HOT Political Blog of The Week! Prometheus6
Ancestry-related assortative mating in latino populations
Neil Risch, Shweta Choudhry, Marc Via, Analabha Basu, Ronnie Sebro, Celeste Eng, Kenneth Beckman, Shannon Thyne, Rocio Chapela, Jose R Rodriguez-Santana, William Rodriguez-Cintron, Pedro C Avila, Elad Ziv and Esteban Gonzalez Burchard
Genome Biology 2009, 10:R132doi:10.1186/gb-2009-10-11-r132
Published: 20 November 2009
Abstract (provisional)
Background
While spouse correlations have been documented for numerous traits, no prior studies have assessed assortative mating for genetic ancestry in admixed populations.
Results
Using 104 ancestry informative markers, we examined spouse correlations in genetic ancestry for Mexican spouse pairs recruited from Mexico City and the San Francisco Bay Area, and Puerto Rican spouse pairs recruited from Puerto Rico and New York City. In the Mexican pairs, we found strong spouse correlations for European and Native American ancestry, but no correlation in African ancestry. In the Puerto Rican pairs, we found significant spouse correlations for African ancestry and European ancestry but not Native American ancestry. Correlations were not attributable to variation in socioeconomic status or geographic heterogeneity. Past evidence of spouse correlation was also seen in the strong evidence of linkage disequilibrium between unlinked markers, which was accounted for in regression analysis by ancestral allele frequency difference at the pair of markers (European versus Native American for Mexicans, European versus African for Puerto Ricans). We also observed an excess of homozygosity at individual markers within the spouses, but this provided weaker evidence, as expected, of spouse correlation. Ancestry variance is predicted to decline in each generation, but less so under assortative mating. We used the current observed variances of ancestry to infer even stronger patterns of spouse ancestry correlation in previous generations.
Conclusions
Assortative mating related to genetic ancestry persists in Latino populations to the current day, and has impacted on the genomic structure in these populations.
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Because Mr. Mistry has promised to open source his work.
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A systematic review of empirical research on self-reported racism and health
Yin Paradies
This paper reviews 138 empirical quantitative population-based studies of self-reported racism and health. These studies show an association between self-reported racism and ill health for oppressed racial groups after adjustment for a range of confounders. The strongest and most consistent findings are for negative mental health outcomes and health-related behaviours, with weaker associations existing for positive mental health outcomes, self-assessed health status, and physical health outcomes. Most studies in this emerging field have been published in the past 5 years and have been limited by a dearth of cohort studies, a lack of psychometrically validated exposure instruments, poor conceptualization and definition of racism, conflation of racism with stress, and debate about the aetiologically relevant period for self-reported racism. Future research should examine the psychometric validity of racism instruments and include these instruments, along with objectively measured health outcomes, in existing large-scale survey vehicles as well as longitudinal studies and studies involving children. There is also a need to gain a better understanding of the perception, attribution, and reporting of racism, to investigate the pathways via which self-reported racism affects health, the interplay between mental and physical health outcomes, and exposure to intra-racial, internalized, and systemic racism. Ensuring the quality of studies in this field will allow future research to reveal the complex role that racism plays as a determinant of population health.
In recent years, there has been an emerging interest in the epidemiological study of racism and health. The manifestations of racism vary considerably across time and place but in general ensue from societal systems that produce an unequal distribution of power (and hence resources) in societies based on the notion of ‘race’, where race is a social rather than a biological construct related to the notion of essentialized innate phenotypical, ancestral, and/or cultural difference. This review considers only self-reported perceptions/experiences of racism (hereafter referred to as ‘self-reported racism’). Owing to its pervasive nature in contemporary societies racism is frequently not perceptible to individuals or, if perceived, may not always be reported. Hence, it should be clear that in focusing on self-reported racism this paper considers only a very specific subset of this multifarious phenomenon and does not attempt a comprehensive assessment of the impact of racism on population health.
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Two hundred ninety families residing in the State of Minnesota, mostly in rural areas, participated in this study. One parent per family participated in the study (92.4% mothers and 7.6% fathers), and 24 of the families had two children from the same family. On average, the parents were 34.4 years old, were predominately White (89.6%), and slightly more than half were married (53.8%).
Family Income and Parenting: The Role of Parental Depression and Social Support
This study examined the relations among family income, social support, parental depression, and parenting among 290 predominantly rural families with children at risk for disruptive or socially withdrawn behaviors. Structural equation modeling and multiple regression were used, and the results showed that low family income was related to high levels of parental depression, which in turn were associated with disruptive parenting. The findings also showed that social support mediated the adverse relationship between low family income and parental depression. Social support was directly related to positive parenting and indirectly related to parent-child relational frustration via parental depression. Social support also moderated the indirect relationship between low family income and parenting. Implications for prevention intervention are discussed.
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Hope you're not tired of further explanations for our economic collapse last year, but an interview in The American Interest with Jack A. Blum, chairman of Tax Justice Network USA and an expert on tax evasion, money laundering, banking and real estate scams, and corporate fraud, should add a little grist to your mill (hat tip to submariner for bringing it to my attention). There's only a small excerpt available online, but even that lets you know the 14,700 tax evaders that were scared into confessing by the knowledge that UBS had to turn over their most egregious tax evaders to the Feds, is just the tip of the iceberg.
I want to say all the tax cut fanatics should understand that money was moved out there to avoid sane regulations and paying taxes, to avoid supporting the infrastructure that made it possible to gather all that wealth in the first place.But we all know that...what we may not be aware of is the size of this multi-billion dollar black market.
In our September/October 2008 issue, Robert Morgenthau, the District Attorney of New York City, wrote:
Liechtenstein reports having 161 billion in Swiss francs (equal to about $158 billion at current rates) on deposit in 2006. The Bahamas reportedly has about $200 billion in deposits. By contrast, the Cayman Islands boasted that it had over $1.9 trillion on deposit as of September 2007. . . . Total deposits in the Caymans now amount to four times the total deposits in all the banks in New York City.
Now, most Americans, I think, would be amazed at numbers like these, despite having become a bit jaded by the large bailout sums disbursed over the past year or two. How did these numbers get so large? Is this an old problem that has lately gotten much worse, and if so why?
Jack Blum: There’s no way to make sense of the offshore problem without getting your head around the numbers you mentioned. And those numbers leave out financial assets held by corporations and trusts. Trying to understand the role of offshore secrecy and regulatory havens in the financial crisis is like the problem a doctor has treating a metabolic disease with multiple symptoms. Diabetes, for instance, causes high cholesterol, high blood pressure and all sorts of other problems. You can treat several symptoms and still not cure the disease. Similarly, there are plenty of discrete aspects of the meltdown to talk about and many possible treatments for symptoms, but offshore is at the heart of this metabolic disorder. Its roots reach back decades, in bankers’ attempts to escape regulation and taxation and make banking a highly profitable growth business that mimics the industrial economy.
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African American Political Pundit
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Nov. 23, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TASER International, Inc. (Nasdaq:TASR), a leading provider of technology solutions and the market leader in electronic control devices (ECDs), announced that on November 20, 2009, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California entered an order and judgment for TASER International in the arrest-related-death lawsuit entitled Rosa v. TASER International, et al. granting TASER International's motion for summary judgment. Plaintiffs were represented in the Rosa case by California attorneys: John C. Burton, Peter M. Williamson, John F. Baker, and Peter T. Cathcart. Plaintiffs filed their lawsuit in 2005, and aggressively litigated their case for 4 years. The medical examiner had determined cause of death was from the methamphetamine Mr. Rosa ingested.
The Court noted that "California courts require that plaintiffs present evidence of 'general recogni[tion] and prevailing best scientific and medical knowledge' to meet the 'known or knowable' element of a strict liability claim." In addition, the court noted that the "evidence is insufficient as a matter of law to raise a triable issue as to 'knowability' of the risk,... [and] insufficient to create a triable issue as to whether TASER should have known of the risk."
The Court also noted that "TASER has developed a comprehensive warning system in which every ECD sold or distributed is accompanied by a training CD/DVD and operating manual to be used by TASER-certified instructors," and that Defendant's expert Dr. Raymond Fish "unequivocally rejects the theory that ECDs on humans decrease respiration and cause dangerous acidosis."
In granting TASER's motion for summary judgment, the Court stated that TASER International's assertions "are well-taken" that there are no genuine issues of material fact with regard to whether, "the alleged propensity of ECDs to cause metabolic acidosis was known or knowable on December 30, 2003, when the ECDs in question were shipped from TASER to its distributor; [and]... TASER's warnings with respect to the dangers posed by application of its ECDs were adequate..." More HERE
AAPP says: There is a real reason why Taser International can win cases in Federal Court. The Federal judges have been bribed and the Federal government is currently contracting through the Pentagon with Taser International, U.S. Customs and other federal agencies. if anyone is tasered by these Federal Police Departments and Federal Law Enforcement agencies the government would be liable. I smell a conspiracy, do you?
As reported by AFP, CHANTILLY, Virginia — Recession-stoked fears of rising crime and tougher gun laws under a Democratic government are sending US gun sales sky high, and big crowds at the Chantilly Gun Show this weekend proved it once again.
"Do you see the line all around the building and in the back," asked Annette Elliott, co-organizer of one of the top gun shows in Virginia, a conservative state with rather liberal gun laws.
Several hundred people thronged the gun show in the Washington suburb of Chantilly, where some 260 retailers have set up stalls hung with ready-to-fire Smith and Wessons, Glocks, Walthers, Colts and Berettas.
"We've had a huge increase in sales since last October," 2008 just before President Barack Obama was elected. "Well over 200 percent. It's coming back," said Jerry Cochran, owner of his eponymous major gun retailing firm in the state.
He hopes to sell 500 weapons at the gun show this weekend.
Elliott expects as many as 12,000 people will turn up at the three-day gun fair.
In a state where you can wear a loaded weapon on your belt as long as it's in full sight, or a concealed one with a permit, handguns and semi-automatic assault rifles are openly sold to residents after a customary spot check for criminal records.
A questionnaire must also be filled out asking whether the prospective buyer has been convicted of any crime, is an illegal immigrant or is "subject to a court order restraining you from harassing, stalking... an intimate partner." More HERE
AAPP Says: Well I guess the United States is getting wackier every day. Now private citizens will be taseing their kids in order to have the take a shower.
Announcing SCLC's Fort Worth Chapter support, Rev. Kyev Tatum, Sr., President of the SCLC's Fort Worth Tarrant County Chapter said, "The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) is proud to support Stop Taser Torture and encourage all to join in the international Day of Blogging. This is one of the issues that will define our generation's consciousness and human rights position for years to come. Thank you for this moment in history, Plow Forward. "
The Stop Taser Torture Movement is appreciative of Rev. Kyev Tatum, Sr. and the support of the SCLC Fort Worth Tarrant County Chapter.
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The organizations — including the A.F.L.-C.I.O. and the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic advocacy group— will make clear that they believe the president’s $787 billion stimulus program has not gone far enough to fight unemployment.
They will call for increased spending for schools and roads, billions of dollars in fiscal relief to state and local governments to forestall more layoffs and a direct government jobs program, “especially in distressed communities facing severe unemployment.”
AAPP says, It's about time the NAACP said something about the status of black America. It's also about time that the Congressional Black Caucus Congressional Black Caucus addressed the unemployment status of our community.
As Glen Ford at the Black Agenda Report has noted,
The Obama Administration makes it plain that no serious job-creation proposals will be entertained.The employment crisis is to be treated as a waiting game. Civil rights and labor leaders seem not to understand that their president “is philosophically opposed to targeted programs that might directly impact on Black unemployment.” More>>> on the White House plans sham jobs forum.
Now, as reported in the Huffington Post, a bloc of African American House Democrats, angry and worried that not enough is being done about high unemployment by the administration, forced the postponement of a much-anticipated vote Thursday on comprehensive financial regulation reform. The Financial Services Committee had finished hearing amendments around 3 p.m. and recessed, planning to return at 4 for a final vote on the package. But during the break, some of the Democrats on the committee buttonholed Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and told him they wouldn't vote for the bill because of the deepening problem of unemployment in their districts. The refusal to vote for the package, a key priority of the administration, and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner in particular, was portrayed as a direct rebuke of the White House's "lack of response to the economic situation." "We will not be proceeding to passage today," Frank began. "I have been meeting with members of the committee, particularly the members of the Congressional Black Caucus, who have informed me that they are troubled by what they believe is the lack of response to the economic situation that is confronting them on the part of the administration, and therefore do not feel that they could -- in deference to the various constituencies that they represent -- vote for passage." The CBC met earlier this week with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and expressed dissatisfaction with the administration's response to the unemployment situation, an aide familiar with the meeting said. More HERE
The bogus CBC and Congressional Black Caucus decision to buck Barack Obama all of sudden, is a tell tale sign that they will have competition in there own elections this years, as many people will hopefully come out of the woodwork to run against them.
Many of their districts are turning into white urban enclaves due to gentrification.
I have been pointing out for some time on my BlogTalkRadio program that these black politicans are just crooks and liars like their counterparts. They could care less about the Sub Prime Tsunami that black folks have experienced. According to a recent report, Blacks and Latinos will lose between $163 billion and $278 billion from sub prime loans taken out over the past eight years. Blacks will lose $71 billion to $122 billion, while Latino borrowers will lose between $76 billion to $129 billion for the same period.
More HERE
PS: Let me not even talk about the National office of the NAACP. I hope to have them on my blogtakradio program in the next few weeks.
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http://ping.fm/rBhpqStandards For police Taser Use supported By Publisher of Tasered While Black Blog
http://ping.fm/0n9fVTasered For Needing Help
http://ping.fm/87K40Movement to Stop Taser Torture now on Facebook and Twitter
I just finished reading the Police Executive Research Forum's Taser policy guidelines. The forum is a research group for police chiefs and administrators funded by the U.S. Department of Justice. There are 52 standards that were released in 2005. It was an attempt to standardize police department Taser policy nationally. The guidelines are a good start, and should be adopted in State Legislatures across America. Hopeful Canada would do the same. Do I want tasered outlawed, yes. Yet in the interim, strict policy must be created and enforced.
Some of the police forum's standards provide stricter guidelines for Taser use and improve internal oversight, training and medical care for people shot with a Taser. These standards cover issues not adequately addressed in thousands of police department across the United States, Canada and other countries.
Results include your SearchWiki notes for
Chicgao sun times, taser. Share these notes
Blogger,
African American Political Pundit, who also publishes the blogs,
Stop Taser Torture,
Tasered While Black said, "every police department in the United States should compare it's Police Department's
Taser policy with the forum's standards." He also said, there is a need for all police departments to establish a clear policy on providing medical treatment from medical professionals to people shot with Tasers." The bottom line is police agencies should be required to contact emergency responders whenever the police respond to a call where they believe a Taser might be used." The blogger said, "It's time for police departments to take corrective action and it's time for Congressional and state legislators, along with state police agencies to take the lead in developing strict requirements, such as those spelled out in the Police Executive Research Forum's Taser policy guidelines."
Don't forget to join us on
December 4th.
“Stop Taser Torture, blogging for Justice.” as we raise awareness and trigger a global discussion. Contact us at:
StopTaserTorture@gmail.com to register your blog.
Please place a button on your blog.
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Back-to-Back-to-Back Taser Deaths Kicks Off Crusade
By Eddie G. Griffin (BASG)
Since the maker of the 50,000-volt electronic stun gun control device (ECD), TASER International, issued a new directive and warnings in an October 12, 2009 memo, there has been six more death, three in a matter of four days this past week:
• 453. November 13, 2009: Herman George Knabe, 58, Corpus Christi, Texas
• 454. November 14, 2009: Darryl Bain, 43, Long Island, New York
• 455. November 16, 2009: Matthew Bolick, 30, East Grand Rapids, Michigan
The word about tasers is obviously not getting out. There is still a general public acceptance of tasers as an better alternative to more deadly force, and the common belief among law enforcement that the instrument saves more lives than are lost. But is it saving lives of officers in the field at the expense of the lives of innocent people and thereby endangering the general public’s safety?
Truth Not Tasers blogsite now list the names of 455 people in North America who have lost their lives by tasers.
In a continuing effort to raise public awareness about the deadliness of the weapon, and the memory of those who needlessly died, we are waging a blogging campaign on December 4, 2009. The purpose of the Stop Taser Torture Blogging for Justice Day is “to unite the world’s bloggers” in America, Canada, and throughout the world to join in on the effort to stop tasers.
[Blog Registration through StopTaserTorture@gmail.com]
AfroSpear Network Blogger, Eddie G. Griffin (BASG), has joined the campaign to register the grievances against TASER International on behalf of Fort Worth, Texas families who have lost love ones to the device.
• 424. April 18, 2009: Michael Jacobs Jr., 24, Fort Worth, Texas
• 228. August 23, 2006: Noah Lopez, 25, Fort Worth, Texas
• 138. June 24, 2005: Carolyn Daniels, 25, Fort Worth, Texas
• 116. April 3, 2005: Eric Hammock, 43, Fort Worth, Texas
• 86. November 2, 2004: Robert Guerrero, 21, Fort Worth, Texas
Eddie G. Griffin (BASG), an Adult Friend of World’s Children’s Prize for the Rights of the Child, Mariefred, Sweden, also raise the issue of tasers used against children, contrary to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, Resolution 44/25, adopted by the General Assembly on 20 November 1989, which states in Article 6 that “every child has the inherent right to life”, and in Article 37 (a) No child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
These are children who died by taser.
• 7. December 15, 2001: Hannah Rogers-Grippi, 6 months fetus, Chula Vista, California
• 144. July 12, 2005: Kevin Omas, 17, Euless, Texas
• 249. October 29, 2006: Roger Holyfield, 17, Jerseyville, Illinois
• 351. March 20, 2008: Darryl Wayne Turner, 17, Charlotte, North Carolina
• 379. July 22, 2008: Michael Langan, 17, Winnipeg, Manitoba
• 408. January 8, 2009: Derrick Jones, 17, Martinsville, Virginia
• 417. March 22, 2009: Brett Elder, 15, Bay City, Michigan
• 421. April 10, 2009: Robert Mitchell, 16, Detroit, Michigan
Although the United States is not a signatory party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, these voiceless children have need of an advocate to speak on their behalf.
417. March 22, 2009: Brett Elder, 15, Bay City, Michigan
Hello, my name is Bethany and I have been reading a lot about how to try and change the state laws in Michigan. I was very close to the 15-year old boy Brett Elder (Dewy). I think about him every day and there is nothing I can do to bring him back, but there is something I can do, and that is to start a Petition. As you may know there have already been two deaths of minors in the State of Michigan this year. I am currently in the process of creating a petition (Dewy’s Minor Taser Protection Act).
If you have any advice for me please feel free to e-mail me. I have also a myspace:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=474323826
Bethany A. Schuster, Bay City, Michigan (Tinkerbell283125@comcast.net)
[Editor's Note: As I write, a 10-year old girl has been tasered.]
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Alabama’s most populous county filed suit Friday blaming Wall Street powerhouse JPMorgan Chase and others for the financial disaster that brought it to the brink of what would be the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.
Source: Mark Lennihan / The Associated Press
Jefferson County in Alabama filed a suit that contends JPMorgan Chase and others were part of a conspiracy.
The suit, filed in state court by Jefferson County, contends JPMorgan Securities Inc., JPMorgan Chase Bank, former Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford and dozens of other defendants were part of a conspiracy to generate huge fees through a series of deals called rate swaps.
The deals were supposed to help the county manage debt from a massive sewer renovation but instead generated huge fees and crippled the county’s finances, according to the complaint. “These transactions provided no value to the county or its citizens and created an inherently flawed financial structure that imploded within just a few years,” said the complaint, which seeks an unspecified amount in damages.
The lawsuit also names Montgomery-based investment banker Bill Blount and lobbyist Al LaPierre, both of whom pleaded guilty to bribing Langford in deals that generated $ 7.1 million in fees for Blount’s company, Blount Parrish & Co., which also is a defendant in the case.
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Larry Langford: 'Calm inside' as verdicts halt career
Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford waits outside the the Federal Building in Tuscaloosa, Ala, as the jury deliberates during his federal bribery trial Wednesday, October 28, 2009. (The Birmingham News /Tamika Moore) Larry Langford, Birmingham's mayor and a former Jefferson County commissioner, has been found guilty in his federal bribery trial.
Langford, who is 61 or 63, was found guilty of taking about $236,000 in cash and gifts from Montgomery investment banker Bill Blount and lobbyist Al LaPierre.
Both pleaded guilty in the case and testified they made cash payments to Langford while he was the president of the Jefferson County Commission to ensure business for Blount's investment bank, Blount Parrish & Co.
"We all have our trials, this too will pass," Langford said as he walked from the courtroom followed closely by his wife.
"The citizens of Birmingham have been fantastic to me," he said outside the courthouse.
He said the verdict will be appealed. "I'm no crybaby, but ..."
"At the end of the day, I shot my best shot, but the jury ruled the way that they did," he said, in a wide-ranging press conference outside court.
"All this trial did was interrupt my Bible study classes for two weeks," he said, adding he faces a potential sentence of 805 years. He said if he lived to be 80, he would have to die and "come back 10 more times" to serve such a sentence.
Judge Scott Coogler decided Langford would forfeit $241,843. The lawyers agreed.
Coogler ordered a sentencing report within 90 to 120 days and said Langford would remain free until then on the existing $50,000 unsecured bond.
Birmingham City Council President Carole Smitherman is now mayor of Alabama's largest city. (Corrected: A swearing in is not required) More HERE
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Is there ever a time when a 10 year old kid should be tasered by police for bad behavior?
According to OZARK, Ark. Police there is: Get this, according to 4029tv.com -- Ozark police said they were called to a home where a mother asked for help with her unruly child, but the 10-year-old's father said he's outraged at the force police used against his daughter.
"I would like to say Ozark police Tased this little girl right here.
Ten years old and [they] shot electricity through her body, and I want to know how the heck in God's green earth can they get away with this," said the girl's father, Anthony Medlock.Medlock said his daughter was at her mother's house when Ozark police Officer Dustin Bradshaw shocked her in the back with a Taser and arrested her."If you can't pick the kid up and take her to your car, handcuff her, then I don't think you need to be an officer," Medlock said.Medlock said his daughter does show signs of having emotional issues, but she "doesn't deserve to be treated like a dog.
She's not a tiger."According to a police report, the officer was called to the home by the mother and witnessed the child kicking and screaming.The officer's statement said the girl's mother, Kelly Hamlert, told him to use a Taser on her if he needed to.The officer did shock the girl after he said she kicked him in the groin."He had no other choice. He had to get the child under control," said Ozark police Chief Jim Noggle.Noggle said the officer shocked the girl for about a second.Ozark police said it is their policy to use a Taser on someone who is a threat to others, no matter their age. More HERE
According to Cameron Langford at the Court House News Service, Police in Texas public schools are increasingly using force against children, including Tasers and pepper spray, and the "overwhelming majority" of police "interventions" involve "low-level, non-violent misdemeanors like disruption of class or disorderly conduct," a public interest group says.
Texas Appleseed claims the Spring Branch Independent School District is putting students at risk and violating the law by refusing to release its "use of force" policy.
More than 75 percent of Spring Branch, a suburb northwest of Houston, is black or Latino. The school district claims its use of force policy is exempt from disclosure because of the exception for law enforcement.
Texas Appleseed says it sent open records requests to 24 Texas school districts, seeking their police departments' use of force policies, and 11 produced the documents. The group say its investigation revealed accounts of police in Texas public schools using pepper spray and Tasers on students.
"The public interest in ensuring full dialogue around policies relating to use force on Texas school children outweighs any risk to SBISD-PD's ability to affect arrests or engage in law enforcement on its campuses," Texas Appleseed says in its complaint in Harris County Court.
Appleseed says that reports of Texas school police using pepper spray and Tasers on school children are becoming more common. It says the data its has received shows the "overwhelming majority of law enforcement interventions on Texas school campuses involve school-aged children cited or arrested for low-level, non-violent misdemeanors like disruption of class or disorderly conduct." Read More HERE
TWB Publisher says: I'm glad to see that a watchdog group wants Info on Police Use of Force Against Schoolkids. It's time to stop the torture of school children in our public school system. Where is the U.S. Department of Justice when we need them to protect our children? Texas is not the only state torturing our children.
ENOUGH is ENOUGH
Join up with:
Let's build a blogger movement to stand in the gap for our children!
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Former police officer Scott Nuugent's trial originally was scheduled to start July 13, but it was postponed so a key witness, Winn Parish Coroner Randolph Williams, could recover from an accidental gunshot wound.
It's important to note, as reported by findingdulcinea.com that police officer Scott Nugent arrested 21-year-old Baron Pikes, handcuffed him and shot him six times in three minutes with a Taser as he struggled to escape.
Once Pikes was in the police car, Nugent shot him a seventh time in the chest. Pikes stopped responding, but Nugent shot him twice more after removing him from the car. Pikes was ruled dead within a half hour.
Nugent was charged with manslaughter August 13 by a grand jury that ruled he used the Taser “unnecessarily” and failed to get medical help. He faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted.
The mother of Pikes’s four-year-old son has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Nugent, city officials and Taser International, the manufacturer of the gun. More HERE
Meanwhile, as reported by NewsDay, the mother of a drugged-up Long Island man who died after being shot by a Taser gun while fighting with police officers Saturday said cops didn't have to stun her boy.
Darryl Bain, 43, was high on cocaine and had locked himself and his elderly mother in her Coram home about 2:46 a.m., causing his brother, Kevin, to call 911, relatives and Suffolk County police said.
But Bain was not posing any threat and didn't need to be stunned with a Taser, said Phyllis Hawkins, his mom.
"I was just trying to get him to get his hands off the door," Hawkins, 78, said."He seemed to be getting himself together from what he did," she said, adding that she smelled alcohol on her son's breath.
"[The police] know that when he gets like that, he calms himself down," she said.
Hearing a struggle with his mother, who has an order of protection against her son, officers broke down the door and tried to wrestle him to the ground, police said.
Bain was shot with the Taser but continued to fight with the officers as they tried to cuff him and they zapped him again, police said. He stopped breathing moments later.
Join us and let's stop the Taser madness ---- it's time for all bloggers whether you be, Black, White, Latino, Native American, Asian, or progressives to come together on this issue. As Villager, at Electronic Village noted recently, "These deaths keep piling on at a rate of once-per-week." I also encourage all bloggers to join us on December 4, 2009 when we gather for a Day of Blogging for Justice to Stop Taser Torture.
Don't forget to Sign The Petition to Request Congressional hearings on Taser Torture in America.
As the Dallas South On-line Newspaper noted, It's time for Congress and the Justice Department to revisit the use of force continuum due to lethal nature of Tasers.
Let's make the December 4th event bigger than our day of blogging for Justice – Standing up against the pre-trial electrocution effort.
Please Sign up now!
Here is a partial list of last years participants and what they said about taser torture:
African American Opinion - A Day of Blogging for Justice …
African American Political Opinion – “A Day of Blogging for Justice …
African American Political Pundit – A Day of Blogging for Justice – Blogging Against Extra-Judicial Electrocution via Tasers
All About Race – A Day of Blogging for Justice
Ancestralenergies – Day-of-Blogging-For-Justice
Black Perspective.com - Taser Awareness – Blogging Against Extrea Judicial Electrocution
Christina Springer Blog- Wish-I-Had-More-Time
Eddie G. Griffin (BASG) - Officer may be indicted for Tasing Death of Scooter
Electronic Village -Electronic Village: End Police Pre-Trial, Extra Judicial
Electrocuted While black – Electrocuted While Black: “A Day of Blogging for Justice
InkogNegro – Day of Blogging for Justice – Don’t Tase the Bros to death
Jack and Jill Politics - Extra-Judicial Electrocution – Jack & Jill Politics
Jena 6 Blog - Barron-pikes-tasered-while-handcuffed.html
Police Brutality Blog - “A Day of Blogging for Justice
Purple Zoe -A Day-of-blogging-opposing-pre-trial Electrocution
Regina’s Family Seasons - “A Day Of Blogging For Justice” – Tasers.\
Republic of T – Held Suspect
A Slant Truth – Blogging For Justice – Police Abuse (Tasers)
Tasered While Black - Tasered While Black: A Day of Blogging For Justice
Ultra Violet Underground - Day Of Blogging Opposing Pre-Trial Electrocution aka Tasering
What Tami Said – A day of blogging for justice
Wonderland or Not - Taser-lets-get-a-clue
The Black Snob – A Fight Against Taser Abuse and Other News
The Super Spade – A Day of Blogging for Justice – Against – Extra – Judicial Electrocution
Are you on this years list yet? Join the growing list of blogs that are making the December 4th event bigger than our day of blogging for Justice – Standing up against the pre-trial electrocution effort.
Join up with:
And many More! Sign up now!
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According to the Washington Informer.com the The District of Columbia is close to recognizing marriage between members of the same sex. A D.C. Council committee voting on Tues., Nov. 10 to send the bill authorizing the practice to the full council.
By a vote of 4-1, with D.C. Council member Yvette Alexander (D-Ward 7) dissenting, the Public Safety and Judiciary Committee sent D.C. Council member David Catania’s (I-At-Large) bill, “The Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009”, for a first reading vote, which is scheduled to take place on Tues., Dec. 1. The bill was amended to include giving the right of a church to deny its facilities for same sex marriages activities without any penalties from the city’s human rights laws.
There are 10 original co-sponsors of Catania’s bill, including D.C. Council Chair Vincent Gray (D). Council member Harry Thomas (D-Ward 5) did not co-sponsor the bill but has indicated that he will vote for passage. Alexander’s chief of staff, J.R. Meyers said that constituent concerns dictated his boss’s decision to oppose Catania’s bill.
“The councilwoman will follow the wishes of her constituents of Ward 7 and will not vote for this legislation,” Meyers said. “She will not lead any opposition to it. She just will not vote for it.”
Natalie Williams, the spokesperson for Council member Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) said that her boss opposes the bill. More HERE
AAPP: It looks like same sex marriage will be the name of the game across America. Well, then again maybe not. As reported by
Base Line Scenario.com the state of Maine voted to
restrict marriage to opposite-sex couples.
What do you think? Should the District of Columbia recognize same sex marriage? Should your community recognize same sex marriage ?
CORPUS CHRISTI — According to caller.com, and kristv, a 58-year-old South Carolina man who police subdued using a Taser and then performed CPR on died Friday.
The man was removed from life support Friday afternoon by doctors at Christus Spohn Hospital South, said Corpus Christi Police Capt. Todd Green, department spokesman.
Authorities wouldn’t release the man’s name, pending notification of family members. An autopsy will be done by the Nueces County Medical Examiner’s Office to determine an official cause of death, police said. The autopsy could take days depending upon the medical examiner’s workload Monday morning, according to Ric Ortiz, an assistant to the medical examiner.
“A preliminary investigation has shown the officers acted appropriately in responding to an aggressive individual who was acting erratically,” said Police Chief Troy Riggs “Unfortunately, he has died and we will continue the investigation.”
The five patrol officers who were placed on paid administrative leave have been cleared to work, Green said. Placing the officers on paid administrative is a routine policy for incidents under investigation, he said.
The incident began at 6:54 p.m. Wednesday when officer Stephan Beletic saw drivers flashing their headlights at Cimarron Boulevard and Airline Road. Beletic saw a man riding his bicycle illegally against the flow of traffic and attempted to stop him. The man didn’t stop and rode into a parking lot of restaurant where he banged on the restaurant’s window and spoke unintelligibly, Green said.
Beletic, who already had called for backup, began to frisk the man to make sure he wasn’t armed.
The man resisted, and Beletic managed to cuff one hand, but the man continued to struggle. Officers Ross Murray and Daryl Anderson arrived on the scene and Murray used a Taser, hitting the man in the lower back. The man appeared unaffected by the 50,000-volt stun gun, Green said, adding that police aren’t sure if the probe even penetrated the several layers of clothes the man was wearing.
Murray then placed the Taser on the man’s shoulder blade and shocked him, Green reported. The man continued to be combative, Green said.
Anderson used pepper spray, which also did little. Officer Jason Rhodes arrived and the four fell to the ground in a struggle with the man.
It wasn’t until a fifth officer, Jason Tello, arrived that they were able to finishing handcuffing the man, Green said.
Once the man was in custody, he quit breathing, Green said. MORE HERE
AAPP: How many more deaths will it take before America gets angry and asks for a Federal inquiry into the tasering and torture of American Citizens? Why is it that we only have 2,000 signed petitions for a Congressional hearing on Taser Torture? Enough is enough folks.
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(Family Photo)
On Wednesday, police continued their search for 5-year-old Shaniya Davis, who went missing from her Fayetteville, NC home early Tuesday morning.Investigators have now recovered a blanket from a neighbor’s trash can that may belong to the little girl. Neighbor, Andrea Moore, told WRAL that police said the blanket found in her garbage belonged to Shaniya. More HERE
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Police Revise Stun Gun Rules For Officers .
According to Ozarksunbound.com the Fayetteville police will no longer use Tasers on folks who are passively resisting and will avoid the upper chest area when administering the shock, according to a story today in the Northwest Arkansas Times. Avoiding the chest area as the primary target area lessens controversy from critics that the electrical shock could negatively affect a target’s heart. Police Chief Greg Tabor told reporter Kate Ward that the recommendations were based on Taser International’s own recent recommendations for using the ‘less lethal’ device. More HERE
AAPP: This is good news!
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City Councilor Chuck Turner has said for months that voters would look past his federal indictment and grant him another term, and last week the five-term Roxbury councilor got his vindication: a 20-point blowout over challenger Carlos “Tony’’ Henriquez.
Chuck Turner
But that is OK to some, because Felix Arroyo’s decisive victory in last week’s at-large city councilor race provided at least one Latino on the City Council. Read More at The Bay State Banner.
According to
Boston.com, Turner, 69, was indicted last year on charges that he accepted $1,000 in cash in exchange for helping a nightclub win a liquor license. Turner has strongly denied the charges, pointing to his beat-up Mazda and his modest home as evidence that he does not live a high-end lifestyle.
He is scheduled to appear in a federal courtroom in March, and some voters who did not vote for Turner said the unresolved case factored in their decisions. Former senator Dianne Wilkerson, who was indicted on related charges, lost her reelection bid last year and was forced to resign her seat.
To Turner, the results proved that voters were on his side.
“I think we can see in the community’s reaction to the attempt of [former] US attorney [Michael] Sullivan and others to drive me out of office . . . that the community not only says no to that, but at the same time gives unprecedented votes for at-large candidates of color.’’
Henriquez expressed disappointment that the district’s voters felt content with Turner.
“We need to continue to raise the level of expectations of residents in Roxbury,’’ Henriquez, a 32-year-old community activist who also lost to Turner in 2007, said in a telephone interview. “I’m a little disappointed by the fact that 60 percent of our residents think the level of services are adequate.’’
More HEREBlack and Latino voters key to Mayor Menino's election
City Councilors Chuck Turner (left) and Charles Yancey (center) celebrate Felix Arroyo’s (third from left) decisive victory in last week’s at-large city councilor race. The three also expressed their gratitude to voters while standing in Grove Hall last week. (Photo courtesy of Charles Yancey) More HERE
AAPP says: I guess my Hometown of Roxbury, MA forgot these pictures.
They also forgot about the
12-page affidavit filed in US District Court alleges that Turner was surreptitiously videotaped accepting the cash in his district office on Aug. 3, 2007, in exchange for pushing for a liquor license for the Roxbury nightclub Dejavu. Included with the affidavit are two photographs of Turner allegedly accepting the bribe.
As reported by the Boston Globe, In one image, Turner's trademark white goatee is clearly visible as folded green bills are pressed into his hand.
But, hey voters in New Orleans forgot about
Dollar Bill Jefferson who was finally Convicted.
UPDATE:
Jefferson gets 13 years in prison
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Wichita NAACP Blog
In July of 2009, delegates to the NAACP National Convention approved a resolution to condemn the practice of sentencing Juveniles to Life without Parole sentences. The Resolution also called upon branches to work within their respective states to bring an end to this practice. While Kansas is one the the 7 states in the county that prohibits the sentencing of Juveniles to Life sentences without the possibility of parole, the Wichita Branch and the Kansas State Conference of the NAACP would like to add our voice to the those calling for an end to this practice. Currently, the United States and Somalia are the only two nations in the world that have not ratified Article 37 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child which bans participants from sentencing children to life in prison.
Click here to
sign a petition to support Sara Kruzan
Click here to read the
Human Rights Watch report on Juvenile Life Sentences
Click here for the
Public Interest Law Center's report on Florida's disproportionality in Juvenile Life sentencing
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With unemployment among blacks at more than 15 percent, and
in light of new unemployment data released for October 2009, the NAACP joined with several other groups this week to call on President Obama to do more to create jobs.
The organizations, including the Leadership Council on Civil Rights, the AFL-CIO, the Center for Community Change, the National Council of La Raza, and the Economic Policy Institute, stated that they believe the president’s $787 billion stimulus program has not gone far enough to fight unemployment. In response to the crisis, the groups held a panel discussion this week to raise awareness and suggest potential solutions for policymakers. They also issued a
joint statement advocating for strong congressional action to address the crisis, starting with extending unemployment benefits, food stamps, and COBRA to meet the needs of the significant number of unemployed people facing a long road to recovery.
“It’s time for us to really stoke this issue up,” said Hilary O. Shelton; NAACP Senior VP for Advocacy and Policy. “We’re not so much trying to convince him to do something he doesn’t want to do, but urging him to move forward on an issue we have agreement on.”
Currently, nearly 16 million Americans are unable to find employment and another nine million are only able to find part-time employment, according to the
EPI. And finding jobs is increasingly difficult – there are over six job seekers for each available job opening. The situation is even more difficult for workers of color. The unemployment rate for blacks has jumped to 15.7 percent, from 8.9 percent when the recession started 23 months ago. That compares with 13.1 percent for Hispanics and 9.5 percent for whites. The black unemployment rate has climbed above 20 percent in several states, reaching 23.9 percent in Michigan and 20.4 percent in South Carolina.
"Make no mistake – this is the civil rights issue of the moment," said LCCR President and CEO Wade Henderson. "Unless we resolve our national job crisis, all of our other priorities – from reforming health care and fixing our broken immigration system, to stemming home foreclosures and expanding economic opportunity for all Americans – are in real jeopardy."
Several members of the Kansas State Conference of the NAACP and regional activists attended a meeting with Tom Perez; Assistant Attorney General of the United States and head of DOJ Civil Rights Division, to discuss the strengthening of the agency's Civil Rights enforcement efforts. In attendance were
Kevin Myles; President of the Kansas State Conference,
Henry Lyons; President of the Olathe Branch,
Katrina Robertson; President of the Johnson County Branch,
Loris Jones; State Conference Education Committee Chair, Former State Conference President
Charles Jean-Baptiste, and
Mary Ann Flounder. Also in attendance
Nimrod Chapel; Political Affairs Chairman for the Missouri State Conference,
Marvin Szneler of the Jewish Community Relations Bureau,
Gwen Grant of the Urban League of Greater Kansas City,
Mona Lee Perry of the American Indian Council,
Alvin Sykes of the Emmett Till Justice Campaign,
Jessica Piedra of the Coalition of Hispanic Organizations, and several representatives of the US Attorney's Office and the Kansas City Human Relations Department.
The Kansas State NAACP Delegation called for the agency to focus additional attention on:
- Child Welfare disparities in removal and reunification rates
- Non-Compliance of States with the National Voter Registration Act of 94
- Unitary Status/Re-segregation and the inequitable distribution of talent and teaching experience in recently desegregated districts
- Ricci Vs DeStephano and its impact on Title VII enforcement
- Wren Vs the United States and why we believe statistical Racial Profiling data rises to the level of a 14th amendment claim
- The underfunding of Public Defender's offices and the resulting effect on poor and low income peoples ability to obtain adequate representation
- And Employment Discrimination; namely how shifting interpretations of the term "similarly situated" creates a practically insurmountable standard that makes racial discrimination cases almost impossible to win.
We were also given direct contact numbers for the registering of complaints and in the coming days, we will be re-filing complaints that were overlooked or dismissed by the previous administration; foremost among these -
the case of Rowana Riggs...
Nimrod Chapel, Political Affairs Chairman of the Missouri State NAACP, presented a detailed synopsis of the Heather Ellis case with a request for follow-up from the DOJ. NAACP National Board member Anita Russell and Missouri State Conference President Mary Ratliff were scheduled to attend but were delayed in their return from the
rally for Heather Ellis in Kennett Missouri...
The U.S. Senate blocked a controversial amendment that would have required the Census Bureau to belatedly add a citizenship question to the 2010 Census questionnaire.
In voting for cloture on the Commerce Justice and Science (CJS) FY10 Appropriations bill, a majority of senators effectively stopped the amendment from coming up for a vote. If approved, the amendment would have asked respondents to identify if they are a U.S. citizen and would have required the reprinting of Census questionnaires at an estimated cost of $1 billion.
The Vitter-Bennett amendment was opposed by the Leadership Council on Civil Rights, the NAACP and NAACP LDF, LULAC, People for the American Way, the Center for American Progress, the Japanese American Citizens League, SEIU, MALDEF, the NALEO Education Fund, and many other oraganizations. "The civil rights community won an important battle today in the fight for a fair and accurate 2010 census that counts every person in the United States as required by the U.S. Constitution," said LCCR President and CEO Wade Henderson.
The amendment threatened to severely disrupt the 2010 Census. LCCR argued that hastily considered changes such as those proposed by Sens. Vitter and Bennett would delay the census and jeopardize the timing of redistricting and reapportionment, as well as negatively affect any public and private project that depends upon an accurate count of the U.S. population.
After a torrent of meetings, discussions, emails, and phone calls, the question of whether or not the Lord's Diner would open a satellite facility on 21st street in Northeast Wichita has finally been answered. The Lord's Diner held a press conference on Saturday 11/14, and released a prepared statement that said in part,
"Regrettably, over the past few months, we have reached an impasse in our efforts to move forward with a Lord's Diner in the northeast community. Out of respect for those who have voiced concerns, we are withdrawing our proposal for a Lord's Diner at 21st and Grove."
The Lord's Diner contacted the Mayor and asked that the Public Hearing scheduled for November 17th be taken off of the agenda.
As a party to many of the discussions that have taken place within the community and with the Lord's Diner, the Wichita NAACP would like to personally thank Wendy Glick and the board of the Lord's Diner for their willingness to dialogue, and for their responsiveness to the concerns of the community.
While we were firm in our opposition to their proposed 21st site, we believe in and fully support the mission and work of the Lord's Diner. It is our hope that in the coming days we might build upon the relationships and connections we've made and continue to explore opportunities for future partnerships and collaborations.
FREE! NFHTA Regional Fair Lending Training
The following courses will be offered at no cost to the public:
Lending Discrimination: What you need to know (2 Days)
Financial Aspects of Buying a Home (3 Days)
Preventing Foreclosure (3 Days)
Buyer Beware (2 Days)
These courses will be offered in the following locations:
Cleveland, OH -
details and registration
Ft Worth, TX -
details and registration
Los Angeles -
details and registration
Miami, FL -
details and registration
Philadelphia, PA -
details and registration
Phoenix, AZ -
details and registration
Salt Lake City, UT -
details and registration
Stockton, CA -
details and registration
For more information contact Maqueda Fuller (202) 314-3422
The Wichita Airport Authority and The MidAmerica Minority Business Development Council have partnered together to host the Airport Authority Minority Outreach Meet & Greet on
Thursday, November 19, 2009 from 5:00pm – 8:00pm. The event will be held at the Wichita Airport Hilton, 2098 S. Airport Rd.
This networking event has been specifically designed to aggressively target minority firms for contracting opportunities on upcoming Airport projects. Prime contractors, Women, Disadvantaged and Minority Business Enterprises are encouraged to attend. A formal presentation on the upcoming Terminal and other construction projects will begin at 6:00pm. Light snacks and refreshments will also be provided.
The following resource partners will be onsite to answer any questions about business development resources and/or subcontracting opportunities.
- Wichita Airport Authority Staff
- AECOM – Program Management Staff
- MidAmerica Minority Business Development Council Staff
- Small Business Administration – Wichita Division Staff
- Kansas Department of Transportation – Disadvantaged Business Enterprise
- City of Wichita – Emerging Business Enterprise Program Staff
For additional information contact Wichita Airport Authority representative, Linda Turley at (316)946-4716 or the MAMBDC Office at (316) 303-1703. Online registration is available at: www.mambdc.org
Registration deadline: Monday, November 16, 2009.
Tomorrow, Saturday, the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on health care reform. The future of health care for you, me, and every American hinges on this historic vote. So now is the time to make your voice heard.
Please send an e-mail to your representative today and ask him or her to support a health care reform bill with a strong public option.
Unless we pass a strong bill, the color of your skin, your ethnic background, and where you live will continue to influence your access to health care, as well as the quality and cost of your care.
Leaders of the Congressional Black Caucus came by the War Room today to urge us to help them pass real health care reform with a strong public option. With your help NOW, we can end discrimination in health care coverage and ensure access for every American.
Click here to send an e-mail to your representative in Congress and tell him or her to support health care legislation with a strong public option requiring all individuals to have insurance.
So, this is it. Let us ensure that Congress stops a system that delays, denies and defends the lack of care.
Click here to listen to a personal message from Congressional Black Caucus Chair Barbara Lee. Then, send a letter to your member of Congress now to urge him or her to support real health care reform with a strong public option when the vote takes place tomorrow.
The U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights has proposed significant changes in Civil Rights Data Collection. The Department's proposal includes a biennial survey of roughly half the nation's schools (over 7,000 districts), with new requests for data on:
- Bullying/harassment of students in violation of civil rights laws
- Use of seclusion and restraint
- School-related arrests and referrals to law enforcement
- Expulsions under zero-tolerance school disciplinary policies
- Student retention
- College-preparatory courses, International Baccalaureate programs, and SAT and ACT test participation
- Pre-kindergarten programs
- School counselors
- School finance
- Teaching experience
The proposed changes provide that the data collected be disaggregated by race and ethnicity, gender, special education status (pursuant to IDEA and Section 504), and LEP status.
The Department of Education will accept comments on the Civil Rights Data Collection submitted on or before Tuesday, November 10, 2009. We urge you to submit recommendations and comments; your input is essential to securing collection of this critical data. The DOE has already received comments in opposition to the breadth of the proposed changes.Materials on the proposed modifications can be found on the web at:
http://edicsweb.ed.gov. Click "browse pending collections" and choose #4127. The most relevant documents are labeled "B-4" and "B-5."
Comments should be submitted by e-mail to
ICDocketMgr@ed.gov.
By way of example, the Dignity in Schools Campaign has drafted comments addressing the disciplinary changes in the proposed Civil Rights Data Collection; a Word version of the comments is available at
http://dignityinschools.org.
Thank you for your input, and your continued work and leadership in providing high quality, inclusive schools for all the nation's schoolchildren.
Wichita Branch and Kansas State Conference President KMyles spoke to a group of 20 young men at Northwest High School today. What was supposed to be a 15 minute talk stretched out to nearly an hour on the need for young black men to start thinking critically about their futures. Several of the young men indicated that they now plan to join the NAACP Debate team while others requested additional tutoring or educational assistance. The focus of the talk was on the fact that being "good enough" simply isn't good enough, mediocrity is for the mediocre and we should all strive to be excellent...
Booker Rising.net
For several weeks, she has been at a standoff with her center-right UMP party over the March 2010 regional elections, being admonished for not being a "team player". However, Rama Yade, the French Secretary of State for Sports and moderate-conservative, stood firm and will be a candidate in her home Hauts-de-Seine area, as she wished (article in French).
Valérie Pécresse, UMP leader in Ile-de-France region, long tried to convince Ms. Yade to do "baptism of fire" in the Val-d'Oise area, has backtracked (article in French). "We all agree that it is more consistent for Rama to contest Hauts-de-Seine", Ms. Pécresse announced today.
What reportedly tipped the scales in Ms. Yade's favor is her desire to conquer her hometown of Colombes, a socialist city in Hauts-de-Seine, where she is already an opposition city councilwoman (article in French). Also, elected UMP officials in Val d'Oise privately expressed their unhappiness about Ms. Yade - who is not from the area - being put higher on the ballot in their area than their names.
As regular Booker Rising readers know, French President Nicolas Sarkozy wanted Ms. Yade - who has been polling as France's most popular politician for months and who is the former human rights minister - to contest the elections in Val d'Oise. This district is where many poor immigrants live and which is infamous for its violence and riots. Secretary Yade had been resisting this request, because she grew up in the affluent Hauts-de-Seine district.
Why is Hauts-de-Seine so important? Well, Ms. Yade wishes to use the 2010 election as a launching pad to run for the French Parliament in 2012 against her area's communist incumbent. Haute-de-Seine has been the launching pad for many high-profile French political figures, including President Sarkozy. Secretary Yade has said that she finds it insulting that she should represent a district where she has zero ties and little in common with residents and called it "ethnic parachuting". Especially when she already opened a campaign office in her home district, and has 100 campaign volunteers working hard for her candidacy.
There is a catch though in this agreement: Ms. Yade will be listed second on the UMP's list, after Andre Santini. Issy-les-Moulineaux's mayor had hinted he would lead an independent Nouveau Centre (New Center) party list if the UMP did not list him first, a political risk that President Sarkozy's party didn't wish to take although Ms. Pécresse wanted Ms. Yade to top the Hauts-de-Seine list (article in French). Mr. Santini will head the UMP list, and has also been given the task
of "chaperoning" the often-rebellious and outspoken Ms. Yade.
The conservative blogger, who lives in suburban Atlanta, gives a thumbs down to the ATL (aka "the Black Mecca"): "The city of Atlanta is broke, and not even the prospect of a new mayor can change that fact. Due to mismanagement of funds and widespread fraud perpetrated by the last two mayoral administrations, there is no money left in the city budget for the most basic city improvements or services like paving streets, fixing broken lights, repairing washed out bridges or an archaic drainage system that leaves entire neighborhoods under 15 feet of water after a drenching downpour. Because of the budgetary constraints, DOT [Department of Transportation] workers have been laid off and highway improvement projects put on hold. As a result, traffic gridlock during rush hour is the worst it’s ever been in recent memory. If you travel anywhere inside or outside of the perimeter on 285, GA 400, or the downtown connector during rush hour, you might as well bring a good book because it will be awhile before you reach your destination. And that’s when there are no traffic accidents to impede the flow of traffic."
She continues her commentary about Atlanta's woes: "But worst of all, there is no money in the city budget to hire and train new police recruits or retain good, veteran officers. According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution newspaper, police officers, many of whom never received promised pay raises from Mayor Shirley Franklin, have resigned at a rate nearly twice the national average, leaving the department with about 1,600 officers for 5.5 million Metropolitan area residents. You do the math. The AJC wrote a revealing expose’ on the inefficient, and sometimes negligent 911 system and the hours it takes for the Atlanta police to answer a high priority call in the city of Atlanta. Due to the crippling police shortage and job vacancies within the 911 system, it takes an average of two hours for police to respond to high priority calls. According to Chief Richard Pennington (who came to us from New Orleans’ corrupt police department), only reports of shots fired brings police to your door in under 10 minutes. Every other call is placed in a queue for up to an hour before police are dispatched."
More commentary from Ms. Rose: "In stark contrast to Atlanta’s police problems, I live in quiet, bucolic Chamblee Dunwoody which has a separate police force. If I call 911 to report a noise disturbance, two officers from Dunwoody police force will show up at my door in 4 minutes showing great concern and apologizing for being one minute late. So if you’re thinking of moving your family to Atlanta, don’t do it. You’re better off remaining where you are. Nothing could be worse than living in Atlanta right now."
Adlyn Morrison, a teen conservative blogger, on in-vitro meat: "
H+ a future orientated magazine has a great article on the In-Vitro Meat (IVM) and
eight ways it will change the world as we know it. I've heard of the same method (somewhat) that will be use for plants in the near future.
In-Vitro Meat will be fashioned from any creature, not just domestics that were affordable to farm. Yes, ANY ANIMAL, even rare beasts like snow leopard, or Komodo Dragon. We will want to taste them all. Some researchers believe we will also be able to create IVM using the DNA of extinct beasts—obviously, "DinoBurgers" will be served at every six-year-old boy's birthday party.
Humans are animals, so every hipster will try Cannibalism. Perhaps we'll just eat people we don't like, as author Iain M. Banks predicted in his short story, "The State of the Art" with diners feasting on "Stewed Idi Amin." But I imagine passionate lovers literally eating each other, growing sausages from their co-mingled tissues overnight in tabletop appliances similar to bread-making machines.
For the record I'm so getting a dino burger if just to try it, if it ever becomes available in the proposed years (3-10 yrs.)."
Ms. Morrison continues her commentary about in-vitro meat: "Though I doubt that ou[r] cousin from across the pond will embrace test tube tuna anytime soon thanks to government intervention. And will likely protest to protect their wares. Another thing I doubt is the ranch houses will evaporate. People are still going to want real food if only for nostalgia reasons. Here in America however, though farmers are very powerful here, they can wedge in by putting their by-products in tin cans in [sic] marketing it like spam. The inner cities will probably capitalize on this idea first to quench the
food deserts here in the urban cities."
Tony Sewell discusses the case of Tyrone Mears (pictured), a British-born athlete who played for Jamaica's soccer team earlier this year. It turns out that his father, who he thought was Jamaican, is actually Sierra Leonean. Because of FIFA rules, Mr. Mears now can't play for Britain. Mr. Sewell, a British moderate educator, writes: "In Britain, the question of your roots outside of Britain is still relevant. We categorise black children as being of African or African-Caribbean heritage. Poor Tyrone Mears, playing out in the hills of Burnley, told reporters that he always assumed his father was Jamaican. We must ask ourselves, why Jamaica? Is it that Barbados just was too small in his imagination? And why not Nigeria? There, of course, could have been negative reasons for claiming Jamaica. He could have felt that his dad was simply a stereotypical ‘yard man’ – the baby father who drops children like ackees falling off a tree. We will never know why Mears ‘assumed’ his father was Jamaican. However, it points to a generation still uncertain about and hungry to make links with their ancestors."
Mr. Sewell continues his commentary about identity and social integration: "This was the generation of chips with everything. The British Government is busy with a policy of social integration, which is mainly targeted at Muslim youth. The underlying message is, forget Pakistan and the nasty Taliban. Yet, for black youths there is a deep passion to connect with their heritage. The Caribbean still has some relevance. One practical idea to make this more of a reality is for Jamaica to actively promote entitlements to having dual citizenship for those with parents and grandparents who are Jamaican. I hear a lot of talk about brand Jamaica, but it needs to be sold on with the added value of entitlement. I have a Jamaican passport which I have never used but I feel a great pride in having this citizenship. It also gives me a number of real entitlements in Jamaica, the most important one being the right of residence."
Mr. Sewell argues that Jamaica needs to reach out to its diaspora: "Jamaicans could also be mischievous and target potential sports stars who might feel that it is better to run for Jamaica than England. After all, it has worked the other way round where Jamaican-born stars like John Barnes have worn the English shirt with pride. A passport entitlement campaign would cost some money and Jamaica might feel that it could use its scarce resources better. My view is that this should come out of the tourist budget. The clear marketability of brand Jamaica amongst a new generation would help the tourist industry. I would suggest that some of the remittance companies link up with the High Commission and have a ceremony where they award passports/citizenship to those young people who genuinely are entitled."
Kenneth Durden: "National Bankruptcy On The Way"The libertarian-conservative blogger writes: "By 2019, the payment due on our nation's debt interest will be more than
'the combined federal budgets this year for education, energy, homeland security and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.' The principle is now $12 trillion and climbing. This is beyond a crisis situation, and no one in our government seems to want to face it, much less address it. What does it mean? We're broke and facing a situation unlike any in our nation's history. Yes, it's bigger than George W. Bush's spending. Meanwhile the health care reform plan will kick in and cost upwards of 2 $trillion, adding to the madness."
More: "Also note that
2019 is about the time that Medicare will also go broke. Of course the government will never let that happen. Where will all of the money come from? The evil rich? Sorry, even if the goverrnment seized every penny of every Fortune 500 company we couldn't afford our debt. We'll run out of rich people to punish. The government needs to stop spending and creating new entitlements or we will all pay dearly."
Herman Cain: "Mr. President, Your Handlers Set You Up"The conservative Republican businessman opines: "Mr. President, I had hoped that I could wait at least to the end of your first full year in office to break this bad news to you, but your latest pronouncement had me screaming at my TV, so I knew I had to tell you now. In a Fox News interview on November 17, 2009 with White House Correspondent Major Garrett, you said:
'There may be some tax provisions that can encourage businesses to hire sooner rather than sitting on the sidelines. So we’re taking a look at those. I think it is important though to recognize if we keep on adding to the debt, even in the midst of this recovery, that at some point, people could lose confidence in the U.S. economy in a way that could actually lead to a double-dip recession.'
Sitting on the sidelines! Businesses don’t sit on the sidelines or they would be out of business. Businesses are managing for survival as we pray that you and Congress will pass some real stimulus measures before we slip into an even deeper recession. Most businesses are hoping that the double-dip recession you hinted at will not turn into a triple-dip."
He continues his commentary: "You have been advised to start mentioning some tax provisions to help stimulate the economy. Republicans in Congress and others suggested this before the $787 billion dollar stimulus bill was passed and signed, but it fell on deaf ears. So you ended up with a bill for the government, of the government and by the government. Here are three tax provisions that will work. Suspend the payroll tax for a year, suspend the tax on repatriated corporate profits indefinitely and replace the income tax with a consumption tax, popularly known as the FairTax. I know it’s a long shot, but I’m just trying to offer some better advice than you have been getting. You have also been advised to allude to the fact that we can’t keep on spending this way. You’re right! Your acknowledgement is welcomed, because that’s a lot different from what you said in December 2008, namely, 'deficits don’t matter.'"
More: "You also suggest that we are in the midst of an economic recovery. There is no recovery yet. The unemployment rate is now 10.2 percent and is expected to continue to rise. Remember, your advisors told you to say that it would not go above 8 percent with the passage of the stimulus bill. They also have you trying to peddle the 'jobs saved and created' rhetoric, and most people are not buying it. Businesses do not add jobs based on rhetoric and promises of tax provisions for businesses. They add jobs based on sustained economic recovery."
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