Capitalism is in crisis

Hoisting the Red Flag!

Thirteenth Congress Central Committee

Thirteenth Plenary Session, Johannesburg, 28-30 August 2015


The SACP Central Committee met in Johannesburg over the weekend of 28-30 August. The CC was meeting in the context of serious storms gathering around the South African economy, notably in the mining and steel sectors. We have now experienced a single quarter of negative growth with the possibility of an impending recession. These issues, their relationship to the problematic structural features of South Africa’s political economy, the ongoing global capitalist crisis, and the impact of all of these on our society were, therefore, the central focus of reports discussed in the CC. Comrade Bheki Ntshalinthsali, acting COSATU general secretary, also presented a document on the state of the labour federation and the challenges faced by the working class.

We must deal with corruption not just in theory but practically

While the scourge of corruption is not by any measure the main cause of the economic crises we are confronting as a country, corruption fragments the democratic state and our movement, and opens up space for regime-change agendas. If we are to respond effectively to the economic challenges, then it is absolutely essential that as a movement we deal decisively with corruption and corrupt individuals. In engaging with our allies in the coming period we intend to raise this matter forcefully. There is a wide-spread impression that congress and conference resolutions on fighting corruption are watered down in practice, and the recommendations of structures like the integrity committee are bypassed. Lip-service to fighting corruption without action, or with half-hearted and selective action, simply compounds the problem. It is important that those within our movement who are aware of bribes passing hands, or membership fraud should actively open up criminal cases, rather than simply repeat allegations.

Eskom

Clearly part of our current economic challenges have their roots in domestic problems and strategic mistakes, and notably on the electricity front. It would be a grave mistake to be in denial about these.

The SACP has consistently argued that our present energy challenges are mainly the consequence of an ideologically misguided belief in the early 2000s that privatising Eskom would assure us of continued ample, cheap electricity. The resulting failure to embark on a major re-capitalisation of Eskom at that time has now cost us dearly. Compounding these problems has been predatory behaviour in the supply chain management of Eskom. We welcome decisive measures to eradicate corruption in the entity, as well as the belated but important major investments in Eskom generation capacity now underway. Unit 6 of Medupi power station comes on stream today and will be providing an additional 794 megawatts into the grid.

The current economic storms largely originate from outside the country

However, our current economic challenges largely originate from outside of the country. These challenges need to be traced back to the 2008 global financial crisis which quickly developed into a wider economic crisis, the most serious since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Between 2009 and 2012, as with several other resource-rich economies, the South African economy was partly shielded from the worst of the fall-out by continued export at record prices of primary commodities to China.

However, in response to the global capitalist crisis which has seen a slow-down in demand for its exports, China has shifted its strategy away from being a mineral resource absorbing, export-led growth economy. It is now focusing on stimulating domestic demand and moving away from its commodity intensive growth path. The previous global commodity super-cycle, driven by China’s huge imports of primary commodities, is now definitively over.

This has seen prices of our major mining exports – iron ore, coal, platinum and gold – fall by an average of 50% from 2011. In the last few years to June 2015, the international iron ore price fell by 67%, coal prices by 54%, platinum by 39%, and gold by 13%. These four sectors employ 425 000 mineworkers in South Africa, and they account for one-quarter of our exports. With the collapse in commodity prices, 40% of South Africa’s platinum mines, and 30% of our gold mines are now not profitable.

But South Africa is not alone. The end of the global commodity super-cycle is having a dramatic impact on other economies with major mining industries. Some 20,000 jobs are under threat this coming year in Australia, whose growth rate is also projected to decline. In the US, the mining sector lost 15,000 jobs in April alone – the fourth straight monthly loss in the sector. Canada has lost 19,700 jobs in its resources sector. The commodity storm is impacting on the other primary commodity rich-BRICS partners, Russia and Brazil, both of which expect to be in recession this year. The former South African but now trans-nationalised Anglo American has recently reported a $3 billion loss – mainly due to its flagship iron ore project in Minas Rio in Brazil. Many oil-exporting African countries, Angola and Nigeria among them, are also suffering major losses. The IMF last month downgraded growth projections for sub-Saharan Africa by almost a full percentage point.

It is important to remind ourselves of this wider global reality – not in order to evade our own national challenges or responsibilities – but rather to more lucidly understand the challenges we are confronting, in order to develop adequate and strategically sustainable responses.

A great deal of local public commentary is shallow and parochial in the extreme. For instance Peter Bruce argues there is “no leadership” in the country, and proposes economic policy should be handed over to businessmen who know only the mantra of profit maximisation. The DA’s threadbare and amateurish “5-point” programme in response to the current job losses calls for government freebies to the private sector, like committing R500-million of public money to purchase “industrial size generators for manufacturing enterprises”. The DA programme also calls for class war on the trade union movement by arguing for a more “flexible” labour market. As Comrade Ntshalintshali pointed out, less than 30% of South Africa’s working class is unionised (the majority of the unionised now being in the public sector) – while informalisation, casualisation and labour brokering have accelerated dramatically. Just how much more flexible does the DA want the labour market to be?

The steel glut

The slow-down in Chinese demand has also contributed to a glut of steel in global markets, and the dumping of steel products from China into other economies, including South Africa. South Africa’s two major steel manufacturers are now also in trouble.
In this context, the CC welcomed government’s initiatives to meet with the steel producers and the trade unions in the sector. The imposition of a protective tariff on steel imports and the consideration of a further anti-dumping duty are important immediate responses to the crisis. The CC in particular saluted the role being played by Minister of Trade and Industry, Comrade Rob Davies and Minister of Economic Development, Comrade Ebrahim Patel. As both ministers have emphasised, the crisis must now be leveraged to address the deeper structural challenges within our economy. Immediate state interventions to bring relief to the mining and steel manufacturing companies must now be linked to our strategic beneficiation and re-industrialisation objectives. A tariff and anti-dumping duty relief to steel-manufacturers must have as its conditionality that the price of steel to local down-stream manufacturers is not hiked up.

This is a demand that has been resisted in the past by Arcelor-Mittal in particular with its disastrous import parity pricing business practices – now that it needs state assistance that assistance cannot be a freebie, it must come with conditionalities. We must not only save jobs in the steel foundries, but also save and indeed create jobs in downstream manufacturing.

The importance of re-industrialisation in order to address the structural problems within our economy

The down-turn in mineral prices and the global glut of steel are not likely to be short-term cyclical features. We are witnessing a fundamental restructuring of the global economy, itself the response to the prolonged global capitalist crisis. What this ongoing global crisis has laid bare is South Africa’s persisting colonial-type political economy and its excessive vulnerabilities.

Between December 1993 and December 2014, 5% growth was achieved in only 17 of the 84 quarters. This growth was driven by two factors – credit-driven consumption reliant on import intensive sectors; and the commodity price super-cycle. The commodity price super-cycle is now definitively over and it is unlikely to return any time soon, if ever. The credit-driven consumption reliant on imports has resulted in excessive financialisation, high levels of household debt, and de-industrialisation, affecting primarily our manufacturing and agro-processing sectors.

We must actively use the current challenges to leverage structural change within our economy - a fundamentally patriotic process of making our political economy more robust and sheltering it from the excessive frailties and vulnerabilities from which it currently suffers. A critical component of such a strategy must be the scaling up and intensification of our Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP).

There is a great deal of cynicism in some parts of the business media in regard to industrial policy programmes. Yet significant real progress has been made in at least two sectors. In the auto sector R25,7-billion investments have been made – the highest ever level in South Africa. These investments are not just in car assembly, but also in minibuses, buses and heavy vehicles, as well as in an expansion of the components sector.

Six years ago, South Africa’s clothing and textile sector was in free-fall and close to extinction. Thanks to state, trade union and management engagements, and thanks to a shift in incentives that now focus on credits for competitive-enhancing investment there has been a remarkable turn-around, with 68,000 jobs saved and a further 6,900 new jobs created.

In short, it is possible to make significant progress in difficult circumstances. We now need to scale up our re-industrialisation efforts, with a particular emphasis on labour intensive sectors like agro-processing. These are among the key perspectives we hope to carry forward into the ANC’s important National General Council in October.

Taking forward the financial sector campaign

A core feature of the problematic structure of South Africa’s political economy is its excessive financialisation. South Africa is an extreme case among middle income economies in terms of the relative proportion of short-term speculative investments (equity) relative to fixed direct investment (bonds). Between 1994 and 2002, inflows into the South African stock market relative to GDP were ten times the norm for middle income economies.

Internationally, South Africa is also exceptional in terms of the size of the JSE relative to GDP. Of the 118 countries that reported on market capitalisation in the World Bank’s World Development Indicators for 2010, only in Hong Kong did stock market capitalisation exceed the value of the GDP by more than South Africa.

We have a bloated, top-heavy financial sector, dominated by four banks (accounting for 84,1% of total banking assets at the end of 2011). What is more, half our banking shares are foreign owned. The financial sector has exerted huge influence on post-apartheid, macro-economic policy, and it has been behind the problematic, credit-fuelled consumption led growth path over the past two decades. Our over-financialised economy results in the misallocation of finances into speculative activity at the expense of productive investment. Financialisation and de-industrialisation are two sides of the same coin.

One of the unintended consequences of the 2005 National Credit Act was a massive increase in unsecured lending. In seeking to regulate unsecured lending in the informal sector, the Act opened up unsecured lending to the mainstream financial sector. The banks themselves became mashonisa (loan sharks) and they worked in tandem with retailers like Ellerines and Lewis Furniture Stores (who themselves increasingly drew profit not from mark-ups on furniture, for instance, but on selling credit, insurance, etc.). Unsecured lending ballooned from R40bn in 2008 to R172bn in 2014. In March 2015 45% of South Africa’s 23-million credit-active consumers were three or more months in arrears.

As researcher David Neves has remarked, the business models for credit provision to South Africa’s low-income market, in particular, have been based less on the borrower’s ability to repay, and more on the creditor’s ability to collect. An extensive machinery of debt collection and of repossessions has, accordingly, mushroomed and, along with it, all manner of abuses.

The recent Western Cape High Court case, for instance, exposed grave predatory irregularity behaviour by debt collectors, credit providers, and magistrate courts, using emolument attachment orders (EAOs) – “garnishee orders”. The court found that EAOs were granted illegally by magistrate courts distant from where those affected live and work. Amounts deducted sometimes amounted to over 80% of the earnings, whereas the law requires judicial oversight to ensure affordability. These and other practices appear to be widespread.

Another symptom of the crisis of excessive financialisation is the tsunami of home repossessions and evictions. It is estimated that there are now over 10,000 evictions a year in South Africa – a figure which is comparable to the numbers affected at the height of the apartheid-era group areas removals. Here again there is much evidence of abusive practices with clerks of the court, Red Ants, unscrupulous estate agents, and even staff within the major banks working collusively to illegally evict thousands of families. SACP activists in Johannesburg, working with community members, have actively been taking up these issues, and plan soon to take up a housing class action case. The SACP, in taking up these issues will also seek a meeting with relevant sections of the criminal justice system, including the judiciary, to raise some of our concerns in this regard.

This is the context in which, as a key pillar of this year’s Red October Campaign, the SACP will be working with its alliance partners and a wide range of social movements and community based formations to revitalise the Financial Sector Campaign. We are calling for a second NEDLAC-convened Financial Sector Summit. The first summit in 2003 resulted in a Financial Sector Charter in which, amongst other things, the financial sector institutions committed to significant community investment, including into affordable housing. Most of the commitments made in that Charter were to be realised or achieved by 2015. A second summit will need to assess the degree to which commitments have actually been implemented.

In the build-up to a Financial Sector Summit, the SACP and its allies will intensify mobilisation against housing evictions, unjust credit bureau listings, bank charges, reckless lending, abuse of garnishee orders, and the abuse of loan sharks especially of social grant beneficiaries. As part of the campaign, we will also call for the stabilisation of the SA Post Office and the allocation of a full banking licence to the Post Bank.

On COSATU

The CC congratulated COSATU on the convening and outcome of its Special National Congress at a difficult time for the federation. In the light of all of the above challenges, a militant and independent COSATU, working together with its alliance partners, has an absolutely critical role to play. We call on all affiliates to focus on re-building active trade unionism that services members and to work for working class unity. It is also essential that the historical policy capacity of the Federation and its affiliates in critical areas like industrialisation is once more actively revived. Without a united and capacitated COSATU, it is the working class in South Africa that will become the main victims of the present capitalist crisis.

Capitalism is in crisis

While it is imperative to develop short-term interventions to save jobs, to address crisis levels of house-hold indebtedness, and much more, we must never lose sight of the deeply embedded structural features of the current capitalist crisis both within South Africa and globally. Since 2008 the epicentre of the global capitalist crisis has shifted from Wall Street to Iceland, from Ireland and Portugal, to Greece and Puerto Rico, to the Chinese stock markets. One “solution” after another simply results in further knock-on crises elsewhere.

Everywhere the rural poor, the working class, and vast stretches of the middle strata globally are suffering, while a one-percent rentier class becomes ever more filthy rich. The scandalous deaths of tens of thousands of desperate refugees in the Mediterranean and in Europe – fleeing poverty and imperialist inspired destabilisation in Syria, Libya, and elsewhere – is another manifestation of the deepening crisis of capitalism.

Capitalism is in crisis – our task is not to save capitalism from its crisis, but to save humanity and the planet from capitalism

The CC conveys its condolences to the families and friends of the 109 victims of three terrible road accidents in the Eastern Cape and Swaziland over this weekend.

Contact:
Alex Mohubetswane Mashilo: National Spokesperson, Head Of Communications
Mobile: 082 9200 308
Office: 011 339 3621/2

Lucky Lukhele - Facebook post

Twitter: SACP1921

The Father

THE FATHER

Many years ago, the priest sat in the office and wondered what young Emilia would do now that her family had abandoned her. Emilia, a budding voluptuous girl, wondered off with Paul, the peasant who worked for the wealthiest and most influential person in the parish. He recalled how upset Mr. Tovar became upon hearing the news that his peasant Paul had befriended this young woman and wanted to leave his luxurious home to marry this girl.

Mr. Tovar, a grumpy forty-four-year-old, remained unmarried and had no intention of marrying. He lived alone is his lavish mansion overlooking the lake and extensive countryside. He trusted nobody and ensured his privacy was just that. The only person he employed was Paul an orphaned peasant whom one day surprised the grumpy old Mr. Tovar when he helped him up after a fall from a horse. Mr. Tovar made one mistake that day; he spoke to Paul and as an act of gratitude took the youngster home with him.

Paul delighted with his good fortune of being able to work for the famous Mr. Tovar, remained respectful and reliable for nearly three years. It is said the old man even managed to smile once in a while at the innocent, ignorant peasant.

Without fail, every Sunday, Mr. Tovar would attend a church service. Paul would follow close behind the grand old man, filled with pride and joy. The whole community would attend the service and always ensured that Mr. Tovar had the best seat near the front. He was always first to enter and first to leave. The villagers would watch as Mr. Tovar strolled home towards his mansion and Paul following behind.

Mr. Tovar had to leave the village for a month, and it was during this time when Paul found comfort in the beautiful Emilia who worked at the church. Daily he would visit the parish and befriend Emilia, who believed Paul to be the only relative of the great Mr. Tovar, and enjoyed the attention of a charming man.

It was a warm Wednesday afternoon, the blue skies displaying a few small clouds when Paul asked Emilia to return to the mansion with him. He knew nobody was around, and it would certainly make for some fun having another person stay with him. Emilia eagerly agreed and soon the two youngsters were enjoying the magnificent mansion exploring the different rooms, the antique furniture, and being overwhelmed by the vast amount of wealth displayed in this double story house.

Thirsty and exhausted from darting about the large home, Paul asked Emilia to come with him to the kitchen for some refreshments. Soon they sat down and devoured delicious treats from the pantry of Mr. Tovar.

“Now I feel more comfortable and happy that you are here with me.”

“I loved this, I never in my entire life thought I would be privy to seeing this mansion. Now I must go now, it is late, and the Priest will wonder where I am.”

“No, don’t go, stay the night with me, and I will explain to the Priest why you stayed.”

She agreed; it was fun, and the idea of returning to the dreary parish depressed her. Paul not aware of what the beautiful Emilia thought of him guided her to one of the master bedrooms and showered her with love. She was smiling, and he glanced at her and thought she was the most beautiful female he had ever seen. Enjoying the affection soon, they made passionate love again and again. Her stomach tightened. She saw nothing, looked at nothing, and was just there, breathing and enjoying the feeling of being united with such a handsome man.

Glowing light streamed into the bedroom across the bed, and Emilia rubbed her eyes, sat up and looked around the room. Realizing it was late in the morning, she roused Paul who grabbed her and made passionate love to her again. Famished and tired, they went down to the kitchen to eat.

“I must go back to the church, or else I will be in serious trouble.”

“Yes, I know, but you need to hear this, I am in love with you Emilia and want to marry you.”

“Paul, there is mustard on your mouth and yes I will marry you.”

Paul got up, walked around the table, and grabbed Emilia. He was thrilled and danced around the kitchen kissing and whispering sweet loving words into her ear.

Emilia reluctant to leave her new lover went back to the Parish and on her way down noticed the condemning cursing looks from the passersby. It felt as though the whole village knew about her escapade with Paul. Feeling guilty, she ran as fast as she could toward the parish and disappeared into her tiny dark room for the rest of the day. Ignoring the calls from the workers, she slept soundly.

The Priest surprised her with an early morning visit, reluctant she let him in. He demanded the truth and Emilia afraid and knowing how dangerous the man could be, told him about the visit to the Grand Mansion, spending the night with Paul and their lovemaking. He stood up, angry and slapped her across her face calling her a whore.

“I forbid you ever to see that man again,” the Priest said in an angry voice.

Tears streamed down her face, and she nodded her head, acknowledging his instruction. In his anger, he turned around and slammed the door shut.

Emilia cried and cried. Sitting on her bed, she felt betrayed and abandoned. The priest was angry, she had no doubt that he would never allow Paul into the parish and the idea of not seeing him again saddened her.

The next day, the workers of the parish had heard the story of Emilia and Paul, disgusted that this young woman whom they had raised from a child had turned into a whore. The gossip among the people steadily swelled out of control. The priest who always had an uncanny knack of what people were saying found out about the Emilia gossip and went into the courtyard.

“Gather around me and listen to what I have to say,” He said while raising his hand.

Eagerly the workers, who were mostly women stood silently in front of them and waited for his speech.

“Now you know that young Emilia was a baby when she arrived at the parish, abandoned and sickly. Many of you loyal women helped to raise this child.” He cleared his throat.

“Emilia has betrayed us, and we can all learn a lesson from her disobedience. Lust got the better of the young lass, and now she will have to stay under lock and key for the rest of her life. I pray she is not pregnant from the villain Paul. ‘

The women sighed and alarmed at the harsh punishment imposed on Emilia remained silent for fear of being reprimanded.

Mrs. Carrington and Mrs. Jones, you will be the custodians of Emilia; she is not to leave her room at all. Take her food and other provisions she might need, and never let her see the light of day again.” He said and walked away.

The priest looked back and saw the shock on the faces of the women. He smiled. He knew Mr. Tovar would be pleased with his commands. Back in his office, he walked over to a side table and poured a glass of water. He was thirsty and drank this quickly. He sat down and began to read his Bible.

Both Mrs. Carrington and Mrs. Jones would visit the young Emilia daily and give her fresh food and water. The young girl hardly ate the food they gave her. The room was tiny, enough space for a bed, a small table with a washing bowl on top. A small set of drawers for her few belongings and nothing more. There was a small window, but it was too high for Emilia to see anything. She slept most of her time, there were no books to read, no paper to write on and nobody to talk to.

After four months of being confined to her small room, Emilia began to feel sick, her constant nausea and heartburn upset her. Mrs. Jones suspected that the young girl was pregnant and would often visit a little longer with her. Mrs. Jones expressed her disappointment at the Priest for not allowing her to sit in the courtyard and often would tell Emilia what was happening in the village. She managed to bring Emilia a bible to read, which pleased her immensely. Emilia would hide the holy book under her bed and out of the piercing eyes of Mrs. Carrington.

Emilia began to appreciate the visits by Mrs. Jones a kind-looking, white-haired woman and often urged her to stay longer. Emilia did not like Mrs. Carrington at all. She remained arrogant and would always remind her of how remorseful she had behaved. When she visited, Emilia always felt more depressed than before. She told Mrs. Jones about her feelings and the kind soul consoled her as best as she could.

Mrs. Jones had to tell the priest that Emilia was pregnant and get her to the doctor. It was a hot day again; the summer was harsh this time with rising temperatures and humidity causing the residents to feel slightly uncomfortable. Mrs. Jones went to the Parish and entered the Priest's office. He was seated behind his desk.................................................................

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Drug War contributes to Genocide - In America

We Charge Genocide; 1.5 Million Black Men (Missing in America)

Posted by The Reunion Black Family on April 24, 2015 at 10:30 AM

How the War on Drugs Contributes to the "1.5 Million Missing Black Men" We Charge Genocide: 1.5 Million Black Men (Missing in America)

Where did all the Black men go? Analysis of population data shows so many Black males have gone to prison, died of disease of accidents, or by violence, that Black females in many communities outnumber Black men by ratios of 6 to 10. A national policy of mass Black incarceration is the primary factor – a factual basis for a
On Monday, the New York Times wrote a deeply upsetting piece titled, “1.5 Million Missing Black Men.”

According to the Times, “Black women who are 25 to 54 and not in jail outnumber black men in that category by 1.5 million. …For every 100 black women in this age group living outside of jail, there are only 83 black men. Among whites, the equivalent number is 99.”

The primary reasons the 1.5 million men are missing from their communities is because they are behind bars or because of early death, the story noted.

The number are shocking and offensive. The Times states, “One out of 6 black men who today should be between 25 and 54 years have disappeared from daily life.”

While the article makes clear that incarceration is a major reason for so many African Americans are removed from their communities, they don’t identify the role of the war on drugs in mass incarceration. Roughly 500,000 of the 2.4 million people behind bars are there for a drug offense. America is the number one jailer in the planet, with under five percent of the world’s population but 25 percent of the world’s prisoners.

And it may not surprise you that there are gross racial disparities in when it comes to who ends up behind bars for drugs. According to Human Rights Watch, African Americans go to jail or prison 10 times the rate of Whites, despite similar drug use.

There is some sick hypocrisy in our country.

Despite a $40 billion a year "war on drugs" and political speeches about a "drug-free society," our society is swimming in drugs. Every day millions use cigarettes, sugar, alcohol, marijuana, Prozac, Ritalin, Viagra, steroids, cocaine and caffeine to get themselves through the day. There are drugs on every Ivy League campus in this country and drugs are flowing on Wall Street. The vast majority of Americans use drugs on a regular basis.

While it is clear that drug use doesn’t discriminate, the reality is that the war on drug users does discriminate. The ACLU found racial disparities in every single state in the country, with blacks getting arrested for marijuana from three to 10 times the rates of Whites.

From New York to Ferguson, and all across the country we see law enforcement target people of color. Thanks to stop and frisks and racial profiling, blacks are ticketed and arrested at outrageous rates for doing the exact same thing whites do.

The “1.5 Million Missing Black Men” needs to be a wake-up call. We can not allow one out of 6 black men to go missing. And ending the war on drugs is an important, concrete step to addressing this.

Tony Newman is the director of media relations at the Drug Policy Alliance (www.drugpolicy.org)

“The war of attrition is a race war.”

Black life in America does not start out with these bizarre imbalances between the sexes. There is no gender gap among Blacks in childhood. Roughly the same number of boys and girls are born, and the ratio stays stable until the teenage years, when the war of attrition begins mercilessly grinding down the numbers of Black males. How else is this phenomenon to be described except as a war, in which 600,000 are held captive during their most productive years, 200,000 are killed by violence, and most of the rest go to early graves from accidents and diseases that cause far lower casualties among whites.

The data show that U.S. society has become much more toxic for Black men during the very period in which Blacks were supposedly making such fantastic “progress.” The numbers show that the missing-Black-men phenomenon “began growing in the middle decades of the 20th century.” The increasing ratio of Black women to men is primarily a product of the age of mass Black incarceration. The war of attrition is a race war deliberately and methodically initiated by the U.S. government, the effects of which have been devastating to Black society on the most fundamental level: stunting the formation of Black families and the Black American group as a whole by physically removing and eliminating the men.

The data support a totally plausible, factually grounded charge of genocide, based on international law. The U.S. government, through its mass Black incarceration policies of the last half century, has been guilty of a) “deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part,” as well as b) “causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group.”

The facts bear witness to the indictment. So do 1.5 million missing Black men.

Source



http://www.reunionblackfamily.com/…/43264610-we-charge-geno…-

Did you know

It is really sad that there is so much hatred in the world, and every picture tells a story!

And again teach them that no favour or support from a white person is genuine.

It Time to teach our children history before Slavery, the history of glory and dominance, the great kingdoms of our founding fathers, their technology, their solid educational system. we teach them about great queens and powerful Black kings. we must teach them about the inferiority of white people the helpless Nation, the small powerless Nation. (not my opinion, found this on FaceBook)

Africa will grow faster as grow up faster......

A black person wrote the following : Not knowing who u are is one thing. Not embracing who u are is another. Thats why u see people trying very hard to look white! Blond hair, bleached skin, fake accent its all self hate. Lets teach our people to love themselves & embrace who they are. For darkies are sooo much more powerful than our white counterparts by far. They saw this & oppressed us!

AND HATRED IS KILLING THE PEOPLE

Who brought civilization to America

Before Columbus..How Africans Brought Civilization to America

Posted by sjaugu on October 22, 2014 at 4:20 PM

Introduction :
" The great ancient civilizations of Egypt and West Africa traveled to the Americas, contributing immensely to early American civilization by importing the art of pyramid building, political systems and religious practices as well as mathematics, writing and a sophisticated calendar." --Before Columbus: How Africans Brought Civilization to America
 "One of the first documented instances of Africans sailing and settling in the Americas were black Egyptians led by King Ramses III, during the 19th dynasty in 1292 BC. In fact, in 445 BC, the Greek historian Herodotus wrote of the Ancient Egyptian pharaohs’ great seafaring and navigational skills. Further concrete evidence, noted by Dr. Imhotep and largely ignored by Euro-centric archaeologists, includes “Egyptian artifacts found across North America from the Algonquin writings on the East Coast to the artifacts and Egyptian place names in the Grand Canyon.”
In 1311 AD, another major wave of African exploration to the New World was led by King Abubakari II, the ruler of the fourteenth century Mali Empire, which was larger than the Holy Roman Empire. The king sent out 200 ships of men, and 200 ships of trade material, crops, animals, cloth and crucially African knowledge of astronomy, religion and the arts." ----Before Columbus: How Africans Brought Civilization to America By Garikai Chengu,
"When most people think about ancient Mexico, the first civilizations that come to mind are the Incas, Aztecs and the Maya. However, during the early 1940′s archeologists uncovered a civilization known as the Olmecs of 1200 BC, which pre-dated any other advanced civilization in the Americas.
The Olmec civilization, which was of African origin and dominated by Africans, was the first significant civilization in Mesoamerica and the Mother Culture of Mexico. 

Olmecs are perhaps best known for the carved colossal heads found in Central Mexico, that exhibit an unmistakably African Negroid appearance. Ancient African historian Professor Van Sertima has illustrated how Olmecs were the first Mesoamerican civilization to use a written language, sophisticated astronomy, arts and mathematics and they built the first cities in Mexico, all of which greatly influenced the Mayans and subsequent civilizations in the Americas. “There is not the slightest doubt that all later civilizations in [Mexico and Central America], rest ultimately on an Olmec base,” once remarked Michael Coe, a leading historian on Mexico.
Africans clearly played an intricate role in the Olmec Empire’s rise and that African influence peaked during the same period that ancient Black Egyptian culture ascended in Africa."--Before Columbus: How Africans Brought Civilization to America
In October every second week on Monday, Columbus Day is celebrated in western culture in general and in the America's specifically. This is an American tradition and school children of all ages are taught about  his  so-called discovery of his New-World. Annual parades are given around the country, and every year dignitaries participate in these festivities.
Unfortunately, most people celebrate his holiday  without knowing the truth about Columbus's  purpose for taking such risky voyages, and his horrendous behavior against the indigenous population, together with   brutality against    his own men.
 At the other end of the spectrum, Columbus's impact has been most devastating on the indigenous people together with  African communities everywhere. For a better understanding, three historical events before Columbus's four voyages are presented, along with the reasons for these voyages.
Three Historical Events :
The first event occurred  when the African Berbers/Moors  conquered the Iberian peninsula (present-day Portugal and Spain). Back then the conquered territory was identified as Andalusia and at that time was most of Spain, Portugal, parts of France, Italy and Gibraltar. Their conquest began in 711 and lasted up to the fall of Granada on January 2, 1492.
The second event is the conquest of Ceuta an Islamic city in North Africa by the Portuguese in 1415. Notably, that was over three decades before the fall of Constantinople in 1453. In the meantime, Portuguese mariners sailed beyond Cape Bojador, Morocco, for the first time in the 1430s.
By 1445, a trading post was established on the small island of Arguim off the shores of present-day Mauritania. As Portuguese ships continued to explore coastlines and rivers over the following decades, they established trade with the preexisting  industries. Portuguese traders procured not only various west African commodities such as ivory, peppers, textiles, wax, grain, copper, as well as captive African slaves for exporting. At this time, these slaves were only used as servants in Europe.
In addition to building trading posts, Portugal established colonies on previous uninhabited islands off the African shores that would later serve as collection points for captive slaves, and commodities to be shipped to Europe, and eventually sent to the colonies in the Americas. After several generations, Portuguese navigator Bartolomeu Dias sailed around the Cape of Good Hope in 1488, opening up European access to the east Indies.
By the close of the fifteenth century, Portuguese merchants could circumvent commercial, political, and military strongholds in both north Africa and in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Indeed, they were successful in using maritime routes to bypass trans-Saharan overland trade routes controlled by Islamic Ottoman Turks.
The third     event occurred in 1453, when the Islamic Ottoman Turks  successfully captured Christian Constantinople (present-day Istanbul)—formerly western Europe’s main source for spices, silks, paper, porcelain, glass, and other luxury goods produced in India, China, Japan, and the spice islands (present-day Indonesia)   collectively these areas were known as the east Indies, and the silk road  trade route  was shutdown by the Ottoman Turks conquest.
 The Fall of Granada in 1492: 
Obviously, the passages to the east Indies were denied to the Christian west by the Ottoman Turks who controlled the main overland routes to the Orient. Desert robbers, along with the  heat and sand storms, as well as other unforeseen hazards eventually made the trip too dangerous and expensive.
The Portugal's  alternate  route, by sea, was now in demand.  Christopher Columbus spent the better part of his adult life embracing a different navigational solution other than Portugal's already established maritime route. The core  of his idea was  sailing west across the Atlantic Ocean to the east Indies would be shorter, and  quicker. Moreover, knowing modern geography  makes his idea  a guaranteed failure.  In hindsight if his idea was correct, a world of opportunity would open up not only for  him but other fortune hunters.   Of course,  this did not happen.
By the late 13th century, the Spanish Christian kingdoms of Castile and Aragon had reconquer most of the Islamic Berber/Moors controlled territory. In 1479, the two kingdoms were united as a result of the marriage of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella of Castile. The last Islamic kingdom, Granada, was lost in  1492. For Christian Spain, this  conquest was the most important event in their history.  After nearly eight centuries of fighting, the Christian Iberians finally defeated the African Islamic Berbers/Moors.  On the second of January, 1492, King Ferdinand together with Queen Isabella rode into Granada victoriously. Columbus was present at that joyful event.
The Spanish monarchy agreed to sponsor his voyage but with stringent modifications. He angrily refused their offer and went to France for financial support. A short time afterward, the king and queen  had second thoughts and decided to meet Columbus's demands.  Eventually, their courier  caught up with  him just before he reached France.
Upon his return, he was promised huge amounts of gold plus given the title captain of the ocean seas, along with absolute power as administrator for the future to be colonized New World. Columbus promised to bring back gold, spices, and silks, to spread Christianity, and at the same time charter a quicker route to the east Indies. Consequently, he was outfitted with three ships, the Nina, La Pinta and the Santa Maria.
Columbus's Four Voyages:
This set the stage for his four voyages. All of them had some sort of disaster. Which begin with his maiden voyage in 1492 that was disaster number one. While exploring an uncharted island he name Hispaniola (present-day Dominican and Haitian Republics), on Christmas Day he wrecked his flag ship the Santa María; together with the help of the indigenous Taino people using wreckage from the ship and anything else they could find to built small fortress named La Navidad (Christmas in English). He left 39 men at the fortress, and proceeded to Spain to request funding for another voyage.
Unknowing to Columbus, the left-behind Spaniards began enslaving the Taino women for domestic work, which, after several months, led to armed conflict with the Taino's, who destroyed the temporary settlement, killing them. Upon returning to Spain on the La Niña with a little gold, parrots, spices, and Taino  captives that Columbus displayed for the Spanish Monarchy convinced them of the need for a rapid second voyage. He received a great deal of fanfare. Columbus   was cheered and followed everywhere he went. After all he was " admiral of the ocean sea " and governor-general of the new lands he discovered.
In reality, he did not bring anything in the way of gold or other valuable items like he promised, and he certainly did not find a shorter route to the east Indies. However, he did display some indigenous Taino's whom was forcibly bought to the Monarchy with a few trinkets of gold. His persuasiveness convinced the Spanish monarchy to finance a second voyage of discovery and colonization;   later with the blessing of Pope Alexander VI in the Treaty of Tordesillas on June 7, 1494. Which assign spheres of influence in the Americas to Portugal and Spain.
Leaving the Canary's Islands on October 13, 1493, Columbus's second voyage of conquest was outfitted with a huge fleet of 17 ships, domesticated animals, with over 1,000 colonists together with six priests, attack dogs and canons. Notably, from an African perspective, this was the precursor to chattel slavery and colonialism.
 Arriving in Hispaniola in late November to find the fort of La Navidad destroyed with no survivors. Immediately, other fortified places were built, including a city, founded on January 2, and named La Isabella in honor of  the queen. On February 2 Antonio de Torres left La Isabella with 12 ships, some gold, spices, parrots, and Taino captives (most of whom died en route), as well as the bad news about Navidad and some complaints about Columbus’s methods of governance.
Meanwhile,  he managed to find a small source of  gold on Hispaniola.  Columbus forced the natives to work in gold mines as slaves until they died of exhaustion. If a Taino did not deliver his full quota of gold dust by his  deadline, soldiers would cut off the man's hands and tie them around his neck to send a message.  Slavery was so intolerable to the island people that at one point, 100 of them committed mass suicide. Catholic law forbids the enslavement of Christians, but Columbus solved this problem. Although, priests were available to convert  natives into Christians, he simply refused to have them baptize, in all likelihoods never intended to do so.
 One of his men, Bartolome De Las Casas, was so mortified by Columbus' brutal atrocities against the native peoples, he  became a Catholic priest. He described how the Spaniards under Columbus's command cut the legs off of children who ran from them, to test the sharpness of their blades. According to him,  the men made bets as to who, with one sweep of his sword, could cut a person in half.
 In a single day, De Las Casas was an eye witness as the Spanish soldiers dismembered, beheaded, or raped 3000 native people. " Such inhumanities and barbarisms were committed in my sight as no age can parallel, " He  wrote. " My eyes have seen these acts so foreign to human nature that now I tremble as I write. "
Columbus had been appointed governor and Viceroy of the new lands by the Spanish crown, and for the next year and a half, he attempted to do his job. Although, he was a good ship’s captain but an inapt administrator. The one thousand or so colonialist sole purpose was to seek gold, and none was to be found. The gold they had been promised never materialized, and what little gold was discovered was sent to the Spanish crown.  In the meantime, supplies began to run out, and it was discord in the colony. Columbus used brutality and cruelty to restore order.   With the supplies almost gone in March of 1496, he returned to Spain for more resources to keep the struggling colony from failing.
In Spain this time around  he was not met with jubilation, on the contrary, there were skepticism and doubt about his venture. However, he managed to get enough financial support, and his third expedition left on May 30, 1498 with six ships. The fleet split into two squadrons; three ships to sail directly for Hispaniola with supplies to the colonists, and the other three led by Columbus's further exploration of the uncharted islands.
 After a short time exploring, Columbus returned to Hispaniola on August 19, 1498, he found open hostility. As a matter of fact, it was civil unrest  by the colonist. The constant unrest  was resolved when Ferdinand and Isabella appointed Francisco de Bobadilla as royal commissioner, with administrative powers in Hispaniola.
His first order of business was to send the Admiral and his two brothers Bartolome and Diego back to Spain in chains  in October of 1500. At this point, he came from being the Admiral of the Oceans seas to a miserable failure.  Despite the justifiable charges brought against Columbus and his two brothers, the Spanish Monarchy released them. Considering,  he was sending them gold all along, perhaps not as much as he promised but gold non-the-less.
Christopher Columbus made a fourth voyage, to search for the Strait of Malacca to the Indian Ocean. Mindfully, when examining a current map his westward theory was doomed from the beginning; On May 11, 1502, four old ships and 140 men under Columbus's command put to sea from the port of Cadiz. Insultingly, he was forbidden to enter Hispaniola the colony he founded.
He proceeded to explored parts of southern, and central America. However, his ships were damaged by a hurricane and termites. Columbus and his men unable to seek assistances in Hispaniola were stranded on Jamaica for a year before being rescued.
This concludes Columbus four voyages, which were all failures; beginning with wrecking the Santa Maria in Hispaniola, and on the second voyage running out of supplies; and on the third upon his return was arrested together with his two brothers and sent back to Spain in chains. On his fourth voyage, he was not allowed in Hispaniola, although it was the island, he founded. More insulting was he was stranded on Jamaica for a year before returning to Spain.
Contrarily, the Caribbean Islands is often called the west Indies. With certainty, the descendants of the native inhabitants are mistakenly called Indians around the world because Columbus believed until his death, he was in the east Indies. After 25 years of Spanish occupation, the Taino's populations, numbered several million in 1492, were reduced to about 50,000.
In today's contemporary world, he would be guilty of crimes against humanity with evidence from his diary, as well as, accounts from his own men. In all probabilities, he would be sentenced to death or life in prison.

Conclusion:

Columbus Day, was brought on by the Knights of Columbus, a fraternal service organization. Back in the 1930s, they were looking for a Catholic hero as a role-model. In 1934, as a result of lobbying by the Knights of Columbus, Congress and President Franklin Roosevelt signed Columbus Day into law as a federal holiday. 
In western culture, there are some whom honor and worship him, and others recognized his atrocities, and loathe him. For those that honor and worship him, it might be worthwhile to Google " Columbus slave trade, " it just might change their opinions.
 None the less, Columbus Day from an African perspective has a different dynamic altogether. His decade of exploration was founded on the principals of conquering and destroying other culture's economic livelihoods and at the same time enhancing the Spanish crown. The rest of Europe followed these  principals resulting in  500 years of their domination. More specifically, it started with Columbus's second voyage in 1493 as previously mentioned.
 Shortly after his alleged discovery the world was divided by  two European world powers at the time, which was Spain in Portugal. The Roman Catholic Pope was ecstatic over the discovery of the so-called New World by Columbus. The Pope divided the world between Portugal and Spain in the treaty of Tordesillas in 1494. Where Portugal was assigned Brazil,  both coastal shores of Africa, the southern and eastern shores of Asia, and the east Indies.
 On the other hand, Spain was given the Americas, the Philippines, and future lands encountered by Columbus. These two historical events set the precedent of conquering other cultures, which was condoned and embrace by the two super powers then,  and later all of Europe.
Within these same scenarios, White-Supremacy evolved based on color. Whereas, white represent supremacy in contrast to   people of color whom were deemed inferior, which is the foundation of racism. After 500 years these principals, although modified for all intents and purposes are still prevalent today.
 By establishing a permanent foothold based on conquering, Spain took the first steps towards building their mighty empire by destroying indigenous Aztecs, Incas and Mayan cultures, and then a century later the rest of Europe followed using the same conquering techniques. The evidence is 500 years of Western domination.
In the process of profitable plantations during the 1500s, expanded the demand for African slaves in the colonies in the New-World. Trade in slaves soon overshadowed gold as the main export of the area. At this time in history, Portugal's trading post off the shores of Africa became one of the principal sources of slaves. By the early 16th century, the native slave trade was not sufficient. As they died out, Africans were imported for the plantations in the New-World.
The wealth and the trade it generated by the Spanish conquests were enormous and within Europe was the backbone around which capitalism was built. As the native populations of the Americas were wiped out merchants made more profits by importing Africans and selling them to work the tobacco, sugar, cotton plantations and mines.
Later in the century, England, France, and the Dutch joined in the enslavement of Africans. Notably, Portugal together with Spain  already had an established  slave trade in Latin America a century before their arrival.  
A hidden fact is the majority of the African slaves were sent to Latin America led by Spain and Portugal, whom were influenced by Columbus's enslaving the native Americans.  These fact still prevails today where the majority  of the  slave descendants  are in Latin-America.
It would be a gross oversight not to mention Australia, together with Africa. The aborigines of Australia suffered the same fate as the natives in Columbus's so-called New World. Summarily, three continents were destroyed and now being controlled by victors of western culture based on Christopher Columbus conquering principals.
Although, Africa has been colonized and their cultural and economic progress has been altered forever. Colonization was planned during a conference held in Berlin from 1884 until 1885. The purpose of this conference was to use their superiority of weapons to partition Africa. There were six countries evolved led by England, France, Portugal, Spain, Germany and Belgium, partition Africa according to their economic interest.
Due  to Columbus’s conquering precedent Africa and Australia were also victimized just as the other  two continents in his New-World. It can be said with certainty that Christopher Columbus conquering exploits have benefited western culture. At the other ends of the spectrum, to some degree people of color and Africans particularly are at the same time suffering.
Obviously, there are two sides to every story. Specifically, this presentation is from the African communities' perspective. It must be said, collectively, these communities are the victims of slavery as well as colonialism along with other Africans scatter around the world.
Conclusively, for the descendants of the native populations in the New-World, and within the African, communities everywhere together should conclude that     Columbus Day is nothing but a huge April Fool's Joke.
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Sabamya Jaugu  - author of above post
sjaugu@gmail.com

http://www.reunionblackfamily.com/apps/blog/show/42758005-before-columbus-how-africans-brought-civilization-to-america#.VdhaZbif4nw.twitter

Economic Freedom Fighters Have a Plan

I wonder if point number Seven will be achievable....

EFF National Financial Accountant

Black Self Hatred

The Black Matrix: A Perception Management Program to Control Black People

Black Self Hatred

The condition of Black self hatred refers to those types of Black people that have internalized every negative Black stereotype and are seething with self-hatred and low self-esteem. These types of Black individuals have been psychologically conditioned to believe that whites are inherently better.
Even when provided with evidence to the contrary these types will still insist that white is better.

Even when one tries to apply logic, reason, or refer to documented history when dealing with these types, it will only enrage them and make them defend Whites more aggressively and attack Black more ruthlessly. They have been totally brainwashed to hate themselves and love and adore white people and white culture.

 They also usually believe that the only path to success and true happiness is to marry or assimilate into White culture, hoping to escape the sins of being born Black.
These types are sometimes easy to recognize because they often speak in a exaggerated white vernacular or pursues the white standards of beauty by wearing blonde weaves, blue contact lens and bleaching their skins.

They are also the types of Black people that feels obligated to speak in behalf of and or defend Whites, even when Whites are not present to do so for themselves.
These are the types of Black people that often make comments such as or similar to the following:

 -" I trust Whites more than I do Blacks"
-"All White people ain't bad."
-"If we speak negatively of whites we are no better than them."
-"We sold each other into Slavery."
-"If America is so bad why are so many immigrates coming here?"
-"Whites have treated me better than Blacks ever have!
To rescue these types of self hating Black people we must learn to understand precisely what has happened to them.

There are many of the culturally strong groups of Black people that shares the opinion (usually kidding)that this self hating condition has been some how genetically passed down from the trusted "House Slaves" from the ole Southern Plantations days. But this is untrue. There is actually nothing genetic about this condition. This way of thinking requires constant reapplying with each generation.
The reason of why we have so many sufferers of black self-hatred is because Black people are presently the victims of a massive covert psychological Warfare Program.

The self hating negative  perceptions held by many Black people in regards to their race collectively is a flawed perceptions that  have been indoctrinated into their minds.

Their perceptions have been made flawed by the white washed educational curriculum that revises history to conceals most Black achievements and world contributions from their educational development. Therefore it miseducates them to believe that their Black race have no significant history.

Their perceptions have also been flawed by the white controlled national media’s distorted portrayals of Black people that amplifies the negative to the point that it distorts reality.

 Therefore it misleads them to believe that it is themselves that is their own worse enemy.
For as long as Black people are being miseducated about their past history and degradingly misinformed about their present collective state Black self hatred will therefore continue to be a problem within our community

Learn more at www.theblackmatrix.com

Please note this is not my view - Laura

For more visit

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Black-Matrix-A-Perception-Management-Program-to-Control-Black-People/345565742216731?fref=nf

South Africa a New Evil Lurks in the Form of Nyaope, Snakes and Rats

A new evil is flowing through South Africa, which has young people hooked on a drug named Nyaope, and false prophets instructing people to eat snakes, rats, and grass. Controversial churches are springing up around the country, and pastors are instigating weird and demonic practices. Naive people are conned into believing the charismatic prophets who tell congregants to eat snakes and commit other detestable, unnatural acts in an attempt to glorify the Lord. Blasphemy and devil worship is the new order of the day. Gullible people are hoodwinked into the silliness of false prophets who claim that new worshiping techniques will deliver lost souls, bring prosperity and healing.

The majority of the congregation is sane people and willing participants to the foolish, dangerous stunts. The pastor would never be blamed if a member died from eating a poisonous snake. It is all done in the name of faith and conning the people for the sake of self-enrichment. In South Africa people travel for miles to visit these new churches and pay enormous sums of money to participate in the pathetic satanic rituals. It is gullible and uneducated people led astray by con artists. Nobody benefits from the criminal activities instigated by false prophets, yet the people are desperate and needy, thereby falling for the lies of con artists.

Pastors are seen as the permanent voice of reason and sanity, and the congregates do not associate evil with the purity of a church. Pastors have knowledge of this trust and abuse the situation. While most people understand the difference between right and wrong, dangerous and acceptable, there is the forgetfulness of sound reasoning when under the spell of a satanic prophet.

Bluffing people into believing that snakes taste like chocolate and allowing pastors to jump on women is nothing more than witchcraft and demonic spells, practiced by false prophets conning the trusting people. There is the rumor that drugs are a cause of the lunatic actions and by getting people hooked onto addictive substances, this will enrich the drug lords. As drugs are a problem in South Africa and an increasing nightmare for parents trying to prevent, children being swirled into the evil world of narcotics. Drugs are readily available in South Africa, and children are influenced from an early age to take illegal substances. Peer pressure, social inabilities and poor living conditions contribute to the children becoming involved in the dark world of drugs.

The biggest problem in townships throughout South Africa is not the bogus pastors but Nyaope, and it is traders. At every stop street and traffic light, there is a stinky, sleeping boy selling what looks like cigarettes, yet it is the evil Nyaope drug. Homes are shut and parents live in fear of becoming a victim of crime from children who steal to support the addictive habit. The highly addictive drug is devastating communities all over South Africa.

Nyaope drug that is destroying the youth of South Africa is forcefully given to children of all ages. The drug consists of rat poison mixed with heroin – dagga and antiretroviral drugs. The Nyaope drug can include detergent powder, milk powder, and pool cleaner leading to many social ills. HIV-positive people who use the drug are at risk because treatment is stopped, and Nyaope contributes to the spread of TB and HIV.

Most victims are too poor to afford the drug causing addicts turn to crime to support the habit. Children as young as 14-years-old become school dropouts and work for drug lords just to get a free hit. Young girls work as prostitutes to pay for drugs. The addiction is highly risky and withdrawal symptoms are painful. Thus, the addict remains hooked in an attempt to avoid the excruciating withdrawal symptoms. There are reports of an increase of thieving gangs robbing HIV-AIDS clinics to obtain ARVs, an essential substance for making Nyaope. Nigerians dominate the drug trade and distribute toxic concoctions to children all for monetary gain. It is a terrible situation, and the government has ignored the plight of the spiraling drug problem that is ravaging the youth of today.

No human being with a sound mind would eat snakes, rats or grass; the satanic acts are not miracles and are bordering satanic worship. The actions performed by prophets are publicly making a mockery of the Christian faith. These prophets are not helping the lost souls of South Africa. The biggest difference the prophets could make is by helping communities and children whose lives are being destroyed by the Nyaope drug.

Opinion by Laura Oneale

PUBLISHED TODAY ON THE GUARDIAN LV

http://guardianlv.com/2015/08/south-africa-a-new-evil-lurks-in-the-form-of-nyaope-snakes-and-rats/

Photo Courtesy of Shubert Ciencia Flickr Page – Public Domain License