Keepingitreal

DAILY BLOG BUZZ FEED 06.30.08

"It didn't make me angry because I don't know him," Jay told MTV Base. "What people say about you is none of your business." Jay also said he plays "Wonderwall" a lot at his 40/40 Club on Friday nights, and it always goes over well with the crowd — that's how he knew the words so well. However, when it came to fellow Glastonbury performer Amy Winehouse's dis of Jay's friend Kanye West, the Jiggaman quipped he wanted to make peace. "She said something about Kanye late on [in her set] but I didn't hear it," he said. "I don't agree with it. He's my brother and the biggest artist on Roc-A-Fella right now. ... I guess I should hook them up, because he's a great guy, too. I don't know what the problem is. I don't know where that came from."CONTINUE READING....As the presidential campaign kicks into gear, housing, energy, and rising unemployment have thrust the economy front and center. Whether they are talking about the need to drill off the coast of South Beach (John McCain), or the necessity of confiscating the profits of ExxonMobil (Barack Obama), each candidate is unequivocally promising voters that come Jan. 20, 2009, should he have the high privilege of succeeding George W. Bush,he will instantly reverse the decline of housing prices, bring gasoline prices crashing back to earth, and generally kick the economy back into gear.CONTINUE READING.... Showing no signs of tiring, the Baltimore teenager gutted out another grueling win Monday night, rallying to win the 400-meter freestyle just 24 hours after she set a world record in the 400 individual medley. Hoff became the first U.S. swimmer to lock up two races in Beijing, but there's no time to savor her accomplishment. She's already done about a mile of races in Omaha and plans to compete in four more before the week is out, pursuing an Olympic program just slightly less ambitious than the one Michael Phelps will attempt in hopes of knocking off Mark Spitz. CONTINUE READING...A dozen people seated around a large table awkwardly picked up morsels of food from a revolving platter and sipped from tall bottles of room-temperature beer. There was a joyless quality to the evening as the dozen or so assembled guests, Britons, Canadians and Americans who had come to China to teach English, contemplated their imminent departure on account of visa restrictions. CONTINUE READING...INDEPENDENCE, Mo., June 30 -- Dogged by persistent rumors questioning his belief in country, Sen. Barack Obama journeyed to Middle America on Monday to lay out his vision of patriotism, conceding that he has learned in this presidential campaign that "the question of who is -- or is not -- a patriot all too often poisons our political debate."CONTINUE READING....

Discrimination on the catwalks?

PARIS (AFP) — Though America stands poised for its first black president in history, the fashion world descending on Paris for this week's couture-show summit will be treated yet again to a "white-out" on the catwalks. After the emergence 30 years back of black faces on catwalks -- thanks largely to recently demised French couture giant Yves Saint Laurent -- fashion in the first decade of the 21st century has turned relentlessly white."I asked the modelling agency for black girls for our next show but there simply aren't any," said Mario Lefranc, half of the Lefranc-Ferrant designer duo, one of 40-odd labels presenting couture collections in Paris over the coming week."I'm sick of blonde Russian girls," he told AFP. "Clearly the trend now is all for blue-eyed blondes."And at Jean-Paul Gaultier's, a designer renowned for using models of all ages, sizes, and origins, one assistant said: "It's really very difficult at the moment. There are no black models on the market, the agencies have none."In the last few years, she added, "there's been an invasion of girls from Eastern Europe, of their type of beauty."Former model Mounia, now 40-something and born on the French Caribbean island of Martinique, was one of the first top black models to hit high fashion those few decades ago, along with by Iman, Katousha, Naomi Campbell, Jourdan Dunn, Alek Wek and Pat Cleveland.Bound to make waves in the weeks and months to come, July's issue of Vogue Italia is to feature more than 100 pages, including the cover, of images of black women -- models as well as successful black women in arts and entertainment. The pictures were taken by influential US photographer Steven Meisel, known for his 1992 volume with Madonna.SOURCE: AFP

RACISTS HACK INTO HIP HOP WEB SITES: AllHipHop, SOHH forced to shut down temporarily last week

Hip Hop was under attack in cyberspace late last week by racists who hacked into the sites of llHipHop.com and SOHH.com and swapped out the usual rap-related articles with fake headlines and racial slurs. According to MTV.com, the hackers also swiped personal information about workers at SOHH.com.Both Web sites were first infiltrated early last week through its forum pages, and both were forced to shut down temporarily on Friday. Taking credit for the crime is a party identifying itself as "Anonymous." "AllHipHop and SOHH, two pioneering Web sites that have been in the industry for over 10 years, are appalled by the unprovoked racist attacks of these cyber terrorists," said AllHipHop co-founders Chuck Creekmur and Greg Watkings in a statement released late Friday. "With all the social strides that we have seen for several years, it is sad to see that this sort of blatant, hateful racism still exists in 2008 — a time of tremendous possibility. Together, AllHipHop and SOHH are committed to relentlessly pursuing these attackers, using every resource available, to ensure the capture of these criminals and prevention of repeat offenses." SOURCE:EURWEB.COM      

Lalah Hathaway Breaks Download Record

Singer Lalah Hathaway smashed the SoulTracks monthly download record in June with her track "That Was Then."  The track comes from her new, critically acclaimed album, Self Portrait, which has been called by many the best solo release of her nearly two decade career.  Hathaway scored another victory during June by topping the SoulTracks Popularity Index, an measure of the most visited and searched for artists during the month. SOURCE: SOULTRACKS

Gay runs 100 in windy 9.68 to make US Olympic team

EUGENE, Ore. (AP)—Perhaps Tyson Gay ought to thank Usain Bolt for beating him so soundly and so surprisingly last month.That lopsided loss—Gay was a distant second as Bolt broke the world record in the 100 meters—led to some serious tinkering. Gay and his coach, former sprinter Jon Drummond, took a look at his start, his stride, his strategy.Seems fair to say they knew what they were doing: On Sunday, Gay ran 100 meters faster than anyone ever has.A blur in blue, Gay clocked 9.68 seconds to win the 100 final at the U.S. Olympic trials, a time that will not be entered in the books as a world record because it came with the help of a too-strong tailwind.Still, this is what matters to Gay and Drummond: The sprinter qualified for his first Summer Games team and served notice that his name should be mentioned alongside those of Jamaicans Bolt and Asafa Powell in any discussion about who could win the dash in Beijing.We need to get some type of flame-retardant uniform in case he catches on fire,” said Drummond, no stranger to hyperbole. “He’s running so doggone fast.”That is definitely true.Gay timed a legal 9.77 in a quarterfinal Saturday to break Maurice Greene’s American record of 9.79.Back on May 31, on a stormy night in New York, Gay finished in 9.85, easing up as he watched Bolt better Powell’s mark of 9.74.“When someone comes to your country and then kicks your butt and then breaks the world record—puts a cherry on top—that right there can put something on your mind a little bit,” Gay said before competing in Eugene. “But after a week or so, I was able to block it out and get back to business.”Gay and Drummond quickly realized the setback actually was a good thing.It forced them to really analyze Gay’s running.“We went back and said, ‘OK, you ran the fastest worst race I’ve ever seen anybody run,”’ Drummond said. “‘Technically, you ran a horrible race.”’The major problem, essentially: Gay was bringing his feet too high behind his back with each stride. Gay calls it “butt-kicking,” explaining that he was nearly hitting himself in the backside with his shoes before bringing each leg forward, while Bolt was turning his strides over more efficiently.“The joy I have in this is he worked hard, he believed in what we were doing,” Drummond said. “He believed in me enough to come back and let me work with him some more.”Wearing a royal blue uniform with red and white diagonal stripes across the front, along with matching shoes, all in a tribute to 1936 Olympic star Jesse Owens, Gay dominated the competition Sunday. SOURCE:NBCOLYMPICS.COM

Scientology is focus of flap over Will Smith's new school

In Los Angeles' rarefied world of private schools, where tuitions are high, academics are tough and educational philosophy is taken seriously, the newest member of the tribe is getting the kind of breathless attention reserved for a music or film star. That may be because the founders of New Village Academy are themselves such stars: Will Smith and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith. Entertainers have long flocked to private schools on the Westside and in the San Fernando Valley, where campuses are comparatively small, offer a discreet environment and are close to studios.The Smiths, however, will be among the few celebrities -- Oprah Winfrey, Andre Agassi and Tiger Woods among them -- to establish their own school or program.It is one of several initiatives by the couple, including a new foundation that will give grants to young people in the arts and education. About 80% of New Village students will receive financial assistance in the fall.But the school's Sept. 3 opening, on the leased campus of a former school in Calabasas, will be accompanied by a whiff of controversy. Some of its teachers are members of the Church of Scientology, and it will use teaching methods developed by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard.That has provoked a slew of headlines: On FOXNews.com, "Will Smith Funds Private Scientology School"; from Britain's The Guardian, "Will Smith funds school teaching Scientology creator's study method"; and on the religion blog of the Dallas Morning News, "Is Will Smith school a front for Scientology?"Both Smiths have said they are not Scientologists.In a statement, Will Smith said of the school: "About 10 years ago, Jada and I started dreaming about the possibility of creating an ideal educational environment, where children could feel happy, positive and excited about learning. . . ."New Village Academy was born of a simple question, 'Is it possible to create an educational environment in which children have fun learning?' Jada and I believe the answer is 'Yes.' " SOURCE:LAT.COM

Buzz up! S.F. revels in annual outpouring of gay pride

(06-29) 21:38 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- There's nothing like celebrating marriage with hundreds of thousands of your closest friends.Less than two weeks after same-sex marriage became legal in California, drag queens, kids, politicians, shirtless men, married couples, straight couples and tourists flocked to San Francisco for the city's 38th annual San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Celebration, which culminated Sunday with a huge parade.Marriage was in the air as scores of people lined Market Street for the annual event, where veils and wedding garb were the fashion choice of many parade participants and spectators. Of course, scantily clad boys and girls - and boys dressed as girls - were also on hand during a celebration that seemed to attract more people, and families, than in years past, although official crowd count numbers were not immediately available.Many of the speakers and parade participants took the opportunity to campaign against a measure on the November ballot that would overturn the recent court ruling and ban same-sex marriage in the state.Whoops and cheers began even before the parade, with some members of the giddy crowd scrambling on top of anything they could for a view of the more than 200 floats and other parade contingents. After a cool morning, the sun peeked out by noon, giving way to a warm afternoon.Later, revelers filled Civic Center, where the party continued with live music and speakers, drinking and eating. The all-ages, multicolored crowd seemed to represent the Bay Area's diversity, with high school students bumping shoulders with young parents, elderly gay, lesbian and straight couples and transgender people. Police said the event was largely peaceful, with just three arrests for public intoxication by 5:30 p.m.Ann and Jay Summers of Springfield, Mo., said they were overjoyed to attend their first Gay Pride Parade."The diversity and number of people who support justice and equality and freedom for all people is one thing we enjoyed," said Ann Summers, whose brother died of AIDS. "One of his last wishes was to come to the parade before he died. He came once, and now we're here all these years later." SOURCE:SFGATE.COM

SF PRIDE 2008 HIGHLIGHTS

San Bernardino's 'Dead Presidents' murder trial exposes gang intrigue, greed

On the West Side of San Bernardino, most everyone knew Johnny and Gilbert Agudo.They'd grown up in the tight-knit barrio.Handsome and charismatic, they were the presidents of two cliques of the West Side Verdugo street gang: Johnny, 31, of 7th Street Locos and Gilbert, 27, of the Little Counts. United, they led their gangs in feuds with rivals from other parts of town.But then things took an unexpected turn. Early on the morning of July 9, 2000, police responded to calls of a shooting behind a West Side duplex. The Agudos and two Half-brothers, Marselino and Anthony Luna, lay dead or dying in what would become the biggest gang slaying in recent San Bernardino history. Eight years later, the so-called Dead Presidents case is underway in a San Bernardino courtroom. Closing arguments are expected this week.Prosecutors have charged Luis "Maldito" Mendoza, a boyhood friend of the Agudos and a 7th Street gang member, with organizing the killings. Also charged is a member of Mendoza's crew, Lorenzo Arias. Both could face the death penalty. Mendoza's cousin Froylan Chiprez -- another alleged shooter -- is believed to be hiding in Mexico. John Ramirez, part of Mendoza's crew, pleaded guilty and testified against Mendoza and Arias.The arrests of Mendoza and the others shocked residents. All were members of Johnny Agudo's 7th Street Locos. No West Side gang ever killed one of its own. The Mendozas were from Mexico, while the Agudos were a Mexican American family with decades in the barrio. The arrival of Mexican immigrants had upset some Latinos in the neighborhood. But Mendoza's brother was Johnny Agudo's best friend and together they started 7th Street Locos."They grew up together," said Cheryl Kersey, the prosecutor handling the case. "Nobody ever anticipated this."The story of the Dead Presidents is a tale of neighborhood bonds torn apart by power, betrayal and greed, prosecutors say. Behind it all, they say, is the Mexican Mafia prison gang, which in many Southern California barrios has turned gang members against one another. SOURCE:LAT.COM

Gun Laws and Crime: A Complex Relationship

Lurking behind the Supreme Court’s ruling last week that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to bear arms were a series of fascinating, disputed and now in many ways irrelevant questions. Do gun control laws reduce crime? Do they save lives? Is it possible they even cost lives? Justice Stephen G. Breyer, one of the dissenters in the 5-to-4 decision, surveyed a quite substantial body of empirical research on whether gun control laws do any good. Then he wrote: “The upshot is a set of studies and counterstudies that, at most, could leave a judge uncertain about the proper policy conclusion.” There is no question, of course, that guns figure in countless murders, suicides and accidental deaths. Over the five years ending in 1997, the Justice Department says, there was an average of 36,000 firearms-related deaths a year. (Fifty-one percent were suicides, and 44 percent homicides.) Determining whether particular gun control laws would have, on balance, prevented some of those deaths is difficult. Take Washington, D.C., whose near-total ban on handguns in the home was on the receiving end of last week’s decision. At the crudest level, as Justice Breyer wrote, violent crime in Washington has increased since the ban took effect in 1976. “Indeed,” he continued, “a comparison with 49 other major cities reveals that the district’s homicide rate is actually substantially higher relative to these other cities than it was before the handgun restriction went into place.”Those statistics by themselves prove nothing, of course. Factors aside from the gun ban, like demographics, economics and the drug trade, were almost certainly in play. “As students of elementary logic know,” Justice Breyer wrote, “after it  does not mean because of it.” SOURCE:NYT.COM

Mugabe Is Sworn In After Discredited Vote

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) -- President Robert Mugabe was sworn in for a sixth term Sunday, just hours after electoral officials said he had overwhelmingly won a discredited runoff. His main rival dismissed the inauguration as ''an exercise in self-delusion.''Mugabe promised talks with the opposition, perhaps mindful that African leaders will pressure him to negotiate at a summit he was to attend Monday in Egypt.As dignitaries watched under a red-carpeted tent at the State House complex, Mugabe held a Bible and stood before a red-robed, white-wigged judge to swear to uphold his nation's laws ''so help me God.'' He then sat amid cheering to sign documents.''The inauguration is meaningless,'' Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, told Associated Press Television News. ''The world has said so, Zimbabwe has said so. So it's an exercise in self-delusion.''Tsvangirai said he believed members of Mugabe's ZANU-PF party were ready for talks.''I think that the reality has dawned on all the elites in ZANU-PF,'' Tsvangirai said. ''Without negotiating with the MDC this is a dead-end.''The 84-year-old Mugabe, Zimbabwe's leader since independence from Britain in 1980, was expected to depart almost immediately for an African Union summit that opens Monday in Egypt.In a speech following his swearing-in, Mugabe said: ''Sooner or later, as diverse political parties, we shall start serious talks.'' He also had promised talks on the eve of the vote.African and other world leaders have condemned Friday's election, in which Mugabe was the only candidate. Human rights groups said opposition supporters were the targets of brutal state-sponsored violence during the campaign, leaving more than 80 dead and forcing some 200,000 to flee their homes.Residents said they were forced to vote by threats of violence or arson from Mugabe supporters who searched for anyone without an ink-stained finger -- the telltale sign that they had cast a ballot.Tsvangirai had withdrawn from the race because of the violence, though his name remained on the ballot and his supporters may have spoiled their ballots rather than vote for Mugabe. SOURCE:NYT.COM

Memoris of a Child Soldier

DAY 26 SINCE YOU BEEN GONE

Daily Blog Buzz Feed 06.28.08

Talk about a blast from the past. With a slew of new projects, Nona Hendryx is busier than ever.Hendryx plays The Acid Queen – a role that Tina Turner took on in the 1975 film version, which also starred The Who's Pete Townshend, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Ann Margaret and Jack Nicholson. It's the role of a hooker who deals in hallucinogenic substances and attempts to heal the lead character. Before hitting the stage in La La Land as The Acid Queen, Hendryx wrapped up recording on a reunion album with her former group members Patti LaBelle and Sarah Dash -- for a Lenny Kravitz-produced opus expected to hit stores, via Verve Records, this fall. Continue reading.... What’s up Crunkland! It’s me Xilla the supreme cheater eater. I’ve come over to correct some niggatry left over from the EBT awards. Apparently I was wrong when I said Keyshia Cole’s mother Frankie, couldn’t read. Today on V103’s Porsche Fox show Frankie said she was in the process of writing a short book about 77 pages long about the effects of drugs and how she overcame her addiction. Continue reading....A court has ordered Kanye West to pay off the $600,000 mortgage on his late mother's condo in Illinois. While federal prosecutors attempt to force Wesley Snipes into starting his three-year prison sentence immediately, the actor is asking that a judge grant him permission to leave the country until his appeal on a tax conviction is scheduled.Continue reading... *A fire has gutted an abandoned recording studio in Virginia Beach, Va. owned by producer Teddy Riley, and investigators say it will be about a week before they can determine the cause.Continue reading... This weekend is gay pride in New York City. I know many people, straight or gay, look at the gay movement as an ultra-white movement. Also, some think this discussion of a specific black gay community is a new phenomenon with the media hype over "down low" men and HIV/AIDS incident rates increasing in the black community.So, I always thought this letter from the legendary Huey Newton, the icon of one of the most powerful black movement groups of the 20th Century, The Black Panthers, back in August of 1970 was fascinating. Continue reading....  The ACLU has thrown its weight behind an eight-year-old Long Island girl who came to school with an N-word-protesting shirt and was forced to change. The girl wore the shirt, which said “N the N-Word. Continue reading.... Michelle Obama came out for the gays yesterday.The potential first lady appeared at New York’s Waldorf Astoria hotel to address the Gay and Lesbian Leadership Council, which is just DNC fancy talk for “rich white men.” Well, mostly. Queerty was there there and saw maybe ten girl guests and only a few people of color. Continue reading.... The Atlanta installment of Bravo’s incredibly-addictive guilty pleasure, the Real Housewives series, is coming soon. And, in a distinct departure from RH norm, the majority of the snobby, materialistic, delightfully-entertaining, cat-fighting cast this time around will be representing Atlanta’s “black elite.” Yes, some, but thankfully not all, are married to professional athletes.continue reading... Is Going The “All-Black” Route A Superficial Answer To Fashion’s Deeper Problems? read more...

Oakland's embattled city administrator put on leave amid investigation

(06-27) 14:07 PDT OAKLAND -- Oakland City Administrator Deborah Edgerly, under suspicion for possibly interfering in a police investigation of a violent street gang, has been placed on paid leave until she retires at the end of July, Mayor Ron Dellums announced this afternoon.The mayor named Dan Lindheim, the city's community and economic development director, as interim city administrator.Edgerly, 56, refused to sign an agreement to relinquish her authority over the police department and give it to the mayor, forcing the move to put her on leave, City Hall sources said. Earlier this week, Dellums and Edgerly had agreed she would stay at her post until her scheduled retirement July 31. The mayor at the time said Police Chief Wayne Tucker would report directly to him, but Edgerly refused to agree to hand over her authority over the police department. A growing number of city officials in recent days have called on Dellums to put Edgerly on administrative leave immediately given the pending investigation of her. The City Council will decide whether she will receive severance pay, Dellums' spokesman Paul Rose said. Edgerly will continue to earn her $260,000-a-year salary until she retires. SOURCE:SFGATE.COM

Study shows blacks don't share similar views of world

NEW YORK — As a black man, John Bess says it has been important for him to know much about the white world, yet he says whites have not been so curious about his."We've always known what's happening in the white sector," says Bess, a 56-year-old consultant in New York City, "but they (whites) have no idea who we are, what we're about. … My mother may take one position and I take another and my brother takes another. You have to talk to the segments of our community."A study out Friday provides a nuanced portrait of black Americans' social views, consumer tastes and notions of identity, undermining the idea that most black Americans share a similar world view and life experience.MORE: Sweeping national study finds blacks in U.S. diverse, optimistic Conducted by Yankelovich, a consumer market research firm, and sponsored by Radio One Inc., the survey finds that blacks have made progress economically and educationally and that most have a positive outlook for the future. Nearly one-third make more than $50,000 a year and 47% own homes.Those surveyed also believe that blacks have a distinct history that makes solidarity important. Many also maintain a high level of distrust of the government, criminal justice system and mainstream media.The study should widen the lens through which other ethnic groups view black America, says Catherine Hughes, Radio One's founder. Perhaps most important, Hughes adds, it will give black Americans a more informed view of each other. The survey's findings can be viewed at www.BlackAmericaStudy.com.The study pinpointed 11 distinct segments within black america."There's a difference between the folks who are multigenerational descendants of slaves in the American South as opposed to people who are immigrants," says Ann Morning, an NYU professor who teaches the sociology of race and ethnicity. "To be a black person living in California is not the same as being a black person living in Georgia or New York."Byron Huart, 20, is a "connected black teen," one of several groups identified by the survey whose lives revolve around new technology. "My TV has been sitting in my room," says Huart, a computer science major at Bloomfield College in New Jersey who has a YouTube channel. "It's like a relic. I haven't turned it on in about three weeks."The survey found that the so-called digital divide that previously was leaving behind minorities and others without access to the Internet has narrowed greatly. About 68% of blacks spend time online, the survey found, compared with 70% of all Americans, according to other surveys."People who wouldn't necessarily have the Internet on a computer now have iPhones or can find other ways," says Tariq Muhammad, director of BlackVoices.com, the most visited African-American targeted website. "Accessibility has been a big factor in ensuring that communities of color are on line."  SOURCE:USTODAY.COM

Daily Blog Buzz Feed 06.27.09

The Los Angeles plastic surgeon who operated on rap star Kanye West's mother before she died last year was arrested in Solano County early Thursday on suspicion of drunk driving and driving on a suspended license.Continue reading.... "WANTED" straddles the line between the delightfully absurd and the merely ridiculous. As its heroes race through the city at barely subsonic speeds, they execute the kind of maneuvers that are normally performed only by 8-year-olds making "vroom vroom" noises. As digital effects approach seamless integration with live-action footage, what dazzles is not the sophistication of the technology but the audacity of the ideas, and "Wanted" has audacity to burn.Continue reading...MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Obama and Clinton head for the town of Unity, It has all the makings of a B movie: Once-fierce antagonists meet at midday to seal their carefully negotiated political alliance so they can go forth and rout their common enemy.Continue reading.... Power surge comes from the PAC-10 in the NBA draft, Five of the first 11 picks were from the conference. Continue reading... The U.S. Supreme Court's historic ruling Thursday for individual gun rights is expected to trigger a spray of new legal challenges to the stiffest gun control laws across the country, with San Francisco among the first cities targeted by the National Rifle Association and other gun rights groups. Continue reading.... East Oakland shows signs of being epicenter of foreclosure crisis, but neighbors have plans..Read more Hayward pot raid a blockbuster, Police on Thursday arrested an unidentified man and teen while busing one of Hayward's biggest and most sophisticated known marijuana growing operations, authorities said. Read more..... Dellums disappoints, Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums has shown little in the way of leadership since taking office in 2007, but at least he could follow the advise of the experts he has surrounded himself with. Read more..... Bay Area residents can expect to remain mired in a smoky haze this weekend as nearly 1,100 wildfires chew up 250 square miles of land around Northern California. For those most sensitive, the foul air could pose health risks, pollution regulators and meteorologists said Thursday. Continue reading.... NEW YORK :Grammy-winning singer India.Arie will make her Broadway debut in a revival of Ntozake Shange's "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf."Continue reading... The serious hatin’ on Barack Obama is in full force among racists in cyberspace and has spread to countless computers in homes across America. Continue reading.... (NEW YORK) Rev. Al Sharpton sent an open letter to consumer activistand independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader today followingcomments he made about Sen. Barack Obama, in which Nader claimed Obama"talks white" and ignores issues of poverty. Continue reading..... Members of the Rio de Paz organization lined up 4,000 red balloons and a cross at the beach in Copacabana today to protest the number of murders predicted to happen in the next six months in Rio. Continue reading.... OMAHA -- Bob Bowman, the innovative and hard-driving swim coach overseeing the push toward the Olympic podium of Michael Phelps, Erik Vendt, Peter Vanderkaay, Kaitlin Sandeno and others, was practically chortling. Continue reading...

Supreme Court Strikes Down ‘Millionaire’s Amendment’

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a law meant to level the financial playing field when rich candidates pay for their own political campaigns.The 5-to-4 decision, legal experts said, was significant for rejecting the rationale behind the law, known as the “millionaire’s amendment,” and for confirming the court’s continuing skepticism about the constitutionality of campaign finance regulations.“Supporters of reasonable campaign finance regulation are now zero for three in the Roberts court,” said Richard L. Hasen, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. “This is a signal of what is to come. What could easily fall following this case are the longstanding limits on corporate and union spending in federal elections.”The law at issue in Thursday’s decision imposed special rules in races with candidates who finance their own campaigns. Those candidates are required to disclose more information, and their opponents are allowed to raise more money.The Supreme Court has upheld campaign finance laws meant to drive the potentially corrupting influence of large contributions out of politics. But the millionaire’s amendment, part of the 2002 McCain-Feingold campaign finance law, is based on a different rationale: that of compensating for the additional financial resources available to candidates willing to spend their own money.SOURCE:NYT.COM

CLAY CANE ON THE BET AWARDS

As you all know, I was thinking positive thoughts. You know, trying to use the law of attraction, new earth, or whatever kick Oprah is on, however, that failed with the 8th Annual BET Awards. Even when I saw glimmers of hope, the next moment I was assaulted with some jumpin’ jehosafats tomfoolery! The show opened with Usher, the current “new legend”. Letting the kids know, "I paved the way! If I would've known what I knew back then, I would've never started a trend!" Do it Usher...DL Hughley starts and there begins the treacherous vertigo of another BET failure. Hughley’s monologue was stiff and full of moronic jokes. Jennifer Hudson and Terrance Howard presented an award, and while I thought J-Hud looked fab, my dear friend said, “She looks like an encased Vienna sausage with arms like two sides of ham at Pookie's barbecue!" Hey, we all see it differently. I’m just glad she didn’t hire Andre Leon Tally! Now, Terrance Howard looked absurd, like a runway dandy from the Mississippi Delta! I'm really afraid of his musical endeavors. Who would've thought I would miss the slick back? Side note: Who are the writers at BET with these awful jokes for the celebrities? Terrance Howard and J-Hud’s ramble sounded like something from the beginning of a porn called Black Tail Shooters.  Hold my mule!The next performance was from Young Jezzy, who must be the Toby Keith of hip-hop, doused in the American flag and a bunch of patriotism like he was running for Republican office. Diva Kanye gave a light performance, which didn’t inspire me. CONTINUE READING ......

Daily Blog Buzz Feed 06.26.09

The indomitable Jenifer Lewis –one for whom the word diva is made -- has been a formidable force in the world of drama and song for almost 30 years.Lewis currently tears up the stage of the Broadway production of 'Hairspray' as Motormouth Maybelle, mother of Seaweed J. Stubbs, played by singer Tevin Campbell. Her ovation at the end is always one of the longest.Here, Lewis opens up about a very real, very pervasive issue in our country: bi polar disorder (formerly manic depression.) Lewis, who created a one woman show about the illness – "Bipolar, Bath and Beyond" -- shares with us her Testimony. Continue reading.... Barack Obama proved to be rather inspiring when fashion designer Donatella Versace unleashed her Spring-Summer 2009 collection in Milan over the weekend and dedicated her entire Menswear collection to the presidential hopeful.Continue reading.... While everyone is having a laugh about Shaquille O'Neal's freestyle except Kobe and Laker fans, the police in Phoenix aren't too happy about it. In 2006, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio made Shaq a special deputy and earlier this year promoted him to colonel. Now Sheriff Arapio wants those badges back.Continue reading.... Cops arrested one suspect and is seeking another in the Javon Walker kidnapping and beating case. Police said Arfat Fadel, of Las Vegas, was accused of multiple felonies, including kidnapping, robbery, battery and conspiracy in the June 16 robbery that left Oakland Raider Javon Walker unconscious in a Las Vegas Hotel driveway with a broken eye socket and $103,000.00 lighter in the pockets. Continue reading... Naomi Campbell was scheduled to introduce some of the acts at Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday Hyde Park charity event this Friday, but insiders say Mandela himself asked she be removed from the line-up.They say Mandela is very disappointed with Naomi's recent arrest, especially because she was photographed leaving the police station wearing a 46664 baseball cap. 46664 was Mandela's prison number-during his 27-year sentence and now promotes his AIDS awareness campaign.Continue reading...