Janet Jackson Has Medical Scare While Jennifer Hudson's New Album Is Panned As Dead On Arrival

Damita Jo Taken to Hospital

Tristan Wilds on 'Bees,' Obama and '90210'
Obama: McCain's Role in Bailout "Katrina-Like" Calls for "Calm"
Bill Clinton Vows to Do What He Can to Elect Obama
Do Polls Miss Obama Voters With No Land Line?
Black Florida Congressman Apologies for Palin Comments
African American Golf Digest Still Stands Tall

Jennifer Hudson's Debut CD On Sale Today
Ivory Coast Toxic Waste Trial Starts
Jay-Z to Release 'The Blueprint 3' on December 2nd?
Affluent Blacks an Untapped Market for Luxury Brands
Zimbabweans Overwhelm Banks to Withdraw Cash
Jail-Bound T.I. Leaves a Nice 'Paper Trail'
Study: Lack of African-Americans in Science Hurting Industry

Paul Newman Dies...Actor, Activist, And A Class Act

Paul Newman In Paris Blues With Dihann Carol and Sidney Poitier

Paul Newman, 83, the actor and sex symbol who surged to stardom by playing loners as well as criminal and moral outlaws -- anything to downplay his astonishing looks -- died of cancer Friday at his farmhouse near Westport, Conn.

Brooding and sinewy, with luminous blue eyes and a husky voice, Newman resembled a preppy Greek God in his earliest screen roles. He quickly rebelled against conventional casting that tried to turn him into a pretty-boy alternative to Marlon Brando and James Dean. He became known as an introspective and nonconformist performer -- a perfect anti-hero idol for the socially rebellious 1960s and 1970s.





In many of Newman's best films -- "The Hustler," "Hud," "Harper," "Cool Hand Luke," "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," "The Sting," "Slap Shot," "The Verdict," "Nobody's Fool" and "The Color of Money" (for which he won the Oscar) -- he played amoral rats, genial louts, self-destructive idealists, drunkards and has-beens. Some of his characters redeem themselves by being defeated or killed, and others just continue bumming along.

Adam Bernstein has more of this film legend at washingtonpost.com

Natalie Cole Needing Our Prayers

Grammy Award-winning singer Natalie Cole has been hospitalized in New York after suffering a setback in her battle against Hepatitis C, her spokeswoman said on Friday. Cole, the 58-year-old daughter of legendary singer Nat King Cole, has canceled her tour dates for October but is expected to make a full recovery, the spokeswoman told Reuters. Natalie confessed earlier this month of an "unhealthy lifestyle"/drug abuse that led to her contracting the Hepatitis C.

I don't know about you, but I hate it when I read health comments from a "spokesperson" or "press person". It was the "spokesperson" who told us how "well" Bernie Mack was doing in the hospital, and you see how that turned out. Any of our readers out there who might know Natalie's family, please post a comment and give us the real truth, good or bad.

Nate Dogg Age 39 And Having A Stroke

Rapper Nate Dogg was hospitalized on September 5 after suffering his second stroke in less than a year--and that at one point the 39-year-old rapper was on life support with a feeding tube in his mouth. "He has suffered another stroke from his bad eating habits and unhealthy lifestyle," said Nate's rapping cousin, Donald "Lil' Half Dead" Smith.

Is it me or do we all see too many individuals having strokes, illness and death at a young age. Is "unhealthy lifestyle" code for drug abuse? Speaking of drug abuse, what's going on with singer Natalie Cole and her battle with hepatitis "C"? Check out the article above.

SEIU Accuses LA Black Union Leader Tyrone Freeman of Misusing Funds

Can't Say This Is A Black Thing!

Rising star Tyrone Freeman has been removed from the union's payroll after an internal report alleges improper spending practices similar to those revealed by The Times.

The Service Employees International Union has accused the African American head of its largest California local of misappropriating hundreds of thousands of dollars in an alleged corruption scheme that included payments to firms owned by his relatives and expenditures on his Hawaiian wedding and a Beverly Hills cigar club.

Impressive resume aside, Tyrone Freeman has been removed from the payroll of the Los Angeles-based local and faces formal dismissal pending an internal hearing, a union spokeswoman said. Freeman went on paid leave last month, following disclosures by The Times about the local's spending practices.

Freeman's top aide, Matthew Maldonado, and three other staffers were fired Wednesday in connection with the union inquiry, according to the SEIU official, who was not authorized to speak publicly and asked for anonymity. Attempts to reach Maldonado for comment were unsuccessful.

Two other prominent SEIU leaders have gone on paid leave because of the scandal, including the president of the union's California council, Annelle Grajeda, who is also an executive vice president of the national organization. And union folks are not happy.

The official who asked not to be identified said the SEIU has turned over to federal criminal authorities the findings of a union audit of Freeman's local, the United Long-Term Care Workers, which represents 160,000 low-wage caregivers. U.S. Labor Department investigators and FBI agents have been interviewing potential witnesses, according to people close to the probe

"The allegations underlying the charges against Tyrone Freeman are deeply disturbing, and we are going to proceed with a full and fair hearing process," SEIU President Andy Stern said in a statement Wednesday.

An appointee and protege of Stern, Freeman has denied any wrongdoing. His attorney said in a statement Wednesday that Freeman is "deeply disappointed with the union's actions. . . ."

"Instead of conducting a full and fair investigation, the union acted to scapegoat Mr. Freeman and to protect its own image," the statement said. "We are confident that the facts will show that Mr. Freeman acted in good faith to advance the interests of the union's members."

Most of the union's findings mirror The Times' disclosures. But an SEIU report contains new allegations that Freeman, 38, spent dues-payers' funds on his 2006 wedding and a Santa Barbara resort, and improperly drew payments from an affiliated local and a housing corporation.

The nine-page report, from union trustee John Ronches to SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger, spells out seven charges accusing Freeman of violating the union's corruption statutes.

The report followed an internal review led by former state Atty. Gen. John Van de Kamp. The union found that Freeman had directed more than $650,000 to a home-based video firm owned by his wife, Pilar Planells.

The document says Planells performed part-time work making promotional videos, and the payments could not be justified. Her firm received about $450,000 in previously undisclosed payments this year, and contends the local still owes it $75,500, the report says. It adds that more than $391,000 was for videos designed for leased-access cable stations, but none has aired.

Freeman, whose blog has not been updated for over a month, said the union's members have benefited from the money spent on the video production and day-care companies that his wife and mother-in-law operate at their homes, because of what he termed the high quality of the services. The union and the charity have paid those firms at least $405,700 since January 2006, not counting any outlays this year. Freeman also directed the union to separately pay Planells' medical insurance so that his policy would continue to cover his ex-wife, according to the report.

Accused of concealing Planells' ownership of the video firm from the local's executive board and other officials, Freeman is also accused of not filing any Labor Department forms that require disclosure of such payments, until after the paper raised questions about them.

The union's report alleges that Freeman engaged in self-dealing and financial malpractice by using a worker-training charity to pay his mother-in-law's day-care business nearly $100,000 a year, as The Times had disclosed. The day-care services were provided to Freeman and other union staffers, rather than to the workers the charity is designed to help, the SEIU alleges.

The payments to Carmen Planells were not warranted by the small number of children she cared for at her home, according to the report. It says Freeman ignored warnings by his accountants that the arrangement with the day-care firm could violate Internal Revenue Service rules on reporting taxable benefits.

Freeman is further accused in the document of improperly directing an affiliated local -- the 30,000-member California United Homecare Workers -- and a housing firm he controlled to pay him about $2,500 a month each.

The Long-Term Care Housing Corp., established as a nonprofit but never received tax-exempt status, gave Freeman an additional lump sum of $14,500, the report says.

The housing corporation also paid $2,500 a month to lease the home of Freeman's former chief of staff, Rickman Jackson, the report says. Jackson, now president of SEIU's largest Michigan local, went on leave after The Times disclosed his ownership of the property, which the corporation listed as its address.

The SEIU report alleges that Freeman's dealings with the housing firm and worker-training charity amounted to a "misuse of the funds of these nonprofit corporations by his disregard for the specific nonprofit missions for which they were created."

Freeman is also accused of billing the union for $8,100 in hotel, restaurant, bar, rental car and massage charges incurred during his wedding. Most of the money was for rooms at the Marriott Ko Olina Beach Club on Oahu, the report says. It says that Freeman claimed the expenses were for his participation in a management program at the University of Hawaii, but no record of his attendance could be found.

The report also says Freeman failed to provide documentation justifying expenses for a second trip to Hawaii and for charges at the Bacara Resort and Spa in Santa Barbara.

The SEIU findings reflected a Times disclosure that Freeman spent nearly $10,000 last year at the Grand Havana Room, the Beverly Hills cigar lounge. The report says Freeman spent $3,500 more at the club. He reimbursed the union for $9,800 of the expenses after The Times inquired about them, the report said.

The union official who requested anonymity said the internal inquiry is continuing, and more allegations could be brought against Freeman. The report did not address a number of other expenditures disclosed by The Times.

Source

Kwame Kilpatrick Waves Goodbye to Detroit... And All That Could Have Been!

Detroit Mayor Drives Away From Mansion on Last Day

With a wave, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick drove away from the Manoogian Mansion on his last day in office.

But it's not known if he and his family were on a casual drive Thursday morning or departing for good. Spokesman James Canning didn't have an immediate answer.

Detroit newspapers say Kilpatrick drove away from the mayor's official residence around 8:10 a.m. His wife, Carlita, was in the passenger seat of the black SUV.

Democratic City Council President Ken Cockrel Jr. becomes mayor after midnight. Kilpatrick, also a Democrat, agreed to leave office by Thursday when he pleaded guilty to two felonies on Sept. 4.

Canning says no public appearances by Kilpatrick are planned, but he may issue a final statement.

AP

R&B Soul Singer N'Dambi To Perform at The Farmers Angel City Classic 5th Quarter Concert

Go To Angel City Classic for Details!

Chinese Poisonus Powdered Milk, Lead Infested Toys, Tainted Blood Thinners, Killer Dog Food... Why We Should Boycott Everything Chinese

Chinese officials reported Wednesday that the number of babies sick from tainted milk formula had climbed dramatically to nearly 6,200 from 1,200 a day earlier. At least three children have died and more than 1,300 others, mostly newborns, remain hospitalized with dozens suffering from acute kidney failure. China does not have an effective FDA like the U.S. We therefore, need to start boycotting products from China for our own safety.

Tainted dog food has killed our pets, deaths and near deaths are associated with the tainted drug Hepron, both "Made In China". And let's not forget about the toothpaste, the Pocket Polly dolls and hundreds of other toys covered in dangerous lead that continue to be recalled and all "Made In China". This "milk gate" proves that the tight controls the government of China promised, just are not there.

The Associated Press(AP) pointed out that "this is also the second major case in recent years involving baby formula. In 2004, more than 200 Chinese infants suffered malnutrition and at least 12 died after being fed phony formula that contained no nutrients.

In a sign of the government's concern, Premier Wen Jiabao presided over a meeting Wednesday of China's Cabinet to back plans for a national inspection of milk products, according to a notice on the government's Web site.

Suppliers to the dairy companies are believed to have added the banned chemical, melamine normally used in plastics, to watered-down milk to make it appear higher in protein. Inspectors will now start testing for melamine in all dairy products, officials said."

We here in the USA need to ask is how many people from the USA have to get sick, be hospitalized or die before we get the message. And the message is, there are just somethings we need to manufacture in the USA were we can keep a close watch over them no matter the price.

That Sinking Feeling: One Black Woman's Take On Sarah Palin

What Does John McCain's VP Pick Say About Us?

by Erin Aubry Kaplan

All my life I’ve resisted the philosophy of the Communist party members and other deeply disenchanted types that America is a lost cause. I’ve had my criticisms of this country, plenty of them. I still do. I don’t disagree too much with Communist Party’s analysis of America as a corporate plutocracy masquerading (very badly at this point) as a representative democracy.

But unlike the Party, I believe America can be redeemed. I believe it can change gears. I believe that beneath the rust and slime and infuriating hypocrisy is an ideal that’s battered but still intact, and we can save ourselves if we decide to use just a bit of it. I believe in a guiding light, even if we haven’t seen much wattage lately.

But with Alaska Governor Sarah Palin joined the Republican ticket as a vice-presidential candiate, I almost saw that light go out. The possibility I’ve believed in for the last 30 years felt, for the first time, like a complete sham, like I’d been believing in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.

It’s not simply that Sarah Palin represents the worst American archetype out there—arrogant, cutthroat, contemptuous of any reality other than her own (which can often mean racist), smile-in-your-face smarmy, and proud of all of the above; it’s that this worst archetype represents so much of America itself.

I would like to believe Palin is on the fringe of our groupthink, but she isn’t. True, she doesn’t fully reflect all voters out there, with the exception of the rabid Christian right. But too many people identify with too many parts of her, whether it’s the Christian certitude, the unfettered ambition, the perky pitbull image, or most importantly, the blithe sense of entitlement and righteousness that markets itself as American chutzpah but is really white privilege with good PR.

Actually, white privilege in America is good PR. They’re the same thing. Whites get the fullest benefit of PR and the rest of us are always doing damage control, even when we haven’t done any damage.

Imagine, for a moment, if Barack Obama had chosen a personable but remarkably inexperienced running mate, like Snoop Dogg. Imagine Obama insisting that Snoop had the chops to run the country because he’s a wildly successful businessman and a “quick study.”

Imagine Obama touting Snoop’s commitment to his kids’ Pop Warner league as evidence that he’s just a salt-of-the-earth kind of guy and a devoted “football dad.” Imagine Snoop bragging about his small-town bona fides (he grew up in North Long Beach, one of a million small towns in and around L.A.)

Laughable, right? Right. So why is it that Sarah Palin isn’t equally laughable?

Why is her ignorance so charming, while black ignorance of any degree (associated heavily with hip-hop) so threatening? Forget ignorance for a moment--why is Barack Obama’s intelligence equally suspect?

The answer is that when it comes to marketing, that endeavor of American invention, there is no such thing as a really good Negro. There is no such thing as a Negro who credibly represents all of “us,” which we think of as hockey moms or lunch-bucket workers or Reagan Democrats. The distressing fact is, it doesn’t matter how credible Obama (or Snoop) is or isn’t, they can never be credible enough because of their color.

Sarah Palin only has to be as credible as a contestant on “American Idol,” and that’s evidently enough to capture our imagination. We eagerly lap up all the Palin details custom-built for mythology: the librarian up-do and glasses that coyly speaks to a beauty-pageant past, the red-carpet smile, the vague Minnesota accent.

What possibility, we say. Only in America could a relative (but good-looking) nobody come out of nowhere and nab the second-highest office in the land.

But I don’t want a nobody in that office. I don’t want an average hockey mom. Black or white, I want somebody qualified, knowledgeable, empathetic, even extraordinary.

Sarah Palin is none of those things, but the scariest part is, her supporters know that. But they’ll willingly swallow the hype because the alternative, putting a black man in charge (albeit with a white VP a hearbeat away), scares them—and a lot of us--even more.

That’s not possibility, that’s capitulation. Obama has said we’re a better country than we’ve been the last eight years. I’d like to believe him, but I have precious little belief in the country left. With the lack of light, my vision is getting dimmer all the time.

ERIN AUBRY KAPLAN is the first African American in history to be a weekly op-ed columnist for the Los Angeles Times. Her musings continue to appear in the Times, Essence magazine, and a host of other publications. Among her many projects, Kaplan is currently working on her much anticipated book.

Jennifer Hudson Engaged To A Reject

That sweet Jennifer Hudson has decided there is room in her life for more than one man. She has asked her main stay, Oscar, aka Academy Award Oscar, to slide over. She announced that for her birthday she is engaged to some reject of a guy...

His name is David Otunga, who was rejected on the reality show I LOVE NEW YORK 2. This tale gets further complicated as we learn that "New York" is the name of a woman who on that reality show, was trying to find the man of her dreams...and David Otunga got booted from the show, because he wasn't "the one". To ad insult to injury New York is twice reject herself as she was twice rejected by rapper Flavor Flav on his reality show, FLAVOR OF LOVE. OK, all these rejects are making me dizzy, so in the meantime check out this video of sexy David pushing these weights trying to impress Miss. New York to win her affections. How desperate can one man be. Well, not too desperate; you see Otunga we hear is also a Harvard Law Graduate.

Peace Has Come To Zimbabwe...Finallly Again

(Zimbabwe's president, Robert Mugabe, second from left, and opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, second from right, signed a power-sharing accord in Harare after weeks of negotiations. )

The Stevie Wonder song has come true,... peace has come to Zimbabwe, After more than 28 years of unbroken power, President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe signed an agreement with the opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai on Monday to divide the responsibilities for running the troubled country.

While many of the pieces of the long-awaited deal remained either unresolved or unannounced, Mr. Tsvangirai said the agreement “sees the return of hope to all our lives.”

Despite questions about how the agreement would be implemented after so much acrimony and hostility between the two men, Mr. Mugabe said: “We are committed to the deal. We will do our best.”

Opposition supporters at the ceremony in a conference center at a Harare hotel celebrated the signing and were jubilant when Mr. Tsvangirai appeared, hooting and applauding. Among the audience were many opposition workers who had gone into hiding in the run-up to the election in March or been beaten in government-sponsored violence over the last eight years. More on this story from our source. CELIA W. DUGGER and ALAN COWELL at the The New York Time

While I May Not Agree With This View of Sarah Palin, NY Times Writer Frank Rich Is Wickedly Good With A Keyboard

By Frank Rich

WITH all due deference to lipstick, let’s advance the story.

A week ago the question was: Is Sarah Palin qualified to be a heartbeat away from the presidency? The question today: What kind of president would Sarah Palin be?

It’s an urgent matter, because if we’ve learned anything from the G.O.P. convention and its aftermath, it’s that the 2008 edition of John McCain is too weak to serve as America’s chief executive. This unmentionable truth, more than race, is now the real elephant in the room of this election. No longer able to remember his principles any better than he can distinguish between Sunnis and Shia, McCain stands revealed as a guy who can be easily rolled by anyone who sells him a plan for “victory,” whether in Iraq or in Michigan. A McCain victory on Election Day will usher in a Palin presidency, with McCain serving as a transitional front man, an even weaker Bush to her Cheney.

The ambitious Palin and the ruthless forces she represents know it, too. You can almost see them smacking their lips in anticipation, whether they’re wearing lipstick or not.

This was made clear in the most chilling passage of Palin’s acceptance speech. Aligning herself with “a young farmer and a haberdasher from Missouri” who “followed an unlikely path to the vice presidency,” she read a quote from an unidentified writer who, she claimed, had praised Truman: “We grow good people in our small towns, with honesty and sincerity and dignity.” Then Palin added a snide observation of her own: Such small-town Americans, she said, “run our factories” and “fight our wars” and are “always proud” of their country. As opposed to those lazy, shiftless, unproud Americans — she didn’t have to name names — who are none of the above.

Continue...

Commuter Train Disaster In Los Angeles

On Friday in the outskirts of Los Angeles County a commuter train and a freight train had a head on collision. For the last 16 hours over 200 fire fighters and rescue people have been cutting people out of the wreckage, some alive some dead. This is the worst train accident in the history of Metrolink commuter train. What caused the two trains to be on the same track at the same time traveling towards each other is still unknown?

From Successful Boxer To Dancing With The Stars Favorite, Now Add Mommy To Laila's Resume

It's a Boy for Laila Ali & Curtis Conway
Zimbabwe Rivals Seal Power-Sharing Deal to End Crisis
Bill Clinton Predicts Big Win for Obama
Obama Mocks McCain as Computer Illiterate
Obama to Appear on 'Saturday Night Live'
Nigeria Calls for Way to Track 'Blood Oil'

BET Head Reginald Hudlin Gone After 3 Years
Black College Online Social Networks Boost Alumni Associations
Black Women's Burden: Increasing HIV Cases
Rapper TI Sued for More Child Support
Howard Claims Top Rank in Black Doctoral Grads
Seeking Help for Domestic Abuse Tough for African Americans

OJ Simpson Jury Is Scandalously All White, In 2008 Justice Still Comes Late

OK, let me state for the record I'm not an OJ Simpson relative, friend or even supporter. I am though, relatively speaking, reasonably a friend of the down-trodden and disadvantage and I am a supporter of justice in all aspects of our life. So how in the hell in 2008, can OJ Simpson be going to trial in front of a jury of his "peers" and the whole jury is white??? Come on! I know a railroad job when I see it coming and I don't have to hear chuga-chuga, wooo wooo!

In the Nevada, Simpson and a group of associates allegedly stormed a room at the Palace Station Hotel-Casino, brandishing weapons, to retrieve memorabilia largely related to the former football star's sporting career that he has insisted was stolen from him.

Simpson has insisted he did not know that anyone had guns and said he never saw weapons. Four of the gang, including the two who carried firearms, have struck plea agreements with prosecutors for reduced prison sentences in exchange for their testimony against Simpson.

"If you are here thinking you are going to punish Mr. Simpson for what happened in Los Angeles in 1995 this is not the case for you," This is what judge Glass said Monday to the potential jurist. She went on to say, "I mean really, truly, folks,". "I'm not kidding around. Can you put that aside and understand that the case we are trying here and the info you're going to hear about here is totally separate from that case?"

Now all that sounds pretty empty to me, when you then say to me, in all of Las Vegas, our justice system can't find one Chinese, Japanese, Hispanic or African American to serve on this trial? Vegas is suppose to be a legal and fair gamblin' town but this jury game is fixed. Can you say change of venue? Anything?

Once again I'm not saying OJ was right or wrong in his actions. What I am saying, is that this jury selection is indicative of abuse and how unfair African Americans and people of color are treated under U.S. law. And that is the only reason we say, "Free O.J."

The Daddy Diaries #346: My Youngest Pays Tribute To 9/11, AKA "Flag Day" As He Calls It!

This post is from my 6-year-old son who is learning all about blogging and what it means to be an American. I'm very proud of him. Check it out:

HI I'm Evan. Today I want to talk about flag day the 5'th graders sang a fith grade song and we said the pleage and today is flag day because some pelple died

Happy flag day

SOUL MEN: Missing Bernie Mack & Isaac Hayes, But At Least Samuel Jackson Is Still Kicking!

Kanye West Feeling Blue After The Po-Po Take Him To The Pokey!

Kanye West was led away in handcuffs by police at Los Angeles International Airport after a scuffle with paparazzi on Thursday morning. Apparently a $10,000.00 camera was thrown to the ground and West's bodyguard was also involved in the altercation.

Kanye may now be facing battery and vandalism charges. A witness indicated that West's arrest followed a scuffle with paparazzi.

The incident happened at 7:41am this morning at Terminal 4, at an American Airlines security checkpoint, according to the LAX spokesman. Developing...

Meet The Gal Who Beat Sarah Palin as Miss Alaska

We all know these pictures of Governor Palin, The GOP, Nominee for Vice President and her official Miss Alaska (Runner Up)Picture. But now we know who beat her out and if you want the surprise click under the hood.

Introducing Maryline Blackburn, Singer, Entertainer and the Sistah' that kicked Sarah Palin's butt in 1984.

And sistah' does have da' Bomb website so go check it out and see more pix in her photo gallery. Maryline BlackBurn

Folks Who Get It: Phenomenal African American Sculptress Tina Allen Dead at 58

Funny, Energetic Artist Captured Black Figures In Bronze

By Our Weekly writer Shirley Hawkins

Internationally renowned sculptor and painter, Tina Allen, who has won commissions to sculpt the likenesses of Malcolm X and Nelson Mandela, passed away this week due to complications of pneumonia after a massive heart attack.

Born in 1949 in Hemptead, N. Y., Allen began painting at the age of five and was discovered at the age of 10 by William Zorach, who was considered one of the greatest living sculptors in the world. Allen was the daughter of Gordon “Specs” Powell, a studio percussionist for CBS Records.

Allen, who was considered a social activist as well as an artist, created her first three-dimensional work when she sculpted a bust of Aristotle in high school. She soon began winning competitions and awards, but Allen revealed that though she had originally intended to paint, “sculpture was more natural for me than painting.”

In 1986, she entered a competition in Boston for a commission to create a memorial statue of African American labor activist A. Philip Randolph, who founded a union for train porters in 1925. To her surprise and delight, Allen won the $85,000 commission and her career began in earnest.

In 1988, Allen moved to Los Angeles where she produced many sculptures and paintings that reflected the Harlem Renaissance. She also focused on the black male, which is shown in her creations entitled “Proud Father and Son” and “The Banjo Lesson.” Allen has promoted the contributions of African American women through her work entitled “Ethiopia.”

Los Angeles County Supervisor Yvonne B. Burke, a long time friend of Allen, reflected, “I think all of us know that Tina was an exceptionally talented woman as a sculptress. Tina always did excellent work.”

Burke recalls that Allen also possessed a great sense of humor. “She was the funniest woman I ever knew,” said Burke. “She would keep you in stitches for hours. She had an ability to lift you up and make you smile and to bring you out of whatever depths you’re in.”

Through her artwork, Allen wanted to leave a legacy for African American children. “Our children must be able to say greatness comes out of people who look like me,” she once said.

Locally, Allen had been commissioned to create sculptures of community activists Lillian Mobley and Celes King Jr. She was also commissioned to create sculptings of Sammy Davis Jr., Alex Haley, Dr. Ralph Bunch, Marcus Garvey, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Dr. Charles Drew, George Washington Carver, Sojourner Truth, Betty Shabazz, and Tupac Shakur.

As her acclaim grew, Allen’s prodigious talent kept her traveling extensively to such far away places as Africa, Europe, and Asia, South. LA Times Has Details & Photos.

Good job Tina. Congratulations, you've been promoted. Source

Blogtalkradio Host Kevin Ross On CNN Discussing Being A Black Republican For Obama

See The Actual Interview Here

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Polls indicate that about 7 percent of blacks describe themselves as Republicans. Some say they are torn this election between ideology and the chance to make history.

"For me, this election, I have to go with Barack Obama," said black Republican Kevin Ross.

Ross says while he'll vote for Obama for president, he'll vote along Republican Party lines for the rest of the ticket. He says his two young sons are one of the reasons he's supporting Obama.

"When I look at those young people and I look at my boys and say you can be anything you want to be -- that holds true except for one position and that one position has been president of the United States," said Ross.

BLACK PEOPLE ARE FINALLY GETTING ON BOARD THE DIGITAL RENAISSANCE MOVEMENT!

By Kevin Ross

CEO of 3BAAS Media Group

There was a period not long ago when select media outlets single-handedly shepherded how society obtained and reported news about people of color.

That train has left the station.

A cacophony of unbridled voices like Southern, lesbian, political commentator Pam Spaulding of Pam’s House Blend; Shawn Williams of Dallas South Blog; Afronerd; and bi-racial writer Liza Sabater of Culture Kitchen, have jumped the tracks, stopping traffic on the information superhighway in ways no one could have predicted.

Since Dec. 17, 1997, when the term "weblog" was used to describe a list of links "logged" on one person’s Internet wanderings, the Black online blogging community has been blazing a trail for those completely oblivious to the limitless opportunities available in cyberspace.

Dubbed the “Digital Renaissance Movement”, never before have the shackles of a rich, yet painful past been so rusted and non-encompassing. Collectively, technology has freed Black people, making data of and about African-Americans infinitely more accessible to millions of people all around the world.

The timing couldn’t be better.

A recent Radio One study about African Americans and the so-called digital divide shows that minorities are not as behind as once was thought. About 68% of blacks spend time online, the survey found, compared with 70% of all Americans.

And as more blacks become less apoplectic about using computers to maintain community, companies seeking to reach these online consumers are turning to tech-savvy entities that recognize the value of reaching people through traditional and non-traditional means.

Take for example the Farmers Insurance Group Angel City Classic being held in the Los Angeles Coliseum on September 27. Besides adding a music concert to turn-out over 70,000 people, producers also decided that the event needed an Internet strategy. As a result, Web coordinator extraordinaire Isidra Person Lynn, Hollywood’s Tri Destined Studios, and 3BAAS Media Group were all retained to promote the annual football match-up differently than had been done in previous years.

“In order for young people to discover the experience and give academic achievement its due, we had to go viral,” says John Fleming III, COO of Black Educational Events, LLC (B.E.E.) which showcases the importance of pursuing higher education at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) through producing the Classic.

“I am convinced that adding blogs, e-blasts and video to our previous efforts, similar to the presidential campaign Barack Obama has launched, is the most effective way to reach our core demographic,” Fleming added.

The shifting paradigm is obvious.

"Overall technology employment is up in America and the wages associated with it are up," said John McCarthy, a vice president with Forrester Research. This stands in stark contrast with reports from the Labor Department indicating that companies slashed their payrolls by 84,000 jobs last month, sending the country's unemployment rate to 6.1 percent from 5.7 percent in July.

In an otherwise anemic economy having a disproportional impact on black businesses, church tithing and the survival of community based organizations, Internet advertising has risen 20% in the U.S.

When it was incorporated on Sept. 7, 1998, Google started with four computers, an initial investment of $100,000, and a belief that with a little ingenuity, one Internet search engine could change the world.

Today the financial behemoth has close to a $150 billion market value, almost 20,000 employees, current market share of 78.4 percent, and a $4.85 billion profit during the past four quarters.

The emergence of new technologies, such as the growing numbers accessing information from their mobile phones, will soon allow you to lock the front door of your home while you're away, or even listen to Internet radio shows in your vehicle.

With Web traffic having increased 53 percent from mid-2007, it’s understandable why bloggers African American Political Pundit, Jasmyne Cannick, Raw Dawg Buffalo, Field Negro and Young, Black and Fabulous see themselves as pioneers committed to ensuring that blacks have control over their own content.

Whether it’s Hurricane or earthquakes, Jena 6, politics or the Darfur crisis, African Americans are also getting assistance from social networking tools such as Myspace, Facebook, Youtube, Skype, Blogtalkradio, and the latest craze, Twitter. How are they doing this? By speaking passionately to power, racism, and yes, even sometimes meaningless pop culture. Whether it’s through their unique perspectives or by breaking stories, the powerful cultural hammer they’re yielding though their expanding audiences can not be denied.

Even more amazing is that these bloggers have grown organically, propelled by word of mouth versus print or electronic media anointing. With limitless open source data, the Internet has made the world less reliant on ordained “experts” or “pundits” simply because they travel in the right circles.

When the Democrats recently held there national party convention, seven bloggers dubbed ”The Denver 7” made history by being the first independent group of black bloggers to actually obtain media credentials to cover the event.

What each of them did wasn’t exactly complicated. They felt they had something to say so they registered for a free blog, started writing, obtained a dedicated following, and applied to become apart of the pool of political bloggers.

Unhappy about not getting that book published or your business up and running? Is your radio career not skyrocketing through the roof? Now, there’s no excuse. The Denver 7, which includes Gina McCauley of What About Our Daughters, Baratunde Thurston of Jack & Jill Politics, and Oliver Willis, are living proof that the Internet has emancipated us all.

Still not convinced? Consider the 1st Annual “Blogging While Brown” conference in held this past July. The historic conference held in Atlanta served its initial objective, which was bringing together a cadre of blacks who have mastered the intricate dance of pursuing journalistic integrity, monetizing their efforts and bringing social change through cyber-networking.

Demonstrating the power of vision and solidarity, the conference proved that blacks are capable of flexing their collective online muscle. Something that is not done enough, despite the fact that the African-American community -- a consumer segment that represents 13% of the U.S. population, has spending power that in 2007 reached $845 billion. And that figure is expected to leap to more than $1.1 trillion by 2012, according to the University of Georgia's Selig Center for Economic Growth.

African countries, as well as places in the Caribbean and the UK, are also interested in news and information coming out of the U.S. And with Hollywood also aggressively looking for digital content, it’s a no-brainer that Blacks are capable of providing material that can be profitable across the board.

Celebrating the 45th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech and the historical nature of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign and its use of technology, a case can be made that the mountaintop is clearly within our reach.

So please remain seated at the front of the bus folks. We’re almost there!

Barack's Lipstick Comment, Republicans Guilty Of Double Standard

Here is the video of the actual comments by Barack Obama and the same comments by Dick Cheney when running against John Kerry in 2004.

Mayor Kwame Moves Out As Thandie Newton Moves Up With New Role In Political Movie

Thandie Newton on Becoming Dr. Rice

Condoleezza Rice Laments Lack of Black Diplomats
McCain Takes 4-Point Lead Over Obama in Poll
Obama's Verbal Slip Fuels His Critics: 'My Muslim Faith'
Rumor that Palin Called Obama 'Sambo' Spreading Across Web
CBS to McCain: GOP has Become 'Party of White People'

Google and HSBC Back African Internet Project

Judge: Don't Use this Trial to 'Punish' O.J.

Detroit Mayor, Family to Leave Mansion by Sept. 18

Study: Houston Police Used Tasers More on Blacks

LL Cool J Makes a Grand 'Exit' on New Album

Oprah: Palin Will Not Be on Her Show Until After Election
Russell Simmons, T.I. Get Political at MTV Awards
Call for 'Black Schools' in UK /Nigeria Arranges 'HIV Marriages'
Spike Lee Offers Blood, Hope in World War Two Film

More Blacks Turning to Blogs

A Young Black Kid From L.A. Claims He's Bristol Palin's Baby Daddy?

Watch Out Little Man, You May End Up Costing Barack This Election

OJ Trial With No Johnnie Cochran...Can He Find Another Guardian Angel?

OJ and Johnnie Cochran In Better Times

Las Vegas--Invasion, Armed Robbery, Kidnapping... just some of the charges OJ is up on. Jury selection is this week and four of the other co-defendant are "flipping" on OJ and will testify against him. Is this the last go around before he's in the orange jumpsuit for ten to twenty years?

Attorney Johnnie has died and gone to heaven. Perhaps there is another angel out there, who needs to help someone to earn his wings. (re: The movie It's A Wonderful Life)

Serena Wins Tennis U.S. Open, Regains #1 Ranking

Serena Williams, of the United States, poses with her championship trophy after defeating Jelena Jankovic, of Serbia, to win the women's finals championship match at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2008.

On the very first point of the match, Serena Williams hit a backhand so hard that her earring flew off. Turns out she was just getting warmed up. Williams kept pounding away, her shots and shouts getting louder with every stroke. And when she finished off Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 7-5 Sunday night for the U.S. Open championship and a ninth Grand Slam title, Williams really went wild.

She flung her racket high into the sky, hollering and hopping in a celebration that even she thought might've been over the top.

"I'm sorry I got so excited," she told Jankovic when they met at the net.

Obama's Biggest Mistake...Not Choosing Hillary

OK, I said it Barack should have chosen Hillary as his running mate for vice president and it is so glaring now that we see how Sarah Palin has snatched a big chunk of history from the Democrats and like a bulldog plans to hang on to it. How can I see it and my GOP brother from another mother who blogs here with me stay silent on the subject. In fact all over the country, you "brother" GOP are strangely looking a lot like Luke Skywalker as you step away from the "dark side" of the Republican heart and look to Obama for some historical soul. But I digress, because Hillary really should be our girl.

She earned it. She has a base of deliverable votes. She was the history maker. And from her and Bill's performance at the DNC convention they have healed themselves and really are "team Democrats" in the end. The GOP has gotten the drop on all us Dems. To say, Sara Palin is bouncing, and burping that conservative right wing Republican base like yet a new born babe, would be and accurate analogy. In fact is that not a collective "Ma Ma" I hear from them as they finally get what they want and those grassrooters will now give McCain what he wants and desperately needs...energy. That's right because now they are ready to go out and organize and get "their man and WOMAN" in the White House.

How could Obama have been so scared of the Bill and Hillary show that he would risk his own place in history. Hillary is the one female who should be making history as the first woman on a national ticket for Vice President. Obama was confused with all the pants suits and feared she would always want to wear the pants. You were wrong. Sara Palin is a pale ghost compared to what Hillary has brought and would have brought to the ticket and eventually to our office. Hockey mom? Caribou Killer?? The son is not enlisting, he is running away to the army, the daughter in getting pregnant was in fact saying, "screw you mom, I can do what I want and I'm just as much a woman as you are." This is some highly dysfunctional crap and as the days roll along we will learn just how jacked up her family life is, and that Sarah Palin can't run "her" house, let alone the White House. Could his miscalculation, not choosing Hillary for VP, cost him the Presidency?

Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2008

Inductees, from left, Adrian Dantley, Patrick Ewing, Hakeem Olajuwon, Pat Riley, Cathy Rush and Dick Vitale, and Basketball Hall of Fame president John Doleva

Dick Vitale who in stautre is small proved with his acceptance speech to be a giant. Read here Vitale from the Heart.

The Detroit Kwame Kilpatrick Wrap Up...He Goes To Jail Finally

And what about wife Carlita and the children...does anyone care how they are feeling?

Under Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's orders, the city spent $8.4 million to hide incriminating text messages sent by the mayor and his former chief of staff, Christine Beatty -- messages that seem to indicate Kilpatrick and Beatty had and affair, and that they conspired to fire police officer Gary Brown. Brown and two other officers lost their jobs partly because of their investigations into the mayor's liaisons.

In court Thursday...
Kilpatrick said: "I lied under oath...with the intent to mislead the court and jury and to impede and obstruct the fair administration of justice."

City Council President Ken Cockrel will take on the job as mayor once Kilpatrick occasionally steps down on Sept. 18. Kilpatrick's sentencing is next month.

.

The price of passion...What will mistress Christine Beatty do now?

Kilpatrick has given up his law license, resigned from his mayor post, will serve 4 months in jail and repay the city $1 million as part of the plea deal he agreed to in court Thursday

OK, can we now address the 8% unemployment that plagues the city of Detroit?

Serena Advances to Tennis U.S. Open Final vs. Jankovic 2008 No. 1 Ranking Up For Grabs

"I've just been way more consistent, playing a lot more and just putting in the effort," she said. "I'm here to stay."---Serena Williams, as she advances to the finals of the U.S. Open.

If Serena wins she will regain her No. 1 ranking for the first time since August 2003. This is a great rebound after losing this year's Wimbledon to her sister Venus in straight sets.
Serena will face off against young Serbian sensation Jelena Jankovic. At 23, Jankovic, has worked hard enough, that she too will gain the No. 1 ranking in tennis if she wins and beats Serena.

We Heard She Would Be Modeling, But Not Like This!

Not That We're Complaining Ciara!!!

With unit sales being what they are, how does a girl focus attention on her forthcoming third LP, Fantasy Ride?

Well if your Ciara, just get butt-nekked! The sexy young singer linked to 50 Cents appears nude on the cover of the October issue of Vibe magazine set to hit newsstands September 16.

No Cream No Sugar has Ciara... all of her.

KINI-CLAD, GUN TOTIN' SARAH PALIN: GOD BLESS AMERICA!

In short, Sarah Palin is the emblem of what feminism was supposed to be all about: an unafraid, independent, audacious woman, who soared on her own merits without the aid of a patriarchal jumpstart, high-brow matrimonial tutelage and capital, and old-boy liaisons and networking.

For the rest of this guys take on McCain's VP pick, click here. And if anyone believes Govenor Palin's spot on the GOP all-star team is not about abortion, check this out.

Meanwhile, Time Magazine discusses how Team Barack is handling this latest curve ball:

Nobody was more surprised by John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate than the people who run the Barack Obama's campaign. "I can honestly say that we weren't prepared for that," says David Axelrod, Obama's top strategist. "I mean her name wasn't on anybody's list. It was a surprise to a lot of Republicans as well."

Their shock was evident in their initial, clumsy reaction, a hard-hitting two sentence statement from Obama spokesman Bill Burton which included this zinger: "Today, John McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency." Eighty-six minutes later, the campaign corrected course, issuing a second statement from both Obama and his running mate, Delaware Senator Joe Biden: "While we obviously have differences over how best to lead this country forward Governor Palin is an admirable person and will add a compelling new voice to this campaign."

Later that afternoon, Obama, almost apologetically, explained the discrepancy: "You know campaigns start getting these hair triggers and the statement that Joe and I put out reflects our sentiments." The do-si-do by the campaign reflects their initial uncertainty on how to deal with Palin, a rare moment of unsure footing for the usually flawlessly managed 19-month-old operation.

The dilemma the campaign has about how to deal with the sudden emergence of this political superstar comes down to this: it possibly can't ignore her, but going after her directly could easily backfire. If anything, the past week has shown that Palin wears a similar coat of Teflon as Obama. Just as many of Obama's opponents suddenly found themselves accused of playing the race card, many of Palin's supporters have been quick to accuse Dems of outrageous sexism in the frontal assault on Palin's record and family.

Still, given her attacks on Obama, his campaign will have a hard time resisting the urge to respond head on. Many observers had assumed that the choice of Palin would effectively take the McCain campaign's experience argument off the table. But the Republicans have shown no such reluctance, continuing to claim that Palin's eight years as a small-town mayor and two years as Alaska Governor make her more qualified than Obama with his seven years in the Illinois Senate and three years in the U.S. Senate — or even Biden with his 35 years in the U.S. Senate.

Snoopy Creater Dead at 91: Who Knew He Was Mexican!

Animator Gave Life to "Peanuts" Characters

Bill Melendez, the only person Charles Schulz authorized to animate his characters, has died of natural causes.

Melendez's nearly seven decades as a professional animator began in 1938 when he was hired by Walt Disney Studios. He went on to animate TV specials such as "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and was the voice of Snoopy, who never spoke intelligible words but issued expressive howls, sighs and sobs.

Melendez was born in 1916 in Hermosillo in the Mexican state of Sonora. Having met "Peanuts" creator Charles M. Schulz in 1959 while creating Ford Motor Co. TV commercials featuring Peanuts characters, Melendez became the only person Schulz authorized to animate his characters.

He founded his own production company in 1964 and went on to produce, direct or animate some 70 "Peanuts" TV specials, four movies and hundreds of commercials.

The first special was 1965's "A Charlie Brown Christmas." The show reportedly worried CBS because it broke so much new ground for a cartoon: It lacked a laugh track, used real children as voice actors, had a jazz score and included a scene in which Linus recited lines from the New Testament.

A six-time Emmy awardee, he also was co-nominee for an Academy Award in 1971 for the music for "A Boy Named Charlie Brown."

Melendez is survived by his wife Helen; sons Steven Melendez and (Ret.) Navy Rear Adm. Rodrigo Melendez, six grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. He was 91-years-old.

Source