#reference for south american indigenous women

[bfpnola]

ID 1: Screenshot of a post by @/key48return on Instagram. Background is of a globe with pinpoints of the israeli flag all over North and South America. Title reads in all caps, “israel is involved in oppression all over the world not just in Palestine…” A yellow arrow points right underneath the title. End ID

ID 2: In all caps, “ISRAEL'S INVOLVED IN:

THE RWANDAN GENOCIDE - 1994

ISRAEL EXPORTED SUBSTANTIAL WEAPONS AND ARMS TO THE HUTU MILITIAS WHO MASSACRED OVER 1 MILLION TUTSI CIVILIANS IN RWANDA ACROSS THE DURATION OF 100 DAYS.

WEAPONS USED IN THE GENOCIDE INCLUDED ISRAELI-MADE 5.56MM BULLETS, RIFLES AND GRENADES. THE RWANDAN GENOCIDE IS RECOGNISED AS THE WORST GENOCIDE IN MODERN HISTORY. ISRAEL HAS REPEATEDLY ATTEMPTED TO CONCEAL THEIR ARMS EXPORTS TO RWANDA BEFORE AND DURING THE GENOCIDE, FEARING PROSECUTION.”

Black and white photos below are shown of various Rwandan children in graveyards or in makeshift tents just trying to get by. End ID.

ID 3: In all caps, “ISRAEL'S INVOLVED IN:

APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA 1948 - 1994

ISRAEL WAS A STAUNCH ALLY TO THE SOUTH AFRICAN APARTHEID REGIME, PROVIDING ANTI-RIOT VEHICLES AND ARMS TO USE AGAINST THE NATIVE BLACK POPULATION, ASSISTING THE REGIME IN CREATING NUCLEAR BOMBS AND ISRAEL ALSO OPPOSED THE GLOBAL EMBARGO AND BOYCOTT OF APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA.

FOR DECADES, THE ZIONIST FEDERATION IN SOUTH AFRICA HONOURED MEN SUCH AS PERCY YUTAR, WHO PROSECUTED NELSON MANDELA FOR SABOTAGE AND CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE STATE IN 1963 AND SENT HIM TO JAIL FOR LIFE. (FOR WHICH HE SERVED 27 YEARS)”

Black and white photos below showcase a Black man being held in a chokehold by a white man, two Black people on their knees and hands up trying not to get shot, and a sign that reads in english and afrikaans “white area.” End ID.

ID 4: In all caps, “ISRAEL'S INVOLVED IN:

MAYAN GENOCIDE 1960 - 1996

THROUGHOUT THE GUATEMALAN CIVIL WAR FROM 1960-1996, OVER 200,000+ INDIGENOUS MAYANS WERE MURDERED BY STATE FORCES, AND OVER ONE MILLION MORE DISPLACED, IN WHAT IS REFERRED TO TODAY AS THE MAYAN GENOCIDE.

THE GUATEMALAN STATE FORCES RESPONSIBLE WERE ARMED AND TRAINED BY ISRAEL. WHEN THE U.S. GOVERNMENT SUSPENDED MILITARY FUNDING TO THE GUATEMALAN STATE FORCES IN 1977 IN THE MIDST OF THE MAYAN GENOCIDE, ISRAEL GAVE THEM OVER $38 BILLION WORTH OF ARMS TO FILL THE GAP. THE 'GALIL' ASAULT RIFLE, AN ISRAELI-MADE WEAPON, WAS STANDARD ISSUE FOR THE GUATEMALAN ARMY BY 1980, WITH THE STATE OWNED SMALL-ARMS PRODUCTION FACILITY IN ALTA VERAPAZ PRODUCING ITS AMMUNITION UNDER ISRAELI ARMS LICENCES.”

Below are multiple in-color photos of Mayan families mourning, one photo in particular which shows indigenous Mayans carrying a seemingly endless line of coffins off into the distance. End ID.

ID 5: In all caps, “ISRAEL'S INVOLVED IN:

SREBRENICA - 1995

ALSO KNOWN AS THE SREBRENICA GENOCIDE. IN 1995 OVER 8,000+ BOSNIAN MUSLIMS WERE MASSACRED BY SERBIAN ARMY FORCES ARMED AND TRAINED BY ISRAEL. SERBIAN FORCES ETHNICALLY CLEANSED OVER 250,000+ MUSLIMS IN TOTAL ACROSS CROATIA AND BOSNIA.

TENS OF THOUSANDS OF OTHERS WERE WOUNDED, STARVED, WOMEN WERE MASS RAPED AND MANY WERE INCARCERATED IN CONCENTRATION CAMPS. MANY OF THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE GENOCIDE FLED TO ISRAEL, WHERE THEY WERE GRANTED ISRAELI CITIZENSHIP IN ORDER TO AVOID ARREST AND PROSECUTION FOR CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY.”

Once again, the in-color photos below show various peoples mourning. Two of the photos specifically show people reaching their hands out over extremely long lists of just names of people who have died. End ID.

ID 6: In all caps, “ISRAEL'S INVOLVED IN:

TRAINING U.S. POLICE

SINCE 1990, HUNDREDS OF AMERICAN POLICE OFFICERS, INCLUDING AGENTS FROM THE FBI, CIA AND IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT (ICE), HAVE EITHER BEEN SENT TO ISRAEL THROUGH POLICE TRAINING EXCHANGES, OR ATTENDED SUMMITS WITHIN THE U.S. THAT WERE SPONSORED BY ISRAELI LOBBY ORGANISATIONS.

THE KNEE-TO-NECK 'RESTRAINT' THAT DEREK CHAUVIN MURDERED GEORGE FLOYD WITH, IS OFTEN USED BY ISRAELI POLICE AND SOLIDERS AGAINST PALESTINIANS.

BLACK LIVES MATTER.”

Photos below are in-color and show various B.L.M. protests. End ID.

ID 7: In all caps, “ISRAEL'S INVOLVED IN:

ARMING INDIA'S VIOLENCE IN KASHMIR

INDIA IS ISRAEL'S LARGEST ARMS CLIENT, MAKING UP OVER 45% OF ISRAEL'S ARMS SALES. BUYING ISRAELI AMMUNITION AND AIR-TO-GROUND MISSILES, ON THE PREMISE THEY HAVE BEEN 'BATTLE-TESTED' ON PALESTINIANS IN GAZA. ISRAEL PROVIDES INDIA WITH THE ARMS INDIA USES TO MILITARILY OCCUPY KASHMIR AND BRUTALISE KASHMIRI'S.

SINCE 1989, OVER 100,000+ KASHMIRIS HAVE BEEN KILLED BY INDIAN FORCES. WITH OVER 7,200+ KASHMIRIS BEING MURDERED IN INDIAN POLICE CUSTODY, OVER 110,000+ KASHMIRI CHILDREN HAVE BEEN ORPHANED, AND MORE THAN 11,000+ KASHMIRI WOMEN HAVE BEEN RAPED BY INDIAN OCCUPATION FORCES. IN ADDITION, OVER 7,000+ UNNAMED MASS GRAVES HAVE BEEN DISCOVERED WITH THOUSANDS OF VICTIMS.”

The photos below show israel and india’s leaders shaking hands and various armed indian soldiers stopping Kashmiris for unnecessary checks. End ID.

ID 8: In all caps, “ISRAEL'S INVOLVED IN:

PINOCHET COUP - CHILE 1973

CIA BACKED DICTATOR, AUGUSTO PINOCHET TOOK OVER CHILE ON SEPTEMBER 11, 1973. OVERTHROWING ITS DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED PRESIDENT, SALVADOR ALLENDE. THE NEXT DAY HIS FORCES BEGAN KIDNAPPING ANYONE THEY SUSPECTED OF BEING LEFT WING AND PLACED THEM IN CONCENTRATION CAMPS.

PINOCHET'S SECRET POLICE, DINA (DIRECCION DE INTELIGENCIA NACIONAL) RAN THOSE CONCENTRATION CAMPS AND TORTURE CENTRES, AND THEY FREQUENTLY ABDUCTED, 'DISAPPEARED' AND EXECUTED CHILEAN CIVILIANS. ISRAEL TRAINED DINA AND WAS ALSO ONE OF PINOCHET'S MAIN ARMS SUPPLIERS.”

Black and white photos below showcase various scenes of armed DINA officers, with one photo in particular showing them in a tank over bodies on the ground, presumably dead. End ID.

ID 9: In all caps, “ISRAEL'S INVOLVED IN:

ETHNICALLY CLEANSING ARMENIANS - ONGOING

ISRAEL HAS BEEN FUNDING AND ARMING AZERBAIJAN'S MILITARY SINCE 1988, ARMS WHICH HAVE BEEN USED TO KILL ARMENIAN CIVILIANS THROUGHOUT AZERBAIJAN'S ONGOING ETHNIC CLEANSING OF ARTSAKH. THE ISRAELI REGIME SUPPLIES AZERBAIJAN WITH OVER 70% OF ITS MILITARY ARSENAL.

IN ADDITION TO PROVIDING THE ARMS TO KILL ARMENIANS, ISRAEL ALSO REFUSES TO RECOGNISE THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE, COMMITTED BY THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE (TURKEY) FROM 1914-1923, WHO SYSTEMATICALLY MURDERED OVER 1.5 MILLION ARMENIAN CIVILIANS.”

Photos below show israel and azerbaijan’s leaders shaking hands, azerbaijan’s soldiers menacingly standing in front of someone wrapped in an Armenian flag, and Armenians mourning over a shrine with their flags all around them. End ID.

ID 10: In all caps, “THE PALESTINIAN STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM IS CONNECTED TO STRUGGLES ALL AROUND THE WORLD.

BECAUSE OPPRESSORS LIKE ISRAEL ARE NOT ONLY UPHOLDING OPPRESSION AGAINST ONE POPULATION, ITS ALWAYS INTERCONNECTED TO OPPRESSING MANY MORE.

FREE PALESTINE.” No photos at the bottom of this slide. End ID.

[militantinremission]

What does being 'Black' really mean?

I have thought about this for a long time. Over the years, I spoke w/ Moors, Israelites, Indigenous, & Pan Afrikans about 'Blackness' & what it means to them. I also looked at Separate but Equal (Jim Crow) Laws, The Black Codes, The Fugitive Slave Act, Dred Scott, & related documents dating back to the Colonial Era. Writing on this Subject was always in the back of My Mind, but now I feel compelled to give an opinion. Dane Calloway & Yvette Carnell don't agree on much, but they're both in agreement about 'Blackness in America'; their perspectives intrigued Me. Cam'ron's Declaration of Blackness, followed by responses from Marc Lamont Hill & Umar Johnson inspired Me to chime in on the Subject.

Recently, Dane Calloway & Yvette Carnell both went into detail about 'Blackness' on their individual Channels. Both have expressed their view in the past, but the timing of their latest opinions caught My attention. They essentially agree that this 'designation' refers to a Bottom Caste status that sets Us up for Social Inequality as a Collective. They also agree that identifying as 'Black American' only clouds Our identity as a Lineage Group. The denial of (promised) resources to 'Black' Farmers, & the repeal of Affirmative Action on College Campuses were both done in the name of 'Race Neutrality'. Apparently, Whitefolk & Brownfolk thought that these (long overdue) measures offered too much(?)

I was still digesting Dane & Yvette's perspective, when Cam'ron declared that he prefers being called 'Black' over Afrikan American, citing a schism between Black Americans & Continental Afrikans. This prompted Dr. Marc Lamont Hill & Dr. Umar Johnson to respond- in the name of Pan Afrikanism. Over the last 5Yrs, Pan Afrikans have been very vocal about Reparations & who should be entitled. Groups like N'COBRA, NAARC, The NAACP, & The Urban League have pushed for Trans Atlantic based Reparations; but they favor Social Programs over cash payments. Grassroots Organizations like the ADOS Advocacy Foundation, stress the need for cash payments to American Descendants Of Chattel Slavery.

It's curious how the same U.S. Constitution that used Our skin color to classify Us as 3/5ths of Humanity, still uses Our skin color as a 'Racial identity' to restrict Our access to resources. Somehow, this skin color classification doesn't stop 'Minority Groups' (i.e. White Women, White LGBTQ..., Azkenazis, People Of Color [POC/ BIPOC]) from getting the resources that They want & need. Maybe it's just Me, but I see a double standard playing out. Edward Blum & his 'Minority Coalition' are hell bent on weaponizing Race as a means of maintaining Black Oppression. He recently resorted to applying the Civil Rights Law of 1866 against Black Women; meanwhile, ADOS was unsuccessful in their attempt to apply the Same Law to (naively?) support Byron Allen's Case against Comcast Communications.

I understand where Family is coming from, when they refer to dictionary definitions of 'Black'. In a 'White' Society, Blackness is depicted as antithetical. It's not unusual, when we consider the way Afrikan Tribes associate 'Whiteness' w/ Death & Disease (i.e. Leprosy). Historically, this attitude towards Blackness goes back to Our 1st Contact w/ Northern/ Step Europeans (Vikings, Scandanavians, ect...) who traditionally burned their dead. Our mummification process spooked them! Those bodies took on a dark hue, & hardened into a crystal like structure; the Europeans called it a 'Crust'. From this, came the word 'Curse'. The Europeans migrated south into Western Asia & transported their ideology w/ them. This fear of Black Mummies was shared w/ Mongolians & other Indo- European Tribes, like the Turks & Huns. In the same way that Afrikans came to associate Whiteness negatively, the Asiatics came to associate Blackness similarly. Today, We STILL hear Koreans, Japanese, & Chinese refer to a 'Black Devil'.

The modern regard for Blackness is a Social Construct created by 15th Century Castilians & Portugese. These beliefs were sanctioned by the Catholic Church, by way of Papal Bulls & adopted by Dutch, English, & French Colonizers. That's not to say Anti Black sentiment didn't exist; Maimonides (Musa Ibn Maimon) wrote 'The Curse of Ham' centuries earlier... Spain, Portugal, & Italy appeared tired of Moorish Rule, & took advantage of the waning years of their influence. Current Reparations discussions have included the prominence of Afrikan Slave Trading, & how Afrikan Kingdoms, like Mali & Kongo actually traded Slaves w/ Europeans; until they were also Colonized. Afrikan Kingdoms became dependent on the profits, decadent lifestyle, & overall efficacy of trading away their 'enemies'. They didn't concern themselves w/ Europe's intentions for these people.

European Colonizers told themselves that they were 'On a Mission' to Christianize the heathens. I don't know what THAT had to do w/ raping & pillaging Societies in 'The Americas' (Amaru Ca/ Turtle Island/ Atlantis). In 'Capitalism & Slavery' Eric Williams explains how Europeans rationalized their barbarism to offset the guilt of violating fellow Human Beings. The Fruits of Exploration clouded the moral judgement of Many. Thinking Men, like Samuel George Morton began to concoct a number Theories (Religious & Scientific) to condone their actions. It wasn't limited to Afrika or The Americas; ANY non- Christian was a potential target. Truth be told, Latin America had more Slaves coming from The Pacific, than The Atlantic. Many of the Illegal Immigrants that (so called) Native Americans in The Dakotas are calling 'Indigenous People', are descendants of 'Negritos' transported from The Philippines & the South Pacific Islands. Spanish & Portugese Conquistadors adopted Colorism from the Arabs, & used it as a tool for Divide & Conquer (Blanqueamiento/ Branqueamiento).

The Portugese & Spanish brought Colorism to the (so called) New World, but it was The English who refined it into the System of Racism. Benjamin Franklin was credited w/ using the term 'White' in 1751, but Black Codes were already in play for decades. Bacon's Rebellion of 1675- 1676 resulted in 'Racial' (Chattel) Slavery in Virginia. White Indentured Servants that were treated no differently than their Black counterparts, were elevated to Overseers & Slave Hunters; later to become Militiamen & Police Officers. Legally, 'White' represented the Wealthy Class of Land Owners & Bankers (Gentlemen of Property & Standing). 'Black' represented Indigenous Americans- Free & Enslaved; Poor Whites were stuck in the middle. The Lessons of Bacon's Rebellion brought Laws that ensured that the average White Person had a better lifestyle than the average Black Person. This is the crux of 'White Privilege'.

Dictionaries define 'Whiteness' as: Fair & Pure. 'Blackness' is defined as: Ugly & Evil. All of this helped perpetuate Indigenous/ Aboriginal People as inferior to the European. The 1790 Census brought the first reclassification of American Indians to 'Negro' & 'Colored'. This reclassification continued w/ each subsequent Census. Census Enumerators were not just instructed, but encouraged to use their personal judgement when making Racial Assignments; particularly when making classifications of Negro & Colored. In 1924, Dr. Walter A. Plecker pushed 'The (Preservation of) Racial Integrity Act' in Virginia. This Act sought to reclassify ALL Indigenous People in Virginia as Colored or Negro, & penalized them (w/ violence or death). The 'One Drop Rule' was added in 1930. The Census completed it's reclassification w/ designations of 'Black' in 1970, & 'Afrikan American'(?) in 1990... Chris Rock once joked: "Have you ever seen an American Indian Family in an IHOP?" He probably didn't know that depending on which IHOP, he may have been SURROUNDED by them!

The U.S. Government has been persistent in their efforts to erase America's 'Copper- toned Aborigines'. In addition to Local, State, & Federal Laws designed to keep Us out of contention, they also used Anthropology to prove the inferiority of Indigenous People, compared to Europeans. W.E.B. Du Bois countered, w/ the help of Franz Boas & a new generation of Anthropologists. Melville Herskovits, like Boas contributed to the Anti Black counter narrative; playing a role in setting up the Harlem History Club at the 135th Street YMCA. This is the same Club that inspired Ho Chi Minh... Since 1990, (Indigenous) Black Americans have been on a Pan Afrikan Crusade that sought to embrace EVERY melanated individual as 'Black'. Haitians, Dominicans, Columbians, Somalis & Nigerians have been very vocal about NOT being Black; they're right! Family thinks that they either want to be White, or at least avoid the negativity associated w/ Blackness. Regardless of their reason, they have a Right Of Expression.

History has been purposely skewed, to prop up self righteous White Men & their Female cohorts (WASPs) over Everyone Else. Their advanced weaponry & barbarism has motivated many to fall in line w/ the Western Agenda over the last 500 Years, but Indigenous/ Black Americans have been fighting them every step of the way. Despite the effort to "Kill the Indian & keep The Man", We continued to search for Our Truth. 100Yrs ago, that led Us into an extensive search on the Afrikan Continent. DuBois, Boas, & Herskovits ALL espoused Out of Afrika Theory; & in some shape or form, molded the Minds of many of Our Master Teachers & Scholars. Their search for Roots in Afrika (Alkebu- Lan) was a noble & fruitful endeavor. As Students, We learned of glorious Civilizations that predated Europe, Rome, & Greece by several millennia. We learned that The Kamau, Nubian, & Kushite referred to themselves as 'Black People'. They were the 'Children of The Sun'- Blessed by The Most High w/ Blackness (Melanin/ Ka Nu). The 'Afu Ra Ka Nu' & 'Afu Rat Kat Nut' are the First Born of The Most High; molded out of Primordial Blackness (CERN calls it: The 'God Particle') & assigned as Caretakers of Planet Earth (Geb). In a Nation that marginalizes the very Concept of Blackness, We were inspired to shout: "I'm Black & I'm Proud!".

Today We live in The Information Age, & as such, Our Generation(s) have access to sources that few of Our Elders had. As We put the pieces together, We discover that:

North America had a population of roughly 100 Million Indigenous People when the Colonizers arrived 500Yrs ago.

These People had highly functional Matrilineal Societies that existed for millennia.

They traded w/ The Moors & other Afrikan Kingdoms for Centuries, & They spoke the Lingua Franca.

They have a Legacy of Brick Making & Mound Building. Billy Carson & Walter Williams both say that Our Indigenous Ancestors have a direct connection to the Kamau. Archeological digs in Southern Illinois & Ohio uncovered Kamitic Ritual material & Pre Phoenician 'Proto- Hebraic Script' among the artifacts. Quiet as it's kept, North America has a plethora of Mounds & Pyramids; St. Louis is nicknamed 'Mound City'.

ALL of the European visitors admitted the 'Copper- toned Aborigines' or Indios practiced a higher Culture than ANY Culture in Europe.

Benjamin Franklin, Patrick Henry, John Hancock, et al were students of Indigenous American Culture. They adopted the Articles Of Confederacy & The U.S. Constitution from the existing Confederacy Of The 5 Nations (The Iroquois Constitution), written around 1200 A.C.E... The Iroquois are the True Founders of the 'American Democratic Experiment'. Remember, ALL of the European Colonizers hailed from Monarchies, so it stands to reason...

The possibility of transporting 12 Million Afrikans to North America from 1619- 1865 is highly improbable. Dane Calloway already broke down the logistics of Trans Atlantic Shipping, & personally compelled The State of Virginia to reduce their 'Afrikan Slave' count by more than 90%. Depending on who you talk to, the number of 'Afrikans' transported to North America ranges from 90,000- 300,000 individuals. At best, this accounts for less than 10% of the 4 Million Individuals that were emancipated. The 20 Young Women that arrived at Point Comfort in 1619, were originally called 'Negresses', not Afrikans. American Indians were called Negroes almost interchangeably.

Dane Calloway, Kurimeo Ahau, & The Research Guy have all pointed out how Europeans transported North American Indians to 'Slave Seasoning' (Buck Breaking) Camps in The Caribbean. Afterwards, they were either shipped back to America, or transported to Europe, & later West Afrika; from Sierra Leone, to Angola. The English & French used Caribbean Maroons in their assault on Afrikan Kingdoms.

All of this new information about Our Ancestors has led many to revisit their Family Genealogy. Many of Us recall a Story or two about the Family connection to a particular Tribe. I personally can't remember hearing an Afrikan Origin Story, before the airing of Alex Haley's 'Roots'. My family taught Us about Our Indian Roots; We don't have a Slave Ship Story in Our History. Most of the Blackfolk claiming Afrikan Tribes, have taken so called Genetic Swab Tests that are advertised as 'Entertainment'. Black Historians & Genealogists, like Dr. Henry Louis Gates have refuted the accuracy of these 'Tests' for years. NO ONE can determine their ancestry from a mouth swab; you need the actual DNA of an Ancestor to make an accurate analysis. Most people don't know that their genetic material is being held (& utilized) by proponents of the [Mormon] Church Of Latter Day Saints. The largest Genealogy Library on Earth, is in Salt Lake City, Ut.

As We put the pieces together, We can clearly see the ongoing process of Colonization. AmeriKKKa cannot be as bold as Israel in their removal of Indigenous Black Americans, so The U.S. Government uses a trickbag of classifications & legislative measures to keep Blackfolk in a state of 'Arrested Development'. They hope that We 'migrate' to Afrika, but most of Us can't afford to visit; let alone relocate. Meanwhile, The Government continues to Flood the Zone w/ immigrants (for 175Yrs & counting). The Mainstream Media speaks about Venezuelan 'migrants' daily, but We hear nothing about the 100,000 Afghani & 100,000 Ukrainian immigrants they prepared for. These people are literally White on arrival. If illegal Venezuelans are getting 5 Star treatment, what are these folk getting?

I felt obligated to go in-depth on this topic, because so many cling to a definition created by Colonizers & Oppressors. How does someone define themselves using the language of their Oppressor? It's the same as someone saying: "A N-- like me", or "A B-- like me". We have been programmed into accepting a wretched (ratchet) image of Ourselves. Some of the people refusing to use the term 'Black', have No Problem referring to themselves as 'N--s' & 'B--s'. I question their logic. Richard Pryor said 40Yrs ago, in 'Here & Now' that he was wrong about using The N- Word. He went on to say that it was a Word that describes Our Wretchedness. He vowed never to use that Word again, but since his declaration, there has been an explosion of 'N-- Comics' over the last 40Yrs. Use of The N- Word is more prevalent than wearing that dress, but few talk about this particular assault on Our Culture. Is it just a coincidence that many of these N- Comics have 'funny looking Wives', as Katt Williams described them?

The lion's share of Our Master Teachers & Scholars were literally spoon-fed Out Of Afrika Theory, so We were primed for Pan Afrikanism. Marcus Garvey was actually 'fishing in a barrel' on those Harlem Streets. This isn't a bad thing in itself. Our Problem has been giving Our 'Cousins' too much access to Our Cultural Mores. Many of the Celebrities, Athletes, & Entertainers being spotlighted & engaging in miscegenation, are descendants of Black Immigrants. They're the Same Ones misrepresenting Our Culture, while telling Us that We're 'Culturally Lost'. Like Hindi/ Bangladeshi/ & Pakistani/ Americans, these folk are situational about their Blackness. They relish being 'Afrikan American' when it's profitable, but are quick to remind you of their Nationality (in a thick accent) when it isn't... It's time to delineate. EVERY melanated group has an identifiable lineage, except Black America. We had a clear identity, until We allowed Jesse Jackson to reclassify Us as 'Afrikan American'. To quote Dane Calloway: "We're named after 2 Continents". Now We're being amalgamated into an 'Afrikan/ Black Diaspora' that is looking to fleece Us like Everyone Else. Most of these folks are 'Black' Capitalists looking for a quick buck. The commercialization of Kwanzaa is a prime example. Our argument for Lineage Based Reparations has revealed this well kept secret.

The (current) Reparations discussion has brought important issues to the conversation. ADOS, FBA, Freemen, & Indigenous Family all agree that We're a specific Lineage Group w/ a specific Experience. No other group has endured what We have endured in America. Some Black Immigrants make a valid point that They have endured over 100Yrs of White Supremacy in America; few admit that They also had more autonomy & opportunity than We had. Many of the 'First Faces' that We tout, aren't Us, but Our Cousins. Colin Powell, Eric Holder, & Susan Rice aren't just descendants of Immigrants, they're also Cousins! Barack Obama was Harvard's 1st Black Law Review Editor & Claudine Gay was their 1st Black President, but NEITHER have Indigenous Black Roots. BOTH have more in common w/ the descendants of Slave Holders, than those Enslaved on Harvard's properties. We have far too many of their Faces in Our Spaces. 'Afrikan American' is not working for Us. It skews perspectives regarding Wealth & Inequality, while rewarding newcomers for their 'proximity to Blackness'.

I have to go back to The Black Power Movement, to get a clear understanding of what Blackness truly means. During that Era, 'Blackness' was an American Phenomenon that was Globally acknowledged. No One else said: 'I'm Black & I'm Proud' w/ as much authority. John Carlos & Tommie Smith proudly threw up their Black fists, knowing they would pay a price. Muhammad Ali lost his Prime Boxing Years to make a point. The Culture of Blackness permeated Music & Cinema; We were doing Our Thing, Our Way. The Culture was distinctly Ours. It WAS a Black Thang, & No One understood it; but EVERYONE respected it. As We travelled The World, We were called Soul Brothers & Soul Sisters, but most called Us Black American. We have a distinct Pedigree. The World knows WHO We are. If we're being honest, Black Culture & Music was generally more respectable before 1990, when We became 'Afrikan American'. Hollywood has been denigrating Us since 'Birth Of A Nation', but their images contradicted who We are. We're a Righteous & Noble People. Our Love of Our Collective progeny is unrivaled. The Slave Experience stripped Us of Our individual lineage, but it also eliminated any Tribalism. Indigenous Black Americans- from New York to Oakland, & from Detroit to Houston refer to each other as: 'Family from...' We compete against each other, & toss The Dozens; but when it's time to Put in The Work- We're ALL On Code.

I laugh at this notion of 'Race Neutrality'. What exactly is meant by Race? Chief Justice John Roberts & Justice Clarence Thomas both lean on this term pretty heavily, but how? Black, White, Asian, & Latinx aren't Racial Groups, they're Socio- Demographic Classifications. Every Middle School Student has learned by 8th Grade of 3 Races: Negroid, Mongoloid, & Caucasoid. This 'Racial Re- tread' only seems to affect Indigenous Black Americans/ Copper-toned Aborigines on the basis of Our skin color. Everyone Else, including Black Immigrants have a Right of Expression under the current demographic structure. This is the Same System that holds Black America stagnant at 13% of the population since Emancipation, while bringing Ethnic Europeans (Caucasians, Catholics) & Asians under the umbrella of Whiteness; to offset the declining birth rate in their demographic. The Biden Administration has implied the same thing is being done w/ Latinx. I STILL ask: What is a 'Latino/ Hispanic'- are they a specific Nationality? No, they're a Socially Engineered Group (Buffer Class) created to marginalize the Indigenous Black American Population. Our Collective, is not a grouping of different Ethnicities & Nationalities under a particular demographic- We're One Nationality. As We search for a uniform description of Our specific Lineage Group, 'Black American' is a No Brainer... Cam'ron is correct.

'Black American' actually describes a specific Ethnic Group w/ a specific Culture & Experience that NO OTHER GROUP can tout. It describes a Group of People in a specific Region, not a (Global) Racial Group. We are as distinct, as Australian Aborigines. Other than Our Cousins- the 'Black Brits', melanated People tend to describe themselves Tribally or Nationally. They only identify as 'Black', when they Come to America. Meanwhile, Native (Siberian) Americans have used the Dawes Rolls to appropriate Our Ancestral [Tribal] Identity, forcing Us to Collectively reestablish Ourselves from scratch. Indigenous, Aboriginal, or American Indian describes Our connection to The Land. The Blood & Bones of Our Ancestors are buried Here, not in Afrika. Black American, describes who We are today. It defines Us as a unique Nationality. This description makes it easier for Us to point out Centuries of legislative policy crafted & used against Us as a specific Lineage Group. Afrikan American, is a monolithic classification that ignores the diverse Cultural experiences & Tribalism of the Collective. Ultimately, Our Name may change, but The Culture stays the Same.

In a nutshell, Black American IS Our Tribal Identity. We're World renowned for Standing Out & Standing Our Ground, & NO ONE does it better. As Professor Black Truth puts it: 'We create Icons'.

-Just making My Case

[nitearmorweek]

As everyone gets to work preparing for NiteArmor Week, the mods wanted to encourage people to bring their own lived experiences into their creations. You are welcome to write and draw mandalorians in a way that reflects your own life and culture; Bo-Katan and the Armorer do not have to physically resemble their live action counterparts.

What does this mean? Do you want to share your Mexican heritage and weave it into the story of your NiteArmor fic? Hell yeah! Do you see the Armorer has having dreadlocks? Include them! Do you have an insulin pump and think Bo-Katan has one under her flightsuit too? We want to heart about it!

For those who may need a little help or are looking for new resources, we have gathered a small list of guides. Some of the below sources came from @lavenderursa's collection of inclusive writing tips. The mods recommend reading through the original post they worked hard to put together! The hope of this new post is to build out their post to include a few more elements specific to Star Wars.

Writing Resources Collectives and authors who have published tips and guides on writing stories that center diverse experiences:

Writing With Color

The History of Black Hair [Words to Describe Hair]

A Guide to Natural Black Hair

How To Write About Trans People

A Primer on Writing Trans Characters

The Do’s and Don’ts of Writing Transgender Characters

Important Tips on Making/Writing Asian OCs

Dear Non-Asian Writer

How to Avoid Asian Stereotypes, Appropriation, and White Washing

​Tips for Inclusivity with Reader Inserts

A Guide to Writing Disabled Characters

A general cane guide for writers and artists (from a cane user, writer, and artist!)

Creating authentic deaf and hard of hearing characters

Art Tips Helpful information on how to draw different body types, skin tones, and hair:

Basic Skin Tone Coloring [part 2]

Kupa's Guide to Skintones

A Guide to Drawing South Asian Skin Tones [part 2]

Protocols When Drawing Native American Hair

A guide to designing wheelchair using characters! [part 2]

Whitewashing in Art and How Colors Work

​How to Draw Disabled People

Drawing East Asian Faces

Plus Size Body Types

POC Blush tones

Afro, 4C hair

Image References Websites that offer images that can be licensed for use and/or inspiration. The below three are highly recommended resources, but some do have a cost:

createHERstock - Your destination for authentic stock images featuring melanated women

Nappy co - Beautiful photos of Black and Brown people, for free

Eye for Ebony - Beautiful lifestyle stock photos featuring people of color

Affect The Verb - This is a disability-led effort to provide free & inclusive stock images from our own perspective, with photos and illustrations celebrating disabled Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC).

Pixerf - Asia's fastest-growing Asian stock photo market place

Disability: In - Disability Inclusive Stock Photography

Disability is Beautiful - The best free stock images provided by the disability community.

Cosplayers Artists and content creators that have posted amazing Star Wars cosplay! Their hard work and attention to detail in costuming is a wonderful source of inspiration and reference. If you are inspired by any of their photos, please make sure to credit them and send your love. Here are just three examples of cosplayers within the fandom:

Jahara Jayde | twitter | ko-fi

arseniccupcakes | twitter | patreon

cutiepiesensei | twitter | instagram

Further Reading Additional articles, studies, and analyses that discuss racism and ableism within the Star Wars fandom specifically:

Racism In Star Wars: A List of Resources

Star Wars Franchise: Stitch's Media Mix Analyst

Star Wars: A Tale of Racism

Disability In Star Wars

Blind Warriors, Supercrips, and Techno-Marvels: Challenging Depictions of Disability in Star Wars

What's the Problem, Papi?: Internet Daddy-ism and Coddling, Fetishization, and what "Latino-looking" actually means.

Sinophobia in SW Animation

Thank you for making it to the end of this post! Please do not consider this a definitive list or a replacement for anti-racist work in the real world. Keep reading, stay curious, and seek out new perspectives from voices you may not have been listening for.

Do you have any additional recommendations, sources, or guides to share? Feel free to drop them in the comments of this post ❤️

[arthistoryanimalia]

Maria Sibylla Merian was born #OTD (German, 2 Apr 1647 – 13 Jan 1717).

Here are a few of her works that were recently on display at the “Making Her Mark: A History of Women Art in Europe, 1400-1800” exhibition at Baltimore Museum of Art :

1. “Pineapple with Cockroaches” in Dissertatio de Generatione et Metamorphosibus Insectorum Surinamensium... (Dissertation on the generations and metamorphosis of Surinamese insects), 1719

Bound volume of hand-colored engravings and etchings

“This ripening pineapple's sweet aroma attracts a swarm of cockroaches. Maria Sibylla Merian observed this interaction during a three-year, self-financed voyage with her daughter Dorothea Maria to the South American country of Suriname, then a Dutch colony, in 1699. While there, Merian studied the native plant and insect life, learning their uses and behavior from enslaved African and Indigenous guides working at the sugar plantation where she stayed. In her notes, Merian characterized the pineapple as "the most outstanding of all edible fruits" and cockroaches as "the most infamous of all insects in America."

Merian's illustrations innovatively presented insect life cycles, habitats, and the broader ecological dynamic. After returning to the Netherlands, Merian published an illustrated compilation, creating one of the most important natural history publications of the time.

Her daughters Dorothea Maria Graff and Johanna Helena Herolt-Graff continued to issue editions after Merian's death, such as this deluxe version, contributing to their mother's foundational reputation in entomology.”

2. Frontispiece of Der Raupen wunderbare Verwandelung und sonderbare Blumen-Nahrung (The Wondrous Transformation of Caterpillars and their Curious Diet of Flowers), 1679-83

Bound volume w/ hand colored engraved illustrations

3. Convolvulus and Metamorphosis of the Convolvulus Hawk Moth, c.1670-1683

Watercolor w/ touches of opaque watercolor over indications in black chalk or graphite on vellum

“Maria Sibylla Merian had a close relationship with caterpillars, rearing them from egg to adult in her home over a decade. This engaging illustration of the life cycle of the convolvulus hawk moth on the wall above is the result of her sustained observations and her exceptional artistic talent. Creating an intertwined vignette of insect and plant life, Merian constructed a life cycle image that became a standard in scientific illustration and shaped the field of entomology. Her findings and illustrations contributed to a foundational reference text on insect metamorphosis, Der Raupen wunderbare Verwandlung und sonderbare Blumen-Nahrung, on display here.”

[whumpinggrounds]

Disability Activists Worth Knowing

Hi! In honor of Disability Pride Month, which is July in the USA, I am writing about some disabled activists who I think are cool. Many of you are (hopefully) familiar with giants like Helen Keller and Judy Heumann, but there are a lot of really interesting people out there whose names aren’t as widely shared, especially those who are also POC, queer, and/or non-American.

Please feel free to add more disabled people, or information about people I’ve already listed! Note that this post is intended to be about people who advocate for the disabled community and are also disabled themselves. Non-disabled advocates have also done a lot for the community! But that is not who this post is about <3

Final disclaimer: This is a post that I researched quickly, and specifically sought out some new people I hadn’t heard about. If there’s someone on this list that’s fucked up, feel free to add that, and even feel free to @ me so I can reblog your correction. Please do not yell at me or assume I’m aware of every political opinion/possible transgression of the many people on this list pls

Now, in no particular order -

Javed Abidi was an activist who advocated for disability rights in India. He helped pass the Person with Disabilities act in Parliament, and served as the first director of the National Centre for Promotion of Employment of Disabled People.

Ola Abu Al Ghaib is a Palestinian activist who works to promote the rights of people with disabilities, particularly women with disabilities, in the Arab States, Africa, and Asia.

Ari Ne’eman is an Israeli-American activist who founded the Autism Self Advocacy Network, one of the earliest advocacy organizations run both by and for Autistic people. Currently, he consults with the ACLU on disability justice issues and is writing a book about disability history in the USA.

Dana Bolles is an American spaceflight engineer and advocate for people with disabilities in STEM. She also advocates for women and the queer community, and currently works at NASA.

Fatima al-Aqel was a Yemeni woman who advocated for blind and visually impaired women in Yemen, as well as opening Yemen’s first school for the blind. She later founded the Al-Aman Organization Blind Women Care to further opportunities for blind women in the social and professional spheres, as well as working to adapt literature to Braille.

Judi Chamberlain was an American activist, leader, speaker, and educator in the psychiatric survivors movement. Her book On Our Own: Patient-Controlled Alternatives to the Mental Health System is a foundational text in the Mad Pride movement and argues for the rights of patients in psychiatric care.

María Soledad Cisternas Reyes is a Chilean lawyer and disability rights advocate who has helped increase access for disabled people in Chile and internationally, through her work with the UN. She has also been recognized for her work on the intersection of rights of disabled people, children, women, indigenous people, and the elderly.

Tony Coelho is an American politician of Portuguese descent who was the primary sponsor of the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) and was a former chairman of the Epilepsy Foundation.

Justin Dart Jr. was an American activist and disability advocate who was regarded as the father (or sometimes godfather) of the ADA. Other notable accomplishments include founding his university’s first group to oppose racism, founding the American Association of People with Disabilities, and receiving a Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Vic Finkelstein is a South African disability rights activist and writer who pioneered the social model of disability. He spent the latter part of his life in Britain after being imprisoned and banned from South Africa for anti-apartheid activities.

Chen Guangcheng is a Chinese civil rights activist, often referred to as a “barefoot lawyer,” who worked on civil rights cases in rural China. Due to his advocacy and activist work surrounding land rights, women’s rights, disability rights, and the welfare of the poor, Chen was repeatedly imprisoned and eventually left China for the USA.

Rick Hansen is a Canadian paralympian and activist, most famous for circling the world in a wheelchair to raise money for charity. His journey lasted just over 2 years, with an average of 8 hours of wheeling per day. He founded the Hansen foundation to raise funds and awareness to create a world without barriers for people with disabilities.

Abha Khetarpal is an Indian poet, author, and disability rights activist and counselor who founded a counseling/educational resource website and app for people with disabilities. Her work focuses on disability and women’s rights, with a focus on sexual liberation and sexual education and access for disabled people.

Harriet McBryde Johnson was an American author, attorney, and disability rights activist who specialized in securing Social Security benefits for disabled clients who could not work. She debated Peter Singer, arguably the most famous philosopher in America today, on the right of parents to euthanize their disabled children, an encounter she wrote about in the essay Unspeakable Conversations. 

Yetnebersh Nigussie is an Ethiopian lawyer who primarily works in disability rights and anti-AIDs activism. She is a 2017 winner of the Right Livelihood award, widely considered the “Alternative Nobel Prize.”

Satendra Singh is an Indian medical doctor who has advocated extensively for disability rights and access in India, including founding an “Enabling Unit,” a group staffed entirely by people with disabilities that ensures other disabled people are able to attend medical school and associated programs with proper accommodations and support.

Lauren Tuchman was the first blind woman to be ordained as a rabbi. She advocates primarily for disability rights and an inclusive Torah.

Emmanuel Yeboah is a Ghanian athlete and activist who rode a bike across Ghana to raise awareness about the lack of disability rights and access in the country, specifically a lack of wheelchairs. He currently works on ensuring education access for children with and without disabilities in Ghana.

Stella Young was an Australian comedian and journalist who was known for coining the term “inspiration porn.”

Nabil Shaban is a Jordanian-British actor and writer who is best known as the villain Sil on Dr. Who. He co-founded Graeae, a theater group which promotes the work of disabled actors.

That’s all I have for you! Please feel free to add :) I am considering writing up a few more posts about disabled celebrities, artists, etc, so let me know if you’d be interested <3

[terranautica]

welcome!

this blog loves planet earth and the people in it.

some notes:

I generally try to identify places + groups

I try to make conscious decisions about tags that respect cultural identities, consider historical context and reject imperialism. I realize this is impossible and messy and doomed to be inconsistent. choices I've made include one Korea, one Ireland, and multiple tags for separatist states, i.e. Scotland, Catalan Countries.

I am currently unsure when or if it makes sense to tag the "bigger" nation in a post about an autonomous region, ex. China and Tibet, Faroe Islands and Denmark. I want to respect widespread independence movements, but also not become bloated with regional tags. Tibet deserves to be free of China but I have to laugh at modern Texas separatism.

Israel does not get a tag. Jewish diaspora, Free Palestine, genocide, USA, or anti imperialism are used.

I am not always sure when to use the indigenous peoples tag. if I am unsure I will probably leave it out.

except the history and prehistory tag, I currently am not tagging things that no longer exist, ex. Soviet Union, Roman Empire. I may instead tag with related tags, ex. Russia, Greece

Tags like EU, UK, Africa, Asia, Latin American, Polynesian, etc. are used in posts that refer to many places/groups collectively ex. Lunar New Year in Asia

I try to tag the country/group that an artist/writer/creator belongs to, ex. a post featuring Baldwin tagged with USA, literature, black diaspora

tags are ever-evolving!

country/place tags:

Africa, Albania, Angolia, Argentina, Armenia, Asia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Canada, Catalan Countries, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Congo, Cuba, Czechia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Emirates, Estonia, Ethiopia, EU, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Greenland, Guatemala, Haiti, Hawai'i, Hungary, Iberia, Iceland, India, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Korea, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Maldives, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Mozambique, Namibia, New Zealand, Niger, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Norway, Pakistan, free Palestine, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, free Tibet, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, USA, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Wales, West Papau, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

diaspora + ethnic group + cultural group tags:

Ainu, Apache, Bahá'í, Basque, Black diaspora, Chechen, Choctaw, Chulym, Dakota, Dharumbal, Dolgan, Galician, Gavião, Guarani-Kaiowá, Hui, Igbo, immigrants, Ingorot, Inuit, Ixil, Jewish diaspora, Karakalpak, Kashmir, Kazakh, Ket, Khakas, Lakota, Latin American, Lezgin, Mah Meri, Maka, Makonda, Mari, Mohegan, Ojibwe, Pataxo, Polynesian, Pueblo peoples, Purepecha, Q'eqchi', Rapa Nui, Rohingya, Romani, Rukai, Ryukyuan, Sakapultek, Samburu, Sámi, Selkup, Sioux, Tamil, Tatar, Tigray, Tlingit, Tokalau, Uyghur, Yazidi

culture + other tags:

agriculture, airports, animals and wildlife, architecture, art, children, clothing and textiles, dance, ecology and environmentalism, festivals and holidays, film and tv, food, geopolitics, history, infrastructure, language, literature, maps, music, myth and legend, my posts, nature, prehistory, postcards and stamps, public transportation, religions and belief systems, solidarity, sports and games, traditions and customs, true spirit of the blog, urban landscape, water and boats, women

ugly tags:

acab, anti capitalism, anti imperialism, anti misogyny, anti xenophobia, genocide

[legend-collection]

Mohan

The Muan, Moan or Mohan (moo-ahn), sometimes also known as Poira, is a name applied to several mythological or otherwise supernatural creatures in South and Central American folklore. The most common use of the term is to refer to the souls of the dead and the indigenous ancestors of old. The word is also used for shamans or witch doctors in some Colombian indigenous cultures (such as the Panches).

Various legends exist about the Mohan, with many of them emerging from Colombia. In Colombia, Mohan can also mean a forest or barren land spirit. In some legends, it is a satyr-like being who steals and eats young women and lives in a cave-like grotto in the bottom of the great jungle rivers where he keeps his female captives. In others, it is depicted as the spirit of an old Indian, brawny and stout, with a terrifying grin and stare, with larger than human stature and proportions, who steals fishermen's bait, catch or nets, and has the power to change shape into a cat-like beast. Other legends describe the Mohan as a "big-headed Indian, with short legs and fish fins on his back, and very brown." He is portrayed as an extremely hairy being with a very treacherous personality who dwells in the backwaters and is feared by many people. He also causes mischief for young girls who come to wash clothes in the water.

The Mohan is also known as an avatar whose form shamans are able to adopt. One myth tells of how a shaman became an alligator in order to be close to the girls who played in the river. The shaman was not able to fully transform back into a human and became an alligator with a human head. The Poira, whose name is interchangeable with the Mohan, is described by others as an Indian warlock who lives on the Cerro del Pacandé in Tolima, Colombia. The Poira is also believed to be a small, naked invisible boy or adult who can also appear formless or as a black bear.

[bevs-learning-journal]

Ruth Carter

Ruth Carter is an American costume designer who notably created costumes for Black Panther, Malcolm X and Amistad. 

For the costumes of black panther Ruth carter took inspiration from the indigenous people of africa such as the Maasai (Kenya and Tanzania), the Himba (northern Namibia), the Dogon (Mali, West Africa), the Tuareg (Sahara region of North Africa—Niger, Mali, Libya, Algeria, Burkina Faso), and the Basotho (South Africa).

Ruth Carter had personal shoppers and visited  these countries to gather numerous authentic clothing items from the continent and rejected african fabrics that were inauthentically made in holland. Ruth Carter aimed to preserve and respect the complex nature of African culture and use these in costume design. 

Ruth Carter is proud of the uniform of the all woman warrior group called the Dora Milaje that protects King T’challa the Black Panther Hero in black panther. They are bald, strong  and fearsome yet feminine and embrace masculine strength compared to comics that depict superhero women as sexy, revealing outfits that are blatantly to appeal to the male gaze. The Dora Milaje are elegant and high ranking warriors so Ruth Carter had to create costumes that portray this as in the comics they were very unfit for fighting.

Ruth Carter's work has been one of my inspirations for my Afrofuturism campaign by being one of the most recent examples of Afrofuturism in mainstream media. I used her idea of looking at the traditional aesthetics of African clothing and giving them futuristic silhouettes and shapes. 

The Dora Milaje from Black Panther 2018

References

Boyd Acuff, J., 2020. Afrofuturism: Reimagining art curricula for Black existence. Art Education, 73(3), pp.13-21.

Ryzik, M., 2018. The Afrofuturistic Designs of ‘Black Panther’. The New York Times, 23. 

 Givhan, R. (2018) ‘The vision behind “Black Panther”s’ stunning look: ‘Feminine, masculine, beautiful and strong.: How costume designer Ruth E. Carter drew her inspiration from African culture and history’, The Washington post (Washington, D.C. 1974. Online).

[whatisonthemoon]

Black Propaganda under Fujimori: A Note on “The Shining Path”

△ Pictured: Imprisoned “Shining Path” combatants who transformed their prison into a revolutionary school - these combatants were largely executed in a series of massacres from June 18-19, 1986 The Communist Party of Peru, often referred to as the Shining Path by the reactionary media, has come up on this blog recently when discussing Albert Fujimori’s sterilization project among Indigenous women, which received funding from the US and a Sasakawa-affiliated NGO primarily to combat this organization. Many have an incredibly violent conception of this organization, including tales of their guerilla fighters boiling babies. Though this organization, like any, did not exist without errors, much of what the media and education system teach about this organization are outright lies.

There is evidence of both the CIA and the government of former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori using various forms of propaganda, including black propaganda, to counter the Communist Party of Peru (Shining Path) and other insurgent groups in Peru during the internal conflict in the 1980s and 1990s. The use of propaganda and disinformation was a common tactic employed by the government and its security forces to undermine public support for the insurgents and to create an atmosphere of fear and mistrust.

Fujimori, who came to power in 1990, implemented authoritarian measures and widespread human rights abuses during his presidency, including the use of extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances, to combat the Shining Path insurgency. He was also known for his use of propaganda and manipulation of media outlets to control public opinion and discredit political opponents.

The CIA has been widely criticized for its role in supporting authoritarian (fascist) regimes and promoting US interests in South America, including its involvement in Operation Condor, a coordinated effort by several South American countries to suppress political dissent. A number of sources claim that the CIA provided support to Fujimori's government in its counterinsurgency efforts, including the use of propaganda.

[mediaevalmusereads]

Winter Counts. By David Heska Wanbli Weiden. Harper Collins, 2020.

Rating: 2/5 stars

Genre: thriller

Series: N/A

Summary: Virgil Wounded Horse is the local enforcer on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota.  When justice is denied by the American legal system or the tribal council, Virgil is hired to deliver his own punishment, the kind that’s hard to forget. But when heroin makes its way into the reservation and finds Virgil’s nephew, his vigilantism suddenly becomes personal. He enlists the help of his ex-girlfriend and sets out to learn where the drugs are coming from, and how to make them stop.

They follow a lead to Denver and find that drug cartels are rapidly expanding and forming new and terrifying alliances. And back on the reservation, a new tribal council initiative raises uncomfortable questions about money and power. As Virgil starts to link the pieces together, he must face his own demons and reclaim his Native identity. He realizes that being a Native American in the twenty-first century comes at an incredible cost.

***Full review below.***

CONTENT WARNINGS: sexual assault of a minor, violence, references to assault/abduction of Indigenous women, drug use and overdose, reference to miscarriage/domestic violence/suicide, child death, alcoholism, racism (including use of the n-word)

WRITING: I struggled with Weiden's writing in part because I felt it was heavy on the telling. The narrator would bluntly tell the reader how he was thinking and feeling, but on top of that, Weiden uses a lot of filter words and phrases, like "I wondered" and "I thought about." It made me as a reader feel like I was being held at a distance, not invited to experience things along with our narrator. It also made things like emotional connection much harder to come by because Weiden doesn't dwell long on things that supposedly have more emotional weight.

OVERVIEW: I can't remember exactly how I came across this book, but I'm always looking for interesting works by Indigenous authors. I figured this one would be insightful and fast-paced.

While some things about this book were, in fact, nuanced and attention-grabbing, the biggest thing that prevented me from fully connecting with the story and characters was the writing. I don't know if it's the author's personal storytelling style or something more broadly associated with the thriller genre, but I found the writing to privilege telling over showing way too much, and for that, it earns this book 2 stars.

PLOT: The plot of this book follows Virgil Wounded Horse, a Lakota man working as a vigilante hit man of sorts on his reservation. Virgil is tasked with busting up a gang of heroin dealers, and the issue becomes personal when his 14 year old nephew, Nathan, and ex-girlfriend, Marie, get involved.

The overall arc of this plot is fine if you're into stories about drugs and gangs and vigilante justice. It's not really my jam, but I can see how it would be of interest to people.

My biggest disappointment with this plot was the fact that it didn't seem like the action corresponded well to the themes. Weiden hints at a lot of thematic elements: Virgil feeling distanced from his culture, poverty on the reservation, people preying on their own communities, the hierarchy that seems to separate full-blooded Indians and "half breeds." Any one of these themes would have been more interesting if the main plot was better designed to comment on or explore the complicated identity of being a modern-day Indian on a reservation. To be fair, there is a little of this towards the end, when Virgil gets more in touch with his culture and community. But to me, it felt like most of the book's themes were explored only at a surface level.

TL;DR: Winter Counts is interesting for its look at vigilante justice and reconnecting with Indigenous values and culture. However, the writing style made it difficult to connect with the characters, and the plot and the themes didn't feel particularly aligned.

CHARACTERS: Virgil, our narrator and protagonist, is a little hard to get to know because of Weiden's writing style. I respect that Virgil has complicated feelings about his culture and past, and I even respect his grey morality and its relationship to justice on the reservation. But I think Virgil would have been more compelling if he had a stronger personal arc. As it stands, all of his development seems to happen in the last 20% of the book, and I wish we had been taken on more of a journey.

Marie, Virgil's ex, is somewhat more interesting because she has a lot of things going on that challenge how she sees the world. I liked that her passion for reviving Indigenous traditions comes up against the realities of life on the reservation, and she had to made a lot of hard choices that showed what her values were. I do wish her relationship with Virgil was more convincing; as it stands, I didn't get the sense that she and Virgil loved each other, and that's probably because I wasn't particularly moved by Weiden's writing style.

Nathan, Virgil's 14 year old nephew, honestly felt like he should have been the protagonist. While Virgil mostly relies on other people to act (until maybe the last 20% of the book), I was extremely interested in Nathan's inner life and how the events of the plot affected him. If this book was from his POV, I feel like there could have been more tension, especially if we were given insight into some of Nathan's choices. But alas.

[gingerfreshindochinesefood]

The savory history of Indo-Chinese Cuisine

Who doesn’t like to savor the taste of Indo-Chinese cuisine?

We know how they come in unusual names like vegetable Manchurian, Hakka noodles, chili paneer, and American chop suey. Characteristically, these dishes are fiery, spicy, greasy, and zesty with an unquantifiable X factor that makes them so incredibly satisfying. One mouthful is a burst of so many flavors and that satisfaction cannot be explained in words.

So, what precisely is Indo-Chinese cuisine? The combination of Chinese ingredients like soy sauce and vinegar with garlic, ginger, and chili peppers used in large quantities, not as seasonings, but as primary ingredients, to create dishes with distinctively amplified flavor profiles is what is known as Chinese food that has been adapted to Indian tastes.

The history of Indo-Chinese cuisines.

India was the traditional “greener pasture,” where everyone flocked beginning in the 18th century, and it was a significant British possession in Asia. This includes the vast majority of Cantonese and Hakka Chinese immigrants from the south of China who sailed to Kolkata, the capital of India’s West Bengal state, before relocating to other cities like Mumbai. Cantonese and Hakka cuisines started to show up on menus throughout the city, at roadside stalls and restaurants, as they settled in and established a community in Kolkata and became a major part of Mumbai-style street food.

The majority of those who immigrated at the time were quite destitute and had to abandon their family. There weren’t many women there at the time, so they started a side business serving simple food alongside their husbands. The city of Kolkata now has India’s only Chinatown, which has evolved into the unofficial hub of authentic Indo-Chinese cuisine and these grew to include thousands of eateries. Numerous diners, from upscale eateries to local neighborhood hangouts and street foods, offer what is now recognized as innately Indian Chinese cuisine: spiciness, sauciness, and the famed chicken or vegetable Manchurian, always batter-fried and slathered in chili garlic sauce, all of which have little in common with the type of food eaten in China.

What made Indians fall in love with Indo-Chinese food?

It’s remarkable to observe how subtly Indian Chinese cuisine has assimilated into the indigenous way of life. Due to the widespread use of chow mein, Chinese noodles are commonly referred to as “chow” here, and many cafés offer at least four different cuisines, usually Chinese, Indian, Italian, and Thai. Alongside the saunf and saffron in the grocery store are packets of Manchow soup and spice blends for hakka noodles.

According to culinary writers, the rising popularity of Indianized Chinese cuisine was due to the wonderful flavorings and attraction to the nation’s gravy-loving palate. The utilization of a “holy trinity” of ingredients, tomatoes, soy sauce, and chili, that gave Indian consumers a taste of something they weren’t frequently able to obtain in local cuisine, was the key to its success. Cuisines with a dearth of umami flavors are Indian food. That was the one flavor that Indian cuisine lacked, and Chinese cuisine was created to fill that void.

GingerFresh: serving authentic Indo-Chinese cuisine for everyone!

Uncovering true Indo-Chinese cuisine and bringing it to a wider audience is the goal of GingerFresh, a massive and devoted culinary adventure established by the best fusion-style chefs. Globally, GingerFresh Indo-Chinese cuisine is recognized for its vast range of flavors, aromatic spices, and nutritious benefits. The conventional and organic herbs that we use in our dishes enhance their flavors and enticing aromas.

Additionally, we take in online orders from your favorite delivery applications and offer a fast delivery of quality food served hot from our website. Ease and soothe your tastebuds with exquisite Indo-Chinese cuisines for yourself!

Original article - https://www.gingerfresh.ca/the-savory-history-of-indo-chinese-cuisine/

[reasonandempathy]

They meant “bad guys,” a generic, an oversimplification in a complex world, a fill-in-the-blank enemy of the moment.

We meant Fascists and Nazis. The two are related and largely used interchangeably.

So when they use words like “genocide” to describe people killed in war at a lower ratio of civilian to combatant than any conflict in memory

You're using the "there are still Palestinians" defense as an effective and grounded defense of Israel's actions.

This isn't how the law works, and it isn't even reflective of prior genocides. The Bosnian genocide, for example, resulted in 8,000 dead Bosniaks and the displacement of of ~30,000. Of a population of 4.5 million in 1990.

For contrast, the months-old numbers of Gaza, by the IDF killed more Gazans, displaced more of them, and of a smaller population as a whole (meaning a higher percentage of the population).

If you think it's not a genocide that's plausible/fine. That's what "plausible" means. But like asking for a definition of woman that only includes cis women and doesn't include trans women, there hasn't been a definition of genocide accepted or used that wouldn't potentially include Gaza. There's even a lot of exterminationist language in the Israeli military and leadership, which is usually incredibly hard to find.

How to prove me wrong: provide a functional example of genocide that would include Bosnia, Darfur, Yemen, Yazidis, Hutus, Rwanda, Cambodia, Armenia, East Timur, Zanzibar, , Indigenous Americans by the USA, Indigenous Americans by Canadians, Indigenous Americans by the Spanish Crown, and Ikiza that wouldn't include Israel/Gaza.

“apartheid” for a government that doesn’t actually have racial or ethnic segregation

This just isn't true. At face value. There is ethnic segregation. There are literal walls, fences, and laws keeping Palestinians separate from Israelis/Jews in occupied territories, segregating what streets they can walk down.

Palestinians can have their homes reclaimed and taken by Jewish and Israeli settlers. Palestinians are, almost exclusively, referred to military courts with 90%+ "conviction" rates, whereas Israelis almost exclusively use civil courts. There are laws on the books in Israel that allow Palestinians can lose their Israeli citizenship for protesting the government ("but that's only if they support Hamas!" given how Israeli officials are out here saying Biden is a Hamas ally, excuse my distrust of that flimsy separation). Every session of the Knesset there are bills put forward to give Palestinians and those under occupation full Israeli citizenship and every session it's not even brought up for a vote.

Similar to the topic of genocide, there isn't a functioning definition of Apartheid put forward that wouldn't include Israel.

How to prove me wrong: provide a functional example of apartheid that would include America, South Africa, China, India, Myanmar, North Korea, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan but not include Israel.

"you didn't cite anything!"

If I go through the work to actually go through and cite the claims, all of which can be sourced to credible reporting and/or literal Israeli law, will you commit to acknowledging them and their cumulative meaning now and going forward? Or are you just trying to waste my time?

When they said, “Punch a Nazi,” I thought they meant Nazis, the people who hated and killed Jews in an actual genocide.

They meant “bad guys,” a generic, an oversimplification in a complex world, a fill-in-the-blank enemy of the moment.

Not Nazis.

So when they use words like “genocide” to describe people killed in war at a lower ratio of civilian to combatant than any conflict in memory or when they use “apartheid” for a government that doesn’t actually have racial or ethnic segregation (though neighboring governments most certainly do), they’ve proven they use words carelessly, flippantly, for their own benefit and vibes.

And I have learned that what they have to say is self-serving instead of the truth.

[selvem1karthik]

Sanathana dharma has survived and flourished

Udhayanidhi Stalin Calling for Eradication of Sanatanam 👇🏻

His mother visits Sanathanam temples, but he has different belief, does he want to hurt his mother’s beliefs?

👇🏻

Certainly caste & all discrimination, exploitation (prevalent all over the medieval WORLD before INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION) should be abolished from Indian society.   But we should not burn OUR HOUSE because of nuisance from some rats

👇🏻

https://www.exoticindiaart.com/book/details/robert-caldwell-wrong-and-untrue-analysis-and-dravidian-caste-politics-tamil-mzg528/

“Robert Caldwell wrote A Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian or South-Indian family of languages. He identified south Indian Brahmins with Indo-Europeans, which was partly based on HIS  belief that the Indo-Europeans had "higher mental gifts and higher capacity for civilisation".  Caldwell asserted that the low-caste Chanar were not merely Tamil speakers but an "indigenous Dravidian" people, distinct ethnically &, most critically for him, religiously, from their high-caste oppressors, whom he referred to as "Brahmanical Aryans" (in this case "Aryan" as an ethnic signifier for foreign and "Brahmanical" to signify the "Hinduism" of the high-caste).

These WILDLY SPECULATIVE. claims, well outside the scope of linguistics, were intended "to develop a history which asserted that the indigenous Dravidians had been subdued and colonized by the Brahmanical Aryans".

Tamil Language has almost ALL alphabets common with most Indian languages.

Most of other Indian women wear Saree like Tamil women.

From Assam to Kashmir people of India worship Shiva, Vishnu& Shakthi

Brahmins &most North Indians worship all the Gods in temples of Tamilnadu. Crores of North Indians Visit Tamil temples. Tamil Nadu has most number of spritual tourists in India.

There is diversity & differences in Indian culture, but Tamils have lots in common with rest of India

Robert Caldwell started creating differences between Tamils & other Indians, he sowed the seeds of division/ hate

👇🏻

Hatred against other states being propagated by some regional chauvinists 👇🏻

https://www.exoticindiaart.com/book/details/robert-caldwell-wrong-and-untrue-analysis-and-dravidian-caste-politics-tamil-mzg528/

👇🏻📸 Watch this video on Facebook https://fb.watch/mPU8iQYxVI/?mibextid=ifW6Jt

An extremist like PazhaniBaba talks about Murugan, but the practical truth is many North Indians worship Murugan /  Karthikeyan 👇🏻

The objective of such extremist  is to divide Indians. 

See around you , how many people from other beliefs respect  ancient Tamil Gods?  One %?

many of other faiths call Indian culture as  Pagans, Kafirs?   No mutual respect.

How many take foreign money to convert poor people? Or to indulge in violent War

We should love our language, culture & faith.

We should not give up one love for other love, we should not love one & hate  other

We should not indulge in hate & violence against other peaceful neighbors. Social, political, community leaders should try to suggest middle path & SOLVE PROBLEMS, they should not too much highlight the differences & hate diverse thoughts. They should not stress that one community alone has life-death issues & other social groups are not important

Africa, South America & Australia lost its free sprit & culture, now they follow European culture.

Japan Korea China have their own culture, they don’t fight too many wars.    But Africans  & South American have violent armed rebels & mafia,  they not progressing because they have lost their culture & brotherhood

How Portuguese and other European conquerers made thousands of Indians, Africans, Brazilians as slaves (to SUPPRESS them as bonded LABOUR &  stress racial and cultural superiority)👇🏻

👇🏻

"although slavery was a worldwide institution for thousands of years, nowhere in the world was slavery a controversial issue prior to the 18th century. People of every race and color were enslaved – and enslaved others.

White people were still being bought and sold as slaves in the Ottoman Empire, decades after American blacks were freed.

Everyone hated the idea of being a slave but few had any qualms about enslaving others. Slavery was just not an issue, not even among intellectuals, much less among political leaders, until the 18th century – and then it was an issue only in Western civilization."

Only after INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION in Europe people in there started UNIVERSAL EDUCATION so that they get EDUCATED / SKILLED LABOUR . Before that most societies in the world kept the poor uneducated and socially backward

Slavery exploitation is an evil which has been prevalent from ancient times in most of the societies

👇🏻

Jews have literature / documents to show how they were enslaved by Egyptians and Babylonians

Slavery, Exploitation very prevalent evil of most societies in ancient times.  The purpose  appears to  ensure people of certain races/ classes are  kept as BONDED LABOUR from birth 👇🏻

Clearly caste-JATI system followed in India was an In-human behaviour of exploitation and suppression of people for using them as Labour.   

Now  It is the duty of more rich and PRIVILEGED to help poor and socially vulnerable people and ensure mutual respect and equality in society. 

The ancient concept of all “VARNA” was misused to create unjust division of labour, the fact that varna only means human behaviour pattern - WITHOUT ANY LINK TO CASTE OR FAMILY OF BIRTH  was misinterpreted and the fact that  “ All varnas lead to me (Krishna)” was suppressed .  Four children of same parents can follow the behaviour pattern of four different varnas, appeared to be the ancient concept of varna. Which was misused as family based varnas during the period when slavery started to be followed in other parts of the world

👇🏻

👇🏻https://www.thejc.com/news/features/jews-and-slavery-the-myths-and-the-truth-1.501677?reloadTime=1670976000011

[artgalleriesandmore]

On entering the vast Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern, two large, ethereal hanging ‘sculptures’ suspended from the ceiling some 27 meters up, dominate the vista. They are made up of different textures of white / off- white fabrics. Some are ropes and others are misshapen strips which look like white woolly seaweed and fishing nets. My instant response was that the work was something to do with a shipwreck or related to the oceans. It is certainly environmental. The ‘sculptures’ are accompanied by sounds, a mixture of pipes and drums, there is also the sound of birds which leads me to question whether it is the ocean or perhaps a forest? On closer inspection the fabrics are wool or cotton and gauze, often knotted. Suspended pieces of wood dangle like wind chimes from rings similar to that used in weaving. It is haunting and dreamy, I am reminded of dream catchers and unknown cultures. As you stand beneath the centre of the piece and look up it evokes a thin tree canopy in a forest. Could the large fabrics which trail the floor represent petrified trees in a dusty arid landscape? Despite the hustle and bustle of the gallery there is a peace that descends surrounding this artwork. The scale is unfathomable and leads you to question the mind that has foreseen this. There are videos playing which go some way to deliver clues as to what this artwork is all about.  We see clips of indigenous activists seeking justice for both their peoples who may have been displaced from deforestation,  as well as for the planet from the environmental impact that deforestation has.

The artist is Cecilia Vicuna, she is a Chilean poet and artist and much of her work is motivated by ecological destruction. In the title of the piece Brain Forest Quipu, Quipu refers to recording devices made from strings which are historically used by a number of cultures in Andean South America. The Inca’s for example used them for collecting data and keeping records such as tax obligations for example. Some of the objects used in the sculptures were collected by women from local Latin American communities from along the banks of the Thames and the piece was created on site again by a similar section of the local community. 

It is an interesting work and one that you are instantly drawn to on entering the gallery. I found this piece much easier to access in terms of a narrative and for me personally more aesthetically pleasing and less frantic that Nalini malani. There is a calm and beauty to be felt from these fabrics and knots and a reaffirming solidity in the tradition behind it. Cecilia certainly draws attention to the plight of this dying craft and the dying forests in her native region.

Whilst the Tate is way ahead of the National Gallery in terms of gender equality it is still encouraging and refreshing that on the same day, on entering 2 of the most popular galleries in London that the headline works were both by women artists.

[andeanbeauties]

Alma Azul: Kichwa Indigenous Model 💙💙💙

[media-illiterate]

@shabriri-apologist You're right, I probably shouldn't have compared the dumb referential bullshit (1) to the entire faction of by-default-hostile queer people for the (presumed straight, cis, and male) player to gun down, a reactionary caricature aimed at IRL queer activism(2).

TL;DR: Fallout Two is the genesis of a lot of bigoted and fucked up elements of the franchise that persist into modern fallout.

What I meant was: Fallout 2's writing is extremely tone-deaf, chauvinistic, sophomoric, and bigoted in ways that Fallout 1 was not. The dumb referential bullshit was just a small part of that, and there are a lot of things I could have mentioned that would have better made my point.

Such as:

The addition of "Tribals", (totally absent from Fallout 1), that is mostly a series of offensive Native American/anti-indigenous stereotypes, which was then echoed and expanded in later games (such as in Honest Hearts, AKA "White Man's Burden, the DLC").

Flattening Supermutants into Big, Violent, Mentally Disabled Radiation Orcs via the whole "gen-2 supermutants" plot element(3). This only got worse in later games, but Fallout 2 started it.

The anti-asian racism in the depiction of the Shi, that would bleed over into fallowing games (Clover in 3, the Chinese POWs in Old World Blues, etc).

Treating addicts as sub-human and worthless, blaming them for their addiction, and encouraging the player to treat them like shit(4).

Treating violence against women as a funny joke, to the point that a companion may attempt to drug and assault a female player character (Myron gives you a "tainted" drink if you have a female PC with low int + high charisma) and its treated as a funny joke instead of attempted assault.

On that note: Myron! Need I Say More?

Fallout Two did a lot worse than "Silly goofy bullshit", and also did irreparable damage to the franchise.

1. I do think the dumb referential bullshit is a problem with the franchise; I.E. a huge chunk of Fallout 4's worldbuilding and main plot being a series of disjointed and badly written Blade Runner references. 2. You will note that, apocryphally, the guy who got that faction cut was himself gay, and absolutely horrified by what they were writing. If the (closeted) queer person in the room says "Oh god that's horrible" maybe it shouldn't be lumped in with "Silly Goofy Bullshit". You will also note that, in the credits, one of the "special thanks" went out to fucking South Park, for a hint of what the writers room was like at the time. 3. While Fallout 1 was not free of ableist treatment of mental disability in the one or two mentally disabled mutants depicted, the majority of supermutants canonically were not mentally disabled, and most of the mutants you talk to suffered little to no loss of intellectual capacity from FEV infection. Later games shat all over that. 4. Later games have serious issues with this, and cannot seem to treat addicts like human beings for the life of them. I.E. the way The Fiends in FNV are Evil because the Do Drugs, and the way Cait's companion quest in F04 consisted of putting her through a torture machine to get her sober and then acting like all her problems and traumas were solved now that she was clean.

lmfao and lol this is so funny