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Michael Joseph Jackson - World's Greatest Entertainer And Humanitarian Gone At 50! .... Barack Hussein Obama... Nation's 1st Black President... Haki Madhubuti's "The Covenant With Black America"...No. 6 on the New York Times list of best-selling paperback nonfiction.   An Inconvenient Truth - Trailer...Focus on Global Warming... The most terrifying movie of the summer. You owe it to the planet to see the truth. Pledge to see An Inconvenient Truth opening weekend. In theaters: May 24 - New York and Los Angeles June 2 - Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver, Washington D.C. June 9 - Atlanta, Detroit, Houston, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Denver, Sacramento, St. Louis, San Diego, Miami, Baltimore, Portland June 16 - in theaters everywhere       Plight Deepens for Black Men, Studies Warn       Kanye Shakes Up The System Again with Controversial Photo...       Black Woman Wrote The Matrix And Terminator, And Wins And Wins Law Suit! New York Judge Dismisses Case!(Stories Below) Rapper KANYE WEST and singers MARY J BLIGE, CHRIS BROWN and JAMIE FOXX were the bigger winners at the Black Entertainment Television (BET) Awards on Tuesday night (27JUN06). West and his pal Foxx picked up Best Duet/Collaboration for their mega hit GOLD DIGGER, and tied for Video Of The Year with Blige's promo for BE WITHOUT YOU. R+B star Blige also picked up the accolade for Best Female R+B at the star-studded ceremony in Los Angeles' Shrine Auditorium. Accepting one of his trophies, West said, "Y'all are stepping up black music. This is the best music right here, and we've got to keep on giving it to them like that." Teen star Brown was named Best New Artist and Viewers' Choice for YO (EXCUSE ME MISS). Meanwhile, CHAKA KHAN and HARRY BELAFONTE were honoured with Lifetime Achievement and Humanitarian Awards respectively. The full list of winners are: BET J Cool Like That - ANTHONY HAMILTON Best Female Hip Hop - MISSY ELLIOTT Best New Artist - CHRIS BROWN Best Male Athlete - LeBRON JAMES Best Male R+B - PRINCE Best Male Hip Hop - T.I. Best Female R+B - MARY J BLIGE Best Duet/Collaboration - KANYE WEST featuring JAMIE FOXX, GOLD DIGGER Best Gospel Artist - KIRK FRANKLIN Lifetime Achievement Award - CHAKA KHAN Humanitarian Award - HARRY BELAFONTE Viewer's Choice - CHRIS BROWN, YO (EXCUSE ME MISS) Video of the Year - MARY J BLIGE, BE WITHOUT YOU and KANYE WEST featuring JAMIE FOXX, GOLD DIGGER
table test
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A War For Your Soul-Birmingham version from Erisai Films on Vimeo.
EVCS Technologies, Incorporated
Environmentally Conscious Solutions
21st Century Building Materials
WWW.EVCS.INFO
2850 North Nellis Blvd.,
Las Vegas, NV 89115
(702) 644-0149 Plant (702) 836-9978 Fax
“A Cleaner Planet”
Contact: Krystal Webb
March 23, 2007
708-288-3336
Members of “TEAM NEW ORLEANS”, “on the ground” in Louisiana.

Press Release
Historic Post-Katrina/ Redevelopment
3-Day Conference Held by
Team New Orleans

On August 18, 2006, a group of business people flew to New Orleans, Louisiana to meet and tour the devastated 9th Ward and surrounding areas of New Orleans with Council Member Cynthia Willard-Lewis. This delegation was headed up by the International Humanitarian Ambassador Oscar J. Webb, Chairman of Worldwide Energy. On March 2, 2007,

Team New Orleans returned, headed up by Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC) Professionals, Dan Longworth of EVCS Technologies, Inc., of Las Vegas, NV, and William F. Lott of Triple L Mgt. Corp, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and held a three day Post-Katrina Redevelopment Conference which was chaired by Ambassador Webb. Ambassador Webb stated to the many attendees: “It took seven months to formulate and create Team New Orleans, which is focused on bringing hurricane-proof green buildings and ‘green energy’ to New Orleans.” Team New Orleans development members currently consist of bankers, lawyers, contractors and experts in all facets of construction, including Mr. Bobby Taylor (Waymakers Inc; Atlanta, GA), Atty. Terris C. Harris (Harris Companies; Mississippi), Don Terry Veal (Veal Global; Alabama), Russ Young (Young and Associates; Mississippi), Lernie C. Jones (J&J Construction; Chicago, IL). In attendance were Steve Williams and Ron Lott of Triple L Construction (Louisiana), Kevin Veal of Veal Global (Louisiana), and Mr. Irvin Robins representing the Louisiana Chapter of The National Association of Minority Contractors (NAMC).
Breakout sessions focused on Housing for the Elderly and Senior Citizens.

The New Orleans redevelopment overview was presented by Elder Joseph Roberts, Executive Director of Regional Neighborhood Community Development Corporation. Joining in the meeting, by way of conference call from Germany, was Dr. Klaus E. Bohnemann of WEHRHAHN, the Engineers of over 90 AAC Production Plants around the world. Dr. Bohnemann has agreed to bring WEHRHAHN’s expertise to build AAC Plants in the Louisiana/Mississippi and the Las Vegas, Nevada area. There are over four hundred AAC Plants in countries around the world which meet all ICC Code Approvals, but only five in the entire U.S. Mr. Longworth, accompanied by Dr. Bohnemann, conducted extensive on-site evaluations of the Las Vegas area and its booming building market in January, 2007. Besides being built to new hurricane-proof standards, Mr. Longworth stated: “These AAC Homes will also be mold-proof, fire-proof, termite-proof, earthquake-proof, energy smart and affordable.”

Meetings were designed to bring a practical, proven (75 years), “green building strategy” to the entire New Orleans/Gulf Coast redevelopment process. Mr. Longworth, CEO of EVCS Technologies stated: “Our solution-oriented business know-how is the synthesis of over 200 years of experience in the construction and energy industry.” Team New Orleans has an immediate emphasis on creating economic development and employment opportunities, while focusing on residential rebuilding, assisted living projects and housing for the elderly. Team New Orleans has set up offices on Perris Rd., New Orleans, and will be reaching out for all home owners, developers, CDC’s, church organizations and concerned citizens to help rebuild New Orleans and the entire Gulf Region. Team New Orleans plans on modeling its New Orleans strategy in other U.S. cities, particularly those with the same lack of safe, energy smart, affordable housing. Typical condition of local housing…..18 Months after Katrina.
Ambassador Oscar J. Webb in the lower 9th Ward.



IIT To Offer Full SCholarships To CPS Graduates School Is Third Chicago Institution to Offer Aid

At podium, Rufus Williams President of the Chicago Board of Education made the following statement: (Photo credit: www.bronzevilleonline.com)

"The fact that more local universities are entering into these kinds of partnerships with us shows that they recognize that an investment in our students is an investment in the future of the city of Chicago. They see local talent, and they want to be part of developing it to its fullest potential.

That's what education is all about, and that's the example Mayor Daley has tried to set--that education in the city of Chicago takes a collaborative effort from everyone. Science and technology are the keys to the future, and the Illinois Institute of Technology has long been an outstanding university for students to develop their skills in those areas.

Therefore, it's only natural they would reach out to deserving students in their own backyard to help forge a brighter future for everyone. We'd like to thank IIT for their generosity and their commitment to the city and the children of Chicago, and hope that their example leads even more universities to follow suit."  
GERALD LEVERT: Dead At 40
By Karu F. Daniels, AOL Black Voices

Sources confirmed to The BV Newswire that Gerald Levert is dead of an apparent heart attack.
Immediate details on the death of the beloved R&B crooner were not known at press time. He turned 40 years old in July.

One of several from the musical Levert family --his father, Eddie Levert, is the lead singer of the legendary soul group The O'Jays -- he was a founding member and the lead singer of the 1990's R&B trio LeVert, who scored big hits with "Pop, Pop, Pop, Pop (Goes My Mind)", "Casanova", and "ABC-123." Levert, born in Cleveland, Ohio, was also apart of R&B supergroup LSG, comprised of platinum selling R&B crooners Keith Sweat and Johnny Gill. As a solo artist, Levert garnered a cult following with a string of R&B ballads ("I'd Give Anything (to Fall in Love)", "You Got That Love") from his numerous album projects on East West/Elektra Records.

"I'm stunned and deeply saddened by the news of Gerald Levert's passing," Universal Motown Records President Sylvia Rhone said in a statement released to Black Voices today. The Harlem native, who is regarded as the highest ranking woman in the music business, shepherded Levert's career from its early days (where she served as a top ranking radio promotion executive at Atlantic Records). Rhone was instrumental with Levert's burgeoning solo career and oversaw the production of his albums and his marketing. "He was a brother to me; a trusted confidante, a loyal friend, a real soul mate. But most importantly, he was a loving son and father who blessed us with his indelible musical presence and leaves us with so many wonderful lifelong memories."

Over the years, the vocal powerhouse has collaborated with Patti LaBelle, Miki Howard, Kelly Price, Teena Marie, Chris Rock and with his father on many different occasions.
 



 
Inspiring Threads launches in Hip North Side Boutique just in time for the Holidays
P3 Clothing Launches at Kreative Souls Boutique
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 20th 2006
Contact: Tiffany Tapley
tiffany@p3clothing.net
708.359.6830
LaShonda J Matlock
lashonda.matlock@gmail.com
520.509.2175
(Chicago) P3 (Pursue Purpose Passionately) Clothing announced today the launch of its inspiring and hip clothing at Kreative Souls Boutique on Saturday, December 2nd at 3744 N. Broadway, Chicago from 3 p.m. – 7 p.m. This will give loyal online customers the chance to check out some of the new items from P3 Clothing as well as meet the designer, Tiffany Tapley.

After working in corporate America for five years, designer, Tiffany Tapley saw a need to encourage others to pursue their purpose passionately. So she followed her heart and started P3 Clothing, after entering the ARISE business competition with Idella Coleman in 2004. As a top 10 finalist, P3 Clothing scored big nationally by creating a clothing line encouraging others to “Do What U Love,” (P3) “Pursue Purpose Passionately” and “Love Life!” Tapley says, “I want people to have the courage to be bold and follow their dreams.”

P3’s empowering messages such as “Fear Kills” and “Future C.E.O” has launched a campaign for purpose. Once only available online, P3 is now joining forces with the eclectic hip boutique, Kreative Souls located at 3744 N. Broadway, Owner Pilar carries artists with a unique twist to their designs. “I was looking specifically for a boutique that shared the same values of inspiration and empowerment and Kreative Souls is the perfect fit to launch P3’s line of inspirational tees. We both have a passion for promoting others doing what they love and we’re so excited about this opportunity to work together,” says Tapley. P3 is quickly joining the ranks of other emerging Chicago-area designers and generating an international following with customers from NY, CA and in the UK.

Chicago Sun-Times, N’Digo, and YMIB Magazine have all recognized P3’s positive influence on young women. The inspirational clothing line has also been featured at Chicago's Historic Goodman Theatre, Chicago Antique Market, GENART SHOPCHICAGO.

Join P3 Clothing and Kreative Souls Boutique on Saturday, December 2nd, 2006 at 3744 N. Broadway from 3-7pm as we celebrate the launch of P3 Clothing with great music, complimentary wine and appetizers and a chance to meet the designer, Tiffany Tapley.  
  First Look: COLOR OF THE CROSS
Release Date: October 27, 2006 ( in Atlanta, Washington DC, Baltimore, St. Louis, Memphis, Detroit)

Starting November 10th, the film will be released in the following additional markets: Cleveland, Houston, Chicago, Jackson, MS, Dallas, Birmingham, Norfolk, Little Rock, Kansas City, New York, Los Angeles, Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, Columbia, SC

Distributor: Nu-Lite Entertainment
Director: Jean-Claude LaMarre
Producers: Rev. Cecil "Chip" Murray, Jesse Levostre, & Kenneth Halsband
Screenwriter: Jean-Claude LaMarre
Cast: Jean-Claude LaMarre, Debbi Morgan, Ananda Lewis

Synopsis: This movie examines the final 48 hours of Jesus Christ’s life before his capture at Mount Gethsemane. Jean-Claude LaMarre, an accomplished Haitian-American director/writer/actor, is directing the movie and also wrote the screenplay. Emmy winning actress Debbi Morgan (“Coach Carter,” “Woman Thou Art Loosed”) plays the role of Mary and TV personality/ Host Ananda Lewis (MTV, Entertainment Tonight).

By portraying Jesus as a black man, this movie may appear controversial to some. However, it stands to be the single most positive image of a black lead character in a film to date. This film will undeniably resonate in the hearts and minds of the black community and strike a cord of inspiration in the hearts of Christians of all ethnicities around the world. The film’s controversy lies in the portrayal of Jesus as a black Nazarene, persecuted because of his radical interpretation of the Torah.

“Color of the Cross” tells a story that is familiar to most. However, since Jesus is portrayed as a black man, this version of the story of Jesus can examine the role that race may have played in the persecution, capture, and crucifixion of Jesus. The movie addresses four areas: Jesus and his disciples, the state of mind of the Romans occupying Judea, the issues facing the Rabbis in the Sanhedrin, and the family life of Joseph, Mary and their remaining children as they were affected by Jesus' persecution.

The movie opens with Jesus and the disciples approaching Jerusalem for the Last Supper and the film unfolds with the events leading up to Jesus’ capture and crucifixion. This extensively researched film remains true to Biblical and historical facts.

Website: www.colorofthecross.com
Trailer: Click Here
Lt. Emily Perez  Lt Emily Perez
We are proud of her accomplishments and the representation she held for herself, family, our country and our race.

First Black West Point Commander Dies In Iraq
Sept. 27, 2006 –

The nation is mourning the death of Lt Emily Perez, 23, the first Black woman to serve as corps commander sergeant major at West Point.

Perez, who graduated in the top 10 percent of her class, out-ran many men, directed a gospel choir, read the Bible every day. She also headed a weekly convoy as it rolled down treacherous roads, packed with bombs and bullets near Najaf, Iraq.

As platoon leader, she insisted on leading her troops from the front. She died Sept. 12 when a bomb detonated near her Humvee in Kifl, south of Baghdad. Shortly before shipping out to Iraq with the 204th Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, she flew cross-country to be a bone marrow donor for a stranger who was a match.

She was the 64th woman from the U.S. military to be killed in Iraq or Afghanistan.


This was a small piece of the hot show that brought a wonderful
weekend of Rhythm to a close!Bril Barrett and Viola Elkins performing
"An Interpretation in Rhythm" at "Let Tha' Rhythm Hit 'Em"
The 2nd Annual Chicago Tap Summit

Greetings to all: This is a very graphic 15 minute video showing how the meat industry treats live stock before and during slaughter. For many of us, we will become more conscious of our eating habits as a result of seeing this film. However, I hope that many of you will consider adding more vegetarian dishes to your menus. They do include a few recipes.M.
Click on the link to view this shocking video. http://www.meat.org/ 
"A Remarkable Blind Teen" in the Fan.
Click on the link below to view this video. If the link doesn’t launch the video,
copy and paste the link into your browser’s address bar and hit enter.

www.comcast.net/providers/fan/popup.html?v=91685930
 
   Hear Me Project HIV/AIDS Story Writing Contest
Writing contest open to students age 14-22. Your story must be about personal vulnerability to HIV/AIDS, and can be either fiction or non-fiction. The characters in the story must be impacted by HIV/AIDS. Your story must be your original creation, and must not have been previously published.

All submissions must be up to 5 pages typed or neatly handwritten. Entries that are illegible will be disqualified. Typed entries are preferred.

Entrants’ stories will be judged by a panel of judges selected by the Sponsors, based on the following criteria: (a) originality, (b) writing style, and (c) aptness to subject.

Award Amount:
$2,500
Deadline:
December 1, 2006
Website/Contact Info: www.hearmeproject.org   
Dr. T. McCraney celibrates 5 years in practice Dr. McCraney Celebrating 5 years of Chiropractic Care September 11, 2006
September Marks 5 Year Anniversary For
McCraney Family Chiropractic Center!


Dr. Tanneia McCraney celebrates 5 years of Chiropractic care in her Oak Park office located at 6130 West Roosevelt.

This week McCraney Family Chiropractic is honoring their patients with a special
"Patient Appreciation Week" September 11 - 15th.

For more information on how you can reach your peak of optimal health,
contact Dr. T. McCraney at 708 445-7615.
Photos:©Al Brown & Associates  
 
Solestance 2006 Press Release
Contact: Jamie Horban July 26, 2006 847-220-2704 cell jahorban@aol.com www.solestance.bravehost.com
SoleStance Chicago 2006: Celebrating the many facets of dance Jazz dancers leaping for Frisbees! Hawaiian dancers summoning the ancient hula! Acrobats flipping through suspended fabric! Couples dueling in an Argentinean Tango! These are a few of the images presented in the seventh annual Solestance Dance Festival.

“It's our variety that makes us unique,” exclaims Jamie Horban, the show’s founder and producer. “No other dance festival in Chicago offers so many styles or ethnic groups on one program.” SoleStance 2006 features even more variety than it has in previous years: ballet, jazz, modern, tap, hip-hop, salsa, flamenco, acrobatics, Indian, Hawaiian, belly dance, Latin, ballroom, swing, gypsy, tango and Celtic.

This year, fifteen talented choreographers and groups from different locations in Chicago will be unified under one roof. As a result, the audience of SoleStance will experience sixteen different dance pieces representing an incredible variety in style and tone in the course of one night. Horban’s purpose is to create a lively, eclectic, one-of-a-kind show that both educates and entertains. “There is always something for everyone,” Ms. Horban comments.

In addition to providing the audience with a pleasurable viewing experience, SoleStance also has a loftier ideal. “Unifying the often segmented dance community has long been a goal of SoleStance,” comments Ms. Horban. The 30-year-old producer has made it her goal to help network artists in the Chicago community. “Collaboration is so very important, yet it is often difficult for dancers to locate each other.” Each year, all the dancers in SoleStance return to the stage for the final piece on the program: a collaborative effort between everyone involved in the show. “Imagine a dance piece that spans so many styles! It really is very exciting every year to see what emerges!” exclaims Ms. Horban.

Participating groups in 2006 include: Acrofabulous Circus (acrobatics), Elijah Gibson (Jazz), K-Theory Dance Productions (modern), Jamie Horban(ballet and jazz), Kupa’a-Pacific Island Resource Ancient Hula, Tiffany Lawson (Latin/modern), MADD Rythms (tap), Silvana Marzulo (belly dance), Natya Dance Theatre, Ramona Nita and Daniel Noce (Argentinean Tango), Stephanie Lynn Paul (hip-hop), Jennifer Sandoval (gypsy),Scooter Ball Club (swing), Soleo Flamenco Dance Company, Marieke Van Der Maelen (celtic)

SoleStance 2006 Dates: Friday, September 15, 8 p.m. Saturday, September 16, 8 p.m. Sunday, September 17, 7:00 p.m.

Location: Vittum Theater 1012 N. Noble Street Chicago, IL 60622
Tickets: $15
Vittum Theatre box office: 773-342-4141
Bril Barrett bril@brilbarrett.com www.brilbarrett.com 

Muntu's Artistic Leadership Returns From Salvador, Bahia, Brazil!
Muntu Completes First Trip of Cultural Exchange with Brazilian artist Rosangela Silvestre

Chicago, Illinois - Aug 22, 2006 (Chicago) – August 22, 2006

Artistic Director, Amaniyea Payne (far left), and the artistic staff (Idy Ciss, Clifton Robinson, Babu Atiba & Tosha Alston) of the Muntu Dance Theatre of Chicago returned from their journey to Salvador, Brazil as they completed a three-week cultural exchange and creative residency with Brazilian artist Rosangela Silvestre.

A native of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, Rosangela Silvestre is a master teacher who teaches all over the world. Her unique and powerful classes introduce students to the dances and rhythms of the Orixas.

According to Muntu President, Joan Gray, “The purpose of this residency is to examine the parallels in African American and Brazilian cultural expression from the perspective of their common African root. The aim of this investigation is to research and experience cultural retentions and to identify similarities and contrast with African American traditions and expression.”

The Cultural Exchange and Creative Residency



The artistic staff of Muntu worked with Ms. Silvestre, as well as studied with master musicians in the Orixa rhythms. Of particular interest to Muntu is the evolution of social dances especially those of young Brazilians, and how these dances also reflect cultural retentions.

In 2007 Ms. Silvestre (center, photo on right) will travel to Chicago to continue the cultural exchange and to set a new work on the company.






The new work will encompass the collective work done by Ms. Silvestre and the Muntu artistic staff during the Brazilian Cultural Exchange.

Muntu’s Brazilian Cultural Exchange is supported by the Illinois Arts Council’s Governor’s International Arts Exchange Program.
About Muntu Dance Theatre of Chicago
The largest African dance company outside of Africa, the Muntu (means "the essence of humanity” in Bantu language) Dance Theatre of Chicago performs authentic dances from various cultures throughout the African continent and the Americas.

In addition to performances, Muntu provides education and community- based programs, touching the lives of over 300 students each week.
Website: http://www.muntu.com
Muntu Dance Theatre of Chicago
Lynn Stevenson
email: thetalkingdrum@muntu.com 773.602.1135



 
Immediate Press Release
August 7, 2006   
HUMANITARIAN EMERGENCY AID FUND FOR OUR SISTER CITY TIBERIAS, ISRAEL
Contact Person: MS. Yael Eran Pinian
Director of Foreign Affairs Tiberias Municipality
Ph-011-972-4-6791981 E-hupshtar@bezeqint.net

Dear Sister City Partners, Friends, and Supporters,

On behalf of our dear friend Mayor Zohar Oved, The City Council and the people of the city of Tiberias, I am writing you asking for your support during this time of need. Mayor Zohar‘s office has kept me abreast weekly of the ongoing emergency warnings that the city is undertaking. His office has also informed me that the city is in need of emergency equipment for the bomb shelters and services for the municipality.

Supplies needed are: Lighting equipment, Mattresses, Ventilators, Air Conditioners, Bottled water, Distribution of Food Rations and the list goes on. To that end, so that we can make a swift response to this emergency aid request, I am asking for your support at this time of need. Please forward your monetary donation no matter how large or small to the contact information below:

If you are sending a check, it should be made payable to “ Tiberias Municipality”

The mailing address is: Tiberias Municipality, Tabur Haarez St. P.O. Box 508, Zip code 14105, Tiberias, Israel Care of Councilman Eitan Oved

In case you choose to transfer the donation, here are the necessary bank account details:

Acct. name: Tiberias Municipality Contact person:
Ofir Oren- Treasurer
Bank name: Bank HaMizrahi Branch name & # Tiberias branch no. 62
Account no. 405012 International transfer code: MIZBILIT

Please email this Humanitarian Emergency Aid request to our friends. Also please see attached photos of various scenes from the past week in Tiberias. On behalf of Mayor Oved and our sister city of Tiberias, on the Sea of Galilee, I thank you in advance for your generous support.
Sincerely,
Ambassador of Goodwill for the State of Israel
Oscar J. Webb Shalom, Shalom
E-mail: worldwidewebb2003@yahoo.com
International cell: 708-288-3336
  



By Thomas Ferraro
Thu May 18, 6:31 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Al Gore brushes aside talk of another run for the U.S. presidency and wages a new campaign to protect the Earth that he says must be won.
The former Democratic vice president sounds the alarm as a citizen activist armed with his old slide show turned into a Hollywood movie about the threat of global warming. "We face a planetary emergency," Gore told Reuters in advance of next week's opening in U.S. theaters of his critically acclaimed documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth." It makes the case for the need to reduce carbon dioxide emissions linked to climate change. "My whole objective here is to try to move the country past a tipping point, beyond which politicians in both parties compete with each other for genuinely meaningful solutions ... and to change the minds of the American people to the point where people in both parties demand action," he said. "The habitability of the planet should be lifted out of the political context because so much is at stake," Gore said.

At a special showing in Washington on Wednesday night that drew members of the U.S. Congress, Gore said, "This should be a priority of the U.S. House and Senate." "It's a powerful movie," Democratic Sen. Christopher Dodd (news, bio, voting record) of Connecticut said afterward. "If enough people see it, it could move Congress." Having narrowly lost the 2000 presidential election to Republican George W. Bush, Gore faces new speculation because of the movie he may make another White House bid. "I have no plans to run for president again," Gore said. "I have found other ways to serve and I'm enjoying them." Gore has been hailed as an articulate innovator and mocked as a boring exaggerator. His movie blends the story of his life with a downright scary assessment of global warming. In it, Gore displays pictures, computer simulations and studies on the greenhouse effect that scientists worldwide contend is heating up Earth.

'THIS IS A MORAL ISSUE'

So-called greenhouse gases -- notably carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels -- trap heat around Earth like a blanket, contributing to global warming, scientists say. Global warming has been blamed for melting ice caps, rising sea levels, the spread of disease, more severe hurricanes and, with shifting weather patterns, increased floods and droughts. The United States is the world's biggest emitter of carbon dioxide, but efforts to get Congress to put mandatory caps on emissions have failed repeatedly. As vice president, Gore helped negotiate the Kyoto treaty on climate change that he noted 132 nations ratified. Bush rejected the pact to reduce emissions after taking office, sayings its caps would harm the U.S. economy and that the plan was unfair for excluding developing nations from a first period of reductions until 2012. Gore said he was encouraged by some recent developments, including some U.S. companies taking steps to cut emissions and more than 200 U.S. cities backing the Kyoto treaty and meeting the restrictions. Still some critics persist.

The Competitive Enterprise Institute, a conservative advocacy group that reflects the Bush administration's free-market approach, unveiled a TV ad campaign this week that denounced efforts to limit carbon dioxide emissions as unwarranted. Gore rejects such talk. He cites a broad consensus in the scientific community about the existence of global warming, and the widespread contention it needs to be curbed within the next decade before "we pass a point of no return." He said he had shown his slide show on global warming more than a thousand times in the past 30 years and began showing it again, more frequently, after the 2000 election. The movie grew out of one such showing in Los Angeles that attracted the attention of Hollywood producers. "They said they could take the message to many more people in a shorter period of time," Gore said. "This is a moral issue."


Troops in Iraq Express Stress on Rap
CD By SANDY COHEN, AP Entertainment Writer
Mon Apr 10, 4:07 PM ET

U.S. Marines Kisha Pollard, left, and Michael Watts pose for a photo at Camp Pendleton, Calif., Marine Base Tuesday, March 28, 2006. Pollard and Watts, are among a group of Marines that have recorded a rap album about Iraq titled 'Voices From the Frontline,' a CD that hits stores April 25. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi) Some American soldiers relieve wartime stress in the weight room. Some unwind over meals. Others immerse themselves in letters from loved ones. But for a dozen young fighters featured on a new CD, rap is the route to stress relief. "It's all a way of venting," says Marine Sgt. Kisha Pollard, 22, who left California's Camp Pendleton this month for a third tour in Iraq. "You're stressed and you can't be violent or do anything bad. Freestyling (rap) is a big relief, and everybody will come around and listen." Pollard and other amateur rappers serving in Iraq contributed their war-driven rhymes to "Voices From the Frontline," a CD that hits stores April 25. Some hope for music careers after finishing their military service. Others simply were seeking an outlet for their thoughts on fear, family and fighting abroad. "This ain't for a paycheck. This ain't for us to be known," Army Sgt. Christopher Tomlinson says on the CD's introduction. "This is for somebody to understand a soldier's life."

That's what Joel Spielman wanted to do when he came up with the "Voices From the Frontline" concept in 2004. Inspired by a documentary about soldiers' letters home, Spielman, president of punk label Crosscheck Records, wanted to create something similar in song. "My vision was to have it be an audio documentary," says Spielman, 33. "I wanted people to actually hear the voices of the soldiers." He posted a call for contributions on military message boards and called Army bases around the country. Frankie Mayo of Operation AC, a nonprofit group that provides care packages to military servicepeople overseas, responded. Her son, Tomlinson, won military talent shows with his poetic skills. With Tomlinson and Mayo's help, notice of Spielman's effort spread through the cyphers — rap wordplay circles — that spontaneously spring up at military camps in Iraq. There's ample rap talent in the war zone, says Tomlinson, who also goes by the name Prophet. Troops get together and create impromptu raps over beats played on laptop computers, CD players or Xbox consoles. Sometimes it's a competition, other times it's just to cope. "We rhyme for hours upon hours about anything and everything," Tomlinson says on the CD. "All your emotions can come out and everybody's equal. Ain't no ranks, ain't no sergeants or privates. Everybody's the exact same." He adds that he can express feelings in rhyme that he couldn't in conversation.

"Rap music became my diary," says the 24-year-old, who now works as a recruiter for the National Guard. "We've been given a gift to get to speak our voices for those that don't get a chance to." Pollard, whose rap name is Miss Flame, speaks for female fighters in her song "Girl at War." "I could get shot, too, just as well as a boy," she raps. "You look me up and down 'cause you're thinking I'm weak, until you see me in Iraq, patrolling the streets." Pollard, who joined the Marines at 19 because she "likes the uniform," started rapping in elementary school. She used to rhyme about "life and everything with growing up," she says. Now she focuses on her experiences in the Middle East, with the hope of educating listeners and improving her prospects for a career in music, modeling and acting. Marine Cpl. Michael Watts, Jr., who goes by the rap name Pyro, has been rhyming since he was 10. Back then, it was about "fancy cars, money and women," he says. Now it's all about Iraq. His songs help fill in what news reporters might leave out, Watts says. "They know what it's like to be in Iraq but they don't understand the brotherhood," the 21-year-old says. "I want everyone to understand what we go through over there. We have it so easy here in the USA."

Once the soldiers returned from Iraq, they each spent a day recording their songs at studios throughout the United States. Spielman says the best thing about the CD is its authenticity. "It's as real as it gets," he says, from the soldiers and their rhymes to the skits between songs. Dialogue and live sound from the war zone precede each of the CD's 12 tracks. "Voices" doesn't glorify violence and isn't sexist or political, Spielman says. "This CD is not anti-war and it's not pro-war," he says. "It's a journal from each of these individuals. There are some buoyant moments, but a lot of it is tragic and sad." Personal accounts of wartime experiences help counter negative depiction in the media, says Army spokesman Maj. Nathan Banks. Under the first amendment, he notes, troops are free to express themselves however they like. Still, Banks says the military isn't likely to endorse "Voices From the Frontline." "The wording is something we'd never support," he says, referring to the CD's plentiful profanities. "That's not the image we like to portray." Spielman says the CD will be carried by Army, Marine and Navy stores, as well as major retail outlets such as Tower Records and Wal Mart. Five percent of the proceeds from each CD will benefit Operation AC. Tomlinson says he's "proud" and "blessed" to be a part of "Voices From the Frontline." "I know America was wavering with what their standpoint on soldiers were," he says. "I feel like this CD gives the world a better perspective of what our life is like." ______
On the Net: http://www.voicesfromthefrontline.com

Hi, I just wanted to inform you that one of Uneek's songs, Hip Hop Muzik, is being released in London and is now being played in the U.K.. Uneek aka' Young Neezy'

It has been selected by a British station on Capital Disney Radio. If you would like to support Uneek, you can go to the web-site www.capitaldisney.com and scroll down to the bottom where it says request a song. Click on that, it will ask you for some minor information as to your name and address etc.. After completing this you may click on the arrow that states request this song.

You will then scroll down to his name and the title of the song (Uneek Hip Hop Muzik). Once you've selected your choice you should get a immediate response as to when you could expect to hear the song played.

We do thank you in advance for supporting Uneek in his career and if you would like any additional information or if you'd just like to add any comments please fill free to respond back to my e-mail. Loditatate@yahoo.com

Sincerely,
Lodita Tate & Uneek
Click on this link to request Uneek's Song Hip Hop Muzik www.capitaldisney.com
 


Coalition Sounds Off on Net Neutrality Legislation

Activist groups are speaking out against a Congressional bill that they say endangers Net neutrality. Bary Alyssa Johnson - PC Magazine Vint Serf, so-called "father" of the Internet, is among the big names and organizations that have come together to create the www.SavetheInternet.com Coalition, which hosted a national conference call today. Other members of the Coalition include Gun Owners of America, www.Craigslist.com, Public Knowledge, MoveOn.org, the American Library Association, Afro-Netizen.com, the Consumer Federation of America, the Consumers Union, and Free Press.

Today's conference call is one of the coalition's many campaign tactics to emphasize the importance of "Net neutrality," the concept of a free and open Internet. "The fight for Internet freedom is now being waged in earnest," said Tim Karr, campaign director for Free Press. "On one side you have the public and on the other side the nation's largest phone and cable companies looking to strip the Net of neutrality." The "fight" that Karr refers to, and the purpose of the Campaign, is to address what equates to a Congressional re-write of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, in a bid to update it to include Internet-related activities. "The last decade of Internet revolution has been marked by innovation, which was the consequence of the open and neutral access that the Internet has afforded until now," said Vint Serf, who serves as the chief Internet evangelist at Google, during the conference call. "Proposals coming from telcos and the cable companies, as exemplified in some of their legislation, destroys that neutrality."

The updated bill, dubbed "Communications Opportunity, Promotion and Enhancements Act of 2006" is sponsored by Representative and House Commerce Chairman Joe Barton (R-Texas), Representative and Chairman of Telecommunications and Internet Subcommittee Fred Upton (R-Mich.), Representative Charles Pickering (R-Miss.), and Representative Bobby Rush (D-Ill.). The bill is focused on video-franchise reform and was first introduced to Congress in late March 2006. It would, among other things, grant telcos and cable operators automatically renewing national franchises to deliver video services over the Internet, and would grant the FCC authority over Net neutrality-related issues. The CEA and US Telecom are among a number of groups showing public support for the bill. On the opposing side, the coalition is concerned over the lack of protections for Network neutrality. The bill includes policies related to Internet freedom, "however, those policies are subject to the whims of future administrations —what we need is established network neutrality," said GiGi Sohn, President of Public Knowledge, during the conference call.

The Coalition is not alone in voicing such concerns, as evident by a statement issued jointly by Amazon, Google, eBay, InteractiveCorp., Microsoft, and Google, at a Senate hearing. "We are extremely concerned that legislation before your Committee would fail to protect the Internet from discrimination and would deny consumers unfettered access to the tremendous scope of content, applications, and services that are available today on the Internet and will be deployed in the future," they said. The proposals being heard this week on Capitol Hill, as part of the new telecommunications policy, come mainly from telcos and cable companies, according to some Coalition members. The legislation, "as it reads today," would not give content providers equal access to consumers on the other end of the network. "Whenever you see groups on the far left and the far right joining together over what Congress is getting ready to do, it's my experience that whatever Congress is getting ready to do is generally unconstitutional," said Craig Fields, Director of Internet Operations for Gun Owners of America.

The Coalition is looking to achieve a "simple principle" that disallows network providers from discriminating against smaller, independent companies and favoring the content they own or are financially vested in. "The telcos want to create a functionality [or service] and selectively make it available to the people they favor…which keeps competitors from having access," said Mark Cooper, Director of Research at the Consumer Federation of America, during the call. "Presence by gatekeepers drives out innovation and restrictions on use of functionality raise prices." The Coalition wants to avoid such practices by encouraging Congress to refrain from "selling out" Internet freedom to big phone and cable companies. The Coalition is asking the Senate to include in the updated telecommunications bill anti-discrimination measures, prohibition against tiering schemes and strong federal enforcement of these laws. "This is legislation that's being rushed through Congress on the wings of large cable and telephone companies," Karr said. "Our effort is to raise public awareness with Americans across the spectrum."

In various bids to raise public awareness, the Coalition and its members are interacting with the House of Representatives, particularly members of the Energy and Commerce Committee, who will mark up the bill later this week. The Coalition is asking people to send letters to local newspapers to bring the issue out into the public eye, and has also organized a team of bloggers to bring the issue to the online community. "We're also organizing a rally that will take place on Capitol Hill to make all members of Congress aware that the public voice cannot be ignored," Karr said. "The amount of money spent on the Hill to influence, by telecom companies, needs to be countered by volume—the volumes of Americans concerned with Internet freedoms." Where and When will there be Public Hearings that will allow the community and not just the lobbyist to have our voices heard on how we want our Internet options to remain those of our own choosing?

Chicago Sun-Times Books
A pragmatic blockbuster 'Covenant'
April 3, 2006
BY MIKE THOMAS Staff Reporter
'Black people in America," a Chicago poet once wrote, "may not be made for the truth." That poet was Haki Madhubuti, and he recently disproved his own theory. Over the last few weeks, his nearly 40-year-old South Side publishing company, Third World Press, has struck a nerve (and gold) with its newest offering, The Covenant With Black America. It debuted March 26 at No. 6 on the New York Times list of best-selling paperback nonfiction. Since then, the buzz has grown louder and readers -- most of them African-American -- are buying it in droves from independent bookstores and major chains. "We've had bestsellers, but not in such a short period of time," Madhubuti says in his roomy jazz and African artwork-adorned office at Third World headquarters, once a church rectory, off East 79th Street. "It puts our name in national currency. For a black publisher, that's very important." A prolific, award-winning author of numerous poetry collections and prose polemics, Madhubuti has several Third World works to his credit, including Black Men: Obsolete, Single, Dangerous, and Enemies: The Clash of Races. He was also a recent contender for the Illinois poet laureate post, and he directs the Gwendolyn Brooks Center at Chicago State University. With his wife, Safisha, he has co-founded four schools -- the Betty Shabazz International Charter School and the Institute of Positive Education/New Concept School among them -- whose African- and African-American-centric curricula educate 800 kids. Assigned reading for those students may soon include The Covenant.

The Covenant craze
Thanks to the Times listing, a well-connected distributor and some high-profile hawking by PBS host Tavis Smiley -- who conceived The Covenant last year, wrote the introduction, discussed it with fellow panelists during his Feb. 25 "State of the Black Union" broadcast on C-SPAN and pumped it further during a multicity nationwide tour -- the 254-page tome has garnered a spotlight unlike anything in Third World's history.

PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS FROM 'THE COVENANT'
Problem area: Securing the right to health care and well-being Dr. David M. Satcher, former surgeon general, writes: "The health of African Americans has suffered greatly because of social disparities that rendered us, and therefore our treatment, less than equal in quality and access."
Individual solutions: Take responsibility to improve your diet; eat at least one additional fruit or vegetable daily. Walk one mile each day. Make sure your children have healthy diets, get their daily exercise and are fully immunized; gather information about health risks; schedule regular exams with your health care professional.

Problem area: Establishing a system of public education in which all children achieve at high levels and reach their full potential Edmund W. Gordon, educator, writes: "Whether fair or not, educational opportunity and academic achievement are directly tied to the social divisions associated with race, ethnicity, gender, first language and social class."
Individual solutions: Read to children or grandchildren daily. Create clean, quiet spaces for your children to do homework. Get library cards for your family. Become involved in your child's school.

Problem area: Correcting the system of unequal justice James Bell, attorney, executive director of W. Haywood Burns Institute, writes: "Since before this country's inception, black people have struggled against deeply ingrained race-based expressions of power, privilege and exclusion." Individual solutions:
Reform drug policies, overhaul mandatory sentencing programs to eliminate unfair treatment, and ensure adequate reentry and ex-offenders programs. Help women in prison to maintain family ties and improve parenting skills. Ensure that juvenile justice systems are accountable and effective.

Problem area: Fostering accountable community-centered policing Maya Harris, ACLU attorney, writes: "Something is clearly wrong when the government's most effective affirmative action program is the preference people of color receive when entering not college, but the criminal justice system."
Memin pinguinIndividual solutions: Get to know the police officers who patrol your neighborhood. Ask your local city council representative to host a neighborhood meeting to discuss local policy/community relations. Talk to young people about how to conduct themselves if they are stopped or confronted by police officers.

As of last week, Barnes & Noble on West Diversey in Lincoln Park had sold its only two copies, but at least 11 more were on order due to frequent requests. At Chicago's Afrocentric Bookstore on South King Drive, owner Desiree Sanders sold her much larger stock like proverbial hot cakes. "When [Smiley's broadcast] aired on C-SPAN, customers came in and were asking about the book," she says. "I didn't even know about it until that [following] Monday. I was getting phone calls off the hook that day and I was like, 'What is this Covenant book?' " According to Madhubuti, 200,000 copies of The Covenant are now circulating nationwide and many thousands more have been shipped to out-of-stock distributors and retailers, including Target. At this rate, he thinks, sales could top 1 million. All without help from Oprah.

A practical guide

Chock-full of practical knowledge from beginning to end, the book examines and offers solutions to 10 issues that confront the black community. Writers and their topics include former Surgeon General David M. Satcher on health care, activist and former Rockefeller Foundation President Angela Glover Blackwell on affordable neighborhoods and opportunity, former New Orleans Mayor Marc H. Morial on jobs and the economy, and ACLU attorney Maya Harris on community policing. "I realize that there's a lot of institutional factors and institutional racism," says The Covenant reader and Hyde Park resident Kenyetta Giles Haynes, 39, who works in the bio-tech industry. "But then there are also the things you can do right in your own community, right in your own home. "And that's what I like about this book. It addresses the larger, intractable, how-are-we-ever-going-to-handle-these issues." Part of The Covenant's appeal, Madhubuti says, is its democratic approach to problems. "It is not a single-author book. So we're not saying that one person has all the answers."

Going sub-surface
"Many black people, just like most white people, have not been taught to go sub-surface for the truth," Madhubuti says. The Covenant, he notes, is sub-surface. But will words lead to action? "I see organizational structures in the city adopting the book any way that they can," Madhubuti says. "We [need to] get churches, community centers, health care centers to read it and say, 'OK, how can we individually change our lives?' " Because change starts small and spreads. "We teach here and I write in my books that America is ours, too," he says. "We have to claim ownership of America. But you cannot claim ownership of America if you have not claimed ownership of yourself first." mthomas@suntimes.com

R. Kelly's Not So Brotherly Love
03/23/2006 3:48 PM, E! Online
Sarah Hall

R. Kelly's brother, Carey, believes he can't lie.
The "Trapped in the Closet" singer's younger sibling has released a low-budget DVD on which he accuses his brother of trying to get him to commit perjury, according to MTV News. According to Carey Kelly, his brother wanted him to take the fall by claiming that he was actually the star of the infamous sex tape that prompted child-pornography charges against R. Kelly.

On the DVD, released Tuesday, Carey Kelly alleges that his more famous brother offered him $50,000, a house and a record contract if he would agree to testify that he appeared on the tape, but that he turned the offer down because he did not want to lie. "I got a call about a year and a half ago," Carey claims on the DVD, produced by Drahma Magazine. "My brother wanted me to do some s--t pertaining to this case that would leave me behind bars with a record deal. It doesn't make sense, so I turned it down. "Since I couldn't lie for him in a court of law, we're back to beefing again, and we ain't brothers no more."

The rumor that R. Kelly planned to finger his look-alike brother as the star of the sex tape first circulated several years back, but the R&B star's lawyers denied that the ploy was part of their defense strategy. Carey Kelly also claims that his brother beats his wife, Andrea; tried to molest their other brother's daughter; molested their 12-year-old second cousin; and--oh yeah--that he's bisexual. "He trapped in the closet for real," Carey Kelly said in a radio interview with New York's Hot 97.

A spokesperson for R. Kelly declined to comment on the allegations, beyond calling them "ridiculous." "This is not the first time Carey has made ridiculous accusations against his brother," the spokesperson told MTV News. "We're not going to dignify them with a comment." Though Carey Kelly claims all of his allegations can be proven, his own credibility isn't the strongest, seeing as he was recently released from prison on theft charges. He also openly holds a grudge against his brother, whom he claims owes him royalties for his contributions to several tracks on the 1993 album 12 Play. For his part, R. Kelly has pleaded innocent to the charges against him. His case continues in a Chicago courtroom on Apr. 7.

March 20, 2006
Plight Deepens for Black Men, Studies Warn
By ERIK ECKHOLM

BALTIMORE — Black men in the United States face a far more dire situation than is portrayed by common employment and education statistics, a flurry of new scholarly studies warn, and it has worsened in recent years even as an economic boom and a welfare overhaul have brought gains to black women and other groups. Focusing more closely than ever on the life patterns of young black men, the new studies, by experts at Columbia, Princeton, Harvard and other institutions, show that the huge pool of poorly educated black men are becoming ever more disconnected from the mainstream society, and to a far greater degree than comparable white or Hispanic men.

Especially in the country's inner cities, the studies show, finishing high school is the exception, legal work is scarcer than ever and prison is almost routine, with incarceration rates climbing for blacks even as urban crime rates have declined. Although the problems afflicting poor black men have been known for decades, the new data paint a more extensive and sobering picture of the challenges they face. "There's something very different happening with young black men, and it's something we can no longer ignore," said Ronald B. Mincy, professor of social work at Columbia University and editor of "Black Males Left Behind" (Urban Institute Press, 2006). "Over the last two decades, the economy did great," Mr. Mincy said, "and low-skilled women, helped by public policy, latched onto it. But young black men were falling farther back." Many of the new studies go beyond the traditional approaches to looking at the plight of black men, especially when it comes to determining the scope of joblessness.

For example, official unemployment rates can be misleading because they do not include those not seeking work or incarcerated. "If you look at the numbers, the 1990's was a bad decade for young black men, even though it had the best labor market in 30 years," said Harry J. Holzer, an economist at Georgetown University and co-author, with Peter Edelman and Paul Offner, of "Reconnecting Disadvantaged Young Men" (Urban Institute Press, 2006). In response to the worsening situation for young black men, a growing number of programs are placing as much importance on teaching life skills — like parenting, conflict resolution and character building — as they are on teaching job skills.

Click on photo to view video
These were among the recent findings:
¶The share of young black men without jobs has climbed relentlessly, with only a slight pause during the economic peak of the late 1990's. In 2000, 65 percent of black male high school dropouts in their 20's were jobless — that is, unable to find work, not seeking it or incarcerated. By 2004, the share had grown to 72 percent, compared with 34 percent of white and 19 percent of Hispanic dropouts. Even when high school graduates were included, half of black men in their 20's were jobless in 2004, up from 46 percent in 2000.

¶Incarceration rates climbed in the 1990's and reached historic highs in the past few years. In 1995, 16 percent of black men in their 20's who did not attend college were in jail or prison; by 2004, 21 percent were incarcerated. By their mid-30's, 6 in 10 black men who had dropped out of school had spent time in prison.

In the inner cities, more than half of all black men do not finish high school. None of the litany of problems that young black men face was news to a group of men from the airless neighborhoods of Baltimore who recently described their experiences. One of them, Curtis E. Brannon, told a story so commonplace it hardly bears notice here. He quit school in 10th grade to sell drugs, fathered four children with three mothers, and spent several stretches in jail for drug possession, parole violations and other crimes. "I was with the street life, but now I feel like I've got to get myself together," Mr. Brannon said recently in the row-house flat he shares with his girlfriend and four children. "You get tired of incarceration."

Mr. Brannon, 28, said he planned to look for work, perhaps as a mover, and he noted optimistically that he had not been locked up in six months. A group of men, including Mr. Brannon, gathered at the Center for Fathers, Families and Workforce Development, one of several private agencies trying to help men build character along with workplace skills.

The clients readily admit to their own bad choices but say they also fight a pervasive sense of hopelessness. "It hurts to get that boot in the face all the time," said Steve Diggs, 34. "I've had a lot of charges but only a few convictions," he said of his criminal record. Mr. Diggs is now trying to strike out on his own, developing a party space for rentals, but he needs help with business skills. "I don't understand," said William Baker, 47. "If a man wants to change, why won't society give him a chance to prove he's a changed person?" Mr. Baker has a lot of record to overcome, he admits, not least his recent 15-year stay in the state penitentiary for armed robbery.

Mr. Baker led a visitor down the Pennsylvania Avenue strip he wants to escape — past idlers, addicts and hustlers, storefront churches and fortresslike liquor stores — and described a life that seemed inevitable. He sold marijuana for his parents, he said, left school in the sixth grade and later dealt heroin and cocaine. He was for decades addicted to heroin, he said, easily keeping the habit during three terms in prison. But during his last long stay, he also studied hard to get a G.E.D. and an associate's degree. Now out for 18 months, Mr. Baker is living in a home for recovering drug addicts. He is working a $10-an-hour warehouse job while he ponders how to make a living from his real passion, drawing and graphic arts. "I don't want to be a criminal at 50," Mr. Baker said.

According to census data, there are about five million black men ages 20 to 39 in the United States. Terrible schools, absent parents, racism, the decline in blue collar jobs and a subculture that glorifies swagger over work have all been cited as causes of the deepening ruin of black youths. Scholars — and the young men themselves — agree that all of these issues must be addressed. Joseph T. Jones, director of the fatherhood and work skills center here, puts the breakdown of families at the core. "Many of these men grew up fatherless, and they never had good role models," said Mr. Jones, who overcame addiction and prison time. "No one around them knows how to navigate the mainstream society." All the negative trends are associated with poor schooling, studies have shown, and progress has been slight in recent years. Federal data tend to understate dropout rates among the poor, in part because imprisoned youths are not counted. Closer studies reveal that in inner cities across the country, more than half of all black men still do not finish high school, said Gary Orfield, an education expert at Harvard and editor of "Dropouts in America" (Harvard Education Press, 2004). "We're pumping out boys with no honest alternative," Mr. Orfield said in an interview, "and of course their neighborhoods offer many other alternatives."

Dropout rates for Hispanic youths are as bad or worse but are not associated with nearly as much unemployment or crime, the data show. With the shift from factory jobs, unskilled workers of all races have lost ground, but none more so than blacks. By 2004, 50 percent of black men in their 20's who lacked a college education were jobless, as were 72 percent of high school dropouts, according to data compiled by Bruce Western, a sociologist at Princeton and author of the forthcoming book "Punishment and Inequality in America" (Russell Sage Press). These are more than double the rates for white and Hispanic men. Mr. Holzer of Georgetown and his co-authors cite two factors that have curbed black employment in particular. First, the high rate of incarceration and attendant flood of former offenders into neighborhoods have become major impediments. Men with criminal records tend to be shunned by employers, and young blacks with clean records suffer by association, studies have found. Arrests of black men climbed steeply during the crack epidemic of the 1980's, but since then the political shift toward harsher punishments, more than any trends in crime, has accounted for the continued growth in the prison population, Mr. Western said. By their mid-30's, 30 percent of black men with no more than a high school education have served time in prison, and 60 percent of dropouts have, Mr. Western said.

Among black dropouts in their late 20's, more are in prison on a given day — 34 percent — than are working — 30 percent — according to an analysis of 2000 census data by Steven Raphael of the University of California, Berkeley. The second special factor is related to an otherwise successful policy: the stricter enforcement of child support. Improved collection of money from absent fathers has been a pillar of welfare overhaul. But the system can leave young men feeling overwhelmed with debt and deter them from seeking legal work, since a large share of any earnings could be seized. About half of all black men in their late 20's and early 30's who did not go to college are noncustodial fathers, according to Mr. Holzer. From the fathers' viewpoint, support obligations "amount to a tax on earnings," he said. Some fathers give up, while others find casual work. "The work is sporadic, not the kind that leads to advancement or provides unemployment insurance," Mr. Holzer said. "It's nothing like having a real job."

The recent studies identified a range of government programs and experiments, especially education and training efforts like the Job Corps, that had shown success and could be scaled up. Scholars call for intensive new efforts to give children a better start, including support for parents and extra schooling for children. They call for teaching skills to prisoners and helping them re-enter society more productively, and for less automatic incarceration of minor offenders. In a society where higher education is vital to economic success, Mr. Mincy of Columbia said, programs to help more men enter and succeed in college may hold promise. But he lamented the dearth of policies and resources to aid single men. "We spent $50 billion in efforts that produced the turnaround for poor women," Mr. Mincy said. "We are not even beginning to think about the men's problem on similar orders of magnitude."

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Black History Month News
Contact: Paula Robinson
Tel: 773-785-3826
Email:info@bronzevilleonline.com
Bronzeville Becomes An African-American Heritage Tourism Destination

Chicago (February 1, 2006) - A sneak preview of the Bronzeville Visitor Information Center (BVIC) will allow a host of partners and private developers to celebrate a new Black History Month milestone at 11 a.m. on February 20th.Officially, the Center will be "visitor ready" next month and will not be open to the public until then. The BVIC is located on the southeast corner at 35th and Martin L. King Drive in the Supreme/Liberty Life Building, a landmark building that the community was able to restore. It was home to the Liberty Life Insurance Company, the first Black Insurance Company north of the Mason/Dixon Line.

The Center is located on two floors of the building and features a "community information hub" & gift shop on the first floor. An exhibit gallery, community technology center and digital archive are located on the second floor. In addition, it will house administrative offices and a community planning studio. This sneak preview on February 20th kicks off a year-long calendar of activities celebrating the opening of the Center. The community's grand opening celebration is scheduled for March 15th where a host of community supporters and stake holders are expected to attend.

It has been two decades since the many neighborhoods that comprise this 3 1/2 mile area, known historically as Chicago's "Black Belt," came together behind a campaign called "Restoring Bronzeville." The campaign featured a comprehensive redevelopment plan to preserve the cultural heritage environment that began in the early 1890's. These communities created original art forms like Gospel music, the electric blues, and the Chicago Jazz sound.

The area also developed America's most renowned Black business pioneers and bought African American political leadership to the world stage. Through a $100,000 Tourism Attraction Grant from the State of Illinois, the Black Metropolis Convention & Tourism Council (BMC&TC) was able to match funds through the African American real estate developer & owner to enable the design and build out of the Center.

Today, BMC&TC, a 501(c)(3) community-based organization, is investing in another economic development strategy for the area - African American Heritage Tourism. According to Travel Institute of America (TIA), it is the fastest growing segment among leisure travelers. Additionally, African American heritage travelers spend more and stay longer in the markets they visit. A survey originated by the Chicago Office of Tourism with international travelers showed that among their top items of interest while visiting was the authentic experience of blues, jazz and gospel.

Harold L. Lucas, BMC&TC's President & CEO concluded, "It has taken us twenty years of sustained civic engagement to preserve the community's rich history, develop the infrastructure and reenergize the entrepreneurial spirit within the community." "You have to have the attractions, the transportation and the hospitality in place to host visitors in a manner that is befitting a "world class city" like Chicago. We have the legacy of A. Phillip Randolph and the Pullman Porters to uphold and maintain. They were known internationally as the Ambassadors of Service," adds Lucas.

The historic Bronzeville neighborhood is a south lakefront community, 10 minutes from downtown Chicago. It has seven historic districts and more than 30 additional landmark sites documented on the National Register of Historic Places.

About Bronzeville Community Development Partnership The Bronzeville Community Development Partnership (BCDP) is working to have the area congressionally designated as the Black Metropolis National Heritage Area. BCDP has been an integral partner with BMC&TC and involved in the planning process for many initiatives within the Bronzeville community.

About Black Metropolis Convention & Tourism Council BMC&TC, a community based non-profit organization, provides a series of historical study tours revolving around the history of the 'Black Metropolis Historic District'. The goals of BMC&TC have been to promote authenticity and a commitment to educate and empower indigenous lower-income residents to be able to share in the neighborhood revitalization. BMC&TC will own and operate the BVIC, as an orientation point for residents and visitors to the historic Bronzeville community. # # # 

The Cotton Club… End of A Legend
By: Al Brown
Glitz and glamour, cameras, lights action! The summer of 1986 a new Night Club hits the scene on South Michigan Avenue creating a new standard for Black nightlife and entertainment in Chicago. A pearly White Baby Grand piano with Ghallib Ghallab exercising the keys, Mangelo "The Hide De Ho Man" frolicking around the stage and the Big Band sound ringing throughout the evening. Fancy cars filled with scantily clad women paraded throughout the wee hours of the morning. The Cotton Club made its debut in Grand Style!

The gentlemen were required to wear jackets, the women were a class act, champagne flowed endlessly and the entertainers were off the hook! Sheila Horn, Stanley Turrentine, The Great Guitars, Nelson Rangell, Marian Meadows, etc. were just a few of the nationally renown artist to grace the stage over the 20 years since the clubs inception. Car Wash legend, Jimmy Spinks, Bernie Mac, Adele Givens, Art Porter, R. Kelly and so many more found they're home and in some instances, they're humble beginnings at the Cotton Club. Featuring world class entertainment to a world wide audience, Chicago's Cotton Club was "The In" place to be.

Open Mic, Blue Mondays, Phat Azz Thursdays, Executive Network, BRE, The Rat Pack and Poetry Night were among the endless list of creative programming which made every night at the Cotton Club a special night. Yes, 7 nights a week there was something for everyone. As stated by club Owner, Dr. Yvon Nazon, a noted Gynecological Specialist...
The Cotton Club is a club for All Chicago! 

"The Cotton Club is a Club for all Chicago."
Celebrities frequented the Cotton Club during its hey days on a regular basis. It wasn't unusual to find the likes of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippin, Robert DeNiro, Phyllis Hyman, Lawrence Fishburn and a host of superstars on any given night.

Tuxedo clad security with 2-way radios were all trained black belts in the martial arts. Minor squabbles were so contained that in most instances you never even knew there had been a problem.

Eventually several new clubs would begin to surface, Heroes, Strictly Business, Club Alphonse, creating a Mecca of entertainment ranging from R&B to Jazz, Hip Hop to Reggae and from steppin' to jukin' music. Heroes eventually made a switch to E2 but was unfortunately plagued with a disastrous stampede in 2002 which resulted in the deaths of 21 people when a security guard sprayed pepper spray into the crowd in the midst of an altercation. The incident resulted in the closing of the club and several pending lawsuits.

After the mass stampede took the lives of the 21 individuals at E2, the city began a massive crack down on the many clubs in Chicago, particularly the Black owned clubs in the South Loop area. It would only be a matter of time before the developer's demolition crew would be ready to expand its reach to include the scattered lots occupied by the clubs. Condos, ranging from $250,000 and up were the new precedent along with sports bars and fancy dining.

Bob Barnes taking care of business at the front door
Robert "Bob" Barnes makes A Last and Final Call.
No more rap music or steppin' sets. Just cozy South Loop cuisine, a new reign of hi rises and "All That Jazz" would be the future plight for the strip. Eventually Mr. Ricky's Chic Rick Club was forced out by the redevelopment and relocated off the strip to 2109 South Wabash changing the name to Chicago Legends. Just last week 1 person was reportedly shot and killed at the club.

Strictly Business and Club Alphonse both were soon to follow and now… the legendary Cotton Club has taken its place in the annals of history created by the Black owned clubs which made up the one and one-half mile stretch of the Entertainment Mecca in the South Loop.

According to Dr. Nazon, a combination of the redevelopment, the ever increasing cost associated with the running and maintenance of a club and just so many overwhelming circumstances, were instrumental in his decision to end the Legend with dignity. An entrepreneur with a serious passion for change, Dr. Nazon is already working on a couple of new projects including a book and quite possibly a Jazz restaurant.

A true Legend has ended after a successful 20 year run. But not before it touched and affected the lives of countless individuals on various levels. Couples met they're eventual spouses there, both comedy and singing careers were developed and skills honed on the Open Mic, friendships, relationships and partnerships were all a part of the history which took place at 1710 South Michigan Avenue…Chicago's Legendary Cotton Club. It'll be surely missed, yet greatly remembered.
Click on camera to view more photos     (click on camera to view photos of the Cotton Club's closing night)
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Photos Courtesy Of Al Brown & Associates
Samotta keepin' hope alive!
Samotta McKeever, most commonly known as "Sam", has courageously picked up the torch where Dr. Nazon left off and decided to continue the legend of Chicago's Original Open Mic. Realizing the importance of a vehicle with the history of "Open Mic", Sam decided that she just couldn't stand by and watch such a glorious history die in the rubble and waste of bricks and mortar that once was the Cotton Club.

Noting that it was once the launching pad for some of today's biggest stars, i.e., R. Kelly, Bernie Mac, Adele Givens, Art Porter, etc., she sought to find a new home and to keep hope alive for the many undiscovered new stars of tomorrow.








An actress, former beauty queen, on stage background singer for R. Kelly and lead choreographer for Bernie Mac's Who Ya Wit' Tour, and host of the Cotton Club's Open Mic for the past 3 years prior to its closing, Samotta is also the manager of Chicago's fast rising new star A'wun.



JOKES & NOTES
Grand Opening with Sweet Sounds of good times returning to Bronzeville District
Mary Lindsey, Co-Owner Jokes & Notes
Mary Lindsey
Defender Photo
Worsom Robinson  
Chicago, Illinois – June 2005 – This summer will mark the Grand Opening of Jokes and Notes, a comedy/jazz club featuring primarily African American comedians at 4641 South King Drive, located in the heart of the Bronzeville District steps away from the monumental site of the Harold Washington Cultural Center. Scheduled to open June 2005, Jokes and Notes is set to deliver big laughs and sounds of smooth jazz.

The weekly live schedule opens with Wild Card Night, showcasing open mic, hosted by local comedian, Deon Cole every Wednesday, a variety of talent including spoken word, comedy and singers hosted by WGCI’s Tony Sculfield “The One Man Riot,” on Thursday’s, and top notch comedic performers, including national acts, on Friday and Saturday nights hosted by Chicago’s own George Willborn ,“The Stress Reliever”. To round out the week, the smooth sounds of live jazz by local performers will take place on Sunday evenings. Proprietor and Chicago native Mary Lindsey reflects remarks on her decision to bring Jokes and Notes to the Bronzeville District. “ I am thrilled to provide the southside community with a premiere entertainment venue. Jokes and Notes is certain to provide the audience with a quality place to unwind, relax, and have a good time with laughter, smooth jazz and good company.”

Mary Lindsey, a former co-owner of All Jokes Aside Comedy Club has the knowledge and experience to provide her audience with top entertainers in an upscale venue. Jokes and Notes is a hip beautifully designed 225 seat club with a state-of -the- art sound stage The lounge area offers a sophisticated décor equipped with a full bar , banquettes and television monitors. Guests may relax and enjoy a beverage in this area prior to show time or, during performances, with the visual of on stage performance from 24” monitors. Jokes and Notes will be available for special events, and Corporate events on Monday and Tuesday evenings.
Visit www.jokesandnotes.com or call 312-296-3164 4641 S. King Drive Chicago, Illinois 60653





















Bronzeville gets a boost with club for jazz and jokes
www.chicagotribune.com /Leisure
Published January 28, 2006
Terry Armour

For Ald. Dorothy Tillman (3rd), the rebirth of Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood is not a joke. But on Thursday, she took the time to laugh a little. Beaming like a proud mother watching her child take its first steps, Tillman joined comedian Mo'Nique and Mary Lindsey, the former owner of the South Loop comedy club All Jokes Aside, for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to unveil Lindsey's new club, Jokes and Notes, at 4641 S. King Drive. It's the new kid on a block of upscale spots targeting sophisticated African-Americans in once-troubled Bronzeville, an area Tillman envisions as another destination for night life in Chicago.

"We're all very excited about this," Tillman said. "Mary said she wanted to come to 47th Street. We tried for a whole year to make this happen. Now it has happened." And Jokes and Notes -- which will double as an old-school-style jazz club and upscale comedy club rolled into one venue -- fills the void left when Lindsey closed All Jokes Aside 12 years ago. It was a place that featured the big names -- acts such as Bernie Mac, D.L. Hughley, Chris Rock and Mo'Nique -- as well as local comedians looking for a break. "Bronzeville is the perfect place for this," Lindsey said during Thursday's black-tie gala that kicked off the new club's opening weekend. "It goes back to the whole history of Bronzeville, with all the clubs. My goal was to bring an entertainment venue for people to come out and enjoy themselves. My goal is for this to be a platform for local as well as national acts."

Lindsey said she began discussing opening another comedy club not long after closing All Jokes Aside. "I found that I was spending so much time by myself," she said. "I missed being at the club, being with the people at the club. Finally, I said, `I need to go back to that.' That's when I started looking again." Lindsey toyed with the idea of reopening All Jokes Aside again in the South Loop. But after talking to Tillman and other Bronzeville business owners, she decided the South Side community would be the ideal spot, especially with the clubs, galleries and coffee shops sprouting up. She settled on the space next to Tillman's 3rd Ward offices, nestled in an area that is also home to Blu 47, a restaurant and jazz club, and the Spoken Word Cafe. Jokes and Notes will feature local and national jazz artists, blues and, of course, stand-up comedy.

"Mary's focused on bringing this thing back to life," said 41-year-old George Outlaw, who worked with Lindsey at All Jokes Aside and now has joined her at Jokes and Notes. "This is taking it to a whole different level than what they had at All Jokes Aside. To have a club that's sophisticated and all-encompassing is good for the community. It gives us another outlet -- an upscale outlet." So upscale that patrons were all too happy to don tuxes and stunning evening gowns for the invitation-only opening night. Sitting in her dressing room before her Thursday performance, Mo'Nique talked about the importance of bringing Jokes and Notes to the culturally rich neighborhood of Bronzeville. "Our community will come out for a good time," said Mo'Nique, who is headlining the opening weekend through Saturday. "And if it's a good time and we feel safe, that's even better." ---------- tarmour@tribune.com
 


Kanye "Jesus" West Shakes Up The System Again!  
Kanye West's Jesus Walks Medalion
Kanye West is at it again shakin' up the system and upsetting a whooooooooooooole lotta' people! After reading some of the articles and comments posted on various blogs, I must say that I am truly surprised at all the controversy caused by Kanye's photo on the cover of The Rolling Stone Magazine.

I mean, what's the big deal? Perhaps I'm just not that bright or aware of the covert implications involved, but I fail to see why so many people have become so bent out of shape? Actually, when I look at the standard photos of Jesus and read the Bible's description of Him... they only serve to confuse me? Feet like burnt coals? hair like lambs wool?

If we are truly made in His image and he truly was apparently a Man of a darker persuasion, then once again I say "What's the big deal"?

When I heard the Catholic League's comments on the evening news calling it "moronic", I damned near fell off my seat! The Catholics should be the last to utter even one word with all the real controversy going on within they're fold. Perhaps they're simply trying to draw some of the attention away from themselves?

Is it really such a far fetched idea that a Black Man would dare to compare himself to Jesus? It's quite unfortunate that during a time when the Nations young people are dying in a foreign land over a war being fought based on lies and the Nation's Chief Executive is running the country like it's his own private club, we have nothing more important to do other than to try and persecute an intelligent, successful young Brother for doing his thing? Pleeeeeeease!
I say "Right On Kanye.. Do your thing!"

Click here to read some of the articles, blogs and comments and decide what you think

Jamie NBC to Air Jamie Foxx Musical Wednesday, January 25, 2006
9/8 p.m. central time
By: Michael Ivey

Surging actor/singer Jamie Foxx staged a unique hip hop/R&B musical with industry heavyweights last month, which airs Jan. 25th on NBC. "…those relationships I'm talking about on the record are actually gonna be played out for you onstage," he says. Mary J. Blige, Stevie Wonder, Common, Snoop Dogg, Angie Stone and Game are featured in "Unpredictable", a show Foxx plans to take on the road this year.
Jamie & Mary J
"When we go out on the road, like we did with the special, all of this becomes a hip-hop/R&B play," he says. "Unpredictable" includes Foxx and anti-G-Unit platinum rapper Game squaring off over a female to accent Foxx’s performance of "With You." Snoop Dogg also appears in the segment in which Foxx snags the girl then transitions to "DJ Play a Love Song."

SUPPORT JAMIE FOXX........ Please take the time to forward this message to everyone in your address book. Watch Jamie Foxx make history on NBC. This is the first time NBC has ever aired an entire young urban African American cast on a music special. We need to show support. This was not an easy sell for Jamie and he stood his ground to make it happen the way he saw fit.

Stevie Wonder  Snoop  Mary J
He wowed audiences with his Academy Award winning portrayal of Ray Charles in the biopic "Ray." Now, Jamie Foxx takes center stage at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles. This special hour will take viewers on an emotional and powerful journey from Jamie’s childhood to stardom through music, vignettes and with the help of special guests including Stevie Wonder, Snoop Dogg and Mary J. Blige. In addition to closing 2005 with the release of his debut album, UNPREDICTABLE, Foxx recently received a Grammy nomination in the Best Male R&B Vocal Performance category for his performance of "Creepin’" from the J Records’ release So Amazing: An All-Star Tribute to Luther Vandross.

That was just one of Foxx’s recent unprecedented accomplishments. In addition to winning the 2005 Oscar Academy Award as Best Actor for his career-defining performance in Ray, he was nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category for his part in Collateral, making him just the second male actor with nominations for two different films in the same year. Those roles, in conjunction with his acclaimed turn in the FX Networks’ Redemption, led to him being the first person ever nominated for three acting awards at the Golden Globes and four SAG awards in one year. A classically trained pianist who was raised in the church, Foxx studied at San Diego Performing Arts College before moving into comedy on television and in film.
  
In a time when so many of our young people have lost all sense of value and the most you can expect to hear when you turn on the radio is illicit use of terms depicting our Black women as "Ho's and "Bitches." The one qualified local voice that dares to represent the views and opinions of the civil Black community has been fired and replaced with … more entertainment? Pleeeeease! Charles Houston has written a very strong letter to Clear Channel insisting on the reinstatement of Cliff Kelley by February 1. He clearly suggests that the Black Community of Chicago simply will not tolerate the blatant smack in the face with the removal of Cliff from V103 on Sunday mornings.
One would assume that if Clear Channel does not meet the demands and terms that we will all stop listening to all of the Clear Channel stations (radio, television, online) as well as trying to influence it's advertisers to withdraw. Oftimes the display of power is far more effective than the use of it. Perhaps we should all show our individual disdain over these actions by sending Mr. Jones an e-mail? EarlJones@clearchannel.com
Cliff Kelley.jpg
Dear Mr. Jones,

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere:” The worlds of Martin Luther King, Jr. are just as true today as they were on the day he first spoke them. The injustice done to Cliff Kelley and to the Black community by Clear Channel is not an injustice that will be easily overlooked or ever forgotten. Cliff Kelley has been a responsible voice of reason and consciousness-raising in the Black community for decades. Because he speaks the truth and calls the city’s attention to the unjust war into which U.S. Governmental policies have led us, the Clear Channel family (personal friends of the Bush administration) has chosen to “take the station in a different direction.” In short, Clear Channel fired Cliff!

To add insult in injury, the voice of conscience, the voice of critical thinking, the voice of reason and the only voice to “tell the King he has no clothes on” has been taken off the air despite consistently garnering some of the highest ratings in the Sunday time slot and replaced by an entertainer and motivational speaker that is not from Chicago and deals with no current events or news on the show. The African American community refuses to sit by idly and take this kind of insult!

We are joining in with the National Coalition for Justice in the Media, and we are demanding that Clear Channel put Cliff Kelley back on an FM station on Sunday mornings for two hours. Clear Channel has offered Mr. Kelley (and insulted us further) a one-hour slot on an AM station that does not reach the majority of the citizens in Cook County. We refuse to accept that and sell our birthright. We are demanding that Mr. Kelley be returned to V-103 at least by the first Sunday in February, February 5, 2006.

In honor of Dr. King’s legacy we are demanding a new contract be signed by February 1st between Clear Channel and Cliff, or we promise you we will demonstrate the power of the African American community in Chicago and Cook County and the support we are able to garner from throughout the country. As you should know, Cliff’s voice is respected throughout the country and internationally via the airwaves through www.wvon.com every week day, but we are not willing to give up Sunday morning discussions of substance.

The Clear Channel family might be used to a passive Black community that does not care about social justice. If that is your “read” on the African American community in Chicago, you are sorely mistaken. Sponsors of your show will also be interested to know of the interests of our community and why, with ratings high, you’d be interested in ignoring ratings as well as the desires of your faithful listeners.On behalf of the National Coalition for Justice in the Media and a caring and thinking Black community, we will not tolerate this injustice, and we demand Cliff Kelley’s return to a Chicago based FM Clear Channel-owned station by February 1.
Sincerely Yours,
Charles Houston
 
Twista
TWISTA'

Chicago's legendary Platinum Artist Twista was reportedly seriously injured in an auto accident in Chicago on Friday. We'll bring you more details as they unfold.

You can call him the fastest MC in hip-hop history, the man with the flawless flow or simply the Chi-Town legend. Twista's earned all his accolades and can breathe one huge sigh of relief with 2004 behind him.

After year’s of building one of rap’s most loyal street following and accumulating immeasurable respect among his peers in the music industry, Twista finally was rewarded with the mainstream recognition and over two million sales of his seventh album-the classic-Kamikaze.

“It was the best thing in the world, like waiting to get you first sexual experience,” Twista said about his fame. “Just think, you a artist and you come out when Das EFX and Tupac and them was coming out. You coming out when Cypress Hill was coming out. You’re watching them all have success. You rappin’ for all this time, never getting that success, never being recognized to the point where you feel you’re respected or getting that type of money you feel you deserve. Then you hit the 30 mark, it’s getting late in life, you be like ‘is it going to crack?’ Then in ’04, it happens bigger than you ever expected. The success of Kamikaze was the biggest blessing, biggest relief you can feel.” Visit Twista.Net for full discography,photos, music and video downloads and more

www.Twista.Net
Click Here To Check Out Twista's New 'Video! - "Hit The Floor"
 
Hennessy Presents Kanye West With The Prestgious Privilege Award At The Hard Rock Hotel
Kanye West's Jesus Walks Medalion Dexter King of Hennessy presents Kanye 's Foundation Loop Dreams with a $10,000 donation from Hennessy. Kanye & His Mom Ms West a head teacher in the Chicago Public Schools Kanye embraces his 7th grade musuc teacher Ms Musette Kanye with Today's Black Woman's Expo chief Merri Green Kanye's Mom and Lodita Tate Mother of 10 year old Chicago Rapper UniquE' the Golden Child Kanye and Hennessy's Dexter King Midwest Gap Publisher Carl West joins Today's Black Woman Expo President Merri Green Comedian Damon Williams, On Air Personality John Monds, Hennessy's Larry Bird and Dexter King and Robert Dexter King, Merri Green and Art Chat Daddy Sims SDM Events Alicia Coles and friends were on hand to show their love for Kanye Hennessy's New York Team Tina Wynn, Kanye, Toni Brown and Dexter King Hennessy's Man in Chicago Bird shown here with Tina Wynn and Toni Brown both a part of the New York Hennessy Team.
Photos: Al Brown & Associates


The Sophia Stewart Lawsuit Continues!
  
July 22nd 2005 13:27 PM
By Hannilie Zulu

Sophia Stewart is ready for the hearing September 26, 2005. “Be there!” challenges Stewart. It does not matter whether you are a journalist or a witness. ‘Everyone is welcome to come to the courts, to witness for themselves’ invites Stewart. Sophia Stewart is inviting everyone to join her at a press conference she is conducting in front of the court building at 8:00 a.m., before the hearing which is at 10:00 a.m.

Stewart, who fired her lawyers end of June, says she fired her lawyers except for Michael Stoller because the lawyers sold out on her. Stewart, who discovered that her former lawyers did not pay careful attention to her case and took the lawsuit easily and naturally disregarding some of the most important evidence, was angry when she found out the truth about the lawyers. Some of the evidence the lawyers disregarded where Stewart’s three letters of access from: Fox and Warner Brothers which confirmed that in 1984 the defendants did distribute the first “Terminator” movie, on the German market.

Furthermore, evidence that confirmed that the “Terminator” movie was released in 1984 by Orion Pictures founded in 1978 as a joint venture between Warner Brothers and three other former top-level executives of the United Artists was also withheld from the courts. And that the introduction part which was cut out at the beginning of the first “Matrix” movie, which was Stewart’s copyrighted Epic introduction, were among the evidence that were not entered into the federal court system by Stewart’s lawyers. Six weeks is the time given so the judge may go through the case carefully and once more in detail; especially on Stewart's special effects.

"Are the defendants ready? The defendants who have never brought any evidence to court to prove they are the real owners of their works; the defendants who have failed to come up with any evidence, says Stewart. They know they took my copyrighted works by intention. They are going to jail for their crimes. We shall hear about the defendants status September 26th" says Stewart. "The lawsuit must be settled within the coming two months." Adds Stewart who is very excited about the good news!

 Stewart’s lawsuit, which has generated a lot of heated debates on the Internet, awaits the mainstream media to cover the story. And watch out this July, Stewart will be in the big media; to mention a few the Black Enterprise. Also CNN News and LA Times July 31st 2005. Stewart, a New Yorker who has resided in Salt Lake City for the past five years, will recover damages from the films, The Matrix I, II and III, as well as The Terminator and its sequels. She will soon receive one of the biggest payoffs in the history of Hollywood, as the gross receipts of both films and their sequels total over 2.5 billion dollars. Stewart filed her case in 1999, after viewing the Matrix, which she felt had been based on her manuscript, "The Third Eye," copyrighted in 1981.

In the mid-eighties Stewart had submitted her manuscript to an ad placed by the Wachowski Brothers, requesting new sci-fi works. According to court documentation, an FBI investigation discovered that more than thirty minutes had been edited from the original film, in attempt to avoid penalties for copyright infringement. The investigation also stated that "credible witnesses employed at Warner Brothers came forward, claiming that the executives and lawyers had full knowledge that the work in question did not belong to the Wachowski Brothers." These witnesses claimed to have seen Stewart's original work and that it had been "often used during preparation of the motion pictures." The defendants tried, on several occasions, to have Stewart's case dismissed, without success. Stewart has confronted skepticism on all sides, much of which comes from Matrix fans, who are strangely loyal to the Wachowski Brothers. One on-line forum, entitled Matrix Explained has an entire section devoted to Stewart. Some who have researched her history and writings are open to her story. Others are suspicious and mocking. "It doesn't bother me," said Stewart in a phone interview last week, "I always knew what was true." Continued...

Visit Sophia Stewarts Website http://www.sophiaoracle.com/index.php
 
BLACK WOMAN WROTE THE MATRIX AND TERMNATOR AND WINS LAW SUIT!
 
Black Author wins The Matrix Copyright Infringement Case. This little known story has met a just conclusion, as Sophia Stewart, African American author of The Matrix will
finally receive her just due from the copyright infringement of her original work!!!

Monday, October 4th 2004 ended a six-year dispute involving Sophia Stewart, the Wachowski Brothers, Joel Silver and Warner Brothers. Stewart's allegations, involving copyright infringement and racketeering, were received and acknowledged by the Central District of California, Judge Margaret Morrow residing. Stewart, a New Yorker who has resided in Salt Lake City for the past five years, will recover damages from the films, The Matrix I, II and III, as well as The Terminator and its sequels. She will soon receive one of the biggest payoffs in the history of Hollywood, as the gross receipts of both films and their sequels total over 2.5 billion dollars. Stewart filed her case in 1999, after viewing the Matrix, which she felt had been based on her manuscript, "The Third Eye," copyrighted in 1981.

In the mid-eighties Stewart had submitted her manuscript to an ad placed by the Wachowski Brothers, requesting new sci-fi works. According to court documentation, an FBI investigation discovered that more than thirty minutes had been edited from the original film,
in an attempt to avoid penalties for copyright infringement. The investigation also stated that "credible witnesses employed at Warner Brothers came forward, claiming that the executives and lawyers had full knowledge that the work in question did not belong to the Wachowski Brothers." These witnesses claimed to have seen Stewart's original work and that it had been "often used during pre preparation of the motion pictures." The defendants tried, on several occasions, to have Stewart's case dismissed, without success. Stewart has confronted skepticism on all sides, much of which comes from Matrix fans, who are strangely loyal to the Wachowski Brothers. One on-line forum, entitled Matrix Explained has an entire section devoted to Stewart. Some who have researched her history and writings are open to her story. Others are suspicious and mocking. "It doesn't bother me," said Stewart in a phone interview last week, "I always knew what was true."

Some fans, are unaware of the case or they question its legitimacy, due to the fact that it has received little to no media coverage. Though the case was not made public until October of 2003, Stewart has her own explanation, as quoted at www.daghettotymz.com/matrix/matrix.html: "The reason you have not seen any of this in the media is because Warner Brothers parent company is AOL-Time Warner... this GIANT owns 95 percent of the media... let me give you a clue as to what they own in the media business... New York Times papers/magazines, LA Times papers/magazines, People Magazine, CNN news, Extra, Celebrity Justice, Entertainment Tonight, HBO, New Line Cinema, Dreamworks, Newsweek, Village Roadshow.. many, many more!... They are not going to report on themselves. They have been suppressing my case for years..." Fans who have taken Stewart's allegations seriously, have found eerie mythological parallels, which seem significant in a case that revolves around the highly metaphorical and symbolic Matrix series. Sophia, the Greek goddess of wisdom has been referenced many times in speculation about Stewart.

In one book about the Goddess Sophia, it reads, "The black goddess is the mistress of web creation spun in her divine matrix" Although there have been outside implications as to racial injustice (! Stewart is African American), she does not feel that this is the case. "This is all about the Benjamins," said Stewart. "It's not about money with me. It's about justice." Stewart's future plans involve a record label, entitled Popsilk Records, and a motion picture production company, All Eyez On Me, in reference to God. "I wrote The Third Eye to wake people up, to remind them why God put them here. There's more to life than money," said Stewart. "My whole to the world is about God and good and about choice, about spirituality over 'technocracy'." If Stewart represents spirituality, then she truly has prevailed over the "technocracy" represented in both the Terminator and the Matrix, and now, ironically, by their supposed creators.

Stewart is currently having discussions with CBS about a possible exclusive story and has several media engagements in the near future to nationally publicize her victory. June 13th 2004. Sophia Stewart's press release read: "The Matrix & Terminator movie franchises have made world history and have ultimately changed the way people view movies and how Hollywood does business, yet the real truth about the creator and creation of these films continue to elude the masses because the hidden secret of the matter is that these films were created and written by a Black woman... a Black woman named Sophia Stewart. But Hollywood does not want you to know this fact simply because it would change history. Also it would encourage our Black children to realize a dream and that is... nothing is impossible for them to achieve!" 


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