₦airaland Forum

Things are starting to get real interesting,

By Cornell Dews

Allhiphop.com



Being oppressed in America lends to immediate exposure of America’s harsh realities, which help impregnate the beliefs of the individuals.  To believe that the government would infiltrate the Black community and flood it with drugs and guns with the intent of it leading to the community’s could be farfetched until you realize it happened.  To believe that local, state and federal authorities would get away with committing subversive acts towards the Black community without being held accountable even after the tactics were supported by fact finding documentation or even recorded through the usage of audio or video is not farfetched at all.  Many believe the government helped orchestrate the assassinations of influential Black leaders who fought for both civil and human rights.  However, believing that the government had some involvement in the blatant murder of one of Hip-Hop’s most influential musical icons surprisingly is not as believable.  Why?


John Potash, a 44-year-old White male, raised in a predominantly Jewish community in Baltimore County penned an interestingly well-written manuscript entitled “The FBI War on Tupac Shakur and Black Leaders.” I had the opportunity to meet John for lunch and converse with him about his book, which I purchased from Everyone’s Place, an independent black owned bookstore located in Baltimore.  For obvious reasons, his book is not being carried in any of the major bookstores.


Upon introduction I extended my hand to greet Mr. Potash and immediately our handshake turned to “dap.”  We all know that non-verbal communication says just as much as the things we verbalize, sometimes even more.  I was anxious to talk because there was so much for us to talk about pertaining to Tupac and the United States Government. The possibilities and theories are truly boundless. Over lunch, a conversation commenced.






AllHipHop.com: You were quoted in an article in The Baltimore CityPaper written by Bret McCabe that you believed Tupac had become “the most influential Black man in the Black community in the country” which I assume would be the reason, in your opinion,  his life would be threatened. Can you expound on that statement?

John Potash:  Being that he had the top selling CD’s in the world and was starring in major motion pictures, which made him a rap and film star.  He was also engaged to the daughter of Quincy Jones, a well-established and respected person in the entertainment business, which increased his popularity.  He had very close relationships with his extended Black Panther Party family, who acted as his mentors.  Not to mention that he was trying to do more positive things.

AllHipHop.com: For those who have yet to read your book, could you explain why you believe that Death Row Records were a U.S. Intelligence front against Black activism?

John Potash:  A high level police detective named Russell Poole got himself assigned to the murder investigation of Biggie, during his investigation he stumbled across the fact that Death Row Records employed many officers who were considered agents.  Poole also found typical intelligence operations such as trafficking drugs, guns and laundering money taking place at Death Row Records.

AllHipHop.com: Do you think Death Row Records was the only label used as a front against Black activism?

John Potash:  I’m not certain if there were other labels, just because I didn’t have the time or resources to investigate other labels.  However, I will say that Time Warner, the parent company of Death Row at the time, ended up buying the rest of the labels, so I’m sure their operations could have worked towards other labels as well.

AllHipHop.com: Are you scared of any backlash or repercussions with the bold statements and claims that you’re making in your book The FBI War on Tupac and Black Leaders?

John Potash:  I’m a little scared, but this is what gives me passion.

AllHipHop.com: In your book, I noticed that you reference being supported by people who were close to Tupac, but you did not mention Tupac’s mother Ms. Afeni Shakur.  How does she feel about your book and the research you’ve done in regards to her son?

John Potash:  She has not publicly addressed the topic of my book and I can understand why.

AllHipHop.com: What do you intend for your book to accomplish?

John Potash:  I hope to get as many people as possible more politically active to save our nations heroes like Mumia Abu Jamal and H Rap Brown; both who are sitting on death row, when they’re much needed back in the community doing great things.

AllHipHop.com: What were the difficulties of publishing this book?

John Potash:  Well Kathleen Cleaver, the wife of Eldridge Cleaver, initially took me to her editor.  I was told that it was too much to fact check everything.  I approached six different publishers with six different proposals and still nothing.  So I decided to put it out myself, self-published.  I started Progressive Left Press.

AllHipHop.com: Your book suggests and supports the ideas of government agencies use of Cointelpro tactics to control, divide and conquer a community through hip hop.  In the hip hop community, there’s speculation that the “Illuminati” is doing the same.  In your opinion is there a distinction between the two?

John Potash:  I don’t know much about the Illuminati and besides hand signs and other small gestures, I don’t know if it can be proven.  So I ask what factors have the best evidence behind them that’s controlling our society?  White Anglo Saxon Protestant males are controlling the country and top corporations and that’s a better way to describe it.

AllHipHop.com: Do you find any irony in the fact that you worked as a counselor at a methadone program and you wrote a book about the government conspiring to destroy the Black community through dismantling our leaders with subversive tactics, including infiltrating the community with drugs?

John Potash:  I do think that drugs undermine activism in the community.  For instance, I feel weed is pushed hard towards the community through the music.  Abusing marijuana can cause people to not work towards activism.  Towards the end, Tupac himself was getting away from abusing drugs.

AllHipHop.com: In your book “The War on Tupac Shakur and Black Leaders,” you boldly suggest that Toure’ who have appeared on both BET and MTV as a Cultural Critic, as a person who works for US Intelligence.  Why?

John Potash:  I was just quoting Tupac’s trial lawyer, Michael Tarif Warren, who said he couldn’t believe how Toure’ set in the front row of Tupac’s sexual assault trial and totally misrepresented it, especially when Toure’ covered Tupac’s time in his life closely that whole time.  He also insinuated that Tupac may have set up his own shooting at Quad Studios.     

AllHipHop.com: Is it true, as implied in your book, that Death Row Records tried to lure Wu Tang Clan from their record label in an attempt to coerce them into helping further their agenda of destroying Black activism?

John Potash:  They just tried to lure them to Death Row to disrupt their group.  ODB’s brother was a beloved Black activist and he was producing the music.  Obviously it didn’t work with Death Row, but US Intelligence inserted an agent in the group as a manager, his name is Michael Caruso, a drug dealing young Mafia kingpin.

AllHipHop.com: You believe that prior to his ultimate demise that there were five government-sponsored attempts on Tupac’s life?

John Potash:  Yes.

AllHipHop.com: Because of the manner in which it happened from what’s been reported, you also believe that Jam Master Jay’s unsolved murder was the act of the government?

John Potash:  Well because of similar tactics as having a security camera that caught the incident and still no one was apprehended, The New York Times reporting that his death had something to do with the east coast west coast beef and The Baltimore Sun reporting that he was becoming more political and socially conscience.  In addition to all of that, he wasn’t robbed.

AllHipHop.com: You also suggest based on your research that verbal clashes between 50 Cent and other rap artists are influenced by the powers to be with sinister intent.  Do you not believe that it’s an attempt to sell records by involved parties or in some cases, just the competitive nature of the sport?

John Potash:  I think it’s a little of all three, but the unspoken part is that of the US Intelligence.  In my book I talk about the incident involving Lil Kim and Foxy Brown’s entourage.  Take into consideration, the harsh and disproportionate punishment the artists receive for the incidents they’re involved in.

AllHipHop.com: Based on your findings, do you honestly believe that the government killed Tupac.

John Potash:  Of course.  They orchestrated his assassination.

Potash could be the supreme conspiracy theorist full of all speculative nonsense, gibberish, just another attempt to confuse and keep us in the dark or one that has unearthed a jagged pill of raw truth.  Who knows what to make of the twelve years of research and documentation that John Patosh gathered to support his claims.  The evidence in his book is just as hard to dispute as it is to validate. Those who dispute the information have quite a lot of work to counter  “The War on Tupac Shakur and Black Leaders.”

When do the so called Nigerian Police ever have a clue!! That is simply too much to ask of them.

OAM4J:
Wait until the 'Nigerian Patriots' come on board and you'll see how they'll turn it into home-base vs diaspora debate. Then, they'll begin to prove that Nigerians in diaspora only complain because they dont love Nigeria.

The fact is we will never make any real progress until we tell ourselves the TRUTH.

Well said, but a lot of us are not ready for that truth. Thats why you have some people pointing fingers at everyone except themselves.

Mama Gee

If you read it and you thought it  was directed at you, then it probably was.

If these dudes spent as much time worrying about their own s**t than they do studying every single word and move Jay makes, they might make something of themselves

Many congrats to him. He is truly blessed.

As if your opinion matters, Isnt it amazing how people think they know whats right for somebody else. Get a life.

Everyone on here seems to not disprove the article. It has left me wondering what the reaction would have been if the BBC made this into another documentary,

Na today, I wouldnt be that optimistic if I were you. Not saying it cant happen but given our Governments' track record in keeping to their promises, i would just take it with a pinch of salt

If there ever was a case of shoot the messenger , ,

@ Hax would you rather 'Nigerian American'? Are you picking holes for the sake of it?

There is something quite fishy about this story.

Yet another nutter on the loose,

This is  very commonplace especially among Asylum seekers. Someone was given a 2m House in a choice area in London because he complained the previous house given to him is in a 'poor area'. Imagine the cheek!

Just made the mistake of trying to explain the complexities of a world cup to an American.

So for any americans out there, the 'world' is those tiny islands that revolve around your huge egos.

Same goes for the article.

You guys make me laugh. Illuminati, Batman and Robin nko?

Becomrich,

Why don't you do us all a favour; pull your lip over your head, and swallow!!

Recently the Mail published a devastating account by a whistleblower who revealed a culture of absenteeism, rampant inefficiency and 'unsackable' staff at the London council where he works as a senior planning officer.

The article struck a chord with another official employed by a housing association in the capital. The system is designed to help the destitute, but he says it is abused by undeserving chancers and cheats.

The Mail knows his identity, but to protect his job, 'Chris' tells his story to EUGENE COSTELLO,

Not long ago, I had to do a field visit to one of our sites to show some properties to a family. The houses are new-builds in a really good, central location - I'd love to live in one myself. Three storeys, with three or four bedrooms, really nice - they were so new that the paint was still wet.

The family had just arrived in London from Somalia. It didn't take long for them to decide they'd seen enough. They didn't speak much English but they made it clear they weren't happy with the bedrooms on the top floor - apparently they didn't like the sloping eaves.
Corrupt: The housing system is designed to help the destitute but is abused by chancers and cheats

Corrupt: The housing system is designed to help the destitute but is abused by chancers and cheats

But the deal-breaker came with their next questions. First, they wanted to know if the property came with an automatic right-to-buy with a discount, which it didn't.

They are thinking of council-owned properties, but we are a housing association - a not-for-profit organisation that is funded by government grants, bank loans and rental income - so we hold on to our stock and simply let it out.

I thought that question was a bit odd, considering the family supposedly didn't have a penny to their name, which was why they were throwing themselves on the mercy of the good old British taxpayer. Where would they get the funds to buy a townhouse in central London?

This 'penniless' family also wanted to know whether they got a residents' parking space with the property. I had to tell them 'No' to that as well. They shrugged and spread their arms, as if to say: 'How on earth do you expect us to live here? Why are you wasting our time dragging us here?' And off they went.

They could afford to be so sniffy because we have Choice-Based Letting (CBL). Once, there was pressure on applicants to accept properties when they came up or risk dropping back down the list. Now that's gone, so they can just keep saying No till we deliver exactly what they want - they're actually more demanding than tenants in the private sector.

Our problem as a housing association is that we are subcontracted to local authorities and have no say over the lists of people for whom we have to find a house - we are simply given the list and if someone is on it, they have the right to take one of our properties (with their rent heavily subsidised by taxpayers).

Even if it would be overwhelmingly obvious to a five-year-old that the applicants were chancers, we have to smile and say, 'Yes, sir' or 'No, madam'. In fact, we can't even describe them as 'tenants' any more - we've been told we must call them 'customers'.

Even if it's obvious they're chancers, we can't say No

he legal position is that local authorities have a statutory duty to house those in need and will determine whether they need emergency housing (such as immediate B&B accommodation) until a long-term property is found.

That's where I come in. I've been doing this sort of work for 15 years and we see a massively disproportionate number of people arriving from overseas.

The law was changed in 2000 to say that asylum seekers would not be eligible for social housing but it doesn't seem to have hugely affected the types of people that we are seeing. I suppose that's partly because once asylum is granted, they do become eligible - and those who go on to get British citizenship can invite members of their family to come over and join them.

Overall, the system is a joke. It rewards those family members who have just stepped off a plane by giving them a wonderful property in a central location, while Britons who have been here for years or even generations have got no chance of getting to the top of the list.

This is because British applicants tend to be already living with family - parents, etc - so technically qualify as being housed. Recent arrivals with kids in tow do not and are given priority. That said, single mothers as a group are hugely over-represented among social housing tenants; the perception of girls becoming pregnant to get a council flat isn't completely without foundation.

My particular bugbear, odd as it may sound, is satellite dishes. These pose a huge problem for us, especially with our Turkish 'customers' (for some reason a lot of the families we are asked to house are Turkish).

The first thing they want to know - well, after the free parking and the right to buy, of course - is whether they are allowed to put a satellite dish the size of a small helipad on the front of the property. Some of them need to put up two dishes so they can guarantee getting all the channels they want.

As a result, some of our properties end up looking like GCHQ. I'm told the problem is something to do with the signal for Turkish TV not being strong enough.

We always say No. If they think we really mean it - because the house is a new-build or period property - they will turn the place down, no matter how nice it is.
How are they paying for it? Tenants who are supposedly on the breadline often have luxury goods like plasma TVs

How are they paying for it? Tenants who are supposedly on the breadline often have luxury goods like plasma TVs

Properties with open-plan kitchens can be a problem too, as Somalian or other Muslim 'customers' often don't want a kitchen that opens straight on to a reception room, and these type of houses are always turned down. I was given the reason by one man: If he wanted to invite other men around to play cards or whatever, he didn't want them to see his wife making food in the kitchen.

I really have no idea how some of the people who come to us become eligible for such heavily subsidised properties, although I have my theories.

One of our 'customers' is a musician of west African descent who is doing really well and often appears on TV. Certainly, tributes on his website as well as comments from his agent are effusive about just how successful he is. Yet he and his family recently rang us to arrange some property viewings - they were on the council list and wanted rehousing in a more central location.

He was very fussy: it had to be a period, character property and it had to be in London Underground's Zone 1 - ie, central London.

We showed him a beautiful, four-storey Georgian property in a central London square with a park in the middle. He seemed delighted, as well he should be - this is a house worth well over £1 million and a normal rental would be £1,000 a week. He's getting it subsidised for £130 a week.

My personal view is that this house should be sold and the money invested in new-builds - we could have a dozen flats for the same money, and so help lots of families, not just one.

But no one else in the department seems to agree. I can't understand it: surely we are supposed to provide a safety net for as many people as possible, not the keys to the palace for just one family?

Anyway, this family didn't seem to appreciate their good fortune. As soon as they moved in, they bombarded us with a litany of complaints. Nothing was ever right.

For example, we had just installed a new fitted kitchen, leaving space for white goods - we don't supply those, that's down to the tenants. Sorry, customers!

Anyway, this family had brought with them a 'slim fit' dishwasher. But the space we'd left was for a standard-sized unit. Believe it or not, they wanted us to come back, take the kitchen out and refit it with units that matched their dishwasher.

In any case, I don't know how that family qualified for social housing. If I were being charitable, I would guess that they had got on the list before they had a better income and managed to stay on it.

They bombarded us with a litany of complaints

The truth is that once you're on the list, you seem to be there for life: the system isn't continuously means-tested. What should happen is that tenants - customers - should be retested periodically to ensure that they still qualify for this enormous subsidy from the taxpayer. As I say, it should be a safety net, not a state-sponsored bonanza for a lucky few.

It really rankles that someone who is clearly earning a lot more money than me gets to live in Millionaire's Row at taxpayers' expense, while the rest of us struggle to make ends meet. I commute into work from a small flat outside of London as I can't afford to buy anything more central.

A less charitable explanation for why this musician and his family got the star treatment (and one that a lot of my colleagues believe to be the case) is that there are cliques in local authority departments - be they West African, Indian, Pakistani, whatever - who 'look after their own'.

These cliques bump friends and relatives to the top of the list, even if they don't fulfil any of the criteria for social housing. This is done either as a favour or in return for a backhander.

I know it happens. One area I deal with is in South London. There is a large Portuguese community there and I would often get a call from one local lady, a Portuguese grandmother who seemed to act as an agent for new arrivals. She'd ring me regularly and say: 'Chrees, you have nice flat? I have lovely family who just come from Portugal, need nice three-bed flat.'

The first few times I'd say: 'Luisa, you know I can't do anything unless they're on the list.' She'd reply: 'Don't worry, Chrees, they will be on list tomorrow, please just show them some nice flats.'

And sure enough, the family would be on the next version of the list we'd get.

She clearly knew someone in the housing department who would put her families on the list in exchange for cash - which she could afford to pay as she was charging these families a lot of money in return for her securing a council flat for them. Of course, the family was happy to pay a big one-off fee because once they were in the system they were in for good, and they would get a centrally located flat for a peppercorn rent for life.

I'm speaking out now because I find the whole system corrupt and unfair - and, above all, a monstrous waste of taxpayers' money. Our houses often go to those who have been in the country for less than a month and have no intention of ever contributing anything to Britain through taxes. Meanwhile, those who have been here for years paying tax have got little or no chance of getting a flat.

I went to see a woman recently in her lovely three-bed flat to arrange a follow-up visit. When I got my diary out, she said: 'Can't do July or August - I'm abroad twice this summer.' Then she winked at me and said: 'Not bad for someone on the social, eh, Chris?' and laughed. But I don't find it funny.

Just a few decades ago, if you lived in social housing, people would come and look at your property, and the rules dictated that if you had possessions that were worth anything, the authorities would force you to sell them to contribute towards your rent.

Of course, no one is saying we should return to such harsh attitudes, but the system does seem to have swung far too far the other way.

My colleagues and I go on field visits to see families who are supposedly on the breadline and cannot subsist except by the largesse of the British taxpayer. Yet they have nice cars, top-end plasma TV screens, the latest games consoles for the kids, Sky TV and all the rest of it. How on earth are they paying for it?

I'd love all those luxuries, but I can't afford them - because I work for a living.

* Some names and details have been changed to protect the interviewee's identity.






Add your comments
Comments (48)

Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below, or debate this issue live on our message boards.

The comments below have been moderated in advance.

* Newest
* Oldest
* Best rated
* Worst rated

View all

In over 5 years of working in social housing I have never seen anything as stated above especially Housing staff taking financial bribes to put people on the housing list, this just does not happen.

Auditors come in on a regular basis to check all information held is in accordance with the law. If staff where taking bribes this would be easily found out by the information held on file.
Before anyone is put on the housing list, offered property and given the keys, proof has to be shown of the right to public funds which includes social housing. In over 5 years I have yet to see an asylum seeker or someone not entitled to public funds be given the keys to a social housing property. It just does not happen, not in the borough I work in.
If this person who has sold their story to the DM really had a concern he/she should have gone straight to the Director of Housing or Chief Executive, I just find it amusing the first place they go is straight to a Daily Rag ££££.

- BrightonMama, Brighton, 06/7/2010 06:07
Click to rate Rating 33

Report abuse

This is all too true, me, my partner and 3 young children have been on the council waiting list nearly 3 years with a promise of a 4 bed house. Me and my family are white british and are being punished and we have to live in private accommodation which is run down and no repairs never get done. My fire is condemned and my cooker is same if the gas board seen the state of it. My carpets are worn and the house in disrepair. My family is living in serious poverty due to the state of the housing in this country. Human Rights, where did they go? Do my children have human rights because their the ones what suffer more than us. All we want is to be a family in a not so run down house which is having a big affect on us all as a family. I don't think anything will ever be done about this problem because the government does not care about us low income families and they care more for letting immigrants in to the county to take our much needed housing away from us british citizens. Help!

- kevin smith, bradford, uk, 06/7/2010 06:01
Click to rate Rating 12

Report abuse

Most of us have known for years that immigrants went straight to the top of the social housing list - it was just Liebour who lied and tried to tell us they didn't. This is one of the reasons whey there is a shortage of social housing in this country - because the current stocks are going to scroungers who do not qualify. This is yet ANOTHER scandalous area that needs to be looked at urgently. The dodgy council employees who are taking backhanders or "looking after their own" should be routed out and sacked forthwith. Makes my blood boil that housing that is paid for by the taxpayers of this county is going to bloodsuckers who are just here to milk our OVER-GENEROUS system for everything they can get. This has to stop and it has to stop NOW!!

- Saundra,, Hertfordshire, 06/7/2010 06:01
Click to rate Rating 29

Report abuse

I do hope David Cameron reads this and ensures action is taken. All social tennancies should be reviewed regularly, each and every resident of social housing should qualify for it or find their own acommodation at their own expense. Our immigrant population have long realised that working in the housing departments of boroughs was where real power was, control over billions of pounds worth of assets and the ability to practically take control over the demography of a borough, have been abusing the system for years, it is long overdue that a stop is put to it. This article tells the truth, it is an outrage of the highest order,

- Penny, London, 06/7/2010 05:59
Click to rate Rating 22

Report abuse

Thanks, Chris.
Some of us knew this was happening, without knowing all the facts or, how exactly the system was being manipulated.
We suspected it was the Lilly livered liberals, guilt trip ideologists, multiculturalists & finally the CLIQUES, and all that entails.

It sure as hell, hurts me a lot to see & hear how good old Blighty, is being taken down towards the abyss. By those, who inherited Great Britain (LIMITED) plc.

No chance of a Mr. Winston Churchill, Mr. Attlee or, a Mrs Thatcher in near foreseeable future coming to the UK's rescue.

- Ern, Expat Taxpayer, Clermont, FL, USA, 06/7/2010 05:59
Click to rate Rating 20

Report abuse

As a homeless British man I am appalled.

I am not a racist, but stories such as these stretch ones patience!

- Chaz, Yorkshire, 06/7/2010 05:56
Click to rate Rating 24

Report abuse

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1292336/Whistleblower-exposes-chancers-cheats-abuse-social-housing.html?ITO=1708&referrer=yahoo#ixzz0svC6TBlA

.

.

.

Complaining? Nigerians are a funny bunch jeez!

^^^ Way to go

Hook line and sinker , do you even have your own free will??

Oh lord! Not another of these mind numbing conspiracy theories.