WATCH THIS VIDEO WITH AN OPEN MIND:then ask yourself at the end"Am I a chicken little?"

American Indian unemployment—from bad to worse in recession

By Annette Fuentes -New America Media

Already grappling with historically high rates of unemployment, American Indians, on and off reservations, are seeing even higher rates due to the country's two-year long economic downturn, according to a new survey.

In the last half of 2007, just before the economy began its downward spiral, unemployment averaged 7.8 percent for Native Americans. In the first half of 2009, it had climbed to 13.6 percent, an average that masks even sharper differences in various regions of the country.

“A big deal was made a couple of months ago when the unemployment rate reached double digits. But Native Americans reached double digits last year,” said Algernon Austin, director of the Program on Race, Ethnicity and the Economy at the Economic Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington, D.C.

The report Mr. Austin authored, “American Indians and the Great Recession: Economic Disparities Growing Larger,” is the first of its kind because it is based on the Current Population Survey of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Most data on Native unemployment derives from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, but that is collected every two years and only counts those living on or near reservations.

“Our numbers are quite different from the BIA,” he said. “We're looking at a much larger population, including multiracial people.”

Unemployment rates are assessed by region in the report and give a more nuanced look at the widespread problem among American Indians, for whom joblessness is deeply entrenched. The southern plains region, which includes Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, had the lowest unemployment rate for Native Americans at 8.9 percent in the first half of 2009. That reflected just a 2.4 percent rise during the recession.

The southeast region—Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia—had the second lowest rate at 10.9 percent, a 3.5 percent rise.

But the western region, encompassing Hawaii, California, Oregon and Washington, went from lowest to highest unemployment among American Indians, soaring from 6.4 percent to 18.7 percent in the same time period.

Meanwhile, Alaska, with proportionally the largest population of Native Americans, has seen little change in its unemployment rate, which was already the highest of any region at 14.8 percent. It was 15 percent in the first half of this year.

That isn't news to Alaskan Native organizations.

“The story with Alaska in the recession is that we are lagging the rest of the United States,” said Kristin English, chief operating officer of the Cook Inlet Tribal Council, which provides social services and job training programs. “Our overall unemployment spike-up was about a year after the lower 48 spike, so it's fair to say we don't know the impact yet. Our economy is a little bit isolated, so we're really expecting that number to go up.”

Ms. English said that the recession is stressing an already stressed population of Natives, especially in remote villages where fuel prices are going up and the heat is on all the time. “It's a hardship that sends people to Anchorage looking for a cheaper cost of living,” she said. “We're finding a lot of people underestimate what it takes to get the first and last month rent.”

While the report is a grim accounting of endemic joblessness among American Indians, it also provides critical data just as the Obama administration is preparing new strategies for creating jobs. Having regional profiles of American Indians' employment status will help direct federal funding to those areas most in need, said Jackie Johnson Pata, executive director of the National Congress of American Indians, a Washington, D.C. advocacy group.

Ms. Pata's group encouraged the Economic Policy Institute to undertake its survey of unemployment among American Indians to make sure they are included in emerging federal jobs policies.

“This report is a valuable contribution on a very timely issue for Native communities,” Ms. Pata said. “It is a first step in addressing the lack of reliable unemployment data to guide tribal and federal policymaking. By shining a light on the urgent need for jobs in Indian country, this data demonstrates the need for significant investments in tribal governments as a part of the jobs bill.”

In California, part of the region with highest Native unemployment, the Sustainable Nations Development Project is undaunted by the current downturn. It sees possibilities in federally funded job creation in its work with the Yurok and Pomo tribes in the northern part of the state. The Yurok tribe recently invested in a sustainable fishing project and cannery and is evaluating new renewable energy projects, said PennElys GoodShield, director of the organization, located in Trinidad, Humboldt County.

“We've had unemployment for a long time,” said Ms. GoodShield. “This is a great opportunity with stimulus funding coming down. It's an opportunity for tribes to do development in line with their traditions.”

Dr. Malik Zulu Shabazz breaks it down with Vivafidel

Dr. Malik Zulu Shabazz breaks it down with Vivafidel

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In these difficult economic times with the loss of jobs, banks folding, and with foreclosures at an all time high, it has been very difficult for the masses. I along with my legal team have a system in place that 1.)allows foreclosure victims more time in their homes by stopping foreclosure process and this keeps their privacy and dignity intact 2.)we also will restructure property owners mortgage;Our system works in all 50 states.If you would like to schedule an appointment or for more information or how to save your home,please call.




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HIP Harambee Inc,DBA
The M Group inc
Direct:317.496.0999
www.twitter.com/ForeclosureHero
Email: hipharambee.inc@gmail.com
"We Buy Homeowners/Foreclosure victims Time"

God's Miracle preemie baby

God's Miracle preemie baby

After vote boycott, Black Caucus gets what it wanted

by Jim Kuhnhenn Associated Press | Last updated: Dec 19, 2009 - 9:03:10 AM
WASHINGTON - Call it the $6 billion boycott. By boycotting a key House committee vote and threatening to abandon support for banking regulations, members of the Congressional Black Caucus got $4 billion added to a Wall Street regulation bill and $2 billion to a proposed House jobs bill in spending they sought for Black communities.

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., inserted $3 billion to the legislation to provide low-interest loans to unemployed homeowners in danger of foreclosure. He added $1 billion for neighborhood revitalization programs.

The money would come out of the $700 billion financial rescue fund.

“For those of us who walked out, it was absolutely essential that we have parts of that legislation directed toward helping people who have been left out of all of these bailouts,” Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., one of 10 Black caucus members in the Financial Services Committee, said.

The proposed jobs bill targets $1 billion from infrastructure spending for public housing repairs. It also provides $1 billion for an affordable housing trust fund.

With 40 members in the House, the Congressional Black Caucus can be a potent force.

“Since last September, we have continuously voted for bailout and reform for the very institutions that created this devastation, without properly protecting the African-American community or small business,” Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., said on the day of the boycott. “That stops today.”

Among the caucus' demands were greater assistance for minority-owned auto dealerships and banks that lend in Black communities and more government advertising in minority-owned media.

Nation pays respects to life, contribution of Salim Muhammad

Nation pays respects to life, contribution of Salim Muhammad

Muhammad on the Move: Get Your Foreclosure Questions Answered….

Muhammad on the Move: Get Your Foreclosure Questions Answered….

Harnessing Black buying power

John and Maggie Anderson, holding their daughters, spent this year only buying Black products. They are building a movement to encourage Black buying to strengthen businesses and the community. Photo: Hassan Muhammad
Empowerment Project aims to build economic, community strength
John and Maggie Anderson, holding their daughters, spent this year only buying Black products. They are building a movement to encourage Black buying to strengthen businesses and the community. Photo: Hassan Muhammad
A social experiment which aims to change how Blacks shop started over a dinner table at a swank downtown restaurant.

John and Maggie Anderson were celebrating their wedding anniversary and chatted about the social ills impacting the Black community. They discussed how Black purchasing power is nearing a trillion dollars, but that money rarely circulates back into the community. Then the bill came.

“Wow, we just spent a couple hundred dollars on our dinner, and we were discussing these issues and then going back home and really nothing happens substantially,” said John Anderson, a financial advisor with a Harvard University degree and a MBA from Northwestern University.

“We figure that a lot of our problems come from the fact that our communities don't have the money to be the vibrant wonderful places that we deserve,” added Maggie Anderson, a University of Chicago alum. “We knew that and still didn't do anything.”
It is not easy begging my own people to keep supporting one another when all they do is complain about poor goods and services ... like they never had a bad experience at a White-owned, Arab-owned, Asian-owned or Indian-owned business.’
—Maggie Anderson,
Co-Founder and CEO of The Empowerment Experiment
The Chicago area couple realized that they were part of the problem, but thought of an unconventional solution. For a year, they decided to forgo shopping at the Wal-Marts and Targets of the world and buy all their necessities from food, clothing, to furniture from quality Black-owned businesses or professional service providers.

The couple's buy Black campaign or the “Empowerment Experiment” garnered national headlines as well as some criticisms for promoting racism. But the Andersons, who live outside Chicago in suburban Oak Park, Ill., saw their experiment as a lesson in self-help economics.

The Andersons wanted to change Black Americans' mindset from just being consumers to being more conscious of how they spent their money and with whom. It wasn't too long ago that Blacks largely patronized Black businesses, said Mrs. Anderson, formerly a business consultant who now heads the Empowerment Experiment full-time. Before the fight for integration in this country, Blacks had little choice but to support their own. She said integration was a good thing, but for Blacks “integration was bad economically... because we lost that sense of duty to shop with our own.”

“Integration, economically, was just permission for us to shop with everyone else, and opportunity for everyone else to make money off of us,” said Maggie, a mother of two daughters, Cara, 4, and Cori, 3.

Blacks are a distant third in entrepreneur success rates compared to Latinos and Asians, a stark contrast from 20 years ago, when Black businesses were first, she said. Black communities now subsist on the usual suspects of chicken shacks, barbershops and braid salons, and are still poor and rundown, Maggie added. Patronizing Black businesses allows them to grow, hire and contribute back to the community, she noted.

The Anderson's push for self-help economics has been criticized as racist, a notion Maggie finds absurd. She said other ethnic groups “openly and proactively support their own,” but critics call it racist when Blacks want thriving business communities comparable to Little Italy or Chinatown.

“In 2009, the era of the first Black president, every other group can open up shop and find success in the Black community, but there is no reciprocity for us,” she said, adding that White Americans rarely connect “bigotry with economic exploitation.”

Seeds for future, fruits of Empowerment Experience

They did ground their experiment, which will end this year, in an academic study to monitor the potential and economic impact of buying Black. They plan to use their website EEforTomorrow.com to track spending habits. Supporters can register at the site and will be able to log what they've spent with Black business. The technical infrastructure is currently being worked out to support pledges and receipt tracking on the website. They hope to have that section up and running by March 2010. The site currently has more than 8,000 supporters.

The goal is to determine if a concerted effort to buy Black would reduce unemployment, spur job creation, increase an area's tax base or reduce crime. Maggie Anderson noted that only five percent of African-American's purchasing dollar stays in the Black community. She wants that number to rise into the double digits.

To encourage more Black Americans to join EE, the Anderson took their cause on the road. The couple traveled to Atlanta, Dallas, Washington D.C., Detroit and Cincinnati with planned tours for Miami, New York and Los Angles. Maggie Anderson noted that those who join the movement do not have to follow exactly want they did, but make subtle changes in their spending habits or buy Black for two or three months.

“We ask that they do a little more than what they currently do,” she explained, adding that the experience would be an eye opener.

“We have absolutely no clout, no control of our economic situation,” she contends. “When you do EE, that's how your consciousness is raised. It is not just about buying Black. It is about feeling that love and pride of your own.”

The website is key in leveling Black economic power. Having a tally of how much Blacks spend, on what products and where gives EE leverage to go to major retailers and drug stores to give Black products more shelf space.

“Right now, we just want people to support quality Black businesses and professionals and buy Black-made products that are already out there,” she said. The couple has established a foundation to solicit donations for their endeavors.

The couple found most of the businesses by canvassing Black neighborhoods. The couple found others on the Internet. “It was definitely a struggle at the beginning of the year, but I'd say around March, it got easier,” John Anderson said. “We were used to how our lifestyle had changed, three-fourths more shopping in bulk, visiting two or three businesses in the same geographic area at the a time.”

“How much money can we keep if we were to spend 20 percent more of our income with Black business?” Maggie asked, urging Blacks to join the movement.

While Black purchasing power nears $1 trillion, revenues from Black businesses only equaled $88 billion in 2002, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. James Clingman, an advisor with the experiment who has a syndicated column called Blackonomics, said those figures show Blacks are not patronizing their own.

“I would love to see more families pledge to do what the Andersons did,” he said. “Not necessarily to the same extent (but) ... you can do what you can, even if it is just supporting one Black business.”

“It is not easy begging my own people to keep supporting one another when all they do is complain about poor goods and services ... like they never had a bad experience at a White-owned, Arab-owned, Asian-owned or Indian-owned business,” Maggie said.

“It used to happen to me all the time ... and I didn't walk out saying, ‘White people! I'm never going to support a White business again. That is why you can't shop with White people,'” Maggie retorted. “We voluntarily and publicly punish our whole race because some folks don't have their act together.”

That misconception of the White man's ice is always colder felled Karriem Beyah's grocery store, the only Black-owned full-service grocery store in Chicago. The store closed because of lack of support from the Black community. The Andersons routinely shopped there.

Mr. Beyah retooled the store for his Latino customers, which he said, supported his businesses more than Black consumers. For Black businesses to succeed.

“(Once) we are known that we are African-American businesses, we are attached with a negative stereotype. A majority of our own people feel that ... the other ethnic groups' ice is colder than our ice ... and that is the downfall of Black businesses, he said.”

The Andersons admit buying Black exclusively comes with challenges and some personal sacrifices. The couple had to go without some goods and services most consumers take for granted. The Andersons wanted a new treadmill, cookware and a bedroom set for her daughters, but found no Black-owned stores to purchase them.

The couple had to be somewhat thrifty and other times creative to fill in the gaps, which Maggie noted are potential business opportunities. To buy gas, they send money to the area's four Black-owned gas stations to purchase gift cards. They do admit they cheat a little with the experiment for heat, light and gas since there are no Black-owned utility companies in Illinois.

“We knew we weren't going to be able to do a 100 percent,” Maggie Anderson explained. “There are certain things that we need to survive and if we can't find it Black-owned, we will go with what we did in the past or go with the closest option we can find.”

Natalie Johnson, owner of Angborki Doe Designs, a fine African home dècor shop, located on Chicago's south side, lauded the Andersons' effort to promote Black businesses. The Andersons discovered the shop when they were searching for home goods.

Buying Black, Ms. Johnson said, is reciprocal. Her businesses often buy from other Black or African-owned businesses. But she added the concept of buying Black or being entrepreneurs is not institutionalized as it is in some foreign countries.

“When you go to China everybody is an entrepreneur,” she said. “When you go to Ghana and other African countries everybody is an entrepreneur, even a five-year-old selling peanuts off the top of his head.”

(For more information, go to www.eefortomorrow.com or you can also catch the Andersons and the Empowerment Experiment on Facebook.com, the social networking site.)

DHS made improper intel report on Nation of Islam

The Associated Press

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

WASHINGTON — Homeland security officials improperly gathered intelligence on the Nation of Islam, a black Muslim group, but government rules were "unintentionally and inadvertently violated" and only publicly available information was collected, according to documents made public Wednesday.

Internal correspondence shows the 2007 report — titled "Nation of Islam: Uncertain Leadership Succession Poses Risks" — was created by an intelligence group working within the Homeland Security Department.

Hours after the report was issued, officials recalled it, deciding the report violated intelligence rules against collecting or disseminating information on U.S. citizens for an extended period of time. It had been disseminated widely over the Internet to numerous federal agencies, state and local law enforcement, several congressional committees, intelligence agencies and parts of the private sector, a reviewing officer found.

One official wrote, "the organization despite its highly volatile and extreme rhetoric has neither advocated violence nor engaged in violence" and should not have been the subject of intelligence gathering. The documents were released Wednesday as part of a Freedom of Information lawsuit, but the DHS report itself was not released nor were any examples of what the analysts considered extreme rhetoric.

L.A. Broughton, an oversight official at Homeland Security, wrote in a 2008 follow-up memo that the document "discussed the possible succession of leadership of (the Nation of Islam) and the direction the group may take depending on who becomes the new leader, their personal philosophy and their ability to keep the organization from further splintering."

DHS spokesman Matthew Chandler said that since the report was created, the agency "has implemented a strong and rigorous system of safeguards and oversight to ensure similar products are neither created nor distributed."

Messages left Wednesday for top officials in the Chicago-based movement were not immediately returned.

The Obama administration has pledged to be more open than its predecessor, and in the past year has released numerous previously classified details of the Bush administration's anti-terrorism programs, including how CIA interrogators used harsh techniques on detainees.

The latest release of government documents were the result of separate Freedom of Information lawsuits from two civil liberties groups — the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union.

David Sobel, the EFF's senior counsel, said, "There remains a lot of material that continues to be withheld. To the extent that today's disclosures indicate a new approach to the Freedom of Information Act, we welcome it."

Even among the pages released, there were many sections blacked out or otherwise redacted, including a section about a congressional spending bill marked "talking points" that is entirely redacted.

Other documents show that an intelligence worker at the Defense Department claimed senior military officials provided false information to Congress in 2002, when lawmakers were conducting a joint inquiry into al-Qaida and the 2001 terror attacks.

The papers do not say what the intelligence worker claimed was said to Congress that was false, or say what became of a planned inquiry into the claim.

In another incident, workers at a counterterrorism center near Washington, D.C. were verbally chastised in 2007 for circulating a picture of three Guantanamo Bay detainees described by the government as "high-value" terror suspects, in an e-mail with a mocking description of the men. The mocking description was not included in the released document.

Included among the newly released documents was a Dec. 21, 2001 memo by Justice Department lawyer John Yoo saying that several criminal charges could be brought against John Walker Lindh, the U.S. citizen captured in Afghanistan who is now serving a 20-year sentence for aiding the Taliban.

"He could be charged in federal court with treason, killing a federal employee, assisting a terrorist organization or unlawfully participating in foreign affairs," Yoo wrote. "In addition, Mr. Walker could face prosecution in a court martial for either aiding the enemy or for war crimes."

Lindh pleaded guilty in 2002 to lesser offenses, including carrying weapons against U.S. forces.

The data released Wednesday also includes 2002 correspondence with then-CIA director George Tenet over news organizations' concerns in the wake of the killing of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.

The American Society of News Editors asked Tenet to issue a firm public statement that the agency did not allow its operatives to post as journalists. Tenet replied in a letter that it has been longstanding CIA policy not to use American journalists as agents or American news organizations for cover.

In a separate letter, a senior Washington Post editor told Tenet he'd heard U.S. military or intelligence officers may have pretended to work for the paper while operating in Afghanistan.

CIA spokesman George Little said Wednesday: "This did not happen, as the Washington Post was told at the time."

___

Associated Press Writers Pete Yost and Pamela Hess in Washington, and Sophia Tareen in Chicago contributed to this report.

Muhammad on the Move: The Black man is not your nigger

Muhammad on the Move: The Black man is not your nigger

check your ego before you wreck yourself.

"It's okay if other people think you're God, but you're in trouble if you start believing it."

David Cornwell, a sports attorney, recalled that quote as one uttered by his father, a surgeon. While Cornwell was speaking on Larry King Live about Tiger Woods' foibles, the quote has relevance to anyone in a leadership position, not just doctors and big name athletes.

Sure, leaders have to believe in themselves — otherwise no one else will. Their conviction in their own abilities has to be strong as well as resilient, but such self-assurance cannot be allowed to become arrogance. So often when we see business leaders making poor decisions it seems as if their ego is speaking louder than their voice of reason.

And yet we need to remember that, while it's easy to throw stones at people and power, and lampoon their outsized egos when they stumble, so often that outsize ego is the result of the relentless fawning of others. You do not rise to power without followers, but if that followership is more sycophantic than supportive, the leader can lose his bearings.

Keeping your ego in check is an exercise in humility, with the emphasis on the word exercise, so here are a few tips:

Accept praise, but never believe it totally. Ancient Romans had a tradition of welcoming home victorious military commanders with a state-sponsored procession that included the commander riding in his chariot. Legend has it that a slave standing next to him would hold a golden laurel above his head and whisper into his ear, "Remember you are mortal." True or not, it is a good lesson for anyone who achieves success to remind himself that success is earned, not bestowed. You need to keep earning it.

Listen to your best friend. While the word "friendship" may have become diluted in this era of social media mouse-clicking, the relationship between people who know and respect each other remains essential. Such friends (be they spouses or colleagues) are not afraid to give each other the straight dope. Senior leaders need the friendship of one or two close associates whom they trust above others to tell them the truth. Treasure those friendships.

Reflect on your shortcomings. Taking time out to gain perspective on what you are doing is valuable. In the Catholic tradition, penitents are taught to go through an examination of conscience, reflecting on their transgressions. A frank look at what you have done wrong, as it applies to decisions made, behaviors exerted, and treatment of others is vital to a leader keeping his head on straight. Too much dwelling on the negative is not good, but a frank assessment of shortcomings is advised.

Ego affirms a leader's ability to take charge. But checking the ego demonstrates a leader's ability to take charge of himself. That is critical to developing strong organizations which can achieve sustainable results.

we rescue foreclosure victims

"
We are promoting our services to help foreclosure victims.
In these difficult economic times with the loss of jobs, banks folding, and with foreclosures at an all time high, it has been very difficult for the masses. I along with my legal team have a system in place that 1.)allows foreclosure victims more time in their homes by stopping foreclosure process and this keeps their privacy and dignity intact 2.)we also will restructure property owners mortgage;Our system works in all 50 states.If you would like to schedule an appointment or for more information or how to save your home,please call.




T.Lee Muhammad
HIP Harambee Inc,
Direct:317.496.0999
www.twitter.com/ForeclosureHero
Email: hipharambee.inc@gmail.com
"We Buy Homeowners/Foreclosure victims Time"

Forced Vaccinations, Government, and the Public Interest

Forced Vaccinations, Government, and the Public Interest

By Dr. Russell Blaylock, M.D.
December 2009

Those who are observant have noticed a dangerous trend in the United States, as well as worldwide, and that is the resorting of various governments at different levels to mandating forced vaccination upon the public at large. My State of Mississippi has one of the most-restrictive vaccine-exemption laws in the United States, where exemptions are allowed only upon medical recommendation. Ironically, this is only on paper, as many have had as many as three physicians, some experts in neurological damage caused by vaccines, provide written calls for exemption, only to be turned down by the State’s public-health officer.

Worse are the States, such as Massachusetts, New Jersey and Maryland, where forced vaccinations have either been mandated by the courts, the state legislature, or have such legislation pending. All of such policies strongly resemble those policies found in National Socialist empires, Stalinist countries, or Communist China.

When public-health officers are asked for the legal justification for such draconian measures as forcing people to accept vaccines that they deem either a clear and present danger to themselves and their loved ones or have had personal experience with serious adverse reactions to such vaccines, they usually resort to the need to protect the public.

One quickly concludes that if the vaccines are as effective as being touted by the public-health officials, then why should one fear the unvaccinated? Obviously the vaccinated would have at least 95% protection. This question puts them in a very difficult position. Their usual response is that a “small” percentage of the vaccinated will not have sufficient protection and would still be at risk. Now, if they admit what the literature shows, that vaccine failure rates are much higher than the 5% they claim, they must face the next obvious question – then why should anyone take the vaccine if there is a significant chance it will not protect?

When pressed further, they then resort to their favorite justification, the Holy Grail of the vaccine proponents – herd immunity. This concept is based upon the idea that 95% (and some now say 100%) of the population must be vaccinated to prevent an epidemic. The percentages needing vaccination grows progressively. I pondered this question for some time before the answer hit me. Herd immunity is mostly a myth and applies only to natural immunity – that is, contracting the infection itself.

Is Herd Immunity Real?

In the original description of herd immunity, the protection to the population at large occurred only if people contracted the infections naturally. The reason for this is that naturally-acquired immunity lasts for a lifetime. The vaccine proponents quickly latched onto this concept and applied it to vaccine-induced immunity. But, there was one major problem – vaccine-induced immunity lasted for only a relatively short period, from 2 to 10 years at most, and then this applies only to humoral immunity. This is why they began, silently, to suggest boosters for most vaccines, even the common childhood infections such as chickenpox, measles, mumps, and rubella.

Then they discovered an even greater problem, the boosters were lasting for only 2 years or less. This is why we are now seeing mandates that youth entering colleges have multiple vaccines, even those which they insisted gave lifelong immunity, such as the MMR. The same is being suggested for full-grown adults. Ironically, no one in the media or medical field is asking what is going on. They just accept that it must be done.

That vaccine-induced herd immunity is mostly myth can be proven quite simply. When I was in medical school, we were taught that all of the childhood vaccines lasted a lifetime. This thinking existed for over 70 years. It was not until relatively recently that it was discovered that most of these vaccines lost their effectiveness 2 to 10 years after being given. What this means is that at least half the population, that is the baby boomers, have had no vaccine-induced immunity against any of these diseases for which they had been vaccinated very early in life. In essence, at least 50% or more of the population was unprotected for decades.

If we listen to present-day wisdom, we are all at risk of resurgent massive epidemics should the vaccination rate fall below 95%. Yet, we have all lived for at least 30 to 40 years with 50% or less of the population having vaccine protection. That is, herd immunity has not existed in this country for many decades and no resurgent epidemics have occurred. Vaccine-induced herd immunity is a lie used to frighten doctors, public-health officials, other medical personnel, and the public into accepting vaccinations.

When we examine the scientific literature, we find that for many of the vaccines protective immunity was 30 to 40%, meaning that 70% to 60% of the public has been without vaccine protection. Again, this would mean that with a 30% to 40% vaccine-effectiveness rate combined with the fact that most people lost their immune protection within 2 to 10 year of being vaccinated, most of us were without the magical 95% number needed for herd immunity. This is why vaccine defenders insist the vaccines have 95% effectiveness rates.

Without the mantra of herd immunity, these public-health officials would not be able to justify forced mass vaccinations. I usually give the physicians who question my statement that herd immunity is a myth a simple example. When I was a medical student almost 40 years ago, it was taught that the tetanus vaccine would last a lifetime. Then 30 years after it had been mandated, we discovered that its protection lasted no more than 10 years. Then, I ask my doubting physician if he or she has ever seen a case of tetanus? Most have not. I then tell them to look at the yearly data on tetanus infections – one sees no rise in tetanus cases. The same can be said for measles, mumps, and other childhood infections. It was, and still is, all a myth.

The entire case for forced mass vaccination rest upon this myth and it is important that we demonstrate the falsity of this idea. Neil Z. Miller, in his latest book The Vaccine Information Manual, provides compelling evidence that herd immunity is a myth.

The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions

Those pushing mandatory vaccination for an ever-growing list of diseases are a mixed bag. Some are quite sincere and truly want to improve the health of the United States. They believe the vaccine-induced herd immunity myth and likewise believe that vaccines are basically effective and safe. These are not the evil people.

A growing number are made of those with a collectivist worldview and see themselves as a core of elite wise men and women who should tell the rest of us what we should do in all aspects of our lives. They see us as ignorant cattle, who are unable to understand the virtues of their plan for America and the World. Like children, we must be made to take our medicine – since, in their view, we have no concept of the true benefit of the bad-tasting medicine we are to be fed.

I have also found that a small number of people in the regulatory agencies and public health departments would like to speak out but are so intimidated and threatened with dismissal or destruction of their careers, that they remain silent. As for the media, they are absolutely clueless.

I have found that “reporters” (we have few real journalists these days) rarely understand what they are reporting on and always trust and rely upon people in positions of official power, even if those people are unqualified to speak on the subject. Most of the time they run to the Centers for Disease Control or medical university to seek answers. I cannot count the number of times I have seen university department heads interviewed when it was obvious they had no clue as to the subject being discussed. Few such professors will pass up an opportunity to appear on camera or be quoted in a newspaper.

One must also appreciate that such reporters and editors are under an enormous economic strain, as vaccine manufacturers are major advertisers in all media outlets and for an obvious reason – it controls content. A number of excellent stories on such medical subjects are spiked every day. That means we will always be relegated to the “fringe media” as our media outlets are called. Despite the high quality of the journalism in many of the “fringe” outlets, they have a much smaller audience. And despite this we are having an enormous effect on the debate.

As the Public Awakens, the Collectivist Becomes Desperate

John Jewkes, in his book Ordeal by Planning, observed that as the British collectivists began to see opposition rise to their grandiose plans, they became more desperate and aggressive in their reaction. They then initiated a campaign of smearing their opponents and blaming every failure on the unwillingness of the people to accept the planner’s dictates without question. We certainly have seen this in this debate –opponents to forced vaccinations are referred to as fringe scientists, kooks, uneducated, confused, and enemies of public safety – reminiscent of Stalin’s favorite phrase, “enemy of the people.”

This desperation is based upon their fear that the public might soon catch on to the fact that the entire vaccine program is based upon nonsense, fear, and concocted fairy tales. One special fear of theirs is that the public might discover the fact that most vaccines are contaminated with a number of known and yet-to-be discovered viruses, bacteria, viral fragments, and DNA/RNA fragments. And, further, that our science demonstrates that these contaminants could lead to a number of slowly-developing degenerative diseases, including degenerative diseases of the brain. This is rarely discussed but is of major importance in this debate.

The idea that adults and their children would be forced to submit to being injected with dozens of these organisms and organic fragments is terrifying. No regulatory agency is tracking to see if chronic diseases are rising in the vaccinated, yet we have compelling evidence of a massive rise in all autoimmune diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, and certain cancers since the advent of a dramatic increase in the number of vaccines being mandated.

Of special concern is the finding that many of the contaminant organisms can pass from generation to generation. For example, new studies have found that SV-40, a major contaminant of the polio vaccine until 1963, not only existed as a latent virus for the lifetime of those exposed to the vaccine but was being passed on to the next generation, primarily by way of sperm, something called vertical transmission. This means that every generation from now on will be infected with this known carcinogenic virus. There is also compelling evidence that some polio vaccines manufactured after 1963 may contain SV-40 virus.

What makes the SV-40 contamination disaster of such concern is its association with so many cancers – including mesothelioma, medulloblastoma, ependymoma, meningioma, astrocytoma, oligodendroglioma, pituitary adenoma, glioblastoma, osteosarcomas, non-Hodgkins lymphoma, papillary thyroid carcinomas, and anaplastic thyroid carcinomas.

The Federal government has gone to enormous links to cover up this association, despite the powerful scientific evidence that this vaccine infected at least a hundred million people worldwide with this carcinogenic virus. And, it took over 40 years just to get this far. Linking vaccine contaminations and immunoexcitotoxicity to the drastic rise in neurodegenerative diseases will probably take even longer because of the widespread growth of entrenched powers high in government and their control of the media, which is equally extensive. The fact that powerful, enormously wealthy foundations, such as the Ford Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and Rockefeller series of foundations, are supporting forced vaccination greatly enhances the power of governments all over the World.

These foundations operate in the shadows, influencing legislation and government actions through the World Health Organization and individual governmental bodies. Behind every call for forced vaccinations, mandated quarantines, and home invasions, one can find one of these foundations providing the money as well as experts. Remember, the largest of the pharmaceutical-vaccine manufacturers are also providing much of the money for the foundations and serving on the boards of these foundations. The Rockefellers either owned outright or had controlling interest in all of the major pharmaceutical companies. This has given them absolute and extremely powerful access to the reins of power at all levels. Yet, they can be defeated by the truth.

Dr. Blaylock is a board-certified neurosurgeon, author and lecturer. He attended the LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans, Louisiana and completed his internship and neurosurgical residency at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina. For the past 24 years he has practiced neurosurgery in addition to having a nutritional practice for 2 years. Retiring from his neurosurgical practice to devote full time to nutritional studies and research, Dr. Blaylock has written and illustrated three books (Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills, Health and Nutrition Secrets That Can Save Your Life, and Natural Strategies for The Cancer Patient). In addition, he has written and illustrated three chapters in medical textbooks, written a booklet on nutritional protection against biological terrorism, has an e-booklet on radioprotection (Nuclear Sunrise), written and illustrated a booklet on multiple sclerosis, and written over 30 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals.

Other credits include Dr. Blaylock's DVD Nutrition & Behavior, a CD-ROM on the Truth About Aspartame, and, for the past five years, a health newsletter The Blaylock Wellness Report, published by NewsMax. Since the publication of his first book, he has been a guest on over 100 syndicated radio and television programs and appeared on the 700 Club seven times. He lectures widely to both lay and professional medical audiences on a variety of nutritional subjects.

Dr. Blaylock is a visiting professor of biology at Belhaven College and serves on the editorial staff of the Journal of the American Nutraceutical Association, the editorial staff of the Fluoride Journal and is on the editorial staff of the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, official journal of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons. He is also a regular lecturer for the Fellowship for Anti-aging and Regenerative Medicine.

Black Caucus sends strong economic message to Obama

Washington (CNN) -- Members of the Congressional Black Caucus called on President Obama Friday to address the skyrocketing unemployment rate facing minorities -- especially African-Americans and Latinos -- and greater economic conditions plaguing low-income communities.

"Our job is to make sure the legislation that gets to the president's desk responds to the degradation and the crisis in our community," said Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, at a Friday news conference. "Our community is bleeding. And we are the worst hit."

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate in November 2009 for blacks is at 15.6 percent -- and 12.7 percent for Hispanics. In comparison, the rate for whites is 9.3 percent.

The latest job numbers show that a drop in the U.S. unemployment rate dropped from 10.2 percent to 10 percent in November.

The letter -- titled "Change Course, Confront Crises, Continue the Legacy" -- also indicates that the CBC wants, among other things:

Sister Nisa Islam Muhammad guest speaker at the Global Peace Convention

by Brother Jesse

Sister Nisa Islam Muhammad, Staff Writer for The Final Call Newspaper, is in the Republic of the Philippines as a guest speaker at the Global Peace Convention (GPC). The convention is being held December 10-14 under the theme “Peacebuilding for the 21st Century: Interfaith, Service and Family”.

Sister Nisa is residing in Manilla, the site of the historic "Thriller in Manilla" boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.

The GPC is an annual gathering of peace builders from around the world. It began as a result of the excitement and positive impact of the Global Peace Festivals (GPF) held throughout since 2007.

Sister Nisa is speaking on the rebuilding of the family. She is blogging and tweeting updates daily. Visit her blog at http://nisa.blogs.finalcall.com/. Follow her on Twitter at @NisaIslam

Congratulations Sister Nisa!

Etiquette and Networking – The Secret Society of Business

(Cedricmuhammad.com) Yesterday, at a certain point during the second part of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan's historic lecture series “The Time and What Must Be Done,” the Minister made an important point regarding the strength and vitality of the Black community in America relative to other immigrant and ethnic groups. He made clear that an indication of the spiritual condition of a people is their level of social cohesion, community and economic development. While he made this powerful point I thought to myself, ‘a major reason why the Black community has not been more successful in business is because we are not more like him.'

What I meant by that, is that aside from following the Minister's guidance on how to improve ourselves and build our communities we have not really appreciated something about him that he really can't easily teach about himself – his extraordinary manners. I am among those who have been blessed to be with Minister Farrakhan in more private settings – one-on-one discussions, coffee talks, dinners and business meetings, and I have formed the opinion that he has the best manners of any human being I have ever met. It actually can be unnerving how considerate he is of guests' needs, how carefully and intently he listens to anyone speaking to him, and how well he guides group discussion.

When I share with people how kind and considerate Minister Farrakhan has been to me, they almost can't believe it.

With tears in my eyes, earlier this year I thanked him, struggling to articulate exactly what it is that he does (smile).

A dear friend of mine told me once after watching a video of Minister Farrakhan interacting in a social setting, where he shook hands or hugged all, beamed his beautiful smile, listened to, and shared encouraging words - ‘He knows who he is dealing with – how beaten down we are, and how little we think of ourselves. He knows the only thing that will touch and reach us are expressions of his genuine concern and love for us.'

The Minister is a lover of people, regardless to status and takes the disposition of a servant – doing kind to all. His social skills are unusual.

His pattern of conduct is beautiful and exemplary.

This is not just an opinion of him held by those who follow, support or already love him.

As I write this, I am reminded of one very wealthy and successful Caucasian businessman who met Minister Farrakhan at a Polyconomics' client conference hosted by the late economist Jude Wanniski in Florida last decade, who indicated to me that he initially had a negative view of the Minister – which was erased when he had a chance to interact with him. This gentleman told me how struck he was by Minister Farrakhan's manners and most of all how carefully he listened and how quickly his mind grasped new concepts. He told me it was so impressive to him, even shocking.

Others are first-hand witnesses of the Minister's appreciation for and even mastery of etiquette when traveling abroad. One day that story will be told.

A comprehensive and definitive biography, so to speak, of Minister Farrakhan has yet to be written, but it would have to include this area – his extraordinary manners and etiquette. From his own words – in interviews and books like Closing The Gap (http://tinyurl.com/y8dr6ay)- we already do know that the Minister credits the strong rearing of his Mother, a native of St. Kitts, and the teaching and unusual training of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. He has also acknowledged the effect of the discipline he observed practiced by his mentor - while he was with the Nation of Islam – Minister Malcolm X. To understand the effect the Minister's unspoken example has had on those who are half his age or more, you only have to listen to an untitled track on Nas' last album which the streets have ‘officially' re-named ‘Louis Farrakhan' (http://tinyurl.com/ycm9sqw).

My Mother was born in Panama, where she lived until she was 7 years old. She then grew up in Jamaica, before coming to the States in her teenage years. She told me she was taught etiquette from her Uncle and Aunt who raised her in Jamaica. My father was born in Harlem and raised in Brooklyn, he was reared by his grandmother who instilled values and discipline in him. He served 27 years in the U.S. armed forces where he traveled the world receiving thorough military training, retiring as a Command Sergeant Major.

In my household my Mother was the ‘CEO' – Chief Etiquette Officer – and my Father was her enforcer. With that foundation or regime (smile), my big Brother and I traveled the world, experiencing multi-course meals in France, and watching my father bargain or negotiate prices with vendors on the streets of New York and Rome. He learned to become fluent in German just by going out and speaking with the people of the country.

My father taught me an appreciation for culture no matter where – on the streets of America or abroad. He is a master networker, with great manners and fast thinking on his feet.

When I was 17 I met my life-long mentor, Frank, who built on the foundation my parents gave me in the area of personal and social manners teaching me business etiquette. He taught me everything from what kind of ties to wear, what shape my business card holders should be, and the appropriate manners involved in conducting business over meals and in social settings.

The importance of this subject cannot be overstated, especially for young people. It is not taught in school (in America) and it is something that few successful people seem able or willing to share with others, when they explain reasons for their success. In that sense it is a secret. This is one of the reasons I am happy to see individuals who are influential with young people being more honest about how the way you conduct yourself affects your success in business. Jay-Z and 50 Cent are recent example.

That is why I devoted an entire chapter to it in my book, The Entrepreneurial Secret. In a chapter entitled, ‘The Secret of Etiquette and Networking – The Culture Of Doing Business,' aside from lessons I learned in networking from Method Man and Raekwon of Wu Tang Clan, I feature in detail a discussion between my mentor, Frank, and myself, about the hidden or less visible aspects of how business decisions are made through personal conduct and social networking.

That is why I had a big smile on my face when I saw two articles that bear witness to the importance of this subject.

The most recent was the November 25, 2009 Wall Street Journal article, “What Facebook Can't Give You,” a story about a group of men, who over 52 years of meeting and networking evolved as power brokers. Here is an excerpt:
Before there was Facebook, there was the Wednesday 10.

In 1957, as men in their late 20s, they began meeting—initially over breakfast, then over dinners held at the Sherry-Netherland Hotel or at the Harvard Club in midtown Manhattan. Few were born to means. Many were sons of immigrants. Most went on to become luminaries in their fields—presidents of television networks, partners at banks, editors of magazines.

On occasion, they shared their influence with one another. When member Mort Janklow made a career switch from corporate attorney to literary agent, a fellow member, columnist William Safire, offered himself as a famous first client. When Robert Menschel, a senior director at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., was considering deals involving large consumer companies such as Procter & Gamble, he would pick the brain of fellow club member Ed Meyer, the former chief executive of Grey Advertising.

In a day when “social network” is a buzz term from colleges to board rooms, the members of Wednesday 10 show the benefits of old-fashioned networking. “We were all young kids starting out, and it is easy when you are so involved in building your career to lose touch with other people who are outside your field,” says Mr. Menschel, who has been at Goldman Sachs for 55 years. “It helped me to understand why other people do what they do—which is important in life and in business. You don't learn anything from talking to sameness.”

The Wednesday 10 comprised, at various points, more than 20 men; the goal was a number small enough to maintain intimacy yet large enough to ensure that at least 10 members would show up for each of the monthly Wednesday-night meetings. No more than two representatives of any one industry were permitted. The idea was to combat insularity, to keep the men connected to people and events outside their own professions.

The other article of great relevance to me appeared in the November 13, 2009 Financial Times magazine, How To Spend It. In the column, ‘The Captain's Table,' Vanessa Friedman focuses on the view of John Demsey (group president of The Estee Lauder Companies), on the subject of the importance of the business:
“There are people in this world for whom meals are the nexus of how they operate in business, and they have restaurants that function almost as canteens or conference rooms…

At this point in time, there's less of everything: fewer suppliers, restaurants and magazines. This consolidation of the world has lessened the networking opportunities available, and this is a huge part of the purpose of lunch. It's important to get out of the office and find out what's going on. It's easy to get so involved in your own world that you forget about all the other things you should be paying attention to, and simply by virtue of seeing someone across the room, you get a new idea.

This is important in my business, which is all about people and what's new. I'm not trying to get deals signed; I'm trying to seduce someone into doing a project, or get information. If I want to find out what's going on with my competition, the absolute best tactic I know is to go out to lunch. It's much more effective than reading the newspaper.

…Where you eat says something about who you are…Going back to the same place makes you feel at home, and provides a comfort level that allows you to concentrate on your guest. It's like Cheers: you want to go to a place where everybody knows your name.

…The truth is, almost every meaningful person I've hired, every important celebrity relationship Lauder has started, has happened after a lunch. It adds the personal connection to the business connection – and that makes all the difference.”

Knowledge of financial statements, cultural trends, and tax policy is important but sometimes nothing matters more in business than the size of your business card, how likable you are, who you know, whether or not you know where to get rid of that chewing gum and in what direction to pass the food at your table.

If you do, you have entered successfully into the most secret part of the society of business.

Cedric Muhammad is a business consultant, political strategist, and monetary economist. He is author of the book, The Entrepreneurial Secret (http://theEsecret.com/). His talk show, ‘The Cedric Muhammad and Black Coffee Program' can be viewed every Wednesday from 12 to 5 PM EST (USA) at: http://www.cedricmuhammad.com/media/

Obama quietly backs Patriot Act provisions

NEW YORK - With the health care debate preoccupying the mainstream media, it has gone virtually unreported that the Barack Obama administration is quietly supporting renewal of provisions of the George W. Bush-era U.S.A. Patriot Act that civil libertarians say infringe on basic freedoms.

And it is reportedly doing so over the objections of some prominent Democrats.

When a panicky Congress passed the act 45 days after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, three contentious parts of the law were scheduled to expire at the end of December, and opponents of these sections have been pushing Congress to substitute new provisions with substantially strengthened civil liberties protections.

But with the apparent approval of the Obama White House and a number of Republicans—and over the objections of liberal Senate Democrats, including Russ Feingold of Wisconsin and Dick Durbin of Illinois—the Senate Judiciary Committee has voted to extend the three provisions with only minor changes.

Those provisions would leave unaltered the power of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to seize records and to eavesdrop on phone calls and e-mail in the course of counterterrorism investigations.

The parts of the Act due to expire on Dec. 31 deal with:

• National Security Letters (NSLs)

durbi12-08-2009.jpg
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.)
The FBI uses NSLs to compel Internet service providers, libraries, banks, and credit reporting companies to turn over sensitive information about their customers and patrons. Using this data, the government can compile vast dossiers about innocent people.

• The “Material Support” Statute

This provision criminalizes providing “material support” to terrorists, defined as providing any tangible or intangible good, service or advice to a terrorist or designated group. As amended by the Patriot Act and other laws since Sept. 11, this section criminalizes a wide array of activities, regardless of whether they actually or intentionally further terrorist goals or organizations.

• FISA Amendments Act of 2008

This past summer, Congress passed a law that permits the government to conduct warrantless and suspicionless dragnet collection of U.S. residents' international telephone calls and e-mails.

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Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.)
Asked by IPS why committee chairman Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont and other Democrats chose to make only minor changes, Chip Pitts, president of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee, referred to “the secret and hypocritical lobbying by the Obama administration against reforms—while publicly stating receptiveness to them.” White House pressure, he speculated, “was undoubtedly a huge if lamentable factor.”

He added that some committee members were cautious because of the recent arrests of Najibullah Zazi and others.

Mr. Zazi , a citizen of Afghanistan and a legal U.S. resident, was arrested in September as part of a group accused of planning to carry out acts of terrorism against the U.S. Mr. Zazi is said by the FBI to have attended courses and received instruction on weapons and explosives at an al-Qaeda training camp in Pakistan.

Sen. Leahy acknowledged that, in light of these incidents, “This is no time to weaken or undermine the tools that law enforcement relies on to protect America.”

Mr. Pitts told IPS, “Short-term and political considerations driven by dramatic events once again dramatically affected the need for a more sensible long-term, reasoned, rule-of-law approach.”

“In the eight years since passage of the original Patriot Act, it's become clear that the escalating political competition to appear tough on terror—and avoid being accused of being ‘soft on terror'—brings perceived electoral benefits with few costs, with vital but fragile civil liberties being easily sacrificed,” he added.

In contrast to the Senate, the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee approved a version of the legislation containing several significant reforms. In a 16-10 party-line vote, the committee's version curbs some of the government's controversial surveillance powers.

The American Civil Liberties Union said, “More than seven years after its implementation there is little evidence that the Patriot Act has been effective in making America more secure from terrorists. However, there are many unfortunate examples that the government abused these authorities in ways that both violate the rights of innocent people and squander precious security resources.”

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HIP Harambee Inc,
Email: hipharambee.inc@gmail.com
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