt?

He he, I couldn’t agree with Reverend Bryant more . My only concern is, did they actually allow themselves to be used as props for a man who has a history of racial animus, bigotry and  hostility toward African-Americans, including the nation’s first black president for free?
I mean even Judas Iscariot got himself 30 pieces of silver for betraying Jesus Christ .
Many Religious historians argue that Judas saw Jesus work many miracles . As such they theorize that Judas Iscariot expected Jesus to command legions of Angels to come to his defense against his captors.

They tell us when it became clear that that was not going to happen Judas took the decision to hang himself out of guilt..
Jesus had supernatural powers which he chose not to use according to his father’s will.
Black -America has no supernatural powers, in fact it could reasonably be argued that because of the community’s splintered state it has no power at all.
So it’s important that the modern day Judas’ who would sell their congregations and anyone stupid enough to be swayed by them understand that there are no legions of Angels to come to the rescue of the people they are about to betray with a potential president Trump.
Judas may not have known but these modern day betrayers cannot claim they did not know.
They know………….