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The Logical thinkers and Friends |
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This Weeks Topics
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Hi all, I hope everyone's week is moving along smoothly and is productive. First off I would like to say to all of you drive carefully and wear those seat belts I don't want to hear of anymore good folks losing their lives in car accidents. (Bobby Phills and Derrick Thomas you will be missed.) This past week trials of the Louima and Diallo incidents, and the killing of a Black police officer should serve as a wake up call to Black men to see how close we all are to abuse and death. We can be gunned down by police officers in a blink of an eye and the sad part about it is, the police are justified in doing this because Black men are considered a threat, not by our actions but by the color of our skin, and I think that is a shame. When it comes to black men the police have an attitude of shoot first and ask questions later approach. I look at it as when you become a police officer you should understand the risk that your life could be at risk and if you fear the people you are supposed to protect you shouldn't take the job! The white community never seems to understand why black men are so angry. If they had to live under the stress and fear that black men live under they would be damn angry too! After 79 years in hiding the truth will finally be acknowledged that the worst massacre in the history of the United States of America next to the what happened to the American Indian's, The 1921 Tulsa Oklahoma massacre in which As many as 300 people the number is probably higher, most of them blacks, died in the violence. See the story and pictures ( click here ) And last
but not least what's the deal with this movie about Sally Hemmings with all the
black actress out there they could not not find one to play the part of Sally
Hemmings they had to use a Hispanic woman for the part ? That just goes to show
that this movie is full of it and can't be believed. I guess it would of really
hurt for the real truth to be told. That the great President Thomas Jefferson
was a big hypocrite. Add
For Black history month I have put together a few really good things relating to black history on an external link. (click here) Markus Rice Editor Have something you would like to submit e-mail it to me by Tuesday for the following week. Here is another place to check out more positive people (click on the banner)
make new friends, discuss the issues and post messages on the hot topics below. |
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Tulsa Race Riot Panel Recommends ReparationsBy Ben Fenwick TULSA, Okla. (Reuters) - Victims of the 1921 Tulsa race riot, one of the worst mob attacks in U.S. history, should receive reparations for the losses they suffered, a state commission recommended on Friday. The 11-member commission did not say how much money the victims should receive, but urged a combination of direct payments, scholarships and tax benefits for victims and their descendants. A subcommittee of the commission earlier suggested that up to $33 million should be paid, but that figure was not included in the final report issued on Friday. ``I think it's of value to recognize what people lost. It's a justice issue,'' commissioner Eddie Faye Gates said. The commission's recommendations will be passed on to the Oklahoma state legislature, which will decide whether to pay up. There are about 80 known survivors of the incident. The riot erupted on May 31, 1921, when whites fought with a black crowd that had gathered outside the county courthouse to protect Dick Rowland, a black teen-ager accused of assaulting a white woman, fearing he might be lynched. Fighting and gunfire outside the courthouse escalated as gangs of gun-toting whites raged across the thriving black district of Greenwood, setting fires through the night and the next morning. By the time the National Guard imposed martial law, the district that educator Booker T. Washington once called the ``Negro Wall Street of America'' was in ruins. As many as 300 people, most of them blacks, died in the violence. More than 1,000 homes were destroyed, along with 35 grocery stores, eight doctors' offices and five hotels. The commission said much evidence about the riot had been destroyed, which made it hard to determine the exact number of dead. Official reports at the time said three dozen people were killed, but experts and survivors say the number was likely much higher. Archeologists are planning to excavate a site thought to be a mass grave of riot victims to see if they can shed light on how many died.The commission was created by the state legislature in 1997 to investigate the riot and was ordered to file a report by Monday. The panel said its work was not yet finished and asked the legislature to allow it to continue the probe. See the story and pictures ( click here )
Diallo - The Facts Don't Match The Accusations by Armstrong Williams There were forty-one shots fired, twisting the body of Amadou Diallo in a manic ballet, then leaving him crumpled on the ground like a broken stem. Diallo was unarmed, standing on the front stoop of his Bronx apartment building on February 4th, 1999, when four police officers surrounded the street vendor and discharged their 9mm guns in a brief, terrifying outburst of violence. The police confronted the street vendor because he matched the description of an armed rapist. According to press testimony, the officers then displayed their badges and identified themselves as police, demanding that the vendor halt in his doorway. Instead, a nervous-seeming Diallo shuffled his hand in his pocket, prompting an officer to yell, "Gun!" In moments, all four officers opened fire. As we try to piece together the horrifying events of that day, we cannot be certain whether it was nervousness, negligence or both that caused the police to open fire on Diallo. What has become clear, is that the young street vendor's identity -- and the city's emotional response -- has been greedily pilfered by those who provoke racial tensions for a living. Exhibit A: Using Diallo's funeral ceremony as a national stage to spew racial vitriol, Nation of Islam leader Khalid Muhammad climbed aboard the pulpit and snarled, "This is the time for an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a limb for a limb, a life for a life." Similarly, former Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan barked, "This is the time for you white people to realize that you are doing evil. You will be having funeral processions in the white community. They shoot one of ours 41 times. We'll shoot 41 of theirs, one time." For obvious reasons, neither Farrakhan nor Muhammad bothered to explain exactly how their remarks would help the problem of racial divisiveness, or restore some measure of healing to a community which had gathered, ostensibly, to commemorate the passing of one of their own. Exhibit B: The Rev. Al Sharpton, too, wasted no time climbing aboard the handy wave of racial fear and riding it in. While attaching himself to the Diallo family as their advisor he spoke publicly about the need to "pursue a national dialogue." Behind the scenes, though, he engineered a public snub of Mayor Guiliani during the Diallo funeral proceedings, effectively keeping the wound open. Along the way, Diallo's death was used to paint the New York Police Department as an organism infected with racism and free-floating brutality. Plainly, this notion is pathologically irresponsible. To insinuate that they casually draw their weapons on blacks -- as though getting in gunfights were so much fun -- makes Farrakhan, Muhammad, Sharpton and their like guilty of the same sort of reductive stereotyping they're supposed to be fighting against. The implicit message, of course, is aimed not toward the police, but toward discrediting Republican luminary, Mayor Rudolph Guiliani, whose popularity has swelled with his tough stance on crime. By painting the police force as corrupt, they imply Guiliani is willing to turn his cheek to police brutality so long as the crime rate drops.This rousing point did not go unnoticed by former mayor Ed Koch, who wasted no time in wagging his wrinkled finger at Guiliani, accusing him of being unresponsive to allegations of police brutality.The President, too, immediately linked the Diallo shooting with broader charges of racism. A presidential appointee soon launched an investigation into allegations of police brutality under the Guiliani regime. The results, not coincidentally, are to be published during the height of the Hillary Clinton-Guiliani senatorial race. Just one more thing: Last year, less than 1 percent of the New York police force discharged their weapons. This number has decreased each year during Guiliani's three years in office. Fatal police shootings per year have also decreased roughly 50 percent during Guiliani's tenure, as have complaints regarding police brutality. Get it? Guiliani has reduced crime while, at the same time, reducing police-related violence. That said, Diallo died for the most tragic reason; that is to say, he died for no reason at all. We do not have an easy way with this. When one of us dies for no reason, we look to restore order. Like the calm dispensers of a drug, Muhammad, Farrakhan, Sharpton, and son on, provide order by providing a common enemy: racist cops, racist mayor. Sadly, this story has been manufactured anywhere that racism is talked about but not understood. Plainly, there is no question these officers should be punished for this senseless tragedy. They demonstrated a brutality and a negligence that any rational person ought to find horrifying. Diallo's soul will not rest until they are brought to order. This, however, is not an excuse to hijack Diallo's memory by those who stir racial tensions for a living by portraying New York cops under Guiliani as infected with racism and brutality. Simply, the facts do not bear out their assertion.
Officer defends Schwarz, says colleagues sought silence in Louima case by Bryan Robinson NEW YORK — The first officer to reveal information on Abner Louima's 1997 sodomy and beating testified Wednesday that he only saw Charles Schwarz walk Louima towards the bathroom where he was sodomized by his partner Justin Volpe. Contradicting his testimony in another trial, the officer said he did not see Schwarz go into the bathroom with Louima. Along with Thomas Bruder and Thomas Wiese, Schwarz is on trial for obstruction of justice. Federal prosecutors believe they lied about their knowledge of Louima's torture in the two years after the incident. According to the prosecution, Bruder and Wiese lied to investigators in an attempt to protect Schwarz. Bruder and Wiese were accused of beating Louima on the way to the 70th Precinct on Aug. 7, 1997 but were acquitted of the charges at a trial in June. Schwarz, however, was convicted of civil rights violations and conspiracy. He was accused of standing guard at a bathroom door and holding Louima down while his partner, Justin Volpe, sodomized him with a broken wooden stick. Detective Eric Turetzky's testimony at last year's trial led to Schwarz's conviction. Last year, he testified that he saw Volpe brandish a broken broomstick and lead Louima from the bathroom to the prison cell. In a taped interview with the police Internal Affairs Bureau, he claimed he saw Schwarz take Louima into the bathroom. However, on Wednesday, Turetzky told jurors he only saw Schwarz walk Louima towards the bathroom, not take him into it. Since his conviction, Schwarz has maintained his innocence and insisted that jurors convicted the wrong man. So far, in both trials, Louima has failed to positively identify Schwarz as Volpe's accomplice. [But, he said the second officer in the 70th Precinct bathroom was the same one who drove him to the police station. Police records have shown that Schwarz was scheduled to be the driver that night.] Schwarz hopes an acquittal and new evidence in his obstruction trial will help him appeal his conviction in the civil rights trial. Turetzky also told jurors Wednesday that members of the police union pressured him to keep silent about the case. Justin Volpe's brother, Damian, a member of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, asked him to "do the right thing" and "stick together." Turetzky interpreted the advice as a plea to help cover-up Volpe and other officers' role in Louima's beating and sodomy. — Bryan Robinson |
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More Power to the FamilyOne
of the wonderful creations of God is seen when we gaze into the sky.
The heavens shine from the light of the sun in the day, and at night
the galaxy glows under the dimness of the moon.
We wonder at the beauty of horizons; the mountains hiding the sun; the
waters silently waving peace our way, and we exhale each time a breeze blows
through our thoughts, calming them. The
antics of animal life never cease to capture our attention; always inviting
our imagination to trade our lives for theirs, or maybe our thoughts.
Sometimes it is even a wonder if natures’ purpose is to draw our
minds from reality, if only for a brief moment, in order to renew it, with
energy we have yet to harness and profit from.
Days go by without a good word from anyone dear, but nature speaks a
powerful message each day. All
creations of God are inspired to communicate a powerful message; even the ones
made after his own image. We
as creations of God may not be the most effective communicators of good
messages but we are definitely inspired to do so.
God has a chosen few, who speak good words to the broken-hearted, and
he has those who walk with stretched out arms filled with compassion; and
there is those who’s ears are ever open and never closed.
However, there is one creation of God that communicates one of the most
powerful messages of God since the beginning of time, never having to say a
word, and that is the family. After
pondering these questions to my own self, I realized that everything has a
beginning, so I sought for the beginning of the family.
It goes back to the creation of God, and everything having a purpose
and a place. “And
God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and
replenish the earth, and subdue it:” (Genesis 1:28).
This is the purpose of the family.
To grow in unity with the natural order of the earth and to serve its
purpose like everything else created in order to balance the process of life. When
the sun shines in its power, a man is tilling the ground.
When the moon is glowing over the night voices, the woman is nursing
her child. When the great fish
are leaping through the billows of the sea, a child is laughing with joy.
Every time the earth shakes from the shifting of its core, a man needs
his mate to ensure his troubled mind. For
each time the wind beats upon the forest trees causing some to bend and break,
a mother worries for the thoughts of her child; and for every time the
sparrow’s eggs are easy prey to the vulture, a child feels lost without an
arm to reach out to him. The
sky in the day is blue, radiant, and pure.
The sun at its peak is bright and full of energy.
A mountain in the distance is strong, upholding its image, and the
trees together have a beauty all their own.
When the sun descends to create the horizon it gives the sky such
beauty, and as it falls behind the mountain it almost winks at you, with the
mountain adding a grin. With the
trees still standing in the shadows of this sight, the eye can see the
creation of God that speaks an inspiring word.
All together, nature frees the imagination placing you in Gods
presence. A
man will stand until he has prepared himself a place to sit; a woman will wait
even when her hope is deferred, and a child can be sad until open arms receive
him. Nevertheless, when that man
establishes his purpose and discovers his weakness, he will seek the strength
he needs in the woman whose desire has come, and they will embrace a child in
love. This is the gift of God.
This is life at its purest. Moreover,
it is a portrait that possesses all the beauty of nature, and all the power of
God. Ask
God for the power of the family. Amen! Ó
2000 By Sound Doctrine Inc. check out more By C.R. Hamltion at his site Sanctified Ghetto
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The Digital Divide: The White House Responds While this society continues to emerge into a digital economy, many Americans are becoming increasingly dependent on the Internet and computers. Americans accessing the Internet has grown rapidly in the last year. According to noted economist, Thomas D. Boston, Ph.D., "…the Internet is one of the most important communications innovations in history." Fortune 500 Companies are now using the Internet to provide goods and services via e-commerce, more than ever before and many public and private schools have access to the Internet and computers to provide viable information to their students. However, there are a growing number of Americans who do not have this access. The divide between those with access and those without has become a national problem, specifically between African Americans and whites and the poor. Indeed, the correlation between race and income determines who has access. The US Commerce Department National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released their third report on the digital divide. The report entitled "Falling Through the Net: Defining the Digital Divide," states that between 1994 and 1998, the gap for computer ownership among African Americans and Whites widened by 39.2 percent. Furthermore, the gap between White and African American households’ access to the Internet grew 53.3 percent between 1997 and 1998. And only 8 percent of American households earning less than $10,000 a year own a computer and 3 percent have access to the Internet. Despite income, Americans living in rural areas are also lagging behind in Internet access and computer ownership. Specifically, rural areas in Appalachia and the Mississippi Delta lack the infrastructure and resources to wire the communities.In an initiative to bridge this gap President Clinton unveiled a multi-billion comprehensive plan to close the digital divide. The plan includes the following:
Clinton will also take this proposal as part of his second New Markets Initiatives trip this April. The president will lead a group of high-tech CEO’s to impoverished areas who did not benefit from this country’s economic boom nor the technology advancements. Last month, President Clinton announced another $100 million initiative to close the digital divide. Clinton’s program titled "ClickStart" will place Internet-ready PC’s in low-income homes and provide computer training for participating households. This program will help as many as 9 million households. The first initiative will begin in Oakland, California where the Marcus A. Foster Educational Institute will place Internet-ready PC’s in 500 homes where income levels do not exceed more than $25,000 and that have children in the Oakland public school system. In addition, participating families will pay between $5 and $10 per month for a computer and Internet access. Parents will be required to go through training and will also have to commit to a number of service hours working in public schools. The White House has been working with the computer industry, foundations, non-profit organizations and civil rights groups to help close the gap and make the Internet more accessible and computers more affordable. Clinton stated in front of students, school administrators and high-tech executives at Washington, DC’s Ballou High School (see remarks), "If we take these steps, we will go a long way toward our goal of bringing opportunity to every community." For comments guest-contributing writer Simone Greene |
Happy Black Folks Everywhere? I don’t know about you, but I get some of my news from the Electronic Urban Report (which you can subscribe to by sending e-mail to subscribeEUR@eurweb.com), the two or three times weekly "drum" for thousands of African Americans. Sometimes they make me hoot and sometimes they make me holler, but their November 3 edition got me stunned with incredulity. They reported on a Time Magazine claim that African American people, by and large, are "happy." I suppose I wasn’t feeling the happiness. I asked my office staff, relatively well-adjusted African American women, about their happiness quotient, and they rolled their eyes and said they were not sure where they would find happy black folks! I asked a group of folks, trying to finish a project, about their happiness index, and they doggone near bit my happy head off. The night before I heard about the happy black folks, I had attended the ordination of a sisterfriend who was glowing as she accepted her call, but hardly happy when she preached that she would be anyplace there was a mission. She was challenged, not happy. But according to Time Magazine and something called the "African American Monitor," a "door-to-door poll taken by Don Coleman Advertising/Yankelovich Partners" this spring, there are happy black folks everywhere! Here is how EUR reports it: "Time Magazine claims that African-Americans are a whole heck of a lot less on edge and more satisfied with the quality of their lives now than they were in '92. According to a survey published by Time and compiled by Don Coleman Advertising and Yankelovich Partners, of 1,063 African-Americans, 89% say they are generally happy with their life compared to only 56% in '92. 48% said they were concerned about gang violence compared to 50% in '95 and 70% '92. Seventy-five percent of blacks surveyed felt it was necessary to keep up with the latest technology compared to 69 percent of whites that felt the same way, but the poll also found that only 28% of African-Americans have a computer in the home compared to 50% of whites." The November 8 issue of Time Magazine has even more information. It notes that fewer African Americans are concerned about the lack of role models, that more African Americans than whites feel religion is important and say satisfaction comes from their families. According to this survey, African Americans are less likely to use the Internet than whites, but more likely to watch television. Don Coleman Advertising found some complacent African American people, but were they more complacent than whites? Time Magazine didn’t say, choosing to report racial differences on health, leisure, technology, religion, and family, but not on general happiness. No matter. While I bristle at the characterization of African American people that comes from the Time magazine poll, I recognize the fact that there are far too many "happy" black people out there. Ebonically speaking, we so happy that we forget where we come form and where we are going. Thus we are able to advocate on ballot and electoral matters that are frankly outside of our own self-interest. WE want school vouchers because we have lost confidence in public schools, but we haven’t focused on the hidden agenda behind school voucher movements. WE are angry at black leaders who don’t toe the line, so we are willing to elect flawed whites who will do even less likely to respond to African American interests. Happy black folks everywhere? You have to chuckle at the depiction of happy-go-lucky Negroes, much like those just let off massa’s plantations more than a century ago, who were joyful and pleasant and full of appreciation. To be sure, economic expansion is beginning to lift African American people up, and more and more are entering the labor force, and moving out of poverty. At the same time, with poverty rates exceeding 28 percent, one in four African American is poor, and 40 percent of African American children live in poverty. The Time Magazine Poll is, if nothing else, confirmation of the fact that you can lie with statistics. That is, unless someone is prepared to make the case that all these poor folks are happy. Time Magazine summarized their results by saying that the survey of African Americans finds "a mood of optimism" among black folks. How does one move from optimism to equality, closing the gaps that exist between black and white income, black and white wealth? Of course, such a survey wouldn’t ask such pointed questions. The answers might, after all, suggest that there’s a lot less "happiness" out there than survey questions are measuring. Feedback |
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GOOD BYE MY BROTHERS "R.I.P"
Hornets to Retire Number of Late Bobby Phills
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Reuters) - The Charlotte Hornets will honor the memory of guard Bobby Phills by retiring his No. 13 at halftime of Wednesday night's game with the Cleveland Cavaliers.Phills, who was killed in an automobile accident on January 13 less than two miles from Charlotte Coliseum, will become the first player in franchise history to have his number retired.The ceremony will include a video tribute, a song performed by Regina Belle, a check presented from the Hornets to the Bobby Phills Scholarship Fund and framed jerseys that will be presented to Phills' wife and parents.``This tribute by the organization was put together as a way to remember Bobby as a player and as an active member of the Charlotte community,'' Hornets executive vice president of business Sam Russo said. ``His jersey hanging from the rafters will be a constant reminder to everyone walking into the building of what a positive role model he was.'' |
List of links that you will find More info Wonders of the African world with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. If you missed the special on P.B.S.
get the latest
Carib news
click here. |
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Get Bullish on Your Kid's Education Do
you trade online? With a burgeoning economy many Americans have caught
day-trade fever. Now more than ever citizens of all colors and stripes are
trying to point and click their way into the lifestyle of
Bill
Gates. Investing
seems to be the way to go -- with a little research every few hours or days,
you can insure that the final payback is more than what you initially put in.
Unfortunately much of the tone and rhetoric of the presidential debates by
both Democrats and Republicans gives me the impression that most Americans are
still not adequately investing in our most valued resource, our children. Elementary and high school education is one
of the only investments I can think of that most Americans make and don't
bother to research. Honestly, given how much you pay to schools in taxes or
tuition it amazes me that many people can put three to four thousand dollars a
year into a system that they pay no attention to. The return on your
investment isn't necessarily that your child gets into the best college either
-- not everyone is cut out to go to Spellman, University of Virginia or
Stanford. Nevertheless if your child is legitimately excited about being
educated and can see some connection between what they do for 8 hours a day
and the life that they may some day lead, then your tax or tuition money is
well spent. If you're unhappy with your local schools then get out and change
them, they belong to you. Run for the school board, go to PTA curriculum
meetings, form a parents group -- you pay taxes. You have no excuse to not run
your own local schools. Anything else is a grotesque abdication of
responsibility.
For comments, contributing writer Jason Johnson |
Family and health: ...And
One for All
The most obvious reason that breakups are often painful is simply that the relationship is over. A deeper and more meaningful answer, however, is that a loss has been suffered by one or both parties. If you think about it, the end of a romantic relationship through a breakup is similar to the feelings one experiences when someone close to him or her has died:
continue > > Feedback
This friday night, PoZazz Productions is hosting an "Erotic Poetry Show"
It's time to get all lovey-dovey y'all. This friday night, It's time to
get all lovey-dovey y'all. This friday night, PoZazz Productions is
hosting an "Erotic Poetry Show", complete with sexy music, sexy poems,
and sexy people. We're even having a sexy raffle, where you can win a
bottle of Moet, a box of Godiva, and some other delectable offerings to the
goddesses of romance and affection. |
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"Tulsa
Race Riot Panel Recommends Reparations"
By Ben Fenwick
And for our Caribbean Friends
Having satisfying and meaningful relationships are a
vital part of the human experience. Whether romantic, family, business, or
sexual, our participation in a relationship with another person or people can
sometimes enhance things and make a good situation even better. Unfortunately,
not all relationships are all that satisfying or are very meaningful. Even
relationships that started out as wonderful can sometimes deteriorate into
something that is unrecognizable to the partners, and, as such, are often ended
by one or both of them. It is not difficult to understand that pain and hurt
occur when relationships end, but people often do not realize some of the other
factors at play that either deepen the pain or keep it going for extended
periods of time.
Trois (pronounced Twa) actually delves deeper into the
topic of "intimate relations" than anticipated. Set in
Atlanta, the film stars the always-sexy Gary Dourdan as Jermaine
Davis, and Kenya Moore as his equally sexy wife Jasmine. Jermaine
and Jasmine have the perfect life ... a new marriage, a beautiful
home, exciting careers and each other. However, when Jermaine
starts to look for "something new" to add some spice
into their sex lives, he ends up getting more than he bargained
for.