news, information and analysis from the black left. black agenda radio for week of nov. 7, 2016 submitted by nellie bailey a... on mon, 11/07/2016 - 19:35 venezuela hi-tech production in the service of humanity in mississippi 




renaissance jackson, the organization that briefly won the mayor<u+2019>s office in predominantly black jackson, mississippi, has launched a campaign to purchase a coding and programming capacity and a 3-d fabrication facility. they call it <u+201c>fab lab.<u+201d> this technology, <u+201c>if it is democratically controlled, could actually serve humanity,<u+201d> said cooperation jackson spokesman kali akuno . these kinds of projects are crucial, <u+201c>first and foremost, to satisfy some of the basic needs of our community, and -- on a deeper level -- to really put this means of production directly in our community<u+2019>s hands.<u+201d> high tech is <u+201c>one of these areas of the so-called <u+2018>digital divide<u+2019> that black people have been sorely and strategically absent from,<u+201d> said akuno. <u+201c>so, we are doing it for ourselves.<u+201d> obamacare <u+201c>imploding and beyond repair<u+201d> 




the current wave of insurance rate hikes and medical service cutbacks is the predictable result of an affordable care act (aca) that <u+201c>was pretty much a gift to the health insurance industry<u+201d> when congress passed it, in 2010, said dr. john geyman , professor emeritus of family medicine at the university of washington school of medicine, in seattle. aca <u+201c>was never designed for affordability -- it<u+2019>s a misnomer in the name of the bill,<u+201d> he said. obamacare is <u+201c>imploding and beyond repair,<u+201d> and unsustainable. <u+201c>tweeks cannot work in the long term. the main fight should be for what will save money and give universal coverage to everyone: namely, single payer national health insurance.<u+201d> dr. geyman said single payer healthcare could save $500 billion a year -- about the same as the entire u.s. <u+201c>defense<u+201d> budget. the fight for education for liberation in detroit 




at a <u+201c>community conversation on the crisis in the schools,<u+201d> detroit activists, educators and parents gathered to address the question: <u+201c>who created the school crisis, and how are we responding to it?<u+201d> among those wrestling with the issue was dr. thomas pedroni , professor of curriculum studies at wayne state university. he said the decline began with the state takeover of schools in the 1990s, and worsened dramatically after the imposition of state-appointed <u+201c>emergency managers.<u+201d> <u+201c>school could be one of the most meaningful places for our communities, but instead, it<u+2019>s deadened,<u+201d> dr. pedroni told the crowd at the charles h. wright museum of african american history. <u+201c>but, we<u+2019>re going to fight to get back to the place where we have culturally relevant curriculum, not just producing a test score but to develop people who are self-empowered and who know how to fight for their community.<u+201d> venezuela weathering financial storm, despite disinformation campaign 




<u+201c>i challenge you to find one item of news that is positive to venezuela in these last 16 or 17 years,<u+201d> said maria paez victor , a venezuelan-born sociologist living in toronto, canada, and author of an article titled <u+201c>hating venezuela.<u+201d> ms. victor said the united states and its rightwing allies in venezuela have kept up a non-stop disinformation campaign ever since the late hugo chavez and his socialist party were democratically elected in 1998. a crisis triggered by the collapse of world oil prices allowed the opposition to capture the legislature, last year, but victor says the government is coping. <u+201c>venezuela has managed to weather a terrible financial situation, but this is bad news for corporate capitalism and for the united states, because they want venezuela to be controlled by their lackies.<u+201d> black agenda radio on the progressive radio network is hosted by glen ford and nellie bailey. a new edition of the program airs every monday at 11:00am et on prn. length: one hour.
black agenda radio for week of nov. 7, 2016
nellie bailey and glen ford