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Note to Michael Vick Dont Lose the Lessons
By A. Peter Bailey

Several years ago, when walking across Harlems 125th Street, a quote written on a wooden fence caused me to pause and take out my pad and pen. Attributed to the Dalai Lama, it said When you lose, dont lose the lesson. Michael Vick lost. Its important that he and his young black male peers dont lose the lessons. Lesson one is to realize that as you move along in life you have to, every now and then, do an inventory on your homeboys and find out who is really a friend and who is on a fast road to nowhere and trying to take you along. Lesson two is to recognize the difference between positive arrogance I am as good as anybody and can accomplish what I put my mind to and negative arrogance I got it all going on and dont have to listen to nobody. The latter will eventually jam you up. Lesson three is not to believe for a single moment that having millions of dollars will enable you to transcend race in a nation where white supremacy is one of, if not the major force. Millions may allow you to avoid some of the more insidious aspects of white supremacy, but they wont enable you to totally escape the challenge. There are many Whites out there, including sports writers, who deeply resent black athletes making all that money and will pounce like lions on a gazelle at the slightest opportunity. Lesson four is not to mess with dog lovers. They are fanatical, relentless, unforgiving opponents to encounter and will follow you to the ends of the earth. I am a dog person, but not one who equates the killing of a dog with the killing of a human being.



The Iraq War

One of the most misleading myths being spread during this political season is that most of the American public is fed up with the travesty known as the war on Iraq. That is simply not true because if they were many troops would be on their way as this is read. The public may talk the talk, but it wont walk the walk to force the Bush administration to withdraw the troops from Iraq. They dont do so for a very clear reason. Probably 99 percent of the people in this country are not directly affected by the war. Every few months the Washington Post publishes two or three pages of photographs, home towns, and ages of American military personnel killed in Iraq. Almost all of them are from small cities and towns that most people have never heard of which means that they are mainly the children of low-income or working class Black, Latino and White families. As long as these people are willing to send their children, sometimes for three or four tours of duty, off to be maimed or killed in a war of choice launched by chicken hawk politicians and intellectuals, the overwhelming majority of the people in this country will take no action to stop the war.



Harlem Week

While recently visiting Harlem for the closing weekend of Harlem Week with my 15, 12 and 13 year old granddaughters, I told them to observe carefully because the Harlem they have heard about and read about will be history by the time they are in their early twenties if committed Harlemites dont join together with unity and determination. Some people, including significant number of Black folks, have no problem with the changes that include, among other things, a Mormon Temple in the heart of Harlem on 128th Street and Malcolm X Blvd.
Lenox Avenue the buying of property by the Scientologists on 125th Street studio apartments renting for 1200 per month and Columbia University once again planning to gobble up blocks of apartment buildings for its own use. Other people are angry and determined to resist what they consider an invasion. Their position was expressed on a t-shirt in words that I had never before seen. Instead of saying I Love Harlem, it declared, I Love Black Harlem.



Max Roach

Max Roach was one of truly great artist/visionaries of his time. Unlike too many so called artists, past and present, who believed that telling like it is and keeping it real are sufficient, Max used his extraordinary vision to tell it like it can be, like it should be, like it must be if our people are to continue to grow and create.




Three Reasons Why America Will Never Leave Iraq
By C.B. Forde

While watching President Bush make a speech during his surprise visit to Iraq last week, I thought to myself, America will never leave Iraq. One of the many conspiracy theories about the war in Iraq is that the primary reason for the American invasion was to seize Iraqs oil reserves and keep America one step ahead of the Chinese in the global scramble to secure energy resources. So I decided to do some research and came up with three very concrete reasons why in spite of the noise the Democratic Party is trying to raise, the United States will not be leaving Iraq anytime soon:

1 Iraqa Vast Oil Wealth
2 The New U.S. Embassy/Fortress
3 The non-permanent Military Bases currently being constructed


1 Iraq has the third largest reserves of conventional oil in the world, approximately 112 gigabarrels. America has an insatiable thirst for oil that no hybrid car can cure. The United States consumes 20,730,000 barrels of oil a day. China is the next largest consumer at 6,534,000 barrels a day. America produces only 7, 610,000 barrels of oil a day. Do the math- the demand and production just dont match up. The Chinese economy is rapidly expanding, and tensions over oil reserves have been simmering between the two countries. This came to light when the American government blocked the Chinese purchase of the American oil company called Unocal in 2005. The logic is simple, in order to ensure its position in the world, America HAD to secure this vast supply of oil. Furthermore, with deteriorating relations with Russia and out right hostility with Venezuela and Iran, three of the worlds largest oil producers, the U.S. has to hedge its bets somehow.

2 A more obvious sign that U.S troops wont be pulling out of the Iraq is the newly constructed U.S. Embassy. The new 560 million dollar embassy is the largest and most expensive embassy ever built. The facility is a heavily fortified fortress with 15 foot thick concrete walls and specially made bulletproof windows and doors to provide protection from car or truck bombs. The 65 acre facility which sits on the banks of the Tigris River in the Green Zone will be a world onto itself, with its own power, sewage, and water plants.

The embassy has 619 apartments which can house approximately 1,200 workers. To ensure worker safety, the embassy staff will have their own shopping market, movie theater, athletic facilities, and dry cleaners. This huge financial investment in the U.S. Embassy forced me to look into what the U.S. government was doing to protect this INVESTMENT. Fifteen foot concrete walls can only do so much the U.S. will have to maintain a military presence in the country.

3 At the beginning of the occupation, America established well over one hundred bases throughout the country. In 2005, the Pentagon selected 14 of these bases to be developed beyond the level of temporary encampments. Basically, they decided to build permanent buildings instead of just having tents and other temporary structures. The U.S. military now has several bases that are cites unto themselves.

In 2005, Congress began to debate the issue of permanent military bases in Iraq. Although it is impossible to determine exactly how much money has been allocated to build non-permanent bases, estimates have been well over one billion dollars. In the 2006 supplemental budget, 348 million was allocated for further construction of non-permanent bases in Iraq.

The key thing here is the semantic use of the word permanent. Congress has called upon the Pentagon to provide a transparent plan as to what their true intentions in Iraq are. However, America is currently removing its troops from Saudi Arabia and Iraq will present the U.S. military with an excellent opportunity to maintain a powerful presence in the region- right at the back door of Syria and Iran.

These non-permanent Iraq bases are also designed to provide the troops with as much of an American lifestyle as possible. The temporary base at Balad boasts has two large department stores and several fast food restaurants including a 24-hour Burger King, a Pizza Hut, and a Baskin-Robbins as well as a miniature golf course.
The temporary base at Al-Asad has a football field, a Hertz rent-a-car office, an internet cafe, an indoor swimming pool, a movie theater showing the latest releases, and an automobile dealership. Troops at these bases are provided with air-conditioning, satellite internet access, cable television, and international phone service.

While denying they want to have permanent bases in Iraq, the Department of Defense has spent quite a bit of money on temporary living quarters for their soldiers. It just makes sense, no matter what Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid say, America will occupy Iraq for good number of years into the future.

U.S. Contractors, Slave Labor, and The U.S. Embassy in Iraq


First Kuwaiti General Trading and Contracting Co (FKTC), hired by the U.S. to construct the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, allegedly utilized slave labor to complete the job. Please click here or on the image to see the July 26, 2007 testimony of Rory Mayberry, a former employee of First Kuwaiti, before the House Oversight Committee. Mr. Mayberry said he witnessed the kidnapping of more than 50 Filipino nationals to work on the embassy project. Here is an excerpt from his testimony

"Mr. Chairman, when the airplane took off and the captain announced that we were heading to Baghdad, all you-know-what broke out on the airplane. The men started shouting, it wasnt until the security guy working for First Kuwaiti waved an MP5 in the air that the men settled down. They realized that they had no other choice but to go to Baghdad. Let me spell it out
clearly I believe these men were kidnapped by First Kuwaiti to work at the U.S. Embassy Ive read the State Department Inspector Generals report on the construction of the embassy. Mr. Chairman, its not worth the paper its printed on. This is a coverup and Im glad that Ive had the opportunity to set the record straight."

Americas Next...Hard Worker
By Cedric Perry

"...You got this fantasy in your head/ about getting out of the life/ and setting the corporate world on its ear...What the you gonna do except hustle
Pain in Da Ass, The Prelude by Jay-Z

For the last few days, Ive been in the lab working on a new reality show concept. I figure the more unrealistic I make it, the more successful it will be. So far Ive come up with three concepts Americas Next Lotto Winner Who Wants to Receive
Welfare and my personal favorite, I Need A Baby Mama.

The concepts may seem outlandish and a bit offensive, but the current notion that you can receive anything you want in life by auditioning for a show is offensive to me. Go back in history and search for the reason why our African ancestors those who werent dragged here came to America. Most came to this country to take advantage of the opportunities available here, and to build wealth from the ground up. Look at the Civil Rights Era and you will find people who wanted to create change, and did so by volunteering, joining groups and simply getting their hands dirty. Martin Luther King, Jr. didnt host a game show. Imagine that Who Wants To Be A Revolutionary

Now as the co-owner of a photography company and a man in love with the curve of Tyra Bankss body, I enjoy watching Americas Next Top Model. I also greatly admire Ms. Banks she is by far one of the most intelligent and charismatic women currently working in the modeling industry. But I must chop, as my college buddies and I say when criticizing something. How can one be expected to replicate, perhaps even exceed, such accomplishments as Banks when they can receive in a few weeks what took Banks years to achieve More importantly, how can we ask the next top model to appreciate the opportunity and take fashion to the next level

Some say that Tyra and the creators of shows like hers give hope. Looking at shows such as American Idol teaches audiences that anyone with a dream can be a superstar. Possibly. But what many viewers dont know is that these shows select contestants who are perfecting their craft before they arrive at the audition. Also, contest winners are selected and placed in positions to faile.g. Ruben Studdard and every winner from any Making the Band. Dont worry, Diddy--youre still my role model.

Even everybodys favorite controversial show, VH1s Flavor of Love, and its spin-off, I Love New York, ended with the winners separating from the respective shows host. I guess being the beau of Flavor Flav or New York is a position of failure.

In essence, the reality show contests such as ANTM, American Idol, The Bachelor, and The Bachelorette have applied the spoiled rotten method to everyday life if a person is given something of value celebrity, in this case without being forced to earn it, the gift is normally received unappreciated. When people receive these gifts under the wrong conditions, they tend to let the chance go to waste. This method has squandered many a great talent and killed many more. But when forced to earn their keep, or most importantly their dreams, people are more attached to whatever they have earned and are more responsible in the long run. Thus we look to Americas Next Everything each year.

Cedric Perry is the author of In Line of Love and also the President of Operations of Y.M.e Photography Ltd.

Enjoy Life & Have A Good Time Doing It
By Terry A. Ferguson

Everyday we are reminded of how precious life is, and we seem to be waiting for someone to tell us to enjoy ourselves. Why, it even brings to mind that upbeat, heart-filled Jacksons song Enjoy Yourself. I went to the Bahamas on a whim in August. This was after I was told to enjoy myself by my church sister, Toni. Let me tell you, I had a ball. This trip not only recharged and rejuvenated me, but it reminded me that I need to do this more often.

Originally, my only vacation for this summer would have been a three-day trip to Myrtle Beach. I had never been there, although my father hails from South Carolina. I was told by family and friends that it was a great place for fun, water, and sun. At that point, that was the closest that I was going to get to the Caribbean for the summer.

During lunch with Toni, she mentioned her plan to go on vacation to the Bahamas with a girlfriend. I was so excited for her I felt like I was going with her as well. In life, I have learned to be happy for people you know and dont know being happy for others brings Gods favor and blessings upon you. Four days later, when we saw each other in church, Toni told me that she had cancelled her trip because her friend was unable to go. Hearing this, I felt hurt myself Toni is a Special Education teacher, a field that is very rewarding, but also mentally and physically challenging she had been looking forward to getting away.

I mentioned to my mother that Toni had cancelled her trip. She said to me, You could have gone with her, since her friend backed out of the trip. I gave my mother a crazy look, to which she replied, You should think about going with her to the Bahamas because you need a vacation too. Well, ladies and gentlemen, I didnt have to think too hard, or twice, about it. I asked Toni if it was too late to make the arrangements. She spoke with her travel agent, and the trip was back on.

From this chain of events, I have to believe that there was divine intervention from God above. When I met Toni in Manhattan that day, our meeting was in reality a dress rehearsal for our trip. It was quite an enjoyable business meeting we talked about all kinds of topics, laughed, and just had a great time. Wouldnt you want to have a travel partner who provides good conversation and laughter, a partner who respects you I know Id rather be in a hotel room with someone who I can respect and trust, and thats Toni.

As a final note, make sure that you visit the beautiful island of New Providence in the Bahamas. Being there was like being home with my family and friends in the United States. There is a kinship with my brothers and sisters of African heritage in the Bahamas we celebrate being black, beautiful and proud. Remember enjoy life and have a good time doing it. Be open to Gods blessings, no matter how they come and most of all, be spontaneous.

Terry A. Ferguson, is the host of A Bowl of Soul a classic soul and r&b radio show on WPNT, The Beat of Hunts Point. She is also a 17 year veteran of the information technology industry.

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