Jesse Jackson, Michael Jackson And Barack Obama - Here's Your Latest Tech And Online News Brief

Rainbow PUSH Hosts DC Telecommunications Symposium

The Rainbow PUSH Coalition and the Citizenship Education Fund will host its annual symposium examining the current state of telecommunications and international affairs on Friday, October 29. The event takes place at the Capital Hilton hotel in Washington, DC., 1001 16th Street, NW from 7:30 - 2:00 pm and is open to the public. Pre-registration is required.

The topics and panels to be convened include "Obstacles and Opportunities in Implementing the National Broadband Plan," "Digital Civil Rights," "Broadband Adoption: Why it Should be the Top National Priority in Technology Policy," "Focus on Africa: U.S. HIV-AIDS Policy," and "Financial Literacy Training."

An opening VIP reception will be held on Thursday, October 28, 2010 6:00 PM, at The Willard Hotel, 1401 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW. To RSVP call 202-383-7974.or additional information visit http://www.rainbowpush.org/.

Commander-In-Chief Giving Lots of Love To Black Bloggers

President Obama stopped by a "black online summit" at the White House Monday as part of an outreach to African American journalists and bloggers before the midterm elections, an effort that includes the Democratic National Committee spending what it calls an unprecedented $3 million to reach the most loyal part of Obama's base, African American voters.

"I thought the meeting was great in that it showed that President Obama and his administration are taking black new media and our growing influence seriously," David A. Wilson, managing editor of theGrio.com, told Journal-isms via e-mail.

"They outlined how the administration's policies have had a positive effect on the African-American community and they invited us to make suggestions on how they could work better with us and provide us with more access to the White House.

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Michael Jackson Earned More This Past Year Than Any Living Celebrity Except Guess Who?

Over the past year Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Madonna and Jay-Z each each earned more than $50 million. But Michael Jackson earned more than all four--combined.

Thriller To Become A Movie

The King of Pop, who died in June 2009, made an astonishing $275 million in the past 12 months, putting him -- by a wide margin -- atop the Forbes list of top-earning dead celebrities. Jackson's take was in no small part because of the more than $250 million worldwide box-office haul of the Sony film This Is it. Check out the one celebrity who still banks more than the music legend.

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Never Heard of TuneCore? Then You Need To Step Your Music Game UP!

Less than five years after Price launched it, TuneCore has become the world's largest distributor of music, as measured by its volume of releases. The New York-based company pumps out 15,000 to 30,000 new songs each week, more than most major record labels release in a year. And it achieves that without scouting and signing artists, operating a recording studio or cranking up the marketing and promotion machine typically part of a traditional recorded music label.

Established musicians such as Jay-Z, Trent Reznor and Aretha Franklin use TuneCore's services, as well as lesser known artists such as Dave Days and Liam Sullivan.

The story of how TuneCore became a key part of the digital music ecosystem parallels the rise of the digital music business, once the shock of widespread piracy began to wear off and executives began to question every assumption they had about the industry.

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Technology Impacts The Diaspora In Unimaginable Ways

Ask web entrepreneur Stefan Magdalinski why he moved from London to Cape Town two years ago, and he points to a map that illustrates the technological revolution reshaping Africa.

The map shows the 14 undersea fibre-optic cables that will link the continent's Internet service providers to the servers of Europe and Asia by mid-2012, increasing the capacity of its cable Internet connections almost three-fold from today and nearly 300-fold from 2009.

The cables are drawn in different colours and in thicknesses that represent their capacity -- from the thin gray line showing the 120-gigabit cable that was Africa's only fibre optic link in January 2009, to the broad orange swath showing a 5,120-gigabit cable set to launch in 2012.

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Starbucks Wants Your Business Coffee Addicts, Badly!

Starbucks, the world’s largest coffee retailer, have unveiled additions to their WiFi network that will allow customers to enjoy free access to media like movies and e-books while in store. Smartphone toting coffee lovers–as well as those with iPads and laptops–can now enjoy a variety of “snackable” content simply by connecting to the Starbucks network.

After network connection is established a welcome page will appear, allowing customers to scroll through various sections including entertainment, wellness, business and careers, and “my neighborhood,” where they can find community news, restaurant reviews and more.

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The Latest From Hip Tech Site Mashable

Every week, Mashable puts together a calendar of upcoming social media and web events, parties and conferences. Would you like to have your conference or event listed here? If so, please contact us at least one month before your event to establish a media partnership. For more upcoming listings, check out Mashable’s Events section.

In the meantime, here are some tips on how to network, share your information and/or promote your event(s) using social media:

Check it out

Egyptian Women Use Twitter to Fight Sexual Harassment

Women who experience sexual harassment while walking the streets of Cairo will soon have a way to use Twitter to fight back. A Web service called Harrasmap will collect tweeted or texted reports of gropings, whistles and other unwanted harassment; the data will be used to generate a real-time map of the city showing areas that might be unsafe for women.

With 83% of Egyptian women and 98% of female foreign residents saying they have experienced harassment in Cairo, the site's founders say they hope the service will help victims realize that they aren't alone.

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Time To Get Out Of That Unemployment Line

Wake up, job seekers. Sixty percent of you aren’t using social media in your quest to land a position, according to MicroTrain, a professional training and job services company. That means the 40 percent of job hunters who are using social media—sites like LinkedIn and Twitter—hold a decided advantage over their behind-the-times counterparts. As James Ellis, director of professional services at MicroTrain, pointed out, many job postings on Twitter and LinkedIn never appear anywhere else.

JOBS IN SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media specialist and author Dan Schwabel noted recently that the old approach to finding a job—“developing a resume and cover letter, locating jobs on and submitting your resume to corporate sites and job banks, and crossing your fingers in hopes of receiving a call from a hiring manager—is, for the most part, a thing of the past.”

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BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE – THE WORLD IS WAITING!

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Meet The Ohio Sextuplets And The Couple Who Loves Them!

BROWN SUGAR!

An Ohio woman has given birth to the state's second set of sextuplets, and her husband jokes he might have to work some overtime to support his new family.

Rozonno McGhee of Columbus says he's a proud and happy new dad. The 30-year-old carpet cleaning specialist and his wife Mia gave birth by cesarean section to four boys and two girls at Ohio State University Medical Center back in June.

A team of about 50 medical staff members oversaw the delivery.

The first baby weighed in at a fraction over 2 pounds and the smallest at 1 pound, 12 ounces.

Fewer than 200 deliveries of sextuplets have occurred in the United States. The McGhee children's names are Isaac, Josiah, Elijah, Rozonno, Madison and Olivia.

A Perspective On The Million Man March, Written 15 Years Ago: Has Anything Changed?

Why I Won't Be in Washington on Monday

Frederick Douglass once said, "A man who will not labor to gain his rights is a man who would not, if he had them, prize and defend them."

This is why I should be on a plane, train, bus, moped, skateboard or pogo stick to Washington, where Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan is calling on 1 million black men to gather for a "holy day of atonement and reconciliation."

On Monday (October 16, 1995), brothers will be exhorted to reclaim their lives, atone for their mistreatment of one another and of black women, come to terms with their abandonment of family and accept their failure to put God first.

Historically, black men were too proud to be controlled by the dominant society. Lynched for even daring to dream, many simply gave up. And yet others took a stand and ultimately moved the world. It is these men, men whom I aspire to emulate, who have persuaded me that I, like millions of other African American men, have no reason to atone for anything.

I attended a black college, hosted a black radio talk show and ran for a seat on the Los Angeles City Council. Married to a black woman and working to curb gang and youth violence, I challenge this litmus test, the notion of taking a day off from my job simply to draw attention to the problems facing black men in this country.

And that's not to disparage the march or the personalities involved. I rejoined the NAACP under Ben Chavis and have heard Farrakhan speak on several occasions. I found both men's views compelling and vexing.

But I cannot march just for the sake of marching. The assertion that this is a unique opportunity to "reconcile with our Creator and unite for the betterment of all African Americans" is nebulous and unpersuasive. "I know there's no real agenda for the march, no platform and no clearly defined plan for the future," one minister said, "but there is a need for black men to come and stand together in each other's presence. Hopefully, something will come of it."

Hopefully?

Even those supporting the march seem unclear about the ultimate outcome. What happens Tuesday? What happens in 1996? What happens the next century?

While some feel their manhood is based on making babies, destroying their own people with drugs and killing to gain a warped sense of respect, many black men who feel otherwise unfortunately are no longer willing to be their brothers' keepers.

With one in three of our boys having some connection with the legal system, few African Americans actually believe that descending on our nation's capital will restore what centuries of racism, discrimination and inequality have created.

Thus the disenchantment of those not attending speaks more to the day-to-day accountability that goes unaddressed rather than to the march itself. Some argue that money being raised to bus men to Washington should go instead toward formula for the babies these men have created.

Instead of heading east, a few need to march south (as in South-Central) and spend time with sons and daughters they've never met. Men don't have to travel to Washington to respect black women. They just need to keep their hands off of them in Los Angeles.

When we start accepting responsibility, stop dealing crack and stop paying tribute to the "gangsta" mentality, that's when we'll see real atonement. Ralph Ellison said, "When I discover who I am, I'll be free." If this march, this sacred ceremony of declaration, can teach one black boy the true meaning of this and this alone, then I would concede that it was worth it.

But for now, I'll be at work on Monday. To Chavis and others, respectfully: I like what I'm doing more than what you're not.

October 13, 1995| Los Angeles Times | Kevin A. Ross is a deputy district attorney in Los Angeles