Brother Askia’s answer to the question should Black people work in American law enforcement and military.
Category Archives: Money
Reason For Black Self Hate
Dr. Amos Wilson reveals the fundamental basis and cause & reason for the unfortunate circumstances of self hate among people of African decent.
Black Predictability
1968 was by far the most confusing year in American history for white people. It was the year that for the first time in modern and western history, white people had become openly defenseless, fearful, nervous, and simply scared of Black people. Almost fifty years later and absolutely nothing has changed about the dynamics of white people’s overall perceptions of Black people. The only thing that has evolved is white people’s willingness to admit to their fear of Black people, and yet most still will not.
The late nineteen sixties and mid seventies was a time when white people had for once consciously and subconsciously considered Black people as unpredictable. Before then, it was a fairly simple assessment to place Black people into an easily contained afterthought compartment within the consciousness of white people. The main factor in this mentality was the prevailing apparatus of Black people’s fear driven by racism and discriminatory brutality against Black people for centuries. The tides had abruptly changed when in the late sixties, Black people had become more willing to express their rights and fight for them. The new atmosphere of conflicting views and color lines brought about a riddling society which created an air of uncertainty.
With the advent of color television, live newscasts, yet less sophistication in media censorship, the entire world was able to see the reality of American racism. It was then without a doubt and apparent that the leader of the so called free world was a complete hipocracy and unable to be trusted as a government elite in the global stratosphere. It was time for America to clean up the act. The late seventies ushered in a new sense of codes in conduct, particularly in the realm of politics. With the new generations of unpredictable Blacks who could now wage what white people believed to be street wars and fight for their rights, it was time that white people learn new ways to predict the movements and cultural advancements of Black people.
The nineteen eighties showed white politicians were very swift with a solution and quite timely to the disadvantage of Black people. While the country and even the world began to fully enjoy the benefits of illicit drugs openly and freely, American politicians saw an opportunity to place well written codes onto Black people without appearing to be racist bigots. The stage was set to put the entire Black population back into a state of fear and predictability. The introduction of the War on Drugs and its prime asset called crack created a new paradigm in the ways white people could conceptualize and legitimize their fears, and ultimately their racist sense of predictability of Black people. This destructive and neglectful thinking of white Americans allowed for laws to authorize unjust and wrongful imprisonments, and countless murders by police of unarmed and innocent Black people.
No matter how much the facts are present and the truth is in front of everyone’s face, law enforcement’s sole purpose has ultimately been in place to keep minorities in America controlled and contained, yet no authorities or officials will admit this. The most hated minority to law enforcement in America has always overwhelmingly been Black people. By the late 20th century, when it was no longer acceptable to blame the problems of American society on Black people outright, politicians simply replaced Black with crime. It was a very simple transition which to this very moment is still causing turmoil among America’s Black communities with no end in sight.
Unless the observable truth is heeded and its unmistakable injustices are ceased then the inevitable yet avoidable reality is soon to come. The day when Black people will again be unpredictable to white people.
Black Homeowner Vulnerability And Misguidance
The Black man and the Black woman are still in a peculiar economic and social position across the entire globe. As the African Union is currently making dynamic strides and strong political moves to solidify a much long overdue stake-hold of the great continent of resource rich Africa, the Black world is still positioned to beg for change instead of creating it for themselves.
The African American Union is nowhere to be found. While the resources of Africa are still being squabbled over, and their Black political body seems to be continuing their own economic and sociopolitical fight to retrieve what was lost, the economic and sociopolitical body of Black American is still maintained within the crux of a dominant white and Eurocentric value system. The Black American still to this day finds him and herself evaluating his and her success against the white man and the white woman. It appears that it will be another fifteen generations until the Black man and woman in America understand that it is only through ethnocentric reevaluation from which true cultural and community wealth is built. The Black man and woman have not learned this and much of the problem can be attributed to the psychic violence against Black people from the omnipresent barrage of American popular culture, which teaches everyone to believe in their own individuality and self success attaining prowess. This ideology is suitable for many white people, but is not for the majority of Black people. Black people as a community cannot afford to uplift one singular individual up and out of the Black community. That process of elimination is nothing more than an exiting of our most valuable resource and that is the successful and economically enriching human resource. Our community mechanism is a very different one from any other and it is imperative to maintain our most precious assets as much as possible. These individuals must be able to bring back to the Black community what they have obtained and intelligently diffuse their wealth in a manner which will benefit them as well as the community as a whole. The Chinese and the Koreans do it, so can we.
The Washington Post recently published a series of articles about the economic downfall of homeowners living in Prince George’s County, Maryland, just outside of Washington DC.
Prince George’s County, historically within the last twenty years, was known as the neighborhood with the largest concentration of Black millionaires. Unfortunately when the subprime lending scandal blew over and many homeowners lost their home equity, Prince George’s County was one neighborhood that was hit the hardest. The predominately white communities surrounding the predominately Black enclaves have been able to recoup the majority of their equity since, however the Black neighborhoods have not been. The main reason is because no one wants to move into an all Black neighborhood simply because of this country’s racist psychology about Black people. This Black neighborhood boycott has kept the property value down in this particular neighborhood and the homeowners who have managed to stay are at their wits end. The problem is also compounded by Black people who flee the neighborhood, and rightfully so if they believe they are ruining their children’s future, and the Black people who boycott the neighborhood and choose to buy in the predominately white community believing their home equity is safer there. It is understandable to make these decisions from an individual standpoint, but this thinking only furthers the vulnerability of the Black community. It renders the Black communities as nothing more than neighborhoods, until another group buys in and creates a community out of what we have disposed of.
It is situations like the one in Prince George’s county when an African American Union would have probably done some good. Their could have been an effort to garner some financial and homeowner guidance to the community which could have educated them about the reality of American homeownership and real estate. The fact is that affluent Black people love to live around other affluent Black people and it is more important to protect the fact than to wish it the best and let it fend for itself. Those homeowners could have had an educated and culturally responsible real estate professional inform them of some of the pitfalls of refinancing and accepting new mortgage terms with new lenders. They could have probably been educated on the fact that home equity is not as important as holding on to the tangible asset of the actual home and the land in order to pass on to their children. They could have been informed of the reality of debt and how to manage it in a mature way so that even after accepting an initial loan that may have been out of reach when they first signed, that the community could have pooled their money together to save itself in entirety.
We must come together in order to defend ourselves from the economic and psychic violence which has plagued us for five hundred years. Too many of us are economically vulnerable and psychologically misguided. We can only reshape our children’s destinies for the better if we form true Black communities and work for ourselves together.
Funk Flex Should Have Texted HOV Back
Funk Master Flex made the critical mistake that a lot of Black people make in business, and that is becoming emotional. Under no circumstances was it or is it ever okay to publicize your private business conversation before you and the individual you are doing business with have collectively resolved your business matter and or subsequent business transaction. Whether Funk Flex understood that HOV was reaching out to him for business or personal matters is a nonissue. He may now have ruined a good business opportunity which could have benefitted both individuals, or at the least found out some vital information that could have aided in his further success.
As comical as the radio rant may have been, it did not add any substantial nominal gains for his brand and it probably strained a good working and beneficial business relationship. It was simply immature and exhibited poor business etiquette and lack of savvy.
It was corny.
http://thegrio.com/2015/01/18/funkmaster-flex-bashes-jay-z-commercial-corporate-rapper/
Mau Mau
You are scared, Black America. Not me. I am a fearless warlord bent on the overthrow of all of my enemies. I will take absolutely no prisoners. This warning goes for all who transgress my will, including the Black man who is loyal to my enemies. I write this to you in plain English. Take heed!
I am the Mau Mau. I am a nation within my own self. My borders are universal. I defend my borders to the death and I will not die. I impose strict tariffs on foreign exchanges. I set rigid embargoes on transgressive aliens. I do not invite the merchant from outside of my own market. He and his children are not welcome to satellite just beyond my horizons. This is no empire or kingdom. This is the law of the universe. Anyone who does not obey will be struck down and so will their descendants. There is no economy without my own permission.
My market only adheres to the Mau Mau codes. Mau Mau markets only. That means no products in or out that are not products of Mau Mau. The penalty for not observing this simple code is annihilation.
The border of Mau Mau is unlimited. Wherever there is Mau Mau there is Mau Mau law. This simple understanding will not be misunderstood by anyone, or else face extermination.
Tariffs in excess are imposed on all foreigners. These levies must be paid and all tolls must be garnished by the rule of Mau Mau. Any deviation of this directive will result in execution.
An embargo on all products alien to Mau Mau is predetermined by Mau Mau law. There is no inspection and only an exclusion of all alien products. Any breach of this statute is subject to the policy of immediate eradication.
I am Mau Mau and this is my eternal will.
“In my opinion, not only in Mississippi and Alabama, but even right here in New York City you and I can best learn how to get real freedom by studying how Kenyatta brought it to his people in Kenya, and how Odinga helped him, and the excellent job that was done by the Mau Mau Freedom Fighters. In fact, that’s what we need in Mississippi… In Mississippi we need a Mau Mau. In Alabama we need a Mau Mau. In Georgia we need a Mau Mau. Right here in Harlem in New York City we need a Mau Mau.” – Malcolm X
A Message Concerning The White Rapper
Now is the time for the Black nation to hold all of its guests, welcomed and unwelcome, to be accountable for their tribute to the Black nation. The white rapper has been allowed to enter within the borders of the Black nation, whether escorted or granted access, and has often gained much success from the commodity of the Black culture. The white rapper has time and time again used the Black culture to take from the Black market and resale their derived version of the Black culture to other markets. Meanwhile, the Black rapper watches as their own access to those same markets are limited to less than that of the white rapper. The white rapper has yet to offer their own contribution to the Black nation for the escorted and granted access into the Black culture and their gainful success from it. It is time for the Black nation to demand the white rapper prove to the Black nation they are worthy for further acceptance. Otherwise, the Black nation must disassociate itself with the white rapper and consider them an invader, an exploiter, and a thief.
Hip Hop and Rap music is a Black form of art. It is not a white form of art. Most people will agree, and anyone who does not agree is trying to fool their own self. Black people can and do sell Hip Hop and Rap music, and are successful at doing it. That is not an issue. Black artists do not have a problem independently entering the industrial markets of the music world and selling their recordings and performances for a profit. There are plenty of past and current examples of Black individuals who successfully exchange their products in multiple arenas of the entertainment industry. The Black nation supports these artists, whether someone believes it or not, the same way it always has and that is mainly through validation. Unfortunately, many people believe that Black people do not make up a significant amount of the consumer record sales and that it is pointless to cater to the Black demographic if you want to sell music, or entertainment as a whole. That is a lie. Black people are a large portion of the consumer body worldwide and make up a great amount of consumer record sales, when it is valid to do so. The Black consumer, however excessive to some or perceivably invaluable to others, is not a foolish consumer. It is time for the Black nation to openly reject these lies and rid itself of those who exploit its markets.
The Black market is the essence of Hip Hop and Rap. Hip Hop and Rap is a product of the Black market. The lyrics and the instrumentals are all forms and developments of Black market intricacies, and more importantly, Black culture. You cannot use Hip Hop and Rap as a product without using Black culture and the Black market. In many ways, Black culture and Hip Hop as well as Rap and the Black market are all one in the same. So it does not make economical sense to the Black nation for someone who is not a direct and natural product of these entities to take from them, amass wealth from them, then show no evidence of redistributing any wealth directly back to them. It is time for the Black nation to point out all perpetrators who delve in these acts of piracy, and even those who commit treason to allow it. Point them out and demand they submit to retribution. Otherwise, the Black nation should no longer accept them as a representative of Black culture. They must be invalidated.
The Black people who have escorted and granted the white rapper access should be the first within the Black nation to demand they redistribute their gains back to the Black nation from which it came. Their products are a product of the Black nation, and those products represent and redefine the solace in despair and poverty of the Black nation. The sale of the deprived image given to them by the Black nation is one they do not own themselves, and the mask they wear is a Black face painted white. They do what the Black rapper does and instead of being called coon they are called edgy. They do what the Black rapper does and instead of being called a whore they are called seductive. They do what the Black rapper does and instead of being called nasty they are called racy. They do what the Black rapper does and instead of being called racist they are called political. They do what the Black rapper does and instead of being called ignorant, they in fact are called genius. They cannot do all of this without prior access and validation by the Black nation, because it would not make sense or be accepted by other markets if this were not the case. No one in any market enjoys spending their money on a product which is not certified as authentic. It is time the Black nation pressure the white rapper to show their hand in the uplifting of the Black nation. The Black nation must see this now, otherwise it must close the doors on these cheapskates and hoodwinks.
The Black nation must now see those who enter within its border act according to the uplifting and development of the global Black nation. The Black nation must demand these characters and actors redistribute back into it from their own disproportionate wealth gained from the used and abused culture of the Black nation. It is not the Chinese, Japanese or Asian culture from which the white rapper is imitating. It is not the Arab or Jewish culture from which the white rapper is imitating. It is not the Latin or South American nations from which the white rapper is imitating. Most of all, it is not their own European culture from which the white rapper is imitating. It is the Black nation from which the white rapper is imitating. The Black nation owes it to itself to demand the unpaid arrears the white rapper owes it for their ongoing campaign to seek Black validation in self serving entertainment endeavors which do nothing to benefit the Black nation. By not benefitting the Black nation, these white rappers’ allowed and self aggrandized neglect toward their agency to the Black nation does more to degrade the Black nation than it does to build the image of the white rapper. The Black nation must recognize this as evidence it has to set an embargo on fraudulence and begin to demand and reap these too often and long squandered earnings which leave its market and never return.
It is time, Black nation.
I’m In Love With The CoCo: A Critical Analysis
“Con coco o sin coco?” Is what brothers and sisters ask when you ask them if they have any weed to smoke in the Dominican Republic. With cocaine or without cocaine? In the Dominican Republic cocaine is a more socially accepted drug of choice than marijuana. Weed is actually looked down upon in the way smoking crack is looked upon here in the United States. This was a very bizarre state of affairs when I realized the ramifications of such a construct. This meant that in the Dominican Republic, I was a crack head and the coke heads were the laid back stoners. My how the truth can be malleable and ambiguously obscure.
When I went to a close friend’s potluck a week ago, who is actually Dominican himself, I kept hearing him and his cousin yell out “I’m in love with the coco!” They finally played the video for everyone and we all were glued to the monitor as we watched a man sitting at a kitchen table with his friends, seemingly spreading powdered cocaine over it with playing cards and rolling up blunts. How simply sensational of a sight I thought! Who cannot relate to this image? How can you not see how relevant this scene is? I thought all of this at the same time as I thought how disgusting the video was. The mundaneness of what Hip Hop or Rap has degraded to. Who could support such garbage! These were the conflicting debates floating in my mind as I continued to stare and listen to what one of our good friends from college described as a nursery rhyme. He was right. The lyrics were so simple a two year old could recite and comprehend them after one listen. It was actually kind of disturbing to think of the influence this video will have on younger viewers.
It was stuck in my head. I walked home with my girlfriend singing “I’m in love with the coco” out loud. We would both laugh and shake our heads at our own senseless embarrassment and juxtaposed affinity for the simple yet catchy tune. I asked her to play it again when we got home. We watched the whole thing, twice. I watched it again, alone with my headphones. I bobbed my head. I lip synced the single syllable lyrics to myself. I smiled at the screen. I enjoyed it. It was addictive.
The beat! The foundation of the auditory retention is the low frequency of the sub bass line in the background music. The engineer of the musical score synthesized the reverberations of the low tones very well, and in unison the sound effects which work congruently with the bass are mesmerizing. If there were no lyrics, the song will still have a profound affect onto the listener. I can imagine watching the video with the instrumental only and still fully understanding the theme of the song. Without a doubt, like many other current rap hits, the beat carries the song and without it I sincerely believe it would not work or feel the same. The producer and his engineer did an excellent job.
The lyrics are simple, as already stated. However, the lyrics are contrasting to what is the current political atmosphere in the Black community. Whether Genasis intended to cause a debate or not is not the question. He has most certainly done so. While at my friend’s potluck, I recall a divide amongst all who were watching the video. Some loved it. Some hated it. I did find myself somewhere in the middle. The melody of the lyrics and the cadence of the rhyme took me back to “con coco o sin coco” in the Dominican Republic. It reminded me of a time and place when and where I was unsure of my political stance on drugs and what is socially on the fence, and what is totally overboard. I will not promote violence and I believe guns should be used only for protection, however I was reminded of the G Thang video when the guy had the pistol tucked into the back of his pants while working the barbecue pit. The guns looked real and I looked at them closely. I was drawn to them the same way I have always been when watching a movie or television show. This video was no different. This was a good rap video. If we must separate Hip Hip and Rap to achieve a sense of clarity and social aptness in our culture and responsibility to our community then I say this is an excellent rap video.
Whether Genasis will stand the test of the fickle music industry is oh but yet to be seen. I for one could not care less how things play out, but best of luck to him and his family. As for this record, very disturbing yet highly intriguing. It is extremely interesting how the same thing can be done in so many ways and still one out of the million appears and feels so different. This one was like tasting something different in a corner store bottled water and thinking “wow, what is this?” Only to look and see it is Poland Spring with a new logo and feeling unconsciously satisfied with what you perceive as something new.
Create Money
My son is a rich man. He’s not even born yet. His mother and I have created wealth for him before he can conceive of it for himself. My mother and father created this wealth for him, even before I could conceive of it. Their mothers and fathers created wealth for them as well. We are all rich people. As long as one lives he or she is rich, however one must recognize and realize this fact of matter. Our wealth is passed down from the generations before us. Our job is to receive it, create more wealth from it, and deliver it to others.
Money is a representation of time and how that time is or was spent. The value of that time spent is relative to the magnitude at which that time spent is or was worth to others. The more the time spent is worth for others then the more value there is to the money which represents it. Money means absolutely nothing without someone to signify its value. A dollar in the hands of no one is nothing more than a worthless shred of paper. It is a figment of matter which will erode in time if left unattended. One must attend to it and deliver it to another in order for it to matter. One who receives it must acknowledge it as a valuable note of time spent for it to belong to a derived currency of exchangeable commodity. This is the meaning and essence of money.
We perceive ourselves as either rich or poor even without money. Money does not determine the state of being rich or poor, rather it represents the state of the time spent amongst the perceived rich and the poor, whether delivered or received. The poor can deliver money to the rich and neither party feel either rich or poor. Likewise, the rich can deliver to the poor and both feel rich. The rich can believe they are poor, and the poor can believe they are rich, all while no one possesses any money. The fact is, the state of being rich or poor is based solely on how one perceives themselves and more importantly how their time has been spent. This idea is rooted into the sayings “time is money” and “money is no object.” However, those sayings are misleading, because time in fact is not money and money is actually an object. The truer saying is money represents time spent. How well or how poor someone spends their time is not a representation of money, however it does represent itself in their feeling of wealth or poverty. One must have a clear understanding of the difference between time and money in order to amass wealth.
Getting money is quite simple. Often times money is usually laying on the ground unbothered for anyone to casually pick it up and put it in their pocket. Most people walk by pennies and nickels everyday and pay them no mind because they feel it is not enough money to care to stop what they are doing to obtain it. It is understandable that such a small amount in the currency of today someone would care less about these coins and little bits of loose change, but this is one of the easiest and most convenient ways to get money. After all, if getting money is all someone would want in life then there it is sitting right there for them with very little effort to receive it. It is the idea that getting money will create wealth that leads a person astray and misguided. They will spend all of their time doing whatever it takes, whether time spent well or time spent poorly, all for the simple task of getting money. Most of the time the money they receive from simply trying to get money is not enough to satisfy their true and instinctual goal of amassing wealth. They do not feel wealthy once they get the money they’ve been seeking so they continue spending their time trying to get more money and begin to believe to themselves that they are in fact poor. They feel poor all the time while trying to get money because they do not have the amount of money they believe they need or want in order for them to feel wealthy. They have confused getting money with wealth, and have not seen the difference between the time they’ve spent and the money they have received for it. The two things are not the same. They cannot tell that others have not valued the time they’ve spent the way they would like them to because they were so focused on getting money that all others had to do was deliver them a calculated amount of it without having to truly appreciate them or their time in exchange. That is time spent poorly. While questing to get money they do not notice most of all that they are not spending their time well with others! They are selfishly seeking the object of money in exchange for this unappreciated time, therefore they receive what is current to the value of that time spent with others, which consequentially is of little value. Simply getting money will most likely lead to one simply getting money and nothing more. One would have to make believe they are rich in order for spending all their time only to get money to be fulfilling and equal to building wealth.
It is the creation of money which is equal to amassing and building wealth! Once the difference between time and money is clear then a person will spend all of their time well and wisely! They will appreciate others and will share meaningful time and energy with them. Ideas will be exchanged and innovative products and new tangible creations will arise. It is the time well spent that will garner more from others. The service of one another’s time and energy being appreciated will equate to higher values and substantially gainful working relationships. In time, these relations will cultivate networks of thinkers, builders, and energetic intellectuals who agree to work and share the time it takes to create the products one would want and more than that, but need! You see, it is the time well spent with others which creates those products we spend so much of our time to obtain. It is the time well spent that is of highest value to everyone! You cannot amass and build wealth based upon poorly spent time. Your time spent poorly will not equate to a fortune. However, one may get plenty of money while spending all of their time poorly. It is not a matter! Time spent poorly does not matter at all. One will have to believe he or she is rich in order to enjoy spending their time poorly. Why delude in such an idiotic perplexity? Spending time well and wisely is truly fulfilling and leads to actual wealth! You see the difference! Money is an object! Time well spent is wealth! They are different and will never be the same thing. Nevertheless, money can surely be created and gotten through one spending all of his or her time very well with others! It is key to first notice how well one spends their time alone which must be mastered. Only then will others see the worth in appreciating their own time spent with that him or her. Time spent well alone through seeking what it is that is worth building and creating is the beginning of amassing wealth. The creation of wealth starts by first thinking about it to oneself! One must then develop their wealthy creation and offer to share it with others. It will surely be greatly appreciated no matter how much or how little in the beginning. It will grow wealth so long as one continues to build upon it with more time well spent. To create money is to create an idea worthy of others spending their time well with that same idea. That is how wealth is built! This is how money is created. One must understand how to create money.
Vandalism, Rioting & Looting: A Brief Explanation for the Law Abiding Citizen
Vandalism, Rioting & Looting: A Brief Explanation for the Law Abiding Citizen
Laws are social in nature. There must be an agreement between two or more people in order for law to function. There is order without law, and that is called natural order. However, as people grow larger in numbers and form communities, different ideas of what that order means becomes apparent. Laws are formed in order to better interpret these orders amongst the larger group. Written laws are created to further substantiate the new and evolved meanings of the agreed upon orders, and that is called policy (within the English diction).
The idea of the police is a direct result of policy. The formation of a community or state appointed group of people to enforce the policies is as old as the formation of laws. In the brief history of America, the police were formed mainly to protect property from destruction, burglary, and theft. Later on, continuing to today, they have been granted more authority over more policies and jurisdictions of the interpreted laws. Nonetheless, protection of property is the historic basis of American police enforcement.
In America, and quite like most countries worldwide, when a group of citizens who feel the law has been misinterpreted by their appointed officials and the police enforcement has infringed upon their agreed civil liberties, those people believe the law is no longer valid. Protesting can be passive as well as aggressive. Peaceful protests to misinterpretations and gross infringements of the law are most often received with little resistance by community officials and law enforcement, therefore they usually do not beg any attention from law enforcement or appointed officials. The community grievance will persist and remain unsettled. Violence to officials or law enforcers is a far greater risk to a protestor’s personal well being, plain and simple. Otherwise, hand to hand combat and gratuitous violence would be a protestor’s first option at proving their political point. In history, violence has proven effective when a disgruntled group of people wish to have their social and political demands met by a government, often times leading to a newer government run by those formerly disgruntled parties. However one may want to interpret a civil protest, war is and always will be an option if tensions reach those points.
Destruction of Property: Since the historic basis of law enforcement, specifically in America, is to protect property, it is considered a great portion of political leverage for an angry protestor to test the policy of protecting property by the police enforcement. City officials must and will answer the complaints of those property owners who have been hurt by the property destruction, and those law enforcers must use proper judgment when addressing the mob who is aggressively taunting their authority. This political conundrum the government is placed within is perplexing and very costly. The predicament which it will certainly lead to during and after the riot and destruction of property does affect the future policy and places government in a position of defense, rather than the offensive stance they’ve been abusing before. One must acknowledge and question the role of government in this instance and refer to reinterpretation of the law and its policies. If it were not for the policy to promise to protect property and enforce this seemingly simple task, which often times is rarely addressed correctly on a normal basis by law enforcement, the angry protestor would have little advantage in a corrupted society besides peacefully being unheard, or angrily waging full scale war.
I hope this brief explanation has helped the law abiding citizen to understand why vandalism, looting, & rioting happen, and what true and rational purpose they serve in urban society.
Erick's Brain 