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Lommentary
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THE OUTSIDER.......LOOKING INSIDE
The Outsider
Knows.....
Contrary to popular belief, The Outsider truly
knows what is going on in the city. There are
some who doubt the true veracity and desidera
tum of The Outsider, but doubt no more. My
sources are people on the inside who know what
is truly going on and, oftentimes, even have
their hands on the hub of the deals. And to top
all of that, with the numerous threatening phone
calls the Augusta Focus gets on my behalf that
they tell me about, it further lets me know that
[ am squarely hitting the head on the nail.
Therefore, when I say things like sources close
to the Outsider are alleging that Don Gratham is
up in arms about the Hyde Park situation, you
can believe it. They also feel that part of this
uproar is because he was hoping to receive top
dollar for some of his properties in Hyde Park.
Although because of his apparently trying to act
as though he was against it, it has allegedly come
back to bite him in the burtt.
GUEST COMMENTARY By Farrah Gray
B 2
Success has you written all over it
Are you a butcher, baker or a
candle stick maker? Your ideas
at first may not appear to you as
“big” ideas that can go to mar
ket.
A young man living and
working near a college campus
could see the opportunity
wanting to open a small chick
en wing restaurant. What is
great about his idea? He was
scllin;; “the sizzle” and not “the
steak’ with 18 different hot
sauces flavors to choose from
kept the college students com
ing back for more. When I
arrived in Jackson, Miss. for our
meeting and taste test [ was
convinced along with him that
he has every opportunity for
market entry product success.
Success can't be the goal. It is
not the hope of a great achieve
ment or a plan to accomplish a
specific goal. Rather, success is
an attitude that affirms worthi
ness of who you are and the
things you are doing. It is an
attitude thar keeps you open to
new discovery and continual
Choosing a business idea that
will work well for you is para
mount to starting a business.
For now however, we will con
centrate on choosing an idea for
starting your own business. The
best nEoe to start is to look at
the sillls and knowledge that
you do have. For instance, if
you are in employment could
you do your job working for
yourself rather than being
cmgoycd by someone else?
ideas are listed below.
Could you turn your hobby
into a business?
4 . | It'z easy to be independent 7 R
R e when you've got money. "y,
.. ? But toyfie indgpem{enty X%
A = when you haven't got a thing -- ,
_ & , that's the Lord's test. - Mahalla Jackson
Mai:be in your spare time
{ou ave gained a skill or
nowledge, which could be
turned into a business. It could
be hair styling, gardening,
cooking or writing, With the
business know-how, something
you take pleasure in doing,
could be earning you money!
Copy an idea’ An idea Zx:s
not have to be novel or even
original; in fact very few busi
nesses are based on original
ideas. Observe what happens
abroad, you could get an idea
that has not been tried where
you live. Look around, watch
the news, observe things
around you and think how it
could be translated into a busi
ness idea.
Look for inspiration
You could be inspired with an
idea by looking at trade maga
zines, attending business expos
or trade shows. This could pro
vide the seed for a new idea or
%ive you an idea to do it better.
dentify the best market
Apart from choosing an idea
based on your skills, you could
rescarch markets you believe to
be pmfigblc. The id;l market
would, rflalllplc, a -
ing market and have a rgmrnfl:ve
g:fil no idea?
Try brainstorming with
friends and family. Invite them
to come up with any ideas (it
does not matter how silly some
of them may sound). A brain
storming session should last no
longcrrian fifteen minutes. It
should be a starting point to
help you think about the
opportunities available.
New product of process?
AUGUSTA FOCUS
GUEST COMMENTARY By Bill Fletcher Jr.
Job competition & Black America
Let's cut to the chase. Central
to the current immigration
debate is the matter ofioi com
petition. As | have raised in ear
licr commentaries, there is a fact
about the economy that main
stream commentators do not
really wish to discuss: capitalism
promotes job competition
among workers. That is the
way that this system of wealth
and income inequality works. It
is like the game of musical
chairs: there is always one less
chair than the number of par
ticipants. For capitalism this is
critical because 1t ensures that
workers are in a constant state
of insecurity. If there are a lot of
workers out of work, for
instance, then each worker who
does have a job has the sense—
true or not—that standing
behind them are a host of other
workers ready to grab THEIR
job. This insecurity makes
workers less willing to fight for
their rights.
Immigration, from the
standpoint of business, pro
motes further competition
among workers, but it does
NOT create competition. The
system creates and thrives on
worker competition. Immigra
tion simply stirs the pot, so to
speak. 'flgus, businesses tend to
encourage immigration, partic
ularly of so—cdféd vulnerable
workers, in order to have all
workers fifihting among them
selves, each blaming the other
for their own sorry state. This
has been the pattern since the
Maybe you are a bit of an
inventor and have invented a
new product or process that
you wish to create into a busi
ness. If that is the case, make
sure you patent your invention
with the Patent Office (sce
address below).
Making it a good e-idea
Whatever business idea you
decide, you should also be
thinking of how it would trans
late on the Internet. Your busi
ness idea should therefore be an
e-idea with the following attrib
utes:
Public appeal - It should be
an idea that can be marketed to
artract customers and appeal to
their imagination. F;mi{:f trans
portable - As the Internet is a
world wide medium accessed
by people from all over the
worfiic,o you will need to bear in
mind how your product will be
mnsponed).’n This is particularly
important in determining the
success of your business.
Hopefully, this should be
enouggucneml information to
help you make up your mind
about your business idea and
the important attributes need
ed to make your idea work. Go
for the success that has your
name on it!
Farrah Gray is the author
% the international best-seller
cealilionaire:
Nine Steps to Becoming Rich
from the Inside Out. He is
chairman of the Farrah Gra
Foundation. Dr. Gray can 5{
reached via email at fg@far
mbfmyfimndation.mg or his
web site at www.farrahgray
foundation.org
1800 s.
So, you ask, why not simply
shut off immigration and then
things will improve for Black
America? Good question, yet
the answer is not so simple.
First, 1 tive of laws, Bor
der Patmi. etc,, people will
come to the USA if their home
lands are in a mess, particularly
a mess created by the USA.
They will make incredible sac
rifices with the hope that they
can secure a job and send funds
home to their families.
Second, they will come here
because businesses WANT
them. Businesses want a low
wage workforce and they will
s«ifie out the workforce that will
take the lowest pay possible at
any one moment. What has
always thrown a monkey
wrench into the plans of busi
nesses has been the organiza
tion of workers. [F workers are
unionized and their wage rates
are respectable, the employer
has great difficulty playing one
group against leK)LE(’f. 'l%,fis is
an historical fact. A workforce
that is perceived to be vulnera
ble, in other words, becomes
the opposite when it is organ
ized. They cannot any longer
be used against non-immigrant
or less wa:fi‘llc“rahle workers.
What does this mean for
Black America? Here are a few
thoughts:
* Keep in mind a very basic
moral and historical truth: no
worker is illegal. When Africans
were running away from plan-
Meko : How far some insurance companies go
Continued from page 4A
viding to “enemy combatants.”
After he failed to enter the base,
he took them to a Havana hos
pital where they received exten
sive free diagnostic tests and
treatment and medication for
which they paid nominal sums.
In none of the countries Moore
visited are children denied care
or provided a lesser standard of
care for lack of health insurance
or money, as is too often the
case in the United States.
I hope SiCKO pricks our
consciences and catalyzes a
robust national debate about
our broken health care system.
The film asks timely questions
iCI b |
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it A and a@hgrished moment for generations to come.
Honor your achievements
with an announcement
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Display their photo and any =~
pertinent info for only $25. ,
wations and either going North
or going to Mexico, we were
dficFoamd illegal by white society.
We were, in reality, secking to
reaffirm our humanity.
* We must support the
unionization of all workers: So
many of the jobs currendy
being occupied by low-wage
immigrant workers were one
ume higher wage, unionized
positions. When employers
destroyed the unions in those
industries, e.g., meatpacking,
and drove out the existing
workforces, they sought to
replace them with non-union
immigrants (many times
undocumented immuigrants) at
a lower wage nate. In other
words, it is not that African-
Americans or anyone else
ceased to be interested in such
jobs; the jobs and the living
standard that they once pro
duced were essenually
destroyed by the employers. If
we build and strengthen
unions, it becomes that much
more difficult to displace work
ers. Thus, unions need
organize on a massive scale and
Black America needs to contin
ue to throw its support toward
unionization.
* We must demand decent
jobs: This may sound overly
basic, but what has struck me
over the last number of years is
the lack of organization within
Black America in order to
demand and fight for jobs. We
ask for jobs, for sure, but we are
not in the streets fighting for
our political leaders need
answer. If other countries can
guarantee health care o all of
their citizens, why can't ours?
If Canada, European nations
and Cuba can ke the profit
motive out of caring for people,
why cantt we? As we search for
the answers to these questions,
we should start with our chil
dren right now as the State
Childrens Health Insurance
Program comes up for renewal
before September 30th. Why
are there 9 million uninsured
children in America? And
why are many of our leaders
claiming we cant afford to
cover them all? We need o
find common ground with all
Americans of good will to
July 5, 2007
them. When hotels are con
structed, are we involved—as
the New York-based Harlem
Fightback organization has
been for over 40 years—in
demanding construction jobs?
Are we involved in pressuring
for jobs within the hotels (such
as supporting the efforts of
unions such as UNITE/HERE
which have demanded that
hotels hire Black workers)? Are
we demanding that elected
leaders ensure that new jobs
MUST be fairly distributed?
(And FAIRLY means that
Black workers are hired!)
Let me cose by emphasizing
one major point. When Freder
ick Douglas suggested that
power concedes nothing with
out a demand, many people
have taken that to have been
the realm of fine rhetoric. It was
not: it was a basic truism of life.
To the extent to which we, in
Black America, are not organ
ized to fight for jobs, the sad
reality is that we will not get
them. Black Americans, along
with Native Americans, remain
the “Other” in this society and
we will continue to be ignored,
it not ‘deansed’ from the econ
omy to the extent to which we
are not organized. In future
commentaries 1 will explore
this in greater depth.
Bill Fletcher, Jr. is a labor and
international writer and activist.
He is the immediate past presi
dent of Trans Africa Forum and
can be reached at papaqs4@hot
mail.com,
address the nation’s health care
crisis regardless of one’s political
athliation. Its a matter of life,
deathrand health.
Tell Congress and the White
House to ensure health cover
age for all children by calling 1
(800) 861-5343 or visiting
hup://www.childrensdefense.o
rg/.
Marian Wright Fdelman is
President of the Childrens
Defense Fund and its Action
Council whose Leave No Child
Behind® mission is to ensure
every child a Healthy Start, a
Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe
Start and a Moral Start in lfe
and successful passage to aduls
hood with the help of caring fam
ties and communities,
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