Stefan

There must be a whole bunch of giggling taking place around the world. Even though House Speaker Kevin McCarthy promised that his caucus members would avoid playing childish games during President Joe Biden's State of the Union Speech - they did anyway. MAGA Republicans showed the world just how stupid, immature and psychotic they actually are. Why? Because they knew they could get away with it and they knew their antics would play really well back home. So, to all the Black people who voted for Trump and still lean to the Right because you think solely of your income and how much better you are than those who are poor - this is what you want to be associated with? Ignorance? You're still thrilled with the MAGA crowd? Your egos still allow you to look down upon those who earn low wages and are struggling? Or do you think like that that clown Nels who was constantly lambasting most Black people as uneducated, criminally minded and basically useless in his bid for the title of House Negro of the new millennium? At least one Republican, Utah Senator Mitt Romney, upheld some dignity for the occasion, seeing serial liar and fraudster George Santos in the center aisle. Romney berated Santos: "You don't belong here," his words audible enough to be heard by those close to them.

@ProfD Well, we cannot in some places. I'd rather deal with Reality instead of complaining.

There is a great need for a second Voting Rights Bill. The problem with many in these Discussion forums is that they refuse to acknowledge reality. We need a law that guarantees our Right to Vote. Black people never figured in the Colonists' plans for the future. I don't give a hoot about Bernie Sanders or AOC. But they believed they had the votes in the House to implement their Socialist agenda. I would not rely on either to deliver a roll of toilet paper.

The NYPD relies on statistical assessments - period.

@ProfD China has not been doing the same chit for hundreds of years. There was no high-tech hundreds of years ago. And as recently as the early 20th Century, foreign influence still bedeviled China. For example, Hong Kong had been taken over and ruled by the British. Many parts of the country was still beset by internecine warfare. China could not threaten another country. It was too busy fending off incursions. I'd be careful before making sweeping statements without understanding the underlying background and history.

That witch will not win. She is just Bernie Sanders with saggy boobs. The two them wasted a chance to give People of Color another Voting Rights Bill. Preferring instead to shove a bunch of socialist demands into their Build Back Better Bill which of course, failed.

@Chevdove There is no international agreement allowing for overflights by spy balloons. If there were, someone would have brought this up already. Has anyone? Spying by air is akin to plotting the murder of a country's ruler. It is taken quite seriously. What you may be thinking of are reciprocal overflight agreements for commercial aviation. These are usually bilateral agreements between nations. But they preclude using a commercial aircraft for spying purposes. Korean Air Lines Flight 007 was blown out of the sky on Sept. 1, 1983 by a Soviet Sukhoi SU-15 interceptor aircraft after the KAL flight mistakenly strayed into Soviet air space. The unarmed Boeing 747 jet crashed off Sakhalin Island killing all 269 onboard, Included a Georgia congressman. The jet had taken off from New York City, touched down in Anchorage, Alaska, then was to continue on to South Korea's capital Seoul. But the Soviets alleged the aircraft was on a spy mission for the U.S., an allegation which was never proven. But the KAL jet was 200 miles into Soviet territory. BTW, it is easy to attach spy cameras to the wings of any aircraft. Rodney campbell - What are we supposed to be digging for and digging into what? The information on this incident, save the nonsense that has already leaked out, is classified. ProfD - You don't think China is a bully and do you really consider this country a Nation of Color? China is a vicious oppressor and international tech thief, leeching off dumb ass Black African rulers who happily sign agreements leveraging their country's best assets in exchange for promises of infrastructure improvements. All due to historical reluctance of western nations to refuse financial and technological aid to the continent. That is slowly changing for some. China has spies everywhere in U.S. corporations and plants. The country steals design plans, product models and information and data as often as you change your shorts. Do you know how I got to know Troy? Years go, he posted a thread on China informing the world that it would imprison U.S. citizens inside China if the United States put Chinese spies on trial. You still think China is an honorable nation? You never saw videos of the Tiananmen Square protests? You don't know China has been illegally occupying Tibet for years in defiance of international law? Ask the Dalai Lama. China replaced him with a fake. You don't know about the country's brutal repression of minority Uyghurs? China intrudes on Taiwanese air space every friggin' week. Its huge navy tries to intimidate U.S. Navy ships all the time in the Pacific. China has been lending African nations money. But the language in the event of loan default is worse than creepy. Kenya could lose its port of Mobassa if it defaults. China wants control of Africa's vast mineral deposits. And its playing the role of Fallon the Financier to get this done. China's growing financial stranglehold on Africa Nope, you're wrong. Balloons do not show up on radar as aircraft do. U.S. did not detect Chinese spy balloons

@Chevdove You are one intelligent and thoughtful woman. Most have little clue what kings the dragon's diadems refer to. But there are seven kings, the Apostle John wrote. "Five have fallen, one is and one has not yet arrived. But when he does, he will remain a short while." John wrote these scriptures under vision while imprisoned on the Greek Island of Patmos in the year 100. John was the last of the original Apostles. The first king is ancient Egypt of the time of the Pharoahs, the second is Assyria (King Sennacherib) and the third is ancient Babylon (Nebuchadnezzar). Those three dragon heads have a single diadem because they stood alone. But the fourth is a dual kingdom, Medo-Persia which conquered the once thought impregnable walled city of Babylon in just one night. In the Bible Book of Daniel, this dual kingdom is represented by a ram. The Bible skips over the bloody wars, revolts and obvious savagery of this time. Media once dominated this partnership until Cyrus the Second ascended the Persian throne. He united the Persian forces to throw off the Median yoke. In 550 B.C.E. the Medes under the command of Astyages (Ishtumegu) and the Persians under Cyrus met in battle. But the army of Astyages revolted against him and brought Astyages in fetters to Cyrus. Cyrus then seized the capital of Media, Ecbatana. From then on Media played a secondary role in the Medo-Persian Empire. (History of the Persian Empire). That's two horns on the dragon's fourth head. In time, Medo-Persia was supplanted by the Greeks or the Macedonians, under Alexander the Great. In his vision, Daniel saw Greece as a hairy he-goat. He prophesied the male goat would engage the ram in battle, whup its ass and stomp it. Which actually happened. But the great horn which represented the ruler of Greece would be cut off and four smaller horns would spring up after. Alexander the Great died suddenly at 33 and the Greek kingdom was divided among four of his generals. As the Greeks petered out, Rome began to dominate. But there were actually two Roman Empires, East and West. Two more horns on another dragon head. How many heads and horns is that? Six heads and eight horns. Still with me? Now, who or what is the seventh head? And why does this king remain only a short while? Because when compared with the previous kings' longevity and centuries in power, this seventh king would not be around that long - according to John's prophecy. Confused yet? No wonder you're asking your bartender for a Green Comet on the rocks. But remember, the Bible warns folks away from spiritism and searching for omens.

The prophecies in Revelation are NOT to be taken literally. Whoever heard of a seven headed dragon with ten horns and ten diadems? That dragon represents seven Biblical world powers or world dominating political powers. Just read Revelation 17:10.

@Pioneer1 Calm down, son. I am no fan of AOC or Progressives.

That guy should never have swung the knife like that.

Why do so many of you believe in Conspiracy theories? Seriously, why? The outrage over Kyre's beating death was real. It just was insincere on the part of Republicans, Black turncoats and others who have always attacked Black people. Believe it or not, here are some conspiracy theories many Black actually believe 1) The government ships radioactive milk to Black communities 2) Two Black African nations pay an annual tax to France 3) Barack Obama was controlled by White men the whole time 4) George Soros is no friend of Black people, he was once a Nazi 5) Hillary Clinton stole millions from Haitian relief funds 6) The U.S. government committed the 9-11 attacks 7) The super secret Illuminati rules the world 8 ) AIDS was created by the government 9) The 1994 Crime Bill was written by Bill Clinton 10) A government official was found guilty of killing Dr. King None of these are true. But I bet some will swear they are.

Do any of you understand how big that antennae array on the balloon was? It was the length of three buses. Picture three Greyhound interstate cruisers end to end. That's about 39 and a half feet times three. At times, that balloon was 70,000 feet in the air, according to several military and intelligence analysts. If the balloon had been shot down over land and had that array struck homes or people, the damage could have been deadly. Biden was right to shoot it down over the ocean. Balloons are not normally used to cannot carry nuclear warheads. These days, it's a good bet in any all-out war, nukes will be fired via MIRVs, or Multiple Independent Re-entry Vehicles. What this means is that a missile can carry multiple warheads which can be fired at different targets independently. All at different speeds and trajectories. And these can be fired from ground missile bases, aircraft or submarines. The U.S. pioneered these type of missiles in the 1970's. Why is China doing this? Because it can. It floated balloons over the U.S. three times when Trump was in the White House, Pentagon sources said. But the flight durations were much shorter. China's leadership is full of dumbasses who love to provoke. They are trying to intimidate the U.S. from defending Taiwan. China also has a balloon over South America. So, since China is being the world's bully... what do you guy suggest? Remember anything you write must be sensible, logical and workable.

@ProfD You can refuse to believe what you want. But YOU do not live in New York City. And the city cannot come up with $150,000 for that one community center. I don't think you understand the power of the New York Post and other Rupert Murdoch-owned other media outlets. Yeah, it's sad that the community center is underfunded. But so are a lot of other initiatives. For a couple of years, elderly Asians were being punched, kicked, whacked upside their heads and thrown onto subway tracks because their assailants were ostensibly blaming them for Covid-19. But some were not even Chinese and had lived here for decades. You don't want Black senior citizens targeted after other ethnic groups start whining "Why Blacks and not us?" because that is exactly what will happen if this one community center is funded. New York City has no money. I said the budget cuts would come and they did. @Troy The only Black Families that may leave New York City are those with the financial means to do so. It is not a mad rush. Most are too poor to go anywhere else.

Sometimes, I think a lot of folks on here play politics as it relates to their bank accounts. And this tends to keep them silent because they are fearful of losing their status. I was plenty radical as a Journalist and an Editor. I pissed off people to the point many roundly disliked me. But I didn't care. But I was decidedly much more dangerous as a Business College professor. For five years, I had my students' undivided attention and answered all of their wide-ranging questions with aplomb and truth. I am not just a Democrat. I am a Black Democrat. And that is why I strike back at some with venom. If your enemies know you can be cowed, they will keep doing what they've been doing. Screwing you. @Pioneer1 The lure of El Norte has a been a rite of passage for Mexicans since the beginning of the 20th Century. Migrants did not begin with Joe Biden. And the political coalition that propelled Obama to victory in 2008 did not include self-absorbed and self-entitled Mexican migrants. AOC is a Democrat in name only. This witch and her Justice Democrats PAC targeted elected Black Congressmen. She thinks she is a friggin' queen and can decide the future of all minorities. But she is nothing but a self-righteous and elitist Socialist whose policies will never work. Because Socialism has failed in every country that adopted it. Blacks alone cannot effect legislative change nationally. There needs to be a Political Coalition. Keep banging your head against this concrete Truism all one will get is a bad headache.

@Pioneer1 Who installed many dictators and kept them in power was never the issue. The failure of people in various countries removing them were. But you are correct. The U.S. is at fault for the rule of many dictators, often in a misguided and foolish attempt to control the world's political narrative. Now, Russia is back to forking around in Africa.

We are already in the midst of a mass struggle and have been since the First Slave Revolt. The payments for police misconduct have been ordered by courts and the City of New York must pay them. People suffered at the hands of NYC cops and some think their complaints and redress should be ignored? They sued for damages, won and now it's time for them to be paid. The reason the community center has been underfunded is because NYC has run out of money. And this is the fault of AOC and her dopey band of Progressives who have encouraged migrants to demand hotel rooms, instead of being squeezed into a shelter, (which are at overcapacity), Metro cards, free cell phones and of course, food (which they tend to throw away). Did you read the thread I wrote on AOC? A year ago, I said on other forums (where people actually read and click on news links) that Mayor Eric Adams would have to cut the municipal budget because of migrants. But few wanted to hear of it. Do you really think Black Americans could cross our southern border in the millions, show up in Mexican cities and demand services in English, hotel rooms, free access to regional buses, subways in the capital, free cell phones and an adoring army of English-speaking activists to tell Mexican residents to donate their clothes and other unused items? This is just the beginning of pain for ordinary New Yorkers. Mayor Adams has asked for $2 billion from the federal government to help. He gets nothing. Because racist Republicans would scream bloody murder if Biden sent even $50. The GOP is all about Cruelty. They are loving this chit. Which is why I despise Black people who refuse to condemn Republicans. I've always suspected it's because they're living easy and have little regard for those beneath them. Just as their White and Latino counterparts in the GOP do. Now, I wonder if Pioneer is going to order Black people to leave New York City as he did Black people in California.

@Rodney campbell Russia's military does not want to overthrow Vladimir Putin. And the main reason are the grotesque and horrific penalties for failure. Putin is a vicious dictator. The news of his many outrages are muted in the news media, Western as well as Eastern. What manages to eke out are rumors, parts of the truth and old news. When Putin first assumed power, ordinary Russians and emigres adored him. The world was forced to reckon with a KGB-trained ruler who knew how to scare people. Finally, Russia was great again! Their country mattered once more. But everyone forgot the old adage: Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely. And slowly but surely, those who preferred Free Thought and Human Rights and Independence were intimidated and eventually silenced or eliminated. I bet most don't realize that Free Thinking rejects authority and established beliefs, which includes any Dogma associated with Religion. Unless the person being discussed is noted and many worry about their safety and well-being, you will not hear what happens to them. What I wrote about Putin's initial popularity in Russia and elsewhere could also be said of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini. They were both beloved. Hitler was idolized. There are people living today who still want to be like Hitler or promote his nonsense. You could probably input the name of any modern military-fascist leader and the foregoing sentences would apply to them.

The thread is about a new Middle East War. You are the one wallowing in the past.

A hearty and loud thank you to Troy for giving us place to discuss matters close to our hearts.

@ProfD I doubt that the world's militaries have many folks who are willing to pull grenades under their bodies to save colleagues these days. Not when they know drones, attack helicopters and fighter bombers can bring whole buildings down on miscreants or enemy soldiers who are resisting. The same is true of the streets. Not many want to face police bullets, batons or even handcuffs. Desperate, aggrieved and angry people might want to. But in reality, most choose not to go down fighting.

@Troy No, fast as in the creator of ChatGPT reacting to the scorn of his AI program. You have underlying and natural intelligence, Troy. You also have an abundance of common sense. Many people who post on here do not. Which is why some post the silliest things that invite ridicule. I do not believe any race of people on this Earth went through hundreds of years of mindless brutality, persecution, hatred and discrimination in the same way Black did. What people experienced the long term trauma Black people in the Western Hemisphere have endured? And that is why I resent attempts to equate others' suffering with that of Black people. Most people do not realize that one of the most well-known Slavs is Melania Trump. When was the last time any of her people were beat down by police in this country? A lot of peoples on this planet were Slaves. Some were not. By law, Black People are not longer Slaves. But our trauma and the suffering continue. And I will never accept someone who calls themselves Black who brays "but, but others were Slaves, too." Yeah to all of that. But who suffered as long and as horribly as Black People?

I am hoping authorities sort this out quickly ... Double amputee shot dead by police

I don't care how smart some people think you are, do you know what .50 caliber bullets will do a human body? It is not easy to depose an autocratic ruler who enjoys the support of a nation's military and police apparatus. If it were easy, there would be no dictatorships. Why do you think Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe lasted so long? It was only when the military was convinced he had to go - that he actually went. There are 57 dictatorial rulers on our planet, according to planetrulers dot com: The world's dictators

The Memphis cops were part of an elite anti-crime unit. So was the NYPD team that slaughtered Amadou Diallo. I was not aware that the one of the cops remained ticked off at Tyre. If folks are still wondering why they were fired so quickly, it is obvious the City of Memphis saw a chance to rid themselves of problem cops. But it is disgusting that many other police departments keep paying officers who do chit like that. Four of those cops had reprimands and suspensions