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"There's never been a president in history for whom words matter less."

Trump’s Speech Wasn’t The Scary Part: All The Republican Groveling Was

By Commentaries/Opinions

Trump’s SOTU was a forgettable, familiar litany. What’s new is the GOP’s brain-dead eagerness to do his bidding. By Heather Digby Parton — I waited for TV pundits to declare the “pivot” and proclaim Donald Trump to be our one true president after Tuesday night’s lengthy State of the Union address. But with the exception of Fox News State TV, most were less effusive than the last time he addressed…

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A statue commemorating the struggle against slavery at Jamaica’s Emancipation Park in Kingston.

Old Plantation, New Slave Masters: Short Reflection on Independent Jamaica

By Commentaries/Opinions

By Tina Renier — “The presence of a group of African sell-outs is a part of the definition of underdevelopment.”- Walter Rodney Last year, Professor Rupert Lewis, a prominent Caribbean intellectual, was invited to provide a teach-in session on anti-establishment strategies in the 1960s and 1970s at the University of the West Indies, Mona in Jamaica. In the introduction of his presentation, he posed a crucial question to the participants:…

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Slave descendants, left to right: Sandra Green Thomas, Patricia Bayonne-Johnson, Zeita Kemp, Melissa Kemp, Karran Harper Royal and Joseph Steward speak at Georgetown University at an April 2017 gathering to announce atonements for the school's 19th century slavery history in Washington.((Linda Davidson, The Washington Post))

Descendants of slaves sold by Georgetown want more than symbolic atonement

By Commentaries/Opinions, Reparations

By Jarvis DeBerry, The Times-Picayune — Imagine discovering that one of the world’s oldest and best candy companies was able to survive to become one of the world’s oldest and best because generations ago it sold as chattel almost 300 human beings, including your ancestors. You may find yourself impressed by the current management’s willingness to apologize for the sins of their predecessors, but what would you make of their idea…

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A man drains water from his house flooded after the passage of Hurricane Dennis in the city of Kigston, Jamaica

Revisiting ‘Development As Freedom’ in a Time of Neo-liberal Hegemony.

By Commentaries/Opinions

By: Tina Renier — Poor economic opportunities and poverty create a ripple effect of other social problems such as crime and violence. A well-renowned Jamaican reggae singer, Bob Marley once sang, “many more will have to suffer… many more will have to die… don’t ask me why”. ‘Natural Mystic’ is not just a grand spectacle of entertainment. ‘Natural Mystic’ symbolically describes a contemporary world that is plagued by war, disease…

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Protestor Pierre Gabriel from Haiti carries flags during a march on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Times Square, called Rally Against Racism: Stand Up for Haiti and Africa in New York January 15, 2018.

Trump is wrong. Norwegian immigrants are not better than Haitians for the US economy

By Commentaries/Opinions

The Trump administration on January 18 removed Haiti from the list of countries eligible for the H2A and H2B temporary visas for low-skilled workers. The move came after President Trump reportedly called Haiti a “s–thole” and asked why we don’t have more immigrants from Norway. Here’s why Norwegians can’t fill America’s immigration needs. By Cindy Huang and Hannah Postel — The Trump administration on January 18 removed Haiti from the…

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President Donald Trump speaks during an event to celebrate Congress passing the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act with Republican members of the House and Senate on the South Lawn of the White House December 20, 2017, in Washington, DC.

Fear of a Black Planet: Under the Republican Push for Welfare Cuts, Racism Boils

By Commentaries/Opinions

By Nicholas Powers, Truthout — “Never tell anyone,” my mother hissed, “that we’re on welfare!” I sputtered, “Okay.” She let go, angrily. People shuffled to the window where a tired man scanned their papers. That was 1982. Passing a poster of President Reagan, she shot him the middle finger. Later I realized, he rose to power by branding women like her “welfare queens.” Republicans talk of prosperity, dignity and self-reliance….

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Shadow Armies: The Unseen, But Real US War in Africa

Shadow Armies: The Unseen, But Real US War in Africa

By Commentaries/Opinions

By Ramzy Baroud — There is a real – but largely concealed – war which is taking place throughout the African continent. It involves the United States, an invigorated Russia and a rising China. The outcome of the war is likely to define the future of the continent and its global outlook. It is easy to pin the blame on US President Donald Trump, his erratic agenda and impulsive statements….

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