STEVIE WONDER • God Bless The Child • 1968

In my opinion, the best version of this song next to Billie Holiday's original...

New York's Planned Parenthood will remove founder's name over her views on eugenics

Allison Gordon | CNN

If Margaret Sanger sounds familiar, it's because you might have encountered her in history class.

A nurse and educator, Sanger opened in 1916 the first birth control clinic in the United States, which was illegal at the time. Her arrest and conviction led to a court ruling said that physicians could prescribe contraceptives to women for medical reasons. In 1923, Sanger opened a new clinic staffed by female doctors which eventually became the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

📺 WATCH: Why Did China hack the Vatican?

Being as it is that I have little respect and great distrust of both of these entities - I find it fascinating (and admittedly, pretty damn amusing) to see how little they respect and trust each other (despite all the grand plans they've laid together)...

And some food for thought to keep in mind here: bishops can become cardinals... cardinals can become Popes...

Whosoever hath ears, let them hear...

The Court Jester

Google working on smart tattoos that turn skin into living touchpad; Elon Musk pushing new brain microchip that will supposedly 'cure depression and addiction'

Google is working on smart tattoos that, when applied to skin, will transform the human body into a living touchpad via embedded sensors

IANS | BUSINESS STANDARD

Google is working on smart tattoos that, when applied to skin, will transform the human body into a living touchpad via embedded sensors.

Part of Google Research, the wearable project is called "SkinMarks" that uses rub-on tattoos.

The project is an effort to create the next generation of wearable technology devices, the CNET reported citing white papers and demo videos.

THE CLARK SISTERS • Ha Yah • 1980

@:30... "How many y'all ever heard one a them mothers shout out, HA YAH!!!? That is a HE-BREW tongue..."

The JOHN COLTRANE QUARTET • Wish I Knew • 1962

...but I'm just a man too...

📺 WATCH: How CHINA is weaponising water and causing social and environmental chaos

According to a report in 2016, China has built 87,000 dams. Why does China need so many dams? Read MUCH more here and here...

Study Found Healthy Black Children Are 3 Times More Likely to Die After Surgery Compared to Whites

Ashleigh Atwell | ATLANTA BLACK STAR

Healthy Black American children are more than three times more likely to die after surgery than their white counterparts, according to a new study published this week.

JOE HENDERSON • Lazy Afternoon • 1997

Sometimes you just need one...

The Associated Press says it will capitalize Black but not white

DAVID BAUDER | AP

NEW YORK (AP) — After changing its usage rules last month to capitalize the word “Black” when used in the context of race and culture, The Associated Press on Monday said it would not do the same for “white.”

TOMMY ELLISON and the SINGING STARS • Wait On Jesus • 1976

One of THE hardest things to do! But SO worth it when He comes through!

📺 WATCH: Tracing the link between your phone and the next pandemic

Between just the recent story on E-waste and now this☝️...I gotta say ~ it's really not looking too good lately for the 'technology is going to save us' crowd, is it? And you may notice once again how AFRICA is at the center of the exploitation...

Viruses can jump from animals to humans mining minerals that are used to make smartphones

Justine Calma | THE VERGE

When humans cut their way through forests to dig up gold and other minerals that go into phones, computers, and other devices, they run the risk of being a catalyst for a phenomenon called “spillover.” That’s what happens when a virus makes the leap from one species to another. It’s how two-thirds of new infectious diseases, like COVID-19, emerge.

🇯🇲 BOB MARLEY • Rumors • LIVE solo acoustic • 1976 🇯🇲

A lot of the same old ones too... maybe it's time to get educated?

KAREEM ABDUL JABBAR: Where Is the Outrage Over Anti-Semitism in Sports and Hollywood?

The Hollywood Reporter columnist calls out the hateful outbursts against Jews by Ice Cube, DeSean Jackson and others and explains how the muted response "perpetuates racism" and contributes to an overall "Apatholypse."

By KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR | The Hollywood Reporter

Recent incidents of anti-Semitic tweets and posts from sports and entertainment celebrities are a very troubling omen for the future of the Black Lives Matter movement, but so too is the shocking lack of massive indignation. Given the New Woke-fulness in Hollywood and the sports world, we expected more passionate public outrage.

What we got was a shrug of meh-rage.

DUKE ELLINGTON and his ORCHESTRA • Solitude • 1934

You don't need to think of it as "social distancing"... just a bit more time for some good old solitude works for me... (and a little (more) Ellington don't hurt, neither!) 😉 ...

📺 WATCH: How humans are making pandemics more likely

It’s never been easier for animal pathogens to spill over into humans.

By Danush Parvaneh | VOX

Over the past 40 years, disease outbreaks among humans have become more frequent. The majority of those diseases are zoonoses, or diseases that originated in animals, like Ebola, West Nile virus, and probably Covid-19. But what makes zoonotic outbreaks likelier than ever is actually something humans are doing.

📺 NEW! Watch: DENZEL WASHINGTON Shares his "Encounter with the Holy Spirit"

"There's an old saying: you never see a U-Haul behind a hearse. You can't take it with you -- the Egyptians tried it and all they got was robbed. I mean - I tried everything else. It doesn't 'pay off', for lack of a better word. So, I don't put value in monetary - and all of those things. I just want to be in that number..."

KING JAMES VERSION • First Time We Met • 1974

If you haven't met Him yet, truth is - when you do - you can't seem to forget...

📽 WATCH: Saturday Night Classic Film • THE LEARNING TREE • 1969🍿

This is a great old movie that gets posted on YouTube but taken down every so often ~ while it's back up, I thought I'd post it again for anyone who has never seen it or for whom it has been a long time ~ semi-autobiographical from Gordon Parks the director of Shaft...

SARAH VAUGHAN • Dream • LIVE at Mr. Kelly's • 1957

 Just in case anyone forgets to still do it now and then...

Head of Church of England: White Jesus Should be Reconsidered Amid Protests

MEGHAN ROOS | NEWSWEEK

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said Friday the Church of England and other religious institutions worldwide should "of course" reconsider portrayals of Jesus that depict him as a white man.

The leader of the Anglican Communion, which represents millions of people in more than 165 countries, has spoken out against racial inequalities within the church in recent weeks as protests demanding an end to systemic racism gained momentum across the globe.

The BROTHERS and SISTERS GOSPEL CHOIR • JIMI HENDRIX • BOB DYLAN • All Along The Watchtower (Suite) • 1969-71

By the way, that's Merry Clayton (of Rolling Stones Gimme Shelter vocal fame) on the first - one of my longtime favorite, extremely obscure versions of this classic song - plus the two better-known originals... the hour is getting late indeed, friends... bless UP!

📺 WATCH: STEVEN COLBERT nervously reminds BILL GATES he might not want to go around referring to the COVID VACCINE as "THE FINAL SOLUTION"

Pay close attention at the 2:30 mark. And by the way - is it just me - or does anyone else feel like he always looks wayyyy too excited about all of this when he's talking about it?

Frederick Douglass Statue Torn Down on the Anniversary of His ‘What to the Slave is the Fourth of July’ Speech

Zack Linly | THE ROOT

On July 5, 1852, Frederick Douglass gave an iconic speech in Rochester, N.Y., in which he asked a question that is still relevant to Black people 168 years later: “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” On Sunday in Rochester—on the anniversary of the day Douglass delivered his speech—a statue of the 19th-century abolitionist was torn down.

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION quietly CHANGES Coronavirus timeline

"Nothing to see here move along now, eh?!!!"   

The HOWARD LEMON SINGERS • You Are Somebody • 1977

"Just stand up and see that you're really free..."

DR. MATTIE MOSS CLARK and the CLARK SISTERS • My Cup Runneth Over • 1979

I've been asked before: "Out of all the members of 'The Clark Sisters', which one do you like the best?"

After George Floyd, raw talk and racial reckoning among U.S. Muslims

American Muslims, Black and non-Black, are having raw conversations as they grapple with questions of racial equity, tensions and representation in their own faith communities.

Associated Press | NBC NEWS

As a young student, Hind Makki recalls, she would call out others at the Islamic school she attended when some casually used an Arabic word meaning “slaves” to refer to Black people.

“Maybe 85% of the time, the response that I would get from people ... is, ‘Oh, we don’t mean you, we mean the Americans,’” Makki said during a virtual panel discussion on race, one of many organized in the wake of George Floyd’s death.

“That’s a whole other situation about anti-Blackness, particularly against African Americans,” said Makki, who identifies as a Black Arab Muslim.

In recent weeks, many Muslims in the U.S. have joined racial justice rallies across the country and denounced racism in sermons, statements and webinars. American Muslims, Black and non-Black, are also having raw conversations like Makki’s as they grapple with questions of racial equity, tensions and representation in their own faith communities.

📺 WATCH: 🇪🇹 ETHIOPIAN Jewry • ISRAEL Phenomenology 🇮🇱

Today we're looking at one of Israel’s most distinctive communities - the Jews of Ethiopia. 

While the story of their rescue from Ethiopia has become a well-known tale of daring, bravery and sheer Israeli chutzpah, there’s far more to know about Ethiopian Jews than this event.