Piracy on the High Seas

Maybe I have just been out of the loop and uninformed, but I had no idea that pirates still existed. I can’t really say that before this chain of events I even believed pirates ever really existed. For me; pirates were one of those things that you don’t really believe in but you don’t put in the complete fairytale category. When I saw in the news that Somalian pirates had hijacked a US crew ship and had taken the captain hostage I was shocked. How could this have happened? I had no clue that there were modern day pirates and that ships were still being hijacked at sea.

I was amazed when reading these articles

U.S. Crew Ship: Pirates Holding Captain

They outran the pirates for between three and five hours,” Murphy said. “They were finally overtaken, substantial gunfire involved.”   -from CBS News

Pirates Vow to Kill U.S., French Sailors

“We have decided to kill U.S. and French sailors if they happen to be among our future hostages,” said Abdullahi Ahmed, a member of a pirate group based at Harardhere, a coastal town in central Somalia.”      -from CNN.com

New Wave of Somali Pirate Attacks

US President Barack Obama promised on Monday to “halt the rise of piracy” in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.   -from BBC News

 Halt…I didn’t even know it was taking place. I found some very interesting info on this Q&A of Somali Piracy.  It was devastating to hear of Somalia’s extremely poor economy which plays a major part in why some of these young men have become pirates. Read more here —>Young Somalis Lured by Piracy Riches

Now the question arises on how the captured pirates should be punished –> Obama Seeks to Halt Piracy on High Seas

 

Racism Today (Post 3)

I am beginning to sway towards the belief that a blatant racist is better than an undercover, throw a rock and hide your hand racist any day…. Either way a racist is a racist, but if you have this belief why hide behind the camouflage of sarcasm and idiotic comments.

Have you noticed that both undercover and blatantly racist people can somehow throw Barack Obama into any conversation?

It is quite annoying to me that you can be holding a simple conversation about something as simple and nonpolitical as the weather, and somehow these people (who immediately put it on the table that they are not racist and do not support racism) will somehow throw in their distaste for Barack Obama.  Weren’t we talking about the weather?

There are far more people in the “Rush Limbaugh Is Our Hero” clique than we think or would like to believe and honestly it is becoming more and more disturbing by the day how so many people refuse to own up to their racism. If you dislike Barack Obama because of his race…umm that probably means that you are a racist. So when you say things constantly about Barack Obama in clearly unrelated conversations your racism shines through like a shiny new penny.

African American supporters of Barack Obama have been labeled as extremist.  It has been said by many non supporters that black people have deemed Barack Obama as the New Jesus. Somewhere along the lines our confidence in Obama and our pledged support have been scandalized and wrongly reflected as closely mimicking idolism. These people believe that the majority of black people who voted for and support Barack Obama see him as our savior. That somehow we think he is going to take all of our worries away  and deliver us from the troubles of this world which includes our car note, our mortgage, unemployment, depression, flu, money problems, bad relationships, long term illnesses, unpaid doctor bills, dwindling savings, alcoholism, drug addiction, headaches etc, you get the picture.

Much of this nonsense stems from racist people who instead of stating their reasons for not supporting Obama they turn their distaste towards those that do support him and this distaste is often reflected in their idiotic statements and behavior.

Here is a video from one of the greatest douchebags alive, Rush Limbaugh. This video is a classic example of a racist giving his political thoughts which are primarily based on his own personal racist opinion and not the facts. But honestly this kind of behavior is expected of Limbaugh.  He is one of the most racist men alive and unlike some racist people there is no hesitancy for him to open his mouth and publicly display his ignorance and high level of loserism.

In the video Limbaugh talks about his suspicions of Barack Obama. Would he have been so suspicious had Barack Obama been a white, qualified candidate running for President? Of course not!

The NY Post defends running racist cartoon by Sean Delonas

 

Civil rights leaders and a multitude of others have come forth speaking out against the cartoon by artist Sean Delonas which was run in the New York Post on February 18, 2009. The cartoon has been called offensive, racist and insensitive.

Mr. Delonas however has stated that these accusations are ridiculous and that the cartoon is about the economic stimulus bill and in no way is indicating that President Barack Obama should be shot. The editor-in-chief of the New York Post, Col Allan had this to say,”The cartoon is a clear parody of a current news event.”

However that explanation is not acceptable to those (myself included) who have taken offense to the cartoon which shows two white police officers standing over a dead chimpanzee that that have just shot and killed. The caption states “They will have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill.’

How the New York Post or the cartoon artist can rebut the fact that the cartoon is offensive and has racist undertones is beyond belief.  Even with The New York Post adding that the cartoon also plays wit to the woman attacked by a chimpanzee in Connecticut it still does not satisfy those who are not willing to accept any excuses for the cartoon’s insensitivity or the New York Post bad judgment call. First let’s examine the facts:

• President Barack Obama wrote the stimulus bill mentioned in the cartoon caption.
• President Barack Obama is of African descent.
• Throughout history and to present time, monkeys, chimpanzees and other primates of the ape family have been used to downgrade and dehumanize the African American race.
• The cartoon shows a dead chimp, killed by two white officers who are stating that someone else will have to write the next stimulus bill.

There is no way to deny that the cartoon is blatantly racist. I won’t even downplay it by saying it has racial undertones, no it is blatantly racist and in my opinion the New York Post needs to make a public apology to everyone who may have been offended by the cartoon’s offensive artistry and caption. It showed bad judgment on part of The New York Post when the cartoon was okayed to be placed as part of the newspaper’s printing.

Reverend Al Sharpton, Marc Morial (National Urban League President), Barbara Ciara (President of the National Association of Black Journalists) and others are speaking out and demanding that the New York Post clarify what point the cartoon actually makes since the post has denied that it has any racial inferences.

Another note: This is not the first time artist Sean Delonas has had his work called offensive or insensitive. He is the same artist who has been ridiculed for his cartoons on gay marriage licenses and the ex-wife of Paul McCartney who has one leg. Click here to read more about Delonas and his controversial cartoons.

Click here to view CNN Panelists discussing the cartoon.

************

 

 

 

If you would like to join the Call 2 Action against the cartoon run by the New York Post here is more information on how you can call, send a letter or email to the New York Post. Also Rev. Al Sharpton will be leading a demonstration today, Feb 19, 2009 at noon if you are in the New York area. Please remember that in all things there must be order. If you choose to email or call The New York Post please be respectful.

*************