компютриoffice furniture in BulgariaWhat would it be like to be a Black president?

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преносими компютри преносими компютри преносими компютри преносими компютри преносими компютриoptical communicationscar hire bulgariafurniture ElhovoFor many black people it would be a sign of progress to see a black president grace the podium and address the nation. However, as he stands there what will he really face?

One thing that I’ve pondered is the fact that unlike some of his white predecessors he won’t be able to get away with turning a blind eye to race issues. He would be held to a higher standard by many blacks to take sides which would probably make it seem unfair to other races.
I’m sure that many white supremacists would try to assassinate him, but would his own people turn on him and assassinate his character if he had the slightest slip up? We are a sensitive race and in order to make Barrack Obama’s time in the White House a lot more effective and help create change in our country we would need to grow up as a race and do our part so that every race fight we take on can be fought fairly.

A person in his position would need us to stand behind him and be understanding that things will be twice as hard for him. Are we willing to give that to him? Are we willing to consider taking a step back before coming down on him and ask,
“What is it like to be a Black president?”

A recent study by Japanese scientists claims that eating beef is more harmful to the environment than driving a car.

Taking into account all the processes involved, they said, four average sized steaks generated greenhouse gases with a warming potential equivalent to 80.25lb of carbon dioxide.

This also consumed 169 megajoules of energy.

That means that 2.2lb of beef is responsible for greenhouse gas emissions which have the same effect as the carbon dioxide released by an ordinary car travelling at 50 miles per hour for 155 miles, a journey lasting three hours. The amount of energy consumed would light a 100-watt bulb for 20 days.

I’m sure you won’t hear much about this from cattlerancher Al Gore, but it raises some very interesting points.

How much of a lifestyle change should we expect society to make in defense of the environment? Gas prices are up, but so is fuel demand. If we ask our carnivorous nations to give up porterhouse and McDonald’s, green advocates can expect a full-fledged mutiny on their hands.

The alternative? Should we all become vegetarian electric car drivers with solar powered homes?

Telegraph.co.uk: Eating beef ‘is less green than driving’

As if the NSA and CIA spying on Americans weren’t enough…

Justin Rood of ABC News reports that the FBI plans to “recruit thousands of covert informants in the United States as part of a sprawling effort to boost its intelligence capabilities.”

Many US cities now have cameras that watch our every move. Between RIF chips that can be planted in our clothes to our cell phones spying on us, to our neighbors ratting us out as part of the TIPS Domestic Spy Program, which supposedly didn’t go into effect (yeah, right)…

Can y’all just stay out of my business???

ABCNews.com - The Blotter:
FBI Proposes Building Network of U.S. Informants

Originally published in The Michigan Citizen

For the last 40 years, the city of Detroit, the state of Michigan and the United States as a whole have struggled to come to grips with the week of anger and violence that ravaged the city on those hot summer days and nights in July 1967. Was it riot or rebellion? Why did it happen? Who is to blame? What has changed and what hasn’t?

These questions and many others have been asked and answered for decades now, but somehow the questions remain. The answers begat more questions. The frustration and fury of that time linger for many, mostly lying dormant, but rearing their ugly heads from time to time.

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On Monday, July 23, activists in Detroit and Washington DC plan protests and demonstrations at Congressman John Conyers’ district and Capitol Hill offices, and citizens all over the country will converge on the district offices of other Congress members. Their demands? Impeach Bush and Cheney now.

But on the eve of this highly publicized action, David Swanson of AfterDowningStreet.org reports that Conyers may be ready to impeach against the wishes of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Or so he says…

House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers has said that if three more Congress Members get behind impeachment he will start the impeachment proceedings.
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The following post is from www.playahata.com. It offers a searing commentary on the irony and dichotomy of what it means to be a “Black American”.

Patriotism: Red, White, Black & Blue
by Morpheus

“What to the American slave, is your Fourth of July? … To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, and unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciation of tyrants brass- fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings; with all your religious parades and solemnity, are to him, mere bombasts, deceptions, and pious and hypocrisy–a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages.” - Frederick Douglass

Such were the words uttered by Frederick Douglas on the eve of the Civil War. They were the sentiments of a Black man, escaped from slavery, who dedicated his life to championing the cause of his fellow race yet held in bondage. They are a stinging critique and seeming rebuke of America, denouncing it for its contradictions and falsehoods. Douglas words were militant. They were fiery. They speak with righteous indignation.

And yet, Douglas was a patriot. He openly denounced ideas, led mostly by whites, to colonize freed slaves in foreign lands. Douglas backed Abraham Lincoln in his bid for presidency, openly involving himself in the American political system. Douglas heartily welcomed and backed the Civil War, which to him represented a battle against slavery. He would strongly lobby and fight for Black troops to be allowed into the Union ranks, to carry the red, white and blue. In newspapers he called “men of color to arms”, urging Blacks to “end in a day the bondage of centuries:” to fight for their equality, show their patriotism and take on the Union cause. His sons Lewis and Charles were among the first to enlist, and they would be sacrificed for the cause of freedom.

(a.) Odd contradiction? (b.) A seeming dichotomy? (c.) Patriotic yet cynical? Yes to all of the above. To be red, white, blue, & Black. It has been a recurring theme since the founding of the United States.
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William Clay Ford and Bill Ford, Jr. weren’t named the worst NFL team owners in Sports Illustrated’s ranking this year, but that’s probably because the list seems more based on writer Michael Silver’s mood than on the owners’ record and lack of productivity. The pair did drop from #22 last year to #29 this year, which is a little closer to reality.

Their inexplicable inability to fire failed General Manager Matt Millen ranks at the top of reasons they should be listed at the bottom. Not to mention their failure to fire defensive line coach Joe Cullen after he was arrested twice in one month - once for drunk driving, a second time for a late night fast food run in the nude.

The Lions’ defense ranked #28 last year, the offense was #22 and the team itself finished #31 out of 32 teams. Do we see a pattern emerging here? The only consistency the Lions have shown is that they consistently field mediocre or terrible teams.

This year the organization couldn’t decide whether they should celebrate the 50th anniversary of their 1957 NFL Championship. Why? Because that was the last time the Lions won a championship. Do you really want to call attention to that fact? It was finally determined that the 20 surviving players will be honored during Sept. 30’s game against fierce rivals the defending NFC Champion Chicago Bears. Talk about adding insult to injury.

The Pistons, Red Wings, Shock and now the Tigers are all winners. Aren’t the Fords embarrassed enough to start changing their ways? Or are they happy to be at the top of at least one list - the fans’ pick for worst franchise in all of sports?

Financial problems at Detroit Public Schools have largely been caused by poor financial management and worse planning. If the proposed budget for 2007-2008 is any indication, optimism trumps pragmatism at the district, and that can be dangerous when you’re dealing with billion-dollar budgets and children’s lives.
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21 area law enforcement agencies have just completed Operation Eight Mile, three days of military-style police maneuvers along the 8 Mile Road corridor from the Detroit area suburbs of Harper Woods to Farmington Hills, Michigan. This unprecedented show of force - complete with tanks and helicopters - netted 289 arrests.

Police impounded 109 vehicles, made 122 arrests for narcotics and morality crimes, seized 1,460 grams of marijuana and 187 grams of cocaine, 19 guns and $20,375 in cash. Officers also arrested 22 fugitives who were wanted on warrants.

Police officials said the operation resulted in the most arrests, perhaps in history, of any regional sweep.

The campaign didn’t just target the hardened criminal element. Officers wrote 512 tickets the first day of the operation, just to show the average area resident that they meant business. (more…)

The Michigan Citizen has been talking about the practice of insurance red-lining in Detroit for a long time. Now the Detroit News cites a report that accuses Michigan auto insurers of making astronomical profits on the backs of the state’s consumers.

A review of financial records from AAA, Allstate and State Farm — which combined provide auto insurance to about 50 percent of Michigan’s insured drivers — found all three of them are making excessive profits.

According to the article, AAA of Michigan’s profits more than doubled to $104.2 million in 2006 from $50.9 million in 2002. The company’s surplus — money set aside to pay future claims — increased by 68 percent during the same period, ballooning to $1.53 billion from $915 million.

The study’s author, Jay Angoff, served as Missouri’s insurance commissioner from 1993-1998. Based on his findings, he believes Michigan should “consider legislation that would prevent auto insurers from charging higher premiums for people who have bad credit, low-status jobs and limited formal education.”

As an example, he said he went online Thursday to make two bogus applications for coverage. The two were identical except he identified himself as a restaurant manager in one application and as a waiter in the other. The insurance company quoted an annual rate of $785.90 for the restaurant manager and $1,002.50 for the waiter.

“All other things being equal, my rate went up by 20 percent because I got demoted from manager to waiter,” he said.

And don’t live in the city of Detroit.

Here’s a look at the rates charged to the same hypothetical person depending on whether he or she lived in Detroit or in Kalamazoo.

Allstate: $1,821 for Kalamazoo resident; $4,394 for Detroiter; a 241 percent difference.

AAA: $1,915 in Kalamazoo; $4,816 in Detroit; a difference of 251 percent.

State Farm: $1,624 in Kalamazoo; $5,933 for a Detroit motorist; a 365 percent difference.

Detroit News - Report: Mich. auto insurers pile up profits, surpluses

The San Antonio Spurs have dispatched of a very tough Utah Jazz team in five games, and will take the next week off waiting to see who their opponent will be in the NBA Finals.

And the Detroit Pistons?

They are struggling their way through another seven game series with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Come on, now! Why do the Pistons feel the need to do it the hard way every single year? As much as the Detroit press and Pistons fans complain that the team is often guilty of taking the night off to its detriment, they have not changed that perception.

Many pundits are blaming Chauncey Billups, the team’s leader, for the sub-standard performance. Not only is “Mr. Big Shot” not living up to his name, some say he is making poor decisions and playing without the heart necessary to win a championship.

So what gives, Chauncey? Are you more concerned about your impending free agency than another championship? What are you doing?
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I was shell-shocked recently when I walked into Detroit’s Cooley High School to speak during their Career Day. The kids are huge, many of the girls and almost all of the boys are taller than my 5 feet 7 inches. They are loud. Bopping down the hallways with mp3 players on their ears, unable to separate themselves from music for even the five minutes between classes. “That’s a whole song!” they exclaim when I inquire. They were fascinating.

Chris “Kazi” Rolle, the founder of The Hip Hop Project, a successful after-school program and now a critically acclaimed film, said that the thing that he did to get through the teenagers of the so-called “lost” generation, was to listen to them.

It was so simple, it was scary. Listen to them. Stop talking at them, stop talking about them. But listen to what is important to them, and listen to how they feel, and how life is treating them. Then, you will learn how to help them.

So, as I went from class to class, talking to different grades. Mrs. Rowley’s first hour was very attentive. They wanted to know who my favorite people to interview were, and how I got into entertainment journalism. They wanted to know the keys to my success. I told them, READ. Read a book, everyday for at least 15 minutes. Not just hood books, but real books, and expand your mind. They promised that they would as they listened to me with rapt attention. Then, I asked them what they wanted to be. There was one rapper, a few doctors, a couple lawyers, no teachers, one artist, and a bunch of others who had no idea, and I assured them, that’s okay.

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House Judiciary Chair Rep. John Conyers of Detroit has lost friends in the activist community since reversing his position and backing off his calls for the impeachment of President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.

It seems like a political lifetime ago since Conyers introduced House Resoultion 635 asking for an investigation of possible impeachable offenses by Bush and Cheney. During his congressional campaign in 2006, Conyers won the votes of Detroit impeachment activists by implying that he would continue his pursuit of impeachment proceedings.

But after his election, when the chair of the House Judiciary Committee was in his grasp, the Congressman bowed to pressure from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and parroted her decree that “impeachment is off the table.” He has failed to place H.R. 333, Rep. Dennis Kucinich’s introduction of articles of impeachment against Dick Cheney, on the House Judiciary Committee calendar.

Last week another Conyers from Detroit gained national attention by making a stand in favor of Bush/Cheney impeachment. Detroit City Council member Monica Conyers, John’s wife, introduced a resolution that would recommend that Detroit’s congressmembers introduce articles of impeachment against Bush and Cheney.
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As Detroit’s entrepreneurs search for new business opportunities, we should not overlook an important growth industry that could improve both the economic and physical well-being of the city.

Urban farming and community gardening have been touted for several years as a possible source of fresh produce and jobs for The D. Pioneers like Grace and Jimmy Boggs have shown us the way, and a few of us have followed.

The information in this recent article on Entreprenuer.com demonstrates that Michigan entrepreneurs should pick up the pace, not only when it comes to organic farming, but also in distribution and retail.
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Former Detroit Pistons Grant Hill and Darko Milicic sound a little bitter.

Both Orlando Magic players recalled bad memories of Detroit upon their return for the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. Going back to Florida down two games to none certainly won’t help their dispositions.
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