Fox News May Be Taken off the Air

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — As New Year’s revelers count down to the end of 2009, time is also running out for Time Warner Cable and Fox to agree to a new contract.

Time Warner Cable and News Corp. (NWS, Fortune 500), Fox’s parent company, have been locked in a public battle over how much the cable giant should pay for the right to deliver Fox networks into its subscribers’ homes.

If a deal is not reached before midnight Thursday, all of the Fox-owned broadcast networks and some of its cable channels could disappear for most of Time Warner Cable’s 13 million subscribers on New Year’s Day.

News Corp. wants to charge Time Warner Cable (TWC) $1 per subscriber for airing its broadcast station, Fox. The contracts for six Fox cable channels — FX, Speed, Fuel TV, Fox Reality, Fox Soccer and Fox Sports en Español — as well as certain regional sports networks are also slated to expire. But Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network will not be affected.

Public officials weigh in

As the deadline approaches, a flurry of government officials are trying to intervene. On Thursday, Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., wrote a letter calling for a 30-day "cooling off period" to avoid programming blackouts. Time Warner Cable responded that it would agree to an interim agreement, but a Fox Network representative said the company was not ready to agree to that temporary deal and would continue to negotiate.

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8th Grader is Florida’s Top Rusher

It would be easy to call Sony Michel just another high school hot shot – what with him rushing for 1,285 yards and 18 touchdowns while leading Plantation (Fla.) American Heritage to a 9-3 record.

But you can’t: Sony Michel is only in middle school.

That’s right, the leading rusher in football crazy Broward County was an eight-grader. Next month, he’ll be on display at the second annual Football University Youth All-American bowl, Jan. 10 at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

Sony Michel may be the best 8th-grade football player in the country.

"We feel that, hands down Sony, is the best eighth-grader in the country right now," FBU National Youth Director Erik Richards said.

It would be hard to argue.

Michel, 5-11, 187 and clearly still growing at age 14, has the speed to go with his size. He already has been timed at 4.47 in the 40. He uses his size and speed on every play.

"He doesn’t run scared," Allen Michel, his older brother and guardian, said. "When he hits a hole, he hits it full blast."

Michel’s coming out party came in his fourth game, when he ran for a season-high 281 yards against North Broward Prep. Michel got stronger as the season wore on, going on 150 yards in five of American Heritage’s final six games.

And while American Heritage is a Class 2A school, Michel didn’t struggle against the top teams. He rushed for 92 yards and a TD in his team’s quarterfinal playoff loss to Glades Central, No. 72 in the final RivalsHigh Top 100.

"A lot of people didn’t expect me to do things like this, but I really fought for it," Michel said.

 

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Mark Anthony Barmore: Unarmed Black Man Shot in Church in the Back

Witnesses say the man was surrendering, but officials in Rockford, Ill., near Chicago dispute that version of events, saying that Mark Anthony Barmore grabbed for an officer’s gun after they cornered him in the church.

 

This Aug. 25, 2009 photo shows onlookers, including Mark Anthony Barmore’s father, Anthony Stevens, second from right, watching as police investigate the fatal shooting of 23-year-old Mark Anthony Barmore, inside the Kingdom Authority International Ministries Church in Rockford, Ill. The NAACP is renewing a call for federal standards on police use of force after what it describes as the police killing of an unarmed man inside a church as day-care children watched. (AP Photo/Rockford Register Star, Amy J. Correnti)

Both sides do agree, however, that Barmore fled when officers approached him in the church parking lot, which highlights the suspicion and fear that can poison relationships between police and minority communities across the country.

"There are no national standards for the use of force (or) training for use of force," Benjamin Todd Jealous, president and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said Friday.

The issue "is not primarily about racism," Jealous said, citing the recent case of a 72-year-old white woman tasered by a white Texas officer during a traffic stop. "We want to make sure the standards are the most modern and appropriate ones possible."

The NAACP scheduled a rally Saturday in Rockford and a march Oct. 3. Jealous was planning to attend both; it would be his first march since taking the NAACP’s helm a year ago.

The NAACP is seeking the reintroduction of the Law Enforcement Trust and Integrity Act, first offered by John Conyers, D-Mich., in 2000. It was co-sponsored by 34 legislators but was never voted on by the full House.

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Eutisha Rennix Death: Paramedics Denying Almost Everything

The emergency medical technicians accused of refusing to help a dying pregnant woman were never asked to examine her or told the extent of her condition, their lawyer said Thursday.

Attorney Douglas Rosenthal said his clients were only asked to summon an ambulance on Dec. 9 when they were taking a break in a Brooklyn eatery. He said Jason Green and Melisa Jackson never saw Eutisha Rennix, who was in the back of the Au Bon Pain store, and that other employees didn’t seem overly concerned about her condition.

"There was no apparent panic," Rosenthal said in a statement.

Witnesses have said the EMTs told workers to call 911, then left when they were asked to help the 25-year-old pregnant woman. Rennix, who also was the mother of a 3-year-old boy, died at a hospital shortly afterward. The cause of death has not been determined. Her baby did not survive the premature birth.

 

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Today’s Black News Headlines

• New York probes report EMTs ignored woman who died
• SCLC suspends chairman and treasurer
• T.I. released from prison early
• Obama says he has unemployed relatives
• Fiancee of Bengals’ Chris Henry: He changed my life
• US professor among 5 sentenced to die in Ethiopia
• World’s smallest baby almost ready to go home
• Youngest Black CEO of a public traded company: Ephren Taylor
• Woman held in Hawaii after Michelle Obama threat
• A quiet end for Boys Choir of Harlem
• Terrorist attack feared after Michael Jackson arrest
• Serena Williams is 2009 AP Female Athlete of Year

Your Black News from TheGrio – 12/23/09

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  Woman held in Hawaii after Michelle Obama threat

  By theGrio

  8:25 AM on 12/23/2009

  HONOLULU (AP) – A woman accused of telling the Secret Service she would "blow away" Michelle Obama was in federal custody as the Obama family planned to travel to Hawaii…

  > MORE

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  Caught on tape: Man run over by car

  By theGrio

  5:01 PM on 12/22/2009

  VIDEO – A Florida man is recovering after being run over during a dispute over a parking space.The brutal incident was caught on tape…

  > MORE

• 
  

  Ndamukong Suh is AP College Football Player of the year

  By theGrio

  4:24 PM on 12/22/2009

  NEW YORK (AP) – Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh bulled past the guys who play the glamour positions and proved you don’t have to score touchdowns…

  > MORE

• 
  

  NFL to ask players to donate brains for concussion research

  By theGrio

  3:44 PM on 12/22/2009

  The NFL is partnering with Boston University brain researchers who have been critical of the league’s stance on concussions…

  > MORE

• 
  

  Kool & the Gang gives rare concert in Havana

  By theGrio

  2:55 PM on 12/22/2009

  HAVANA (AP) – American R&B pioneers Kool & the Gang helped Cuba get its funk on, bringing their eclectic mix of sounds to an open-air stage…

  > MORE

• 
  

  Obama says he has unemployed relatives

  By theGrio

  1:36 PM on 12/22/2009

  WASHINGTON (AP) – President Barack Obama says he and the first lady have relatives who are unemployed and suffering…

  > MORE

• 
  

  AP: Serena Williams is the female athlete of year

  By theGrio

  10:21 AM on 12/22/2009

  (AP) – Playing her best at the most important events, Serena Williams re-established herself as the top player in women’s tennis in 2009…

  > MORE

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  Medics accused of refusing to help pregnant woman suspended

  By theGrio

  9:30 AM on 12/22/2009

  NEW YORK (AP) – Two EMTs accused of refusing to help a pregnant woman who collapsed in the coffee shop where they were taking a break were suspended…

  > MORE

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  Tiny newborn girl may break world record

  By theGrio

  9:29 AM on 12/22/2009

  VIDEO – A little girl born in Mobile, Alabama may be the world’s tiniest baby…

  > MORE

• 
  

  Despite recession, FBI crime stats fell in first half of 2009

  By theGrio

  9:22 AM on 12/22/2009

  WASHINGTON (AP) – The FBI says murders fell 10 percent across the U.S. in the first half of 2009…

  > MORE

News: TI Released From Prison

Rapper T.I. got an early Christmas present Tuesday after authorities released him from a federal prison in Arkansas nearly seven months into a 366-day term.

His attorney, Steve Sadow, told the website xxlmag.com that T.I. would report to a halfway house in the Atlanta area later in the day to begin a stay of two or three months.

T.I., 28, was arrested after trying to buy unregistered machine guns and silencers from undercover federal agents in 2007. That came after the rapper’s best friend was killed following a party in Cincinnati in 2006. The rapper has said the bullets that killed his friend were meant for him.

 

Click to read.

News: Tiger’s Popularity Plummets

The popularity of golfer Tiger Woods has plummeted in the weeks since his now-infamous car crash and infidelity admission, according to a new poll.

In the survey conducted December 16-20, Woods’ favorable rating dropped to 34 percent. That compares to a rating of 60 percent in early December, days after Woods’ crash.

In 2005, the star golfer’s favorable rating was at 85 percent.

The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Tuesday indicated the drop in Woods’ popularity was not as dramatic among African-Americans.

About two-thirds of blacks still held a favorable view of Woods, while only 28 percent of whites felt the same way.

 

Click to read.

The Latest on YBG – 12/22/09

Top College Freshman Quits Basketball Team via YouTube

• The University of Minnesota spent a lot of time and energy trying to recruit Royce White for its … Read More
• By Quibian Salazar-Moreno in BV on Sports | Comments (1)

Tiger Woods Wife Wants Half His $600 Million Dollar Fortune

• Tiger Woods’ wife is allegedly playing hard ball with him. A source told the New York Post that … Read More
• By Boyce Watkins, PhD in BV on Money | Comments (41)

Easy Christmas Recipes: Simple Dishes Your Family Will Love

• The hustle and bustle of Christmas puts a lot of our focus on the kitchen at this time of year. … Read More
• By Vanessa K. Bush in Blackvoices Main | Comments (1)

Shane Sparks Calls Molestation Charges ‘Extortion’

• On Dec. 18, ‘America’s Best Dance Crew’ judge Shane Sparks was arrested and charged with eight … Read More
• By Bridget Bland in BV Newswire | Comments (1)

Desk Duty for Cop Who Pulls Gun at Snowball Fight

• The Washington, D.C., cop who pulled a gun at a snowball fight on Saturday has been assigned to … Read More
• By Carmen Dixon in BV Black Spin | Comments (15)

How a Happy Meal Can Cost You Half a Million Dollars

• Many of us don’t spend much time thinking about retirement planning. We figure that it’s something … Read More
• By Boyce Watkins, PhD in BV on Money | Comments (1)

Tag Heuer Doesn’t Drop Tiger Woods but…

• Tiger Woods is already a billionaire, so we’re sure it’s not hurting him too bad financially that … Read More
• By Quibian Salazar-Moreno in BV on Sports | Comments (3)

Obama Fights Back Against Black Critics

President Barack Obama on Monday rebutted critics who say he isn’t showing enough compassion toward black America, citing his health care effort as one example he says "will be hugely important" for blacks.

Obama said another example is the billions of dollars in aid to states included in the economic stimulus bill, money that was used to save thousands of teachers, firefighters and police officers from losing their jobs. He said many of those workers are black.

"So this notion, somehow, that because there wasn’t a transformation overnight that we’ve been neglectful is just simply, factually not accurate," Obama said in an Oval Office interview with April Ryan of American Urban Radio Networks.

But the president acknowledged there are limits to what a president can do for any class of people.

"The only thing I cannot do is, by law, I cannot pass laws that say ‘I’m just helping black folks.’ I’m the president of the entire United States," Obama said, giving his standard answer to questions about the economic and other disparities facing blacks.

"What I can do is make sure that I am passing laws that help all people, particularly those who are most vulnerable and most in need," he said. "That in turn is going to help lift up the African-American community."

Click to read.

News: EMTs Suspended for Allowing Pregnant Woman to Die

Family photo

Two New York City EMT’s accused of walking away from a pregnant woman who collapsed and later died have been suspended, city officials said today.

The two fire department employees, Jason Green, 32, of Long Island City and Melissa Jackson, 32, of Queens Village, were suspended without pay as the investigation continues into allegations they refused to help the woman because they were on break and wanted to eat breakfast.

Mayor Bloomberg called the EMTs actions ‘unconscionable." When asked if "burnout" might have been a factor, the Mayor said,"Burnout? They were sitting there having coffee. How could they be burnt out? They’re human beings.  Somebody is dying down the street and (people) say help them and they just sat there."

Click to read.

Black News: The Secret Rules of Athlete Mistresses

The woman who killed former NFL MVP Steve McNair made a fatal mistake when she got involved with him, according to athletes’ groupies—she fell in love.

As soon as I heard Steve McNair got offed by his mistress, Saleh Kazemi, I couldn’t help but wonder: Jeez, didn’t this girl know the rules? Among pro athletes and those who love them, Groupie Rules are so entrenched that legions of spandexed women manage to abide by them on a regular basis and no one ever gets killed. In fact, if you look at the statistics—as CNN solemnly reported in the wake of the McNair murder-suicide, “80 to 90 percent” of pro athletes cheat (presumably the other 10 to 20 percent are recovering from groin injuries)—and factor in the jealousy and money involved, you might be amazed no one ever got murder-suicided before. But as with any evolved society, there’s a reason for that: there are rules. And as I discovered during an extended visit into their world, the good groupies know them.

Rule # 1: You do not fall in love. EVER. Unless you are Eva Longoria. And even then….

 

Click to read.

On Break EMTs Let a Pregnant Woman Die

A pregnant Brooklyn woman suffering a fatal seizure in a coffee shop in the shadow of FDNY Headquarters was ignored by two callous city medics who continued to buy their breakfast, eyewitnesses told The Post.

"The EMTs just said we had to call 911. They got their bagels and left," said a disgusted worker.

Frantic employees at the Au Bon Pain at 1 Metrotech Center approached the FDNY medics at 9 a.m. on Dec. 9, shortly after colleague Eutisha Revee Rennix, 25, began to complain of shortness of breath and intense stomach pains. Workers immediately dialed 911.

HELAYNE SEIDMAN

NO HELP: Witnesses say that as Eutisha Revee Rennix (above) lay dying at a Brooklyn Au Bon Pain 600 feet from FDNY headquarters, two EMTs on break refused to assist her, leaving son Jahleel, 3, motherless.

"People were calling out saying, ‘She’s turning blue! She’s pregnant!’ " said the witness.

But the EMTs appeared unfazed.

"I remember them saying they couldn’t do anything because they were on their break," another worker said. "We started screaming and cursing at them."

Rennix fell in a heap and began foaming at the nose and mouth in the back room.

That sent a manager rushing to the front to again ask someone in the Metrotech coffee shop to help.

This time, two good Samaritans in blue FDNY sweaters ran to the back office. One called 911 from his cellphone while the other tried to help keep Rennix still.

Read more:http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/emt_duo_on_break_let_preg_mom_die_mrj8Jv8kjmS0Z3FNO4DmiL#ixzz0aKw6WUQm

Why the NCAA is the greatest scam of the 20th and 21st centuries

Read More: Education, Florida State University, Football, NCAA, Seminoles, Sports, Student, University

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University 

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According to the ESPN Show "Outside the Lines," the Florida State Seminoles appear to be about everything except education.

In order to win games and make millions, football players are having their majors chosen for them, and many athletes are being conveniently misdiagnosed as learning disabled. One recent episode stated that one-half of all Florida State University football players and three-fourths of their African-American athletes are Social Science majors (indicative of major clustering). One of the academic counselors said that when she started her tenure, there were 15 football players tagged as learning disabled. That number has since spiked to 65.

When the allegations were released, Florida State University started backpedaling faster than an NFL defensive back. The NCAA has done its usual grandstanding, detaching itself from the Seminoles, as if this doesn’t also happen at nearly every other campus under its domain.

But the truth is that this behavior is not uncommon. If you think that Florida State University is the only NCAAschool to engage in such destructive and irresponsible behavior, then you need to be educated on how many campuses now do business. College athletes, many of them African-American, are brought to college as hired guns, under the guise of getting an education. The entire charade is sustained for the sake of helping the NCAAmaintain its multi-billion dollar professional sports league.

Yes, I said professional, not amateur. Any league that earns money on par with the NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB is a professional sports league. NCAA coaches, commentators and administrators – mostly white – earn six and seven figure salaries while simultaneously robbing athletes of their educations, their futures, and the money that they and their families have earned. In order to avoid paying taxes on their revenue, the NCAA spends millions on marketing to convince us that their multi-million dollar corporate extravaganzas are polite little weekend activities that students barely remember to keep on their schedules. All the while, Tyrone Smith attends four years of college and doesn’t even learn how to read.

For the NCAA, the educational mission of their professional sports league is one of the great scams of the 20th and 21st centuries, no different from the Ponzi schemes of Bernie Madoff. It is a convenient illusion, like Tiger’s wife using the golf club to "save him from a car accident."

 

Click to read.

News: Michael Jackson’s Lawyers Haven’t Been Paid

If it is true, that any press is good press, then are quite a few folks in the music business who should be happy about the media spotlight shown on them this week.

The approach of year’s end ushers in sadness as we remember the loss of the Michael Jackson, who died in June. Jackson’s fans showed their support of his works, and spent a lot of money doing it.

According to reports, Jackson’s estate is believed to have earned $100 million. While that is a good figure, there’s a bit of an issue. The estate’s administrators, lawyer John Branca and music business veteran John McClain, have reportedly not been paid

Click to read.

The 7 Principles of Kwanzaa

Umoja (Unity) To strive for and to maintain unity in the family, community, nation and race.

Kujichagulia (Self-Determination) To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves.

Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility) To build and maintain our community together and make our brothers’ and sisters’ problems our problems and to solve them together.

Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics) To build and maintain our own stores, shops and other businesses and to profit from them together.

Nia (Purpose) To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.

Kuumba (Creativity) To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.

Imani (Faith) To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.

News: Government Spied on Farrakhan and the Nation

WASHINGTON — Homeland security officials improperly gathered intelligence on the Nation of Islam, a black Muslim group, but government rules were “unintentionally and inadvertently violated” and only publicly available information was collected, according to documents made public Wednesday.
Internal correspondence shows the 2007 report – titled “Nation of Islam: Uncertain Leadership Succession Poses Risks” – was created by an intelligence group working within the Homeland Security Department.
Hours after the report was issued, officials recalled it, deciding the report violated intelligence rules against collecting or disseminating information on U.S. citizens for an extended period of time. It had been disseminated widely over the Internet to numerous federal agencies, state and local law enforcement, several congressional committees, intelligence agencies and parts of the private sector, a reviewing officer found.

Click to read.

Your Black News: Chris Henry 911 Call Released

The 911 calls relating to NFL star Chris Henry’s death following a fight with his fiancée, Loleini Tonga, have been released by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police.
Photo: Chris Henry and Loleini Tonga.
CBS affiliate WBTV reports that the tapes, from Dec. 16, include two calls. The first is an unidentified woman calmly telling the operator that she is driving behind a yellow truck with "a black man on it with no shirt on, and he’s got his arm in a cast and black pants on," she told a dispatcher.
"He’s beating on the back of this truck window… I don’t know if he’s trying to break in or something. It just looks crazy. It’s a girl driving it." She then says that the truck turned off of the street she was driving on and that she did not follow it.

 

Click to read.

News: Chris Henry Dead

Cincinnati Bengals’ wide receiver Chris Henry died in a Charlotte, N.C., hospital this morning, after falling out the back of a pickup truck on Wednesday.

According to police, a dispute between Henry and his fiancé occurred at his home around noon on Wednesday. The dispute then moved outside with Henry’s fiancé driving away in a truck and Henry jumping in the back of the truck. Somehow, Henry fell out of the back of the truck and was found on the side of the road "suffering from life-threatening injuries," according to police.

As Henry battled for his life on Wednesday, agent Andy Simms said:

We ask everyone to pray for Chris. We also ask that you respect the privacy of Chris’ family. Chris is indeed battling for his life tonight, and our thoughts and prayers [are]with him during this extremely difficult time.

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50 Cent Challenges Tiger Woods in a Nasty Way

Watch 50 Cent hit hard on Tiger Woods on George Lopez’s Show.

YBW Gives Obama a grade for the Year 2009

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University 

The other night on the Oprah Winfrey Christmas special, President Barack Obama made an unwise move. When asked what grade he deserves as president, Obama gave himself a B+. Giving himself a grade was not necessarily the best decision, since there are over 300 million Americans who then realized that they should be giving him grades as well.
So, allow me to be the first to provide our president with a grade for his performance. I’ve been giving grades to college students for the last 16 years, and one thing my students will tell you is that I am fair. My other argument is that I never actually GIVE you a grade; I simply report the grade that you’ve earned.
1) Handling of the Economy (B-): President Obama is better than John McCain ever could have been when it comes to managing our economic downturn. The problem is that while the president has spiraled our deficit out of control, our nation has yet to see any concrete evidence that the economy’s fundamental strength has returned. He has made an enemy out of Wall Street by grandstanding around executive pay issues, but he has lost the backing of Main Street because job losses continue to mount. That’s the problem with always reaching across the isle: Sometimes, you don’t have firm support on either side of it. The president’s inability to translate massive spending into real jobs is going to cost him big time.
2) Management of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (B): On one hand, the president must face the stern reality that you can’t just walk out of a war in the middle of it. We all know that Bush got us into these messes, and Obama must get us out. At the same time, Obama pledged to get us out of the wars faster than he is actually doing it, and it is incredibly awkward for a man to accept a Nobel Peace Prize while simultaneously escalating the troop presence in an occupied country. Sure Obama didn’t give himself the Nobel Prize, but he still must be held accountable.

 

Click to read.

The Latest on AOL Black Voices – 12/16/09

Tiger Woods Voted Athlete of the Decade

• It appears that the world doesn’t hate Tiger Woods as much as we thought. Well, they may dislike … Read More
• By Dr. Boyce Watkins, PhD in BV on Sports | Comments (0)

Palettes Make the Perfect Gift

• Have a beauty junkie on your Christmas list this year? Palettes are the perfect choice! Not only do … Read More
• By Joi Ennis in BV on Beauty | Comments (0)

Bringing That Special Person Home for the Holidays: How to Avoid Disaster

• It’s that time of the year again, when families gather round large tables, gorge themselves on a … Read More
• By Rebecca Brody in Blackvoices Main | Comments (0)

Ben Bernanke: Time Person of the Year 2009, ‘Most Powerful Nerd’

• Ben Bernanke has come under fire in recent months for his economic proposals, but as the … Read More
• By Alexis Stodghill in BV on Money | Comments (0)

Barack Obama’s Presidential Grade: What He Really Deserves

• The other night on the Oprah Winfrey Christmas special, President Barack Obama made an unwise move. … Read More
• By Boyce Watkins, PhD in BV on Money | Comments (3)

Ron Artest Writes a Letter to Tiger Woods

• L.A. Laker Ron Artest has been through his fair share of drama with the media and fans, so … Read More
• By Quibian Salazar-Moreno in BV on Sports | Comments (0)

News Blast: Tiger Woods’ Doctor Investigated for Doping, Senate Democrats Work to Make Peace with Health Care Legislation

• Tiger Woods’ Doctor Investigated for Doping Dr. Anthony Galea, who has treated Tiger Woods, along … Read More
• By Abena Agyeman-Fisher in BV Black Spin | Comments (0)

Christ Light

• Your Daily Inspiration for Wednesday December 16, 2009: As I behold the dazzling lights of the … Read More
• By Barry Johnson in Blackvoices Main | Comments (1)

Attorney General Eric Holder Gets on Black Fathers: Why He is Wrong

• Elliot Millner brought it to my attention that Attorney General Eric Holder has been apparently … Read More
• By Boyce Watkins, PhD in BV Black Spin | Comments (41)

Great Gifts Online: Inexpensive, Chic Jewelry

• Whether you have a big budget or you don’t – creating lists, trolling stores and battling big … Read More
• By Zandile Blay in BV on Style | Comments (1)

Nick Cannon: Making His Own Way with Mutli-Faceted New Company

• Following his recent stint as host of NBC’s ‘America’s Got Talent,’ Nick Cannon is preparing to … Read More
• By Brennan Williams in BV Newswire | Comments (3)

How To Restore Your Privacy on Facebook & More: Business News

• ♦Naomi Campbell Eyes Reality Show British supermodel Naomi Campbell is said to be in talks … Read More
• By Alexis Stodghill in BV on Money | Comments (1)

Obama at Home Depot: Insulation & Saving Money Are "Sexy"! — But What About Former Green Czar?

• Obama stopped at Home Depot on Tuesday to promote his proposed Cash for Caulkers program. The … Read More
• By Alexis Stodghill in BV on Money | Comments (0)

Angry Teacher Cuts Off Girl’s Braid to Prove Point

• Lamya Cammon, 7, was sitting quietly in her first grade class, absentmindedly twirling her … Read More
• By Ruth Manuel-Logan in BV Black Spin | Comments (69)

Steve Harvey: Now an Essence Magazine Columnist

• That Steve Harvey sure knows how to expand his brand. The top-rated nationally syndicated radio … Read More
• By Karu F. Daniels in BV Newswire | Comments (2)

Tiger Woods Voted AP Athlete of the Decade

Even after a shocking sex scandal that tarnished Tiger Woods, it was tough to ignore what he achieved on the golf course.

He won 64 times around the world, including 12 majors, and hoisted a trophy on every continent golf is played. He lost only one time with the lead going into the final round. His 56 PGA Tour victories in one incomparable decade were more than anyone except four of golf’s greatest players won in their careers.

Woods was selected Wednesday as the Athlete of the Decade by members of The Associated Press in a vote that was more about 10 years of performance than nearly three weeks of salacious headlines.

Just like so many of his victories, it wasn’t much of a contest.

Woods received 56 of the 142 votes cast by AP member editors since last month. More than half of the ballots were returned after the Nov. 27 car accident outside his Florida home that set off sensational tales of infidelity.

Lance Armstrong, a cancer survivor who won the Tour de France six times this decade, finished second with 33 votes. He was followed by Roger Federer, who won more Grand Slam singles titles than any other man, with 25 votes.

Record-setting Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps came in fourth with 13 votes, followed by New England quarterback Tom Brady (6) and sprinter Usain Bolt (4). Five other athletes received one vote apiece.

 

Click to read.

Your Black News: Syracuse Students Voice Their Thoughts on Dr. Boyce’s Tenure Battle

Reported in the SU Student Voice.

 

The Rev. Jesse Jackson and former Rep. Cynthia McKinney have now thrust themselves into the debate over Boyce Watkins’ tenure appeal, The Student Voice has learned.

Three days after the Rev. Al Sharpton sent Syracuse University Chancellor Nancy Cantor a letter in support of Whitman professor Boyce Watkins’ pending tenure appeal case, Jackson told Watkins that he wanted to get involved. Watkins sent SV writer Naresh Vissa a text message early this morning saying Jackson wants to speak with Cantor as soon as possible.

Watkins and Cantor are scheduled to meet today to discuss Watkins’ future at the university after he was denied tenure, first reported in The Student Voice.

And McKinney, the Green Party presidential candidate in 2008, wrote what Watkins called “the most astonishing letter in support of my tenure case” to SU administration yesterday. Prominent African-American syndicated columnist Julianne Malveaux has also voiced her support for Watkins.

 

Click to read.

Dr. Boyce Analyzes Eric Holder’s Comments

by Dr. Boyce Watkins 

Elliot Millner brought it to my attention that Attorney General Eric Holder has been apparently spending a lot of time with Bill Cosby these days. In a recent speech at a black church in Queens, NY, Holder took a page out of the Barack Obama Campaign Catalog and chose to win favors with the black middle class by recklessly bashing away at absentee fathers and returning to the whole "ya’ll just need to grow up and be more responsible" argument that allows any politician to explain away a blatant disregard for meaningful public policy. Rather than talking about things that we can do as a society to take our collective foot off the necks of black men, he chose to say that black men are choosing to put the foot on their own necks.
Elliot Millner, who is also in the legal profession, intelligently said the things that I am sure Eric Holder wanted to say. But unlike Holder, Millner is not constrained by the political shackles that come with being an appointed leader in a society that makes a habit of oppressing, destroying and marginalizing black men.
In his speech, Holder said that, "It should simply be unacceptable for a man to have a child and then not play an integral part in the raising and nurturing of the child."
That quote is a nice way of reflecting on the obvious. It’s sort of like saying, "It should be unacceptable for a black man to become the Attorney General of the United States and not play an integral part in helping other black men overcome the blatantly racist and destructive justice system over which you preside."

Click to read.

Black Attorney Takes Eric Holder to Task for Attacking Black Fathers

by Elliot Millner, J.D. – Your Black World 

Attorney General Eric Holderrecently spoke at a Black church in Queens, NY, and during his speech he gave Black fathers another talking to, stating that:
"It should simply be unacceptable for a man to have a child and then not play an integral part in the raising and nurturing of the child."
Sounds good on face value. Who doesn’t think that any man who has a child should play a vital role in that child’s growth and development? A.G. Holder is 100% right on that point, and I have no disagreement with him whatsoever.
However lets look beyond the truthfulness of the words. When communicating, there are many other factors to consider other than what is being said. So, let’s consider the question: If a person is truly concerned about promoting the increased participation of Black father’s in their children’s lives, what would that person do? Seemingly, a person sincere about achieving that goal would go speak to the people most in need of that talk, in this case Black fathers who were not being responsible for the children they had helped bring into the world. Although I’m sure it may have been some people in Memorial Presbyterian Church who were being negligent in their parental duties, I doubt that A.G. Holder’s message applied to the majority of them.

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Teacher Cuts off Child’s Hair

Lamya Cammon, 7, was sitting quietly in her first grade class absentmindedly twirling her braids. The little girl’s teacher, whose name is being withheld, grew tired of seeing the little girl play with her dozen or so braids, so she called Lamya up to the front of the classroom.

The first graders watched in disbelief as their teacher took out a large pair of scissors and cut off one of Lamya’s braids. Amid the snickers of her students, the Milwaukee teacher threw the braid in the garbage, sent the crying youngster back to her seat, then said, "Now what you gonna go home and tell your momma?"

Lamya claims that she was not twirling her hair loudly nor was she being disruptive. When the child told her mother, Helen Cunningham, what had happened, she immediately went to the school to confront the teacher.

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Black News: Charlie Murphy’s Wife Dies of Cancer

This statement was released by the publicist for Charlie Murphy, brother of Eddie Murphy:

“Tisha Taylor Murphy, wife of comedian and actor Charlie Murphy, passed away peacefully on Sunday, with family at her side after facing the challenges of cancer for the past two years. The Murphy Family appreciates all the support they have received from friends and fans and requests privacy during this very difficult time.”

Tiger Woods and Race: Are there any racial complexities here?

Dr. Boyce Watkins is on CNN with Don Lemon wondering if Tiger Woods will be “OJ Simpsonized” by the recent events in his personal life.

Dr Boyce Watkins: The “OJ Simpsonization” of Tiger Woods: Could it Possibly Happen?

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University 

Tiger Woods is a black athlete. He isn’t "Caublinasian," mixed or any other ethnicity. He is, officially, a black man – especially after being reduced to being an adulterer who sleeps with porn stars. At least that’s what guests on the Joy Behar Show seem to think.

During a recent episode, a guest on the show, Karith Foster, was asked what she thought about Tiger’s recent indiscretions. In response to the question, the comedian said (without cracking a smile) that Tiger is "acting like a black athlete now."

I was shocked to hear these words come out of the mouth of any person, let alone an African-American woman. Dr. Deborah Stroman of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was the first person to bring the comments to my attention. She and I both agreed that the statement was an outrageous, irresponsible choice of words, and the host should have challenged her immediately. But Foster’s comments might be telling, given that she once relegated herself to being the token black sidekick of a man (Don Imus) famous for referring to black women as "nappy headed hoes." Foster was fired not too long after being hired, which reminds us of the complications that come from making deals with the devil just to keep a job in media.

Needless to say, I was disappointed with Ms. Foster’s remarks. I also found it quite ironic that no one went out of their way to compare Woods with other black men when he was the clean cut soldier boy with the billion dollar smile. At that time, he was considered the exception to the rule, something that all of America could easily embrace. Some have decided to associate the "black male" side of Tiger with the seedy character who has emerged over the past two weeks. Such comparisons are insulting to good black men everywhere. At the same time, it should be acknowledged that not every American shares the opinion of Karith Foster.

Let’s be clear, Tiger Woods is not seedy, nor is he perfect. In reality, he is simply human. The problem is that we were all led to believe that he was super human, so the Tiger we are seeing today appears sub-human. Tiger Woods was the original Barack Obama, a man who injected hope into the psyches of sports fans everywhere, as we were all inspired to see a man with a brown face whipping the greatest golfers in history. Even to this day, Tiger is usually the only man of color on the golf course, and he is almost always the most dominant.

It will be interesting to see how the world processes Tiger’s recent mistakes. It is not inconceivable that Tiger could be "OJ Simpsonized" by this incident, especially if additional dirt is leaked to the public. If you recall, OJ was also an athlete who’d been given permission to spend a significant amount of time with white women before the murder took place. After his trial, however, he was considered to be the most morally depleted man in America.

 

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It’s Official: Tiger Woods is quitting Golf – for a while

We can now stop speculating. Tiger Woods is going to take an "indefinite break" from professional golf. The latest statement by Woods was expected by some, given that irreparable damage has been done to his billion dollar brand. Companies have run for the hills, and Tiger Woods’ face and name no longer carry the weight that they once did.
This is part of the statement released on Tiger’s website earlier today: "I am deeply aware of the disappointment and hurt that my infidelity has caused to so many people, most of all my wife and children," the statement says. "I want to say again to everyone that I am profoundly sorry and that I ask forgiveness. It may not be possible to repair the damage I’ve done, but I want to do my best to try."
This saga seems to be one that will never end, as the speculation has run rampant about Tiger’s personal life and what he is going to do to stop the bleeding. I personally find it odd that the notorious "Team Tiger" has allowed the mistresses to tell Tiger’s story, rather than Tiger telling the story himself. Only time will tell if their strategy actually makes sense. Right now, it does not. The funny thing about all this is that the fact that "Team Tiger" has not engaged in their usual scorched earth strategy of suing every person who slanders Woods or his family gives that much more credibility to the comments being made by all of Tiger Woods’ women.

Click to read.

Black Leaders May Be Losing Faith in Obama

It has taken less than one full year, but it seems that President Barack Obama‘s massive support among black mainstream leaders is starting to show some cracks.

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus have voiced concerns in recent weeks that Obama needs to spend less time worrying about bailouts of massive industry and more time thinking about black folks, who are his most ardent supporters and have been hit hardest by the economic downturn.

Now the Rev. Jesse Jackson is adding his voice to those who believe Obama isn’t doing enough to help the base of his support.

Jackson, a civil rights giant who has seen his influence wane in recent years, told a crowd at a California rally this week that Obama has misplaced his priorities in spending for the bailout of banks and sending additional soldiers to Afghanistan while poor people struggle here.

Click to read.

Dr. Deborah Stroman: Does Tiger’s Behavior Represent all Black Male Athletes?

by Dr. Deborah Stroman 

 

Tiger Woods has a problem and now so do I. I was naïve to think that I could survive this holiday season of Tigervision with its seemingly minute-by-minute reports of his self-described transgressions. Every media outlet needs a story to remain viable in this world of at-your-touch news and Tiger’s naughtiness provides the perfect scoop. This tale probably has no beginning and quite possibly no end. However, my nerves became frayed and I saw the immediate end of my sideline observer role when I changed the channel and popped in on the Joy Behar Show. As they discussed the latest Tiger escapade, Ms. Behar cleverly asked for insight on how the African-American community might possibly feel about his sins. Her query was directed to a female African-American guest, Karith Foster, who calmly stated that Tiger was finally acting like a black athlete. Pump your brakes!

Although Ms. Foster’s listed occupation is comedian, she made her bold statement sans smile or giggle. She was very serious and obviously hurt by his choice of women in this scandal. She went on to describe how the black athlete needs a white woman – a trophy wife – to be successful. Ms. Foster’s understanding of the black male athlete is a stereotype and confusion-filled. Shame on her and the media for supporting the racist mindset that promulgates a representation of the black male athlete as a superhuman man that seeks sexual pleasure from every white female that worships his athletic prowess. Surely we in 2009 know better, right? Yes, the ESPNification of our sports world has created larger than life entertainment figures. Money, power and women. That’s the ticket out of a poor situation – mentally and physically. It is no longer satisfactory to score a touchdown and hand the ball to the referee or dunk the basketball and hustle back to play defense. Instead we see many of our athletes (and more likely a black man) showboating, drawing attention to themselves, and discounting the teamwork necessary to achieve such success. We as fans are drawn to the television waiting to see the clownish antics instead of running to the restroom or going back for more chips.

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Congressional Black Caucus Boycott Yields Results

Call it the $6 billion boycott.

By boycotting a key House committee vote last week and threatening to abandon support for banking regulations, members of the Congressional Black Caucus got $4 billion added to a Wall Street regulation bill and $2 billion to a proposed House jobs bill in spending they sought for African American communities.

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., this week inserted $3 billion to the legislation to provide low-interest loans to unemployed homeowners in danger of foreclosure. He added $1 billion for neighborhood revitalization programs.

The money would come out of the $700 billion financial rescue fund.

"For those of us who walked out, it was absolutely essential that we have parts of that legislation directed toward helping people who have been left out of all of these bailouts," Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., one of 10 black caucus members in the Financial Services Committee, said.

 

click to read.

Black News: Read Obama’s Acceptance Speech for the Nobel Prize

Your Majesties, Your Royal Highnesses, Distinguished Members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, citizens of America, and citizens of the world:

I receive this honor with deep gratitude and great humility. It is an award that speaks to our highest aspirations — that for all the cruelty and hardship of our world, we are not mere prisoners of fate. Our actions matter, and can bend history in the direction of justice.

And yet I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the considerable controversy that your generous decision has generated. In part, this is because I am at the beginning, and not the end, of my labors on the world stage. Compared to some of the giants of history who have received this prize — Schweitzer and King; Marshall and Mandela — my accomplishments are slight. And then there are the men and women around the world who have been jailed and beaten in the pursuit of justice; those who toil in humanitarian organizations to relieve suffering; the unrecognized millions whose quiet acts of courage and compassion inspire even the most hardened of cynics. I cannot argue with those who find these men and women — some known, some obscure to all but those they help — to be far more deserving of this honor than I.

But perhaps the most profound issue surrounding my receipt of this prize is the fact that I am the Commander-in-Chief of a nation in the midst of two wars. One of these wars is winding down. The other is a conflict that America did not seek; one in which we are joined by 43 other countries — including Norway — in an effort to defend ourselves and all nations from further attacks.

Still, we are at war, and I am responsible for the deployment of thousands of young Americans to battle in a distant land. Some will kill. Some will be killed. And so I come here with an acute sense of the cost of armed conflict — filled with difficult questions about the relationship between war and peace, and our effort to replace one with the other.

 

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Black News: Tiger Woods Ads Disappear from TV

Tiger Woods is all over the TV, but his ads haven’t been.

According to media tracker Nielsen, the last time a commercial featuring Tiger Woods appeared on television was Nov. 29. The 30-second Gillette ad aired during NBC’s "Football Night in America," the pre-game show that broadcast prior to the Sunday night football game between the New Orleans Saints and the New England Patriots.

The ad featured Woods, New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, Spanish basketball phenom Ricky Rubio and an announcer who says, "Here’s to confidence," and aired eight times during November, according to Aaron Lewis, a spokesman for Nielsen.

 

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News: Get Caught Cheating, Your Spouse Can Sue You

Atlanta, Georgia (CNN) – The next time a married man or woman glances your way, you might think twice before acting on impulse and frolicking between satin sheets. The scorned spouse could sue you.

Yes, you read that right. You, the paramour, can get hit with a lawsuit that could cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars.

They’re known as "alienation of affection" suits, when an "outsider" interferes in amarriage. The suits are allowed in seven states: Hawaii, Illinois, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Dakota and Utah.

The law allowing such legal action dates back to antiquated times when a wife was considered the property of a husband. A broken-hearted hubby could go after his wife’s lover — not with a gun, but with the law.

 

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Did Tiger Woods Overdose that Night?

TMZ: Tiger Woods overdose written on hospital chart. The night that Tiger Woods was taken to the hospital for the single car accident, Tiger Woods was listed as an overdose because he was breathing with difficulty, TMZ reported Tuesday.

An investigating officer who was there on November 27 when Woods was taken to the hospital has requested a subpoena to review Woods medical records. It was suspected that he had Vicodin, Ambien and alcohol in his system. According to the police report filed the morning after Thanksgiving, the accident wasn’t suspected of being alcohol related.

 

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Dr. Julianne Malveaux Speaks on the CBC vs. Obama

Last week members of the Congressional Black Caucus took President Obama to task for his inattention to the high rate of black unemployment – a rate much higher than the overall rate. By Friday, some progress on the unemployment front had been reported – the rate was down to 10 percent in November, from the October high of 10.2 percent. African American unemployment, though, was at the astounding level of 15.6 percent. Why don’t the high levels of African American unemployment deserve special attention?

President Obama says he is working for our entire nation, and that when unemployment rates drop, they will drop for everyone. Perhaps that is what he has to say. But even Ray Charles can see the disproportionate unemployment burden that the African American community is carrying. Targeted public policy is the only way to close the unemployment rate gap.

Our nation has a history of targeting public policy. When it appeared that banks were especially imperiled, we bailed banks, but not other industries out. Indeed, there was much debate about why bankers should get $700 billion when others also faced challenges. The faulty logic that applied was that banks had special challenges at the beginning of the recession, and that the money spent bailing out banks would have ripple effects throughout our economy. Next, there were special provisions made for the housing industry, with bailouts and concessions made to those who had mortgages they could not pay. Again, the logic was that these citizens have special roles in our society and economy. Renters were left out of these special financial provisions. We targeted homeowners.

Why, then, is it such an anathema to target African Americans? Believe me, if it were Wall Street brokers with an unemployment rate of 15.6 percent, one and a half times the overall rate, there would be some special program developed for those brokers! Someone would take to the floor of Congress to speak of the special plight of those brokers and to wax eloquent about why they deserve a break. The logic that when the overall rate drops, the broker rate will also drop, would be scoffed at! Can’t you envision the special pleading that would go to save the brokers?

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Woman Tries to Kill baby of another woman who took her husband

Keisha Jones, 38, a mother of four, is married to Anthony, who has been involved with another woman for the past three years. Monique Hunter, 25, is the other woman and didn’t have a clue that her lover was a married man. Hunter became pregnant with Anthony’s baby, and the plot that ensues unravels like a Lifetime movie.

When Jones found out about Hunter’s pregnancy, she devised a diabolical plan to get rid of the young woman’s baby. She started by calling her husband’s mistress, pretending to be a health care worker from Hunter’s doctor’s office. Jones explained to the young pregnant woman that she needed to take some medication that would prevent her from having a child with Down syndrome. The drug that Jones recommended was Cytotec, which can ripen a woman’s cervix and induce labor.

 

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Black Financial News: How ARe college students going to handle tuition hikes?

Watch this video, which describes the financial trauma for UCLA students as the result of a recent tuition hike.  It’s very interesting.

Tiger Woods Has a Long List of Problems

There’s no end in sight for this Tiger’s tale — with as many as nine birdies now in the picture.

A 26-year-old former cocktail waitress in Orlando, Fla., is the latest to brag about dallying with Tiger Woods — claiming to have carried on a nearly two-year affair with him before and during his marriage to Elin Nordegren.

The waitress comes on the heels of New Yorker Cori Rist, who reportedly took up with the golf great after meeting him on the Manhattan club scene and who became his sixth named alleged mistress.

The unidentified cocktail waitress, No. 7, is being repped by Florida lawyer Michael O’Quinn, who told The Post yesterday that the single gal, who met Tiger at Orlando’s Roxy Nightclub, now "has a corporate job" and doesn’t want to be identified — yet.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/woods_is_cat_of_tails_za2vPhR7stRpXYxoRaMAUN#ixzz0Z6B5tvIu

Was Whitney snubbed at the Grammys?

Of many unexpected admissions and omissions in last night’s Grammy nominee announcement, few are as surprising as the total absence of Whitney Houston on the ballot. Granted, her August release I Look to You was not her finest hour, and it yielded few commercial singles; her often uneven performances to promote it didn’t help.

But she’s also the stuff these shows are made of (26-time Grammy nominee, seven-time winner); her label even moved the release of her album up a day to make sure it was eligible, and Look’s redemption tales seemed calibrated to hit Academy voters right in the solar plexus—and the voting-finger.  And yet, not a single nod for the chest-thumping title track or slinky “Million Dollar Bill,” penned by Grammy darling Alicia Keys. So is it the notes Houston hit (or didn’t) that kept her out?

Click to read.

Dr. Boyce: What We can Learn from Shaq’s Mistress

by Dr Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University 

 

It seems that NBA star Shaquille O’neal, like many other athletes, has a personal life that no one knows about. The YBF.com has released exclusive text messages between Shaquille and his mistress, Latosha Lee. I am noticing a trend here: People are starting to find out that athletes are not always one-woman people. But are you actually surprised? In fact, do you ever wonder why anyone would consider marrying an athlete in the first place? But then again, we also know that not every athlete is going to be unfaithful and not every unfaithful man is an athlete. Either way, both Shaquille O’neal and Tiger Woods are in the middle of major marital drama.

In the text messages, Shaq’s personal life is put on blast.

The messages are long and drawn out, with an awkward reading from bottom to top. During the conversation, the two lovers describe their travel arrangements and Latosha’s relationship with NBA baller Damien Wilkins (nephew of Dominique Wilkins). They also have an argument about a purse that Latosha wants from Shaq, but that he is not willing to buy her. If you like drama, then you can find it here.

But above and beyond the drama (remember, I analyze and find teachable moments in everything), there are some other thoughts that went through my mind:

 

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Black Financial News: Jobs Report is Optimistic

In the strongest employment report since the recession began nearly two years ago, the government said Friday that the nation’s employers had all but stopped shedding jobs in November, taking some of the pressure off of President Obama to come up with a jobs creation program.

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Michael Reynolds/European Pressphoto Agency

Demonstrators outside the White House on Thursday as President Obama met with business leaders and economists to seek ideas for creating jobs.

The Labor Department reported that the United States economy lost 11,000 jobs in November, and the unemployment rate fell to 10 percent, down from 10.2 percent in October.

The government also significantly revised its September and October job loss estimates. September’s data was adjusted to show a loss of 139,000 jobs instead of 219,000, and in October 111,000 jobs were lost, instead of 190,000. Even allowing for the November loss, the revisions added 148,000 people to the list of those employed in the United States in November.

Though the pace of job loss has been declining since a peak in January, the November number was surprising. Economists had been expecting a turning point to come in the late spring or summer, with employers finally adding workers as a recovery takes hold. The last time the number was so bright was in December 2007, when the economy added 120,000 jobs.

“It is clearly a much better picture, and appears to be mostly genuine,” said Nigel Gault, chief domestic economist at IHS Global Insight, who said he was encouraged by gains in the average workweek and the number of temporary workers hired. “It shows employers have come back so much and are starting to rehire.”

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Congressional Black Caucus vs. Barack Obama

The long-simmering family feud between the Congressional Black Caucus and the first African-American president burst into the open on Wednesday, with members boycotting a financial overhaul vote as a warning shot at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

The 43-member caucus — which included Illinois Sen. Barack Obama from 2004 to 2008 — has chafed against President Obama and his top aides since the Inauguration, complaining that the White House takes it for granted and plays favorites with conservative Blue Dog Democrats.

Ten CBC members decided to boycott the House Financial Services Committee vote en masse after a tumultuous morning meeting at the Capitol between Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel failed to yield a deal, according to people familiar with the meeting.

The bill passed easily, but Waters suggested the CBC’s 43 members could vote with the GOP to scuttle a variety of Democratic bills if Obama and Emanuel don’t address what she thinks is a lack of understanding of the CBC’s wide-ranging goals of reducing urban unemployment, home foreclosures and bank failures.

“I think that it is important for us to educate those people around [Obama],” Waters told reporters. “We’ve got to get his people educated and moving. We have not brought these issues to him personally — it is important first to educate those people around him so they understand.”

House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.), who recently accused Obama of bowing down to the GOP on health care reform, was more pointed, shouting “Yes!” when asked if he was disappointed with Obama’s level of attentiveness to African-Americans’ needs.

He added that he had an extensive list of issues with the president — a list he said was too long to disgorge in a hallway conversation with a reporter.

 

 

 

 

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Tiger Woods and the Writing on the Wall

by Dr. Boyce Watkins 

Today while hanging out with Rev. Al Sharpton in the studio, I found my mind reflecting deeply on the recent drama between Tiger Woods and his wife, Elin Nordegren. In spite of the fact that I was sitting next to the man who epitomizes race relations in America, no one brought up the fact that Tiger Woods is involved in an inter-racial marriage. It wasn’t because we were afraid to go there, it was just that there were more pressing issues to discuss.

Even though Rev. Sharpton and I discussed everything except for the fact that Tiger’s wife is white, one of the callers slammed the issue on the table like a five pound slab of raw chicken. The caller made the old OJ Simpson argument: "Had he been with a sister, none of this would have happened."

While I don’t agree with the caller’s assertion (we know that marital drama knows no racial boundaries), I found it interesting that some of the black women in the studio smirked and looked at the floor, as if to say, "I hear ya girl." These smirks were not built on agreeing with what the woman said, but rather, on the disappointment and resentment that many black women have felt about the fact that Tiger Woods almost never seemed to show any interest in African American females. Unlike guys like myself, who admire Tiger for his achievements, I know a long list of black women who could care less if Tiger were to take his golf clubs and jump off the side of a 10-story building.

Click to read.