Houston Caribbean Festival 2014- Jou'vert - Paying for Pushing with your Life

Since 2009 I have been attending Houston Caribbean Festival's Jou'vert celebration. I love the scary dark African allure the event leaves me with. I love the themed groups covered in oil and blowing fire, I love the music, country flags and black people celebrating. However this year's Jou'vert left me trampled, scared, running for my life and witness/nearly-victim to a shooting that left a 16 year old young black man dead from a gunshot wound to the face, another young man in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the neck, two other young black men shot in the upper body that are expected to survive. There were also two females treated for injuries from being trampled as crowds rn in panic.

Jou'vert, this year was held in the same place as 2013, in a large open-air rodeo arena that can easily hold 5,000+ people. The arena property is situated on a large lot perhaps 25-40 acres, mostly grassy areas for parking. The event, while largely poplular for 20 years with carribean-americans and africans living in the US, has began gaining local fame with the urban hi-hop youth during radio advertising through 97.9 the boxx. This year the expected turnout was 5,000 attendees, but the effective advertising brought an estimated 10,000 party-goers. The staff was far beyond overwhelmed and could not control crowds near the entrances and exits. When approaching the entrance, I met al least 500-600 people confused and jammed into close quarters on a one way street, unsure of ticket locations, unsure of entrance locations. I myself, spent a few minutes waiting for entry only to be redirected toward the real entrance. I finally made it inside of the event, with no search of me or my bag. As I waited for my freind D, I saw the crowd force past security in droves, again with no searches, no tickets collected. It was enough to make you want to go home, but I expect large crowds at Jou'vert, I expect pushing and shoving. So we went to the arena where we noticed a much larger crowd than 2013. We went into the stands to take a picture, then made our way to the arena floor to party it up! We may have enjoyed a full hour of vibing before litterally being run over by a stampede of half-nude paint-covered children. All the people were young, too young to be in Jou'vert. I , 34 years old, shouldn't be partying with a 16 year old boy.

After the shots were fired, perhaps during the run, I heard a taser going off, people running back and forth in panic. I saw police walking around with huge rifles, a body being wheeled out, people running from exits saying we were not being allowed out, people crying on cellphones recanting the incident expressing their fear, people escaping over 20foot+ fences and a car wreck. I thought it better to leave out throught the back exit and did not see anymore violence after that, but heard on police radios about the fighting at the exits. There are rumors about stabbings and fighting but I did not see any of that.

I have heard many negative statements against American blacks bringing violence to the event.

Regular patrons to Houston Jouvert have witnessed the erosion of the festival over the past few years. Local Hip Hop radio station 97.9 The Box’s G.T., a popular DJ of Caribbean descent, has been instrumental in the commercial growth of Houston Jouvert over the years.

Nonetheless, the question often echoed among West Indians is how do you reconcile the message of Bob Marley’s “One Love” within a music mix that includes Rick Ross?

http://antilliacultura.com/2014/07/05/popularity-houston-jouvert-threatened-urban-appeal/

Violence is apart of the Jou'vert culture, included along with rage, anger, mourning, and joy. This violence is evident at Jouvert celebrations in both Isalnd and state functions. St. Thomas and Brooklyn's 2011 Jouvert parties were both ended in gunfire and murder. Point Fortin, Antigua was shot up in 2010. In Trinidad's 2012 Jouvert a woman was raped by three men, a 14 year old was stabbed and a 31 year old man was shot.

So, for the record Houston's jourvert has not been a consistent source of violence. However, being that the event is sytematically violent, I could be lead to believe that it is the perception of Caribbean people that Americans are violent. I don't believe this. I believe the Mission of the Carribean Festival is failing, which is to promote and preserve the carribean culture to Houstonians and the world. Many of the party goers were not educated on the history of Jou'vert or the purpose, the only purpose mentioned was that it was a paint and foam party. What history and culture can be gained at a paint and foam party?

The criminal element will always try to gain access to functions, as security routinely searches attendees at almost every function worldwide. Promoters know the importance of this function, especially within expected large crowds. HCF was understaffed as I myself was not searched, and several people simply rushed past staff without showing a ticket or being searched. Security was overwhelmed and appeared unfamiliar with aggresive crowds and how to reimplement control. The staff were threatening patrons, and unprofessional. HCF should look to the promoters of the event to question aptability in organizing an event that has drawn a crowd of 10,000. Obviously there was oversight in staffing, security, promoting and education.

Another point of interest is the promotion and preservation of the Caribbean culture. I love the culture, simply for the level of African identity Caribbeans were able to retain. I really respect how strong the identity is and how diverse the people are. All of the things that I love about the culture were hardly diplayed at Jou'vert this year, instead there was a mix of hip-hop and carribean, the music is similar if you compare dancehall and hip-hop, but for a community with bellies full of hip hop it seems nonsensical to play Rick Ross, Rich Homie Quan and Ace Hood. It is not for discrimination of Hip-hop it is for promotion and preservation of the culture.

I was terrified that I would get shot, angry that I waited all year for Jou'vert to have a vision imprinted in my mind of murder. Angry that Jou'vert was set up for the people, but instead of showing off in the Caribbean way, we disrespect the culture by bringing in guns. I'm angry because as a woman from the U.S. descended from slaves, Jou'vert is the closest thing to an African American Independence celebration. It is the ties with the long ago culture that I love and support. It is important to link together in our struggles because we are from one motherland, and have nearly the same stories to tell.

What was missed at 2014 Houston Caribbean Festival Jou'vert was flags and colors, there was hardly any of that this year. I also missed the bands. There was no one covered in oil stick fighting, no blue devils, no stilt walkers. It was simply half Jouvert, half urban Houston Party that ended in murder.

I send my condolences to the family of the young man that was gunned down for pushing in a crowded arena. Black-on-black violence is a shame that we carry along with the saddness of the loss of young life and potential. May God receive this young man and give the family peace and comfort that I am sure was shattered July 4, 2014.

Concern over Euphrates River Water Depletion

It is in recent news that Turkey has stopped the flow of the Euphrates river, causing Syria to scramble to replace their main and only regional water source. This news has Bible Scholars in a frenzy contemplating the end of the world as the scripture reads:

Revelation 16:12
The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East.

This drying up is the last cup of wrath poured out befor the coming of man. This last wrath is preceded by loathsome sores, bloody seas with dead sealife, bloody rivers, scorching sun, and darkness and gnashing pain.

People need to stop. There is an order to the prophecy and one wrath will not come out of order. I could be lead to believe that aids lesions could be the loathsome sores, but the seas will have to be bloody and all sea life will die first....before the rivers, before the scorching sun, before the darkness and pain.

I believe in the whole word of God. and I don't support it being twisted or used for political reasoning. As a matter of fact, The euphrates runs strong from the melting ice caps of Mount Ararat to the persian gulf. Stong until May 2014 when the Turkish Government decreased the flow of the Euphrates for 6 days by damming the river in at least 4 of the 5 Euphrates dams, gradually stopping completely near the middle of May.

Historically, Turkey has been in conflict with Syria and Iraq over the control of the Euphrates. Since 1994, Turkey agreed to guarantee a minimum share of the water from the Euphrates to Iraq and Syria. But since Syria has been in a civil war tensions have risen. Syria downed a Turkish plane on a training flight 2012. Turkey has condemned Syria for supporting the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization internationally by a number of states and organizations, including the USA, NATO, and the EU and has claimed that Syria employed Alois Brunner to train Kurdish militants for attacks against Turkey.

Since the Syrian Civil War, Diplomatic ties between Syria and Turkey greatly deteriorated. The Syrian civil war began to impact Turkey when at least 3,000 Syrian refugees fled crackdowns by the Syrian Army on towns such as Jisr ash-Shugur. In June 2014, Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan described to Anatolian Agency his feeling that "They are not acting in a humane manner. This is savagery."

On 23 March 2014, Turkey shot down a Syrian combat jet Turkish-Syrian border. Turkey claims that Two Turkish Air Force F-16s downed the plane that was heading Turkish territory and ignored warnings.

By May, the Euphrates River flow was stopped by a dam, so to speak the river still exists...and as a result this scenario does not fit bible prophecy.

Sidenote: Islam believes that the euphrates will dry up and reveal a mountain of gold.

Bush Advisors Back with More Iraq Intelligence

With the intensifying war in Syria, Ukraine, Nigeria and Afghanistan I did find it interesting that Iraq has been in the news recently claiming an insurgency of Sunni militants have taken seize of a northwestern province, near the Syrian border. The insurgents claim that Iraqi president is discriminating against them based on the Sunni Shia difference.

Considering the humiliating blow America received in the aftermath of invading Iraq based on false intelligence, and then the subsequent assasination by hanging that Saddam Hussein Received...I feel obligated to peer closely at who might be offering intelligence to new information. Afterall, the US has spent more than a pretty penny on warring with Iraq that had no substantiated proof of weapons of mass destruction, no obtained any despite 191,000+ violent deaths caused by the Iraq War and a 757.8 billion price tag.

On queue, and without surprise, three unforgettable names associated with the 2003 invasion of Iraq; Dick Cheney, John Rumsfeld and Condoleeza Rice have stepped forward critical of President Obama and his security team, and also giving recommendations as to how to respond to current Iraq situations. I am no politician, by any stretch of the word, (even though I was elected PVAMU Freshman Student Council Secretary in 1997) and I could use a political science class, but anyone can see these three spell T-R-O-U-B-L-E (or Halliburton, take your pick).

As much as allowed, I am annoyed by all of the warring, death and intervening into many countries's problems. My largest reason is that African Americans were never paid reparation or offered repatriation after slavery, yet the US has spent 2 trillion 576 billion 283 million on wars since the Spanish American War in 1898, by which nearly a million African Americans were disabled or killed. I consider it a disrespect to demand patriotism from and tax individuals that were never given a fair start in this country. But thenagain, the US has made other poor decisions and major flubbs like failing at assasinating Cuba's Castro and getting caught, and the suuuper slow response to Hurricane Katrina victims, etc...but to REassociate with the likes of Cheney, Rice and Rumsfeld is just asking for avoidable and foreseeable death and war without reason.

My Grandparents R.I. P.

My Grandmother Thelma Florence Mitchell-Elliott, 3rd right
My Grandfather Ora Hermann Elliott, far right
1952 Austin Texas

Lakers' Sterling not Free to Speak

Where did freedom of speech run off to? what happened to calling spades 'spades' or telling it like it T-I-Z? LA Lakers owner Donald Sterling recently came under fire for using the word with his girlfriend which was recorded and then publicly released. The recording wasn't the most offensive statement I have ever heard and was somewhat soft considering lynchings, attack dogs and water hoses.

It is simply a glimpse into the narrowing racist mind that hopes for separatism and privacy. Obviously those sentiments are well reserved for those that dont require a paycheck from an company with established ethical policies. In that mind a brotherhood exists to use the n-word and share the same racist ideas without exposure which almost always leads to african americans protesting or boycotting and sharing opinions online or in the media.

To me, the real protest should begin within our own race. Yes, affecting or modifying our own behaviors to exclude the use of the word entirely. Otherwise, we are but a hypocritical people without personal experience of slavery, complaining of a fraudulent hurt of oppression. Reasoning that blacks are still truly hurt by oppression, leads to inquiry of how the n-word term was embraced in our current culture.

The word has been present since slavery. It was used to identify blacks. Over time the word was ignorantly internalized and equated to iNnapropriate behavior, ignorance, loud boastfullness, risky choices, and short sightedness...basically, the impulsive and uneducated.

I wasn't allowed to use the n-word growing up but I did with friends. Only becuase it was a word we could use with other blacks that somehow showed solidarity and brother/sisterhood, and identified the gender as male...(females were b-words, which could be said about any woman). We always knew other races couldn't use it. So I could never totally understand how blacks could use it. But using the n-word is not nearly as bad as the thoughts rotating in the heads of many people that often are fed images of blacks killing each other, using drugs, relaxing on government assistance, having babies, not contributing to society, weighing down advancing blacks, etc.

The media refuses to report the advancing or average black truths, but would rather force or drive the reckless negative aspects of black society. The result is an overall perception that all american blacks are short sighted, violent, unintellegent, hypersexual, self-denegrating and lazy (among other things).

I have been burned by whites, by a Punjabi, by women, by men, banks, corporations, blacks (especially), family, friends, random strangers...by many, and all colors. Many of whom are black and I still keep speaking to blacks. But when the N word drops from the lips of a white person, blacks come charging ready to fight racism. Al Sharpton, Quanell X, Farrakhan, Brother Delloyd Parker will be the first on the scene to fight against the word, but blacks need to show up picketing other blacks from saying it casually and on other sources of recorded media that we use as entertainment.

The n word and negative feelings about blacks are a cancer or leech onto blacks overcoming in america. There are plenty post slavery africans succeeding in America, however, there is a class of blacks that accept the n-word, embrace the violence, the drug life, emprisonment, oppression, hypersexuality and subjection without much struggle and live with it and around the system. This is usually the source of the media attention that exploit blacks for the worlds desire to view blacks under oppression.

Despite the negative attention, there are plenty blacks aware of the world perception of 'us' and do nothing to change the perception but only change the truth, within themselves and in their homes. I appreciate them. Because I am tired of american blacks being the precursor or leaders in music, dance, fashion, sports, and popular slang, etc....always under scope...and hardly ever leading in any industry domination. Let them that wish to, entertain...they will be lost to that insatiable beast.

They Have Ears, but They Hear Not

Eyes Have They, but They See Not

My opinion is not the strongest. I dont want to fight. I don't want to judge. I am no judge. I have my own faults that have more of my attention, BUT blacks do aggrivate the situation by using the word so often, what matter of time will it be before the perception of blacks and use of the n-word is main street, ethical, daytime America?

Either way, we are living in a country where freedom of speech is lawful, I cant fully understand the persecution of the oppressor for his speech when we do not persecute our own for the same usage of terms. With each hateful expression there are a million kept in secret by not only blacks or whites, and by every censorship gripes are silenced and separatism/racial hatred is growing...

Rev 4:18
Come out of her, my people,’
    so that you will not share in her sins,
    so that you will not receive any of her plagues

My sister Lauren Charleston Rice 1995 Westbury High School

Oil Conflict Ukraine vs. Russia

There is a war brewing in the eastern Donets'k region of Ukraine over who the country should look to or submit to, as a center of government....the East or West. The western and more liberal portion of Ukraine recognizes a partnership with Poland, whilst the eastern portion is more populated by Russian speaking Ukrainian citizens that recognize the Eastern border neighbor, Russia. These divisions have long-standing roots. During the 16th and 17th centuries, for instance, much of Ukraine was under the control of the Poland-Lithuania. This country, which at one point constituted the largest nation in Europe, declined in the 18th century and was eventually partitioned by its stronger neighbors Prussia, Russia, and Austria. Interestingly enough the western portion of Ukraine has strong ties to Europe including Poland, Italy, and Germany and all have very large 75 billion+ discounted trade agreements with Russia for their natural gas. The problem for me is that Ukraine, is a considerably small country of 233,090 sq mi (ref: Texas 268,820 square miles) and over half of that wants to join Russia. The other half wants to maintain ties to Poland (read: Europe and ultimately The United States), regain control over the eastern region, and still maintain the agreement for discounted gas prices...this, for me, is either two faced or serving two masters... Rep. Ted Poe says 'Cold War II' Is Coming. Mar. 22, 2014 - According to Ted Poe, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee,

"the Ukraine issue is causing another Cold War."

He said,

"We're in Cold War II. The Russians know it ... but I don't think the United States knows it."

He suggested that the U.S. might be able to make progress in this situation by providing natural gas to European NATO nations. This would lessen their dependence on Russian energy and allow them to stand against further aggression from Putin. I actually agree on this reccomendation, absent the recommended resouces available to supply the 2.2 trillion cubic feet (per year) of natural gas that europe will require. The U.S. has on reserve 223 billion barrels of oil equivalents, which include crude oil and gas currently, so it is possible to offer a portion of the reserve as a resource. However, and importantly noted, that this is not a smart strategy when thrawting off war. Ukraine has long been recieving gas from Russia for discounted prices in exchange to utilize the Crimea port and land, which sounds quite fair personally, and to cry wolf to the United States when no bloodshed has occured is not fair to the soldiers and citizens that could potentially lose thier lives behind a conflict that surronds divided civilly, and is a local issue. Only in this issue does Leslie the Barber agree, becuase Ted Poe is famous for racist statements including comparing immigrants to grasshoppers, quoting the Klu Klux Klan Grand Master Nathan Bedford Forrest on the Senate Floor, and because Ted Poe has sentenced over 20,000 criminals as former 228th Felony District Court judge. Nationally Poe is renowned as a firm believer in harsh punishment and in humiliating criminals, ordering thieves to carry signs in front of stores from which they stole; required men who abused their wives to publicly apologize on the steps of Houston's City Hall; commanded sex offenders to place warning signs on their home after serving jail time; and directed murderers to securely place a photo of their victims on the wall of their prison cells, creating a daily reminder of their crime. He voted for the Secure Fence Act of 2006 and against the DREAM Act when it was introduced in 2010. More recently, he opposed the Obama administration's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, calling it "an imperial decree to unilaterally ignore portions of the immigration law of the land". He is the sponsor of the Deport Foreign Convicted Criminals Act of 2011 (H.R. 3256), which would provide for denial of immigrant and non-immigrant visas to nationals of countries which have "refused or unreasonably delayed repatriation" of persons ordered deported from the United States.

United States Oil Resources 2013

Revelation 13:14

This second beast fooled people on earth by working miracles for the first one. Then it talked them into making an idol in the form of the beast that did not die after being wounded by a sword.

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Thalassemia Belt

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Black Hebrew Israelite into West Africa - Thalassemia Disease

Recently, I began sketching out my family tree and the research finding are quite interesting to say the least. Firstly, I am able to identify via U.S. Census my great great great grandmother Betty Thomas, born 1866. Start your own Family Tree. Tracing my lineage was prompted by reading the lineage of Jesus and seeing how important ancestry and history are to God's chosen people. For some time now I have been researching the possiblity that I may be a member of the Lost Tribe of Judah that have been prophesied to suffer the curses of dispbedience as described in Deutoronomy 28. Unfortunatley I cannot proove nor deny that I actually am, however I have two valid reasons why I may be. First Reason: I am a descendant of slaves brought to america from africa. My grandmother described to me that she and her family would pick cotton at harvest time to make money and that her parents and grandparents were slaves near giddings Texas. That my ancestors suffered captivity and I am from that I can conclude that I can identify with the scattering, captivity, and subsequent oppression. Second Reason: I have thalassemia. I got the trait from my father who also is a desendant from slavery. Thalassemia is a genetic blood disorder. People with Thalassemia disease are not able to make enough hemoglobin, which causes severe anemia. Hemoglobin is found in red blood cells and carries oxygen to all parts of the body. When there is not enough hemoglobin in the red blood cells, oxygen cannot get to all parts of the body. Organs then become starved for oxygen and are unable to function properly. Thalassemia is a complex group of diseases that are relatively rare in the United States but common in Mediterranean regions and South and Southeast Asia. I came to know when I began having children and tests were run on my blood to look for possible genetic problems. Each healthcare worker would be so confused at how a black woman in america could possibly have this blood disease when the origin of the disease is in the mediterranean. I was so perplexed at how this might happen so with a little research I located a term called 'Thalassemia Belt' which describes the areas of origin as being basically surronding Israel, lower europe, asia minor, Egypt, North Africa and West Africa, particularly Senegal, Sierra Leonne, and Liberia. When I read the information, I knew that this important information could assist in identifying those suffering under the curses as prophesied. Why I think this information important is blacks in America wish not to be identified as being of Africa, but as I grow to know history and how it relates to the bible prophecy I cannot help but to share the information. Often I feel less than confident when speaking about the Tribe of Judah, where they were scattered and if it were actually possible to reach West Africa from Israel prior to the Atlantic Slave Trade. I am confident now in that I have a genetic blood disorder that originates from the areas near Ancient Judea. p