Obama Breaks Promise to Black Farmers

As a senator, Barack Obama led the charge last year to pass a bill allowing black farmers to seek new discrimination claims against the Agriculture Department. Now he is president, and his administration so far is acting like it wants the potentially budget-busting lawsuits to go away.

AP

The change isn’t sitting well with black farmers who thought they’d get a friendlier reception from Obama after years of resistance from President George W. Bush.
"You can’t blame it on the Bush administration anymore," said John Boyd, head of the National Black Farmers Association, which has organized the lawsuits. "I can’t figure out for the life of me why the president wouldn’t want to implement a bill that he fought for as a U.S. senator."
At issue is a class-action lawsuit known as the Pigford case. Thousands of farmers sued USDA claiming they had for years been denied government loans and other assistance that routinely went to whites. The government settled in 1999 and has paid out nearly $1 billion in damages on almost 16,000 claims.

Click to read.

\

Technorati Tags: black farmers,barack obama,black news,black politics

Black Money: What Happens to GM’s Workers?

In an attempt to avoid bankruptcy, General Motors announced plans to cut 23,000 jobs by 2011, with another round of buyouts in the works that will likely be its stingiest yet.

While discussions are currently taking place on what the next buyout offer will entail, the company is remaining tight-lipped for now. “We don’t have anything to announce at this time,” said GM spokeswoman Sherri Childers Arb.

The United Auto Workers union was not available for immediate comment.

But with the company in such serious financial trouble, the latest offer is likely to be stingier than what employees have received in the past.

“The financial condition of the company has deteriorated, so the ability to provide generous buyouts has declined as well,” according to John Weykamp, an auto restructuring expert at accounting firm Crowe Horwath.

Most recently GM (GM, Fortune 500) offered a buyout package in February to cut down on the number of hourly workers.

Approximately 22,000 eligible employees were offered full pension and health care coverage, in addition to the buyout package, which included $20,000 in cash and a $25,000 voucher toward the purchase of a GM car.

Employees had between February and March 24 to accept those buyout provisions. About 7,000 employees agreed to those terms, according to Childers Arb. The workers who took the buyouts had to leave the company by April 1.

 

Click to read.

Technorati Tags: black money,african american money,black wealth,african american wealth

A Woman Writes About Her Pain

My heart taken freely as the love was squeezed out of it

All the flavor is gone there is nothing left not a bit

My mind nearly destroyed as any independent thought I had was negated

My body abused- no longer is there found pleasure- once loved now hated

My soul what is left of it is freely given back to God

I’d rather risk being as though I never was rather than continue this facade

Existence in a body abused without pleasure,

A mind without independent thought, how can one measure?

A heart without love, or life without breath

A soul broken and bruised is worse than death

Let me go -be happy

Or if per chance during this thing

Some pleasure is found in my suffering

Just let me be

This misery cannot be my destiny

Let me go and be happy without you

Death can be sweet sometimes when colors are always blue

When life with someone is become so harsh and so bitter

I have given up trying to love even though I know I am no quitter

If continuing in this is proven to be my destiny

Then let me not continue to breathe just let me be

Let it not be too long

That I endure this life’s sad song

Let me go and be happy

This cannot be my destiny

Let me go -be happy

Or if per chance during this thing

Some pleasure is found in my suffering

Just let me be

This misery cannot be my destiny

Leave me alone and just let me be

Copyright 2006, by Arene

Technorati Tags: black love,black romance,black relationships,black women

20 Jobs that Pay $20 Per Hour

 

Watch the news for 30 minutes and you’ll quickly lose perspective of the value of a dollar.

That idea might seem paradoxical in this recession where every dollar counts, but think about the figures we’re hearing about: trillion dollar deficit, $800 billion stimulus, 7,000 point drop in the Dow. That’s a lot of zeros.

I’m going to go out on a limb and guess your bank account doesn’t have that many digits in it. In fact, if it does, you’re probably paying someone to read this article to you.

For the rest of us who don’t have a billion dollars in the bank and are just happy to have more money coming in than going out (even if barely), we need to reevaluate the value of a dollar. Or, in this instance, the value of $20.

In the age of astronomical governmental spending and foreclosures, our salaries can seem like insignificant sums in the grand scheme of things.

So to give you an idea of what occupations us "regular people" earn, here are 20 jobs that pay a median hourly wage of $20, which works out to $41,600 annually based on a 40-hour workweek.

Here are 20 jobs that earn $20 per hour:

 

1. Carpet installers
What they do: As their name implies, carpet installers prepare surfaces for carpet and then cut the pieces into the appropriate size for the room and ensure it’s properly installed.
Hourly median earning: $20.00*

Click to read.

Technorati Tags: black news,black money,black unemployment

Black Woman Saved Pirate-Kidnapped Captain

While the facts surrounding the kidnapping and rescue of the Maersk Alabama Captain Richard Phillips have been widely reported, less well-known is that ship which saved him was commanded by a black woman, Rear Admiral Michelle Howard.

Howard received the assignment of leading the U.S. Navy’s counter-piracy task force just three days before the Maersk Alabama was attacked by Somalia pirates.

“It’s probably one of the most exciting missions the Navy has been on in for a long while,” Howard told the Navy Times.
Howard is the first of her 1982 U.S. Naval Academy class to reach the rank of admiral. In 1999, Howard became the first African-American woman to command a U.S. Navy ship, the USS Rushmore.

Click to read.

Technorati Tags: black women,black woman,michelle howard,black news,african american news

Dr Boyce Watkins to join AOL Black Voices

Syracuse, NY – Dr. Boyce Watkins of Syracuse University has recently joined America Online as a financial writer and expert commentator.  He will be the resident Financial Expert for AOL Black Voices, the premier Black news website in America, with over 100,000 readers per day.  Dr. Watkins has been on the faculty at Syracuse University for 8 years and has worked with many major media outlets, including CNN, BET, ESPN and CBS Sports.  He is also the author of “Financial Lovemaking 101: Merging Assets with Your Partner in Ways that Feel Good”.

In his role with AOL Black Voices, Dr. Watkins will provide analysis on the economy, employment issues, celebrity finances, and money management. He will use his unique style of informative, compelling, yet down to earth financial analysis to promote financial literacy within the Black community.  The site will syndicate his popular financial series’ "Financial Lovemaking", co-hosted with S. Tia Brown (formerly a Senior Editor with "In Touch Weekly" Magazine) and "Get Your Paper Straight", a radio segment hosted with George Kilpatrick of Power 106.5 and WSYR radio.

Click to read.

Technorati Tags: aol black voices,black news,african american news,black money,african american money,black wealth,african american wealth

New Study: NCAA Athletic Scholarship Falls Short of Expenses

‘Full scholarship’ can leave college athletes with as much as $30,000 in expenses

With the 2009 NCAA men’s basketball tournament heating up, the National College Players Association (NCPA), formerly known as the Collegiate Athletes Coalition (CAC), released results of another significant study revealing the estimated shortfall between college athletes’ full scholarships and the actual cost of attendance at each Division I university.

The NCPA asserts that, by and large, universities have been deceiving recruits, many of whom are under the age of 18 and from disadvantaged backgrounds, into unknowingly being responsible for paying thousands of dollars while on “full” athletic scholarship.

“The fact is, coaches fill high school recruits’ heads with promises of free rides and full scholarships, when in fact no such things exist. The NCAA designs full scholarships to fall short of the advertised price tag of a school, leaving recruits scrambling to make ends meet,” stated United Steelworkers International President Leo W. Gerard.

NCAA rules prohibit universities from providing athletic scholarships that equal the cost of attendance. That means that a full scholarship athlete is expected to pay out of pocket for expenses that are not covered by a full scholarship.

“It’s deceptive to call it a ‘full’ athletics scholarship when it doesn’t fully pay for a university’s estimated price tag. These same universities offer ‘full’ academic scholarships that do cover the price tag of a school. This appears to be a deliberate attempt at misleading young high school student-athletes, their parents, and current college athletes,” stated NCPA President Ramogi Huma.

 

Click to read.

Technorati Tags: paying college athletes,black athletes,african american athletes,black news,african american news

White House Stunt Scares the Public

 

A jet flew over NYC this week and scared people on the ground.  Witnesses thought there would be another 9/11 incident, and the entire city was in a panic.  Click the image to watch!

Technorati Tags: black news,airforce one,african american news

Your Black Health: Swine Flu Alert Level is High

Cases of swine flu were confirmed early today in Israel and New Zealand, the first definitive proof that the dangerous new virus has spread to Asia.

The World Health Organization, which yesterday raised its pandemic threat level from 3 to 4, two levels below a full-scale pandemic, will not meet today to consider another increase, a spokesman said at a news conference.

While the agency said people should think carefully before traveling to or from areas known to be affected by the flu virus, spokesman Gregory Hartl said it considers formal travel restrictions and border closures ineffective because people who would be screened could be infected but not yet showing symptoms.

"Border controls don’t work. Screening doesn’t work," Hartl said, according to Reuters news service, describing the economically-damaging travel bans as basically pointless in public health terms.

He said "we are still at phase 4" in terms of threat level because officials do not yet "have incontrovertible evidence" that the virus spreads easily from human to human. Yesterday was the first time the international body had elevated its official estimation of the threat of an influenza pandemic up from level 3, using a system that was revised in the wake of the 2003 SARS outbreak.

 

Click to read.

Technorati Tags: black heath,african american health

Black Sports: Ex-NBA Star Jason Williams Reportedly Suicidal

Officers stunned a drunken and agitated Jayson Williams with a Taser at a swank Manhattan hotel Monday morning after reports that the troubled ex-NBA star appeared suicidal, police said.

Police were called to the hotel in Battery Park City in lower Manhattan around 4 a.m. after a report that the former New Jersey Nets star was suicidal, authorities said.

When officers arrived, there were empty bottles of prescription drugs strewn around the disheveled hotel suite of the 6-foot-10 Williams, police said.

Emergency Services Unit police, an elite team trained to deal with emotionally disturbed people, responded and stunned Williams with a Taser, handcuffed him and took him to a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation.

Williams played nine seasons in the NBA with the Nets and the Philadelphia 76ers before retiring in 2000.

He was convicted in 2004 of trying to cover up the shooting death of his hired driver Costas "Gus" Christofi at his mansion in Alexandria Township, N.J., in February 2002.

 

Click to read.

Technorati Tags: jason williams,black athletes,black news,african american news,black sports,african american sports

President Obama’s Weekly Address

Your Black Gossip with Lady Drama: Chingy’s Interesting Sex Life….Ray J’s show is Done

What’s going on with Chingy and this….uhhh….woman?  Lady Drama thinks that Rihanna’s new boyfriend is a decoy.  Click the image to watch!

Technorati Tags: chingy,black celebrity gossip,hip hop,rap,rappers,mario,rihanna,lady drama

Lady Drama: The Celebs are out for ESPN

Idris Elba and Michael Ealy both attended ESPN Magazine’s 6th annual pre-draft party in NY and I must say they both look damn good! How’s a girl to choose? Oh yea and other celebs hit up the event as well check them out below:



Thanks to Wireimage for the flicks

Technorati Tags: idris elba,black celebrity gossip

14 Year Old Develops Surgery Technique

He will present his findings today to the medical community.

A Jacksonville researcher has developed a way of sewing up patients after hysterectomies that stands t;o reduce the risk of complications and simplify the tricky procedure for less-seasoned surgeons.

Oh, and he’s 14 years old.

Feel free to read that again.

Tony Hansberry II is a ninth-grader who, as it happens, will be presenting his findings today before an auditorium filled with doctors just like any of his board-certified – and decades older – colleagues would. He would say he was following in the footsteps of "Doogie Howser, M.D." – if he weren’t too young to have heard of the television show.

Instead, he says that his remarkable accomplishments are merely steps toward his ultimate goal of becoming a University of Florida-trained neurosurgeon.

"I just want to help people and be respected, knowing that I can save lives," said Tony, the son of a registered nurse mom and an African Methodist Episcopal church pastor dad.

To be sure, he had some help along the way, but, then again, most researchers do. The seeds of his project were planted last summer during his internship at the University of Florida’s Center for Simulation Education and Safety Research, based at Shands Jacksonville.

To understand why a teenager would be a hospital intern, it’s important to know that Tony is a student down the street from Shands at Darnell-Cookman Middle/High School, a magnet school geared toward all things medical. (Students, for example, master suturing by the eighth grade.)

 

Click to read.

Technorati Tags: black youth,black education,black students,african american students,. tony hansberry

Diddy’s Show is coming Back

Checkout the job announcement on Media Bistro:

The unemployment rate may be at an all-time high, but at least one person is hiring…DIDDY.
VH1 and Sean P. Diddy Combs are now accepting resumes for potential candidates to compete for the position of P.Diddy’s Personal Assistant on the reality TV show, "I WANT TO WORK FOR DIDDY 2."
Diddy will once again hold a nationwide search for an Assistant with the mental and physical stamina it takes to work for one of the world’s most high profile CEOs.
A batch of new hopefuls will once again be put through the rigors of what it takes to win one of the toughest, but most rewarding jobs in "the business."

 

Technorati Tags: diddy,hip hop,black celebrity gossip,black news,african american news

Why Ebony, Jet and the LA Times are All Struggling

For grins, next time you’re in the mood for a movie, go rent "The Paper" with Michael Keaton and Glenn Close. Released in 1994, it involves a day in the life of a New York City tabloid newspaper.

A self-admitted tech geek, Chris Pirillo is president of Lockergnome.com, a blogging network.

What a difference a decade (and a half) makes.

It’s a bit like a denizen of the year 1909 trying to fathom the relevance of what went on behind the scenes of 1894′s cutthroat horse and buggy industry while Henry Ford’s factories roll out Model T after Model T, dramatically changing the world’s landscape — for better and worse — in ways we’re still dealing with here in the 21st century.

Recently, someone asked me about the last time I’d picked up a newspaper, and I couldn’t honestly remember when that was.

Actually, no — I take that back. I picked up a local weekly from our driveway and tossed it into the recycling bin just the other day.

Why dirty up my hands with newsprint when I can just go see the same information presented in the more searchable and easier to share format of a Web edition?

And what if a so-called news agency doesn’t have an online edition of its paper? Then I find its relevancy even more dubious and obsolete since it’s failed to scoop this bit of hot news that should be apparent to anyone with brains in their noggins: print media is dying.

Failure to adapt to the rapidly changing methods of media distribution will leave the clueless wallowing behind like mastodons in the muck of a Pleistocene tar pit (about as slow and agonizing of a death as I can imagine).

I’m not an elitist or anything. I’ve just grown accustomed to getting my news online — something that gives me the ability to pass interesting articles immediately on to friends. Without scissors, paper scraps, and messy fingers, you just can’t do that with print.

Click to read.

Technorati Tags: black technology,ebony magazine,jet magazine,bankruptcy,black news,african american news

Black News: Hampton U Latest VA School to Have a Shooting

A former Hampton University student armed with three guns followed a pizza delivery man into the student’s former dorm early Sunday, shot the delivery man and a dorm monitor, then turned the gun on himself, university officials said. All three survived.

No current students were injured and both victims and the alleged shooter were expected to recover. Officials could offer no motive for the shooting.

Hampton President William R. Harvey, who said he arrived within 15 minutes of the shooting, told a news conference the campus shooting could have been much worse.

"I think we are very, very fortunate. This could have been another — you fill in the blank," Harvey said.

The 18-year-old former student, who is from New York City, apparently parked his car off campus to avoid a vehicle checkpoint at Hampton’s main gate, then followed the pizza delivery man on foot and inside a freshman dormitory, Harkness Hall. Once inside, he shot the pizza man and entered the monitor’s office and fired three shots at him, then shot himself, Hampton University Police Chief Leroy Crosby said.

Crosby said he didn’t know what prompted the shooting.

The monitor, who suffered two gunshot wounds in his arms and a third in the leg, has been released from the hospital, Harvey said.

 

Click to read.

Technorati Tags: hampton university,hbcus,black news headlines,african american news,black scholars

Obama Gets Good Reviews for first 100 Days

The reporters assembled Thursday morning to hear the results of a new poll measuring public attitudes toward President Obama did their best to ferret out nuggets of bad news. How durable is the president’s high job-approval rating (63 percent) and higher-yet personal rating (73 percent)? One bit of bad news and the rainbow disappears? asked one scribe. What about the narrative Republicans are advancing that Obama is a weak president who can be pushed around? Another wondered how much of Obama’s "halo effect" could be attributed to the nation’s "historic self-congratulations" over the breakthrough his election represented.

But voters aren’t in a self-congratulatory mood. They’re worried about the economy, and the Obama that emerges in the data is a strong leader with convictions who has held up despite the battering he’s gotten in the three months since taking office. Pressed to point to red flags for Obama in the numbers, Pew Research Center president Andy Kohut pleaded, "I’m trying, I’m trying." The poll was completed before controversy spiked this week over the release of torture memos and whether to hold Bush-era officials accountable. Obama had always danced around the issue, but then, in what seemed an abrupt reversal, said he would consider a truth commission if it were bipartisan and structured outside of Congress’s normal hearing process, which sounds reasonable, but ignited such a partisan uproar that Obama backed off two days later.

If you’re a Republican, a truth commission looks like retribution.

 

Click to read.

Technorati Tags: barack obama,100 days,black news,black politics,african american news,african american politics

Writer Points to Racism in Player Criticism

The reaction to the news of California high schooler Jeremy Tyler‘s plan was as predictable as it was tired. The New York Times reported Thursday that Tyler, a 6-foot-11 junior at San Diego High, plans to skip his senior year in high school to play professionally in Europe. In two years, when his high school class is one year past graduation, he’ll return to the U.S. and enter the NBA draft.

The tongue-clucking was deafening. You’d think the Book of Revelation had been revised to include skipping a year of high school to play pro basketball right between the sun turning black and the moon turning red. This will kill college basketball, some said. This kid is throwing away his future, others said.

Since no European newspaper sports editor offered me a six-figure salary to skip my senior year of high school, I don’t feel qualified to rip Tyler’s choice. I’ve never walked in his high-tops. But I do have a few questions for the folks who consider Tyler’s move an abomination.

If he played golf, would you feel differently?

If he played tennis, would you feel differently?

If he had gotten his own show on the Disney Channel, would you feel differently?

 

Click to read.

Technorati Tags: jeremy tyler,black athletes,black sports,paying college athletes

Your Black Health: Swine Flu Outbreak a Problem

The World Health Organization warned countries around the world Saturday to be on alert for any unusual flu outbreaks after a unique new swine flu virus was implicated in possibly dozens of human deaths in North America.

WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said the outbreak in Mexico and the United States constituted a "public health emergency of international concern."

The decision means countries around the world will be asked to step up reporting and surveillance of the disease, which she said had "pandemic potential" because it is an animal virus strain infecting people. But the agency cannot at this stage say "whether or not it will indeed cause a pandemic," she added.

Chan made the decision to declare public health emergency of international concern after consulting with influenza experts from around the world. The emergency committee was called together Saturday for the first time since it was created in 2007.

Click to read.

Technorati Tags: black health,african american health,black news,african american news

Lady Drama: It’s Official – Oprah’s Hair is Real

This photo allegedly proves that Oprah Winfrey’s hair is real.  At least that’s what they are saying about it.  I’m not sure, but it does look like she’s got some real stuff on her head.

Technorati Tags: oprah winfrey,black celebrities,black women,african american women,does oprah wear a weave?

Dr. Christopher Metzler Breaks Down Important Legal Battle

by Dr. Christopher Metzler, Georgetown University

As we worried about whether Michelle Obama should have touched the Queen, whether Bo (the White House dog) will be as famous as Barney and whether Levi Johnson of Sara Plain fame practiced safe sex all of the time, the Supreme Court of the United States was wading into the racial water with an American public that is now ensconced into "post-racial" cocoon because of the election of Barack Obama.

This week the Roberts court heard the case of Ricci, ET Al. In this case, several white and one Latino firefighter in New Haven Connecticut asked the Court to decide whether the city violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the United States Constitution by throwing out a promotion test in which the plaintiffs but no blacks scored high enough to be promoted. The rather clinical legal questions are:

• Whether the city’s failure to certify the results of promotional exams violated the disparate (or different) treatment provisions of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
• Whether the city’s failure to certify the results of the promotional exams also violated Title VII since Title VII makes it unlawful for employers to "adjust the scores of, use different cutoff scores for, or otherwise alter the results, of employment tests on the basis of race."
• Whether the city’s failure to certify the results of the promotional examinations violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution.

As clinical as these legal question are, they have significant real life political ramifications. Although the plaintiffs in this case are firefighters, the decision will affect employment law, affirmative action, diversity and they way in which employers and others seek to remedy the lingering effects of discrimination. The reality is that not everyone believes that discrimination still occurs in America since slavery has been outlawed, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 has been implemented and President Obama occupies the White House. Regardless of the position one takes on these issues, the significance of the Court’s decision cannot be underestimated for many reasons, a few of which I have outlined below.

First, the Roberts court has not spoken on race in any significant way and is eager to do so. Of course, it is Justice Kennedy who will ultimately decide this case and both the liberal and conservative blocs of the Court will work to craft a decision which he can sign onto. The difficulty for the liberal wing of the Court is that this case is as much an ideological case as it is a legal one. Good old fashioned liberal ideology will require a decision which reaffirms the need for government to be zealous in forming race-conscious decisions. In order to uphold the city’s decision, the liberal wing will have to convince Kennedy that the city’s decision to refuse to certify the test results was based on the fact that the test impacted Black fire fighters negatively and worse because it ensured that none of them would be promoted.

Click to read from Dr. Metzler and other Black Scholars by clicking here.

Technorati Tags: black news,black politics,black experts,black professors,african american professors

David Duke Kicked out of the Czech Republic

A former US Ku Klux Klan chief arrested here on a speaking tour was freed during the night but will be forced to leave the country later Saturday, Czech police said.

David Duke, the former Grand Wizard of the Louisiana-founded Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, arrived in Prague on Friday at the invitation of a local far-right group, Narodni Odpor (National Resistance).

The 59-year-old US citizen had been due to give three lectures in Prague and Brno in the east of the country and present the Czech translation of his 1998 book "My Awakening."

He was arrested Friday afternoon in the Black Eagle restaurant in Prague’s old town and questioned for several hours on suspicion of promoting movements seeking the suppression of human rights, police said.

His book contains passages denying the Holocaust, a crime punishable by up to three years in prison in the Czech republic, police spokesman Jan Mikulovsky said.

 

Click to read.

Technorati Tags: racism,black news,african american news

Beyonce Tries Again with a New Movie

By Reviews R Me

Most of us don’t expect much from Beyonce on the big screen.  I didn’t expect much either.  I only hoped that I could make it through the movie without throwing up or wondering who in the holy hell told her that she could act in the first place.  But this movie was different.  Beyonce did it right and did it well.  Also, with Idris on screen, you always had something good to look at.

Really, you could call this movie “Fatal Attraction for Black people”, since the white lady was the evil monster and all the black people were scared of her.  Shoot, as crazy as she was, I was scared of her too!  You could tell that she and Idris were carrying the movie, while Beyonce was more of an extra.  That’s probably good to let the real actors hold it down.

I give Beyonce a B on this performance, which is better than the failing grade she normally gets.  Check out the trailer by clicking the image below:

 

Technorati Tags: beyonce knowels,idris elba,black celebrity gossip,black movie reviews

Your Black News: Unemployment Hits College Grads Hard

by Algernon Austin

Fifteen months into a deep recession, college-educated white workers still had a relatively low unemployment rate of 3.8% in March of this year. The same could not be said for African Americans with four-year degrees. The March 2009 unemployment rate for college-educated blacks was 7.2%—almost twice as high as the white rate—and up 4.5 percentage points from March 2007, before the start of the current recession (see chart). Hispanics and Asian Americans with college degrees were in between,

 

Click to read.

Technorati Tags: black news,african american news,black money,african american money,black wealth,african american wealth

White Rapper Asher Roth Calls Black Women “Nappy Headed Hoes”

White rapper Asher Roth chose to put his foot in his mouth on Twitter:

“At rutgers stirring up a suckus,” Roth tweeted. Okay, not bad.

Then: “At rutgers stirring up a ruckus.” Oh no, is he tweet-rapping?

“Been a day of rest and relaxation, sorry twitter – hanging out with nappy headed hoes.” Boom.

Click to read.

Technorati Tags: asher roth,black women,nappy headed hoes

Lady Drama: Alicia Keys Behind the Scenes

Wanna see something amazing? Check out the Alicia Keys photoshoot for Ebony mag!  Click the image to watch!

 

Technorati Tags: alicia keys,black celebrity gossip,ebony magazine

Ebony and Jet Magazines May Go Down

The black blogosphere is buzzing with the rumor that two media staples of the African American community are on the verge of disappearing. In February, Black Enterprise magazine announced that Ebony and Jet magazines were "restructuring to avoid layoffs," with the cheerful sub-headline: "Johnson Publishing Co. employees told to reapply for jobs."
Now in late April, people are e-mailing, tweeting and talking about the possible irrevocable demise of the only media brands every black person in America knows. Some are even starting a campaign to save the magazines with a subscription drive. A quote via the site Racialicious:

Click to read.

Technorati Tags: ebony magazine,jet magazine,black news,black magazines,black journalists,african american news,african american journalists

Black News: Youth are Leaving Detroit to find Jobs

Isaiah Brooks expects to graduate soon from Focus: HOPE, a non-profit machinist school in Detroit, where his hopes of getting a job are fading along with the local auto industry.

Machinists are the backbone of automaking, but Brooks might have to leave town to find a job, like many other young people in this city.

"You got to go where the money is," he said during a question and answer session with his classmates at Focus: HOPE. Brooks, 19, is thinking of moving back to his native state of Texas to work as an auto mechanic with his father.

 

Click to read.

Technorati Tags: black news,african american news,black money,african american money,detroit

Black News: Obama Pressured on Torture

The White House and the Democratic leadership in the Senate signaled on Thursday that they would block for now any effort to establish an independent commission to investigate the Bush administration’s approval of harsh interrogation techniques.

The latest on President Obama, the new administration and other news from Washington and around the nation. Join the discussion.

• More Politics News

In doing so, they sought to reduce pressure for a full inquiry — from, among others, the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi — that has grown more intense since President Obama suggested on Tuesday that he would be open to such an investigation. While the White House has contended that Mr. Obama never actively supported an inquiry, his firmer opposition to the possibility, communicated to Congressional leaders in meetings on Wednesday night and Thursday, represented a shift in emphasis.

Meeting with the Democratic leadership on Wednesday night, Mr. Obama said a special inquiry would steal time and energy from his policy agenda, and could mushroom into a wider distraction looking back at the Bush years, people briefed on the discussion said. Mr. Obama, they said, repeated much the same message on Thursday at a bipartisan meeting with Congressional leaders.

The Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, and other top Senate Democrats endorsed Mr. Obama’s view on Thursday, telling reporters at a news conference at the Capitol that they preferred to wait for the results of an investigation by the Senate Intelligence Committee expected late this year.

Click to read.

Technorati Tags: black news,african american news,black politics,african american politics,barack obama,torture

The Drama Files Hip Hop: Funkmaster Flex Wants to Ban Interscope Artists!

In case you don’t know, this is huge.  Funkmaster Flex, a DJ on Hot 97 in New York, said that he wants to ban Interscope artists.  That means that Eminem and Dr. Dre would be out of the rotation, along with 50 Cent and others.  Read below:

“Like I told you, Interscope Records is a label,” Funkmaster Flex explained on his show. “They have G-Unit—they have 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo. They haveAkon’s label too…A lot of your favorite artists New York, but let me tell you something. That label is trying to make some decisions. Nino, let me tell you something Nino. New York, I’m talking to a person who makes decisions. Who does things up there moving funny style.”

Technorati Tags: funkmaster flex,black celebrity gossip,50 cent,eminem,dr. dre

Condoleezza Rice: First Fall-Guy for Bush Torture

 

Condoleezza Rice gave permission for the CIA to use waterboarding techniques on the alleged al-Qaida terrorist Abu Zubaydah as early as July 2002, the first known official approval for the technique, according to a report released by the Senate intelligence committee yesterday.

The revelation indicates that Rice, who at the time was national security adviser and went on to be secretary of state, played a greater role than she admitted in written testimony last autumn.

The committee’s narrative report (pdf) also shows that dissenting legal views about the interrogation methods were brushed aside repeatedly. The mood within the Bush administration at the time is caught in a handwritten note attached to a December 2002 memo from Donald Rumsfeld, the then defence secretary, on the use of stress positions. "I stand for 8-10 hours a day. Why is standing limited to 4 hours?" he asked.

click to read.

Technorati Tags: condolezza rice,black news,black politics,african american news,african american politics

Black Celebrity News: Terrence Howard is Angry

Marvel "didn’t honor my contract," says the actor, who was replaced in the sequel by Don Cheadle

Terrence Howard is not pleased he was replaced in the "Iron Man" sequel over a reported salary dispute.
"Marvel made a choice, and it was a very, very bad choice," the actor — whose role was given to Don Cheadle — tells Parade.com. "They didn’t keep their word. They didn’t honor my contract."

Howard says producers didn’t share the profits of the flick — which earned over $318 million — with most of the actors.

Click to read.

Technorati Tags: terrence howard,don cheadle,black celebrity gossip

Black News: Isiah Thomas Gets an Interesting Deal to Coach

If FIU makes money on Isiah Thomas’ name, the Hall of Famer will cash in as well.

The former New York Knicks coach and president will earn $1.29 million in base salary and scheduled bonuses from FIU if he stays for five seasons, plus be eligible for incentives and any state-approved raises.

He also could reap plenty of additional money along the way, according to documents obtained Thursday by The Associated Press.

As a bonus, Thomas will receive nearly half of any gross revenues from ticket sales, commissions collected on food and beverage concessions and sponsorships —

Click to read.

Technorati Tags: black athletes,black sports,african american athletes,african american sports,black news headlines,african american news

Black News: Jamie Foxx Got Therapy for Movie Role

Oscar-winning actor, singer, comedian and radio-show host Jamie Foxx found it hard to disconnect from his role as a homeless schizophrenic in the new movie "The Soloist." The part was so emotionally taxing that Foxx started therapy to help him cope with the role and keep himself separate from the character.

"It was something that I enjoyed, but it shredded me. I went to places that I never thought I would ever go," he said, according to Bossip. "I just remember being in my bathroom broke down, talking to my manager, like, ‘I don’t know if I’ll be able to finish this.’ "

 

Click to read.

Technorati Tags: Jamie Foxx,the soloist,black celebrity gossip

Black News: Obama Clamps down on Credit Card Companies

Ramping up his campaign to crack down on credit cards, President Obama met Thursday with more than a dozen executives of card-issuing companies to press his case for new consumer protections.

Obama, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and others met with executives of leading financial institutions like Visa (V, Fortune 500), American Express (AXP, Fortune 500), Mastercard (MA, Fortune 500), Capital One (COF, Fortune 500), and several big banks like Citigroup (C, Fortune 500), JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) and Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500).

The White House meeting came a day after credit card legislation opposed by the financial services industry moved forward on Capitol Hill. The House Financial Services Committee voted 48-19 to approve a bill to clamp down on rates and fees; nine Republicans joined the panel’s Democrats in voting for it.

The House bill would, among other things, ban "arbitrary" interest rate increases, prohibit excessive fees and order more disclosure. It could go to the full House for a vote as soon as next week.

Click to read.

Technorati Tags: barack obama,black money,african american money,black wealth,african american wealth

Somalia PM Speaks on Pirate Problem

Somalia’s prime minister told CNN Thursday that the international naval patrols in the Gulf of Aden are not solving the problem of piracy in the region.

Somalia’s prime minister says the international naval patrols are having little effect on the piracy problem.

Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke pointed to the recent increase in pirate attacks as evidence, and called for the U.N. arms embargo on Somalia to be lifted so the government can fight back against the pirates and local militant Islamist groups.

"One of our biggest problems is that al-Shabaab has AK-47s, and the pirates have AK-47s, and the government has AK-47s," the prime minister told CNN’s David McKenzie in Nairobi, Kenya.

"You can’t expect the government to win against such a problem. The only way is to have sufficient capability, and it starts with lifting the arms embargo. You know, we have been handicapped by those sanctions." Watch more from Somalia’s PM »

The arms embargo on Somalia has been in effect for more than 16 years. Most serviceable weapons and almost all ammunition currently available in the country have been delivered since 1992, in violation of the embargo, according to the U.N. Security Council.

Pirate attacks on ships in the Gulf of Aden and off Somalia’s east coast accounted for 61 of the 102 attacks during the first quarter. That compares to six incidents for the same period in 2008, the IMB said. See map of attacks »

The European Union and several nations, including the United States, have naval forces in the region to protect vessels against pirate attacks. The head of EU naval forces in the waters off Somalia said he believes navies can defeat pirates on the high seas, but ultimately restoring long-term stability to Somalia will be what stops the attacks.

Click to read.

Technorati Tags: somalia pirates,african news,black news headlines,african american news,black news

Ex-NFL Star Arrested on Drug Charges

Former Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Jimmy Smith was pulled over Wednesday afternoon and found with crack cocaine and marijuana in his car, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

Smith, who played 10 seasons for Jacksonville, was pulled over on Interstate 95 in Jacksonville for excessive window tint on his 2009 Mercedes Benz, Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Bill Leeper said.

The trooper reported that the inside of the car smelled like burnt marijuana. During a search, the trooper found crack cocaine, marijuana and a business card with powder cocaine residue in the car’s center console.

Smith faces multiple drug charges, plus a charge of driving with a suspended license. He was being held at the Duval County Jail with no bond set.

 

Click to read.

Technorati Tags: jimmy smith,drug charges,black athletes,african american athletes,black sports,african american sports,black news,african american news

Former Columbia Prof w Noose on her Door Sues for $200M

A professor who gained national attention when a noose was found on her office door and was later fired for alleged plagiarism has filed a defamation lawsuit against her former school.

A former professor is suing Columbia University’s Teachers College for defamation.

Madonna Constantine, formerly of the Teachers College of Columbia University, is seeking $200 million in the lawsuit filed Tuesday in New York State Supreme Court.

Constantine contends her scholarly reputation was ruined when the school in February 2008 released the results of what it said was an 18-month investigation into the plagiarism allegations. The school at the time said it found "numerous instances in which she used others’ work without attribution in papers she published in academic journals over the past five years."

She was immediately suspended and later fired in June 2008.

"This was a scheme cooked up between the head of the department and former faculty," said Paul J. Giacomo Jr., the lawyer representing Constantine. "We had evidence of her original writing that dates back to the 1990s, but it was altered or dismissed."

A spokeswoman for the Teachers College said, "This case is totally without merit and (the college) intends to defend against it vigorously."

Giacomo said the "baseless" charges of plagiarism, coming on the heels of the October 2007 noose incident, made some members of the media question that incident.

 

Click to read.

Technorati Tags: madonna constantine,black scholars,african american scholars,black professors,african american professors

Obama Skipping UN Racism Conference is a Slap in the Face

by Dr. Ronald Walters, University of Maryland

I am missing something here.  President Barack Obama just went to Europe and Iraq and made speeches saying that he would be deferential to Communist China,  that he would meet without conditions with the leadership of Iran and that he wanted to open up a new relationship with the Islamic world.  Then he went to the Conference of the Americas in Trinidad and shook the hand of Hugo Chavez of Venezuela who has said some devilish things about America and the Bush administration.  But the key issue that took the conference over was the American overture to Cuba to talk, in response to Raul Castro’s statement that he would talk with the U. S. and that everything would be on the table.  Moreover, the Obama administration has said that it wanted to open up a new chapter in its relationship with the United Nations.  To that end, it has appointed an African American  Ambassador and put in its application for a seat on the Human Rights Commission.  Against this background, the decision of the Obama administration not to go to the United Nations Conference On Racism in Geneva, Switzerland April 20-24 would appear to be a powerful refutation of this relatively liberal approach to the international community it has established.

Click to read.

Technorati Tags: dr. ronald walters,black politics,african american politics,racism,barack obama

NY Pastor Gets $600K Pay Package

Dr Boyce Watkins

www.BoyceWatkins.com

I read today about the financial compensation package of pastor Brad Braxton of the New Riverside Church in Manhattan.  Here is the breakdown of Braxton’s compensation:

$250,000 in salary.

$11,500 monthly housing allowance.

Private school tuition for his child.

A full-time maid.

Entertainment, travel and "professional development" allowances.

Pension and life insurance benefits.

An equity allowance for Braxton to save up to buy a home.

On top of that, Braxton immediately hired a new second in command at more than $300,000 a year.

The total value of the package is estimated to be $600,000 per year. 

All I can say is “wow”.  No disrespect to this man or his congregation, but he would NOT be preaching at my church.  What was most problematic about the church’s decision to give Braxton such a ridiculous compensation package was that they didn’t seem to clear it with the membership, many of whom are filing suit over Braxton’s pay. As a Finance Professor, I must admit that I personally become uncomfortable hearing men and women of God talking about money more than I do.  I must disagree with Rev. TD Jakes, who said that “Jesus is a product”.  Sorry brother, Nikes are a product.  Cheeseburgers are a product.  Jesus is a spirit that should lead us to pursue a good that is greater than our bank accounts.  I am not sure if many pastors agree with that assessment. 

Howard Stern Embarrasses Beyonce Big Time

Howard Stern plays a horrible tape of Beyonce singing.  Turns out that it was a hoax, but damn….she sounds as bad as she did in Dream Girls!

Beyonce sounds worse than you’ve ever heard her.  Turns out that the tape is not real.

Click the image to watch.

 

Technorati Tags: beyonce knowels,howard stern,if I were a boy,black celebrity gossip

Your Black Money: Should Men earn more Money than women?

In this episode of Financial Lovemaking, Dr. Boyce and S. Tia Brown discuss Mel Gibson’s Half billion dollar divorce, Beyonce and Jay-Z and whether men are uncomfortable earning less money than women.  Click the image to watch!

Technorati Tags: black money,african american,black wealth,african american wealth,couples and money,relationships and money,love and money

Black Authors: Playwright Wins the Nobel Prize

Stories of race and gender prevailed at this year’s Pulitzer Prizes, with "Ruined," Lynn Nottage’s harrowing tale of survival set against the backdrop of an African civil war, winning for drama Monday and books about slavery, civil rights and Andrew Jackson also receiving awards.

In a rare victory for the short story, Elizabeth Strout’s "Olive Kitteridge," a collection set in New England and linked by the forthright title character, a math teacher and general scold with an understanding heart. It was the first book of short stories to win since 2000 (Jhumpa Lahiri’s "Interpreter of Maladies").

Three prize winners centered on racial history, from colonial times to the 20th century.

The general nonfiction award went to "Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II" by Douglas A. Blackmon, Atlanta bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal. Newsweek editor Jon Meacham won the biography prize for "American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House," a best-seller about the populist president whose sympathy for the less fortunate never extended to slaves.

"Jackson represents the best and the worst of us," Meacham said.

"It’s a huge honor for me," Blackmon said of his Pulitzer, "but more importantly I hope it really validates the idea that this is a part of American history that we have ignored and neglected, and it’s time for a really dramatic reinterpretation of what happened to African-Americans during that period of time."

 

Click to read.

Technorati Tags: lynn nottage,black news,african american news,black writers,african american writers

Al Sharpton Hit with Massive Fine

The Rev. Al Sharpton and his National Action Network have reportedly been fined $285,000 for violating federal election rules during his 2004 bid for president.
The Federal Election Commission, in a decision to be made public next month, found Sharpton’s Democratic primary campaign accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions from private sources, according to the New York Post.

Click to read.

Technorati Tags: al sharpton,al sharpton fine,black news,black leadership,african american news,black politics,african american politics

“The Fridge” in in Serious Condition

Former Chicago Bears defensive lineman William “The Refrigerator” Perry is in serious condition at a South Carolina hospital, a spokeswoman said Tuesday.

Perry, 46, was hospitalized to deal with complications from Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a chronic inflammation disorder of the peripheral nerves, the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune reported.

Aiken Regional Medical Center spokeswoman Melissa Summer declined to give additional details Tuesday.

Perry’s nephew, Purnell Perry, told the Sun-Times his uncle was admitted more than a week ago but was expected to recover.

 

Click to read.

Technorati Tags: black news headlines,african american news,william the refrigerator perry,black athletes,black sports,african american athletes,african american sports

Dr. Christopher Metzler: Why Did Obama Boycott the UN Conference on Racism?

As President Obama shook hands with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, he was willing to take the political heat. He said that he was not concerned about the politics of the hand shake and more concerned about extending an open hand to nations hostile to the U.S. The open hand, it seems, is not so open after all. The President announced that, like the Bush Administration, the United States will boycott the world anti-racism conference (Durban II), which opens in Geneva today. According to the President, "I would love to be involved in a useful conference that addressed continuing issues of racism and discrimination around the globe. We expressed in the run-up to this conference our concerns that if you adopted all of the language from 2001, that’s not something we can sign up for. "Hopefully some concrete steps come out of the conference that we can partner with other countries on to actually reduce discrimination around the globe, but this wasn’t an opportunity to do it."

He is not willing to take the political heat in this case because there is language criticizing Israel and the West in the final document. As the world celebrates the election of the first Black President, the United States boycotts the world conference against racism. Symbolism, it seems has met political reality.

On this issue, it is difficult to reconcile the President’s rhetoric with his actions. The President has repeatedly said that his policy is to talk with those with whom he disagrees. He is talking to Chavez, to Ahmadinejad, to Medvedev and Kim but cannot talk to human rights defenders about the best way to address the continuing significance of racism world wide? Surely the message cannot be that the United States does not believe that the right to be free from racism is not a basic human right.

Click to read more from our Black Scholar’s Blog.

Technorati Tags: christopher metzler,black scholars,african american scholars,black professors,african american professors,barack obama,black politics

Oprah Cancels her Columbine Show

Cassie Sadusky, 25, left, and her sister Jetta, 22, visit the gravesites of Columbine students Corey DePooter and Rachel Scott at Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens near Littleton, Colo., on Monday. (Ed Andrieski/Associated Press)

U.S. talk show host Oprah Winfrey cancelled Monday’s taped show marking the 10th anniversary of the Columbine High School shootings, saying she felt it focused too much on the shooters rather than the victims.

"I decided to pull the Columbine show today. After reviewing it, I thought it focused too much on the killers. Today, hold a thought for the Columbine community. This is a hard day for them," Winfrey wrote on Oprah.com and her Facebook page.

Winfrey’s action came amid muted commemorations of the massacre in the Denver, Colo., suburb of Littleton that claimed the lives of 12 students and a teacher. Another 26 people were wounded.

Click to read.

Technorati Tags: oprah winfrey,black news,african american news,black politics,african american politics

Cop Jokes about Killing a Black Man

The NAACP is telling the police department in Erie, PA to fire an officer who was caught on camera making jokes about shooting a Black man in the head.  Click the image to watch.

 

Technorati Tags: police brutality,black news,african american news,black politics,african american politics

Black News: Jill Scott Has a Baby

Jill Scott and her fiance Lil’ John (no not the rapper) welcomed their first child into the world yesterday. The newborn is named Jack, and is said to be in good health according to Jill’s mom. CONGRATULATIONS to them, and it is good to see a celeb actually naming their child a sane name.
–
Posted By LadyBaby to Your Black Gossip: The Official Source of Black Celebrity Gossip at 4/21/2009 07:11:00 PM

Technorati Tags: jill scott,black news,african american news,black celebrities

Lady Drama – Your Black Celebrities: Cassie Needs Half a Weave, Solange and her Safe-Sex Vendetta

 

Lady Drama breaks down the major fights between the Real Housewives, Nick and Mariah’s Baby mission, why Cassie needs half a weave, and why Solange should not be teaching safe sex to nobody!

Click the image to watch the latest episode! Visit our Black Celebrity Gossip Channel to see the rest!

 

Technorati Tags: black celebrity gossip,cassie,solange,mariah carey,nick cannon,african american celebrities,black celebrities,lady drama

Russell Simmons Responds to Dr Boyce Watkins in the New York Times

 

To the YourBlackWorld family:  Some of you saw my recent critique of the RushCard, the new prepaid debit card issued by Russell Simmons.  Some took my article about the RushCard and interview about the Rushcard on BBC World news and The New York Times to imply that I have serious problems with the way Russell Simmons does business.  While I do not feel that Russell, nor anyone else, is above being critiqued by the Black community, it should be made clear that I respect much of Simmons’ work, especially what he has done to reduce the severity of the drug laws that incarcerate so many Black men across America. 

I must admit that I’ve been disturbed by the recent trend of African American urban role models lending themselves out to companies such as Rent-a-Center to encourage people of color to participate in arguably one-sided financial transactions.  But I must be clear when I say that the RushCard is not necessarily a bad deal for those who need it.  My greatest challenge to President Obama is to find ways to ensure that all Americans have access to basic services, such as bank accounts, so they are not forced to pay high fees in order to access their own money.  I cannot endorse an argument which states that Russell is necessarily a philanthropist (as his ads claim) because his company provides an option that improves upon the horrific options already in place.  So, while I agree 100% that the RushCard is better than check cashing venues in the Black community, my greatest concern is that many members of the urban poor are still paying the high cost of poverty in America.  It is my hope that Russell sincerely fulfills his role as philanthropist, leader and financial enabler by genuinely working to solve critical liquidity and financial literacy problems in urban America.  I have complete faith that he can accomplish whatever he puts his mind to.

So, out of fairness to Russell, I want all of you to see his response to the New York Times piece, which is written below.  My goal is not to think for you, it’s to encourage you to think for yourself.

 Click to read.

Technorati Tags: the rushcard,black money,african american money,black wealth,african american wealth,russell simmons,hip hop,urban america

Ex-CIA Chief Accuses Obama of National Security Risks

A former head of the CIA slammed President Obama on Sunday for releasing four Bush-era memos, saying the new president has compromised national security.

Former CIA chief Michael Hayden said Sunday it is wrong to make interrogation methods public.

Michael Hayden, who served as former President Bush’s last CIA director from 2006 to 2009, said releasing the memos outlining terror interrogation methods emboldened terrorist groups such as al Qaeda.

"What we have described for our enemies in the midst of a war are the outer limits that any American would ever go to in terms of interrogating an al Qaeda terrorist. That’s very valuable information," Hayden said during an appearance on "Fox News Sunday."

"By taking [certain] techniques off the table, we have made it more difficult — in a whole host of circumstances I can imagine — for CIA officers to defend the nation," he said.

Click to read.

Technorati Tags: barack obama,black news headlines,black politics,african american news,african american politics

Condi Asks for Same Speaking Fee as GW

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is charging the same fee — $150,000 — per speech as does former President George W. Bush.
So, as Bush emerges again into the public eye — he threw out the first pitch of the season at the Texas Rangers’ home opener — he’s finding that he’s not the biggest star of his own administration.

Information about the speech fees Rice and Bush charge comes from a corporate political adviser who asked the Washington Speakers Bureau about their speaking fees.
Bush spoke last month in Calgary at a private event hosted by tinePublic Inc. He is scheduled to speak before the Economic Club of Southwestern Michigan on May 28, his first domestic post-presidency speech.

Click to read.

Technorati Tags: condolezza rice,black news headlines,black politics,african american politics

Good luck: Nick Cannon Tries to Control the Media

Mariah Carey’s husband Nick Cannon has urged the press to stop speculating about when the couple will welcome their first child – calling the relentless pregnancy rumors "disrespectful".

The pair wed in the Bahamas last year and have been dogged by baby rumors ever since.

Earlier this week, the Hero hitmaker was forced to deny reports she is undergoing fertility treatment to help her become pregnant.

And now Cannon has hit back – insisting the media should give the couple some space.

 

Click to read.

Technorati Tags: nick cannon,mariah carey,black celebrity gossip,black news headlines,african american news,black news

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. Subject to Ethics Investigation

A congressional ethics panel is investigating Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) after allegations last year that some of his associates had discussed helping then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich with fundraising if Blagojevich agreed to appoint Jackson to the seat vacated by then-Sen. Barack Obama.

In a statement, Jackson’s office said the congressman was contacted last week by the Office of Congressional Ethics, a panel established last year and made up of non-lawmakers that looks into possible ethics violations by House members. Jackson denied any wrongdoing, as he did last fall when a criminal complaint against Blagojevich said that supporters of "Senate Candidate A" had offered to raise the embattled governor $1.5 million if he picked a certain Senate aspirant. Jackson has acknowledged he was the person being referred to.

 

Click to read.

Technorati Tags: jesse jackson jr,black news,black politics

Your Black Money: Harvard Historian Breaks Down the Financial Crisis

(Money Magazine) — For many people, the most shocking aspect of the financial crisis is that something of this scale could happen at all. Wasn’t it just a couple of years ago that the rise of globalization – and the growing sophistication of financial markets – offered the promise of perpetually low inflation, cheap money, and fat returns?

But for British historian Niall Ferguson, what’s remarkable is that anyone could have thought this at all. In his latest book, "The Ascent of Money," the Harvard history and business professor traces the evolution of the world’s financial systems from the earliest known coins in 600 B.C. to the collateralized debt obligations that brought down Wall Street.

 

Click to read.

Technorati Tags: black money,african american money,black wealth,african american wealth

Black Celebrity News: Rihanna Set to Perform Again Soon

Singer Rihanna, who maintained a low profile after her ex-boyfriend Chris Brown assaulted her, is set to perform in Dubai on May 28.

"There will be over 25,000 tickets available. They will be on sale in the next couple of days," Dubai tourism spokesman Mary Rachelle Cherpak said. Details of the concert are yet to be revealed, chinadaily.com reported.

 

Click to read.

Technorati Tags: rihanna,black celebrity gossip

Obama Admin Boycotts UN Racism Conference

The Obama administration will boycott "with regret" a U.N. conference on racism next week over objectionable language in the meeting’s final document that could single out Israel for criticism and restrict free speech, the State Department said Saturday.

The decision follows weeks of furious internal debate and will likely please Israel and Jewish groups that lobbied against U.S. participation. But the move upset human rights advocates and some in the African-American community who had hoped that President Obama, the nation’s first black president, would send an official delegation.

The administration had wanted to attend the April 20-25 meeting in Geneva, although it warned in late February it would not go unless significant changes were made to the draft text.

Some revisions — including the removal of specific critical references to Israel and problematic passages about the defamation of religion — were negotiated for which State Department spokesman Robert Wood said the administration was "deeply grateful."

But he said the text retains troubling elements that suggest support for restrictions on free speech and an affirmation of the findings of the first World Conference Against Racism, held in Durban, South Africa, in 2001 that the U.S cannot endorse.

 

Click to read.

Technorati Tags: racism,barack obama,black news,african american news,black politics,african american politics

Black News: Michael Vick Works Hard to get a TV Deal

Fallen football star Michael Vick is pitching a reality TV show to producers, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Fallen football star Michael Vick is pitching a reality TV show to producers, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Apparently, Vick, who is serving the remainder of a 23-month prison sentence for charges stemming from illegal dogfighting, has talked to producers about launching an unscripted documentary series beginning July 20, the day of his scheduled release from federal custody, and show him trying to "make amends for his past." And interest from TV execs is hot, according to the Reporter, which says that producers lined up to see the suspended baller in prison and “a few parties claim to have obtained rights to a Vick project.”

Earlier this month, attorneys for Vick told a judge that the former Atlanta Falcon quarterback has agreed to a "television documentary deal" that will pay him $600,000. However, Vick, who owes millions to creditors, is seeking much more, the Reporter says. As the Reporter notes, “If Vick’s show finds a home, he wouldn’t be the first celebrity to get help with legal fees from TV networks."

 

Click to read.

Technorati Tags: michael vick,black celebrity gossip,black news headlines,african american news