Stuart Jeanne Bramhall's Blog: The Most Revolutionary Act , page 1146
September 14, 2017
Women Were at the Helm of the Black Panther Party
teleSUR speaks with Mary Phillips, one of the founding members of the Intersectional Black Panther Party History Project.
When one looks back at the revolutionary Black Panther Party, one envisions iconic Black leaders sporting black berets and leather coats, with their rifles tucked on their side, mobilizing crowds on campuses and streets across the United States.
This valorized masculine imagery served an essential purpose — projecting a strong front as the Black liberation movement geared towards bulwarking the Black community from state-inflicted violence and police brutality, the two main motives that led to the formation of the Black Panther Party.
As Clayborne Carson, an African American professor of history at Stanford University said in the 2015 “The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution” documentary, “one of the ironies in the Black Panther movement is the image of a Black male in a ripper jacket and a gun, but the reality is that a majority of the rank and file by the end of 1960s were women.”
Mary Phillips, an assistant professor at the Department of African Studies at the City University of New York, or CUNY, shares Carson’s view. Phillips, one of the founding members of the Intersectional Black Panther Party History Project, also believes common portrayals of the group are one-sided.
“The public image of the party was very one dimensional, there were men who were serving the breakfast, there were men who were teaching at schools, but the image portrayed is defined by the stereotypical standards of gender roles, that is not how it played out and that is not how the party functioned. Everybody did everything. The work was divided according to your skill sets for the most part,” she said.
“There were men in the Black Panther Party who were braiding children’s hair, there were men who were taking care of the children, nurturing children, they were caretakers.”
Women played a crucial role in shaping the Black power movement. | Photo: Cau Napoli via Creative Commons
But even though men in the group were portrayed as the vanguard, women in the party were at the helm of most activities.
By the early 1970s, women formed nearly two-thirds of the Black Panther Party. They not only served important leadership roles alongside the men, such as state and national secretaries, chair positions and editors, but they were also serving essential roles, such as feeding children, ensuring that they remained in schools and strategizing to protect the neighborhood. . .
Source: Women Were at the Helm of the Black Panther Party
Secwepemc Warriors build Tiny Houses on Pipeline Route
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518 kilometres of the pipeline will pass through Secwepemc Territory, and placing tiny houses along this route will assert Secwepemc law, jurisdiction and block access to the pipeline.
Tiny Houses Being Built to Block Pipeline in Unceded Secwepemc Territory
from Living Big In a Tiny House
Ten tiny houses are currently being built by the Secwepemc Nation in order to block the proposed expansion of Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain Pipeline in what some are calling the next ‘Standing Rock’. 
These ten tiny homes will be strategically placed along the path of the pipeline in order to occupy the land and halt progression. Lead by Kanahus Manuel and other activists from the Secwepemc tribes, volunteer builders from all over North America have began showing up to help with the construction of the tiny homes, which are being constructed on wheels so they can easily be moved along the proposed pipeline route according to where they are needed.
Together, they are calling themselves the ‘Tiny House Warriors’.
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The Invisible War in Kashmir
Kashmir: Born to Fight
Al Jazeera (2017)
Kashmir, a majority Muslim state, has been demanding independence from India since the late 1980s. They were promised a referendum on independence in 1947, when India was first divided from Pakistan. After 70 years, they’re still waiting.
The majority of Kashmiri seek full independence, though some seek unification with Pakistan.
The region is currently under Indian military occupation (Kashmir is the most militarized region in the world) and virtual martial law. Kashmir’ civilian population is routinely subjected to rape, torture, extrajudicial killings, raids on civil homes and the shutdown of local newspapers.
This documentary profiles a 13 year girl who was arbitrarily beaten and blinded after being shot by Indian security forces. Their brutality against women, children and the elderly is having a clear radicalizing effect on young Kashmiri males.
September 13, 2017
Oregon Becomes The First State To Decriminalize Cocaine, Meth, Ecstasy, Heroin and More
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Thanks to decriminalizing illegal drugs in 2001, Portugal now has one of the lowest instances of drug related deaths in Europe.
Criminalizing human behavior is a medieval strategy that DOES NOT WORK. It merely divides us into labels. Let’s learn from the progressive countries that have dealt with this issue seriously and learn from it. All them people who want to inflict pain on others should suffer the same pain they are wishing for.
http://www.collective-evolution.com
Alanna Ketler
Right here lies another perfect and amazing example of how we can actively create the type of world we want to live in by raising awareness about issues in our society today that may require an upgrade. Oregon’s state legislature just cut penalties for drug possession in a bill that also aims to reduce racial profiling by law enforcement agencies.
Does it make sense that you should go to jail for carrying around these substances…
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Single-payer is coming
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The turnaround is remarkable. Just last year, the Democratic nominee for president refused to endorse a “Medicare for All” proposal. Now, left-leaning presidential hopefuls are flocking to a version proposed by a man who isn’t even, technically speaking, a Democrat.
By Aristophanes
On Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, introduced a new bill for single-payer health care, a proposal he defends in The New York Times.
Single-payer systems are so named because they provide universal health coverage with one entity, usually the national government, footing the bill. Many countries, including our northern neighbor, Canada, offer such programs, often paid with increased taxation. Multiple European nations operate hybrid models, which incorporate similar socialist elements.
Until now, the United States has resisted such measures. However, one of our country’s major political parties is on the brink of full commitment.
Several prominent Democratic figureheads have already promised their support for Sanders’ plan. The list includes a few household names:
Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey
Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York
Sen. Kamala Harris of California
Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon
The turnaround is…
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10 Products Linked To Cancer That Are Hiding In Almost Every Home
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Besides being simple to make, home-made cleaning products and cosmetics often work far better than corporate brand names. For some easy recipes, see Making Beauty and Household Products at Home
By Kalee Brown, Collective Evolution
Do you ever walk through someone’s home and take note of items that could potentially be hazardous to their health? I know I do! I don’t mean to judge, but I can’t help but notice when people have fluoride-filled toothpaste sitting on their bathroom counters or chemical-ridden cleaners hiding in their cabinets. But, what if some of these items are sitting in your own home?
Most people have toxic products linked to cancer in every corner of their homes, often without even realizing it. It’s not like the labels of these products all have a huge warning sign that reads, “I can cause cancer!”
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September 12, 2017
How a Free Grocery Store Is Cutting Food Waste…and Hunger
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The Free Store is a nonprofit organization that redistributes surplus food from local businesses in New Zealand’s capital city, Wellington, to those in need.
Source – yesmagazine.org
– “…Each weeknight, The Free Store redistributes up to 1,500 surplus food items to anyone who wants them—no questions asked”
How a Free Grocery Store Is Cutting Food Waste – and Hunger – By Rina Diane
On a windy late afternoon, dozens of people have lined up in front of a 20-foot-long repurposed shipping container situated on a church parking lot. Inside, volunteers are unloading food items from custom-built shopping carts and stacking them onto rows of shelves. There are hearty rice meals and healthy salads, thick sandwiches, pies, and other savory and sweet items. This is just another busy day for The Free Store.
“We saw the potential in an untapped food supply.”
The Free Store is a nonprofit organization that redistributes surplus food from local businesses in New Zealand’s capital city, Wellington, to those in need. It was inspired by a two-week art project in 2010
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UK CfD auction sees renewables set record-low strike price
By Ian Clover
Two offshore wind farms to be built for just £57.50 per MWh following today’s second Contracts for Difference subsidy auction – well below price government guaranteed for Hinkley Point C nuclear farm.
Record-low prices for offshore wind power projects speak of a renewables industry that is growing more and more competitive.
Offshore wind is now cheaper than nuclear and gas in the U.K. following the second Contracts for Difference (CfD) subsidy auction that saw two developers win the rights to build offshore wind farms for just £57.50/MWh ($75.83/MWh).
This strike price – achieved by Denmark’s Dong Energy and Spain’s EDP – is 50% below the guaranteed development price for offshore wind set just two years ago, and is far cheaper than the £92.50/MWh agreed between the government and EDF for the nuclear power station at Hinkley Point.
The stunning performance of offshore wind and Advanced Conversion Technologies (ACT) in the auction prompted a flurry of calls from prominent voices for Hinkley Point C to be finally scrapped. The Green Party’s co-leader Caroline Lucas remarked that these record low prices for wind power should be a nail in the coffin for new nuclear.
“While clean, green wind power has the potential to seriously cut people’s bills – the government’s undying commitment to new nuclear risks locking us into sky high prices for years to come,” Lucas said.
The Renewable Energy Association’s head of policy and external affairs, James Court, added: “These results show that renewables are now the most cost-effective form of any energy generation, which can future-proof both the U.K. grid and provide sustainable new jobs in the U.K. . .”
Source: UK CfD auction sees renewables set record-low strike price
The EU and the Colonization of Europe
The Forbidden Colony
Al Jazeera (2017)
Film Review
This Al Jazeera documentary examines the undemocratic nature of the European Union and it’s role in allowing banks and multinational corporations to colonize Europe. It begins by focusing on the EU Parliament, which meets in secret and bans public observation of its proceedings. Elected members of the EU Parliament lack the authority to initiate legislation. They can only rubber stamp laws proposed by the non-elected European Commission.
Croatian philosopher Srecko Horbat examines the right and left wing movements that have arisen in reaction in response to the massive economic dislocation (job loss, low wages, high housing costs) people have experienced following the creation of the EU.
The far right tends to campaign against the massive influx of migrants, which they blame for their declining standard of living. The left, in contrast, is more focused on rebuilding European democracy from the ground up.
For me, the most interesting part of the film was its examination of various European experiments in direct democracy. Examples include
The grassroots movements in Hamburg and 170 other German cities and towns that have bought back electric power companies from private companies to hasten their transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy.
Ada Colau, the radical mayor of Barcelona,* who is working to transform squats into cooperatives and forcing banks to make vacant buildings available for social housing.
Greece’s parallel economy, which operatives massive “no middlemen” food markets in reaction to price gouging by corporate supermarket chains.
*The capitol of Catalonia, which is organizing a popular referendum to declare independence from Spain – see Showdown in Spain
September 11, 2017
Teens Are Smoking Less Pot Following Legalization
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The latest National Survey on Drug Use and Health report confirmed that in 2016, rates of marijuana use among the nation’s 12-to-17-year-olds dropped to their lowest level in more than two decades.
“It has also been confirmed by growing public health research that alcohol is not only more toxic to individuals than weed, it is more harmful to society—a fact that the anti-legalization crowd consistently ignores.
So, as over 60 percent of American adults say weed should be legal, according to an August 2017 Quinnipiac poll, the prohibitionists might want to get their facts straight or step aside.”
Source: Teens Are Smoking Less Pot Following Legalization – High Times
hightimes.com
Maureen Meehan
Sept 8, 2017
A federal survey just confirmed that the sanctimonious justification spewed by self-righteous prohibitionists who claim to be protecting young people from the evils of marijuana is willfully deceptive.
The kids don’t need help on this issue. They’re making their own choices.
Adolescent weed-smoking is not now, and hasn’t been, a problem for the past 20 years.
The latest National Survey on Drug Use and Health…
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