In this edition of iMiXWHATiLiKE! we commemorated Dr. King by letting his radicalism speak for itself via the classic L’s is Coming… mixtape from Dj Sese, we aired our discussion with The Truth Minista Paul Scott about Tupac Shakur becoming a new symbol of Black liberation and caught up with Ajamu Baraka to talk about his latest piece, “The Charlie Hebdo White Power Rally in Paris: A Celebration of Western Hypocrisy.”

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  1. No argument with any of the Charlie Hebdo commentary, but one bit of historical context needs to be pointed out: Operation Gladio. At the end of the 2nd world war anti-communist secret cells were created in Europe financed and trained by NATO, the CIA and MI6. By the 1960’s EuroCommunism was very strong and these cells were using military grade weapons in “random” attacks in 12 European countries against the people of their own countries. The profile of the attacks was always the same: gratuitous violence, bombs planted in places like a local Oktoberfest celebration or an agricultural bank whose clients were all family farmers, and then a radical Communist group would “claim” responsibility. These were false flag attacks intended to disrupt public order, discredit Communism, and maintain the existing political order which was threatened by the rise of Communism among ordinary people in Europe. Many of the attacks preceded important elections. No one is sure if these operations continue today, very few of the attacks were prosecuted, people investigating them died suddenly, (one of the Charlie Hebdo investigators, a chief of police, committed suicide, btw) etc, but a few participants have spoken out over the years. Additionally, we might look at the Lavon Affair in which Israel conducted false flag operations in Egypt against Nasser in 1954. That ruse was discovered, thanks to a bomb which detonated early and gave away the game. The then Israeli defense minister, Lavon, was forced to resign.
    I want to point out the similarity between those attacks and this one, and raise the possibility that this attack was also intended to disrupt public order and more importantly *to divide the left from itself.*
    I have not read Charlie Hebdo, but I understand that the actual articles–as opposed to the silly cartoons–have genuine radical and emancipatory content. I’m not sure that the journal was actually a tool of the oppressor. Of course no attention in the media has been given to the content of the journal, only to the cartoons, which I personally neither defend nor condemn. (The online articles are by subscription only, so I wasn’t able to read for myself.)
    I would like to suggest that we learn about this history, and measure the greater evil along with the lesser ones. NATO and the CIA are far different adversaries than a single independent newspaper, and these powerful entities are very happy to watch Niger burn and France further organize in enmity along racial lines. The last thing they want is for the European left and Africa to find common ground.
    These events are all related, as I’m sure we’re all aware. I certainly don’t want to make apologies for the disgusting displays and history of the colonizer, but I also don’t want to be manipulated by his narratives, either.
    Is the enemy an anarchist-communist journal, or is it the far more subtle forces of NATO and the CIA?
    Thank you for your consideration.

  2. Still waiting on commentary on Dr kings 1966 lecture titled “New Years Resolutions”, addressing our hair texture, self acceptance & other pertinent topics. On Democracy Now,the intrepid Dr Horace Campbell delivered a def analysis on the Boko Haram situation. Big ups to Dr Ball for dealing with “Reverend” Sharpton at the town hall meeting hosted by The Real News Network.

  3. I Am NOT Charlie Hebdo… Besides Bro Baraka’s piece which was posted @ BAR, Sis Margaret Kimberley also did a piece @ BAR called ‘#Je Suis White People’. In it she links to 2 Charlie Hebdo so-called ‘satyrical’ cartoons that are blatantly racist & sexist against Black & African women as well as anti-Islamic bigoted [see @ https://twitter.com/IranTalks/status/553152553983410176/photo/1 -&- https://twitter.com/paulturner2012/status/554572433848795136/photo/1 ]
    Thus IMO this CH march in Paris was effectively a European version of a white-power / white-supremacy march, without the KKK style hoods & sheets!


    Furthermore DN! guest Tarik Ramadan explains why Charlie Hebdo’s motivations behind its disrespectful anti-Islamic cartoons / lampoons were far from ‘courageous’ but were quite hypocritical & opportunistic [@ http://www.democracynow.org/2015/1/8/comics_legend_art_spiegelman_scholar_tariq ]:} In 2008 one of Charlie Hebdo’s cartoonists was fired because he dared to make a joke about [ex French Pres] Sarkozy’s son converting to Judaism to marry the daughter of a rich French Jew. He was fired, [falsely] accused of antisemitism. And give me one example over the last few yrs, of Charlie Hebdo targeting another community other than the Muslim community, because it’s easy.
    And to be clear, Charlie Hebdo was having financial problems in recent yrs, & these ongoing controversies, they were making money out of it.
    So It’s mainly a question of money. Charlie Hebdo went bankrupt over the last few yrs. And what they did w this controversy vs Islam today- in targeting Muslims- was to make money. It had nothing to do w courage [for TRUE freedom of speech]. It has to do w making money by targeting marginalized people in society… {

    And Jeremy Scahill @ DN! called this Charlie Hebdo march in Paris ” ‘A Circus of Hypocrisy’ [many] World Leaders Leading Paris March Have Opposed Press Freedom” [@ http://www.democracynow.org/2015/1/12/circus_of_hypocrisy_jeremy_scahill_on ]:} Every one of those heads of state or representatives of govts there have waged their own wars against journalists. David Cameron ordered The Guardian to smash the hard drives that stored the files of NSA whistle-blower Ed Snowden. Blasphemy is a crime in Ireland [& in the UK you can’t publish anything that disparages the royal family even if true- And France under Sarkozy banned wearing in public traditional head-dress & scarves of Muslim women]. Netanyahu’s govt has targeted for killing numerous journalists who’ve reported on the Palestinian side, & has kidnapped, abducted, jailed journalists. Yemeni journalist Abdulelah Haider Shaye was imprisoned for several yrs on the direct orders of Obama for reporting on secret US strikes in Yemen that killed scores of civilians. Sudan should have sent Sami al-Hajj, the Al Jazeera cameraman who was held for 6 yrs without charge in Guantánamo [FYI: during the 2003 Iraq attack US forces targeted & killed other Al-Jazeera journalists]… And then there’s PFC Manning, who Obama & AG Holder sentenced for 35 yrs for releasing to Wikileaks that ‘Collateral Murder’ video showing a US Black-Hawk gunship in Iraq ruthlessly mowing down 2 journalists along w 10 -12 others including seriously wounding 2 young Iraqi children as they watched their father get mowed down in front of them… [& the US’ UK’s & Sweden’s on going threats vs Assange & the US’ threats vs Snowden {

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