Tag: local economy

Usually Feb. 21 is a day of remembrance and reflection for me as it represents the anniversary of the day Brother El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz aka Malcolm X was assassinated by agents of the U.S. government and its counter-intelligence program, COINTELPRO. Well, this Feb. 21, 2018, I’m having to focus on and prepare for a different type of assassination, a different type of murder, but still a lynching nevertheless. The only difference is it’s in a U.S. kourt* of law.

Oakland, like several other cities around the country, is currently studying the feasibility of establishing a public bank. This type of banking offers enormous benefits for our local economy. We should move ahead with founding the Public Bank of Oakland as rapidly as possible. The Public Bank of Oakland will serve the people of Oakland by retaining the bank’s profits as public property to be used for our common good. Through public banking, we can help our own communities thrive rather than enrich the shareholders of Chase, where Oakland’s monies are now deposited, and other private banks. Learn all about public banking at a public forum Thursday, Feb. 9, 6pm, Oakland City Hall.

Dodd-Frank and its proponents penalize the people of eastern Congo but do little to curtail the militias and their backers. Congress should confront the real causes of the conflict, which are failed leadership and corruption in Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, and predatory policies of Rwanda and Uganda, which destabilize eastern Congo while benefiting from the mineral trade.