http://disqus.com/by/rodneymarcella/enWed, 29 Jul 2009 17:18:44 -0000http://uhurunews.com/showmedia?resource_name=all-diamonds-are-blood-diamonds-slideshow#comment-13556570<p>There is no resource, raw material or commodity looted and/or handed over by the petty bourgeoisie, out of Africa/Diaspora, to this day that does not have BLOOD on it - period! </p>rodneymarcellaWed, 29 Jul 2009 17:18:44 -0000http://uhurunews.com/story?resource_name=the-role-of-african-intellectuals-in-the-world#comment-13554843<p>An excellent analysis and portrayal of the current situation that we, people of the African Diaspora must struggle mightily to transform, once and for all, and we will.</p><p>Thank you.</p>rodneymarcellaWed, 29 Jul 2009 16:34:41 -0000http://uhurunews.com/story?resource_name=michael-jackson-will-be-welcomed-by-the-ancestors#comment-13545100<p><br>Some of us should get together, approach President Mubarak of Egypt, and persuade him to commission the building of a modest pyramid in which Michael Jackson can have an eternal honorable place of rest in Africa - at Giza, the Valley of the Kings, or maybe somewhere else in Africa.</p><p> Michael Jackson is a transcendent and a Pharaonic figure. His aesthetics, artistic, creative, choreographic, music, film/video compositions, and his honest, unselfish nature, his philanthropic and spiritual leadership are qualities no leader in the world can match. Michael Jackson is a 21st century leader who ought to have a place among the great Pharaohs of Africa.</p><p>A monument built to honor him in perpetuity is not a gesture of hyperbole, but an expression of truth about what really matters, and of course, an expression of the importance of art in the cultivation of humanity and solidarity. I think he would be overwhelmed with gratitude and a redeeming sense of how much he is appreciated and loved because he gave so much beauty, joy, and love. I believe he would love this because as you know African forms and other aesthetics informs and in many ways shaped his creations. As you know, he embraced all ethnic groups, with a sensibility highlighting the sacred. He mightily used his God-Given and Family-Honed talents to bring the forces of human spiritualities together, excluding no one.</p><p>Most glorious, and to his credit as a striving figure to touch the best in us, Michael Jackson demonstrated, by his actions, that children - all children are sacred and precious. Human beings must recall that their most superior qualities are set and remain throughout life in the child, children - the root and branch from which we all spring, survive and prevail, no matter how much we try to suppress or deny it. The child in us is the site and scene of our soul - the seat of our humanity.</p><p>Michael used his art to heal and to mirror - "we ourselves" - the wounds, the evil as well as the goodness, the beatific and the sublime. By so doing, he confronted us with possibilities for transcending race, sex, background, religion, color, and our, hopelessly, false belief in our superiority over of children and nature-- all of which we know in our heart of hearts is just plain wrong, harmful, and hurtful. He paved a way, constructed artistic paths, and messages to help us overcome obstacles dividing and wounding us. He did this by using his all embracing talent, his leadership and his creations to forge unity, solidarity, inclusiveness. He achieved this by giving and sharing to the point of sacrificing himself to please and teach us. We need our own 21st century Pharaoh and Michael Jackson is the One.</p><p>Just a thought, an idea, just a suggestion but what do you think?<br></p>rodneymarcellaWed, 29 Jul 2009 13:35:00 -0000