At the University of Mississippi (UM), a year-long
initiative to increase graduates in fields of science, technology,
engineering and mathematics (STEM) has paid off in epic fashion. Ole
Miss News reports that three African-American chemistry students graduated on May 11 with doctorates, setting a school record.
The trio who received their degrees was Kari Copeland (pictured left), Margo Montgomery (pictured center) and Jeffrey Veals (centered). A fourth African-American student, Shanna Stoddard,
will earn her doctorate in chemistry this coming December. Professors
at UM beamed with pride with this latest achievement for the university.
The New York Police Department (NYPD) allegedly roughed up 15-year-old honor student Brittany Rowley in a case of mistaken identity, the New York Daily News reports.
Brittany was handcuffed to a bench in a police stationhouse for three
hours before the cops realized she nor her friend were not the black,
shoplifting teens they suspected that they were. They were released, but
Brittany says it was the worst experience she’s ever endured.
“It was terrifying,” Rowley, 15, said in an exclusive interview to
The Daily News. “It is the most horrible thing I have ever experienced.”
Brittany’s father, Delmus Rowley, hired an attorney
and has filed a $5.5 million lawsuit against the city and Sgt. Jonathan
Catanzaro and Officer Stephen Nakao. According to court papers obtained
by the Daily News, the suit alleges false arrest and excessive force.
The following article written by Dr. Boyce Watkins details how so many young people today can use as a template for themselves regarding business (entrepreneurship), and life in general.
The unforgettable, yet unforgivable impact of America’s first gangsta rap group is the stuff of legend. NWA
is responsible for prophetic songs like “F*ck the Police,” which told
the world about LAPD brutality before the Rodney King incident, but they
are also responsible for injecting hip-hop with a dose of toxic
violence from which it has yet to recover (I’ve written about that problem too).
One thing that came to mind is the way Dr. Dre and Ice Cube
were able to climb out of the war zone that was Compton and Death Row
Records to become captains of the industry, while many of their homeboys
simply perished. In that regard, their success makes for a case study
that would be a fit for any business school in the country.
Here are some things that made Dre and Cube different from the rest:
1) The ability to see the bigger picture: The
easiest way to stay broke and powerless is to think small and to be
short-sighted. In fact, visionaries are regularly able to exploit the
short-sightedness of those who have no discipline. While other members
of the group were thinking about spitting rhymes, getting women, and
buying yet another gold medallion, Ice Cube’s mind was able to visualize
multi-million dollar franchises. I would much rather be a dumb person
who thinks big than a brilliant person who thinks small. This can make
all the difference. 2) Education and a desire to understand how business works:
Ice Cube and Dr. Dre succeeded not just because of formal education,
but because they became educated on the industry within which they
operated. Far too many singers, dancers, rappers and athletes think
that all they have to do is worry about their craft, and end up putting
themselves into dead end financial situations. A good example would be
the singer Fantasia, who never learned to read and ended up signing a
contract that made her into a high-paid slave. 3) Why be a King When You can Be a King Maker?
The Black community never ceases to have plenty of talent for the
stage, but even the most talented among us are accustomed to waiting by
the phone for some white-owned corporation to give us an opportunity. At
the end of the day, your entire reality and everything you can or
cannot be is managed by forces beyond your control. Your well-being,
success or failure is entirely contingent upon a world that someone else
has created for you, effectively making them into a corporate version
of God.
Ice Cube and Dr. Dre weren’t just satisfied with being kings. Instead, they chose to become King Makers,giving them greater and more lasting power than any king can possess. Ice Cube has launched entire careers
with his “Friday,” “Barbershop” and “Are We There Yet?” franchises.
Dr. Dre has been the engineer of Snoop Dogg, Eminem, 50 Cent and a host
of other powerful artists. Even Diddy (or Puffy or Puff Daddy, whatever
his name is now) remains in power, even though he hasn’t made good
music since Biggie was alive. A king makes money by working. A
King-Maker gets money when other people are working. That’s what it
truly means to be a boss. 4) Enough discipline to delay gratification:
Ice Cube often tells the story about how Jerry Heller, the white guy in
charge, put $80,000 checks in front of each member of NWA, next to
contracts for them to sign. The contract was basically a deal with the
devil, locking Heller in for all of the group’s upside potential, while
helping him to evade the downside. Even in the year 2012, you can get a
lot of folks to sign away their grandkids for $80,000, so you can only
imagine how much money this was in the 1980s. The only person who
walked away from the contract was Ice Cube. To this day, he’s the one
with the biggest bank account and the highest net worth. Artists may
rap about booty, bling, weed and all of the trappings of negative
Hip-Hop culture, but those with real and lasting power don’t get high on
their own supply when it comes to that nonsense.
To this day, it is sickening and saddening
that some of us are so mentally disturbed with a “plantation mentality,”
where we have to await for a signal from somebody else to determine
what is in our own best interest. This is the reason why there is
trouble in our communities.
To this day, it is sickening and saddening
that some of us are so mentally disturbed with a “plantation mentality,”
where we have to await for a signal from somebody else to determine
what is in our own best interest. This is the reason why there is
trouble in our communities.
Our young people want examples to look to that
will give them strength and counsel and guidance. But our young people
do not find in their elders the guidance, the counsel or the example
that they would like to follow; so they are given to the streets because
we have not given them what they need.
The schools have failed in their stewardship
of the minds of our young people; and the teachers have failed in their
responsibility to the children, because the teachers are not growing;
therefore, they cannot grow their students.
We are a part of a system that is a plantation educational system, a
plantation political system, and a plantation social system, and
unfortunately, a plantation religious system.
Our young people want examples to look to that
will give them strength and counsel and guidance. But our young people
do not find in their elders the guidance, the counsel or the example
that they would like to follow; so they are given to the streets because
we have not given them what they need.
The schools have failed in their stewardship
of the minds of our young people; and the teachers have failed in their
responsibility to the children, because the teachers are not growing;
therefore, they cannot grow their students.
We are a part of a system that is a plantation educational system, a
plantation political system, and a plantation social system, and
unfortunately, a plantation religious system.
Look in the ‘mirror of Truth’ for needed personal change
What went wrong? Oh we are not here to cast
blame—but there is enough blame to go around. What we need are solutions
to The Problem.
These young Black males that the Black nurses
see coming into their hospitals shot up and wounded over nothing: There
never was a generation like this one! We have never produced a
generation so cold and brutal as the generation that represents “our
future” and “our children.” Even during the worst times in slavery we
were never as violent and vicious towards one another as we see
happening today in our communities. Is that correct? The court system
and the penal system marvel at the fact that children today are
committing some of the most heinous crimes. Have you ever stopped to
consider why?
Few new units and tight standards for home
loans add to the pressure. The average monthly U.S. rent is at an
all-time high, and a 10% jump in Los Angeles County over the next two
years is forecast.
A nation still struggling to clear up one housing debacle has run smack into another — soaring rents.
The foreclosure mess has pushed millions of former homeowners with
tarnished credit into a competitive apartment market across the U.S. Add
fresh demand from young workers, few new units and tight standards for
home loans, and the result is rental sticker shock not seen in years.
Rents are surging from New York
to Los Angeles. The average monthly U.S. rent for apartments hit $1,008
in the first quarter, pushing past the all-time high set in the third
quarter of 2008, according to the data firm RealFacts.USC's
Lusk Center for Real Estate forecasts a 10% jump in Los Angeles County
rents over the next two years. In certain markets, it is now cheaper to
own a home than rent.
Americans are getting used to
the idea of renting the good life,
from cars to couture to homes.
Daniel Gross explores our shift from
a nation of owners to an economy permanently on the move—and how it will lead to the next boom.
In the American mind, renting has long symbolized striving—striving,
that is, well short of achieving. But as we climb our way out of the
Great Recession, it seems something has changed. Americans are getting
over the idea of owning the American dream; increasingly, they're OK
with renting it.
Homeownership is on the decline, and home rentership is
on the rise. But the trend isn't limited to the housing market. Across
the board—for goods ranging from cars to books to clothes—Americans are
increasingly acclimating to the idea of giving up the stability of being
an owner for the flexibility of being a renter. This may sound like a
decline in living standards. But the new realities of our increasingly
mobile economy make it more likely that this transition from an
Ownership Society to what might be called a Rentership Society, far from
being a drag, will unleash a wave of economic efficiency that could
fuel the next boom.
“You’re going to spend a whole lot of time trying to put petals back
on the flower once it’s dead, trying to put leaves back on the tree once
the leaves have fallen,” Terrence Howard said.
The actor told almost 500 graduates at South Carolina
State University on Friday night that the biggest challenge they’ll face
in life is to keep moving forward after they make mistakes.
“God knows you’ll make mistakes,” he said. “But ... don’t
make the mistakes that people have made in the past by not believing in
themselves, by trying to put dead leaves back on a tree.”
There’s a theory that everything in the universe moves in
waves, Howard said. He told students when they’re accomplishing things
and moving up on the wave, everything is wonderful. But then they’ll hit
the crest and start falling.
He told the students they’ll have to reorient themselves when they fall.
“The way you reorient yourself is a little thing I call ABC,” he said.
“Always be comfortable. Always be calm. Always be cool.
Always be comported and collected, and always be comfortable with the
consequences of an action,” he said.
“If you are not comfortable with the consequences of an action, stop right there,” Howard said.
Students and parents obsessing over how they are going to pay for
college might want to consider one of higher education's greatest
secrets: tuition-free colleges. Although these schools are few and far
between, they remain an attractive option for students looking to walk
away from college debt-free. Most were founded nearly a century ago and
are able to offer students zero tuition because of hefty endowments and
magnanimous donors.
These colleges range from liberal arts schools to
ones that specialize in engineering, art, and music. Some come with
unusual work-study requirements—such as requiring students to put in
time on the school's dairy farm—or mandatory campus activities. Students
who attend these schools can save as much as $32,000 or more in tuition
each year, savings that can add up to more than $120,000 over a
four-year period. Not surprisingly, some of these schools are among the
most competitive to get into in the U.S.
The House approved a plan Wednesday to remove South Carolina State
University’s trustees, despite concerns about the school’s
accreditation.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Jerry Govan, opposed changes
made on the House floor. He’s concerned about how the Southern
Association of Colleges and Schools will feel about the appointment of a transitional board.
“I think it jeopardizes the school’s accreditation in regard to governance of the institution,” the Orangeburg Democrat said.
The U.S. Secret
Service is examining a new report of alleged misconduct by agents at an
El Salvador strip club ahead of a trip there last year by President
Barack Obama, a senior lawmaker said on Thursday.
Throughout American history, almost every generation has had substantially more education than that of its parents.
That is no longer true.
When baby boomers born in 1955 reached
age 30, they had about two years more schooling than their parents,
according to Harvard University economists Claudia Goldin and Lawrence
Katz, who have calculated the average years of schooling for native-born
Americans back to 1876.
In contrast, when Americans born in 1980 turned 30 in 2010, they averaged about eight months more schooling than their parents.
98.7 KISS FM‘s 30-year hold on the adult R&B market is coming to an end as the iconic radio station is merging with 107.5 WBLS, according to 98.7 Kiss FM.
For the first time in four decades, the Mets
fielded a starting lineup on Thursday that consisted entirely of
players developed in the franchise’s minor-league system, bringing a
team that was already markedly influenced by its talent to its homegrown
zenith.
Increasing numbers of U.S. doctors regret their career choices --- even
while taking in salaries average Americans might consider pretty sweet.
Those salaries remain much sweeter for some specialists than others,
though, according to an annual survey of physician pay from Medscape/WebMD.
The Senate has passed a bill to renew the government's main domestic violence program.
The
68-31 vote to renew and expand the Violence Against Women Act sends the
matter to the House, which is writing its own version.
The 1994
law is designed to protect women and children from abuse, and
historically has been without controversy. But this election year,
gender politics roiled the debate for weeks.
Saturday, April 21, 2012
"Why the Hell Not" Saturday News Segment
Let's face it: The majority of the news we read about, or hear about, may or may not have an impact in our lives. We can either learn from it, or not. Whichever decision you choose to make, it is your decision to make it work for you, or not. With that said, the following article headlines just may help you in some kind of way in your life.
I like to think that whatever I put onto this blog will help you, the readers, in some form of fashion. What may work for you, may not work for someone else. And what may work for someone else, may not work for you.
It has been my many years of experience living in South Carolina that most folks do not like to share information with others to help them improve themselves, and/or their families. Unless you attend the same place of worship, or you're an associated member of an [or any] organization, or a family member, friend, neighbor, or simply in a 'clique' (i.e., fraternity, sorority, lodge, etc.), the chances of anyone else learning about something is nil!
Jesus the Christ spread his words for all to hear and use to improve their quality of life, and not to oppress anyone from using his words!
Too often, we second guess ourselves whenever we are deciding about something, or someone. Should we, or shouldn't we. You know what I mean . . . the usual "Could of, Would of, Should of" syndrome.
But in the end, most of us who don't mind sharing invaluable information to others, so that they, too, can benefit from it, just say "Why the Hell Not?!?"
It's time to 'Break the Pavement of Enslavement' mentality in the 21st Century!
SUMMERVILLE, S.C. — A 2-month-old child was killed and dismembered by
a dog in his family’s South Carolina home Friday as his father slept,
authorities said.
Aiden McGrew’s mother called 911 when she got home around 11
a.m. and discovered the boy’s leg was severed by a retriever mix the
family had taken into the home a few weeks earlier, Dorchester County
deputies said.
On 93.5 KDay FM this week, after radio hosts Tattoo and Cee Cee
asked Knight about the allegations that he killed the iconic rapper,
Knight responded, “People say, ‘God is going to judge me,’ but I got a
45-inch bullet in to my skull from grabbing, pulling him [Tupac] down
[when shots were fired].”
“The person who supposedly cremated Tupac … this guy got about 3 million
dollars .. personally from me … cash … and next thing I know I never
heard from the guy or seen him again … he retired and left.”
When one of the hosts asked if he had ever seen Tupac’s body after he was killed, Knight added:
“Nobody seen Tupac dead…. Maybe the question is…Pac’s not really dead…Pac’s somewhere else.”
There’s an atmosphere of grand fragility hanging over America’s
colleges. The grandeur comes from the surging application rates, the
international renown, the fancy new dining and athletic facilities. The
fragility comes from the fact that colleges are charging more money, but
it’s not clear how much actual benefit they are providing.
Colleges are supposed to produce learning. But, in their landmark study,
“Academically Adrift,” Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa found that, on
average, students experienced a pathetic seven percentile point gain in
skills during their first two years in college
and a marginal gain in the two years after that. The exact numbers are
disputed, but the study suggests that nearly half the students showed no
significant gain in critical thinking, complex reasoning and writing
skills during their first two years in college.
Colleges today are certainly less demanding. In 1961, students spent an
average of 24 hours a week studying. Today’s students spend a little
more than half that time — a trend not explained by changing
demographics.
Here’s what you probably already
know about yoga: It can flatten your tummy, tone your arms, and calm your
thoughts when your mind is acting like an untamed monkey. But beyond these
body-and-mind makeover benefits, few people realize that specific poses may be
able to cure all kinds of mental and physical aches and pains, too.
True education’s root problem: Hypocrisy in religion
Who is determining our ‘diameter of knowledge’?
True Education: It’s ‘meaning’ and ‘purpose’
Agriculture: The Engine of Civilization
What is the meaning of the word “education”? It comes from two Latin
words: A prefix educo or educare, which means “to lead,” or “to lead out
from.”
“True Education” is an education that develops and cultivates the human
being. And when you’re truly educated, you’re cultivated from within.
Then when it comes out, and the world sees The Gift that God has given
you, then you become The Glory of God.
Five prestigious U.S. universities will create free online courses for students worldwide through a new, interactive education platform dubbed Coursera, the founders announced Wednesday.
The two founders, both
professors of computer science at Stanford University, also announced
that they had received $16 million in financing from two Silicon Valley venture capital firms.
Coursera
will offer more than three dozen college courses in the coming year
through its website at coursera.org, on subjects ranging from Greek
mythology to neurology, from calculus to contemporary American poetry.
The classes are designed and taught by professors at Stanford,
Princeton, the University of California at Berkeley, the University of
Pennsylvania and the University of Michigan.
Students will not get college credit.
But Coursera may offer "certificates of completion" or transcripts for a
fee. The company may also seek to turn a profit by connecting employers
with students who have shown aptitude in a particular field, a
spokeswoman said.
If your child can text using abbreviations and acronyms, then you child can learn medical terminology.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Happy Bless New Year To All of You!
written by Miriam G. Aw
It's now Year 2012, a number #5 year that depicts freedom of movement, partaking in joyful events, exercising patience by avoiding hasty and impulsive use of words and actions, but equally important, this is the year to think and act "outside-the box" when it comes to seeking employment, starting a business, or revamping your existing business model in order to generate lucrative income!
Granted, most folks will read this and believe that what I say has no validity, nor reason, due to the many decades of hype portrayed in mainstream media that seemingly dictates what you should, or should not do based on what so-called experts in their field of expertise have to say about what to wear, eat, or relationships, just to mention a few.
For far too long, our society have been duped into believing mainstream media reports about the economy, and how it continues to either decline, or rebound, despite what we think or believe what's really going on - especially since it is us who are feeling the brunt of the country's economic woes.
There are statistics being thrown at us left and right with adamant tones that are design to make us believe that whatever is being said regarding anything that affect us, as a whole, should be taken as 'gospel.' But you and I know that we need to have honesty in reporting.
How many times have you learned about pertinent information that is beneficial for us to know at a later time when such information was available for us to get at an earlier time? Especially when such information was already revealed by a so-called friend, relative, congregant member, neighbor, etc., but somehow you got it through 'the grapevine.'
If no one else told you, please allow me to share with you on what I've been observing for at least 7 to 10 years, and what I've just learned about last week.
If you are seeking employment, or if you are interested in attending medical school, for example, it will behoove you to check outside the U.S.A., for employment and/or schooling.
Yes, the opportunities of employment and schooling are out there for you to partake in, whether you are single or married with, or without children!
Last Monday (day after Christmas), I met a nice young man in the hospital emergency room. My husband took ill, and this lovely fella took my husband's EKG. As always, and at the risk of sounding bias because I love seeing young people, especially young black males, working in the medical profession in any capacity, I asked him which school did he graduate from, and whether if he aspired to go higher in the medical profession.
Come to find out that this young man, whose name is Germaine, attended and graduated from South Carolina State University, which is located in Orangeburg, S.C., and he further his education in Aruba! Yes child, Aruba! Well, I was taken back a bit when he went on more about how much he learned, and that there myriad of schools that provide great education, but only if you are up to the task of really wanting to learn without being spoon-fed everything like some spoil rich kid!
In other words, you have to work for what you want, and ask questions if you don't know the answers by using your God-given common sense. And besides, who cannot learn anything in an environment that provides great weather every step of the way?!?
Out of curiosity, I asked him if he happen to convince, or at best, inform other youngsters who are in his peer group about attending medical school, or any other type of school in Aruba, or in any other part of the Caribbean, and much to my surprise, his answer astounded me, to say the least.
He stated that the majority of the people whom he shared his information with did not express any interest of doing the same, yet they continue to struggle with schools that they are unhappy with as a result of their teachers not giving enough 'instruction' on their class courses, and their extreme displeasure on the cost of books needed for their courses.
Unfortunately, paying through the nose for college books is a normal complaint. And if you are receiving a grant, most of your grant money goes to paying for the books and tuition, thus leaving practically nothing else for the remaining semester to use for much needed things (i.e., food, gas, apartment, etc.).
Although I cannot provide hard evidence of statistical data for your reading pleasure, I assure you that what I say here is a national problem . . . well, at least that is the problem here in the State of South Carolina.
Personally, it would behoove every young male and female to get their four-year degree at their local, regional, or national college/university, and then further their field of interest in the Caribbean, or some other country that offers superlative education. There are a host of great schools that offer a lot giving more bang to your buck. After all, this is a GLOBAL world, and no longer can any of us afford to remain isolated, or ignorant, to facts.
In fact, you can learn a lot about other countries, and what they can offer you by watching one of my favorite programs "House Hunter International," which is a HGTV program (Channel 229 on Directv). On this program, you will see how so many Americans left their home state, and home town, to live abroad to become gainfully employed, and/or attend school.
Also, Google Search "Caribbean Medical Schools," where you will find a list of schools in this part of the world. You must do your research. No one else can do it for you. Take the initiative, and start anew, or renew what you already know.
And if you decide that leaving the States is not your cup-of-tea, then you need to prepare yourself to undergo a major overhaul in your priorities regarding employment, school, money, family, comfortability, and so forth, that will allow you the freedom to enjoy life the way you want it.
With that said, may you have a Happy Bless New Year 2012, and may all of you aspirations are fulfilled, and your dreams realized with good spirits.
An engaged couple who dated for five years have been left in turmoil after their families met and they discovered they were brother and sister.
The woman, who is due to give birth next month, is devastated by the discovery that the father of her child is her brother.
The couple, who met at university, had decided they wanted to introduce their single parent families to each other before they got married.
It reported: 'Their parents separated when the woman was eight months old and the man was two years old.
'The man's father said he dumped his wife in 1983 because she was cheating on him. The girl was raised by her mother, while her brother was raised by his father.
Sources inside the Shockley family tell CBS 5 News that Jhessye wasn't in school for a week and a half before she disappeared.
Family members say Jhessye's mother, Jerice Hunter, told the school Jhessye had ringworm.
Police said Monday the girl's mother is not a suspect.
Glendale police Det. Jeff Daukas tells CBS 5 Hunter's polygraph test has not yet been scheduled. Daukas says it will be conducted by the FBI or Glendale police.
Jhessye Shockley has been missing since Oct. 11 after police believe she wandered from her apartment in Glendale, outside Phoenix, while her mother was running an errand.
Doctors at a Canadian hospital found a shocking image staring right back at them as they were scanning the testicles of a 45-year-old paraplegic man. The image of one of the testicles, shown above, looks like a man's face grimaced in agony.
"It was very ghoulish, like a man screaming in pain," Dr. Naji Touma of Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario told The Toronto Star. "His mouth was open and it looked like one eye was gouged out."
The image, taken in 2009, was sent to the medical journal "Urology," and was recently published with the headline, "The face of testicular pain: A surprising ultrasound finding."
An arrest warrant was issued for Terrell Owens after he failed to show up for a court date regarding child support payments.
Diana Bianchini, a spokeswoman for Owens, said Saturday the free-agent wide receiver tried to reschedule an Oct. 24 hearing in Contra CostaCounty Court because he had set up a televised workout in the hopes of hooking on with an NFL club. No teams attended the workout.
According to Bianchini, Owens was looking for a new attorney and was representing himself while trying to change the court date. She said his new attorneys will deal with the warrant issued this week.
No serious injuries had been reported as of midnight after the 5.6 magnitude earthquake near Oklahoma City, but a major highway buckled in three places, at least three homes sustained major damage and others had roof and chimney damage, officials said.
U.S. Highway 62, which crosses Lincoln County, buckled west of Prague, Okla., according to Aaron Bennett, a dispatcher with Lincoln County 911 and emergency management.
"There's a boulder the size of an SUV in a rural road," Bennett said, noting the quake had left many coping with "a lot of broken glass and ceiling tiles."
NBA players have an offer that could get them up to 51 percent of basketball-related income.
They rejected it Saturday, and if they don't take it by the close of business Wednesday, they'll get a proposal that would guarantee them just 47 percent and call for a flex salary cap.
Charlotte Bobcats owner Michael Jordan is reportedly leading a faction of hard-line NBA owners that will urge the league not to make any more concessions to the players, according to a report in the New York Times. The group of 10 to 14 owners is reportedly upset that the league has proposed a 50-50 split of basketball-related income with the players and would likely vote against such an agreement.
The 30,000-square-foot Fain Street factory and its 32 employees churn out 10 to 14 bullet-resistant vehicles a month on its single production line, but by late next summer Streit USA Armoring plans to expand, add two assembly lines and eventually 40 new employees to its payroll.
The auto armorer will leave the leased building where it has bullet-proofed about 125 vehicles a year since 2007 and will build a new, 75,000-square-foot, company-owned facility on eight acres along Palmetto Commerce Parkway beside the Daimler van assembly plant.
“Basically, we’re getting slammed out here,” he says, swinging his 2003 Grand Marquis to the curb recently. “If cabbies are a little grumpier these days, there’s a reason. We’re hurting.”
The District of Columbia implemented a new meter system and fares three years ago, and today few, if any, major U.S. cities offer such a sweet deal for the riding public. On the other hand, as Frankel, 58, and his cabbies have argued loudly ever since, the flipside is that cabbies are being shortchanged with virtually every fare.
Do you feel like you've done everything you can but still don't seem to lose weight? Chances are, you're not doing the right things. Americans are more confused than ever about how to effectively lose weight and keep it off. Furthermore, many people are surprised to learn that the seemingly insignificant choices they make every day can negatively affect their goal of losing weight. Are you guilty of any of these behaviors?
Named Sweat Equity, the program is centered in the poorest of part of the city, the southeast neighborhood just about five miles away from the White House. It takes homeless D.C. residents on temporary assistance and gives them jobs renovating vacant buildings owned by the city. Upon completion, participants can live in the buildings for two years rent-controlled. Though it is still a pilot program, officials with the Department of Homeland Securtiy have seen results, giving them hope it will become a permanent fixture for getting those on public assistance back into the workforce.
Amid headstones of chiseled and polished granite, at a Topeka Kansas Cemetery, Jeremy Krock, an Illinois Anesthesiologist, has purchased a new marker and is working hard to give a name to some African-American baseball heroes, who were invisible in death. Many of those men never became household names like their white counterparts, and sadly, some of those black players passed away and hardly anyone noticed, until now.
"They played in anonymity and I don't want to see them buried forever in anonymity," said Krock. "To know that these players are out there and to know where they're buried and to just walk out there and see a plot of grass is an injustice."
With Black unemployment reaching historic levels, banks laying off tens of thousands and law school graduates waiting tables, why aren't more Blacks looking toward science, technology, engineering and math—the still-hiring careers known as STEM?
The answer turns out to be a complex equation of self-doubt, stereotypes, discouragement and economics—and sometimes just wrong perceptions of what math and science are all about.
“White men make up less than 50 percent of the U.S. population. We're drawing (future scientists) from less than 50 percent of the talent we have available,” says Mae Jemison, the first Black woman astronaut, who has a medical degree and a bachelor's in chemical engineering.
“The more people you have in STEM,” she says, “the more innovations you'll get.”
According to the article, titled “A Sister’s Eulogy for Steve Jobs,” Jobs’s last words were “OH WOW. OH WOW. OH WOW.” (The words were rendered in all capital letters in the essay.)
People are fascinated by last words. They can be viewed as a summing up of a life. Because the person saying them has nothing left to gain (except in terms of their legacy), they can be seen by some as an honest a representation of a person’s true opinions as one can get in this life. And there’s a mystical quality to last words–we hear them and wonder if the person saying them can give us any insight or information about what’s really on the other side.
The Federal Reserve sharply downgraded its projections for the U.S. economy Wednesday, warning that weak growth and high unemployment will be the norm for years.
The Fed expects that the unemployment rate will be around 8.6 percent at the end of next year, down only slightly from 9.1 percent today, and will still be between 6.8 percent and 7.7 percent in late 2014. In their June forecast, Fed officials said joblessness would come down faster, to around 8 percent by the end of 2012, when the next presidential election will take place.
On Monday, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit against South Carolina to block the implementation of SB 20, a divisive and dangerous anti-immigrant law signed by Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC) earlier this year. If SB 20 does take effect on Jan. 1, 2012, the law will create a new $1.3 million immigration enforcement unit for South Carolina and provide local law enforcement with overly broad authority to investigate residents' immigration statuses. As NCLR (National Council of La Raza) has repeatedly pointed out in the past, when other states attempted to pass similar bills, these anti-immigrant laws not only promote racial profiling and discrimination, but also violate the Constitution.
Earl Lloyd was the first black person to play in the National Basketball Association. Lloyd made his historic debut in the NBA on October 31, 1950, during a time when many American institutions were still segregated.
Lloyd is remembered for being a trail-blazer for African-Americans in the NBA. What other contributions did he give to the world?
Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) along with eight other congressional Democrats are eating on a budget of about $4.50 a day to show solidarity with food stamp recipients who receive $32.59 a week.
The personal thrift, which is part of a challenge organized by Fighting Poverty With Faith, was reported by Pacifica Patch. The site also listed the food items that Speier was now buying.
The number of people relying on food stamps has risen as a consequence of the recession. Over 40 million individuals and 19 million households used the program in 2010, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) along with eight other congressional Democrats are eating on a budget of about $4.50 a day to show solidarity with food stamp recipients who receive $32.59 a week.
The personal thrift, which is part of a challenge organized by Fighting Poverty With Faith, was reported by Pacifica Patch. The site also listed the food items that Speier was now buying.
The number of people relying on food stamps has risen as a consequence of the recession. Over 40 million individuals and 19 million households used the program in 2010, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The ranks of America's poorest poor have climbed to a record high — 1 in 15 people — spread widely across metropolitan areas as the housing bust pushed many inner-city poor into suburbs and other outlying places and shriveled jobs and income.
New census data paint a stark portrait of the nation's haves and have-nots at a time when unemployment remains persistently high. It comes a week before the government releases first-ever economic data that will show more Hispanics, elderly and working-age poor have fallen into poverty.
The owner of a large southwest Alabama car dealership derided as "Taliban Toyota" by a competitor has been awarded $7.5 million in damages after a jury trial for his slander claim.
Iranian-born Shawn Esfahani, owner of Eastern Shore Toyota in Daphne, Alabama, sought $28 million in compensatory and punitive damages from Bob Tyler Toyota, claiming employees at that Pensacola, Florida-based dealership falsely portrayed him as an Islamist militant to customers.
"The feeling I received in the courtroom for the truth to come out was worth a lot more than any money anybody can give me," Esfahani told Reuters on Tuesday.
More than 4 million borrowers who have faced foreclosure since early 2009 will have the chance to have their cases reviewed for potential wrongdoing, federal regulators and some of the nation’s largest mortgage servicers announced Tuesday.
The reviews stem from a deal forged earlier this year in which 14 servicers agreed to hire independent consultants to evaluate whether borrowers suffered financial injury during the foreclosure process. If a review finds errors or abuses by the financial firms, the consultants will determine what recompense wronged homeowners deserve.
The U.S. military is facing a "significant criminal threat" from gangs, including prison and biker gangs, whose members have found their way into the ranks, according to an FBI-led investigation.
Some gang members get into the military to escape the streets, but then end up reconnecting once in, while others target the services specifically for the combat and weapons training, the National Gang Intelligence Center says in a just-released 2011 National Gang Threat Assessment/Emerging Trends.
Whatever the reasons, it's a bad mix.
""Gang members with military training pose a unique threat to law enforcement personnel because of their distinctive weapons and combat training skills and their ability to transfer these skills to fellow gang members," the report states. Gang members have been reported in every branch of the armed forces, though a large proportion of them have been affiliated with the Army, the Army Reserves or Army National Guard, it says.
The 2011-2012 Detroit Public School year started on Sept. 6, with thousands of homes and streets all over the city adorned with signs that had the two-word slogan "I'm In" everywhere. Nearly two months into the school year, the one thing that is not in a lot of Detroit Schools right now are books.
"I know there is a shortage and there is an order and they are still sharing books," said Andrew Hayes, whose son is a third-grader at Fisher Magnet Elementary on the city's east side. "There are a lot of frustrated parents. They want the kids to have what they are supposed to have. At the beginning of the year, we were told that every student would have the textbooks. It's seven weeks into school."
A New York contractor working on a Brooklyn affordable housing project hired goons to pour acid and beat workers who blew the whistle on a kickback scheme, where a city official was indicted court papers show.
According to the New York Daily News, Bogdan Starzecki, head of MCR Restoration Corp., bribed his way into city contracts to get a piece of a $13 million public housing project in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
According to Film-News, insiders said that Fox is willing to make the movies without Will, if necessary, it's complicated because where and how [Smith] wants to shoot; he wants to be close to home, to the kids." There have also been comments from Smith stating he wants to include Jada and possibly his daughter Willow in the movie.
Friday, October 28, 2011
First Black Daily Newspaper Founded
Thirty-seven years after the first Black newspaper in America was founded in New York City (Freedom’s Journal, 1827) the Black press reached another milestone with the launching of the New Orleans Tribune, destined to become the race’s first daily news publication.
The Tribune’s roots can be traced to another landmark event that saw the first Black newspaper published in the South. That was L’Union (the Union) a paper published in both French and English beginning in 1862 during the Civil War.
The African American employee of Sears Home Improvement Products in Natomas was at an August 2008 company barbecue with his family, court records say. A co-worker walked up and blurted a racial slur, issued with a "slave dialect."
"Medro calls me Masta," co-worker Paul St. Hilaire said, according to court records.
Then St. Hilaire started laughing.
Johnson, an Elk Grove resident and a descendant of slaves, would later testify in court that he was humiliated to be referred to as a slave in front of his wife, son and daughter.
Last Friday, after a one-month trial and more than eight hours of deliberation, a Sacramento Superior Court jury gave Johnson the last laugh.
A federal judge on Thursday approved a $1.25 billion settlement in a decades-old discrimination case by black farmers, clearing the way for them to seek compensation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for being left out of farm aid programs.
The decision helps tens of thousands of farmers who had been denied part of an earlier 1999 settlement because they missed the filing deadline.
U.S. District Court Judge Paul Friedman wrote in an order approving the agreement that Congress by waiving the statute of limitations has further redressed "the historic discrimination against African-American farmers." He called the settlement "fair, reasonable, and adequate."
National Black Farmers Association president said it was "a very important step that should provide assurance to the black farmers that each of their cases will now move towards a resolution."
Willie Hazzard was walking down Westchester Ave. with his two children the other day, wearing a black Transformers fitted hat, black and white Rocawear leather varsity jacket, black jeans, black Jordans and diamond studs in his ears.
This outfit, he says, makes him a target for cops to stop and frisk him - something which he says has happened 17 times since he moved to Soundview two years ago.
None of the encounters resulted in arrest, he said.
The NYPD stop-and-frisk policy has recently come under fire again after a Staten Island cop was charged with falsely arresting a black man following a stop and then bragging on tape, "I fried another n-----."
In a world where having a light skin is exalted as an ultimate sign of beauty, wearing a skin with a dark complexion is not usually a huge cause for bragging. And yet it is. The black pigment in your skin, something you will possibly remember as being referred to as melanin in your health science classes in primary school, is the single reason you are largely protected from this type of cancer (cancer of the skin).
That pigment, melanin, acts as a sort of shield, a protection from ultra-violet rays from the sun. The absence of which, manifested in a more light coloured skin, opens the gates for the rays to come in, cause damage to the skin, and leave cancer enjoying the time of its life.
While the very dark skinned people should thus look at their skins as a blessing, light skinned people, Whites, and most importantly, the albino population, should pay special attention to these cancers, and how they can best be nipped in the bud.
Rihanna's has upset an anti-rape organization with her music video "We Found Love," which depicts a tumultuous relationship between the songstress and her co-star, Dudley O'Shaughnessy, who just so happens to look a lot like her ex, Chris Brown.
"Rihanna's new video is a disgrace. It sends the message that she is an object to be possessed by men, which is disturbingly what we see in real violence cases."
Whether it’s a demanding career or the struggle to find Mr. Right, more women are postponing motherhood. Advancements in medicine have made it easier than ever to have children at 40 — even 50.
But pregnancy later in life is not without controversy.
