Investing In Silver

Silver is a great "poor man's option" -- especially at this price point. This precious metal has been trading at $20.00 - $23.00 an ounce for a year now. It is down from a high of nearly $50.00/oz  a few years ago before we started to pull out of the recession.

You should give some thought to investing in sliver as an alternative means of saving, or simply for diversifying your holdings.

Forever Hustling

Warning foul language: Mature audiences only

Has anyone taken note of how when Russell Simmons talks about black people he never uses the term us or we? To the contrary, he is quick use the term niggers when talking about young black people. This is the same guy who crossed a line that most inner city gangsters would not cross when he made/approved of an ignorant and demeaning parody of one of our greatest ancestors. I know a number of black folks who won't criticize him in hopes that some of his riches will rub off --  if they can ever get close to him.

Remember people: Before Europeans could ramp up the Transatlantic wing of the African slave trade, they needed people like Simmons to penetrate the bush first in order to bring out captives for the dungeons on the beach. No doubt.

The Nneka Truth

Okay, so I enjoy listening to interesting people. My favorite subject of late is Nigerian artists, Nneka Egbuana. Her music is hip, soulful and very fresh.  The woman has pipes too. Probably what fascinates me most is her apparent authenticity and candor. She is someone whom American youth should know better. I have been watching interviews she has given and the sure sign of an intelligent person is one who takes their time to listen and think before answering. I especially love how she does not take litmus tests, and that she does not exercise acts of vanity or feign docility in her responses -- behavior far too common among popular American personalities. Culturally speaking, young people today are in good hands with the likes of Damian Marley, Lupe Fiasco and Nneka Egbuana.

In an example of how positive people have exponential impact, Nneka has inspired me to learn more about activist Ken Sariwia. One Love.

Dogmatic

Open Muse:

It's one thing to have faith. It's even commendable. However, to me, its another thing completely to be so fervent -- to the exclusion of all others' (beliefs, ideas, customs, etc.). Baffling -- how people 40, 50 years of age, who have been practicing (or not) for 10 or 20 years can be so adamant, and narrow, that they would curse people to hell, or "pray for you" to change to their way of believing. Most people have no concept whatsoever of the historical context in which their religion emerged, or what languages, customs or ethnic groups shaped it -- over so many years, events and accidents. Nor do they care. Yet these modern zealots are convinced that the next person is not only errant in their ways, but should be pitied or scorned.

Maybe that's because they are not really convinced?...

Terrorism

When I was a entering high school the only terrorist group I knew of was the IRA (Irish Republican Army). Around the same time I got hip to the PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization) by way of the press that Yasir Arafat was getting after Camp David. Under President Ronald Reagan we were suppose to loath the Sandinistas because they were communists. On the other hand, we were to support the Contras -- a terrorist organization that was trying to overthrow a democratically elected government in Nicaragua. Our government supported those Central American terrorists by secretly trading with the Iranians who had not long since, well... terrorized our embassy.
Then in the late 1980s a bunch of Middle Eastern terrorist groups became internationally known for terrorizing our military bases. Meanwhile Carlos The Jackal from South America and the Uni-bomber from America were still on the loose. They were terrorists too. At the turn of the 20th century there was a whole class of mostly East-European terrorist with political motives -- known as Anarchist. The Ku Klux Klan was a "home grown" terrorist group/political party that actually fit the description by even today's standards. In the 1990s, living the single life and distracted by indulgence, I was still aware of a long drawn out war in a place called the Balkans; where White Christians in Serbia were terrorizing White Muslims in Croatia. Committing genocide against them. Remember when the ANC (African National Congress) were labeled terrorist by our government because the racist South African government, our allies then, regarded them so? The ANC leads that government now.
Still, September 11, 2001 changed how terrorists would be perceived since. Now terrorism has the face of a Mid-eastern Arab-speaking man in his early to late twenties who prays to the East; and a bunch of old guys in beards telling those terrorist what to do...think.

Books II

I am reading Savage Continent: Europe in the Aftermath of World War II. Whoa!

Books

I decided to take my education anthology home this time. I have been employed by three public school districts as an assistant principal and despite all the talk about applied research, there is seldom any application. Despite all the topics bandied about at workshops and meetings -- mostly intended to impress others in the room -- there is little or no effort attributed to institutional change brought on by academics. So topics on Turn Around Leadership, ISLLC Standards, Learner-centered schools, Small Learning Communities have little real impact on the everyday functioning of most public schools. And particularly those serving indigent communities. The reformers: Senge, Comer, Noguera, Kozol, tend to merit only yawns at staff meetings and "professional development" events -- if they are recognized at all.

And because local politics and job security -- especially in the climate of public-private mergers -- occupy all the strategic thinking of school leaders, progressive instruction for underachieving groups is only given lip-service. Today, administrators in [New Jersey] are too distracted by the seemingly inevitable end of tenure (job security) brought on by the latest evaluation models for principals and teachers. So, I am keeping my books home this time. No longer will they be displayed on my office book shelf for quick reference in case I want to write a persuasive report, or prepare for a presentation. It seems as though no one is even feigning attention. And even though I work in and for communities in poverty, I am going to stop checking for the latest titles from noted advocates and researchers on the subject. Feeble educators suggest that the latest technology is a panacea. Skillful organization posturing and small group maneuvering supersede the best practices in education for needy groups.

I am thinking that the way forward is out...