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Saturday, January 30, 2010
Woman Kills Her Boyfriend By Sitting On Him!
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12-Year-Old In Oklahoma Caught Selling Kush In An Elementary School!
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67 Yr Old Man Has a shootout with gunmen
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Repo Man Takes Somebody's Car With Their Baby Still In It!
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11 Year Old Girl Has A Baby With A 27yr Old Man!
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3 Big Girls Jump A Man For Talkin Wreckless!
This How They Do It In U.K? 3 Big Girls Jump A Man For Talkin Wreckless! (Police Arrest The Guy & Let The Females Go)
" An onlooker with a video camera captured an incredible moment when a UK man verbally assaulted an obese womanand her revenge attack that ensued. After landing the first hit, she was joined by her two burly friends who beat the man. Moments later the police officers arrested the man on disorderly conduct charges, and the women were free to continue on with their night." - Tabloidprodigy
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Friday, January 29, 2010
Jerry Springer : "The $40 H03" (LoL)
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Thursday, January 28, 2010
HAITI'S HOMELESS ARE ONE STORM AWAY FROM ANOTHER TRAGEDY
By David Blair
Published: January 28 2010 02:00 | Last updated: January 28 2010 02:00
The fate of the 690,000 homeless people cast on to the streets of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital, is rapidly becoming one of the most urgent dilemmas in the aftermath of this month's earthquake.
Almost every patch of open ground across the city is filled with makeshift camps of the destitute. Some have thousands of inhabitants, others only scores. All become more squalid, and more of a health risk, every day.
Aid has reached many of the 591 camps, but deliveries often have little correlation to need. Shelter is the most obvious necessity for people whose houses have been destroyed, but comparatively few tents have been handed out. Sanitation is another obvious requirement - and one that is frequently neglected.
A camp beside Boulevard Toussaint L'Ouverture, home to thousands of people, has few tents and one portable lavatory. People use sheets, curtains and blankets, salvaged from the ruins of their homes, to fashion ragtag shelters. They have little choice but to defecate in the open.
Nature has bestowed one mercy on Port-au-Prince: there has been no rain since the January 12 magnitude 7.0 quake. If this changes, however, many camps would soon become fetid quagmires, raising the possibility of an epidemic of water-borne disease.
Aid workers acknowledge that Port-au-Prince is one thunderstorm away from another tragedy.
The annual rains start in April or May, followed by the Caribbean hurricane season in July. Unless the homeless are given shelter by then, the potential for enormous suffering is -obvious.
"It's something that's hanging over our heads every single day," said Niurka Pineiro, from the International Organisation for Migration, which coordinates shelter for the homeless. "It's a race against the clock because May is coming."
Despite the urgency, there is no agreed plan on how to address the problem. In principle, Haiti's government will select sites where the United Nations will construct vast new tented camps, complete with sanitation and water. The tents will eventually give way to permanent homes, built by the beneficiaries themselves, in return for payment in food.
So far, however, only two such sites have been identified for the capital's homeless. They have capacity for 14,000 people - barely 2 per cent of the total. At present, there is only enough funding for permanent homes for 10,000 people.
The supply of tents remains far below the level of need. The UN gives contradictory figures on the number delivered to Port-au-Prince airport.
Last Friday, an official spokesman announced that 20,000 tents "arrived yesterday". The IOM, however, says that only 10,000 tents are in Haiti, with another 30,000 "in the pipeline".
None will be distributed to the camps scattered across Port-au-Prince. Instead, they will be used for the vast new camps - but only after the sites have been identified.
How the legions of homeless will be transported to these locations, and whether they will be given any choice in the matter, remains unclear.
The people on the streets are resigned to a long wait. "Only God knows how long we will be here," said Sineuse Maculen, 35, who lives with her three children at the camp beside Boulevard Toussaint L'Ouverture.
Her shelter, fashioned from a large tarpaulin and home to 23 people, is comparatively robust. Even so, Mrs Maculen fears the consequence of a storm.
"If it rains, we will be invaded by water," she said. "We want a tent and then we want to go to another place where we can build a new home."
Many camps display banners pleading for the attention of the relief workers. One sign, scrawled in a black marker pen on a white curtain, carries the English words: "Help us, please. We need food, water, shelter."
Nearby, Isaac Frendy, 36, pointed at the hard ground on which his two children have slept since the quake destroyed their home. "We have children here, sleeping on these stones. Is that good for them?" he said.
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Monday, January 25, 2010
Ex-NAACP official arrested on theft charges
Judith W. Hanson, the former executive director of the NAACP's Atlanta chapter, was in the Fulton County jail Tuesday on charges that she and an assistant embezzled $275,000 from the venerable civil rights organization.
The Rev. Amos Brown, the new administrator of the chapter, said warrants were issued for Hanson and her former assistant, Saundra Douglass.
"Any malfeasance at whatever level is not tolerated by the NAACP," Brown said. "But we do feel that this great organization should not be punished in the eyes of the public because of the actions of these two individuals."
Chapter officials complained to Atlanta Police that an internal investigation of the chapter's finances indicated the two women fraudulently applied for American Express Cards and wrote checks on the organization to pay for personal expenses ranging from expensive meals to dental work and college tuition for associates, according to a police report filed Oct. 10. The women allegedly covered up the payments by altering the organization's books over a six-year period, the report said.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which broke the story of the theft in October, learned of the arrest from a source late Tuesday. An official with the local chapter confirmed that Hanson was arrested on charges of embezzling from the chapter and that police were still looking for Douglass. The official asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak for the organization.
Jail records show that the 67-year-old Hanson was arrested on Martin Luther King Jr. Day on charges of felony theft. Those charges were later upgraded to theft by deception, theft by conversion, credit card fraud and unauthorized use of a credit card, said Tracy Flanagan, spokeswoman for the Fulton County Sheriff's Office. Hanson was awarded a bond on Tuesday, Flanagan said.
The organization operates on an annual budget of $400,000.
The jail had no record Tuesday night of Douglass being arrested.
Chapter President the Rev. R.L. White told the AJC in October that Hanson became the executive director in 1998. A new board was elected in January and after the new treasurer audited the books, he found evidence of an embezzlement.
Staff writer Ernie Suggs contributed to this story.
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Protesters: Mississippi HBCU Merger Cannot Happen
Alumni, students, and advocates for historically black colleges and universities marched to the state Capitol from the Mississippi State Fairgrounds today to recognize the birthday of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and to protest Gov. Haley Barbour's recent proposal to merge Mississippi Valley State University and Alcorn State University with Jackson State University.
Barbour proposed a merger of the historically black colleges with Jackson State University late last year as a cost-cutting measure to counter huge revenue shortfalls. The state faces nearly $400 million in revenue shortfalls at the beginning of the next fiscal year. The governor released a budget plan that would ultimately cut more than $411 million out of the state's $5 billion budget for the next fiscal year, when combined with cuts he already made late last year. He continues searching for other means to trim state government.
At the rally, HBCU advocates demanded that Barbour remove the HBCU merger from the table. "We are here to serve notice to Haley Barbour," said rally organizer Othor Cain, who helped the Mississippi NAACP coordinate the march.
"How dare you. How dare you fix your mouth to talk about a merger of our historically black colleges and universities? This is a smokescreen, and we want you to now that today during the legislative session we are watching you," Cain said.
Cain pointed out that Barbour and legislators recently approved $35 million in incentives to coax a German pipe manufacturer to build a factory in the state, and accused the governor of leaving the job half done.
"My question to the legislators and the governor is where would you get your work force from for this new plant? Will you go outside of the state, or depend on the citizens of the state to provide an educated work force? If you want that work force to come from Mississippi, then why on God's earth would you make any education hard to access?" Cain said.
Jackson State University senior Richetta Wilson warned that merging the schools would put an end to many family legacies.
"We've got students whose family goes back generations at these schools. Your parents went there, and you're encouraged to go there too," Wilson said. "This goes back for many years. How can you destroy something like that?"
Her companion, JSU student Jelicia McClinton, said she believed Barbour has a bigger plan.
"This is an easy way to begin a merger that will end with HBCUs merging under Ole Miss. First you put all the black schools under one roof, and then you put that roof under something like Ole Miss," McClinton said. "You can let our governor know that this merger is not going to happen."
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Singles Open to Interracial Relationships Because of President Obama: Poll
As the Country marks President Obama’s first year in office, and the 24th celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the face of race relations has altered drastically. Crediting President Obama’s election, 54% said that race relations improved significantly since he took office, according to a new poll by the Pew Research Center. With an African American holding the highest position of power in the United States, how has that affected interracial relationships? Leading online dating websites Date.com (www.date.com), Matchmaker.com (www.matchmaker.com), and Amor.com (www.amor.com), polled its members in December 2009 to see how they felt about interracial relationships.
The majority of single men and women, 69% of males and 75% of females, are more open to having an interracial relationship because President Obama is African American. Additionally, singles felt that the perception of an interracial couple has changed drastically, both helped by President Obama as well as other high profile celebrity couples such a Halle Berry and Gabriel Aubry, Seal and Heidi Klum, Taye Diggs and Idina Menzel, and Ellen Pompeo and Chris Ivery. 80% of women versus 61.6% of men felt that people were no longer prejudiced against interracial couples.
In a new nationwide survey of thousands of single men, we asked: President Barack Obama has rewritten the history of race relations in this Country, but does it also extend towards interracial couples? Are you more open to having an interracial relationship now that Obama is President?
Follows are the complete results:
Yes: 69%
We also asked: Do you think it’s easier to be in an interracial relationship because Barack Obama is our President?
Follows are the complete results:
Yes, I think people are much more open-minded now than ever before: 61.6%
No, interracial couples will always face prejudice, regardless of the race of our President: 38.4%
In a new nationwide survey of thousands of single women we asked: President Barack Obama has rewritten the history of race relations in this Country, but does it also extend towards interracial couples? Are you more open to having an interracial relationship now that Obama is President?
Yes: 75%
We also asked: Do you think it’s easier to be in an interracial relationship because Barack Obama is our President?
Follows are the complete results:
Yes, I think people are much more open-minded now than ever before: 80.0%
No, interracial couples will always face prejudice, regardless of the race of our President: 20.0%
Pictured: Marci and Chris Johnson, an interracial couple August 7, 2007 in Jena, Louisiana. They are the parents of a 19 month old son and complain of repeated incidents of prejudice in their interactions with the town since getting together. Marci and Chris were married recently. Over the last year there has been an undercurrent of racial tension in the town which has led to outbreaks of violence between white and black students. The tension escelated after an incident under a tree favoured by white students. When a black student attempted to sit under the tree the next day 3 nooses were found hanging from the branches. In the latest outbreak of violence 6 black students attacked a white student who denies provoking them. The 6 black students are now known as the Jena 6 and are currently awaiting trial for attempted murder in a hotly disputed case. (Photo by Brent Stirton/Getty Images).
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Steve Harvey to Host 'Family Feud'
Comedian to succeed John O'Hurley on Debmar-Mercury-distributed game show in fall 2010
Steve Harvey will be the new host of Debmar-Mercury's Family Feud when it begins its 12th season this fall.
"With his talent, authenticity and innate ability to connect with audiences from all walks of life, Steve exemplifies the spirit and appeal of Family Feud," said Fremantle President Cecile Frot-Coutaz in a statement. Fremantle produces the long-running Family Feud, while Debmar-Mercury distributes the show.
Harvey, one of "The Original Kings of Comedy," is perhaps best known to audiences from his time starring in The Steve Harvey Show, which aired on The WB from 1996 to 2002. Harvey also hosts The Steve Harvey Morning Show, a nationally syndicated radio program that is heard daily by more than seven million listeners in more than 64 markets nationwide.
Harvey also is a best-selling author, having published his first book Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man one year ago. The book is derived from his radio show's popular "Strawberry Letter" segment, in which Harvey doles out relationship advice.
Harvey replaces John O'Hurley, who began his run on the daily game show in 2006.
"The time has come to try something new, and while I have prized my time on Family Feud, I've decided to set a course for new adventures," said O'Hurley in a statement. "This includes immediately heading into rehearsals for the U.S. touring show of Chicago, launching my new company Energy-Inc. which focuses on renewable energy solutions, debuting an original golf apparel line in the J. Peterman catalog, and visiting our troops overseas."
During his time on Family Feud, O'Hurley also appeared in Spamalot in Las Vegas and Los Angeles, and played Billy Flynn in the Broadway and national touring productions of Chicago. Prior to Family Feud, he was perhaps best known as Seinfeld's Mr. Peterman, Elaine's eccentric boss. He's also a scratch golfer, a classically-trained vocalist and a best-selling author.
O'Hurley replaced Richard Karn, who had hosted the show since 2002. Richard Dawson was the show's original host, emceeing it twice: first from 1976-85 and then again from 1994-95.
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Michelle Obama talks to mayors about her initiative to combat childhood obesity
Better eating habits, improved nutrition and a more physically fit America do not have to come with a high price tag and all are imperative to this country's economy, its future productivity and the well-being of the next generation of children. That was the message first lady Michelle Obama delivered Wednesday afternoon to the U.S. Conference of Mayors at the Capital Hilton.
For more than 20 minutes, Obama highlighted the stark statistics related to childhood obesity: One in three children in this country is either overweight or obese. One-third of all children today will eventually suffer from diabetes. And a recent study found that obesity could be an even greater threat to the nation's health than smoking.
But all is not lost, Obama assured her audience -- an overflow crowd of some 200 mayors and their staff that greeted her entry with a standing ovation and a lone "whoof whoof" of approval. Help is coming in the form of a major initiative, Obama promised, as she beat the drumroll for the unveiling, in early February, of a wide-ranging program to combat childhood obesity. It will combine the resources of the federal government with the local efforts of mayors, the knowledge gathered by foundations and the tireless foot soldiers from nonprofit organizations.
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"The idea here is very simple: to put in place commonsense, innovative solutions that empower families and communities to make healthy decisions for their kids," she said. Her initiative will focus on improved school lunches, more physical activity, increased availability of healthy food in all communities and more nutrition education for both kids and their parents.
And the mayors, she said, are key to making it all work. They can measure the impact of an overweight workforce on a community's economy; they understand the burdens an unhealthy population puts on neighborhood health centers; they witness kids laboring to walk, to run, to play.
"You see people's struggles up close and personal. And what you see on the ground is often the first indicator of what's happening on a national level," Obama said. "Many of you are already seeing some of the costs and consequences."
"One mayor told us that obesity can even impact economic development and job creation because CEOs and entrepreneurs worried about high employee health-care costs are sometimes reluctant to set up shop in areas with high obesity rates," Obama said in her speech.
The seeds for Obama's administration-wide initiative were planted -- literally -- in spring 2009 with the White House Kitchen Garden. "We didn't want to have a garden just to have a garden," said Jocelyn Frye, the first lady's domestic policy adviser, in an interview a few moments before Obama's speech. "It was a vehicle for talking about children's health."
In the fall, the first lady began to focus her concerns and hone her message, meeting with the Domestic Policy Council, headed by Melody Barnes, and key members of the president's Cabinet to discuss the best ways to chip away at the childhood obesity epidemic. "She knows full well that it's not a problem to be solved by government saying, 'Do this,' " Frye said. Obama also understands that "this is not a problem that can be solved in a vacuum." It requires input from the government and from everyday folks alike.
In her speech, and in a meeting with a few dozen mayors beforehand, the first lady highlighted best practices -- the often simple, and inexpensive, ideas that mayors have initiated in their own communities that have been successful and that have not stretched already strained budgets. One mayor in Texas gave students pedometers at the end of the school year so they could count their steps over summer vacation; another in Bowling Green, Ky., put the city's bike paths and trail maps online to make them more readily accessible; the mayor of Minneapolis brought farmers' markets to underserved neighborhoods; and the mayor of Oklahoma City challenged citizens to lose a million pounds and personally shed 40 pounds to set an example.
The problem of childhood obesity can be solved, she insisted to an audience that sat quietly during her speech, with only occasional chuckles when she empathized with the never-ending duties of City Hall. "We don't need to wait for some new invention or discovery to make this happen. This doesn't require fancy tools or technologies. We have everything we need right now," Obama said. "The only question is whether we have the will."
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Buying Power of African American Consumers Approaching $1 Trillion in 2010
With a population of 40 million and buying power approaching $1 trillion in 2010, African Americans are a key segment in an economy that increasingly depends upon the needs and preferences of multicultural consumers, according to “The African American Market in the U.S., 8th Edition” by leading market research publisher Packaged Facts.
“With such financial clout, marketing efforts to reach out to African Americans are likely to increase,” says Don Montuori, publisher of Packaged Facts. “Major consumer products marketers have begun to align their strategies with the multicultural majority emerging in the U.S. and some have even indicated that multicultural consumers have become their core focus as they strategize and set their sights on the next ten years.”
The African American population is smaller than the U.S. Hispanic market, but the disposable personal income of both African American and Latino consumers is projected to trend comparably over the next five years, with each experiencing cumulative growth of at least 28% from 2009-2014. Packaged Facts estimates that the buying power of black consumers in the U.S. will increase to $1.2 trillion by the end of the forecast period.
The African American consumer population has been hit especially hard by the recent recession, with unemployment rates for blacks exceeding that of any other major population group. Nevertheless, several sources cited in the report indicate that the sense of empowerment created by the election of Barack Obama has spurred blacks to adopt a more optimistic vision of the future than that held by other Americans. This includes greater optimism regarding their own personal finances and a general proclivity to agree that they are less likely to hold off making big-ticket purchases such as automobiles in the near future.
“The African American Market in the U.S., 8th Edition” focuses on how African American consumers are responding to the challenges of today’s economy as they shop in department stores, supermarkets, drug stores and other retail outlets as well as online and from catalogs. The report analyzes the forces shaping the purchase decisions of African American shoppers and sheds light on key areas such as how black consumers decide where to shop and what influences them while they are shopping. In addition, the report pays particular attention to the attitudes and behavior of affluent African American shoppers. Primary data on African American consumer behavior are drawn from the Summer 2009 Experian Simmons National Consumer Study (NCS).
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Procter & Gamble Announces Clement-Holmes Elected Senior Vice President – Global Diversity
The Procter & Gamble Company today announced the appointment of Linda Clement-Holmes, 47, as senior vice president – global diversity and global business services, effective February 1, 2010.
Clement-Holmes, a 27-year P&G veteran, will maintain her existing global business services responsibilities and will take on new responsibilities as global diversity leader for the Company. In her new capacity as global diversity leader, she will report to Bob McDonald, chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer and to Moheet Nagrath, global human resources officer. For her global business services responsibilities she will continue to report to Filippo Passerini, president – global business services and chief information officer.
“This appointment is a clear sign of the Company’s continued commitment to diversity and inclusion,” said McDonald. ”Linda brings a track record of high performance, high standards and collaborative leadership to P&G’s efforts to ensure our employees reflect the diversity of consumers we serve.”
Four billion times a day, P&G brands touch the lives of people around the world. The company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Pampers, Tide, Always, Whisper, Pantene, Mach3, Bounty, Dawn, Gain, Pringles, Charmin, Downy, Lenor, Iams, Crest, Oral-B, Duracell, Olay, Head & Shoulders, Wella, Gillette, Braun and Fusion. The P&G community includes approximately 135,000 employees working in about 80 countries worldwide.
Pictured: Linda Clement-Holmes, senior vice president & global diversity and global business services, P&G. (PRNewsFoto/Procter & Gamble).
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Re-recording of ‘We are the World’ planned to raise money for Haiti
Quincy Jones and Lionel Richie will re-record We Are the World with some of world's top recording artists next month to raise money for Haiti, Billboard.com reports.
The single will be recorded in Los Angeles on Feb. 1, following the Grammy Awards weekend, and will also mark the 25th anniversary of the original recording.
The song, co-written by Richie and Michael Jackson, and co-produced by Jones, in 1985, raised money for Africa and led to the Live Aid charity concert. The long and diverse list of more than 40 singers included Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, Dionne Warwick, Bette Midler, Waylon Jennings, Paul Simon, Willie Nelson and Bruce Springsteen.
See a video of the original recording session click here.
This time, Usher, Natalie Cole and John Legend have been invited to take part in a "supergroup" recording. Billboard says the 2010 roster may also include Wyclef Jean, Sting, Fergie, Alicia Keys and Justin Timberlake among others.
Pictured: Grammy award winning musicians Quincy Jones (L) and Lionel Richie (R) pose together in Beverly Hills, CA, 16 June 1998 following the announcement by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences that the 41st Annual Grammy Awards will be held in Los Angeles next year at the Shrine Auditorium. The Grammys are the music recording industry’s highest honors and are awarded annually. AFP PHOTO Mike NELSON/mn (Photo credit should read MIKE NELSON/AFP/Getty Images)
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Saturday, January 23, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
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Wholesale gasoline falls under $2, first time in 2010
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Wholesale gasoline prices fell this afternoon, with the NYMEX contract reaching $1.9975/gal, marking the first time in 2010 that prices have been under $2. It's been nearly a month since prices have been under $2, the last time in the days before Christmas.
This will be welcome news to U.S. and Canadian motorists, who've seen national averages climb to levels not seen since October 2008 in recent weeks. The U.S. Average peaked on January 14 at $2.758/gallon while prices in Canada peaked the same day at 102.138c/L. Prices in Canada had not reached that level since November 2009.
Meanwhile, oil is trading closer to $75 a barrel, a far cry from it's peak on January 7 when it hit $83/barrel. If you noticed, it took one week for gasoline prices to hit their peak, taking some time for the price increases to show up at the pump.
Much of today's losses are due to the significant gains in gasoline inventories last week, as reported today by the U.S. Department of Energy. While gasoline inventories gained 3.9 million barrels, it is more shocking to see that inputs to oil refineries dropped to levels not seen since Hurricane Ike ravaged the Gulf. (READ MORE!)
However, oil, distillate, and propane inventories all fell, with oil posting the smallest loss. Analysts polled by Bloomberg largely expected gasoline to post a modest 1.75 million barrel gain, so the 3.9 million barrel gain was quite surprising. Gasoline stockpiles now stand 12 million barrels above their year ago levels, a healthy start for 2010.
Another important factor- overall oil demand- shows that sluggish demand is still a key factor. Demand for last week was down nearly 2% over the same period last year, showing that the economy is still rather slow to recover. The big picture showed overall demand under 19 million barrels per day. That pales against when the economy was consuming more than 20 million barrels of oil per day in 2008.
The largest gain in gasoline stocks was seen in the Midwest, with a whopping 2.5 million barrel gain. Such a large gain may lead Midwest prices lower than the rest of the country as supply outpaces demand. Total inventories in the Midwest total 54.5 million barrels, the highest level seen in January since 2007.
Oil and other product imports are also much under where they were last year. The same week in 2009 saw imports at 11 million barrels per day, while they currently sit just above 9 million barrels. The picture seems to demonstrate what a hit demand has taken over the last year- showing incredible weakness in the oil industry.
Wholesale gasoline prices fell this afternoon, with the NYMEX contract reaching $1.9975/gal, marking the first time in 2010 that prices have been under $2. It's been nearly a month since prices have been under $2, the last time in the days before Christmas.
This will be welcome news to U.S. and Canadian motorists, who've seen national averages climb to levels not seen since October 2008 in recent weeks. The U.S. Average peaked on January 14 at $2.758/gallon while prices in Canada peaked the same day at 102.138c/L. Prices in Canada had not reached that level since November 2009.
Meanwhile, oil is trading closer to $75 a barrel, a far cry from it's peak on January 7 when it hit $83/barrel. If you noticed, it took one week for gasoline prices to hit their peak, taking some time for the price increases to show up at the pump.
Much of today's losses are due to the significant gains in gasoline inventories last week, as reported today by the U.S. Department of Energy. While gasoline inventories gained 3.9 million barrels, it is more shocking to see that inputs to oil refineries dropped to levels not seen since Hurricane Ike ravaged the Gulf. (READ MORE!)
However, oil, distillate, and propane inventories all fell, with oil posting the smallest loss. Analysts polled by Bloomberg largely expected gasoline to post a modest 1.75 million barrel gain, so the 3.9 million barrel gain was quite surprising. Gasoline stockpiles now stand 12 million barrels above their year ago levels, a healthy start for 2010.
Another important factor- overall oil demand- shows that sluggish demand is still a key factor. Demand for last week was down nearly 2% over the same period last year, showing that the economy is still rather slow to recover. The big picture showed overall demand under 19 million barrels per day. That pales against when the economy was consuming more than 20 million barrels of oil per day in 2008.
The largest gain in gasoline stocks was seen in the Midwest, with a whopping 2.5 million barrel gain. Such a large gain may lead Midwest prices lower than the rest of the country as supply outpaces demand. Total inventories in the Midwest total 54.5 million barrels, the highest level seen in January since 2007.
Oil and other product imports are also much under where they were last year. The same week in 2009 saw imports at 11 million barrels per day, while they currently sit just above 9 million barrels. The picture seems to demonstrate what a hit demand has taken over the last year- showing incredible weakness in the oil industry.
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Gas Buddy : A good week for consumers
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What a good week for consumers. Oil prices that began the week at $78.44 are currently at $74.97. Wholesale gasoline prices began the week at $2.06 are down to $1.97, a drop of nearly two cents per day.
The DOE report released was good, showed a build in gasoline inventories, demand that was low, and that there is plenty of spare capacity. The U.S. national average has turned the corner and begun to drop, and will continue to do so until next week. Prices in Canada can be expected to copy the slide I expect in the U.S. average, so if you can hold off on filling up for a few days, I would suggest doing that.
The U.S. dollar gained strength this week, starting off near $1.44 USD/EUR and currently trading at $1.4175 USD/EUR. The dollar has gained strength against other currencies as well, putting downward pressure on oil as prices become slightly more expensive in other areas of the world.
Share 24 Comments
What a good week for consumers. Oil prices that began the week at $78.44 are currently at $74.97. Wholesale gasoline prices began the week at $2.06 are down to $1.97, a drop of nearly two cents per day.
The DOE report released was good, showed a build in gasoline inventories, demand that was low, and that there is plenty of spare capacity. The U.S. national average has turned the corner and begun to drop, and will continue to do so until next week. Prices in Canada can be expected to copy the slide I expect in the U.S. average, so if you can hold off on filling up for a few days, I would suggest doing that.
The U.S. dollar gained strength this week, starting off near $1.44 USD/EUR and currently trading at $1.4175 USD/EUR. The dollar has gained strength against other currencies as well, putting downward pressure on oil as prices become slightly more expensive in other areas of the world.
- A FEW HOT LINKS:
- Need A Used Car: Great Used Cars (Click Here Now)
- check out some Funny Videos here: http://FunnyBlackFolks.com
- check out some Hot Music Videos: http://www.BlackMusicVids.com
- check out the Black People Think Page: Black People Think Page
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Diabetic Eye Disease More Severe in African-Americans Who Consume More Calories, Sodium
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Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness among 20- to 64-year-olds with diabetes, according to background information in the article. The condition occurs when diabetes-related changes to the body damage the blood vessels of the retina. Proliferative retinopathy (involving the growth of new blood vessels in the retina) and macular edema (when fluid leaks into the macula, the part of the eye responsible for sharp vision) — collectively called vision-threatening diabetic retinopathy — are the two main causes of vision loss in patients with diabetes.
Monique S. Roy, M.D., of New Jersey Medical School, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark, and Malvin N. Janal, Ph.D., of the New York University College of Dentistry, assessed 469 African American patients with type 1 diabetes who originally enrolled in the study between 1993 and 1998. Then and after a six-year follow-up (between 1999 and 2004), participants completed a food frequency questionnaire, had a complete eye examination, underwent blood testing and had photographs of the retina taken to determine progression of diabetic retinopathy.
Individuals with the highest caloric intake at the beginning of the study were more likely to develop vision-threatening retinopathy by the end of the six-year period. In addition, high sodium intake at the initial examination was associated with the development of macular edema.
“In African American patients with type 1 diabetes, high caloric and sodium intakes are significant and independent risk factors for progression to severe forms of diabetic retinopathy,” the authors conclude. “These results suggest that low caloric and sodium intakes in African American individuals with type 1 diabetes mellitus may have a beneficial effect on the progression of diabetic retinopathy and thus might be part of dietary recommendations for this population.”
This work was supported by grants from the National Eye Institute, Bethesda, Md., and a Lew Wasserman Merit Award from Research to Prevent Blindness, Inc., New York.
Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness among 20- to 64-year-olds with diabetes, according to background information in the article. The condition occurs when diabetes-related changes to the body damage the blood vessels of the retina. Proliferative retinopathy (involving the growth of new blood vessels in the retina) and macular edema (when fluid leaks into the macula, the part of the eye responsible for sharp vision) — collectively called vision-threatening diabetic retinopathy — are the two main causes of vision loss in patients with diabetes.
Monique S. Roy, M.D., of New Jersey Medical School, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark, and Malvin N. Janal, Ph.D., of the New York University College of Dentistry, assessed 469 African American patients with type 1 diabetes who originally enrolled in the study between 1993 and 1998. Then and after a six-year follow-up (between 1999 and 2004), participants completed a food frequency questionnaire, had a complete eye examination, underwent blood testing and had photographs of the retina taken to determine progression of diabetic retinopathy.
Individuals with the highest caloric intake at the beginning of the study were more likely to develop vision-threatening retinopathy by the end of the six-year period. In addition, high sodium intake at the initial examination was associated with the development of macular edema.
“In African American patients with type 1 diabetes, high caloric and sodium intakes are significant and independent risk factors for progression to severe forms of diabetic retinopathy,” the authors conclude. “These results suggest that low caloric and sodium intakes in African American individuals with type 1 diabetes mellitus may have a beneficial effect on the progression of diabetic retinopathy and thus might be part of dietary recommendations for this population.”
This work was supported by grants from the National Eye Institute, Bethesda, Md., and a Lew Wasserman Merit Award from Research to Prevent Blindness, Inc., New York.
- A FEW HOT LINKS:
- Need A Used Car: Great Used Cars (Click Here Now)
- check out some Funny Videos here: http://FunnyBlackFolks.com
- check out some Hot Music Videos: http://www.BlackMusicVids.com
- check out the Black People Think Page: Black People Think Page
New AIDS Campaign Targets Previously Neglected Segment of Black America
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Thirty-four percent of new male HIV infections are in the 40-plus age range and 36 percent of new female HIV infections are in the 40-plus age range. Yet according to the Black AIDS Institute, there have been very few campaigns targeting this population.
“Last year Washington D.C. reported that one in 10 residents between the ages of 40 and 49 had the virus,” says Black AIDS Institute Founder and CEO Phill Wilson. “That is an epidemic that rivals the worst AIDS epidemics in the poorest countries on the planet.”
The Black AIDS Institute has found an innovative way to help Black people ages 40 and up become more aware of HIV/AIDS while raising money to fight the disease in Black communities. The campaign is called Trump AIDS. The campaign uses the traditional Black pastime of bid whist, popular with Black Americans aged 40-plus, as a unique way to target this often overlooked HIV/AIDS demographic. The Martin Luther King Jr. weekend kick-off event in Atlanta, GA includes a Bid Whist Qualifying Tournament and Health Fair in partnership with local Atlanta organizations Sister Love and AID Atlanta.
“We are proud to partner with the Black AIDS Institute on this new and innovative awareness campaign to reach Black Americans,” says Sister Love Founder and President Dazon Dixon. “When two-thirds of the new HIV/AIDS cases among women in the US are Black, now more than ever it’s important to educate and reach every demographic of the Black community.”
The Health Fair includes free onsite HIV testing for all Tournament attendees, players and guests. All are welcome to attend.
“Rates of HIV in persons over 50 years of age are 12 times higher among African Americans than among whites,” according to Achieve Quarterly’s article on HIV Prevention by Timothy G. Heckman, Ph.D. “Older people do not consider themselves at risk. Physicians rarely talk to older patients about sex or other risk behaviors.”
“Trump AIDS is an unprecedented event that will provide Black people who are not actively engaged in the HIV battle with access to important health information,” says Black AIDS Institute COO Aron Myers. “This is a tremendous opportunity for the Atlanta community and good citizenship for all.”
“There’s no way to end the AIDS epidemic in Black communities without targeting this population,” adds Wilson. “The Black AIDS Institute has spent the last decade meeting Black folks where they are. Trump AIDS is a perfect example of identifying an indigenous past time in our community and using it to deliver culturally effective messaging. Everything about this effort, from the date and city where we launch the campaign to celebrity co-chairs—Danny Glover and Jackee Harry—celebrate Black culture.”
“I’m proud to be a Co-Chair of the TrumpAIDS campaign,” says Actor and AIDS Activist Danny Glover. “AIDS does not only affect a select demographic such as youth, women, or gays. It affects all groups of people. That is why Trump AIDS is such an important campaign for Black people to support and participate in. We must unite as a community — for the sake of our community. To do nothing is to be part of the problem.”
Trump AIDS launches in Atlanta, GA in partnership with the 7NO! Players.
“The 7NO! Players are excited to host the kick-off event in Atlanta, GA Martin Luther King Jr. weekend,’ says Montez Collins, President, 7NO! Players. “We look forward to welcoming all of our regular bid whist players and any new comers who are interested in learning more about the game.”
Thirty-four percent of new male HIV infections are in the 40-plus age range and 36 percent of new female HIV infections are in the 40-plus age range. Yet according to the Black AIDS Institute, there have been very few campaigns targeting this population.
“Last year Washington D.C. reported that one in 10 residents between the ages of 40 and 49 had the virus,” says Black AIDS Institute Founder and CEO Phill Wilson. “That is an epidemic that rivals the worst AIDS epidemics in the poorest countries on the planet.”
The Black AIDS Institute has found an innovative way to help Black people ages 40 and up become more aware of HIV/AIDS while raising money to fight the disease in Black communities. The campaign is called Trump AIDS. The campaign uses the traditional Black pastime of bid whist, popular with Black Americans aged 40-plus, as a unique way to target this often overlooked HIV/AIDS demographic. The Martin Luther King Jr. weekend kick-off event in Atlanta, GA includes a Bid Whist Qualifying Tournament and Health Fair in partnership with local Atlanta organizations Sister Love and AID Atlanta.
“We are proud to partner with the Black AIDS Institute on this new and innovative awareness campaign to reach Black Americans,” says Sister Love Founder and President Dazon Dixon. “When two-thirds of the new HIV/AIDS cases among women in the US are Black, now more than ever it’s important to educate and reach every demographic of the Black community.”
The Health Fair includes free onsite HIV testing for all Tournament attendees, players and guests. All are welcome to attend.
“Rates of HIV in persons over 50 years of age are 12 times higher among African Americans than among whites,” according to Achieve Quarterly’s article on HIV Prevention by Timothy G. Heckman, Ph.D. “Older people do not consider themselves at risk. Physicians rarely talk to older patients about sex or other risk behaviors.”
“Trump AIDS is an unprecedented event that will provide Black people who are not actively engaged in the HIV battle with access to important health information,” says Black AIDS Institute COO Aron Myers. “This is a tremendous opportunity for the Atlanta community and good citizenship for all.”
“There’s no way to end the AIDS epidemic in Black communities without targeting this population,” adds Wilson. “The Black AIDS Institute has spent the last decade meeting Black folks where they are. Trump AIDS is a perfect example of identifying an indigenous past time in our community and using it to deliver culturally effective messaging. Everything about this effort, from the date and city where we launch the campaign to celebrity co-chairs—Danny Glover and Jackee Harry—celebrate Black culture.”
“I’m proud to be a Co-Chair of the TrumpAIDS campaign,” says Actor and AIDS Activist Danny Glover. “AIDS does not only affect a select demographic such as youth, women, or gays. It affects all groups of people. That is why Trump AIDS is such an important campaign for Black people to support and participate in. We must unite as a community — for the sake of our community. To do nothing is to be part of the problem.”
Trump AIDS launches in Atlanta, GA in partnership with the 7NO! Players.
“The 7NO! Players are excited to host the kick-off event in Atlanta, GA Martin Luther King Jr. weekend,’ says Montez Collins, President, 7NO! Players. “We look forward to welcoming all of our regular bid whist players and any new comers who are interested in learning more about the game.”
- A FEW HOT LINKS:
- Need A Used Car: Great Used Cars (Click Here Now)
- check out some Funny Videos here: http://FunnyBlackFolks.com
- check out some Hot Music Videos: http://www.BlackMusicVids.com
- check out the Black People Think Page: Black People Think Page
Apart No More? HBCUs Heading Into an Era of Change
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As the economic downturn grows longer and more severe, it’s hard to find any proposals to cut costs that can be taken completely off the table. Programs that were recently considered untouchable have now been placed under the budgetary microscope.
In a couple of states — Mississippi and Georgia — government officials have even started questioning the status of public HBCUs — historically black colleges and universities. By doing so, however, those officials might only be speeding up a process of HBCUs becoming mainstream that is complete in West Virginia and is well under way in North Carolina.
HBCU is an official designation given by the federal government in the Education Act of 1965 to all institutions of higher education that had been created primarily to educate African-Americans. Such schools are eligible to receive special types of federal funding. Colleges that were either founded after 1964 or had a predominantly white student body at that time are not considered HBCUs.
HBCUs do not discriminate in admissions. They are open to everybody who meets their admissions criteria, and most public HBCUs have significant non-black populations.
In Mississippi, Gov. Haley Barbour recently proposed that the state’s three HBCUs be combined into one. His intent was to save money by eliminating duplicate programs and administrative positions. The idea was met with a loud outcry by the schools’ supporters. An Inside Higher Ed article quoted one black educator, Julius Chambers (the former president of North Carolina Central University) as saying the move “is obviously a slap at black colleges.”
Barbour’s plan is not likely to produce the savings he anticipates without a serious reduction in the services provided. Because the three schools are geographically dispersed, combining programs to cut costs will mean that many courses and majors previously offered will simply unavailable on some of the campuses.
Earlier in the year, Georgia state Sen. Seth Harp suggested that two public HBCUs join with two non-HBCUs in the same cities: Savannah State with Armstrong Atlantic State and Albany State with Darton College. His proposal was greeted immediately with an adverse reaction as well.
Yet his proposal would likely result in considerable savings (although no action has been taken on it thus far). By combining schools in the same city, the mergers would allow the schools to eliminate many duplicate positions in the administrations, some of them with six-figure salaries. And there would be no reason to get rid of academic programs if departments are combined.
Although any proposal negatively affecting HBCUs is likely to encounter some political resistance, major changes might be inevitable. For instance, in West Virginia, the state’s two public HBCUs have gradually become predominantly white. Bluefield State College is now only 12 percent black, and West Virginia State University is only 17 percent black.
In North Carolina, which has the most four-year HBCUs in the country, there have been no such proposals — yet. But at all five of the state HBCUs, the proportion of non-black students has risen above 10 percent. In some specific programs, such as N.C. Central University’s law school, African-Americans are now a minority.
These changes are likely to affect two UNC schools the most. The percentage of black undergraduate students at Elizabeth City State University has dropped to 79.7 for the 2009-10 school year, while at Fayetteville State University, it has fallen to only 72.1 percent.
These two schools share an important difference from the other three HBCUs in North Carolina. While the other three universities are in either the Triangle or Triad, where there are multiple UNC campuses, ECSU and FSU are the only public universities within a reasonable commuting distance in their regions of the state.
The Fayetteville area also has several military bases, which may explain why FSU is the most racially diverse of the five UNC HBCUs. Cooperation between the UNC system and the military is growing, and the high probability of future joint endeavors suggests there will be a greater military presence on campus.
ECSU has also added a couple of programs that should increase the non-black campus population. One is a branch of UNC-Chapel Hill’s pharmacy program. The other is an aviation school.
As the economic downturn grows longer and more severe, it’s hard to find any proposals to cut costs that can be taken completely off the table. Programs that were recently considered untouchable have now been placed under the budgetary microscope.
In a couple of states — Mississippi and Georgia — government officials have even started questioning the status of public HBCUs — historically black colleges and universities. By doing so, however, those officials might only be speeding up a process of HBCUs becoming mainstream that is complete in West Virginia and is well under way in North Carolina.
HBCU is an official designation given by the federal government in the Education Act of 1965 to all institutions of higher education that had been created primarily to educate African-Americans. Such schools are eligible to receive special types of federal funding. Colleges that were either founded after 1964 or had a predominantly white student body at that time are not considered HBCUs.
HBCUs do not discriminate in admissions. They are open to everybody who meets their admissions criteria, and most public HBCUs have significant non-black populations.
In Mississippi, Gov. Haley Barbour recently proposed that the state’s three HBCUs be combined into one. His intent was to save money by eliminating duplicate programs and administrative positions. The idea was met with a loud outcry by the schools’ supporters. An Inside Higher Ed article quoted one black educator, Julius Chambers (the former president of North Carolina Central University) as saying the move “is obviously a slap at black colleges.”
Barbour’s plan is not likely to produce the savings he anticipates without a serious reduction in the services provided. Because the three schools are geographically dispersed, combining programs to cut costs will mean that many courses and majors previously offered will simply unavailable on some of the campuses.
Earlier in the year, Georgia state Sen. Seth Harp suggested that two public HBCUs join with two non-HBCUs in the same cities: Savannah State with Armstrong Atlantic State and Albany State with Darton College. His proposal was greeted immediately with an adverse reaction as well.
Yet his proposal would likely result in considerable savings (although no action has been taken on it thus far). By combining schools in the same city, the mergers would allow the schools to eliminate many duplicate positions in the administrations, some of them with six-figure salaries. And there would be no reason to get rid of academic programs if departments are combined.
Although any proposal negatively affecting HBCUs is likely to encounter some political resistance, major changes might be inevitable. For instance, in West Virginia, the state’s two public HBCUs have gradually become predominantly white. Bluefield State College is now only 12 percent black, and West Virginia State University is only 17 percent black.
In North Carolina, which has the most four-year HBCUs in the country, there have been no such proposals — yet. But at all five of the state HBCUs, the proportion of non-black students has risen above 10 percent. In some specific programs, such as N.C. Central University’s law school, African-Americans are now a minority.
These changes are likely to affect two UNC schools the most. The percentage of black undergraduate students at Elizabeth City State University has dropped to 79.7 for the 2009-10 school year, while at Fayetteville State University, it has fallen to only 72.1 percent.
These two schools share an important difference from the other three HBCUs in North Carolina. While the other three universities are in either the Triangle or Triad, where there are multiple UNC campuses, ECSU and FSU are the only public universities within a reasonable commuting distance in their regions of the state.
The Fayetteville area also has several military bases, which may explain why FSU is the most racially diverse of the five UNC HBCUs. Cooperation between the UNC system and the military is growing, and the high probability of future joint endeavors suggests there will be a greater military presence on campus.
ECSU has also added a couple of programs that should increase the non-black campus population. One is a branch of UNC-Chapel Hill’s pharmacy program. The other is an aviation school.
- A FEW HOT LINKS:
- Need A Used Car: Great Used Cars (Click Here Now)
- check out some Funny Videos here: http://FunnyBlackFolks.com
- check out some Hot Music Videos: http://www.BlackMusicVids.com
- check out the Black People Think Page: Black People Think Page
Comcast Promotes Hank Fore to Regional Vice President For Oregon/SW Washington
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Comcast Corporation, one of the nation’s leading provider of entertainment, information and communications services, has promoted Hank Fore to Regional Vice President of the Oregon/SW Washington region. Fore will report directly to Comcast West Division President Steve White and will oversee all aspects of Comcast’s video, high-speed Internet and telephone operations from Longview, WA to Eugene, OR, serving more than 600,000 customers and managing about 2,100 employees. Fore begins his new role immediately and will be based in the company’s Beaverton, Oregon office.
Fore joins Oregon from Comcast’s East Bay Area market in California, where he most recently served as Area Vice President. In this position, he held management responsibilities for about 500,000 customers and 1,100 employees. Under Fore’s leadership, he immediately focused on improving the customer experience, dramatically improving the local technical operations metrics, including on time arrival of technicians and repeat trouble calls. He successfully launched a number of advanced services to his customers, adding Comcast Digital Voice, expanding HD and VOD options, and increasing high-speed internet speeds. In addition, Fore’s employees helped vote Comcast as a “Best Place to Work” for three consecutive years in The San Francisco Business Times, East Bay Business Times and the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal.
“I’m honored to join such a customer-focused and technologically innovative team,” Fore said. “I look forward to working with Comcast’s outstanding employees in Oregon & Southwest Washington to further improve Comcast’s relationship with our customers, and bring them even more exciting technologies and entertainment.”
Fore is a West Point graduate and began his distinguished career with the United States Armed Forces, holding numerous positions. Ultimately he achieved the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army before deciding to retire to pursue a career in the private sector, serving as an executive in technology roles at Times Mirror and International Network Services. Prior to joining Comcast, Fore served as a Regional Vice President at Lucent Technologies, where he oversaw technical support services.
In making the announcement, White stated, “Hank’s leadership skills and innovation are a perfect match for the dynamic Oregon/SW Washington market, and his customer focus will deliver great results in all aspects of the business.”
Fore earned a bachelor’s degree in Engineering from West Point and a master’s degree in Computer Science and Engineering from the Naval Post Graduate School in Monterey, California.
Pictured: Hank Fore, Regional Vice President, Comcast Oregon/SW Washington. (PRNewsFoto/Comcast Corporation).
Comcast Corporation, one of the nation’s leading provider of entertainment, information and communications services, has promoted Hank Fore to Regional Vice President of the Oregon/SW Washington region. Fore will report directly to Comcast West Division President Steve White and will oversee all aspects of Comcast’s video, high-speed Internet and telephone operations from Longview, WA to Eugene, OR, serving more than 600,000 customers and managing about 2,100 employees. Fore begins his new role immediately and will be based in the company’s Beaverton, Oregon office.
Fore joins Oregon from Comcast’s East Bay Area market in California, where he most recently served as Area Vice President. In this position, he held management responsibilities for about 500,000 customers and 1,100 employees. Under Fore’s leadership, he immediately focused on improving the customer experience, dramatically improving the local technical operations metrics, including on time arrival of technicians and repeat trouble calls. He successfully launched a number of advanced services to his customers, adding Comcast Digital Voice, expanding HD and VOD options, and increasing high-speed internet speeds. In addition, Fore’s employees helped vote Comcast as a “Best Place to Work” for three consecutive years in The San Francisco Business Times, East Bay Business Times and the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal.
“I’m honored to join such a customer-focused and technologically innovative team,” Fore said. “I look forward to working with Comcast’s outstanding employees in Oregon & Southwest Washington to further improve Comcast’s relationship with our customers, and bring them even more exciting technologies and entertainment.”
Fore is a West Point graduate and began his distinguished career with the United States Armed Forces, holding numerous positions. Ultimately he achieved the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army before deciding to retire to pursue a career in the private sector, serving as an executive in technology roles at Times Mirror and International Network Services. Prior to joining Comcast, Fore served as a Regional Vice President at Lucent Technologies, where he oversaw technical support services.
In making the announcement, White stated, “Hank’s leadership skills and innovation are a perfect match for the dynamic Oregon/SW Washington market, and his customer focus will deliver great results in all aspects of the business.”
Fore earned a bachelor’s degree in Engineering from West Point and a master’s degree in Computer Science and Engineering from the Naval Post Graduate School in Monterey, California.
Pictured: Hank Fore, Regional Vice President, Comcast Oregon/SW Washington. (PRNewsFoto/Comcast Corporation).
- A FEW HOT LINKS:
- Need A Used Car: Great Used Cars (Click Here Now)
- check out some Funny Videos here: http://FunnyBlackFolks.com
- check out some Hot Music Videos: http://www.BlackMusicVids.com
- check out the Black People Think Page: Black People Think Page
Poll: Feeling of progress rises among African Americans
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Despite being hit especially hard by the bad economy, job losses and the high rate of foreclosures, African Americans' assessment of race relations and prospects for the future has surged more dramatically during the past two years than at any time in the past quarter-century, according to a new poll.
In a survey of American racial attitudes released Tuesday, researchers reported that the feeling of progress is driven in large part by the election of President Obama, along with a greater sense of local community satisfaction and a more positive outlook. The majority of African Americans say they are better off now than they were five years ago.
"These are dramatic findings," said Andrew Kohut, president of the Pew Research Center, which conducted the study. "We expected that there may be an Obama effect, and it was really quite dramatic -- which isn't to say that this era as measured in this survey means that all is fine between blacks and whites."
Large majorities of blacks continue to say that the country needs to make more changes and that the problems rooted in the country's history of slavery and segregation haven't disappeared. But there are many indications that African Americans feel there has been significant advancement.
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Thirty-nine percent of blacks -- nearly twice as many as in 2007 -- say that the "situation of black people in this country" is better than it was five years earlier. That view holds among blacks of all age groups and income levels. Similarly, 56 percent of blacks and nearly two-thirds of whites say the standard-of-living gap between whites and blacks has narrowed in the past decade. Still, when asked about the problems facing black families, a majority said there were not enough jobs and there were too many problems with drugs and alcoholism, crime and poor public education.
The 112-page report is based on a telephone survey conducted in November among a nationally representative sample of 2,884 adults, including 812 African Americans. Pollsters attempted to root out Obama's role in the changed attitudes and also look at the role race has played in how he is viewed.
For example, about half of voters interviewed by Pew just after the 2008 election said they expected that Obama's election would lead to improved race relations, but fewer people today think it has. Among all adults, 36 percent now say the election made race relations better, while 13 percent said it made them worse and 43 percent say it has made no difference.
A majority of the African Americans who responded to the survey said they believe Obama's election has improved race relations, although that number too has shrunk since the heady days just after the election. Fifty-four percent of blacks say Obama being in the White House has helped, compared with 74 percent who believed it would help a year ago. Thirty-two percent of whites and 42 percent of Hispanics think race relations have improved since the election.
It is possible that the high expectations for racial conciliation did not hold in part because the first year of Obama's presidency has unearthed both racial frictions and difficult conversations that might otherwise have gone unspoken. One example is this week's revelation of a private exchange between Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) and the authors of the new book "Game Changer," where the senator spoke well of Obama's chances for election because he was "light-skinned" and had no "Negro dialect." Reid apologized. Obama accepted the apology. Both of their responses were parsed in the media, dissected on blogs and discussed among friends and colleagues.
The online conversation reflects the view in the Pew survey that the broadly held hope for racial unity felt during the campaign has begun to fade.
Don Scoggins, president of Republicans for Black Empowerment, asked, "Where do we go from here?" on the blog Booker Rising. "Skin color aside, which within the Black community has perennially been a controversial topic, Senator Reid's apology . . . only confirms the unsaid feeling among many liberals who think they own everything related to civil rights and that the black community should be forever grateful yet [they] appear incredulous that an African American can speak proper English and actually embody what are regarded as white attributes even better than some of 'them'. "
Jill Tubman, a blogger on the liberal African American political site Jack and Jill Politics, said Reid's comments won't get a full airing because it is not a topic Obama wants to discuss. "I don't know what serenity prayer Obama says each day or what zen meditation allows him to breathe deeply with confronted with this kind of thing but he's going to need to share it with the rest of us African-Americans if he expects us to go along to get along like he does," wrote Tubman, who pronounced herself "deeply disappointed" by Reid.
As for Obama himself, the Pew survey found little to indicate that most Americans see race dominating the first year of his presidency. Only 13 percent of whites said Obama is paying too much attention to the concerns of blacks, and most blacks said Obama was paying the right amount of attention to their concerns. The president also remains personally popular with 65 percent of Americans, even though his job approval ratings have declined during his first year in office.
Still, support for Obama among African Americans is even higher: 95 percent view him favorably. Among whites, 56 percent have a favorable view of the president and 38 percent of whites say their opinion of him is unfavorable, including 21 percent with a very unfavorable view. Last year at this time, 76 percent of whites gave Obama positive ratings. Pew's study attributed Obama's downward slide among whites to partisanship. Among white Democrats, nearly nine in 10 have a favorable view of Obama.
Whites with racially intolerant views -- which are measured by their answers to questions about interracial marriages and perceptions about racial discrimination and other factors -- have a much more negative opinion of Obama than do other whites, Kohut said. But, the study also found that a number of whites with more tolerant views on race have an unfavorable opinion of the president.
"If you look at the downward trend in Obama's approval ratings, there's no sense that this has been driven by the issue of race," Kohut said. "The people who had trouble with his race didn't vote for him and were disapproving of him from the get-go and the broader trend of disapproval has occurred among a wider spectrum of people with regard to racial attitudes. Many of the people who are critical of him have liberal racial views."
The study also found that Americans tend to construct their own view of the president's race based on their backgrounds. In response to a question about Obama's racial identity, 55 percent of black respondents said Obama is black, while about a third said he is mixed race. Among whites, the pattern reversed. Fifty-three percent said he is mixed race, while just a quarter said he is black. Hispanics were even more inclined than whites to see him as mixed race; 61 percent identified him that way.
Despite being hit especially hard by the bad economy, job losses and the high rate of foreclosures, African Americans' assessment of race relations and prospects for the future has surged more dramatically during the past two years than at any time in the past quarter-century, according to a new poll.
In a survey of American racial attitudes released Tuesday, researchers reported that the feeling of progress is driven in large part by the election of President Obama, along with a greater sense of local community satisfaction and a more positive outlook. The majority of African Americans say they are better off now than they were five years ago.
"These are dramatic findings," said Andrew Kohut, president of the Pew Research Center, which conducted the study. "We expected that there may be an Obama effect, and it was really quite dramatic -- which isn't to say that this era as measured in this survey means that all is fine between blacks and whites."
Large majorities of blacks continue to say that the country needs to make more changes and that the problems rooted in the country's history of slavery and segregation haven't disappeared. But there are many indications that African Americans feel there has been significant advancement.
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Thirty-nine percent of blacks -- nearly twice as many as in 2007 -- say that the "situation of black people in this country" is better than it was five years earlier. That view holds among blacks of all age groups and income levels. Similarly, 56 percent of blacks and nearly two-thirds of whites say the standard-of-living gap between whites and blacks has narrowed in the past decade. Still, when asked about the problems facing black families, a majority said there were not enough jobs and there were too many problems with drugs and alcoholism, crime and poor public education.
The 112-page report is based on a telephone survey conducted in November among a nationally representative sample of 2,884 adults, including 812 African Americans. Pollsters attempted to root out Obama's role in the changed attitudes and also look at the role race has played in how he is viewed.
For example, about half of voters interviewed by Pew just after the 2008 election said they expected that Obama's election would lead to improved race relations, but fewer people today think it has. Among all adults, 36 percent now say the election made race relations better, while 13 percent said it made them worse and 43 percent say it has made no difference.
A majority of the African Americans who responded to the survey said they believe Obama's election has improved race relations, although that number too has shrunk since the heady days just after the election. Fifty-four percent of blacks say Obama being in the White House has helped, compared with 74 percent who believed it would help a year ago. Thirty-two percent of whites and 42 percent of Hispanics think race relations have improved since the election.
It is possible that the high expectations for racial conciliation did not hold in part because the first year of Obama's presidency has unearthed both racial frictions and difficult conversations that might otherwise have gone unspoken. One example is this week's revelation of a private exchange between Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) and the authors of the new book "Game Changer," where the senator spoke well of Obama's chances for election because he was "light-skinned" and had no "Negro dialect." Reid apologized. Obama accepted the apology. Both of their responses were parsed in the media, dissected on blogs and discussed among friends and colleagues.
The online conversation reflects the view in the Pew survey that the broadly held hope for racial unity felt during the campaign has begun to fade.
Don Scoggins, president of Republicans for Black Empowerment, asked, "Where do we go from here?" on the blog Booker Rising. "Skin color aside, which within the Black community has perennially been a controversial topic, Senator Reid's apology . . . only confirms the unsaid feeling among many liberals who think they own everything related to civil rights and that the black community should be forever grateful yet [they] appear incredulous that an African American can speak proper English and actually embody what are regarded as white attributes even better than some of 'them'. "
Jill Tubman, a blogger on the liberal African American political site Jack and Jill Politics, said Reid's comments won't get a full airing because it is not a topic Obama wants to discuss. "I don't know what serenity prayer Obama says each day or what zen meditation allows him to breathe deeply with confronted with this kind of thing but he's going to need to share it with the rest of us African-Americans if he expects us to go along to get along like he does," wrote Tubman, who pronounced herself "deeply disappointed" by Reid.
As for Obama himself, the Pew survey found little to indicate that most Americans see race dominating the first year of his presidency. Only 13 percent of whites said Obama is paying too much attention to the concerns of blacks, and most blacks said Obama was paying the right amount of attention to their concerns. The president also remains personally popular with 65 percent of Americans, even though his job approval ratings have declined during his first year in office.
Still, support for Obama among African Americans is even higher: 95 percent view him favorably. Among whites, 56 percent have a favorable view of the president and 38 percent of whites say their opinion of him is unfavorable, including 21 percent with a very unfavorable view. Last year at this time, 76 percent of whites gave Obama positive ratings. Pew's study attributed Obama's downward slide among whites to partisanship. Among white Democrats, nearly nine in 10 have a favorable view of Obama.
Whites with racially intolerant views -- which are measured by their answers to questions about interracial marriages and perceptions about racial discrimination and other factors -- have a much more negative opinion of Obama than do other whites, Kohut said. But, the study also found that a number of whites with more tolerant views on race have an unfavorable opinion of the president.
"If you look at the downward trend in Obama's approval ratings, there's no sense that this has been driven by the issue of race," Kohut said. "The people who had trouble with his race didn't vote for him and were disapproving of him from the get-go and the broader trend of disapproval has occurred among a wider spectrum of people with regard to racial attitudes. Many of the people who are critical of him have liberal racial views."
The study also found that Americans tend to construct their own view of the president's race based on their backgrounds. In response to a question about Obama's racial identity, 55 percent of black respondents said Obama is black, while about a third said he is mixed race. Among whites, the pattern reversed. Fifty-three percent said he is mixed race, while just a quarter said he is black. Hispanics were even more inclined than whites to see him as mixed race; 61 percent identified him that way.
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Haiti earthquake survivors face outbreaks of diarrhea, measles and malaria
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The survivors of the earthquake in Haiti face deadly outbreaks of diarrhea, measles and malaria after the country’s already fragile clean water and health-care systems were destroyed.
Health officials say that even before the bodies of the dead have been removed from the rubble, it is important in the coming few days that massive containers of water be set up throughout the capital of Port-au-Prince.
In addition to this several temporary treatment centers need to be set up along with tons of antibiotics and basic medical supplies delivered.
Haiti has been suffering from high rates of malnutrition and lack of access to health services in the Western Hemisphere, as per the World Health Organization (WHO).
The health infrastructure has not been spared by this crisis for aid workers to build upon. Thomas Kirsch, director of operations at John Hopkins School of Medicine’s department of emergency medicine in Baltimore, said that the disease outbreaks could be worse than in the aftermaths of comparable natural disasters.
Margaret Aguirre, a spokeswoman for the emergency response team of International Medical Corp., said “The health system has been eliminated, water and sanitation entirely knocked out. The chance of them recovering even to the low level that they were before is almost zero.”
The survivors of the earthquake in Haiti face deadly outbreaks of diarrhea, measles and malaria after the country’s already fragile clean water and health-care systems were destroyed.
Health officials say that even before the bodies of the dead have been removed from the rubble, it is important in the coming few days that massive containers of water be set up throughout the capital of Port-au-Prince.
In addition to this several temporary treatment centers need to be set up along with tons of antibiotics and basic medical supplies delivered.
Haiti has been suffering from high rates of malnutrition and lack of access to health services in the Western Hemisphere, as per the World Health Organization (WHO).
The health infrastructure has not been spared by this crisis for aid workers to build upon. Thomas Kirsch, director of operations at John Hopkins School of Medicine’s department of emergency medicine in Baltimore, said that the disease outbreaks could be worse than in the aftermaths of comparable natural disasters.
Margaret Aguirre, a spokeswoman for the emergency response team of International Medical Corp., said “The health system has been eliminated, water and sanitation entirely knocked out. The chance of them recovering even to the low level that they were before is almost zero.”
- A FEW HOT LINKS:
- Need A Used Car: Great Used Cars (Click Here Now)
- check out the Big Booty Women Page: http://FaceBook.com/BigBootyWomen
- check out some Funny Videos here: http://FunnyBlackFolks.com
- check out some Hot Music Videos: http://www.BlackMusicVids.com
- check out the Black People Think Page: Black People Think Page
Rapper Mystikal Released From Prison
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January 16, 2010
After six years in prison on a sexual battery and extortion charge, Mystikal has been released and is home. The rapper, whose career reached the mainstream with his hit “Shake Ya Ass,” phoned in to Louisiana radio station Q93 and spoke with jock Wild Wayne.
“My feet back is on the ground,” Mystikal exclaimed. “It’s been a long time.” He said he was on his way to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to see his family.
Mystikal (real name: Michael Tyler) was sentenced to six years in prison in January of 2004. He was arrested in July of 2002 along with two of his bodyguards for threatening to turn his former hairstylist in to police for cashing $80,000 worth of unauthorized checks from his bank account. The stylist said that she was forced to have sex with all three men in exchange for their silence. As part of a plea bargain, all three pleaded guilty. Under the terms of the agreement, Mystikal has five years of probation upon his release and has to be registered as a sex offender in Louisiana.
January 16, 2010
After six years in prison on a sexual battery and extortion charge, Mystikal has been released and is home. The rapper, whose career reached the mainstream with his hit “Shake Ya Ass,” phoned in to Louisiana radio station Q93 and spoke with jock Wild Wayne.
“My feet back is on the ground,” Mystikal exclaimed. “It’s been a long time.” He said he was on his way to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to see his family.
Mystikal (real name: Michael Tyler) was sentenced to six years in prison in January of 2004. He was arrested in July of 2002 along with two of his bodyguards for threatening to turn his former hairstylist in to police for cashing $80,000 worth of unauthorized checks from his bank account. The stylist said that she was forced to have sex with all three men in exchange for their silence. As part of a plea bargain, all three pleaded guilty. Under the terms of the agreement, Mystikal has five years of probation upon his release and has to be registered as a sex offender in Louisiana.
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- check out the Big Booty Women Page: http://FaceBook.com/BigBootyWomen
- check out some Funny Videos here: http://FunnyBlackFolks.com
- check out some Hot Music Videos: http://www.BlackMusicVids.com
- check out the Black People Think Page: Black People Think Page
Monday, January 18, 2010
Words From A Black Woman Fan (Ciara Green)
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Ciara Green:
"@BLACK WOMEN People live in boxes and get easily offended when they see others trying to explore things outside of the box....you know like the real live ignorance and nonsense that goes on in the world....and for someone anyone to call you ignorant for posting the things that other people do just makes them look like closed minded asses. How do ... See Morepeople expect things to be brought to their attention if its not put in their face? Yet they have the audacity to cop a tude and turn their head because in reality they don't want to know so that way they can cling to the huge piece of IGNORANCE in their life.......I digress"
Ciara Green:
"@BLACK WOMEN People live in boxes and get easily offended when they see others trying to explore things outside of the box....you know like the real live ignorance and nonsense that goes on in the world....and for someone anyone to call you ignorant for posting the things that other people do just makes them look like closed minded asses. How do ... See Morepeople expect things to be brought to their attention if its not put in their face? Yet they have the audacity to cop a tude and turn their head because in reality they don't want to know so that way they can cling to the huge piece of IGNORANCE in their life.......I digress"
- A FEW HOT LINKS:
- Need A Used Car: Great Used Cars (Click Here Now)
- check out the Big Booty Women Page: http://FaceBook.com/BigBootyWomen
- check out some Funny Videos here: http://FunnyBlackFolks.com
- check out some Hot Music Videos: http://www.BlackMusicVids.com
- check out the Black People Think Page: Black People Think Page
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Martin Luther King, Jr's "I HAVE A DREAM" Speech
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- Need A Used Car: Great Used Cars (Click Here Now)
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Thursday, January 14, 2010
Shaking My Head (LoL) WTF!!!!
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CLICK EACH THUMBNAIL TO ENLARGE:
- A FEW HOT LINKS:
- Need A Used Car: Great Used Cars (Click Here Now)
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- check out some Funny Videos here: http://FunnyBlackFolks.com
- check out some Hot Music Videos: http://www.BlackMusicVids.com
- check out the Black People Think Page: Black People Think Page
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