ProfD

China has been supplying 80% of the rare earth metals globally for 30 years and counting. That's a huge head start. Meanwhile, US companies are making huge sums of money from the millions of jobs they have exported overseas. 😎

@Cynique, my sentiment echos @Troy in that regard. Your views and opinions were part of the reason I stuck around this forum. i respect your divorce from the race and self-imposed hiatus but I'd much rather read you than not even if we disagree.😁 😎

@Mzuri, unless someone is born rich, they have to produce goods and/or perform services in order to earn income. That's a job. A prostitute doesn't make any money just laying around thinking about it. There's some work involved regardess of mindset.😁 Poverty is a condition into which people are born. Most folks do not choose it. Getting out of poverty requires a different mindset, knowledge, skills, abilities, talent, opportunities and luck. 😎

Most people have to work for an income (active) in order to cover their basic needs (food, shelter, clothing, education, etc.). Hopefully, they will have earned enough income to make investments leading to passive income (real estate, stocks, bonds, etc.). Accumulated income (active), personal property and capital gains (passive) produces wealth. Unless there is generational wealth, there is no getting around having to work. 😎

Hearing or reading about stuff happening in a major city like NYC, it seems really bad. But, there's a reason millions of folks either flock to and/or have spent their entire lives living in a place like NYC. It's not that bad. 😎

@Cynique, happy new year. I'm glad you popped in to check on the gallery.🤗 @Troy definitely tries to maintain levity around here. As always, I give him props for giving us this space to grumble, complain, theorize, pontificate, etc.🙂 This forum is like a barbershop or salon or any other place folks show up to talk about current events, politics, religion, sports, etc. Differing views and opinions can lead to interesting dialog. Sometimes, it can be constructive and/or educational. Regardless, there's nothing new under the sun. Shooting the breeze on a forum defnitely won't change the arc of the universe. 😎

Permanent citizen is not the condition here. This is a case of a non-citizen/permanent resident being allowed to vote. 😎

@nels, no whining from this AfroAmerican man who has done very well for himself. However, that will never preclude me from giving my opinions. I'm entitled to do so under the Victim Guaranteeed Qualification (VGQ) as codified by the honorable Neely Fuller Jr. 😁😎

As a fan of NFL football, I'm equally as guilty as Dr. Watkins especially when I attend games. The NFL could do a much better job of hiring black coaches and executives. But, the teams are predominantly owned by white men. College football is the farm system for the NFL. The schools are funded mostly by white folks. Ultimately, black athletes have to realize their worth and how they make up a very high percentage of sports and its ability to generate revenue. At the same time, black folks need to form investment groups and start buying into sports franchises. It's harder to call shots from the outside looking in but that shouldn't stop us from calling balls and strikes. Silence is the enemy of knowledge and awareness. Some folks can't do any better because they don't know any better. We have to speak out against inequities regardless of whether we are sitting in the nosebleed seats or standing on the sidelines. 😁😎

@Troy, you're absolutely correct. Entertainment is money driven. It's not all bad either. I'm a huge fan of sports like NFL football and boxing, some ignorant music and movies too. None of it requires me to think.😁 However, there should be a balance in what we consume mentally. No different from nutrition. Unfortunately, there is less incentive to produce entertainment content that also stimulates the mind. We should not have to turn our brains off. Networks like OWN, BET and TV One have enough bandwidth to produce and nclude intelligent content without losing money. Instead, they will marginalize a dude like Roland Martin in order to satisfy their sponsors. The digital age does provide a platform for folks to produce and provide intelligent content. The challenge is that it has to sought out because there is no heavy marketing and promotion. This awesome site and forum is proof positive. I found it by luck. I'm not a writer nor a publisher. But, the dialog i've found here is right up my alley. So, I'm here for it. As content producers, whether it is literary or music or knowledge, etc., we just have to keep pushing it. Often times, it will be a labor of love moreso than a financial windfall. At the same time, we have to encourage those around us to expand their minds too. For every 2 hours of visual or auditory junk food one consumes, seek out at least 1 hour of knowledge-based and/or thought provoking content.😎

@nels, the producers of the make-believe nonsense think they're enriching the actors, actresses, crew, etc., working on their TV shows and films. 😄 Of course, they don't see anything wrong with peddling a steady dose of mental bubblegum, burgers and fries, popcorn, candy and soft drinks to their captive audience. The real question is when will black folks reject the pseudo-escapism beaming through their screens and demand realistic, quality content. 😎

@nels and @Mzuri, you all are going to stop making sense and screwing up the potential sell of KN95 and N95 masks. 😄 Meanwhile, for 2 years now, I cannot help but to think a whole lot of cash has been made on the porous, er, disposable masks folks have been wearing. I'd imagine the achoo virus condom, er, disposable masks offer a level of protection or as the scientists are now saying, they are still better better than nothing. I'm fairly certain that disposable masks and hand wipes will add a lot more crap to landfills. I see a lot of them have been discarded on the street and in parking lots. 😎

Facts. Being white is their pre-existing condition and the privileges that come with it. Whites do not have to navigate the obstacles of race as it relates to their progress and success in life. Whites do not have to meet the same qualifications and standards they impose on non-whites when it comes to opportunities. White supremacy provides a power that allows whites to focus on everything else because their skin color is never a liability. Being white is an asset. 😎

@richardmurray, I understand this particular law is unique to NYC. Still, I do not believe I should be able to register and/or vote in a city in another country if I do not have full citizenship. 😎

IMO, voting should be a right reserved for citizens. The US already has enough issues in that regard. I would not show up in another country and feel that I should be able to vote as a non-citizen or permanent resident. 😎

Dr. Boyce Watkins breaks it down in 30 minutes: Dr. Watkins also admits systemic racism probably won't disappear in our lifetime. 😎

Peeling back the layers to that onion would lead to many tears. Instead, the same folks are depending on religion to put an end to their misery. 😎

@Troy, the mayor said "low-skilled workers lack the academic skills to sit in a corner office". That statement comes across as if he's referrring to the person. 😎

Black folks do not really own and/or control the outlets that feature TV shows and films. As a result, black folks produce and deliver content their paymasters will accept. I'm totally disenfranchised with the work of Tyler Perry and Lee Daniels because they only polish the same old stereotypical turds. There's also a reason these particular dudes are given a lane to produce their content. Black reality shows are hot garbage too. They are to talent and creativity the equivalent of McDonald's when it comes to food and nutrition. Admittedly, I don't watch the sh8t. I do a cursory scan to know what I'm criticizing by showing up in other folks' houses and seeing them glued to that BS...Love & Hip-Hop (pick a city), Black Ink, Fix My Life, etc. Yeah, there's a whole lot of junk food for the eyeballs and brain on both the big and small screen. Makes me even happier that I'm a musician. I've got a totally different retreat when it comes to entertainment. 😎

IMO, being black is a pre-existing condition with which one is born. There's no escaping it. Identifying with being black is just another mental exercise non-white folks use to navigate the prison of white supremacy. Rest assured, white folks are never confused when it comes to identifying non-white folks. 😎

No doubt. Black creativity, intelligence, talent and labor has been exploited and built great wealth for others for centuries. While I know when, why and how it keeps happening, it still has not been any less frustrating to me for the entire time I've been on the planet. I would love to see black folks have total control and ownership over their creativity, talent, knowledge, skills and abilities. As I'm beyond a half century now, my optimism is fading that I'll live to see it. My hope is that a future generation of black folks will get it. 😎

Third World is a derogatory term thrown around to suggest that a country is under-developed from an infrastructure perspective and has a lower economic output than other countries. Surely, with the right amount of resources one can live comfortably almost anywhere on the planet. Just a matter of adjusting to the environmental conditions and culture if it exists. 😎

@Troy, you're correct...US life expectancy from birth has gone down 1.6 years from 78.9 to 77.3 years. The virus is a factor. I totally agree that fear + propaganda is the motivator in getting folks to change their behaviors. Surely, if the media reported deaths due to cigarettes, drunk driving and obesity on a constant loop every day and the gov't mandated that folks quit smoking, drinking and eating too much or lose employment, people would be more inclined to change those behaviors too.😁😎

Some folks work their way through school as dishwashers, waiters and waitresses. They do have the intelligence and/or academic credentials to sit in a corner office. I've spent decades working with folks in corner offices. Some of them leave much to be desired in the intelligence department. In fact, I doubt some office workers are qualified to be dishwashers. 😁😎

Personally, I enjoy the discussions especially among my folks. The dialog is more important than whether or not we agree or disagree; share the same or polar opposite views. Despite the fact that the participation is not high and @Mzuri feels it's tired and boring 😁, I'm glad to have found this forum. 😎