Their IGNORANCE is the primary weapon of containment. A great man once said, "The best way to hide something from Black people is to put it in a book.

We now live in the Information Age. They have gained the opportunity to read any book on any subject through the efforts of their fight for freedom, yet they refuse to read. There are numerous books readily available at Borders, Barnes & Noble, and amazon.com, not to mention their own Black Bookstores that provide solid blueprints to reach economic equality (which should have been their fight all along), but few read consistently, if at all.

GREED is another powerful weapon of containment. Blacks, since the abolition of slavery, have had large amounts of money at their disposal. Last year they spent 10 billion dollars during Christmas, out of their 450 billion dollars in total yearly income (2.22%).

Any of us can use them as our target market, for any business venture we care to dream up, no matter how outlandish, they will buy into it. Being primarily a consumer people, they function totally by greed. They
continually want more, with little thought for saving or investing.

They would rather buy some new sneakers than invest in starting a business. Some even neglect their children to have the latest Tommy or FUBU, and they still think that having a Mercedes, and a big house gives them "Status" or that they have achieved their Dream.

They are fools! The vast majority of their people are still in poverty because their greed holds them back from collectively making better communities. With the help of BET, and the rest of their black media that often broadcasts destructive images into their own homes, we will continue to see huge profits like those of Tommy and Nike.

(Tommy Hilfiger has even jeered them, saying he doesn't want their money, and look at how the fools spend more with him than ever before!). They'll continue to show off to each other while we build solid communities with the profits from our businesses that we market to them.

SELFISHNESS, ingrained in their minds through slavery, is one of the major ways we can continue to contain them. One of their own, Dubois said that there was an innate division in their culture. "Talented Tenth" he called it. He was correct in his deduction that there are segments of their culture that has achieved some "form" of success. However,
that segment missed the fullness of his work. They didn't read that the "Talented Tenth" was then responsible to aid The Non-Talented Ninety Percent in achieving a better life.

Instead, that segment has created another class, Buppie class that looks down on their people or aids them in a condescending manner. They will never achieve what we have. Their selfishness does not allow them to be able to work together on any project or endeavor of substance.

When they do get together, their selfishness lets their egos get in the way of their goal. Their so-called help organizations seem to only want to promote their name without making any real change in their community.

They are content to sit in conferences and conventions in our hotels, and talk about what they will do, while they award plaques to the best speakers, not to the best doers. Is there no end to their selfishness? They steadfastly refuse to see that TOGETHER EACH ACHIEVES MORE (TEAM)

They do not understand that they are no better than each other because of what they own , as a matter of fact, most of those Buppies are but one or two pay checks away from poverty. All of which is under the control of our pens in our offices and our rooms.

Yes, we will continue to contain them as long as they refuse to read, continue to buy anything they want, and keep thinking they are "helping" their communities by paying dues to organizations which do little other than hold lavish conventions in our hotels. By the way, don't worry about any of them reading this letter, remember, 'THEY DON'T READ!!!!

NOTICE:
Now that you have read this, I want to get an ongoing discussion on the topic. I want everyone who reads this to post your opinions of this letter. Do you feel that is true. If so, in what ways? How can us as a black race get away from these sterotypes or accusations that are raised within this text? The evidence is provided in this letter. Did this letter take you aback as it did to me? Let me know what you think.

Tell your friends to read this also. Remember that in order to have progress you must address the issues pertaining to your people so please keep this in mind and educate your friends and most importantly educate yourselves.

Dee Lee, CFP Harvard Financial Educators

He said, “By this successful and peaceful election, Ghana has again added another beautiful block to the already political edifice it has built over the years.” The former President, who led an African Union and Economic Community for West African States delegation to observe the polls, called on President John Dramani Mahama at his official residence in Accra.

He commended both the party in government and the opposition parties for their peaceful and successful participation in the election.

Also at the meeting was Vice President Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, Alhaji Baba Kamara, Ghana’s High commissioner to Nigeria among others. General Obasanjo said Ghana’s democracy had reached a level where there would not be any need to resort to any court cases regarding this year’s election.

He gave the assurance that the final results of the polls that would be presented by the Electoral Commission would be credible and acceptable to all in the contest.

President Mahama commended the Observer teams for participating in Ghana’s election as that would go a long way to give the exercise high level of credibility. He said his government would continue to be law abiding as they await the declaration of the final results in the next few hours or days by the Electoral Commission.

GNA

President John Mahama who ran on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) polled 5,574,761 representing 50.70% to win the polls held on Friday and Saturday.

The presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Akufo-Addo had 5,248,898 of the valid votes cast, representing 47.74%.

Out of the total 14,158,890 registered voters, 11,246,982 people exercised their franchise which 10,995,262 of them were deemed valid. The total rejected votes stood at 251,720. The turnout in the 275 constituencies is 79.43%

The flag-bearer of the Progressive People.s Party (PPP), Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom placed third in the elections with 64,362 votes representing 0.59.

The west African nation is hailed as a beacon of peace and democracy in a region beleaguered with coups, conflicts and civil wars.
Incumbent leader John Dramani Mahama, a former vice president who took over after his predecessor died this year, is one of eight contenders vying for the top position.
The pool of candidates includes opposition frontrunner Nana Akufo-Addo, the son of a former president.
Polls predict a tight race between the two main contenders. It mirrors the last election four years ago in which Akufo-Addo lost to John Atta Mills with a razor-thin margin after a runoff. Atta Mills died of an unspecified illness in July .
If no presidential candidate wins a majority of the vote in the first round, a runoff is scheduled later this month.
Election fever was high, with lines snaking around polling stations.
"People started lining up at 5 p.m. and spent the night at the polling stations," said Delalorm Sesi Semabia, 25, an oil company employee who lives in the capital of Accra.
"People are enthusiastic," he said. "This particular election is significant because candidates had debates on air and people heard their thoughts on issues. It made a huge difference, it created more passion."
Semabia said a lot of young voters were born in the post-coup times, and want the democracy trajectory to continue.
"We have a passion for our country because we only have one Ghana, " he said. "We don't think of elections as an end-all game. We think of it as an opportunity to progress."
As passions ran high, the president warned that undermining peace will not be tolerated and urged candidates to ensure supporters avoid incitement.
"Ghana has organized five previous successful elections, and there should not be any reason why this year's election should not be successful," the president said in a statement.
Political parties are demanding that the results be released within 72 hours after polls close Friday, an expectation the electoral commission shot down.
"We will not be limited by any timeline to announce the presidential results, but will work within reasonable time," said Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, chairman of the electoral commission.
Ghana is one of Africa's fastest growing economies, with the world's big gold mining companies operating in the nation.
It is the world's second-largest cocoa producer after neighboring Ivory Coast and the continent's biggest gold miner after South Africa, according to the United Nations.
The international community hails Ghana as a success story in the region, with U.S. President Barack Obama visiting the nation in 2009 in his first presidential trip to Sub-Saharan Africa.
At the time, Obama bypassed his father's native Kenya and opted for Ghana, describing it as a beacon of peace and democracy in the continent.
"There's sometimes a tendency to focus on the challenges that exist in Africa," Obama said this year. " But I think it's important for us to also focus on the good news that's coming out of Africa, and I think Ghana continues to be a good-news story."
But critics say that despite the rich resources, raking in billions of dollars annually, the wealth is not trickling down to the rural poor who live on the land where the gold is mined from.
"Mining goes with a lot of myths, like it creates jobs, it brings development, it makes people's lives better," said Daniel Owusu-Koranteng, a Ghanaian activist and founder of the Wassa Association of Communities Affected by Mining. "That is the first deception: that you are sitting on gold and somebody is going to mine it. You cannot imagine for once the person can take the gold away and leave you in a bad state."
Ghana was among the first African countries to gain independence from the British in 1957. It endured a series of coups before Lt. Jerry Rawlings took power in 1981. A decade later, it transitioned to a stable democracy with multiparty elections.
Unlike its neighbors including Ivory Coast, Ghana has held successful elections and power transfers since 1992 without descending into bloody chaos.
In addition to the presidential election, hundreds of candidates are vying for 275 parliamentary seats.
This election marks the first time the nation of 25 million will be using a new biometric voter identification system.
CNN

Kamene Okonjo, an academic in Nigeria and the mother of Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, was abducted from her home in Ogwashi-Uku, Delta State, a Finance Ministry statement said.
"At this point, it is difficult to say whether those behind this action are the same people who have made threats against the ... minister in the recent past or other elements with hostile motives," the statement said.
Police spokesman Frank Mba told CNN that "the (Inspector General of Police) has ordered a massive manhunt for the perpetrators of the crime."
"He directed the police operatives to ensure that no stone is left unturned in efforts at solving the crime, rescuing the victim and reuniting her safely with her family," Mba said.
Okonjo-Iweala lost her bid in April to become the next president of the World Bank -- the first ever challenge to the U.S. nominee in the institution's history.

CNN