Microsoft Edits Black Man's Face from Polish Ad

Black folks have been complaining about the "evils" of Photoshop for quite sometime. It's used for everything from lightening up the skin tones of people of color, to removing people of color from a chosen medium altogether.

Take, for example, a new Microsoft ad intended for use in Poland. The original advertisement featured a white woman, an Asian man and a man of African descent.

Microsoft Edits Black Man's Face from Polish Ad....

UPI VIDEO NEWS 02.27.08

Obama and Clinton square off in Ohio.

Democratic presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama went head to head in Cleveland last night. The two had their final debate before the primaries in Texas and Ohio next week. Obama took on Clinton for her past position on the Iraq war, while Clinton attacked the Illinois senator on health care mailings and NAFTA. She also said Obama was unprepared to handle foreign policy crises. Clinton has upped her attacks on her opponent recently, after he took 11 states in a row.

The European Union is fining Microsoft for failing to obey an antitrust order. The EU is fining the corporation a record 1.3 billon dollars for charging its rivals too much for software information. Microsoft says the fine refers to past problems, and they're now working to make their product more open. This is the largest fine the EU has ever issued to a single company for this issue.

The U.S. dollar has hit a new low in Europe today. The euro reportedly soared to more than $1.50 and the British pound reached $1.99...making it more expensive for Americans to travel in Europe. This comes as reports released show the U.S. economy is slowing and predicts the Federal Reserve will continue cutting interest rates. Meanwhile the sliding dollar caused oil prices hit a new high today...at $102 dollars a barrel.

Today is day three in the trial for the shooting of Sean Bell. Bell was killed on his wedding day by New York detectives last November...the 3 officials accused of the shooting say they thought Bell was reaching for a gun. The young man's father William testified in court yesterday, emotionally recalling the night of his death. Bell's father was with him celebrating his bachelor party, shortly before his death. The defense claims Bell was drunk and disorderly on that night.

UPI VIDEO NEWS 02.01.08

Clinton, Obama cordial in latest debate.

Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton set a new tone in last night's Democratic debate in Los Angeles. Unlike the last time the rivals took the stage together, Clinton and Obama almost hugged each other at the end, whispering into each other's ear. The night was filled with smiles and gentle joking as they pointed out their differences on Iraq, health care and the economy. This was the Democrats' last debate before next week's Super Tuesday contests.

Microsoft has made a $45 billion bid to acquire the Internet site "Yahoo." The world's biggest software maker is hoping that such a deal would challenge Google's lead in Internet search services and advertising. Yahoo says that it plans to evaluate the proposal promptly.

More than 50 people are dead after two bombs exploded in Baghdad today. Nearly 200 are wounded. It was the worst attack in the Iraqi capital for many months. Iraqi officials say two mentally disabled women were strapped with explosives and blown up by remote control in busy Baghdad markets. The U.S. military is blaming the bombings on Al Qaeda in Iraq.

Economists are hoping for more employment in February following a drop in jobs last month. There was a net loss of 17 thousand jobs in January. It was the first decline in employment in four years, raising new concerns about the risk of a recession. However, the drop was based on a preliminary reading, which could be revised later.

BILL GATES URGES BLACKS TO BECOME TECH PROS

Tremendous Opportunities Await; African Americans Are 'Particularly Underrepresented.'

Apparently prompted by a recent study showing that less than 10 percent of the graduates of computer science programs are Black, Microsoft founder and Chairman Bill Gates last week urged African Americans to become computer technology professionals.

Gates, one of the world's richest men, was speaking last Friday at a conference sponsored by the National Society of Black Engineers at Microsoft's headquarters in Redmond, Washington.

The study prompting Gates' comments was released by the National Science Foundation. It showed that fewer than 6,000 of the 52,500 computer science graduates in the United States in 2004 were Black.

Gates said the nation is facing a shortage of technology professionals.

"The United States is not turning out from any group as many of the great engineers as there will be jobs for." He added, "Blacks are particularly underrepresented in the tech industry."

The Black engineers group named Microsoft the top employer for Black engineers. Meanwhile, Gates said Microsoft would partner with NSBE to enable it to hire and promote more Black engineers.