#african con men

[ausetkmt]

https://x.com/TajMarie17/status/1701713731757994180?s=20

I pray that we see some development(s) within the reparations space within the next year or so, so our so-called Black Media outlets can stop promoting scam artists like Akon for clicks and views.

@blackenterprise

, do better.

With a net worth estimated at $60 million, Akon knows all the tricks to acquire wealth. What’s his secret? It’s to “stay stingy.”

The Grammy-winning singer was a guest on Logan Paul’s “Impaulsive” podcast, where he shared his personal secret to financial longevity. According to the Senegalese musician and entrepreneur, frugality is key.

“Listen, you want to stay rich? Stay stingy,” Akon said. “I’m the stingiest muthafu*ka on the planet.”

The “Locked Up” singer went on to explain why, unlike his peers, he avoids traveling by way of private jet and opts for a commercial flight like the rest of us common folks.

“Any person of my caliber is not flying commercial. These dudes is flying jets all day,” Akon said. “I attempted to own a jet. That sh*t lasted six months. I sold that muthafu*ka so fast. You have no idea [of the upkeep costs]. I promise you.”

Instead, Akon says, renting a jet works, and you can always negotiate a lower rate.

“Buy some hours and use it only when necessary. And most of the time, use it as a way of negotiation. Let that be a part of your strategy to the money. But whatever you do, do not own a jet,” he advised.

“Bro, owning a jet is spending at least $2-3million a year just on upkeep. You spend more on the maintenance than the actual jet costs.”

The interview took place one month after Akon admitted to wearing fake designer clothes during his appearance on “Drink Champs.” Indeed, fans took notice of the “Drio” shirt he’d been wearing.

While hanging out with French Montana shortly after his “Drio” made waves, Akon credited his fake Christian Dior drip to supporting his local Africans.

“The Drio came from one of my Africans,” Akon told French. “I’m always supporting my Africans. We go hard for each other. I knew that sh*t was gon’ raise engagement. It only take one person to notice, and it’s gon’ go crazy on the internet and it did exactly what we wanted it to do.”

Akon took to the comments section to further laugh at his fake designer togs while shouting out the Senegalese community in Harlem.

“Promised my Africans I was going to represent for them with that DRIO,” he wrote. “Kept my word. Shouts to lil Senegal in Harlem. Walla Bok!!!!!”

RELATED CONTENT: Akon Still Believes In Akon City

[mostlysignssomeportents]

A taxonomy of corporate bullshit

Next Tuesday (Oct 31) at 10hPT, the Internet Archive is livestreaming my presentation on my recent book, The Internet Con.

There are six lies that corporations have told since time immemorial, and Nick Hanauer, Joan Walsh and Donald Cohen's new book Corporate Bullsht: Exposing the Lies and Half-Truths That Protect Profit, Power, and Wealth in America* provides an essential taxonomy of this dirty six:

https://thenewpress.com/books/corporate-bullsht

In his review for The American Prospect, David Dayen summarizes how these six lies "offer a civic-minded, reasonable-sounding justification for positions that in fact are motivated entirely by self-interest":

https://prospect.org/culture/books/2023-10-27-lies-my-corporation-told-me-hanauer-walsh-cohen-review/

I. Pure denial

As far back as the slave trade, corporate apologists and mouthpieces have led by asserting that true things are false, and vice-versa. In 1837, John Calhoun asserted that "Never before has the black race of Central Africa, from the dawn of history to the present day, attained a condition so civilized and so improved, not only physically, but morally and intellectually." George Fitzhugh called enslaved Africans in America "the freest people in the world."

This tactic never went away. Children sent to work in factories are "perfectly happy." Polluted water is "purer than the water that came from the river before we used it." Poor families "don't really exist." Pesticides don't lead to "illness or death." Climate change is "beneficial." Lead "helps guard your health."

II. Markets can solve problems, governments can't

Alan Greenspan made a career out of blithely asserting that markets self-correct. It was only after the world economy imploded in 2008 that he admitted that his doctrine had a "flaw":

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/greenspan-admits-flaw-to-congress-predicts-more-economic-problems

No matter how serious a problem is, the market will fix it. In 1973, the US Chamber of Commerce railed against safety regulations, because "safety is good business," and could be left to the market. If unsafe products persist in the market, it's because consumers choose to trade safety off "for a lower price tag" (Chamber spox Laurence Kraus). Racism can't be corrected with anti-discrimination laws. It's only when "the market" realizes that racism is bad for business that it will finally be abolished.

III. Consumers and workers are to blame

In 1946, the National Coal Association blamed rampant deaths and maimings in the country's coal-mines on "carelessness on the part of men." In 2003, the National Restaurant Association sang the same tune, condemning nutritional labels because "there are not good or bad foods. There are good and bad diets." Reagan's interior secretary Donald Hodel counseled personal responsibility to address a thinning ozone layer: "people who don’t stand out in the sun—it doesn’t affect them."

IV. Government cures are always worse than the disease

Lee Iacocca called 1970's Clean Air Act "a threat to the entire American economy and to every person in America." Every labor and consumer protection before and since has been damned as a plague on American jobs and prosperity. The incentive to work can't survive Social Security, welfare or unemployment insurance. Minimum wages kill jobs, etc etc.

V. Helping people only hurts them

Medicare will "destroy private initiative for our aged to protect themselves with insurance" (Republican Senator Milward Simpson, 1965). Covid relief is unfair to people that are currently in the workforce" (Republican Governor Brian Kemp, 2021). Welfare produces "learned helplessness."

VI. Everyone who disagrees with me is a socialist

Grover Cleveland's 2% on top incomes is "communistic warfare against rights of property" (NY Tribune, 1895). "Socialized medicine" will leave "our children and our children’s children [asking] what it once was like in America when men were free" (Reagan, 1961).

Everything is "socialism": anti-child labor laws, Social Security, minimum wages, family and medical leave. Even fascism is socialism! In 1938, the National Association of Manufacturers called labor rights "communism, bolshevism, fascism, and Nazism."

As Dayen says, it's refreshing to see how the right hasn't had an original idea in 150 years, and simply relies on repeating the same nonsense with minor updates. Right wing ideological innovation consists of finding new ways to say, "actually, your boss is right."

The left's great curse is object permanence: the ability to remember things, like the fact that it used to be possible for a worker to support a family of five on a single income, or that the economy once experienced decades of growth with a 90%+ top rate of income tax (other things the left manages to remember: the "intelligence community" are sociopathic monsters, not Trump-slaying heroes).

When the business lobby rails against long-overdue antitrust action against Amazon and Google, object permanence puts it all in perspective. The talking points about this being job-destroying socialism are the same warmed-over nonsense used to defend rail-barons and Rockefeller. "If you don't like it, shop elsewhere," has been the corporate apologist's line since slavery times.

As Dayen says, Corporate Bullshit is a "reference book for conservative debating points, in an attempt to rob them of their rhetorical power." It will be out on Halloween:

https://bookshop.org/a/54985/9781620977514

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/27/six-sells/#youre-holding-it-wrong

[cardboardheartss]

South Africa’s Astrological Moodboard + D1 Chart Analysis

Apologies if there’s any typos… it’s currently 5 am as im typing this.

My home country, South Africa, as a whole has been through so much throughout history. This can be well indicated by the 10H Pisces Mars.

The 10H Pisces Mars is extremely influential in our history and culture. In South Africa we experienced ‘Apartheid,’ in English meaning “to be a part.” Apartheid was established by foreign White colonizers who came from the Netherlands, through the ocean (Pisces influence).

Those same people inflicted a lot of violence (mars) on Native South Africans. Apartheid was also a psychological attack, it was psychological and put an illusion effect on Black South Africans through abuse and torture. Black South Africans would have homes raided, they’d be killed, arrested and were constantly told that White is superior; which then led to their brainwashing and automatic submission towards White colleagues or people in general. We can see this affect on the older generation who were present during Apartheid.

Coincidentally, this 10H Mars is Square its own ruler (Pisces), which is found in the 7H of Sagittarius. This aspect emphasizes the presence of racism in South Africa. Surprisingly enough… there is still racism in our country and inequality.

Many Black South Africans still choose to not notice this (Pisces influence) and would rather believe that they are one with White South Africans. Another thing I have to mention, is that Apartheid didn’t end because White people had a change of character.

No, the affect of Apartheid was seen worldwide (10H) and many foreign countries wanted to sanction South Africa, and this was going to affect the income and connections (7H) the Apartheid government had, so they had no choice but to end off Apartheid.

Our land is also still stolen and exploited. All because of minerals found underground. South Africa has A LOT of gold and diamonds. Thus leading to White colonialism to increase in its numbers. There is also an amusement park that is inspired by the Gold Rush in South Africa, it’s called Gold Reef City.

+ our government is corrupt asf too!

Oh yes, the above paragraph about land excavation and government come from the influence of 8H Capricorn Uranus, PoF and Vertex.

Apart from the dark part we had. The ruler of Mars (Aries) is found in the 11H, with the Sun, Lilith and Mercury. These placements make so much sense because despite our history, many South Africans are proud of their cultures and achievements.

We still practice our traditions, speak our native languages and just our country in general!!

6H of routines and sports (I think… I forgot. It’s currently 5 am, forgive me!) is in Scorpio. As South Africans we take pride in our national sport teams. Despite the current divisions of race, we all come together as one to support our nation.

We have excellent national sport teams/athletes. Springbok Rugby team, Orlando Pirates F.C, Bafana Bafana F.C, Penny Heyens (Olympic Swimmer), Caster Semenya (Olympic Runner) and Akani Simbine (Olympic Runner). All of those mentioned, and so many more make South Africa proud!!

Every country has its cons. Well for us, it’s Gender Based Violence. We have an increase of violence towards women every hour. Due to 12H Venus/Ketu Square 6H Scorpio Pluto, Moon and Rahu.

Everyone local and worldwide are aware of this issue but no matter how many times we protest or avoid men, women are still in major danger. It is really not safe, we always have to watch our backs.

Lastly 11H, 5H and 9H having negative aspects. South Africa had thee most talented celebrities and actresses. There are major blockages when it comes to being treated positively in our music industries. There always has to be a give and take approach, mainly in sexual advances. This then leads to issues with upcoming artists or celebrities.

Luckily our 5H Libra Jupiter is Trine, 9H Aquarius Saturn. This indicates that whichever South African artistry reaches overseas will never be forgotten, it will go down in history. Like look at Lion King for example?? It was produced by South Africans, and the sound tracks are in isiZulu, a South African language. We have Tyla, blowing up worldwide. We have amapiano trending worldwide, South African womens beauty is being noticed.

Oh! Ugh. And our landscapes too! Beautiful and angelic landscapes and views! Our mountains are top tier as well as our tourist attractions, and this is an influence of Saturn trine Jupiter for South Africa’s chart. Tourist always come for holidays or they end up permanently residing in South Africa for the rest of their lives.

[justforbooks]

The actor Lou Gossett Jr, who has died aged 87, is best known for his performance in An Officer and A Gentleman (1982) as Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley, whose tough training transforms recruit Richard Gere into the man of the film’s title. He was the first black winner of an Academy Award for best supporting actor, and only the third black actor (after Hattie McDaniel and Sidney Poitier) to take home any Oscar.

The director, Taylor Hackford, said he cast Gossett in a role written for a white actor, following a familiar Hollywood trope played by John Wayne, Burt Lancaster, Victor McLaglen or R Lee Ermey, because while researching he realised the tension of “black enlisted men having make-or-break control over whether white college graduates would become officers”. Gossett had already won an Emmy award playing a different sort of mentor, the slave Fiddler who teaches Kunta Kinte the ropes in Roots (1977), but he was still a relatively unknown 46-year-old when he got his breakthrough role, despite a long history of success on stage and in music as well as on screen.

Born in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, Louis was the son of Helen (nee Wray), a nurse, and Louis Sr, a porter. As a child he suffered from polio, but became a high school athlete before a basketball injury led to his joining the drama club. His teacher encouraged him to audition professionally, and at 17 he was on Broadway playing a troubled child in Take a Giant Step, which won him a Donaldson award for best newcomer.

He won a drama scholarship to New York University, but continued working, in The Desk Set (1955), and made his television debut in two episodes of the NBC anthology show The Big Story. In 1959 he was cast with Poitier and Ruby Dee in Raisin in the Sun, and made his film debut reprising his role in 1961. On Broadway that year he played in Jean Genet’s The Blacks, in an all-star cast with James Earl Jones, Cicely Tyson, Roscoe Lee Brown, Godfrey Cambridge and a young Maya Angelou; it was the decade’s longest-running show.

Gossett was also active in the Greenwich Village folk music scene. He released his first single Hooka Dooka, Green Green in 1964, followed by See See Rider, and co-wrote the anti-war hit Handsome Johnny with Richie Havens. In 1967 he released another single, a drums and horns version of Pete Seeger’s anti-war hymn Where Have All the Flowers Gone. He was in the gospel musical Tambourines to Glory (1963) and in producer Mike Todd’s America, Be Seated at the 1964 New York World’s Fair.

His plays became more limited: The Zulu and the Zayda and My Sweet Charlie; the very short run of Carry Me Back to Morningside Heights, in which he played a black man owning a white slave; and a revival of Golden Boy (1964), with Sammy Davis Jr. His final Broadway part was as the murdered Congolese leader Patrice Lamumba, in Conor Cruise O’Brien’s Murderous Angels (1971). Gossett had played roles in New York-set TV series such as The Naked City, but he began to make a mark in Hollywood, despite LAPD officers having handcuffed him to a tree, on “suspicion”, in 1966.

On TV he starred in The Young Rebels (1970-71) set in the American revolution. In film, he was good as a desperate tenant in Hal Ashby’s Landlord (1970) and brilliant with James Garner in Skin Game (1971), taking part in a con trick in which Garner sells him repeatedly into slavery then helps him to escape.

In 1977, alongside Roots, he attracted attention as a memorable villain in Peter Yates’s hit The Deep, and got artistic revenge on the LAPD in Robert Aldrich’s The Choirboys. The TV movie of The Lazarus Syndrome (1979) became a series in which Gossett played a realistic hospital chief of staff set against an idealistic younger doctor. He played the black baseball star Satchel Paige in the TV movie Don’t Look Back (1981); years later he had a small part as another Negro League star, Cool Papa Bell, in The Perfect Game (2009).

After his Oscar, he played another assassinated African leader, in the TV mini-series Sadat, reportedly approved for the role by Anwar Sadat’s widow Jihan. Though he remained a busy working actor, good starring roles in major productions eluded him, as producers fell back on his drill sergeant image. He was Colonel “Chappy” Sinclair in Iron Eagle (1986) and its three dismal sequels.

But in 1989 he starred in Dick Wolf’s TV series Gideon Oliver, as an anthropology professor solving crimes in New York. And he won a best supporting actor Golden Globe for his role in the TV movie The Josephine Baker Story (1991). He revisited the stage in the film adaptation of Sam Shepard’s Curse of the Starving Class (1994).

Gossett twice received the NAACP’s Image Award, and another Emmy for producing a children’s special, In His Father’s Shoes (1997). In 2006 he founded the Eracism Foundation, providing programmes to foster “cultural diversity, historical enrichment and anti-violence initiatives”. Despite an illness eventually linked to toxic mould in his Santa Monica home, he kept working with a recurring part in Stargate SG-1 (2005-06). A diagnosis of prostate cancer in 2010 hardly slowed him down.

Most recently, he played Will “Hooded Justice” Reeves in the TV series Watchmen (2019), in the series Kingdom Business, about the gospel music industry, and in the 2023 musical remake of The Color Purple.

His first marriage, to Hattie Glascoe, in 1967, was annulled after five months; his second, to Christina Mangosing, lasted for two years from 1973; and his third, to Cyndi (Cynthia) James, from 1987 to 1992. He is survived by two sons, Satie, from his second marriage, and Sharron, from his third.

🔔 Louis Cameron Gossett Jr, actor, born 27 May 1936; died 28 March 2024

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

[kwebtv]

James Earl Jones (January 17, 1931 – September 9, 2024) Actor known for his film roles and his work in theater. He was one of the few performers to achieve the EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony). He was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1985, and was honored with the National Medal of Arts in 1992, the Kennedy Center Honor in 2002, the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2009, and the Academy Honorary Award in 2011.

 On television, Jones received eight Primetime Emmy Awards nominations winning twice for his roles in thriller film Heat Wave (1990) and the crime series Gabriel's Fire (1991). He also acted in Roots (1977), Jesus of Nazareth (1977), Picket Fences (1994), Homicide: Life on the Street (1997) and Everwood (2004).

Jones played lead characters on television in three series. Gabriel's Fire and a revamped version called Pros and Cons aired on ABC between 1990 and 1992. In both formats of that show, Jones played a former policeman wrongly convicted of murder who, upon his release from prison, becomes a private eye. In 1995, Jones starred in Under One Roof as Neb Langston, a widowed African-American police officer sharing his home in Seattle with his daughter, his married son and children, and Neb's newly adopted son. The show was a mid-season replacement and lasted only six weeks, but earned him another Emmy nomination. He also portrayed Thad Green on "Mathnet", a parody of Dragnet that appeared in the PBS program Square One Television.[59] In 1998, Jones starred in the widely acclaimed syndicated program An American Moment (created by James R. Kirk and Ninth Wave Productions). Jones took over the role filled by Charles Kuralt, upon Kuralt's death.

Jones guest-starred in many television shows over the years, including for NBC's Law & Order, and Frasier, ABC's Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Fox's medical drama House, M.D., and CBS' The Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men. He also voiced the CNN tagline, "This is CNN". He lent his voice to the opening for NBC's coverage of the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics. (Wikipedia)

IMDb Listing

[fatehbaz]

[T]he infamous Diable (Devil’s Island) [French prison in Guiana, South America] [...]. Seventy thousand convicts were sent to French Guiana between 1852 and 1938. [...] Alongside deportation of political prisoners [...], a [...] convict population [...] was sent to the bagne (common parlance for the penal colony) [...] as a utopian colonial project [...] via the contribution convict labour would make towards colonial development in French Guaina. However, [...] French Guiana [...] was predominantly used as a depository for the unwanted citizens of France and its colonies. The last remaining French and North African convicts were repatriated in 1953, whereas the last Vietnamese prisoners were not given passage home until 1954 [...].

[T]he same form of built environment and carceral technology [...] structures found on Con Dao [French prison in Vietnam] and [the French prison in Guiana] [were] built at almost the same time [...] to house the same convict populations (Vietnamese implicated in anticolonial struggles) [...]. Old world colonialism is thus displaced by new world imperialism. Both rely on the prison island and its cellblocks. [...]

---

The carceral continuities [...] throughout France’s penal colonies are supplemented by legal exceptionalism which works to redefine colonial subjects within shifting political contexts. [...] Many of the Indochinois convicts transported to the forest camps of French Guiana in 1931, including the Bagne des annamites, had originally been classed as political prisoners. The transfer was intended in part [...] to remove a number of anticolonial actors from Indochina. [...]

As political deportees sent to French Guiana were usually exempt from labour according to the political decree of 1850, this status had to be revoked to ensure the maximum labour force possible.

Consequently, those arrested on suspicion of specific acts of violence or property damage were reclassed as common criminals. Described by Dedebant and Frémaux (2012, 7) as “little arrangements between governors,” this was not simply a sleight of hand but written into legal codes. [...]

---

[M]any of the Vietnamese sent to French Guiana had to wait until the 1960s to be repatriated. [...] After their sentences were completed, convicts were not simply repatriated to France or other colonies.

A system of “doublage” intended to shore up colonial development meant they had to serve the same length of their sentence again on the colony. For those condemned to eight years or more, this became life. Opportunities for sustainable livelihood were limited in a territory possessing swathes of free convict labour. Worn out and sick from their time in the bagne, most of these men were unfit to work and relied on charity to survive. [...]

[T]he last living convict [of the Guiana penal colony] [...] died in Algeria in 2007 after being repatriated to Annaba. In an interview given in 2005, he claims that every night he dreams he is back in Cayenne: “when I think about it, I get vertigo, I spent my life there” [...].

---

All text above by: Sophie Fuggle. "From Green Hell to Grey Heritage: Ecologies of Colour in the Penal Colony". Interventions: International Journal of Postcolonial Studies, Volume 24 (2022), Issue 6, pages 897-916. Published online 8 April 2021. At: doi dot org slash 10.1080/1369801X.2021.1892507 [Bold emphasis and some paragraph breaks/contractions added by me. Presented here for commentary, teaching, criticism purposes.]

[longliveblackness]

Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment

Acting on the presumption that rural southern blacks were generally more promiscuous and syphilitic than whites, and without sufficient funding to establish an effective treatment program for them, doctors working with the Public Health Service (PHS) commenced a multi-year experiment in 1932.

Their actions deprived 400 largely uneducated and poor African Americans in Tuskegee, Alabama of proper and reasonable treatment for syphilis, a disease whose symptoms could easily have been relieved with the application of penicillin which became available in the 1940s.

Patients were not told they had syphilis nor were they provided sufficient medication to cure them. More than 100 men died due to lack of treatment while others suffered insanity, blindness and chronic maladies related to the disease.

The original experiment took on a life of its own as physicians, intrigued by the prospect of gathering scientific data, ignored human rights and ethical considerations and managed to extend it until 1972 when a PHS researcher Peter Buxtun revealed its history to the press. Public exposure embarrassed the scientific community and the government and the experiment was quickly shut down.

Attorney Fred Gray initiated a lawsuit on behalf of the patients. In an out-of-court settlement each surviving patient received medical treatment and $40,000 in compensation.

In the wake of the scandal Congress passed the National Research Act of 1974 which required more stringent oversight of studies employing human subjects.

In 1997, on behalf of the federal government, President Bill Clinton issued a formal apology to the victims of the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment.

•••

Experimento de Tuskegee (Sífilis)

Actuando bajo la presunción de que los negros en las áreas rurales del sur eran generalmente mas promiscuos y sifilíticos que los blancos, y sin tener los fondos suficientes para establecer un programa de tratamiento efectivo, los doctores que trabajaban para el Servicio de Salud Publica comenzaron un experimento que duró varios años en el año 1932.

Sus acciones privaron a cuatrocientos afroamericanos de un tratamiento adecuado y razonable para el sífilis, una enfermedad cuyos síntomas podrían haberse aliviado fácilmente con la aplicación de penicilina, la cual estuvo disponible en la década de 1940.

A los pacientes no se les dijo que tenían sífilis, tampoco se les brindó suficiente medicamento para curarlos. Mas de cien hombres fallecieron debido a la falta de medicamento, mientras que otros sufrían demencia, ceguera y otras enfermedades crónicas relacionadas con la enfermedad.

El experimento original cobró vida propia cuando los médicos, intrigados por la perspectiva de recopilar datos científicos, ignoraron los derechos humanos y las consideraciones éticas y lograron extenderlo hasta 1972 En este año es cuando un investigador del Servicio de Salud Pública, Peter Buxtun, reveló su historia a la prensa. La exposición pública avergonzó a la comunidad científica y al gobierno y el experimento fue rápidamente cancelado.

El abogado Fred Gray inició una demanda en nombre de los pacientes. En un acuerdo extrajudicial, cada paciente que sobrevivió, recibió tratamiento médico y 40,000 dólares de indemnización.

A raíz del escándalo, el Congreso aprobó la Ley de Investigación Nacional de 1974, que exige una supervisión más estricta de los estudios que utilizan sujetos humanos.

En 1997, en nombre del gobierno federal, el presidente Bill Clinton emitió una disculpa formal a las víctimas del Experimento de Sífilis de Tuskegee.

[randomvarious]

1990s Trip Hop Playlist

Been six months since I added anything to this fly-as-fuck playlist, and this week I've got a bunch of heady, spaced-out, and super stoned treats for you all. For this update, I ended up drawing from three separate releases: Ninja Cuts: Flexistentialism, a terrific comp from 1996 that was put out by premier UK trip hop, hip hop, downtempo, and future jazz label Ninja Tune; French native Kid Loco's brilliant DJ-Kicks mix from 1999 that was put out by Germany's !K7 label; and a varied South African comp that was put out by national indie label Fresh Records in 1998 called ReRooted: Beatz From da Ground Up.

So let's highlight some sweet goodies from all of these then. First up, "Junkies Bad Trip" by London Funk Allstars, a quintessential piece of head-nodding mid-90s boom bap dope that sounds like it's waiting for your favorite New York rapper's favorite New York rapper to spit some crazy fire over it. When it comes to instrumental trip hop and hip hop-type shit, there's really nothing in my mind that tops something like this tune right here; a big sonic bluntski with two pretty iconic samples in it: one from Baby Huey's "Hard Times," which gives the song its frenzied, metallic, whistling stabs, and has been used in a whole bunch of other rap tunes too; and a funky guitar riff from James Brown's "Blind Men Can See It," which was also famously used in Das EFX's 1992 classic, "They Want EFX" as well. Currently at around 252K plays on Spotify.

Next, something really cool from that ReRooted comp by a band from Cape Town called Naked, who only ever put out one album, 1998's Bone Needs Flesh. Here they offer up a tune called "Wash Your Hands (Stone Cold remix)," which employs this really unique blend of chopped-up vocals, heavy breathing, and sharp, acidic bass stabs, as a couple different effects are applied to frontwoman Kaolin Thompson's voice. This one seems pretty damn obscure, as it's currently sitting at under 1,000 plays on Spotify. It's terrific, though.

And for some pure fuckin' THC-induced nuttery, there's "Attitude Adjuster" by Essex, England's own Tom Tyler. Appearing on Kid Loco's DJ-Kicks mix, this 1999 leftfield stunner's marked by a very imposing, dissonantly wobbly, and bleating horn sound, with a dubbed-out drumbeat beneath it, and all of it anchored by a super chill and steady synth pad to mellow and balance the whole thing out. A simply bananas piece of music that was made to satiate your crusty-eyed inner insomniac at 3:46 in the morning. Currently at a little over 4,000 Spotify plays.

9 Lazy 9 - "Turn Me Loose" Jazz Con Bazz - "Wayz of Life" Luke Vibert - "Get Your Head Down" Up, Bustle & Out - "Ninja's Principality" London Funk Allstars - "Junkies Bad Trip" DJ Vadim - "Theme From Conquest of the Irrational (Remix by The Prunes)" Pelding - "One" Naked - "Wash Your Hands (Stone Cold remix)" Boards of Canada - "Happy Cycling" Tom Tyler - "Attitude Adjuster" Kid Loco - "Flyin' on 747"

Now, something else I should mention is that the YouTube version of this playlist includes all of these songs too, but a bunch of the versions that are specifically from Kid Loco's DJ-KIcks mix are as they appear on the mix itself, which is a little different from how they sound unmixed on Spotify, except for the set's sweet and serene closer, "Flyin' on 747."

But in addition to that, this YouTube update also comes with some songs from that DJ-Kicks mix that aren't on Spotify at all too, like something from a London collective called Common Ground, whose 1998 song, "Dark Soul," has some piano-and-string bits that might remind you a little of something like the theme song from Succession—a show that came 20 years after this very song dropped—but this tune, like so many others in this update, is also very fucking stoned; it has this Mike Oldfield Tubular Bells-like opening, some plonking xylo, and some slow and incremental, scale-climbing vocals to mark its 'chorus' too. An absolute, unheralded banger as far as I'm concerned, and currently only nearing 1,900 plays on YouTube across a couple different uploads.

Emperors New Clothes - "Dark Light (Underdog Mix)" Grantby - "Grimble" Tongue - "Culture Consumers" Common Ground - "Dark Soul" Stereotyp - "Slo Jo"

And this playlist is also on YouTube Music.

So with this update we're now at 46 songs that clock in at 4 hours and 5 minutes on Spotify, but over on YouTube, we've got 76 songs that clock in at 7 hours and 2 minutes! So if you want more dank 90s trip hop than you know what to do with, then do yourself a favor and pick the YouTube one.

And if 7 hours and change or 4 hours and change sounds like way too overwhelming of an amount of trip hop for you to handle, I've got a bunch of this broken down by year too:

1994 Trip Hop: YouTube / YouTube Music 1996 Trip Hop: Spotify / YouTube / YouTube Music 1997 Trip Hop: YouTube / YouTube Music 1998 Trip Hop: YouTube / YouTube Music 1999 Trip Hop: YouTube / YouTube Music

More trip hop next week, but from a certain locality 😎.

Enjoy!

More to come, eventually. Stay tuned!

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[nokingsonlyfooles]

A History Lesson

The Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male[1] United States' Let's See How Long We Can Operate A Brutal Genocidal Empire Without Anyone Noticing Experiment (informally referred to as the Tuskegee Experiment United States of America or Tuskegee Syphilis Study American Democracy) was a study conducted con game perpetuated between 1932 1776 and 1972 2024ish by the United States Public Health Service (PHS) Government and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) its Military Industrial Complex on a group of nearly 400 African American men with syphilis.[2][3] anyone living on or near resources the US would like who could not successfully repel its violent influence, including its admitted citizens and everyone else on the planet. The purpose of the study was to observe the effects of the disease when untreated legitimize white male landowners enjoying perpetual power, though by the end (?) of the study medical advancements meant it was entirely treatable it was obvious they and their interests do not speak for humanity and they would be outvoted in a hot second if actual democracy were allowed to prevail. The men voters and victims were not informed of the nature of the experiment, and more than 100 untold millions if not billions died as a result.

The Public Health Service "Founding Fathers" started the study in 1932 1776 in collaboration with Tuskegee University more wealthy white landowners who were actually cool with a monarchy as long as they were in charge of it but didn't like paying taxes (then the Tuskegee Institute "patriots"), a historically Black college in Alabama privileged class with access to public platforms and plausible deniability. In the study, investigators colonizers enrolled 600 impoverished African-American sharecroppers from Macon County, Alabama fucking everyone on the continent whether they wanted it or not.[4] Of these men people, 399 had latent syphilis, with a control group of 201 men who were not infected most of them were already being crushed by existing empires and desperate for some help.[3] As an incentive for participation in the study, the men (yeah, just the men) were promised free medical care votes and representation. While the men voters were provided with both medical regular elections and mental care representatives that they otherwise would not have received,[5] they were deceived by the PHS "Founding Fathers", who never informed them of their syphilis diagnosis[10] that their suffering would continue as long as it was profitable and kept the right people in power, and provided disguised placebos authoritarianism, ineffective methods, and diagnostic procedures constant propaganda as treatment for "bad blood" "enemies of democracy".[11]

The men people were initially told that the experiment was only surely going to last six months forever, but it was extended to 40 years began to break down almost immediately.[3] After funding for treatment endless political campaigns and bribes (but I repeat myself) was lost tied up by a few international corporate interests, the study was continued without informing the men voters that they would never be treated acknowledged as anything other than a convenient power source. None of the infected men terrified voters were treated with penicillin represented faithfully despite the fact that, by 1947 1792, the antibiotic a postal service capable of delivering ranked choice ballots and reliable information to most or all voters was widely available and had become the standard treatment for syphilis an obvious option.[12]

The study continued, under numerous Public Health Service supervisors increasingly obvious regimes obscured only by colors, mascots and degree of obviousness, until 1972 2024ish, when a leak to the press resulted in its termination on November 16 of that year voters and the institutions that exploit them were somehow shocked that a loud, obvious fascist managed to vault over multiple obstacles that were never meant to keep someone like him out of power, A SECOND TIME.[13] By then, 28 patients 42,000 Palestinians had died directly from syphilis in the most recent genocide, 100 died from complications related to syphilis voters had been flashbanged with images of dead children across social media, 40 of the patients' wives were infected with syphilis, they were having screaming arguments with each other about the value of their votes and the purpose of democracy, and 19 children were born with congenital syphilis the concept of political change not wrought by overwhelming violence or votes seemed to have atrophied right out of our collective consciousness.[14]

The 40-year Tuskegee Study Brutal Genocidal Empire's Attempt To Manufacture Perpetual Consent was a major violation of ethical standards[12] and has been cited justified as "arguably the most infamous biomedical research study in U.S. history." "it was never supposed to be a democracy, we have a Republic," "what you deserve," and "all your fault."[15] Its revelation led to the 1979 Belmont Report and to the establishment of the Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP)[16] a veritable shitstorm of finger-pointing and denial and federal laws and regulations requiring institutional review boards for the protection of human subjects in studies masses of official and unofficial propaganda designed to convince you that everything is fine and the experiment requires that you continue like a good Milgram test subject. The OHRP media manages this responsibility within the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).[16] out of a desire to remain somewhat profitable and relatively uncensored. Its revelation whitewashing has also been an important cause of distrust in medical science and the US government amongst African Americans basically any information source that could help us address the situation.[15]

In 1997 2024, President Bill Clinton (oddly enough) formally apologized on behalf of the United States to victims of the study told an entire ethnicity to go fuck itself on behalf of the Democratic Party while ostensibly believing the safety of democracy itself depended on a Blue Wave like we've never seen, calling it shameful and racist any deaths necessary and inevitable.[17] "What was done cannot be undone, but we can end the silence," “I got news for [Hamas]���[Israelis] were there first, before their faith existed,” he said. "We can stop turning our heads away. We can look at you in the eye, and finally say, on behalf of the American people, what the United States government did was shameful and I am sorry." "...They’ll force you to kill civilians if you want to defend yourself,”[17][18]

...This is why, although the anarchist frog with the unpopular blog is only audible to other human beings with very little official power, it knows these human beings aren't marching in lockstep to their deaths because they're morally-bankrupt or stupid. They're just listening to the people in charge of any "help" they might receive. People will drink poison if more-powerful people they trust tell them it's medicine, and attribute any damage to the disease itself, until the lack of treatment maims or kills them.

I don't have authority or a white coat, I just have a divergent brain that balks at authority no matter what it's wearing. I got lucky, if you wanna call this shrieking anxiety lucky.

Real frogs do not let you boil them. That's a myth. Real human beings may, on an individual basis, if the water is abstract enough, no matter their education level or political allegiance.

Please jump out, my fellow creatures. I don't know what it's gonna take if this doesn't do it, but please.

[yuyinesque]

ten commandments. these are the rules of my account that you must follow; they also contain remnants of “byf” undertones. if this list seems too hard for you to perform, then you will either exit willingly or forcefully.

⇥ Ⅰ. do not spam like or blow up my ask inbox. for most, this is self-explanatory. this will result in me becoming shadowbanned or suspected for being a bot, so try not to like more than five posts at once, alright? otherwise you will be blocked. also, my requests are temporarily open, i’m feeling generous.

⇥ Ⅱ. do not plagiarize my work. this is also self-explanatory; i don’t need to go into detail. the outcome of plagiarizing my work will not be fun. however, you may ask me permission to translate it as long as you credit me. i don’t mind such.

⇥ Ⅲ. do not reprimand my work. i write sfw and nsfw concepts. my nsfw projects could vary from kinks such as exhibitionism, voyeurism, anal play, consensual non-consent (cnc), mommy/daddy kinks, etc. plus, i’m also prone to writing about mental, eating, or physical disorders, self-harm, sexual assault, emotional angst, gore, yandere themes, homicide, suicide, etc. if any of these topics make you uncomfortable, then this account is likely not for you. however, although i feel as if i shouldn’t need to clarify this, but don’t go out of your way to attempt to ruin my feelings because you’re pissy over something i’ve warned you about. not to mention that i tend to get a little poetic when it comes to my writing, though i will go out of my way to ensure that it remains comprehensible. regardless, if you don’t appreciate the way i write, you may leave. simple as it sounds if i’m being quite honest.

⇥ Ⅳ. do not reprimand y/n. as a black individual, i primarily write for the black community. however, even if you aren’t black, you can still make requests, though please know that your race cannot be addressed. this does not apply if you’re mixed, however, for you’re still african american. i wish to not accidentally disrespect anyone’s culture, but i don’t mind if you were to give me a quick description of yourself (this is optional). yes, there will be times where y/n’s race is unspecified, though for a majority of the plot, y/n will be black or black-coded. i also write for male y/n, gender-neutral y/n, top y/n, switch y/n, sub y/n, female y/n, transgender y/n, plus-sized y/n, thin y/n, y/n with a skin condition, y/n with a mental/physical disorder, etc. i prefer to keep it diverse, ya feel me? while i don’t mind who reads my work, since i can’t necessarily kick the planet off my account, i do mind when y/n is being bashed over realistic issues that people go through incessantly. for the sake of respect, remain respectful, otherwise i will block you.

⇥ Ⅴ. stray away from overly taboo requests. scat, piss, pedophilic, incest/stepcest, rape/non-con, feet, race play, vomit, age regression/play, highschool teacher x student ships, huge age gaps, or anything as ridiculous as the ones listed will not accepted or tolerated. as expected, you will be blocked and hopefully sent to solitary confinement ‘cause uhm…

⇥ Ⅵ. stray away from unrealistic oc requests. i create oc’s and have five that are soon-to-be posted with the names zolene, illūnis, xemo, indigo, and byeol. you’re completely allowed to request for them as well. however, make your desires realistic, especially when it comes to their sexuality. for example, considering that zolene is sapphic, cis or trans!male reader is unavailable for her romantically or sexually. another example is indigo who is attracted to men or masculine, amab!readers, therefore fem-presenting, female, or afab!readers cannot be written for him romantically or sexually. and don’t give me that “they’re just oc’s, they’re not real” shit either. you either request accordingly or leave me the fuck alone.

⇥ Ⅶ. do not ask personal questions. i like to keep private, plus it’s a given that you shouldn’t ask people federal questions that you don’t know about. i don't need to elaborate on this.

⇥ Ⅷ. ask rules. i’m quite open to much, but if you want the most accurate results, give me the most detailed ask. if you give me something simple, then you shall receive something simple. it won’t be pettily half-assed, no, but if you were expecting a one shot from a vague request then this drabble that i have in store for you will not bring you the appropriate solace. this is optional: specify your wants. there’s no need to feel discomfort; i won’t judge you, unless you break a rule. if you’re still unsure about what you want to ask without seeming invasive, then you’re welcomed to ask questions via messages or anonymous asks.

⇥ Ⅸ. do not ask for anything outside the chosen fandoms. if it doesn’t pertain to spider-man; across/into the spider-verse, jujutsu kaisen, haikyuu, one piece, genshin impact, or my original characters, don’t ask. the miscellaneous section is strictly for self-pleasure, so do not invade that.

⇥ Ⅹ. INTERACT WITH ME. jk, it’s not an obligation, but it would be satisfying to have an active blog, yes? it would not only grant me motivation, laughs, and blushes, but also twice as much activity and work than before. i don’t mind making moots as well. while i'm indifferent towards the idea, you’re very welcomed to shoot a message and become my mutual <3. i don’t bite unless i’m excited!

yuyinesque | translate with permission & peruse without theft.

[cherienymphe]

I’m the anon that asked white guys and your writing, thanks for giving me your perspective on the issue. I read x reader fics of different races of men or read m/m fics but my bff always wants to point out when it’s a white character in dub-con / non-con fic. She’ll make me feel bad and point out that I’m African and refers to slavery which just makes me feel uncomfortable. It’s like she wants me to feel bad for finding white guys attractive but if I read the same kind of fic where it’s m/m or a Asan or black guy going this she won’t make any rude comments.

Worst of all she a lesbian and all of her ex-girlfriends have been white 😑

Me reading that last sentence

[gem-femmes]

do you see a lot of obvious hypergamy in your circles?

My experience with “Old money”& “New money” in Europe and England 🇬🇧🇪🇺🏛️💰

Europe 🍷📚💼

I come from a young country, so there is no “old money” circle to speak of in the sense of wealth spanning several generations of a family. All money here is relatively recent.

Older HNWIs (my parents' generation) mostly married people from the social circles they grew up in—uni or friends—and they usually became wealthy together. It's also the story of my parents.

In the older generation, I know a few hypergamous couples. Usually, the woman is the second wife/partner to a wealthier older man after his divorce or becoming a widower.

The children of this older generation are my age. Almost all of them are marrying people from the same background/social class. These people are mostly low key and hardworking.

No one is flashy in their everyday life, but you'll eventually find out about expensive cars, boats, yachts, watch collections, numerous properties they're renting out, vacation homes etc.

It's different with people who are the first generation of “new money”, usually self-made men in their 30s and 40s. In these couples who have just entered “new money” circles, I guess hypergamy is more frequent and obvious.

The aesthetic for women in this circle is different flavors of high maintenance. Everyone in this circle, men and women, enjoys showing off to some extent, expensive bags, watches, jewelry, cars, vacations, media appearances.

The “new money” people and children of HNWIs are like night and day, even though we're the same age.

The funny thing is that because pretty much everyone who's rich here made their money in business, these two social classes often intersect, working together as business partners. But socially, there's a very clear divide.

England 🏇🎻🍾

As for my experiences with “old money”, I was educated in England and still maintain ties there. England is populous so there's a huge variation of “new money”, and I won't get into that.

“Old money” English people can fly under the radar of foreigners at first glance because they have all those funny unspoken rules that new stuff and mainstream status symbols are gauche (eg. furniture, electronics, Birkins). Their residences are likely to be falling apart. This is perceived as "character" and "charm" in England.

But then you learn about their niche hobbies such as flying internationally regularly to watch their favorite sports team's matches, hunting in African countries, funding random vanity projects to keep their wayward kids out of trouble (they all give up in a year), and traveling between their various estates to just chill.

I enjoy visiting my English “old money” contacts, they are polite and generous, they can be genuinely sweet. But it's also obvious that they won't ever consider outsiders part of their circle, thus making hypergamy all the more challenging. You don't "network" with these people, the circle is closed.

There's this persistent, slightly sour undercurrent that collectively, they're not taking you seriously at all. Social class is set in stone in England, you don't transcend your station in life no matter how rich you become or what family you marry into.

I detected this undercurrent quite early when I moved to England and it put me off trying to get closer to them in whatever capacity. I didn't feel that it was worth it because I already have money. Hypergamy in this environment, taking into account the cons I sensed, wouldn't be a significant enough life upgrade for me. As an outsider, I could never be sure about their intentions.

Being easygoing and not nosy inadvertently turned out to be the right approach to keep lasting, if superficial connections with them.

There has been some interest of romantic/sexual nature on their side.

An anecdote I can share is once an older gentleman tried to set me up with his “tall and blonde” son. I already knew him well at that point but I still questioned his motive. I was young, sweet and naive, and at the time many wanted to take advantage of these qualities. Or maybe he genuinely thought well of me. Perhaps he wanted to test me, see what I'd do, for pure amusement. Who knows.

[misfitwashere]

Felon Seeks Vice

Trump’s VP Search and the Politics of Impotence 

TIMOTHY SNYDER

JUN 16

Usually, vice-presidential candidates are selected for virtues.  They are expected to bring new voters in November, to complement the presidential candidate, and to be qualified to be president in case of emergency.  

Donald Trump is searching, quite literally, for vice. 

Trump is not so much trying to win an election as he is trying to gain power, so he needs someone who agrees with his Big Lie that he won the election last time, and who will stand with him during his second coup attempt.  He does not contemplate ceding power at any later point, so the question of the qualifications of a vice-presidential candidate is not so relevant.

The vice-presidential candidate cannot be seen to complement Donald Trump, since as a Leader he cannot be seen to have any shortcomings or flaws.  His is a specific kind of fascism, though, without any plan beyond retribution.  Trump's backers at home and abroad understand that the rage will provide cover to dismantle the operations of the American government -- so that oligarchs need not pay taxes, for example, or so that Russians can commit atrocities in Ukraine.

And so those who wish to join the Republican ticket as the vice-presidential nominee must prove not their worth but their worthlessness.  They must demonstrate that they do not challenge Trump in any way, and that they would not, should they become president, provide any resistance to those who would like to see American government fail.  They must engage, in other words, in a politics of impotence, a determined effort to show that they lack determination. 

Vice signaling is tricky, of course, both for them and for Trump.  They have to be bad, without being too good at being bad.  Appearing to be the frontrunner is dangerous, since it can be seen as ambition and talent, which Trump will not like.

According to Michael C. Bender's reporting in the New York Times, the frontrunners are Doug Burgum, Marco Rubio, and J.D. Vance.  Trump has also brought Tim Scott to the attention of donors.  I am not claiming to have any inside information or special insight as to whom Trump will pick.  In different ways, each of these men demonstrates the contortions of the politics of impotence.  As will any other possible candidate.

In media appearances, Tim Scott is craven in his defense of Trump's Big Lie and coup politics.  But the submissiveness is so palpable that it would make the choice of an African-American unsurprising.  Marco Rubio has obvious political ability, and eight years ago was seen (and clearly saw himself) as a plausible alternative to Donald Trump.  He has since caved completely, after being humiliated by Trump in that campaign.  He does though have a long list of historical zingers about Trump ("friends do not let friends vote for con artists"), which the internet will not forget.  And Rubio has not pushed too openly for the vice-presidential slot.  That whisper of a shadow of dignity might be too much for Trump to handle.

Doug Burgum has the problem that he is a successful businessman, the thing that Trump pretends to be -- the basis of his con, as the Marci Rubio of 2016 might have put it.  Trump's reputation as an entrepreneur rests on his performance in The Apprentice, in which he played the role of a tycoon who could hire and fire.  In fact, his wealth is inherited, and the businesses and initiatives he has attempted to found (or endorsed) have been flops: anyone remember Trump Vodka, Trump Fragrances, or Trump Mattress?  Trump's cash position depends upon an inviting deception: I am already wealthy, so give me your money so that you can feel like you are a part of my success.  The presence of Burgum on the ticket will make this con harder, because the press will then focus on Burgum's actual success in founding a software company and his actual wealth.  (If I am wrong and Trump is thinking about gathering votes, Burgum has another problem: Trump is going to win North Dakota anyway, and Burgum's profile as a supporter of a total abortion ban will hurt Trump in states he needs to win.)

Of these four, J.D. Vance is the one who has most consciously worked out a politics of impotence. 

Vance is a man of considerable intelligence and the author of an appealing memoir.  Hillbilly Elegy leads the reader gently to a political conclusion: because Vance believes that his relatives were not helped by government assistance, we should all agree that government should do nothing to help people.  The political nihilism presented as family history is a powerful Republican brew ("libertarianism"), and it has served Vance well. 

Government inaction is of course a nonsensical prescription for the people of Middletown, Ohio, where Vance was raised, or for Appalachia, which is the focus of the memoir.  Like everything about Vance, what the memoir does is suppress any idea of positive policy in the service of a politics of impotence.  A politician is someone who explains why nothing can be done.

After his graduation from Yale Law School, where the memoir ends, Vance became a venture capitalist and a client of Peter Thiel, the Silicon Valley billionaire.  Thiel adds a very specific and interesting philosophical layer to the politics of impotence.  He is a follower and interpreter of the brilliant French literary critic René Girard, best known for his theory of scapegoating.  (I should say that I once gave Girard Lectures in Paris and Stanford funded by an initiative of Thiel and that I teach Girard). 

Girard challenges the typical view that societies begin from a reasonable consensus that we should all cease to be violent and instead accept a legal order.  He claims instead that such a moment of social integration requires a scapegoat, someone who can be blamed for prior chaos and be subject to immediate symbolic violence now to integrate everyone else.  In his commercial and personal ventures, Thiel practices what might be called positive Girardism, seeking after structures that allow people to flourish as individuals without the temptation to be conformist and scapegoat.  In his politics, however, Thiel practices what might be called negative Girardism, supporting political candidates (such as Vance) who can be trusted to practice scapegoating and cultivate culture war.  This keeps government dysfunctional and allows Silicon Valley billionaires to continue to shape society as unchecked oligarchs (this is also called "libertarianism"). 

As a senator, Vance has modeled a politics of impotence extremely well.  In both domestic and foreign policy, his line is that American government is helpless.  In international relations, he repeats Russian propaganda claims about Ukraine, in the service of the doomer view that no one can resist Russia and that we should all give up.  But it is a booming sort of dooming: Vance likes to get in front of microphones, puff out his chest, and present impotence as masculinity.  There is guile in this performance: the manly pose substitutes for manly action.  A tough guy à la Vance returns to the safe space of provoking cultural anxiety by choosing enemies within his own country.

There is enormous political potential in Vance's approach.  In the short run, he has proven with his wits that he can always transform the need for action into a rhetoric of aggressive hopelessness, something that will please a certain kind of right-wing donor.  In the long run, he can attract the support of leaders of countries who like to see America weak, just as Trump has done.  It is not at all hard to see a future with Vance posing alongside Orbán, Putin, and Xi as makers of an unfree world. 

And the possibility of such a grand trajectory, of course, is a problem for Vance right now.  He is young. He has much more potential than Trump himself, and Trump will at some point figure this out.

Like some of the others, Vance was also once a Never Trumper ("when we apologize for this man, Lord help us").  Vance's reversal, however, can be seen -- uniquely -- as part of a larger understanding of politics.  One gives up in the face of a challenge, and does so performatively, aggressively.  In this way, one transforms politics into an impotence display, training voters to think that government is just a kind of stage, on which our best leaders vent our feelings, rather than actually do anything. 

Trump was a pioneer of this, but Vance is younger, smarter, and better.  He clearly knows what he is doing: just before each outburst, you can detect a quick moment of calculating pleasure around his eyes.  As he gathers himself, he looks, just for a split second, like someone who is about to tell a joke that he very much enjoys. 

Such are the contradictions of the politics of impotence.  A Tim Scott might be too soft to make any sort of impression.  A Marco Rubio might have too much of a residue of dignity.  A Doug Burgum cannot efface his own successes.  And a J.D. Vance, precisely because his politics of impotence is so thoughtful and practiced, reveals a level of intelligence and skill that will make him a better Trumpist than Trump himself.  As a performer, Vance is only getting better, while Trump is only getting worse. Is that something Trump will be able to tolerate?

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Mary Elaine LeBey

Another moment for today - 80th Anniversary - December 7th, 1941 - of all the heroes and moments from Pearl Harbor that will get shared today, I will share this one, of women firefighters doing their part, as planes with bombs soared over their heads.

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

December 7, 2023

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

DEC 8, 2023

On the sunny Sunday morning of December 7, 1941, Messman Doris Miller had served breakfast aboard the USS West Virginia, stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and was collecting laundry when the first of nine Japanese torpedoes hit the ship.

In the deadly confusion, Miller reported to an officer, who told him to help move the ship’s mortally wounded captain off the bridge. Unable to move him far, Miller pulled the captain to shelter. Then another officer ordered Miller to pass ammunition to him as he started up one of the two abandoned anti-aircraft guns in front of the conning tower. 

Miller had not been trained to use the weapons because, as a Black man in the U.S. Navy, he was assigned to serve the white officers. But while the officer was distracted, Miller began to fire one of the guns. He fired it until he ran out of ammunition. Then he helped to move injured sailors to safety before he and the other survivors abandoned the West Virginia, which sank to the bottom of Pearl Harbor.

That night, the United States declared war on Japan. Japan declared war on America the next day, and four days later, on December 11, 1941, both Italy and Germany declared war on America. “The powers of the steel pact, Fascist Italy and National Socialist Germany, ever closely linked, participate from today on the side of heroic Japan against the United States of America,” Italian leader Benito Mussolini said. “We shall win.” Of course they would. Mussolini and Germany’s leader, Adolf Hitler, believed the Americans had been corrupted by Jews and Black Americans and could never conquer their own organized military machine.

The steel pact, as Mussolini called it, was the vanguard of his new political ideology. That ideology was called fascism, and he and Hitler thought it would destroy democracy once and for all.

Mussolini had been a socialist as a young man and had grown terribly frustrated at how hard it was to organize people. No matter how hard socialists tried, they seemed unable to convince ordinary people that they must rise up and take over the country’s means of production.

The efficiency of World War I inspired Mussolini. He gave up on socialism and developed a new political theory that rejected the equality that defined democracy. He came to believe that a few leaders must take a nation toward progress by directing the actions of the rest. These men must organize the people as they had been organized during wartime, ruthlessly suppressing all opposition and directing the economy so that businessmen and politicians worked together. And, logically, that select group of leaders would elevate a single man, who would become an all-powerful dictator. To weld their followers into an efficient machine, they demonized opponents into an “other” that their followers could hate.

Italy adopted fascism, and Mussolini inspired others, notably Germany's Hitler. Those leaders came to believe that their system was the ideology of the future, and they set out to destroy the messy, inefficient democracy that stood in their way.

America fought World War II to defend democracy from fascism. And while fascism preserved hierarchies in society, democracy called on all people as equals. Of the more than 16 million Americans who served in the war, more than 1.2 million were African American men and women, 500,000 were Latinos, and more than 550,000 Jews were part of the military. Among the many ethnic groups who fought, Native Americans served at a higher percentage than any other ethnic group—more than a third of able-bodied men between the ages of 18 and 50 joined the service—and among those 25,000 soldiers were the men who developed the famous “Code Talk,” based in tribal languages, that codebreakers never cracked.

The American president at the time, Democrat Franklin Delano Roosevelt, hammered home that the war was about the survival of democracy. Fascists insisted that they were moving their country forward fast and efficiently—claiming the trains ran on time, for example, although in reality they didn’t—but FDR constantly noted that the people in Italy and Germany were begging for food and shelter from the soldiers of democratic countries.

Ultimately, the struggle between fascism and democracy was the question of equality. Were all men really created equal as the Declaration of Independence said, or were some born to lead the rest, whom they held subservient to their will?

Democracy, FDR reminded Americans again and again, was the best possible government. Thanks to armies made up of men and women from all races and ethnicities, the Allies won the war against fascism, and it seemed that democracy would dominate the world forever.

But as the impulse of WWII pushed Americans toward a more just and inclusive society after it, those determined not to share power warned their supporters that including people of color and women as equals in society would threaten their own liberty. Those reactionary leaders rode that fear into control of our government, and gradually they chipped away the laws that protected equality. Now, once again, democracy is under attack by those who believe some people are better than others.

The once-grand Republican Party has been captured by the right wing. It has lined up behind former president Donald Trump and his cronies, who have vowed to replace the nonpartisan civil service with loyalists and to weaponize the Department of Justice and the military against those they perceive as enemies. They have promised to incarcerate and deport millions of immigrants and children of immigrants, send federal troops into Democratic cities, ban Muslims, silence LGBTQ+ Americans, prosecute journalists, and end abortion across the country. They will put in place an autocracy in which a powerful leader and his chosen loyalists make the rules under which the rest of us must live.

Will we permit the destruction of American democracy on our watch?

When America came under attack before, people like Doris Miller refused to let that happen. For all that American democracy still discriminated against him, it gave him room to stand up for the concept of human equality—and he laid down his life for it. Promoted to cook after the Navy sent him on a publicity tour, Miller was assigned to a new ship, the USS Liscome Bay, which was struck by a Japanese torpedo on November 24, 1943. It sank within minutes, taking two thirds of the crew, including Miller, with it.

I hear a lot these days about how American democracy is doomed and the reactionaries will win. Maybe. But the beauty of our system is that it gives us people like Doris Miller.

Even better, it makes us people like Doris Miller.

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[malikismindful]

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[longliveblackness]

Sarraounia Mangou, the Nigerien African queen and sorceress

In the late 1800s, the French Voulet- Chanoine Mission or Central African-Chad Mission, led by the captains Paul Voulet and Julien Chanoine, were dispatched to Africa by the French government to conquer the territories between the Niger River and Lake Chad and unify all French territories in West Africa.

History says that after leaving French Sudan in January 1899, they became very callous and subjected the native people to all kinds of inhumane treatment.

They were just unstoppable until they met Sarraounia Mangou.

Sarraounia (a title indicating a female chief or a lineage of female rulers) was the Queen of the Azna, a subgroup of the Hausa, who ruled in the Niger Republic, during the late 19th century.

She was born with yellow eyes, like those of a panther and so the panther became the symbol of the Azna.

She became queen at the age of 20, after her father’s death.

Said to possess sorcerous powers, Sarraounia had, before the French invasion, fought wars on behalf of her people.

She first drove off the Tuareg, who often attempted to raid her village, then the Fulani, who wanted to convert the Azna to Islam.

Since she had often won peace with both tribes, she sought their help to fight a common enemy the French but they refused.

She subsequently mobilized her people and resources to confront the French forces of the Voulet–Chanoine Mission, which launched a fierce attack on her fortress capital of Lougou.

Known as the Battle of Lougou in 1899, the Voulet-Chanoine Mission met the strongest force and lost several men to the fighting.

What Sarraounia and her people also did was to raid the French on a nightly basis, appearing from what historians called the almost impenetrable bush where the Azna defended themselves when facing a superior enemy.

They disappeared quickly into the bush after the raid.

As many began talking about the magical prowess of the Queen, many of the army on the French side deserted the camp. Most of them were Africans who were forced into service.

The attacks eventually came to an end and within three months, the expedition commanders Voulet and Chanoine were assassinated by their own soldiers over their refusal to obey orders from France and other atrocities.

But many still attributed their deaths to the magical prowess of Sarraounia.

•••

Sarraounia Mangou, la reina y hechicera africana de Niger

A finales del siglo XIX, la Misión Francesa Voulet-Chanoine o Misión Centroafricana-Chad, dirigida por los capitanes Paul Voulet y Julien Chanoine, fue enviada a África por el gobierno francés para conquistar los territorios entre el río Níger y el lago Chad y así unificar todos los territorios franceses que estaban ubicados en África Occidental.

La historia dice que después de abandonar el Sudán francés en enero de 1899, se volvieron muy insensibles y sometieron a los nativos a todo tipo de tratos inhumanos.

Eran imparables hasta que conocieron a Sarraounia Mangou.

Sarraounia (un título que significa jefa o un linaje de mujeres gobernantes) fue la reina de Azna, un subgrupo de los hausa, que gobernó en la República de Níger a finales del siglo XIX.

Nació con ojos amarillos, como los de una pantera y así la pantera se convirtió en el símbolo de los Azna.

Se convirtió en reina a la edad de 20 años, tras la muerte de su padre.

Se decía que Sarraounia poseía poderes mágicos y, antes de la invasión francesa, había librado guerras en nombre de su pueblo.

Primero expulsó a los tuareg, quienes a menudo intentaban atacar su aldea, y luego a los fulani, quienes querían convertir a los Azna al Islam.

Debido a que a menudo había logrado la paz con ambas tribus, buscó su ayuda para luchar contra un enemigo común, los franceses, pero ellos se negaron.

Luego de esto, ella movilizó a su gente y recursos para enfrentarse a las fuerzas francesas de la Misión Voulet-Chanoine, que lanzó un feroz ataque contra su fortaleza principal, Lougou.

Conocida como la Batalla de Lougou en 1899, la Misión Voulet-Chanoine se enfrentó a la fuerza más poderosa y perdió varios hombres en los combates.

Lo que también hicieron Sarraounia y su pueblo fue atacar a los franceses todas las noches, se aparecían de un arbusto casi impenetrable, como le llamaron los historiadores. Los Azna se metían en estos para defenderse cuando se enfrentaban a un enemigo superior y desaparecían rápidamente entre los arbustos después de atacar.

Cuando muchos empezaron a hablar de las habilidades mágicas de la Reina, muchos miembros del ejército del lado francés abandonaron el campamento. La mayoría de ellos eran africanos que fueron obligados a servir.

Los ataques finalmente llegaron a su fin y luego de tres meses, los comandantes de la expedición Voulet y Chanoine fueron asesinados por sus propios soldados por negarse a obedecer órdenes de Francia y otras atrocidades.

Pero muchos todavía atribuían sus muertes a las habilidades mágicas de Sarraounia.