Obtaining Justice

In a recent Article on TheLoop21.com, Jamilah Lemieux wrote a well thought out article on the miscarriage of justice to the detriment of black women, citing as evidence the recent much featured and talked about cases of the Gambian hotel maid against Dominique Strauss-Kahn and the case against Casey Anthony for the death of her daughter Caylee.

image credit: Dan4th

I cannot personally speak to the innocence or guilt of any of the two accused. In general, we hope that the jury that decides has made an informed decision, putting their prejudices aside and done what is best for their community. 

In response to the article, I wrote: 

This is not anyone's fault but our own. We allow ourselves to get side tracked by fast talking politicians with deep pocketed benefactors and loose morals. They in turn enforce the policies that make the treatment of black people and women in the US completely unfair - but guess what? Next election comes around, they're going to be harvesting votes like Monsanto on steriods and we will just have "more of the same".
If for once, just once in one small area of the US a politician who had no ties to some rich person trying to get richer was elected soley because he was interested in the needs of his community. Not just those who can fund his campaign, then this would wrap itself up very quickly. It would mean that the general public cannot be scared by words like "abortion", "homosexuality", "black man" (which literally translates to BIG black c**k - no I'm serious) and "lazy hispanics".
I don't see that day coming. Do you?

which I have been told has nothing to do with the article.

My response, I believe, has everything to do with the article. It is important to remember that the laws by which ALL of us are judged are a product of politics. Politics is the game of politicians. WE are responsible for choosing the politicians.

Even though we are all judged using the same laws, the carriage or miscarriage of justice by all involved parties, lawyers, jury and judge, varies greatly by skin tone. There is much evidence to support this.

The current situation of black people in America and the manner in which justice is carried out with relation to them is the direct responsibility of black America. Politics and justice are intricately linked which is why, to date, only one banker has been charged for the economic meltdown that has plunged America into a recession. The relationship between the two are the reason why Dominique Strauss-Kahn is going free. He is a prominent French politician, and whether you choose to believe it or not, this played a big part in carrying out justice.

So, if indeed politics and justice cannot be pried apart, wouldn't it be reasonable to consider that our vote would determine how justice is carried out with regard to ourselves? If we allow politicians to yell WOLF every time they wanted our vote and capitulate hoping that the big bad wolf will not get us, and yet in our heart of hearts we know that he will not take a second look at the injustice carried out towards black people, then we deserve everything we get.

We must realize that justice is in our hands every time we go to the polls to vote. That we cannot choose to be passive in politics, hoping that the general public will be outraged with us and rally around us. They voted in their favor, put the strong arm of $$ behind those they knew would further their cause and we MUST do the same if we expect things to change.

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Getting their comeuppance

Nothing could have ever prepared me for the day when I would read in the news that a banker got arrested and sentenced to jail for fraud. NOTHING.

According to Ascology.com, a banker has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for sinking Colonial Bank in 2009. He sold billions of dollars of worthless or non-existent mortgages to raise money for another company he owned.

image credit: abardwell

Call me jaded if you will, but I do not believe that the top muckity mucks will ever see the inside of a jail cell, and as one banker said "we're always one step ahead of the law". The justice which so many of us fervently seek for the blatant fraudulent activities of banks will never happen. Not to the scale we would like to see.

And since this gentleman, Lee Bentley Farkas, is taking the fall for a host of other VERY guilty people, you can bet he is going to be PROPERLY compensated. I'm still shaking my head.

Well, while Farkas takes the fall in this incredible fracas and farce, the rest of the bankers sit pretty making millions of dollars on your hard earned cash! Enjoy your pay!

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Gripped by fear

So The Audacity of Hope plans it's trip to Gaza and the rest of the World watches coz we know they ain't goin' nowhere. They will be stopped, arrested, charged and their lives will change. Like sleepy zombie giants we will look, tut-tut and then go back to our very reliable wage slavery (which isn't quite as reliable as it once was - unless you're in Africa).

I applaud the efforts of anyone who stands up against oppression in all it's forms whether from an oppressive neighbor  an abusive husband or a political system. Their efforts are admirable and I cannot imagine what it takes to go out of your house, out of your comfort zone to take a bullet from a trigger happy security force (police etc) who thinks your life is not worth anything.

image credit: Angelo Gonzales

The threat never goes away though. In this day and age, it is not just about losing your life - it is about losing your livelihood. People with criminal records find it a little difficult to find employment. Agencies aren't exactly looking forward to placing someone who would "challenge the status-quo" in a position somewhere, where their "zeal for fairness" will sprout. They'll lose money and money is KING. If you are not famous or have an already established career or business engaging in activities that would be contrary to "keeping the peace" is dangerous to moving up the corporate ladder and with the newly veiled surveillance equipment from the G20 riots in Toronto last year, they'll have EVERYTHING on you. It's too risky!

In articles all over the internet you'll find voices of people, afraid and cowering and demanding that everyone else cower. Don't rock the boat, don't say anything. Shush be silent!

What are you going to do?

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Having the Patience...

I like fast things. Do you? This has not been as quick a transition as I had hoped.

I have been working on migrating my blog and allowing myself to focus on all things African and African American. In spite of the conversation carried on last week about whether African Americans should in fact call themselves that, we are one people. There are Africans all over the World, yearning for the connection to Africa and other Africans and there are Africans yearning for the connections to their brothers and sisters who live abroad.

image credit: Earls37a

The interesting part of this journey has been finding African groups on small islands in the Pacific. Almost like a half-way group between the Aboriginal groups of Australia and New Zealand and Africa and I'm scratching the place where my beard should be (if I were a man) and thinking about the continued migration of African people around the World.  Since the first group of people left, we know we've been sending people out of the homeland since.

So, to cater to the needs of those who are yearning for the connection back to the Motherland - the glorious, rich and lush continent of Africa - whether it was severed in generations past or you just moved to the West(or east) for school, I present you with the first two in a series of papers for your computers, tablets and mobile phones. 

The Connected African - connects you to news articles and personal views coming out of Africa and Black America, in the major languages of our groups, English, French, Portuguese, Arabic, Swahili and Amharic. If you download Google Chrome you can modify your settings so that the pages will always be translated for you into the language you are most comfortable with. 

Connected Africans - brings you to the news articles and blogs of the decendants of Africans around the World. Right now they are mostly in English.

Subscribe for updates or include us on your blogs and websites!

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0 Did you Sabotage Yourself?

Ayaya!

image credit: Dr.Bacchus

There go the African politics we have all come to know and sigh at. We sit around in little pseudo-political science circles arguing moot points about the politicians that have been put in power and wring our hands in frustration. And yet when election day comes again, they'll frighten you with stories about homosexuals, abortions & feminism, tribalism and all manner of other non-issues so you'll vote them in again.

Ugandan parliamentarians recently got very expensive cars and a pay rise. People posted all kinds of things on their Facebook pages, decrying the corruption and immorality of the new government that THEY voted in (shakes head) and now look what is happening in Kenya!!

According to Reuters, Kenyan parlimentarians have declared that they WILL NOT pay the back taxes they owe claiming that it would cut into their salaries making them more susceptible to bribes!!

HOLD IT!

WHAT?! Come again? So, when you were calling Mr. Opposition out, saying he was corrupt, he would not look after you, he was going to _____ (fill in the space with whatever lies they spewed) you were really talking about yourself?

Why? Why are they more susceptible to bribery? So what about the poor man who robs and steals and kills, should he be let off because he was susceptible to stealing since he needed to FEED HIMSELF?!

What duchebaggery!

So Mr. Kenyan person reading this, are you going to sit aside and let the Parliament replicate the actions of the Ugandan one? They're taking your hard earned taxes and laughing (very loudly) all the way to the bank because you voted them in!

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0 You might be guilty

In the recent news, the international watchdog, Kimberly Process Certification Scheme (KPCS), responsible for making sure that blood diamonds do not get sold on any market - black or otherwise - has insisted that the diamond trade out of Zimbabwe must be examined to make sure everything is up to par.

image credit: Vicious.-

If you look down at your finger, whether you sport a wedding ring with diamonds or an engagement ring or an expensive piece of jewelry, you have to ask yourself if you have contributed in some part to the disenfranchisement of the people the diamond mines belong to.

When international companies obtain mines, for whatever mineral or resource, they usually obtain something akin to a lease. The money is paid to government officials who are appointed by the people to take care of their most basic needs. As we have seen the world over, including developed nations like Canada and the USA, governments do not always look out for the interests of the people who elected them.

Corporations need to survive and reap the benefits of the investments they have put into the mines they have acquired, so on holidays like Mother's Day and Christmas, diamonds feature in TV ads every hour quite frequently. On the last count, there were 6 ads for one hour of TV watching to try and get consumers to purchase something that will "last forever". We also have the hip-hop culture to thank for the proliferation of "bling" into the hearts and minds of young people everywhere, who sometimes purchase carbon zirconium for a lot more money than they should.

The term "blood diamond" refers to diamonds that have been purchased in a war zone to finance the war. In general people are warned against buying blood diamonds and companies will, from time to time, be open about the source of the diamonds they sell. Of course we can never know, but it is important to ask whenever you make this kind of investment. Are you inadvertently financing a war?

In any case, we will be watching with increasing curiosity at the events occuring in Harare, where the Minister of Mines Obert Mpofu, has declared that since Zimbabwe met the requirements of the KPCS at the last plenary, they must be allowed to export diamonds without restriction.

Whether this is the continued ploy of the powers that be to oust President (for life apparently) Mugabe once and for all is still up for discussion.

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0 Cry for Freedom?

On Saturday in Saudi Arabia, a 54 year old maid from Indonesia was beheaded for killing her employer. According to the news coming out of Jakarta, Ruyati binti Sapubi's employer had refused to allow her to leave to visit her family and had repeatedly abused her. Because she confessed to the crime, no trial was conducted, no lawyer was provided and her family was not informed of her imprisonment and death sentence until it had been carried out.

image credit: Viofiddler

Almost 1.2 million Indonesians are living in Saudi Arabia and about 70% of them are domestic workers. Many of them have made claims of abuse and torture that are usually ruled in favor of the Saudi employers which has caused a great row between the two countries.

As a result of the beheading on Saturday multiple protests have been held outside the Saudi embassy in Jakarta and the Labour Ministry spokes woman, Dita Indah Sari, has said  that the department will begin to work on tightening all regulations concerning overseas domestic workers.

Currently the government of Indonesia has put a moratorium on all domestic workers intending to go to Saudi Arabia and is calling on all its citizens to refrain from going there on holiday. The moratorium is going to stand until the government of Saudi Arabia agreed to protect the rights of foreign domestic workers.

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0 Losing the Battle

image credit: Dr. Case

In a report released last week by the Global Commission on Drug Policy revealed something we've been suspecting for years;

" we have lost the war on drugs"

In 1971 the then President Nixon of the United States of America said that drug use was the number one enemy in the US and began one of the most intensive military interventions by the US and other allied countries to counteract the production, trade and proliferation of psychoactive drugs.

This year the war on drugs turns 40 years old, and at such a significant anniversary it is important to look back and review the policies that have shaped the War on Drugs and their effectiveness in curbing its production, trade and proliferation.

According to Colorlines.org, that produced a well laid out infograph, the war has been carried out in mostly poor neighborhoods in the US occupied by people of color. Most of the people incarcerated through the policies of the Drug War are people of color who have suffered harsh penalties for non-violent offenses like possession.

The Global Comission on Drug Policy consists of people with high credentials including a former UN secretary-general, former presidents of Mexico, Colombia and Brazil, a former US Secretary of State and a host of public intellectuals, human rights activists and politicians. Their report claims that the war on drugs has only served to increase the illegal movement of capital around the World, incredible loss of lives in trafficking and sale and the stigmatization of people who become addicted to the drugs.

In the US, the legalization of drugs is not feasible, according to DEA Dawn Dearden, a clear indication that the power brokers in the war on drugs are inflexible to the much needed change required to allow for globalized change.

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0 No Place for Cornrows

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St. Gregory's Catholic Science College has dominated cyberspace this morning coming under fire from the High Court in London for its discriminatory practices regarding the hairstyle of one young black boy who was denied admission.

More often than their contemporaries of other races, black children are denied education in some colleges for whatever reason can be quickly used within the safety of school regulations, requirements and bylaws. This one, however was particularly interesting because the reason why 13 year old "SG" was refused a place because he wore cornrows.

In an interview on the BBC, Rob Berkley states that the school did not properly understand what it truly means to have a diverse student body if the children are supposed to all look a certain way.

This particular story echoes what has become the continuing discussion in black circles about what is acceptable professional clothing/dress and what is considered to be beautiful. In West Africa, the agbada is the choice of many professionals and they look elegant. In Somalia men would wear macawiis, a cloth wrapped around the waist that looks elegant. In Arab countries galabiya is the choice of professional men. Indians wear Saris and Chinese wear the hanfu quite successfully. The term professional in the Western World, however, seeks to exclude what other people would call professional and use the term ethnic. As though ethnic wear or ethnic looks somehow denote something less than professional

At Qalil.com, we would like to think that this issue is more than just about hair and what people of African Descent must do in order to make themselves acceptable in certain communities. 

If the school's ban was a statement that said all boys must have short hair, then everyone must be included and an exact measurement of what long and short is must be given. If boys are allowed to wear their hair long it means that boys of African descent would have to wear protective styles or else walk around with ridiculously large Afros. If boys must have short hair, then what about the girls? Is that discriminatory or sexist in any way? What about girls of African descent who have long hair, are they allowed to have cornrows?

It is not so much about culture, but convenience. It is about understanding (for real) what each person of whatever race, must do because of their physical characteristics (more sun for people with darker skin, more sun protection for people with light skin). If we are to truly consider ourselves to be diverse, then, like Mr. Berkely said, we have to allow that each child will come looking different (within the generally understood tenets of decency).

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0 The Protest That Never Was

image credits: ycanada_news

One of my favorite movies is V for Vendetta written by the Wachowski siblings and released in 2006. It was about a much needed revolution, at some time in the future, from a tyrannical intolerant government that was brought about by the actions of one man who wore a Guy Fawkes mask. It resonated with my sense of justice and what is wrong with the World and what can be done to fix it.

We have a modern 2011 Guy Fawkes. The indomitable Anonymous Group that has been wreaking havoc across the globe against groups, governments and companies that they believe have taken advantage of common man for their own financial gain.

Last week they released a video calling for the resignation of Ben Bernake, the chairman of the Federal Reserve. They asked the public to stand with them and occupy public space on the 14th of June in order to show solidarity and give the movement the kind of support that we all witnessed when the Egyptians occupied Tahrir Square earlier this year.

The 14th of June came and went, with no public show of support. If one or two stragglers went to a public space with signs, no media outlet covered it or showed that something was going on. It seems that the balloon that was threatening to pop lost all its air from the opening... fizzing out slowly and quietly into nothing.

Where was everyone? In their offices? Was the 14th inconvenient? Should it have been the weekend? I'm not quite sure what everyone's reasons were, but I can give you mine.

In 2010 the G20 meeting was held in Toronto in Canada, and as usual, wherever the G20 meet there will be protests. People with signs camping close by shouting slogans at the Presidents and their representatives as they gather at whatever meeting place was set up. The protests degenerated quickly into mass arrests that put the RCMP squarely in the sights of protesters and their lawyers. It was an inglorious mess.

Occupying public space only puts you in danger of being arrested and marked as a disturber of the peace. In such a time as this when there is a great struggle to find and keep jobs, to feed hungry mouths at home spending a few days in jail does not seem to be a good use of time. Shouldn't I be more concerned about the future and what could happen and what I could do to change things now?

Maybe. Maybe if I could be Anonymous too, not be able to be found or located and effect change without being caught like some news reports have suggested, maybe I would. But...

Let's just have it out. I'm a coward.

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0 The Gender Award Goes To...

Image Credit: AfricaGenderAward.org

Liberia!

Say what?! Gender Award? What does that mean? Who represented their gender the best?

I needed more information so I went hunting and this is what I found:

Every year the PanAfrican Center for Gender, Peace and Development (PAC) gives an award to a government, private organization or civil society that shows outstanding achievement in "gender mainstreaming", which basically means they promote Women's participation in Africa.

Some of the criteria include;

• Gender specific economic, social and legal measures on HIV/AIDS
• Systematic prohibition of the recruitment of child soldiers
• Systematic prohibition of the abuse of girl children as wives and sex slaves
• Promoting gender parity principle
• Education of women
• Enforcement of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa

To name a few.

The first award was given in 2005 to the Presidents of Senegal and South Africa and is awarded every two years. The other winners have been the presidents of Rwanda (2007) and Mozambique(2009).

It is not a very well known award, nor is it one which we find organizations and civil society winning. It does not seem that more people would work towards receiving this award to show it off or print it on their resume. I understand what the award is meant to do, but I wonder sometimes if these kinds of awards will hold our leaders to higher standards if we do not show those who have failed dismally.

Just thinking...

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0 In Memoriam: Albertina Sisulu

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There have been moments in history that have defined the way black women have lived and been treated by the governments that oppress them. Today is not the day to remember those grim times. Today is the day to remember an iconic woman who stood for the education and fair treatment of women in her country and her community. Today we will celebrate the life of a woman who was fearless and brave in the face of some really fierce opposition.

In late October of 1918 Monikazi Thethiwe, who had been sick with the spanish flu that had decimated populations around the world, was giving birth to her first baby girl. As Monikazi and Bonilizwe rejoiced and held her in their arms, they could not have known that they were holding someone who would become a major contributor in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa.

Despite facing many obstacles early on, taking care of her mother who had been forever weakened by the flu, caring for her siblings and fighting for a scholastic prize that was rightfully hers, Nontsikelelo worked hard to attend Mariazell college in 1936. By that time she had changed her name to Albertina.

Responsibility towards her family forced her into nursing, though her first love had been teaching. Education and especially the education of women was her passion. She has been quoted as saying,

In the struggle, if people don't know what they are fighting for, it is useless.

During her tenure at a hospital that admitted non-whites, she experienced and witnessed some of the most blatant effects of apartheid at that time when doctors would refuse to attend to African patients and where the youngest most inexperienced white nurses were always superior to the oldest and most experienced black nurses.

Her introduction to politics happened through her husband Walter Sisulu, who she met in 1941 and married in 1944. He was a very active member of the ANC and quit his job to work with the ANC full time alongside his friend and companion, Nelson Mandela.

In 1956 Albertina Sisulu was part of the women's organization that marched in protest against the law that required black women to carry passes. This law was specifically meant to further the ideals of apartheid and segregation. 10,000 women marched in protest, carrying bundles of petitions and placing them at the doorstep of the Prime Minister. They sang a song that has now become the anthem of many women's issues in South Africa,

wathint' abafazi, (When you strike women)
wathint' imbokodo, (you strike a rock)
uza kufa! (you will die)

She was detained for two months by the police who had mounted a search for her husband and had her life and the life of her children threatened. In 1964 her husband had been sentenced to life in prison and for her activities with the ANC had her under house arrest.

Throghout the 60's, 70's and 80's she and her family were in and out of jail, being specifically targeted for their relationship to Walter Sisulu and endured persistent harassment from the government, earning her multiple banning orders refusing her to attend meetings and funerals where she could pass on her ideologies. She sent her children to Swaziland to be educated choosing foreign education rather than subjecting her children to Bantu education instituted by the South African Government.

In 1987 still in the throes of the unprecedented police brutality in Alexandria in 1986, Albertina Sisulu had this to say,

Women are the people who are going to relieve us from all this oppression and depression. The rent boycott that is happening in Soweto now is alive because of the women. It is the women who are on the street committees educating the people to stand up and protect each other.

In 1989 her ban was lifted and her husband was released from prison and they continued the work they had begun more than 40 years prior. Her husband passed away in 2003 in her arms at 90 years old and that same year the Walter Sisulu Paediatric Cardiac Center for Africa was opened by her and long time friend Nelson Mandela.

Though her journey through this life came to an end, it cannot be a mourning but a celebration for a life well lived. Througout her life she lived the ideals that she taught, sacrificing greatly for her people and her children and struggling for a better life despite insurmountable odds. Her children and grandchildren who fought the struggle with her, ending up in prison and suffering harassment, carry the legacy of her life with them, as well as the rest of South Africa, extending throughout the World wherever black women still suffer prejudice and oppression.

Thank you for your gift Mama!

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0 New Frontier in Protesting

      Revolutions       Civil war       Sustained civil disorder and governmental changes       Protests and governmental changes       Major protests       Minor protests

The Middle East and a good number of African countries have been rocked by throngs of protesters, tired of living under oppressive regimes that have plundered their land and given in to the plutocratic greed of westernized corporations, giving rise to what has been dubbed the Arabian Spring.

There has been an inordinate concentration of media attention on North Africa, but a rumble is being heard all over the continent and is being felt by many of the leaders who, at the recent Africa Day celebration held in Harare, Zimbabwe, called for stringent controls on the internet to curb the youth from following external forces causing them to riot against their governments (News Article).

As bubbles of unrest and dissatisfaction rise up from various locations on the continent, one group has decided to take action, not by marching to offices or different locations in the city, but instead have taken a page out of Julian Assange and Anonymous' book and have hacked a government website.

The NaijaCyberHactivists took down the websites of the Niger Delta Development Commission along with the National Agency for Poverty Alleviation in protest of the $6 million budget for the inaguration of President Elect Goodluck Jonathan who won the recent elections that were rocked with violence and death.

The sites have been restored to their normal operations, but the website of the hackers is down.

With the rise of computer use and computer knowledge on the continent, this may very well be the new face of protests but only time will tell if it will prove to be an effective tool in forcing the governments' hands. It may also reduce the death toll and destruction of property and the complete halt of economic progress. It's effectiveness is yet to be tested but we will keep an eye on it for you and appraise you of events as they happen.

Keep your eye on Tahrir!

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0 Defending the Rights of Others

Image Credits

In spite of all the attention being directed towards Hawai'i, the newest State of the Union, very little, if any other kind of news comes out of it that captures America's interest. The only blip it has made in the public's interest has been when he was rushed to the hospital (we don't use his name around here - not a polite one anyway) or when President Obama made his papers public (yeah, we debated that issue. A lot.)

Recently, however, some news is cropping up about the desecration of sacred sites by the government of Hawai'i on its oldest main island Kaua'i. Here are the facts.

1. A new septic system was needed for the Kaumuali'i area of Wailua state park, which meant that a new leach field was needed. Waste from the septic system is passed through a designed leach field so microorganisms can take care of impurities.
2. The Hawai'i Administrative Rules clearly states that it is unlawful to remove any human skeletal remains that are over 50 years old, or any associated burial ground, without prior written authorization (Title 13, Chapter 300)
3. With full knowledge that the area to be turned into a leach field was a sacred ancestral burial ground, the city convened a secret burial council meeting without notifying the necessary cultural leaders or descendants.
4. Work progressed despite a shutdown because local activists showed there was no Environmental Assessment.

Countless people and cultures the World over recognize the spiritual and emotional significance of burial sites.  They may not contain the glamorous headstones or crypts that adorn some of the more westernized grave yards, some which have been completely encased in cement, but the spiritual and cultural importance is held in regard by everyone even if the specific ceremony surrounding it is considered savage or barbaric.

For example, in Mexico (and many other South American countries), the Day of the Dead is a celebration of the lives of those who have departed. The favorite food items of the person they are honoring, as well as photographs are placed around the grave and funny stories are told to family members to encourage the souls to return and answer their prayers. Mexico is known to be largely Catholic and yet this day is a part of their own brand of Catholicism. There is an abundance of human skeletal forms and what many have termed a morbid celebration.

The people of Hawai'i believe that the essence or mana resides primarily in the bones or iwi of the human physiology. Great care was taken to preserve, purify and nourish the mana. The spirit of a person or uhane hovered near the iwi after death and they were therefore treated with great respect and honor and some even deified. They believe that it is the responsibility of the living to care for the bones of the ancestors. In this way the integrity of the family was maintained (read all about Native Burials: Human Rights And Sacred Bones). 

If we believe that our belief systems should not be incongruent with the beliefs of others, I am perplexed at the inaction and relative ambivalence towards the preservation of  historical indigenous sites. The HAR (Hawai'i Administrative Rules) do not demand that all burial sites remain untouched by development, just that when such a location comes onto a government official's desk, someone would go through the right channels to notify any living family and the traditional and community leaders so that the proper rituals can be held. (read about their feelings towards their culture)

As a group, with compassion and understanding, we should stand up for the rights of indigenous people and upholding of the law by officials who we elected to government. Humanity demands it.

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0 Haireditary Rabidity - Trump Madness

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Of all the things that get me worked up, I never thought I would have Trump and his waving hair plugs in the line up of Sh!t-that-F*cks-with-me-before-my-mornin'-coffee!

I mean...WTF!!!!

This is what happens when your Hair transplant surgeon resembles the POTUS - what?! All black people do look alike, especial Kenyan-Muslim-Terrorists, who hide their birth certificates cause they were born under a tree in the outskirts of Nairobi (Hawaii) --Bet you didn't know it is in Hawaii, well, IT IS--, and marry strong black women like our beloved FLOTUS - and said surgeon neglects to mention that the following side effects may occur:

1) Shock loss - also known as losing yo damn mind when a black man took over in the Maison Blanche. It is truly a shock and a loss. Problem may present as waving hair that looks like ferret tail with bald patches.

2) Swelling - also known as water retention to replace all the hot air comin' out the orifices. Problem may persist despite all efforts to soothe and treat the diseased area.

3) Itching - also known as bagger agitation due to low ratings of Lame TV show that is taking the same path as all other business ventures founded and failed over the years. This particular side effect may be HAIReditary and may be linked to other genetic dysfunctions. Ask your Exorcist Doctor about alternate life paths.

4) Hair loss can occur after several years - also known as go roll another mountain goat for its shags (like you jacked most people who deal with you) and keep it movin'.

If only POTUS didn't hand over that busted ass birth certificate! Ah well, that Orange Trumpscile won't stop his Haireditary Rabidity regardless of any proof presented. Talk about an over-inflated sense of importance he has.

Just so you know Trump and jr Trumpies, Y'all still ain't ish!!!!!

Phewww, Glad I got that off my chest.

Save a Mountain Goat's coat, produce Trumps head hair for testing!!!!

Image Credits

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0 Allen West: A Low-level Uncle Tom in The Racket Ministry

Congressman Allen West (serving Florida's 22nd congressio­nal district) has never met an opportunity to bash President Obama that he didn't take with glee.

On the Laura Ingraham Show, he referred to Mr. Obama as showing "third world dictator-like arrogance". While speaking to Fox's Greta Van Susteren, he stood by his words and added: “This whole talk about shared prosperity–that really gives me the goosebumps because I’m starting to believe that a community organizer is nothing but a low-level socialist agitator.”

Let’s ignore how sociopathic his railing against shared prosperity is. One would presume that sharing prosperity creates and maintains a civil society. Let’s also ignore how uneducated he sounds because if he really knew anything about socialism, he wouldn’t call Obama a socialist.

The ex-military West is clearly earning the other kind of stripes, the ones that get you a gig at Fox and the exclusive country club membership. If industrious and business-minded, he might get a few lucrative deals when done not serving Floridians. So far, however, this is unlikely so he may just have to do with the odd lunatic commentary on Republican outlets.

West represents the new noise machine in an ever-declining country. Power and money are concentrating in the hands of less than 1% of the country. With economic and social indicators heading south, it is clear that big propaganda guns will have to be taken out to quiet millions sinking into poverty.

For the past 30 years of decline, 24-hour news did the trick. With a clever mix of truth-skewing commentary and entertainment, a number of events were hidden or obscured from people: wages stagnated, jobs were outsourced, debts rose, education and health quality declined, industries were de-regulated, military spending increased, a case for illegal wars was made successfully, and through brilliant financial schemes, banks swindled savings and then stuck out their hands for taxpayer handouts.

Admit it, that was brilliant, wasn’t it?

Of course, things began to fray at the seams. Bubble after economic bubble burst. The jobless began to number in the millions. People lost their homes. Kids finished college with little hope of finding gainful employment. Hunger, homelessness, and despair rose. Unless you are heavily medicated or living in denial, things are pretty dire and liable to change for the worse every day.

Twenty-four hour news alone will just not do. How about adding fringe lunacy? The crazier, the better. And who does it with as much classlessness as the Republicans since Reagan? Their disdain for working people has always been there but they also had sane elements. Sanity will just not do in the coming years as things go from bad to worse. Loud noise and blatant lies are necessary.

Enter Fox News, the Tea Party, Bachmann, Ryan, Paul, Palin, Trump, etc. A veritable circus of loons whose only mission is to obscure truth and create as much discourse-destroying noise. Calling their machination a Ministry of Truth would not do it justice.

Let’s call it The Racket Ministry. Both loud and deceptive.

Back to Congressman West. He is that not-so-rare member of any group willing to sell out to the first buyer. Crazy is in and he is wearing the latest. He is clearly being used as a front to give legitimacy to political discourse that is more hostile and intolerant than it had been in decades. And it is not only hostile to minorities but to unions, working class people, women, and increasingly, the elderly, the sick, students, the environment, etc...

The service has given him a special skill in speaking in absolutes but it is his endorsement of radical, paranoid views on liberalism, socialism, government currently espoused by groups with racist elements such as the Tea Party that is dismaying.

West's sustained attacks on President Obama appease those very elements in their boorishness and condescension. Criticize the president and his administration all you want but, for the love of socialism, use your own bloody words.

If he chooses not to, we may have no choice but to give him the honorary title of Uncle Tom in The Racket Ministry.

Image courtesy of thinkprogress.org

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0 What Sarah Palin Should Do

Image Credits

With Donald Trump's recent rise in popularity in the media, poor Mrs. Palin and Mr. Beck have been sidelined in the hearts of the members of the Tea Party everywhere (PublicPolicyPolling.com).

Is the image of this favorite fading from their memories?

Well, at Qalil.com, we have decided that we would like to suggest some things for Mrs. Palin (coz we're women and would rather not deal with Mr. Beck).

1. Release a country gospel CD. The appeal this would have with the midwest would be amazing, she could go on tour with some other popular country gospel artists. Titles like "Goin' Bear Huntin' with the Savior" or "I Dedicate My Rifle To You Lord" and "You Betcha!" would be hits!

2. Revamp her physical image. We recommend a pale blonde pixie cut to replace her brown hair, contact lenses and dump the dowdy Hilary Clinton suits.

3. Have another baby. Coz babies are cute! Plus Bristol's kid gets to have an Aunt or Uncle who is younger than him (or was it a her).

4. Celebrity Apprentice!!! Okay? Go where the attention is at!

5. Release a movie. Follow Beck's lead and make it about a mom who goes after politics, becomes the governor of a marginalized state that always wants to secede, then she gets picked to run alongside a maverick for vice president of this really powerful country and then she wins!!! Make a series, have an evil nemesis, probably a Kenyan born American Immigrant who is bent on Islamicizing her country.

6. Send some racist email messages around. See how much attention it gets?

7. Go on a gay cruise, and while she's there say something really homophobic that gets her thrown off the ship.

Those are our ideas. Got any that you think might help?

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0 Have you met Phaedra yet?

You may not have heard about her yet but Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Green For All. This is a non-profit organization that promotes a clean energy economy.

Phaedra represents a new generation of African American youth activists who are looking out for the environment. As a visionary and sustainability advocate, she leads this national organization with a clear mandate of promoting the well-being of people and communities in a green economy.

The US is behind in green economy. In some parts of the country, you won't even find recycling boxes in schools and offices. Many Americans are just not thinking about what it means to recycle, reuse, and reduce. In these times of job losses, bankruptcy, or repossessions, it seems like a luxury to worry about the environment, doesn't it?

Well, it isn't.

An economy based on oil is one of the reasons that this country is falling apart. It is simply unsustainable. Coal and gas (with its fracking horrors) are no better. Short-term economic gains while poisoning water wells, fishing shores, and the air we breathe lead to long-term losses. What is the solution, then?

It may very well lie with Phaedra and other youth activists who are interested in a clean energy economy that puts people back to work and saves the environment from costly degradation. The future is bright, folks! You just gotta believe.

Check out Phaedra and others at Power Shift 2011, a youth-led conference to take on the fossil fuel industry. 10,000 young people showed up and got fired up.

Images courtesy of Blackenterprise.com The Huffington Post

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0 iPad dun stole your jobs America!

According to Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., the ipad dun stole your job! You betta hide yo kids, hide yo wife and hide yo husband too, cause Steve Jobs' next invention may steal them too!

Oh my dearness....He is NOT serious!

Image courtesy of Pink Slurpee

Well, 'mr. damn confused about where the world is heading', how about I give you a list of jobs that need to replace the paper based industry and would keep people employed for many years to come. And here is the real shocker, it will help preserve our health and environment over time.

1) Recycling plants - Reusing all products, paper, plastic waste we have been buying like they were goin' out of style.

2) Work on renewable energy - Energy companies are expanding on products, such as solar energy equipment production, sales, distribution and installation.

3) Sustainability Coordinators - Educating and expanding upon the sustainability market in educational institutions as well as companies.

4) Organic food/Sustainable farming - Expanding on available organic farms to reduce prices to make them more affordable for everyone and to change the standards for a healthier community.

5) Urban planning to reduce the carbon footprint - Finding ways to engage the population to find alternatives to gas guzzling vehicles (car pool, electrical buses) or redesigning streets to allow for non-vehicular modes of transportation (bikes, roller blades) to have space to safely travel.

The iPad is no different than a computer. When they were first introduced, many jobs become redundant but that didn't stop industries from creating jobs to accommodate the technological shift. Now that we are going paperless in more places, we have to get creative in how to create new jobs to accommodate this shift. I think the environment is where we need to focus but that's just my humble opinion.

Maybe Congressman J.J Jr could take a look at Wall Street as the potential culprit in this colorful demise. But then, I would be asking him to state the obvious, which is frowned up in Washington.

Congressman J.J Jr. hush now about things you don't understand! Now, please focus on Trump's toupee and tell us if it growls at people when they get too close.

*All this foolishness got me typin' like Madea*

Image is courtesy of Epiphany Blue

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0 You're being exploited by dirty (wealthy) foreigners!

Alright, confession time.

How many of you have had issues with a service (cellphone, television, electronic equipment) and thought about calling the help line then thought,

"I just wish I could talk to someone on this continent about this problem! No more Indians in call centers in India!"

from nextbillion.net

Be ye honest!

We've watched program after program about call center help being outsourced and the various ways in which American Companies exploit those markets by getting very cheap non-unionized labor, sometimes exploiting children! We've gasped boycotted the products for a while - till you trek through Wally World and realize you really really really want that-thing-that-you-totally-don't-need-and-will-never-need - EVER!

Remember Nike's debacle? Look at yo feet man! You are wearing shoes sown together by little innocent children trying to feed their ever growing families. Sure, we can all ignore it, especially when Nike joins an organization like this one.

When we hear about workers in India being exploited, we think... well, $100 goes further there than here so there is no reason they should earn more than anyone working in a call center here - comparatively speaking.

Well, well, well...

The tables have been turned on us. Let's see how we handle it!

IKEA, the company responsible for selling you bits and pieces of things so you can go home and make your own furniture has done something similar. You just might not imagine WHO is being exploited!

Me: YOU!
You: Who?
Me: You! (pointing now so you can understand)
You: I don't work at IKEA.
Me: OMG! You're missing the point...
You: But you said me
Me: No, I said yo... aaaaaaaaaah! Forget it!

AlterNet has released an article claiming that US Workers are being EXPLOITED! We're part of the larger World now, probably much closer to the developing countries we look down our noses to.

European employees of IKEA earn a minimum of $19 per hour, have a MANDATORY 5 week PAID vacation. Wanna know what American workers start at? Full time employees are paid $8 per hour with 12 vacation days and those subcontracted by employment agencies get even less.

from greengenie.ca

 Are you gonna protest or WHAT?!

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