On this day we celebrate a man who was assassinated not by one man but by a system that won’t tolerate those who speak for justice, the theme of the day shall me #TruthPrevails. There is a reason I inserted the article I wrote about Martin Luther King and Malcolm X as part of the independent media roundup below. I wanted to write another article about Martin Luther King, but sometimes what is already written is enough.
One additional programming note before we transition to the Daily Ghion Water. One of the challenges of being a small (like really small) independent media outlets is bandwidth. Whereas corporate newstertainment outlets like MSNBC and Washington Post have thousands on their payroll and endless millions to spend on running an organization, we are a band of a few writers and hopeful dreamers. As such, once in a while our regular “This Week’s Recap of Corporate Media Bullcrap” is delayed by a few days.
Such was the case this weekend, but don’t fret, the weekly segment will be published today but with a small twist. It will be titled “This Week’s Precap of Corporate Media Bullcrap”–because corporate bunk is so predictable–and the “hackery honors” are a neoliberal and a hack who peddles her one sided drivel at MSNBC. Now, without further ado, let us pivot to the Daily Ghion Water.
Because Truth Trumps Petulance
But, far to the north, was a shithole country ruled by a former B-list movie actor who had starred in “Bedtime for Bonzo” and who was in the early stages of dementia. This shithole country, which saw the world in black and white, communist and capitalist, was determined to thwart the aspirations of the poor and the landless. It would not permit the profits of its companies, such as United Fruit, or the power of the pliant oligarch class that did its bidding in El Salvador, to be impeded. It had disdain for the aspirations of the poor, especially the poor of Latin American or Africa, the wretched of the earth, as writer Frantz Fanon called them, people who in the eyes of those who ruled the shithole country should toil in misery all their lives for the oligarchs and the big American companies allied with them. Let the poor, brown and black people go hungry, watch their children die of sickness or be murdered. Power and wealth, those who ruled this shithole country believed, was theirs by divine right. They, as the lords of shithole-dom, were endowed with special attributes. God blessed shithole countries. [from Truthdig]
Serfs Up!
Labour-coercion institutions – serfdom and slavery – have profoundly affected many economies through the centuries. Serfdom obliged rural people to do forced labour for landlords, who also regulated their mobility, demographic behaviour, and market participation. Serfdom prevailed in most European economies from roughly 800 AD onwards, weakening between 1300 and 1500 in the west of the continent but surviving and intensifying in most of the centre and east. This development is known as the ‘second serfdom’. In many serf economies, a large percentage of rural families had to perform forced labour. [from Naked Capitalism]
#TruthPrevails
But my friends, if you believe that Martin Luther King was killed by a lone assassin and you don’t see how his death was tied to the endless ways our own government was harassing King until his death, then I have a vintage 1812 Ford Mustang to sell you. To say that Martin Luther King was being harassed is an understatement; the Federal Bureau of Investigations, led by the self-hating sociopath J. Edgar Hoover, unleashed psychological warfare on Martin Luther King in ways that were so pervasive that Martin Luther King having breakdowns on several occasions. The FBI not only targeted King, they targeted his entire family because he had the audacity to speak out for justice. [from Ghion Journal]
Because Slavery Just Morphed
Florida prisoners work both inside the prisons — doing laundry, cooking, maintaining the facilities, and growing food — and on outside “community work squads.” According to the corrections department, in 2017 the latter group alone performed 3.15 million hours of work valued at more than $38 million statewide, including cleanup work after Hurricane Irma. “Our goal is to make the governor realize that it will cost the state of Florida millions of dollars daily to contract outside companies to come and cook, clean, and handle the maintenance,” the prisoners wrote in their statement. “This will cause a total BREAK DOWN.” [from the Intercept]
Because Philanthropy is a Racket
Why have so many foreign governments contributed large sums to the Clinton Foundation, while not seeming to care about obvious defects in the public record? And why did it take so long for the IRS to spot many obvious red flags in Clinton Foundation filings? President Donald Trump will soon attend the World Economic Forum at Davos, along with representatives of advocates for unregulated “globalism,” many of whom benefit from loosely controlled charities that are in fact slush funds for the rich and powerful. [from Zero Hedge]
Because God Baffles Your Mind Sometimes
This Day in History
The Dry Law goes into effect in the United States. Selling liquor and beer becomes illegal. Further proof that legislating morality doesn’t work and only furthers corruption. The change, you see, is within the heart not demanded by Congress.
Quote of the Day
“No, no, we are not satisfied and will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Teodrose Fikre
Originally from Ethiopia with roots to Atse Tewodros II, Teodrose is a former community organizer whose writing was incorporated into Barack Obama's South Carolina primary victory speech in 2008. He pivoted away from politics and decided to stand for collective justice after experiencing the reality of the forgotten masses. His writing defies conventional wisdom and challenges readers to look outside the constraints of labels and ideologies that serve to splinter the people. Teodrose uses his pen to give a voice to the voiceless and to speak truth to power.
