Congressional Hearings on Hip Hop - Panel 2
David Banner Interview After Testifying Before Congress
Michael Eric Dyson After Testifying Before Congress
Saturday, September 29, 2007
DAVID BANNER CONTINUES CAPITOL HILL RANT
Rapper still fired up about defending hip hop.
As previously reported, David Banner attended the recent hip hop hearings hosted by the House Energy and Commerce Committee of the U.S. Congress and read a prepared statement to vigorously defend the genre's use of offensive language and images.
The Mississippi-born and bred rapper continues to speak passionately against hip hop's detractors in a follow-up interview with Billboard.com.
In his prepared statement on Capitol Hill, Banner said, "If you fix our communities, we'll fix our lyrics." Asked how that would affect change, he tells Billboard: "In the Katrina hearing, one congressman asked, 'Haven't we done enough for Katrina?' They live in a world that we don't live in, and it's hard to speak for a majority when you don't live under the same conditions. People don't sing happy songs if they're broke."
"Rap music does for us the same thing gospel did for the slaves," he adds. "We communicate our anger through our music."
Banner has also taken issue with folks who are attempting to remove the words "bitch" and "hoe" from rap lyrics.
"Aren't there bitches out there?," he says. "Don't they exist? Those types of women exist, and if they didn't it'd be different. When someone yells in a room full of women the word 'dyke,' my mother isn't insulted because she isn't one."
"Rap is an art, and I can say whatever the hell I want to," he continues. "I use the words I use because they are graphic and they hurt. It's supposed to get people's attention. Where we come from, we speak that way."
David Banner's complete interview is available at Billboard.com.
VIVICA A. FOX PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO DUI
Actress faces six-month jail term if convicted.
Lawyers for Vivica A. Fox were in a Los Angeles court room Thursday to enter a not guilty plea to drunken driving charges on her behalf.
The actress, 43, has two misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence and driving with a blood-alcohol level over the legal limit of .08. following a March 20th traffic stop in the San Fernando Valley. If convicted, the actress faces up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
LAPD pulled her over on March 20th after her 2007 Cadillac Escalade zoomed past them on the Ventura Freeway going 80 mph while weaving in a traffic lane. Police said she failed a series of sobriety tests, and then began to antagonize her arresting officers.
"Fox began to walk away, yelling at my partner, `Brother, help a sister, are you going to let this racist white cop do this ... well, are you?'" the report stated. She continued to speak in a "condescending manner" as she was placed in the patrol car, the report said.
Several months later, the "Kill Bill" Vol. 1" star said she regretted the entire incident.
"I won't ever make that mistake again," she told reporters in June. "Trust me, I'm going to hire a driver next time."
Friday, September 28, 2007
OPRAH EARNS FOUR TIMES MORE THAN OTHER TV STARS
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - When it comes to what pays on U.S. television, talk doesn't come cheap -- nor apparently does a loud mouth.
Financial magazine Forbes on Thursday published a list of the highest-paid TV celebrities, with daytime talk show host Oprah Winfrey leading the way by earning an $260 million between June 2006 and June 2007. Nobody else came close.
Second in the list was Jerry Seinfeld earning $60 million.
Winfrey was joined at the top of the list by another talk show host, David Letterman, who landed at No. 4 by raking in $40 million in the same period from his "Late Night with David Letterman."
Simon Cowell, the arrogant and harshly critical judge on top-rated talent show "American Idol" earned $45 million to land at No. 3, and Donald Trump, whose boisterous exclamation "You're Fired" from reality show "The Apprentice" became part of the pop culture lexicon, was No. 5 with $32 million.
The list shows that in the media arena, it pays to own and produce either all or part of your shows, like Oprah.
That notion becomes abundantly clear in the No. 2 slot, where Jerry Seinfeld sits with $60 million earned mostly from reruns of his co-owned 1990's sitcom "Seinfeld."
Despite the fact that prime-time TV shows win awards and critical acclaim, Forbes Senior Editor Lea Goldman noted that daytime TV and news is where stars rake in the dough.
"Daytime personalities dominate our list of TV's top earners, with most competition among morning and afternoon talk show hosts," said Goldman.
Barbara Walters, another star who owns and co-produces her daytime show "The View," landed at No. 18 with $12 million.
The remaining top 20 is as follows;
6. Jay Leno, $32 million
7. Dr. Phil McGraw, $30 million
8. "Judge" Judy Sheindlin, $30 million
9. George Lopez, $26 million
10. Kiefer Sutherland, $22 million
11. Regis Philbin, $21 million
12. Tyra Banks, $18 million
13. Rachael Ray, $16 million,
14. Katie Couric, $15 million
15. Ellen DeGeneres, $15 million
16. Ryan Seacrest, $14 million
17. Matt Lauer, $13 million
18, Barbara Walters, $12 million
19. Diane Sawyer, $12 million
20. Meredith Vieira, $10 million
Reuters/Nielsen
FIRST U.S. TROOPS IN DRAWDOWN PLAN LEAVE IRAQ
By David Clarke and Dean Yates
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The first U.S. military unit scheduled to withdraw from Iraq under President George W. Bush's plan to cut troop levels has left the war zone.
U.S. army officers say their stepped-up security drive around Baghdad is yielding results and led to a decline in the number of U.S. troop casualties this month.
U.S. forces killed a senior leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, the military said. Brigadier-General Joseph Anderson, chief of staff for the Multi-National Corps-Iraq, described Abu Usama al-Tunisi as the "emir of foreign terrorists" in Iraq.
A U.S. air raid in Baghdad killed at least eight people, medical sources said. A police source put the toll at 10 and said many were believed to be civilians.
Bush increased troop levels by 30,000 this year to try to stem violence that was threatening to tear Iraq apart and to give the country's feuding politicians the "breathing space" needed to bridge their deep sectarian differences.
Under pressure from opposition Democrats and senior Republicans for big cuts in troops, the president approved a plan from his top commander in Iraq to gradually reduce the U.S. force by 20,000 to 30,000 by mid-2008.
Bush said improved security made the cuts possible.
Captain Pamela Marshall, a military spokeswoman in Washington, said the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, a group of 2,200 Marines who were stationed in western Anbar province, had boarded a naval vessel and begun the trip home.
A brigade combat team, which normally includes about 4,000 troops, is expected to leave Iraq in mid-December followed by four other brigade combat teams and two Marine battalions.
The U.S. force now totals about 165,000 in Iraq.
Anderson said Tunisi was killed on Tuesday south of Baghdad in an air strike. He said the militant, from Tunisia, had brought al Qaeda fighters into Iraq and led a group responsible for kidnapping U.S. soldiers in June 2006.
"Abu Usama al-Tunisi was one of the most senior leaders within al Qaeda in Iraq," Anderson told Pentagon reporters by videolink from Iraq.
He did not say which soldiers the group kidnapped. The Pentagon could not immediately provide that information.
INVESTIGATION
In Baghdad, a medical source at the Yarmouk Hospital said eight bodies had been brought in from a southern neighborhood after U.S. helicopters targeted a building on Friday.
It is the second time this week U.S. forces have been accused of killing civilians in air strikes. U.S. forces are investigating an attack in southern Iraq this week which local police said killed five women and four children.
That strike took place on the same day and in the same area that Anderson said Tunisi had been killed.
North of the capital, the Iraqi army said it had killed 30 suspected al Qaeda insurgents.
Fifty-nine U.S. soldiers have been killed in September, according to the Web site icasualties.org which tracks military deaths, making it the least deadly month for U.S. troops since July last year. Twenty-two of the deaths were defined as "non-hostile", many of them road accidents.
"What we found is that the current operations ... managed to disrupt a lot of (militant) cells," said a U.S. military spokesman, Lieutenant-Colonel Rudy Burwell. "We were able to push them from Baghdad and pursue them".
"That's what we attribute the lower casualties to.
"Obviously (the militants) have not been eliminated, but they have been disrupted." Shooting attacks and roadside bombs had been "trending downwards" since June, he said.
September's figure is on track to be about half the death toll for May when extra U.S. forces deployed in greater strength into dangerous areas.
(Additional reporting by Dominic Evans, Mussab Al-Khairalla, Aws Qusay, Haider Salahudeen and Kristin Roberts in Washington)
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS CHEATING VIDEO
Official Video
Exclusive New England Patriots Spy Video Stolen From NFL
Patriots Jets Cheating Video LEAKED
Letterman's Take On The Patriots' Cheating
Exclusive New England Patriots Spy Video Stolen From NFL
Patriots Jets Cheating Video LEAKED
Letterman's Take On The Patriots' Cheating
TYLER PERRY VS. FORMER SEGREGATIONIST
Tyler Perry's dream home has been a nightmare for the past two years thanks to an 89-year-old Atlanta lawyer and businessman who claims he still owns the property.
Moreton Rolleston Jr., a former segregationist whose family home of 40 years was demolished by Perry to make room for his own mansion, has not only been a thorn in the entertainment mogul's side, but has been a nuisance to local courts for more than 20 years, reports the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
Rolleston keeps filing lawsuits in efforts to regain the Buckhead property despite a series of rulings that have seen him jailed, fined and threatened with disbarment, the paper reports. Earlier this month, Rolleston showed up at the property with police cars in tow seeking to kick out Perry's construction crews, contending he still is the rightful owner.
"At this point," Perry told the newspaper, "I just don't know what to do to get rid of this guy."
Rolleston purchased the property more than 40 years ago, and in 1962 built his family home — a five-bedroom granite masterpiece with a large pool and pool house. Through the years, he managed to lose ownership of the land, and it was purchased in Oct. 2005 by Perry for $9 million, reports AJC. Perry tore down Rolleston's home and began construction on his own 30,000 square-foot French Provincial mansion – which should be ready by Thanksgiving.
Rolleston has been filing lawsuits to resume ownership of the land since 1985. He has fought the case through courts in Cobb, Fulton and Glynn counties as well as federal court. When he's lost, he's appealed, the paper reported. He has even sued lawyers, sheriffs and a judge. He's filed for bankruptcy, only to have that rejected by the courts
Rolleston was the owner of the Heart of Atlanta hotel, which opened in 1956 as one of the top places to stay between New York and Miami – but only if you were Caucasian. He refused to accommodate black patrons, and even attempted to apply his segregationist ways to the Atlanta school system – suggesting the district could avoid desegregation by selling school buildings to private businesses, thereby circumventing federal dictates. His various attempts to maintain segregation were ultimately defeated.
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JENA 6 TEEN MYCHAL BELL RELEASED FROM JAIL
Mychael Bell is a free man - for now. The 17-year-old, one of the six black teens known as the Jena 6, was released from jail Thursday hours after a prosecutor confirmed that he will no longer seek to try him as an adult.
Shortly after bail was set at $45,000, the 17-year-old walked out of the LaSalle Parish courthouse and was met by his family, and civil rights activist Al Sharpton.
Prosecutors claim Bell was one of six black teens involved in the beating of a white student. His case sparked national outrage and a massive civil rights demonstration outside the courthouse last week. Protesters saw Bell's initial charge of attempted murder as excessive and racially biased. The charge was eventually reduced to aggravated second-degree battery.
Bell's conviction in adult court was thrown out this month by the state 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal, which said he should not have been tried as an adult on that particular charge. But Bell still remained behind bars after District Attorney Reed Walters said he would appeal.
On Thursday, Walters said he still believes there was legal merit to trying Bell as an adult but decided it was in the best interest of the victim, Justin Barker, and his family to let the juvenile court handle the case.
"They are on board with what I decided," Walters said at a news conference.
The teen still faces trial as a juvenile in the December incident, but will no longer face a maximum of 15 years in prison on his aggravated second-degree battery conviction. David Utter, director of the Louisiana Juvenile Justice Project, said conviction on those counts could keep Bell locked up until he turns 21, reports AP.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
WASHINGTON POST'S ROBINSON ON O'REILLY
"It was, at best, a casually racist remark"
During the September 26 edition of MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann, discussing Fox News host Bill O'Reilly's controversial September 19 remarks about his visit to Sylvia's restaurant in Harlem, Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson said of O'Reilly's comment: "[I]t was, at best, a casually racist remark." Robinson also said: "[W]hat really ticks me off is that when you say that, when you point that out, you know, immediately you get charged by O'Reilly and cohorts with, you know, you're the thought police, you're the thought Gestapo, you're the word Nazis, you're interfering with free speech, and somehow cutting off an honest debate about race. Well, tell me what in the year 2007 is debatable about whether or not black people can use a knife and fork. I don't think that's debatable at this point."
In addition, Robinson stated that O'Reilly "is a professional communicator who speaks to a couple of million people every night. You would think, you know, he's aware of what's coming out of his mouth and how it sounds." Robinson described O'Reilly's claim that CNN had "now entered the dark side" as "really tone-deaf" and added, "[I]f you're going to have an honest debate about race, maybe you ought to educate yourself a little bit and think about it a little bit before you start mouthing off."
From the September 26 edition of MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann:
OLBERMANN: So much for the exculpatory context. Let's turn now to Eugene Robinson, associate editor and columnist at The Washington Post, also a member of the National Association of Black Journalists. Gene, good evening.
ROBINSON: Hi, Keith, and let me warn you upfront, I'm -- even though I'm black, I'm going to speak standard English tonight. So I don't want you to be surprised or shocked, and I'm actually going to think for myself too, which -- I know you'll be stunned. But -- I mean, this is -- this is incredible, but this is O'Reilly, this is the guy.
OLBERMANN: And it's textbook prejudice. I mean, he expected something because of the color of people's skin. Doesn't matter if he was pleasantly surprised or had his prejudice reinforced. Is this the most insidious part of this that he doesn't know that that is racism, by definition?
ROBINSON: Well, you know I'm not going to go inside of Bill O'Reilly's head -- you know, is he racist, what does he know? You know, all I know is that it was, at best, a casually racist remark. But you know, what really ticks me off is that when you say that, when you point that out, you know, immediately you get charged by O'Reilly and cohorts with, you know, you're the thought police, you're the thought Gestapo, you're the word Nazis, you're interfering with free speech, and somehow cutting off an honest debate about race. Well, tell me what in the year 2007 is debatable about whether or not black people can use a knife and fork. I don't think that's debatable at this point.
OLBERMANN: Well, as for the attack part, he also defended NBC and the Today show in the broadcast this evening and attacked CBS and ABC. So this is all a very fluid situation from his point of view. Any port in the storm, apparently. Let me play devil's advocate on one part of this. I keep thinking of Al Campanis, the baseball general manager who 20 years ago on Jackie Robinson day said that black baseball figures did not have, in his terms, the neccessities to be team managers or executives, and he helpfully pointed out, just as they could not swim. Campanis grew up in this xenophobic immigrant community in New York, and he grew way past it. He was Jackie Robinson's first double play partner in the minor leagues, his first friend. He went into management, he hired the first black talent scouts and minor league coaches in the '50s. He was an advocate, but he had hit a wall that he didn't realize was there. I mean, are there similarities between him and the kind of O'Reilly prejudice where you may not mean something racist but you're doing it anyway?
ROBINSON: Well, I think, you know, one key thing you just said was 20 years ago --
OLBERMANN: Yeah.
ROBINSON: -- this was 1987. Look, Al Campanis, you could have sympathy for. He was in many ways a very sympathetic figure.Yeah, he hit a wall, but he genuinely didn't know it was there. He had grown up in a time where that sort of, you know, casual racism was accepted, you know, in polite society, and he was a baseball guy.
Bill O'Reilly is a professional communicator who speaks to a couple of million people every night. You would think, you know, he's aware of what's coming out of his mouth and how it sounds. And, again, it's the year 2007. You know, we should have been -- we should have gotten beyond this point, but apparently, in that thicket that is Bill O'Reilly's mind, we're still there somehow, trying to figure out, you know, black people: boy, they're starting to think for themselves now.
OLBERMANN: Yes. Would this have been tamped down with one of those phony "if anyone took offense, I apologize" apologies, or was this, like, a tipping point waiting to happen like the career of Don Imus?
ROBINSON: Well, you know, this isn't the first time that O'Reilly has, you know, has walked this line. But he's not a really apologetic guy --
OLBERMANN: No, right.
ROBINSON: -- that's not my impression, and I think that would not be true to who he is. So what would you expect him to do other than to kind of, you know, with his characteristic bluster tough it out and say everybody else is wrong, I'm right, and I'm the victim of a vast left-wing conspiracy, which I guess you and I are participants at the moment. But there you have it.
OLBERMANN: Well, maybe not, because I'm with NBC, and we're on the good list today. But I've got to ask you this last thing: if you're trying to kill the messenger, is there something -- is it tone deaf, is it Freudian, or is it just unintentional comic relief when O'Reilly says of the critics, particularly the one at CNN who accused him of racism, that they have "now entered the dark side"? I mean, what the hell is that?
ROBINSON: That's really tone-deaf. And that was the headline on the website item as well. You know, again, you know, at the very least, really, really clueless. And if you're going to have an honest debate about race, maybe you ought to educate yourself a little bit and think about it a little bit before you start mouthing off.
OLBERMANN: Eugene Robinson, columnist and associate editor with The Washington Post. Even under these circumstances, always a pleasure, sir. Thank you.
ROBINSON: You too, Keith.
BLACK GIRLS ROCK!
Honors Missy Elliott, Sylvia Rhone And Others
By Roman Wolfe
A variety of female rappers will be on hand to celebrate the 2nd Annual Black Girls Rock! awards show, which celebrates black women.
World renowned DJ Beverly Bond founded the event, which recognizes exceptional women who have made significant contributions to their local communities.
This year's co-hosts include Regina King and Gabrielle Union, while presenters include MC Lyte, Andre Harrell, KRS-One, Rihanna, Mya, Ashanti, Bad Boy Recording artist Cassie and more.
"We are proud and humbled to have such strong, beautiful and powerful women involved with this event," said DJ Beverly Bond, Founder and President of BGR! "In light of the media's constant focus on the negative depiction of Black women it is so very important that Black Girls Rock! takes the time to shine a much needed light on our Sheroes."
Missy Elliott will be awarded the Creative Visionary Award, Philly's own DJ Diamond Cuts earned the DJ Jazzy Joyce Award, record mogul Sylvia Rhone will receive the corporate award and male rapper Common earned the Soul Brother # 1 Award.
The evening will also feature a performance by rising African-American country singer Rissi Palmer, Jazz singer Jean Baylor (former member of Zhane) and J Records rising star Emily King.
The event takes place Saturday at 8:00 pm on October 6 in the Allen Room at Jazz at the Lincoln Center.
Sponsors include Queen Latifah's CoverGirl Queen Collection, VH1 Hip-Hop Honors, bluhammock music, Jordan Brand, Akademiks, GIANT Magazine and METRO.
Black Girls Rock! Is a 501c3 nonprofit, youth empowerment mentoring organization established for young women of color.
KARRINE STEFFANS DROPS MORE BOMBS
Karrine Steffans is blabbing all of her bedroom business again in "The Vixen Diaries," a tell-all book that continues to chronicle her trysts with famous rappers and athletes that began with her first memoir, "Confessions of a Video Vixen."
The new book purports to offer self-help advice in addition to providing details of her sexual encounters with such celebs as Mike Tyson and boxer Antonio Tarver. [See excerpts below.]
Steffans also denies that she was a catalyst for the divorce of Halle Berry and Eric Benet, and says she never once came between Chris Rock and his wife Malaak Compton Rock as rumored.
The author also says she never had sex with Whitney Houston's ex-husband Bobby Brown, but has always considered him a close friend – that is until he allegedly belittled their friendship.
According to excerpts from "Diaries" reported in the New York Daily News, Steffans writes: "I kept Bobby close to my heart." Meeting after a time apart, "he embraced me as I whispered, ‘I love you,' and he returned, 'I love you, too.'" But she says Brown later told "me I had done nothing for him, while he was sleeping in my home, eating my food, driving my car and spending my money." After a tryst with Ray J, she told Brown that the rapper claimed he'd added Whitney's name to his bedpost. "I could hardly wait to get the news out, to tear [Bobby's] heart apart and hurt him the way he hurt me, I wanted him to go to bed that night with the image of his wife with another man."
Here are more excerpts from "Vixen Diaries":
• Regarding Mike Tyson, she writes, "loves the same way he fights: hard and rough. His kisses are like uppercuts, and his lovemaking is like a title match. And as he proved against Evander Holyfield, Mike Tyson is a biter. His passion manifested through pain as … I endured the extreme force of his 200-pound frame colliding into mine, he kissed, sucked and bit me overzealously. I was in excruciating pain as we continued in this manner for several hours. At the end, I was covered in bruises and bite marks and vowed to never have sex with him again."
• She also slept with boxer Antonio Tarver shortly before his marriage. As she watched Antonio kiss his new wife, Steffans muses, "I recalled his face and lips [exploring my body] … I wondered how I tasted to her."
• Jamie Foxx told her, "Damn, you're pretty!" when they met. "When Jamie Foxx offers to massage your body at four in the morning, after a bottle of Champagne and two shots of Patron, it's hard to say no," she writes. However, Jamie soon figured out she was "that Karrine." Foxx ran in the other direction, leaving the author "depressed. Jamie had no idea that he made me cry all the way home and in the days that followed."
• Comic Bill Maher delivered her greatest heartache. "In January of 2006, Bill and I split. Three days later, I suffered an emotional breakdown and was sent to the hospital for psychiatric observation. I cut my wrists and started drinking myself into an emotional tailspin. At the end of the night, the love of my life was gone and so was my son, Naiim," taken away by Child Services.
According to the Daily News, Karrine eventually got her son back. And not only does she remain friends with Maher, she dedicates the book to him as well.
Meanwhile Steffans was on Detroit’s WJLB radio yesterday morning with Coco, Foolish & Mr. Chase and immediately things got off to a bad start. Of all things, she now objects to being called “Superhead.” After that it wasn’t long before things started to go downhill for the author. She abruptly ended the interview by blurting out: “I cannot talk to ignorant black folks!” HEAR the action here: http://fm98wjlb.com/pages/MorningShow.html
MICHAEL VICK TESTS POSITIVE FOR WEED
Things are getting worse by the day for Michael Vick. Some 24 hours after the state of Virginia charged him in the dogfighting case, a drug test has detected marijuana in his system.
Because of the dirty test result, U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson placed special conditions on Vick's release, including restricting him to his home between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. with electronic monitoring and ordering him to submit to random drug testing.
Hudson's order also requires Vick to participate in inpatient or outpatient substance therapy and mental health counseling, if the pretrial services officer or supervising officer deem it appropriate. Vick must pay for the treatment.
The urine sample was taken on Sept. 13, according to a document by a federal probation officer that was filed in U.S. District Court on Wednesday. Because he violated the conditions of his release, Hudson may take that into a count at sentencing.
"Every judge considers pretty seriously if they feel that the defendant has flaunted the conditions for release," criminal procedure expert Linda Malone explained to the Associated Press. "It's certainly not a smart thing to do."
Vick was on release after pleading guilty to financing a dogfighting enterprise on his Surry County, Va. property. He faces up to five years in prison at his scheduled sentencing Dec. 10.
The 27-year-old was placed under pretrial release supervision by U.S. Magistrate Dennis Dohnal in July. The restrictions included refraining from use or unlawful possession of narcotic drugs or other controlled substances.
The random drug testing ordered Wednesday could include urine testing, the wearing of a sweat patch, a remote alcohol testing system or any form of prohibited substance screening or testing.
On Tuesday, Vick also was indicted on state charges of beating or killing or causing dogs to fight other dogs and engaging in or promoting dogfighting. Each felony is punishable by up to five years in prison.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Flack Over O'Reilly Remarks Grows
After sitting down to eat coconut shrimp at Harlem's most famous soul food restaurant with the REV. AL SHARPTON, FOX TV and syndicated radio talk show host BILL O'REILLY told his radio listeners he was surprised that SYLVIA's was a perfectly normal, civilized restaurant, reports THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS.
"I couldn't get over the fact that there was no difference between SYLVIA's restaurant and any other restaurant in NEW YORK CITY. It was exactly the same, even though it's run by blacks [and has a] primarily black patronship," O'REILLY said. "There wasn't one person in SYLVIA's who was screaming, 'M-Fer, I want more iced tea!'"
"It was like going into an Italian restaurant in an all-white suburb in the sense of people [who] were sitting there, and they were ordering and having fun. And there wasn't any kind of craziness at all," he said.
O'REILLY was apparently trying to say that not all black people are into profane gangsta rap culture. The comments, made in an hour-long show about race last WEDNESDAY and then publicized by the liberal watchdog group MEDIA MATTERS prompted jeers, outrage and guffaws yesterday.
"It is very insulting," said restaurant manager TRENNESS WOODS-BLACK, granddaughter of the famous SYLVIA WOODS. "O'REILLY's knowledge about the African-American community is limited and his statements are outrageous and unfortunate."
O'REILLY insisted on "THE O'REILLY FACTOR" last night his remarks were meant to show "there was no difference" between whites and blacks and "stereotypes are not true." He branded CNN and MEDIA MATTERS, which monitors "conservative misinformation in the U.S. media," as "smear merchants" for reporting the story. CNN, he opined, is "out to destroy me and FOX NEWS" to protect its ratings
CONGRESS ASKS QUESTIONS ABOUT HIP HOP LYRICS
Congress took aim yesterday at rappers and the labels who promote them as lingering fallout from the DON IMUS controversy continued, writes THE NEW YORK POST. Testifying were VIACOM CEO PHILIPPE DAUMAN, UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP CEO DOUG MORRIS, WARNER MUSIC GROUP CEO EDGAR BRONFMAN JR. and RADIO ONE CEO ALFRED LIGGINS.
The execs, along with rappers MASTER P and DAVID BANNER, were summoned before the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection, chaired by BOBBY RUSH (D-IL), to answer questions about sexist and racially charged lyrics in hip-hop.
MORRIS, whose company has a pair of smashes with new albums from KANYE WEST and 50 CENT, was quick to downplay hip-hop's influence. He noted that sales in the genre are off by 44% since 2000 and now account for just 10% of total industry sales.
Meanwhile MORRIS and BRONFMAN both said their companies attempt to alert parents about potentially inappropriate lyrics by including parental advisory labels on releases intended for mature audiences. DAUMAN said that VIACOM, owner of MTV and BET, monitors videos for offensive language and gestures.
"You won't hear the "b" word or "h" word or "n" word in any of our music videos . . . nor will you see gang symbols or portrayals of violence and drug use," said DAUMAN.
Rappers testifying were split in their opinions on the situation. MASTER P apologized for his past use of offensive lyrics, while DAVID BANNER said hip-hop was misunderstood and the subject of unfair scrutiny."Hip-hop is sick because AMERICA is sick," he said.
MORRIS cautioned that the issue is ultimately one of free speech and choice. "People buy and listen to what they like -- and we have landfills full of CDs they don't like," he said.
STOP DROP AND ROLL FOOL
Swiss firefighters make a rap video to promote use of an emergency number(118).
JAY-Z WANTS ARENA NAMED AFTER ROCAWEAR
Jay-Z is hoping to step up his mogul game by winning naming rights to New Jersey's 26-year-old Meadowlands arena, which is currently held by Continental Airlines.
According to the Bergen County Record, the Def Jam president is currently in negotiations to rename the venue after his Rocawear clothing line. Other clothing brands seeking naming rights include Izod and Southpole.
The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA), which overseas bids for the naming rights, said a decision could come as early as Oct. 4.
"We're looking forward to presentations by bidders next week, and then we'll get into the process of evaluation," said a rep for the agency. "I'm optimistic that we'll be able to overachieve the current financial deal that we [had] with Continental."
Continental paid $600,000 a year for the naming rights to the arena. NJSEA officials expect to double that figure with the new naming-rights holder, who will be offered a deal through 2009.
SHARPTON TARGETED ON NEO NAZI WEB SITE
As news of increased police patrols in and around Jena, La were reported Tuesday in response to death threats against families of the Jena 6, Rev. Al Sharpton released a statement saying he, too, has been targeted by the same hate group.
"That addresses for my residencies and offices are now publicly listed on the web page of the Neo-Nazi group that continues to list the addresses of the Jena Six and their families is outrageous and shows they are now tagging leaders that have come to the aid of the Jena Six," said Sharpton in a statement released Tuesday.
"This illustrates why FBI efforts aren't taken seriously," he added. "We are in Washington, D.C., today asking for intervention by the federal government because this is tantamount to mocking them. It also jeopardizes me and those that travel with me."
Extra patrols in Jena began several days ago in response to the death threats, LaSalle Parish Sheriff Carl Smith told AP.
Last week a Web site featuring a swastika and racial slurs had posted what purported to be the addresses of five of the six teens and phone numbers for some of their families "in case anyone wants to deliver justice." The posting was dated Thursday, the same day thousands of people marched in Jena to protest racial inequality and what they saw as overly harsh charges against the six black teens.
The Louisiana State Police has dispatched three investigators to help local police investigate any possible threats, agency spokesman Lt. Lawrence McLeary said. So far, the calls reported have been of a more "derogatory nature," he said.
Smith and other local officials, including the Jena police chief and mayor and the county district attorney, issued a statement saying threats had also been made against the white student who was beaten. In the statement, they denounced all of the threats.
"Such vile and cowardly acts will not be tolerated in Jena or LaSalle Parish," the statement read.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
IRANIAN PRESIDENT SPEAKS TO COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
Columbia President Bollinger Introduces Ahmadinejad
Ahmadinejad At Columbia University Part 1
Ahmadinejad At Columbia University Part 2
Ahmadinejad At Columbia University Part 3
Ahmadinejad At Columbia University Part 4
COLORADA UNIVERSITY PAPER TAKES HEAT OVER OBSENITY
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP)— The editor of the Colorado State University newspaper says he has no plans to resign amid criticism about an obscenity used in an editorial about President Bush.
The four-word editorial, published Friday in the Rocky Mountain Collegian, said in large type, "Taser this. (Expletive) Bush."
J. David McSwane, the Collegian's editor-in-chief and a CSU junior, said the newspaper's governing board may fire him but he won't voluntarily step down.
"I think that'd be an insult to the staff who supported the editorial," McSwane told the Fort Collins Coloradoan in Monday's editions.
The newspaper's business manager has said the operation lost $30,000 in advertising in the hours after the editorial was published, and that the pay of student staffers would be cut 10% to compensate.
McSwane said the newspaper's student editors decided to use the obscenity because they believe CSU students are apathetic about their freedom of speech and other rights.
"We thought the best way to illustrate that point was to use our freedoms," he said.
The editors chose not to seek advice from the newspaper's professional advisers to protect them from the controversy they knew the editorial would cause, McSwane said.
"We didn't want any kind of action taken against them by the university," he said.
The Board of Student Communication, which oversees the Collegian and other student media at the university, plans to discuss the editorial when it meets Wednesday night.
SURRY CO. VIRGINIA PROSECUTOR PLANS INDICTMENTS IN DOGFIGHTING CASE
By HANK KURZ JR., Associated Press
The prosecutor in the county where Michael Vick has admitted to bankrolling a dogfighting operation plans to present "a host of bills of indictment" regarding the case to a grand jury today.
"Yes, I'm presenting matters to the grand jury that involve dogfighting at 1915 Moonlight Road," Surry County Commonwealth's Attorney Gerald Poindexter told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Monday night.
Moonlight Road is the address of the two-story home on 15 acres that has been host to the operation known as Bad Newz Kennels since 2001, and where dogs were trained, executed and fought.
"Most of the matters that I'm presenting have already been admitted in sworn statements authored by the defendants in the federal proceedings," Poindexter said.
Vick and three others pleaded guilty to one federal conspiracy charge, and each faces as much as five years in prison.
Vick's sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 10 in U.S. District Court in Richmond.
He's already been suspended indefinitely by the NFL and dropped by all his major sponsors, including Nike.
Poindexter has said he intended to seek state charges in the case but has been noncommittal about when he would ask a grand jury for indictments.
He said Monday that he couldn't detail the exact indictments he will pursue but said the local investigation and the federal investigation largely focused on different crimes.
"The killing of dogs is one of those statutory prohibitions. Dogfighting is a crime, the mistreatment of animals is a crime, so you could take your pick, or take them all," Poindexter said before cutting the conversation short. "I don't have anything else to say about it. I'm through with it. Hopefully it's coming to an end."
Vick, his co-defendants and his lawyers will not attend the closed proceeding.
Efforts to reach Vick's lawyers were not immediately successful Monday night.
In his written plea, Vick admitted helping kill six to eight pit bulls and supplying money for gambling on the fights.
He said he did not personally place bets or share in winnings but gave his three co-defendants all those proceeds.
The co-defendants who previously pleaded guilty said Vick bankrolled the enterprise, and two of them said Vick helped kill dogs that were not vicious enough in testing. The three had agreed to testify against Vick had the case gone to trial.
The case began in late April when authorities conducting a drug investigation of Vick's cousin raided the former Virginia Tech star's property and seized dozens of dogs, most of them pit bulls, and equipment common to dogfighting.
MIKE TYSON PLEADS GUILTY TO MULTIPLE CHARGES
Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson pleaded guilty Monday to charges of drug possession and driving under the influence stemming from a traffic stop last year in Scottsdale, Ariz.
The ex-boxer entered a guilty plea to a single felony count of cocaine possession and a misdemeanor DUI count. He faces up to four years and three months in prison at his sentencing scheduled for Nov. 19, reports the Associated Press.
A felony charge of possession of drug paraphernalia and a second misdemeanor DUI charge were dropped, according to the terms of a plea agreement.
Tyson was pulled over by cops on Dec. 29 after spending the evening at Scottsdale's Pussycat Lounge. An officer said he saw Tyson wiping a white substance off the dashboard of his black BMW, and that his speech was slurred. Authorities said bags of cocaine were discovered in Tyson's pocket and in his car.
He later told officers that he used cocaine "whenever I can get my hands on it," and that he preferred to smoke it in Marlboro cigarettes with the tobacco removed, according to court documents. He also told police that he used marijuana that day and was taking the antidepressant Zoloft, the documents state.
Since his arrest, Tyson has undergone an in-patient treatment program for what his lawyer called "various addictions." Defense lawyer David Chesnoff said Tyson has been clean and sober for eight months.
"It's obvious this was a crime he was committing against himself," Chesnoff said.
'TOP MODEL' CURRY AGAINST BLACK HISTORY MONTH
PETER BRADY'S WIFE TELLS BLACKS TO 'MOVE THE F*CK ON' FROM SLAVERY PAST.
The day after she appeared with her husband Christopher Knight on "Dr. Phil" to discuss their drastic age difference (she's 25, he's 49), "America's Next Top Model" winner Adrianne Curry is making headlines for a blog entry that calls for the eradication of Black History Month.
In fact, she is against any entity that singles out a particular race, including Black Entertainment Television. She believes such avenues do more to separate the races than bring them together.
She wrote on her her MySpace blog that she's boycotting both Black History Month and BET. She says that yes, this country's enslavement of African-Americans "does suck some major balls," but suggests that blacks just get over it and "move the f**k on."
Here is her rant in its unedited entirety:
This is gonna be hard guys. I LOVE the comedians on BET. I also LOVE the fact that they play my favorite show of all time, In Living Color. However, I do not believe in seperating ANY RACE in America. WE ARE AMERICANS! How dare we have Black History Month! In my eyes, the Native Americans deserve it MUCH more, seeing how we destroyed their ENTIRE SOCIETY. There are hardly any of them left! They also have been proven to have the WORST living conditions on their reservations. I want AN AMERICAN HISTORY MONTH. One where we learn about EVERY race, ALL OF OUR LEADERS, EVERYONE! I think by having a month dedicated to one race, and not one for any other, is RACIST. Every fund set up to only help people of one race is SICK and RACIST.
Yes, I get it. Black people were slaves here once. You know what? That does suck some major balls, however, it is time to move the f**k on. Do we hear the Jews crying that they were made slaves for thousands of years? Do we hear them whine that they should OWN the pyramids in Egypt because THEY broke their backs making them? Do we hear them b*tch and moan about Hitler, etc? (my hubby is a Jew)Nope, we dont. It's time for us to UNITE AS ONE. I do not think that singling out one race, giving one race opportunities to go to college (I know a TON of poor white.asian, indian, american indian, etc etc that could use that too!), giving one race the EXCUSE to blame things on others for being whatever nationality they are, is a good way at making sure we NEVER kill racism.
I am over this sh*t. WE ALL CAME FROM ONE BLACK WOMAN FROM AFRICA, THAT is our EVE! It has been proven by science, and I stand by it. If any other race had a chanel dedicated to just them, we would think it was racist. If any other race demanded a month be set aside for ONLY them, they would be considered racist. I am NOT living by this double standard any longer.
WHY ARE U.S. KIDS OBESE?
By Julie Steenhuysen
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Tough choices tempt kids at every turn -- whether it is soda in school, junk food ads on TV or the fast-food chain around the corner -- and school policies limiting physical activity only make matters worse, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.
This throng of temptations may explain why childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions, they said.
The collection of studies, published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine, together suggest environmental factors and policies conspire to challenge the health of children in America.
"We have in our schools and communities a perfect storm that will continue to feed the childhood obesity epidemic until we adopt policies that improve the health of our communities and our kids," Frank Chaloupka, an economics professor the University of Illinois at Chicago, said in a statement.
While too many calories and too little exercise explain how children become obese, the research looks at environmental factors that contribute to these behaviors, and suggests policy changes that could make healthy choices easier.
"The environment that they live in matters," said Lisa Powell of the University of Illinois at Chicago, who studied restaurant and food store options in the neighborhoods and food-related television advertising aimed at teens.
She said when people cannot get to supermarkets but instead must rely on the convenience stores that proliferate in many poor neighborhoods, families end up eating less healthy food.
Lower-income neighborhoods also tend to have a higher proportion of fast-food restaurants, and black urban neighborhoods have the highest percentage of fast-food restaurants.
"The general environment around them is not really conducive to a healthy lifestyle," she said. "It is not surprising that we would in turn see an increased likelihood of overweight."
NO SAFE HAVEN
When teens are at home, they see a barrage of advertisements for fast food and sweets, Powell said.
She and colleagues studied more than 200,000 ads on top-rated shows viewed by teens aged 12 to 17 in 2003 and 2004. Powell found more than a quarter of the ads were for fast food, sweets and beverages -- items well within a teen budget.
Overall, fast-food advertising comprised 23 percent of all food-related ads seen by teens.
At school, teens have ready access to high-fat, sugary foods and drinks, according to a study by Lloyd Johnston and colleagues at the University of Michigan.
Johnston found the majority of middle schools (67 percent) and high schools (83 percent) had contracts with a soft-drink company.
While high schools are more likely to offer soft drinks, they are less likely to require physical education, Johnston found in a separate study. While 87 percent of 13- to 14-year- old students surveyed attend schools that require physical education, only 20 percent of 17- to 18-year-olds face physical education requirements.
"Historically, people have thought of obesity in terms of individual willpower, but there is a great abundance of environmental influence that contributes as well," he said in a telephone interview.
"Communities and schools need to be looking at what they are doing and trying to improve it," he said.
Monday, September 24, 2007
BOWIE SUPPORTS US RACE ROW TEENS
David Bowie has made a $10,000 (£4,981) donation to a legal defense fund for six black teenagers charged with assault on a white student in the US.
One of the teens, Mychal Bell, was found guilty of second degree battery in June by an all-white jury before the case was overturned by an appeal court.
The court said Bell, 16 at the time of the alleged incident in December 2006, should not have been tried as an adult.
Five others face charges. Bowie said Jena's judicial process was "unequal".
"A donation to the Jena 6 Legal Defense Fund is my small gesture indicating my belief that a wrongful charge and sentence should be prevented," said the 60-year-old in a statement published on his website.
The other students accused are Robert Bailey, 17, Theodore Shaw, 17, Carwin Jones, 18, and Bryant Purvis, 17.
A fifth teenager was booked as a juvenile and charges have not been made public.
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