First Kryptonite.......now a Real Earth 2?

Wow talk about the comic book world and the real world colliding....wasn't this issue resolved in DC's Crisis series? Check this excerpt out from the AP:

WASHINGTON (April 25) - For the first time astronomers have discovered a planet outside our solar system that is potentially habitable, with Earth-like temperatures, a find researchers described Tuesday as a big step in the search for "life in the universe."


'Significant Step' in Search for Life

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The planet is just the right size, might have water in liquid form, and in galactic terms is relatively nearby at 120 trillion miles away. But the star it closely orbits, known as a "red dwarf ," is much smaller, dimmer and cooler than our sun.

There's still a lot that is unknown about the new planet, which could be deemed inhospitable to life once more is known about it. And it's worth noting that scientists' requirements for habitability count Mars in that category: a size relatively similar to Earth's with temperatures that would permit liquid water. However, this is the first outside our solar system that meets those standards.

"It's a significant step on the way to finding possible life in the universe," said University of Geneva astronomer Michel Mayor, one of 11 European scientists on the team that found the planet. "It's a nice discovery. We still have a lot of questions."


The results of the discovery have not been published but have been submitted to the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.

Alan Boss, who works at the Carnegie Institution of Washington where a U.S. team of astronomers competed in the hunt for an Earth-like planet, called it "a major milestone in this business."

The planet was discovered by the European Southern Observatory's telescope in La Silla, Chile, which has a special instrument that splits light to find wobbles in different wave lengths. Those wobbles can reveal the existence of other worlds.

What they revealed is a planet circling the red dwarf star, Gliese 581. Red dwarfs are low-energy, tiny stars that give off dim red light and last longer than stars like our sun. Until a few years ago, astronomers didn't consider these stars as possible hosts of planets that might sustain life.

Potentially Habitable Planet Found

Holy Reality Batman......Kryptonite found on Earth...for real!

This story definitely interests me on a purely self-indulgent "geek" level. Check out what CTV.ca is reporting about this amazing discovery:

Superman, beware! 'Kryptonite' discovered on earth
Updated Tue. Apr. 24 2007 1:49 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

Superman, beware! Geologists have announced the discovery of a mineral with virtually the same chemical composition as kryptonite -- a substance that the comic superhero must avoid at all costs.

While kryptonite is often depicted in Superman comic books and movies in the form of green crystals that possess the power to render the superhero weak and powerless, the actual mineral is white, powdery and ultimately harmless.

"The new mineral does not contain fluorine and is white rather than green, but in all other respects the chemistry matches that for the rock containing kryptonite," said Dr. Chris Stanley, a mineralogist at London's Natural History Museum.

"We will have to be careful with it -- we wouldn't want to deprive Earth of its most famous superhero!"

Geologists with the world's third-largest mining company, Rio Tinto Plc, found the mineral during an excavation in Serbia.

After they were unable to identify the mineral, they sought Stanley's help.

During his research, Stanley conducted an Internet search for sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide -- the formula of the mysterious mineral. He discovered this same chemical formula was used to identify kryptonite in the movie 'Superman Returns.'

It is unusual to find new minerals in significant quantities, but with the assistance of advanced techniques of Canada's National Research Council, Stanley was able to confirm a new mineral had been discovered.

The new mineral can be used as a source of lithium, which is used in batteries. The mineral could also be used as a source of borate, which is used in cleaning products.

Scientists from the Natural Resources Canada, the Geological Survey of Canada and the Canadian Museum of Nature are working to ensure the new mineral is recognized by the scientific community.

London's Natural History Museum will display the mineral on April 25 and on May 13.

However, the mineral will not be named kryptonite. Instead, it will be formally named Jadarite when it is described in the European Journal of Mineralogy later this year.

More on the Rap "Censorship" Issue....

Perhaps I am paying too much attention to this alleged rap censorship issue that has morphed out of the Imus debacle, but it has become unavoidable. For the last couple of days, I have seen or heard interviews with hip hop mogul, Russell Simmons and I am infuriated by the lies, inaccuracies and deflections that are being submitted for public consumption. As many of you are probably aware by now, Simmons has called for a banning (or the more appropriate description, editing) of three words (nigger, ho and bitch) from the minstrel hop lexicon.

First, certain words are already cleverly edited on our public airwaves in such a way that the listener can still easily decipher the song's intent. Secondly, there are a whole host of underground terms (i.e. dro, hydro, yayo, brain, murk) that would continue to uphold the negative tenets of hip hop's minstrel/gangsta imagery. I'm "liberal" enough to allow the music that we are complaining about to exist. This is really an inverted free speech problem. What am I really saying? Those that are producing this misogynistic and ignorant doggeral have had their fair share of free speech-what Simmons slyly refuses to talk about is expanding the playing field in hiphop to allow alternative music to be heard that would add balance to what we now hear on a 24 hour basis.

Provocative and different sounding hip hop is what is being censored and yet this angle of the issue is consistently left out of the equation. But let me end this diatribe here as this will be picked up on our Thursday radio show. We will also attempt to talk about the frailties of the Black Church as well, if time permits. Also check out the article below from MemphisRap.com concerning Simmons, the NAACP and the censorship debate:

Russell Simmons, Al Sharpton, NAACP Urge Rap/Hip-Hop Censorship
Posted on Tuesday, April 24, 2007 @ 7:10 PM CDT by admin

What is it with everybody and rap/hip-hop these days? Russell Simmons and the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN) issued a statement (April 23) urging the recording industry and media outlets to censor misogynistic lyrics and racist terms from future recordings. The Rev. Al Sharpton announced steps in his battle against rap music and will take his fight into various corporations' boardrooms, by buying stock in companies that promote the music. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) recently announced that it has launched an initiative called 'The Stop Campaign' which will aim to end racist and sexist language, images and concepts in the media. Already, a few local hip-hop radio stations including New York's Power 105.1 and Mississippi's Hot 97.7 have taken action by refusing to play songs with degrading or sexist lyrics.

These are not the only political figures addressing the nation though regarding Hip-Hop. Presidential candidate 08' Barack Obama also spoke about Hip-Hop but in another light. "We are all complicit...let's not just single out the rappers," Obama said, noting that he had heard offensive words in many places other than rap songs.

Meanwhile, in light of Sharpton's actions, Universal Music Group withdrew it's $15,000 contribution to Sharpton's National Action Network, after Sharpton decided it was inappropriate to honor Universal Music Group executive and Island Def Jam CEO, Antonio "L.A." Reid.

It has gone so far that, reportedly, even an advertisement shown on many websites including MySpace which features a rapper who resembles 50 Cent and a photographer whose camera you have to move to "shoot the rapper" has people alarmed.

Meanwhile, over in Memphis, TN, Three 6 Mafia is now under the radar. A Commercial Appeal Columnist has criticized the Memphis in May board for refusing to remove Three Six Mafia from its line up and is calling for a boycott of the Oscar winning rap group.

While many feel that the recent Hip-Hop attacks are publicity based, and Hip-Hop publishers have been quite, others are jumping on board the 'bash train' of Hip-Hop, and now Director and Founder of MemphisRap.com, Hosea Mays, Jr "M Town Luv aka M Town," has responded with a written column in regards to the recent attacks by critics and others against Hip-Hop entitled "Rap/Hip-Hop: You Can't Censor the Truth."

In the column, Mays "M Town" speaks not only about and for the rap/hip-hop community, but also speaks to the parents of the hip-hop generation about their role in it as well and also addresses the latest attempt to boycott Oscar winning group Three 6 Mafia.

What's Up with the Bees?

Are mobile phones causing bees to disappear? Libertarian, Bill Maher during his Real Time broadcast made reference to an Albert Einstein quote: “If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man.” Take a look at an excerpt from the UK's Independent regarding this bee supposition:

Are mobile phones wiping out our bees?
Scientists claim radiation from handsets are to blame for mysterious 'colony collapse' of bees
By Geoffrey Lean and Harriet Shawcross
Published: 15 April 2007
It seems like the plot of a particularly far-fetched horror film. But some scientists suggest that our love of the mobile phone could cause massive food shortages, as the world's harvests fail.

They are putting forward the theory that radiation given off by mobile phones and other hi-tech gadgets is a possible answer to one of the more bizarre mysteries ever to happen in the natural world - the abrupt disappearance of the bees that pollinate crops. Late last week, some bee-keepers claimed that the phenomenon - which started in the US, then spread to continental Europe - was beginning to hit Britain as well.

The theory is that radiation from mobile phones interferes with bees' navigation systems, preventing the famously homeloving species from finding their way back to their hives. Improbable as it may seem, there is now evidence to back this up.

Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) occurs when a hive's inhabitants suddenly disappear, leaving only queens, eggs and a few immature workers, like so many apian Mary Celestes. The vanished bees are never found, but thought to die singly far from home. The parasites, wildlife and other bees that normally raid the honey and pollen left behind when a colony dies, refuse to go anywhere near the abandoned hives.

For more on the missing bees, click on the link below:

Are mobile phones wiping out our bees?

Well....He Could have Called her a Stringy Headed Ho.....

I thought this montage was pretty funny. I really have no thoughts on this matter. I'll leave it up to you guys to pick this apart. I will say this.....young girls have been called worse....ask Imus. Or any gangsta rap artist-except, many girls pay 14 bucks willingly to be dehumanized to a beat. Go figure.

It Appears that the Clowns can Snitch but You Can't!

The ever vigilent commmenter, "Sergio" brought this to my attention. The article below speaks for itself. Suffice it to say, that Cam'ron and his ilk are being disingenuous. According to the Smoking Gun site:

Rapper's Change Of Face
Beaten Cam'ron once had no problems cooperating with the fuzz
APRIL 19--So the rapper Cam'ron is appearing on "60 Minutes" this Sunday to explain why he would never help the police, even if they were investigating a serial killer who lived next door to him. The performer (real name: Cameron Giles) believes that his CD sales and popularity would sag if fans saw him aiding law enforcement. But Giles, 31, hasn't always been so down on the fuzz. In fact, New York Police Department records indicate that he cooperated with cops after he was assaulted at a Harlem playground. According to an NYPD report, Giles--who is listed as "compl," or complainant--got into a "verbal dispute" with about 15 black males "while at basketball game" in August 1999. After the perps knocked him to the ground, Giles was kicked in the head and groin. Giles was debriefed by police at Bellevue Hospital, where he was treated and released. The incident report (and an information sheet including a mug shot of Giles) was included in a 500-page rap world dossier compiled by NYPD officials. The report--excerpts of which you'll find here--includes mug shots, rap sheets, and incident reports on many of hip-hop's biggest stars, as well as members of their entourages.

Looks Like I'll be able to order Designer Genes any day now....

Check out this article I came across from the UK's Timeonline. It appears that researchers are on the verge of developing medication that while taken daily, will be to offset faulty genes that might cause Muscular Dystrophy or cystic fibrosis. Didn't we see this in X-men 3? I jest of course. According to the article in question:

The drug, known as PTC124, has already had encouraging results in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy and cystic fibrosis. The final phase of clinical trials is to begin this year, and it could be licensed as early as 2009.

As well as offering hope of a first effective treatment for two conditions that are at present incurable, the drug has excited scientists because research suggests it should also work against more than 1,800 other genetic illnesses.

PTC124 targets a particular type of mutation that can cause very different symptoms according to the gene that is disrupted. This makes it potentially useful against a range of inherited disorders.

For more on the daily gene pill, click on the link below:

Daily pill to beat genetic diseases

First we had the Chicken Noodle Soup.......now the new dance craze is The Nappy Headed Ho!

This next story serves as a cornerstone example as to why I converted to conservatism. I suspect many people of color will eventually come to the same conclusion that myself and Mr. Starks have arrived at-an aspect of African-American culture jumped the shark many years ago. It appears that due to Black folk not speaking up and allowing a ghettoized media perception to reign supreme without a counterbalance, Whites have become enamored with a new toy-the nappy headed ho phrase.

Case in point, in two separate incidents involving NYC police brass, 4 female police officers (of Black and Latin descent) were called the infamous remark coined by Don Imus by police superiors. This indignation occurs when Black folk, to coin a phrase from blogger, Morris O'Kelly (of EURweb) opt for rightness as opposed to righteousness. Although the disrespect in the matter with the aforementioned female officers is unconscionable, Whites have now cornered people of color in a hypocritical paradox. This conundrum relates to a Black urban (and unfortunately not urbane) cultural standard that permeates and defines our existence. The time for excuses has ended. Time for cultural reorganization and new ideas with an emphasis on Black pride. One can only hope. For more on the "nappy" police officer remarks, click on the link below:

Officers: Boss called us "hos"

Want to know what's really going on in the hood?

Philly struggles with rising murder rate By KATHY MATHESON, Associated Press Writer

A bloody, bullet-filled weekend left 11 people dead across the city, where drugs and disrespect have trumped brotherly love and the murder rate is on pace to be the highest in a decade.

Philadelphia has seen more than one killing a day this year, totaling 127 as of Monday afternoon. New York, Chicago and Los Angeles — whose populations are much larger than Philadelphia's 1.5 million residents — have had fewer homicides this year.

The spike over the weekend was partly blamed on the first warm weather of the season. But rain or shine, Philadelphia police say the chronic problems remain the same: poverty, lax gun laws and a culture of intimidation that keeps witnesses silent and leaves shooters on the streets.

"It's the community's decision right now," Capt. Benjamin Naish said. "They are the people that must stand up and get angry and say, 'Enough is enough.'"

They have, in a way. But the countless candlelight vigils, anti-violence rallies and community meetings have done nothing to stop the murder rate, which is 17 percent higher than last year at this time.

Officials, too, are at wit's end.

"Do something!" District Attorney Lynne Abraham admonished Mayor John Street at one news conference.

Abraham and others have criticized Street for a perceived lack of urgency in responding to violence that killed 406 city residents last year — a nine-year high.

This year, Street has pledged to have 1,000 community activists and clergy trained in conflict resolution. He has paired a tougher juvenile curfew law with stricter enforcement, an effort mayoral spokesman Joe Grace said has reduced shootings by teens in one targeted area.

The city also is spending $3 million to hire 400 parents as truancy officers to keep children in school.

The efforts are commendable, but juvenile crime is a small part of the problem, said Lawrence Sherman, director of the Jerry Lee Center for Criminology at the University of Pennsylvania. None of the murder victims over the weekend was a juvenile.

Most of Philadelphia's killings are by gunfire, most involve young black men and most are the result of arguments, often over drugs but sometimes over trivial insults or perceived slights.

Last month, city officials announced plans to assign 80 additional police officers to a particularly violent neighborhood in southwest Philadelphia, where nevertheless 28-year-old Jovonne Stelly died March 25 trying to get her children out of the crossfire, authorities said.

The next day, police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson announced that top police brass would begin working in uniform in high-crime areas for four hours, one night a week. There were two murders that day.

City officials' repeated calls for tougher gun-purchase laws have gone unheeded at the state Capitol, and Philadelphia does not have the authority to pass its own firearms legislation.

While stricter gun laws would help, so would fewer truants, higher employment and lower poverty rates, Capt. Naish said.

"The commissioner has said a thousand jobs could go further than a thousand police officers," Naish said.

The five Democrats hoping to succeed Street, also a Democrat, have proposed crime plans. Nearly all recommend hiring hundreds of new police officers to buttress the current force of about 6,600; one plan includes spending $15 million to post more surveillance cameras around the city.

At Stelly's funeral, state Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams told the hundreds of mourners that he grew up on the streets that have turned into battle zones.

"The question is, to the politicians of America: What do they do? What can they do?" Williams said. "The answer, truthfully, is: I'm not sure."

Williams, who is black, then asked the black men present to stand. Invoking the names of Stelly's four motherless children, ranging from 6 months to 9 years old, Williams had the men repeat a promise to "protect the women and the children of our 'hood."

"I will be an example that these babies can look up to," the men vowed. "I will no longer be a predator in my own back yard."

Mr. Starks

We Do Snitch on Minstrels Here at Afronerd

Back by popular demand-a second radio broadcast has been scheduled for this Thursday to discuss Cam'ron's stop snitchin' belief system. I'm pretty sure that many of you were aware of Sunday's 60 minutes episode, in which CNN's Anderson Cooper interviewed Mr. Purple Haze himself (no relation to Hendrix, of course) about how cooperating with authorities is tantamount to treason in underclass communities of color. The news report also highlighted interviews with a number of people (including a former teacher of the late Israel Ramirez-Busta Rhymes bodyguard) who also espouse the same "snitches get stitches" attitude. Tune in to Afronerd Radio on Thursday at 9pm in order to hear our analysis of this report. Call in to give us your take at 646-915-9620 or reach us via email/IM-afronerdradio@yahoo. Check out the above snippet of a radio interview (parody, possibly) with Cam'ron where he gets kudos from the host for his anti-snitch reasoning-a perverted thought process that must be eradicated. Click on the links below to see more of the 60 minutes piece in question:

60 Minutes-Stop Snitchin, part 1


60 Minutes-Stop Snitchin, part 2

Graphic Novel Alert!

After changing our blog template, I didn't want you guys to think that I left my enthusiasm for graphic novels behind with the change. I was perusing Rich Watson's column (Glyph) on the PopCultureShock.com website, when I came across his engaging interview with graphic novel writer, Alex Simmons. Simmons is the creator of the Blackjack series which has definitely garnered my interest for two reasons: 1)the book's protagonist is an African-American answer to the Indiana Jones character and, 2)The character Blackjack, according to Simmons is inspired from a real life man of adventure, Eugene Bullard.

Here is an excerpt from the interview in question, courtesy of PopCultureshock:

[In part 2, Alex talks about his success with Blackjack.]

RW: Alright, so let’s talk about Blackjack. How did Blackjack get started?

AS: I’ve always had a love for old movies. Even as a kid, I used to watch the older, black-and-white films, and adventure and mystery stories were my particular favorite. And I didn’t, as a young child, consciously recognize that none of us were there, except maybe if it was in Africa, [where] we were running. We had the funny loin cloth and grassy things on, and we were either taking orders or being chased and shot down, usually stuck with the Tarzan movies, which hey, I grew up watching too. But it used to bother me how the Africans seemed to be totally incapable of dealing with the animals. Tarzan and the Africans all lived in the same jungle, but in the movies, the African natives acted like they’d never seen half these creatures until Tarzan sent them after them. So there were these little discrepancies, but I don’t think I’d made this whole big conscious decision about anything, initially; I was enjoying them. And then when I hit my middle-to-late teens, I was involved in a club, people of different ages, who used to get together on Saturdays and watch the reels of the old serials. So I got to see a lot of those things way before they made them to videotape and DVD. And again, we weren’t anywhere in these things unless we were a porter on a train…

I got into my twenties and I was writing more, and I had a desire to create an action-adventure hero for the comics. Dick Giordano was vice-president and creative director up at DC. I sort of knew him; I knew some people at Marvel. I wanted to write comic books. I thought it was kinda cool; I’d always enjoyed reading them. So I was looking at what I wanted to create. Now, Indiana Jones had been out, the first movie had been out, and I remember thinking again – and that’s when it started to happen, slowly – where were we? I know we were back there, y’know, where were we? So how about a black adventurer, ‘cause then you can see the 30’s and 40’s from that perspective, and it would make the stories more interesting for me to write. And then the more I worked on the character of Aaron Day, the history and his origin and all of that, the more I would do some research to make sure I wasn’t going too far afield of reality. I mean, it was certainly going to be a fictional character, but what would support this?

And as a side note, here is an excerpt of Wiki's synopsis of Eugene Bullard:

Eugene Bullard (9 October 1894 – 12 October 1961) was the first African-American military pilot.

He was born Eugene Jacques Bullard in Columbus, Georgia, in the United States. His father was known as "Big Chief Ox" and his mother was a Creek Indian; together, they had ten children. Bullard stowed away on a ship bound for Scotland to escape racial discrimination (he later claimed to have had witnessed his father's narrow escape from lynching as a child).

While in the United Kingdom he worked as a boxer and also worked in a music hall. On a trip to Paris he decided to stay and joined the French Foreign Legion upon the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Wounded in the 1916 battles around Verdun and awarded the Croix de Guerre, Bullard transferred to the Lafayette Flying Corps in the French Aéronautique Militaire and was eventually assigned to 93 Spad Squadron on 27 August 1917, where he flew some 20 missions and is thought to have shot down two enemy aircraft.

I don't know about you guys, but I'm definitely going to be on the look out for this book not just because it appears to be a different period piece (instead of the civil rights and slavery fare that Black period entertainment usually entails) but also because it actually appears to have all the trappings of a fun read. It has also come to my attention that although this series has been out for quite awhile (hey I don't know everything), Simmons' work was optioned for the development of a feature film a few years ago. For more on the Alex Simmons' interview, his website and Eugene Bullard-click on the links below:

Pop Culture Shock-The Alex Simmons Q-and-A pt. 2


Alex Simmons' Website


Wiki does Eugene Bullard

Looks Like Mr. Starks and I have the Minstrels on the run!

Thanks to blog commenter/supporter "Sergio" for bringing this story to our attention:

Black-owned broadcasting company bans racist and sexist music
By JIM SALTER
Associated Press Writer

ST. LOUIS --A St. Louis company that operates four TV stations and a hip-hop radio station said Wednesday it is banning programming and music lyrics that it deems violent, sexist and racist.

The decision by black-owned Roberts Broadcasting Cos. LLC comes less than a week after Don Imus was fired by CBS Radio for calling members of the Rutgers women's basketball team "nappy-headed hos."

Fallout from the incident renewed debate about lyrics of many rap and hip-hop songs that are racially charged and derogatory toward women. The Rev. Al Sharpton has called entertainment the next battleground after Imus.

St. Louis brothers Michael and Steven Roberts operate a multifaceted business that includes an aviation company, shopping centers, hotels, construction firms and residential developments. The broadcasting unit includes four television stations - WRBU in St. Louis, WZRB in Columbia, S.C., WAZE in Evansville, Ind., and WRBJ in Jackson, Miss. The company also operates WRBJ-FM, a hip-hop station in Jackson.

"We take tremendous pride in being African-American and refuse to let anyone, white or black, strip us of that pride," said Steven Roberts, president and chief operating officer of the company.

The decision will have an immediate impact on WRBJ-FM. Rather than censoring offensive words of songs, Roberts spokeswoman Keesha Dhaene said, "We're going to ban them altogether, which is a hard move for a hip-hop station. If it's offensive in any way toward women, toward African-Americans, it's not going to be played on Hot 97.7."

WRBJ-FM general manager Terrill Weiss said his staff faces a daunting task in sorting through song lyrics.

"There's probably a higher incidence of derogatory language in general in hip-hop music because it's a language of the street," Weiss said. "It reflects life, and their art involves a lot of language that could be deemed objectionable."

Still, Weiss applauded the move by Roberts. "I'm glad they made a decision to take a stand," he said.

In a letter to the staff of WRBJ-FM on Wednesday, chairman and chief executive Michael Roberts wrote that the Imus case "has certainly put new fire under the need to respect ourselves first - specifically the hip-hop nation and rap music's role in desensitizing our country to derogatory comments toward women and each other."

The lineup on Roberts' four TV stations could eventually be affected, but not immediately, Dhaene said. All of the stations but the one in St. Louis are affiliates of the network the CW. The St. Louis station is an affiliate of MyNetworkTV, a mini-network launched last year by News Corp.'s Fox television unit.

"We will begin screening syndicated episodes more closely," Dhaene said. The stations will not censor network programming, but Dhaene said the company has never received complaints about content of the network shows.

Time for your ABC's, 123's, and handcuffs

The fact of the matter is we DO have some kids in schools who are dangerous, disruptive, and beyond reach. Knowing this, what do you think about the following policy being instituted in the Milwaukee school system.


School District May Handcuff Unruly Students
Out-of-Control Kids From Kindergarten Through High School Could Soon Be Restrained By Plastic Handcuffs

April 22, 2007 — - They're used on criminals, inmates and terrorists.

Soon, the pinch of plastic handcuffs could be felt by unruly students, too.

On April 19, the Milwaukee school board voted to begin training security officers in the use of flexible handcuffs.

"Using the flex cuffs is a much better way of restraining a youngster who's out of control than having a number of adults pushing the child to the ground and restraining them," said Milwaukee public schools superintendent William Andrekopoulos.

The vote comes in the wake of a series of violent incidents at Milwaukee high schools. Last October, an attack by a 15-year-old student reportedly left a principal with a concussion and a fractured back. In November, a 17-year-old student allegedly sexually assaulted a teacher in front of a class.

But the handcuffs would not just be used in high schools. The policy would apply even to students as young as kindergarten age.

Effective Violence Prevention or Knee-Jerk Reaction?

Critics say that even if the restraints work, they send the wrong message.

"That's teaching them to adjust to being treated as criminals and we don't want that," said Jerry Ann Hamilton, the NAACP's Milwaukee president.

Opponents also believe the handcuffs could also injure young children, hurting the people the schools are meant to protect. Andrekopoulos countered that training for school safety personnel would keep that from happening.

"This isn't a punishment thing. This is a last resort for children who have serious emotional issues," he said. "School safety personnel would only implement this protocol after extensive training."

But Mary Harrell, a retired corrections officer, doesn't think a training session can adequately teach anyone to handcuff a person safely.

"Temporary training is not good enough," she said. "It's not that you can just walk up and cuff people and they're going to comply."

Harrell believes the superintendent should reevaluate the level of violence in schools and find a better solution than plastic cuffs.

"This is a knee-jerk reaction," she said. "They're fearful, and as opposed to coming up with something intermediate … they come up with rash decisions that effect our children and our community."

Copyright © 2007 ABC News Internet Ventures



Mr. Starks

Chris Brown, Usher.......You're not ready.....uh uh

No disrespect to the aforementioned Black pop idols, but I wanted to take another cultural highlight break. In my opinion, the above clip by far, outpaces anything that Gene Kelly or Fred Astaire (although Donald O'Connor's Make Em' laugh routine might come in a distant second) did during the same time period, but Hollywood racism (then and now)was very adept at stifling African-American artistry and talent. Anyway, I always loved this dance sequence by the late and incomparable Nicholas Brothers from Stormy Weather. We have to preserve our culture folks! Enjoy!

Aren't You Tired of Seeing this Same Brown Face?......

The "gentleman" above allegedly raped and tortured a young female Columbia University student a few days ago, and of course, his face was plastered on the front page of Friday's edition of the New York Daily News. I have to be honest, the media's constant barrage of Black criminality affects me. Fortunately, I know that there are plenty of law abiding and conscious Black people, but it doesn't stop me from having my frustrations with the lower tier criminal element that prey on those that share their ethnicity. There appears to be a no vacancy sign posted on African-American pride as these cretins do not have a clue as to how this decimates the Black image. I have written previous entries in which people of color are often racialized to the extent that criminality is perceived as an endemic trait. If a White person commits a crime, his/her race doesn't appear to be a factor as our culture has normalized whiteness. But when a Black or Brown face is caught up in an anarchic incident, the person's ethnicity becomes the common denominator. This perception must be attacked from many different angles:

1) People of color must start to become self-effacing regarding the disproportionate statistics that are affecting our communities. Denial is a river in Egypt and it also runs deep in Black and Brown neighborhoods.


2) Everyone must confront the media on their distorted reporting and portrayals as it relates to minority folk. Time to do to these media conglomerates what was expeditiously done against Don Imus for his remarks-hit their pockets.


3) Communities of color should start snitching (which will be discussed today on our radio show) and stop tacitly condoning criminal activities that are literally destroying us from the inside out. Case in point-after the Afronerd Radio segment, check out the 60 minutes interview with rapper, Cam'ron scheduled for 7pm. Allegedly he talks about the virtues of not cooperating with authorities and goes as far as stating (hypothetically) that if he knew a serial killer was living next door to him, he would remain silent and probably move. Thank You, Cam'ron for your support and leaving the killer to continue his community works.

Perhaps I will submit more suggestions, but you don't hear me though....more on the above person's alleged handiwork below:

New York Student Raped, Burned

Police ID Suspect In Rape, Torture Of Columbia Student

Sicko suspect tore down wanted posters

Papa Don't Preach........at least Akon Hopes He Doesn't!

It appears that the father of the 14 year old girl (who coincidently is a pastor) has some choice words for Akon concerning the singer and his daughter's lewd performance, which has been making the rounds on the internet for the last few days. Check out what Pastor Dave Alleyne of the Flaming Word Ministry of Chaguanas says regarding the Akon nonsense according to AllHipHop.com:

Pastor Defends Daughter's Raunchy Dance With Akon
By Houston Williams
Date: 4/21/2007 12:40 pm





A pastor and father of a 14-year-old girl has defended his daughter, after she engaged in a raunchy dance with singer Akon.

During a tour stop in Trinidad, Akon and the girl engaged in a dance that simulated aggressive sexual acts on stage in front of a rambunctious crowd.

The act has sparked controversy as the video footage was spread across the world on a variety of online video platforms.

Pastor Dave Alleyne of the Flaming Word Ministry of Chaguanas told The Trinidad Express that his daughter was not in control of the situation.

"She likes dancing and won a competition," Alleyne said. The girl was one seven females that joined Akon on stage to compete for a chance to dance with the Senegal-born singer.

Pastor Alleyne did describe the dance of his 14-year-old daughter and Akon as "atrocious."

"She likes dancing and won a competition," Alleyne said, adding that she became a victim in a situation where she had no control.

Pastor Alleyne has been criticized sharply by his Chaguanas ministry for not expressing more outrage at sexually charged way he danced with the girl.

"They are innocent to the wicked ways of the world and it is our responsibility as elders to keep them safe," Alleyne said.

Many in his church want Akon banned from public performances in the area.

In the video, the crowd is seen cheering on both Akon and the girl to dance the way they did.

This isn't the first time that Akon has been caught on tape dancing in this way.

Online video networks also distributed a lewd dance with actress Tara Reid to Akon's smash hit "Smack Dat." In the video, Akon playfully smacked the Hollywood actress on her gluteus maximus and was then sandwiched between the singer and another man.

At press time, there was no comment from Akon or his representatives.

You Know what I say to Mims, Jibbs & Jeezy......So What!!!

Pardon the pun, but I couldn't resist. When you have clips like this at your disposal you start to understand why the creators of Youtube were given a cool billion. Just being able to access a treasure like this is....well...cool. Check out the maestros of modern jazz, Miles Davis and John Coltrane as they perform Davis' seminal composition, So What. Enjoy your weekend folks!

Check out OUR motto......START Snitchin' next on Afronerd Radio!!

Well, it's that time again folks-a new episode of Afronerd Radio airing live this Sunday (April 22nd) at 5pm. You know the drill-you can talk to us on air at 646-915-9620 or via email/IM-afronerdradio@yahoo. This time around we will be wrapping up last Thursday's show regarding why some people of color have a problem with the term "conservative." We will also read some of your comments and try to fit in the insanity of the "hood's" adherence to an "anti-snitiching" belief system. Check out the above clip, regarding one man's disdain for a stop-snitchin' billboard. Ever the contrarians here at Afronerd, we are developing a start-snitchin' campaign. See you guys on Sunday!

Afronerd Radio-Is "conservative" a dirty word for Blacks?, Insanity of Stop Snitchin'

Still think these Rappers aren't that bad? Maybe you should ask Tony Yayo's mother

Looks like these "clowns" give back to the community in more ways than one.

Home of rapper's mother sprayed with bullets

BY OREN YANIV and MICHAEL WHITE
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Friday, April 20th 2007, 4:00 AM


A barrage of bullets riddled the Queens home of the mother of rap star Tony Yayo, recently arrested for assaulting a rival music mogul's 14-year-old son, cops said yesterday.

"I think they did it to send a message, but we are innocent people," said Yayo's 32-year-old sister, who did not want to be identified. "Either me or my daughter could have been dead."

Yayo, whose real name is Marvin Bernard, is a member of rap megastar 50 Cent's notorious G-Unit crew.

Yayo's sister and her 2-year-old daughter were upstairs when the fusillade pierced the home's front door and picture window Wednesday evening.

Bullet marks marred the ceilings and walls of the den.

Ballistic evidence recovered from the scene showed tha about 12 shots were fired from the street by a powerful weapon, authorities said, but it was unknown whether the shooter was on foot or in a car.

No witnesses had come forward as of last night.

"Is it safe for us to be here?" the rapper's mother asked her daughter yesterday afternoon as she got home, adding that she planned to sleep at a pal's house.

The case was referred to the NYPD's entertainment unit.

Yayo turned himself in to the authorities March 24 and was arraigned on misdemeanor charges of attacking the teen son of music industry rival Jimmy (Henchmen) Rosemond in Manhattan.

The rapper pleaded not guilty in Manhattan Criminal Court and was released on $5,000 bail.

Yayo's lawyer declined to comment yesterday.

Mr. Starks

Guess What....even MORE Madness...

Horrible words and excuses from the grave. I'm still typing (literally) on the run but let's look into the eyes of a sociopath. Introducing Cho Seung-Hui.

More Madness....

The Hole - video powered by Metacafe

Due to time constraints, I am unable to provide the appropriate analysis relating to this matter, but the incredulous video speaks for itself. This Youtube clip shows the singer/producer known as Akon grinding on an underage female fan (14 years old) during a perfomance in Trinidad. I want you guys to also click on the link below from Sister Toldjah's blog-more madness from the peanut gallery pertaining to Sharpton's war on gangsta hiphop and the musings of a madman(Cam'ron). More to follow.

Calling out “hip-hop mogul” Russell Simmons

Oprah's Townhall-Now What?...Part 2

Check out a snippet of part two of Oprah's special Imus fallout series. Stay tuned for our radio broadcast, where we will be discussing this show (among other things) and how these industry executives turned out to be the masters of deflection. Enjoy!

Hero of the Stupid....

You didn't think he was going to win did you? Sayonara Sanjaya! Oh who am I kidding, the winners of American Idol have worse luck than the "losers." He already won. Repeat....name recognition....name recognition. Damn and his sister...no comment.

Well....Bush actually accomplished something....Ban on Partial Birth Abortions

I hope that our readers are clear that despite our conservative leanings here at Afronerd, we are not apologists for the ineptness of the Bush administration. And we're are also not prone to extreme religiosity-which appears to be promulgated by those in the evangelical arm of the neoconservative spectrum. But I do believe that yesterday's Supreme court ruling, banning partial birth abortions was moral, sound and humane. Do I believe that women have the right to control their bodies? Yes. But there does have to be a determination as to what constitutes life. As a zygote...perhaps not. But as a partially formed being....yes. Here's a excerpt from The Independent regarding yesterday's ruling:

Bush's court delivers US abortion ban
By Andrew Gumbel in Los Angeles
Published: 19 April 2007
George Bush's new, conservative Supreme Court delivered a victory to anti-abortion activists yesterday when it upheld the so-called Partial Birth Abortion Act, which outlaws a specific, relatively rare procedure usually carried out on pregnant women reaching the end of the second trimester.

The issue has been mired in controversy for years, with anti-abortion activists arguing that the operation, which involves crushing the foetus's head, is unspeakably barbaric while their opponents say it can, in certain circumstances, be the least traumatic way of ending a pregnancy and causing least damage to the health of the mother.

Six courts have ruled that the 2003 federal law banning the procedure was unconstitutional because it did not provide an exception to protect the life and health of the mother. It seems likely that the Supreme Court would have made a similar ruling until last year, when Sandra Day O'Connor retired and was replaced by Samuel Alito, a hardline conservative. That change shifted the balance on the Court to a 5-4 majority generally hostile towards abortion laws. Before Justice Alito's appointment, John Roberts, a conservative, replaced the late William Rehnquist as Chief Justice.

The ruling yesterday was widely expected, but that made it no less likely to restoke the fires of the abortion debate and heighten speculation that this Supreme Court might one day strike down Roe vs Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that gave women the constitutional right to seek an abortion in the first place.

Writing for the majority, Justice Anthony Kennedy said the procedure was "laden with the power to devalue human life" and was likely to traumatise women who underwent it.

Justice Kennedy also pointed out that other late-pregnancy abortion procedures were available, so banning "intact dilation and extraction" - known only to its opponents as partial-birth abortion - did not necessarily close medical doors in dire circumstances.

For more on this story, click on the link below:

Bush's court delivers US abortion ban

Forget about Bruce Wayne.....Whatever Happened to the Real Batman, Joe Clark!

I've always wondered what happened to the fiery and erudite high school principal, Joe Clark. Clark, who came into prominence during the mid 80s as a highly controversial educator of Paterson, New Jersey's Eastside High School, appeared to drop of the media scene soon after he was immortalized in the film, Lean on Me (above). I thought one of our greatest oversights, was not hiring Clark as an education czar or in some capacity to implement administrative changes in our nation's school system. So out of curiosity, I discovered that Clark is still alive and kicking (one couldn't doubt that) and currently the director of the Essex County Detention House, a juvenile Detention center in Newark, N.J. Let's take a look at a stellar performance by Morgan Freeman as Joe Clark in the film in question and also click on the link below to check out Clark's official website.

Joe Clark's Official website

Hollywood Might Have Gotten it Right this time.........Ed Norton is The INCREDIBLE HULK

The New Bruce Banner / Incredible Hulk IS Edward Norton!
April 15, 2007
Source: Ain't It Cool News, Variety
by Alex Billington

I am stunned, I didn't see this coming from a mile away. That Ang Lee directed Hulk movie that came out in 2003 is going to be lost forever when we finally are hit with The Incredible Hulk coming out in the summer of 2008 now that Edward Norton has been cast as Bruce Banner also known as The Hulk! The news officially comes from Ain't It Cool News, and now confirmed by Variety today. I'm still a bit stunned by this, but if anything it reaffirms my belief that this may be the Hulk movie we all wanted and weren't given back in 2003.

This new Incredible Hulk is being directed by Louis Leterrier this time, the same guy who directed Transporter 1 and 2. As mentioned previously, they're looking at it as a complete remake and do-over than a sequel by any means. Out of everyone I thought that could play the role, I didn't even consider Edward Norton to be one of them. I think he can do it though, but we have yet to see. The Incredible Hulk is currently set for a June 13th, 2008 release.

Forget about the presidential election....What about a Black Presidential Election?

I must thank our commenter and blog supporter Sergio for bringing this insightful article to my attention. The article, written by Morris W. O'Kelly of EurWeb.com posits a faux (or perhaps literal) election for new Black leadership. Something to think about. Here is an excerpt.

African-Americans desire and deserve leadership that can discern “right” from “righteous.”

With that in mind I took painstaking steps to retrace just how and where exactly both of you gentlemen came to hold the office of “Black Leaders” in 2007.

I don’t think I missed any general election, but you are free to correct me if I’m wrong. Also, while doing my research, I didn’t happen across any CNN exposé, USA Today editorial or even a Gallup or ESPN.com poll which quantified or qualified how either of you ascended to the throne of “Black Leader.” I even asked everyone, both young and old at my AME church and nobody could offer a clear and concise answer that satisfied my curiosity as to how we came to this point. So, I ask you the question, was it by election, appointment, military coup or executive decision? With all due respect to your respective civil rights résumés, past exploits don’t answer the question.

Nevertheless, most of the media says you are “Black Leaders,” so then it must be true, right?

That said; if you two gentlemen are “our” leaders, then ipso facto, I as an African-American am a member of your “constituency.” And if you collectively admonish African-Americans to hold their political leaders accountable, then you too must be called on to the carpet.

Although I’m a member of your “constituency,” I did not vote for either of you (read: there wasn’t a vote at all). I wasn’t consulted during the development of your platform(s) and was never apprised of any talking points you’d be using in the media.

Check out the remainder of Mr. O'Kelly's piece below:

THE MO'KELLY REPORT: An Open Letter to Revs. Jesse Jackson & Al Sharpton

Wikipedia's Definition of Black Conservatism......

What exactly is the problem that some people of color have with conservatives of color? This is a question I will pose to our readers in the upcoming radio broadcast. But I think I might bounce the question around a bit before Thursday. The premise or mantra of Afronerd is primarily to debunk commonly held stereotypes as well as to inform. It appears to Mr. Starks and I, that many folks literally have a vituperative response to the term "conservative." It also implies that Blackness and conservatism are mutually exclusive and never the twain shall meet. So let's take a look at Wiki's formal definition of Black Conservatism and why there appears to be a problem with it. A penny for your thoughts.

Wiki Does Black Conservatism (excerpts)

For many Black conservatives, in their own point of view, the key mission is to bring repair to the Black community by applying the following fundamental principles: the pursuit of educational excellence as a means of advancement within the society; policies that promote safety and security in the community beyond the typical casting of a criminal as a "victim" of societal racism; and local economic development rather than looking to the federal government for assistance.

Black conservative politicians, in this regard, are more inclined to support GOP economic policies (i.e., globalization, free-trade agreements, tax cuts), militarism, regional interventions, or other agendas that the vast majority of Blacks oppose. They are therefore sometimes viewed as being promoted to high positions in government due to their supporting views/actions.

A fundamental breaking point between the Black Liberal and the Black Conservative is focused around the balance between a perception of the impact that historical slavery and oppression has on Black people living today versus the power and consequences of personal choices that a person makes in determining his ultimate fate. The Black conservative is more inclined to advance the notion that individual choices toward success and a commitment toward changing one's individual behavior will allow the individual to advance in society with respect to the rights that Blacks have been afforded due to the Civil Rights Movement. The Black liberal counters that collective success in which the least among them are focused upon and brought up to standard is worthy of consideration. Black Conservatives find common ground with Black Nationalists to the extent that they both believe that the black masses have been duped by the politics of condescending white liberals vis a vis the maintenance of the Welfare state.

Black conservatives also tend to be culturally conservative and put a priority on maintaining strong ties to black cultural and family traditions. This would include preferences to Jazz and Gospel music over Hip-hop and so-called Urban Contemporary music. Black conservatives favor traditional nuclear family arrangements and oppose Gay Marriage. They are particularly strong critics of out of wedlock births.

Afronerd Radio, Oprah and Our Commenters......

It's that time again folks! We have another episode of Afronerd Radio scheduled for this Thursday, April 19th at 9pm. Due to the fallout from the Imus firing, it appears that hip hop is next on the list of offenders relating to misogynistic and vitriolic content. Our readers sure had plenty to say about the subject and we are going to do another show in which we will be responding to some of the comments left in the blog. I think we must also touch on how Black conservatism plays a role in addressing these issues. We would like to hear from our readers/commenters-call us live at-646-915-9620 or IM the show via afronerdradio@yahoo. Also pay close attention to the above snippet from a two part Oprah special, entitled Oprah's Town Hall-Now What? This special will also be dissected during Thursday's broadcast. And for Thursday, be there and be square.


Afronerd Radio-Restating the purpose Of Afronerd Radio, Oprah vs The Minstrels, Blog Commenters

Reverend Hot Comb's Capitulation

I was perusing today's New York Daily News and in the Rush & Molloy gossip section, they are reporting that although Reverend Sharpton (hence the "hot comb" reference) is claiming to pursue a campaign against minstrel/misogynistic hip hop, he may also find himself in a compromising position as he may be receiving money from hip hop. I'm really shocked at this allegation. Really. And I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you guys also. Check out the article in question below:

Tuesday, April 17th
2007, 4:00 AM
Rush & Molloy: They didn't mind him scolding Don Imus, but
hip hop's moguls are bristling now that Rev. Al Sharpton is telling them to
watch their mouths."

They didn't mind him scolding Don Imus, but hip hop's moguls are bristling now that Rev. Al Sharpton is telling them to watch their mouths.As he prepares to welcome Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards and Eliot Spitzer to this week's National Action Network convention, Sharpton tells us he plans to use the four-day conclave to deliver a thundering jeremiad against offensive rap.
"We're going to warn the music industry they're next," says Shapton. "I'm going to tell them my momma wasn't no ho, and my daughters ain't no bitches!"

But don't expect the music men to sit still for his sermon. Even as Sharpton kicks off his convention tomorrow morning, Jay-Z, Diddy, Jermaine Dupri and other urban-music honchos will be huddling at a meeting that Hip Hop Summit Action Network heads Russell Simmons and Benjamin Chavis are having at the home of Warner Music CEO Lyor
Cohen. Also expected are top execs like Chris Lighty, Steve Stoute, Craig
Kallman, Kevin Lyles and Steve Rifkind.

"Some of these people see Sharpton as an opportunist," says one source involved in the planning. "He's crying about rap lyrics. At the same time, he's calling all the major music labels to get them to donate $50,000 apiece for a table at his convention tribute to [Island Def Jam chief] L.A. Reid."
Simmons denies the meeting is in response to Sharpton.

"The Rev and I may disagree on this one," he told us yesterday from Chicago, where he and Chavis had debated Sharpton and Daily News columnist Stanley Crouch on "Oprah." "But we need talk about mentorship - not censorship.

"I'm not saying all rap is good. But most of what I hear from
rappers is an honest depiction of what they know. The poet is just reflecting
the truth of society. "If [Sharpton's] convention creates an environment to
help artists take personal responsibility, then that's good. It's creative
aggravation."

Simmons says his group had bought two tables at the L.A. Reid
gala, "but maybe we'll give them back to the Rev and he can sell them."
Adds Chavis: "Stanley Crouch can sit at both of them by himself."

Time for a Movie Break......

I was taking a stroll through Youtube and stumbled across this hour long clip of a documentary on Malcolm X entitled, The Ballot or The Bullet. Let's roll the projector-don't forget your popcorn.

Be Careful Guys.....Scientists May be making us obsolete!

Check out this excerpt from the Daily Telegraph:

A TRANSPLANT technique has been devised that could effectively remove men from the process of creating life.

Scientists have grown human sperm cells from bone marrow, it emerged last night.

They say this may lead to groundbreaking treatment for thousands of men, including cancer patients left sterile by chemotherapy.

But the technique provoked an ethical storm and could soon be jettisoned by the Government over concerns about the safety of using artificial sperm.

Critics said the treatment threatened to breach moral boundaries as it would effectively lead to men being made redundant.

The technique, which could be adapted to help female infertility by growing eggs in a lab, would raise

the prospect of children being born through entirely artificial means.

If the technology were abused, men could be completely sidelined.

A forthcoming shake-up of Britain's fertility laws could see ministers outlaw the use of labgrown sperm and eggs in IVF treatment even in research.

The scientists say it would be wrong to ban such a possibly lifealtering treatment before its potential has been established.

And click on the link below for the article in its entirety:

Daily Telegraph-Women to self-create

I Don't Know Karate but I Know Caraazy

Death Toll Rises to 32 in Virginia Tech Campus Shootings
Salem-News.com
This is being called the worst shooting of any kind in American history.


Some of the students were shot in Virginia Tech's Norris Hall


(BLACKSBURG, Va.) - Two shootings on the Virginia Tech campus today have left 32 dead, including students government officals said.

In addition, police say 28 people were injured, four are in critical condition.

There are unconfirmed reports that the suspect was a young Asian-American male, who was looking for his girlfriend.

It is not clear if the gunman killed himself, or if he was killed by police.

There are media reports that police have recovered two 9-MM handguns, a 22-caliber handgun, and multiple magazines used by the suspect during the rampage.

NBC is reporting that the suspect may have chained the doors to the buildings closed during the shootings.

Families wishing to reunite with students are suggested to meet at the Inn at Virginia Tech.

The university is planning a convocation for Tuesday at noon at Cassell Coliseum for the university community to come together to begin to deal with the tragedy.

Counseling is available in the Bowman Room in the Merriman Center (part of the athletic complex) for employees who seek assistance following today’s events.

All faculty and staff have been released and asked to go home effective immediately.

The university will open tomorrow at 8:00 AM but classes are cancelled.

The college is currently in the process of notifying families of victims.

The Virginia Tech Police are being assisted by numerous other jurisdictions.

Crime scenes are being investigated by the FBI, University Police, and State Police.

At about 7:15 AM this morning a 911 call came to the University Police Department concerning an event in West Ambler Johnston Hall. There were multiple shooting victims.

While in the process of investigating, about two hours later the university received reports of a shooting in Norris Hall.

The police immediately responded. Victims have been transported to various hospitals in the immediate area in the region to receive emergency treatment.

Opening day in August 2006 will always be remembered as the day when an escaped jail inmate allegedly killed a hospital guard off campus and fled to the university. A sheriff's deputy died involved in the manhunt just off campus.

Media outlets are reporting the name of the accused gunman as William Morva.

We're In A Battle Folks! The Rappers are taking cues from Lobbyists!

I made reference to a Daily News article earlier this evening during our music show. The article in question reported that our presidential hopefuls are in cohoots with the enemy. Let's see what will happen if the same folks that were instrumental in Imus' departure will raise the same heat against the corporate entities that subsidize minstrel music. Will the candidates scatter like roaches? Time will tell. Check out an excerpt from the article and then click on the link below to view the piece in its entirety:

When Clinton visits Rutgers University tomorrow to show solidarity with the athletes slimed by fired shock jock Don Imus, she is likely to face questions about her soiree two weeks ago at the lavish Miami home of hip-hop mogul Timbaland.

Born Timothy Mosley, Timbaland is a composer and producer who made his millions with a revolutionary new sound - and by peppering his lyrics with terms like "bitch," "ho" and "n----." His latest, "Give it to Me" is Billboard's No. 1 this week.

The fund-raiser brought in about $800,000 for Clinton's campaign on the crucial last day of the first fund-raising period.

Obama made headlines in November when he invited controversial rapper Ludacris (real name Chris Bridges) to his Chicago office to discuss the singer's new AIDS awareness campaign.

Dems facing rap

The Self Hate that Hate Produced....

I just wanted to provide you guys with even more evidence of a cultural decline indirectly relating to the Don Imus fallout. The above Youtube clip is of a young White male (referred to as "JD") rapping, quite effectively with a recognizable southern drawl-popular among the current stream of minstrel/crunk artists. Please pardon the expletives. He is also spouting the word "nigga" with comfort and reckless abandon. As I have alluded to previously in this blog, the word nigger (or the more popular derivitive, nigga) just does not mean anything to me. Whether it's nappy or nigger, it appears that having these words become the bane of our African-American existence is not only foolhardy but regressive to our future.

Having said all that, the clip represents what happens when you allow a minstrel product to become the default definition of Black culture-white appropriation. If anyone is familiar with this entry's title-it refers to a 1959 Mike Wallace news report, entitled The Hate That Hate Produced. Wallace interviewed a then widely unknown Malcolm X as well as introducing the world to Elijah Muhammad's Nation Of Islam. Of course, the "hate" reference implied that White hatred for persons of African descent birthed an inverted hatred from Blacks back to Caucasians. Almost fifty years later, it appears that Black self-hatred has allowed Whites free reign to mimic a lower echelon Black aesthetic-beyond what many would consider minstrelsy. So, I implore our readers to write, call and/or email the corporate heads we listed in the last post-we have a cultural war on our hands. And for old times sake, let's walk down memory lane and take a look at prescient footage of Malcolm X (below)-take a way the separatist ideology and he could have been mistaken for a Black conservative.

Information

Here are a few folks you need to converse with:

Island Def Jam
Worldwide Plaza
825 8th Avenue, 28th Floor
New York, NY 10019
212-333-8000

or email them via-

http://www.defjam.com


BET
1900 "W" Place, NE
Washington, DC 20018
202-608-2000
TVviewerscomments@bet.com

If you plan to write to BET (someone has to put 106 & Park out of its Coon misery) I would suggest you address letters to either Debra L. Lee (the current CEO) or Reginald Hudlin (of the Hudlin Brothers, recently named President of Entertainment and also a comic book dude, damn).

Reginald can also be contacted through his website:

http://www.hudlinentertainment.com


Interscope Records
2220 Colorado Ave
Santa Monica, CA 90404
310-865-1000
fax#310-865-7096

And if you have been living under a rock for the last 15 years, the man to contact at Interscope is the infamous, Jimmy Iovine. More contacts to come


Viacom
1515 Broadway
New York, NY 10036
(212)258-6000

Viacom purchased BET from Robert Johnson for a gazillion dollars a few years ago and the programming has gone from bad to worse. Send letters addressed to Sumner Redstone, Viacom's Chairman and founder. Don't forget to carbon copy Tom Freston the President and CEO of the company.


MTV Networks

Same address as Viacom. Their phone number is (212)258-8000. Coincidentally, Viacom owns MTV and BET. Both are equally adept at insulting our intelligence and corrupting our youth.

And you thought Don Imus was bad? Now the German military wants to use Blacks as target practice

**Video Shows German Army Instructor Telling Soldier to Envision Black Americans, Then Shoot (after article, below)

AP

BERLIN —
A German army instructor ordered a soldier to envision himself in the Bronx facing hostile African-Americans while firing his machine gun, a video that aired Saturday on national television showed.

The Bronx borough president demanded an apology from the German military and said the clip "indicates that bias and assumptions and racism is alive and well around the world."

Coming after scandals involving photos of German soldiers posing with skulls in Afghanistan and the abuse of recruits by instructors, the video seemed likely to raise more questions about training practices in Germany's conscript army.

The Defense Ministry said the video was shot in July 2006 at barracks in the northern town of Rendsburg and that the army has been aware of it since January.

"We are currently investigating the incident," said Florian Naggies, a spokesman for the army and Defense Ministry.

He did not identify the instructor or the soldier.

The clip shows an instructor and a soldier in camouflage uniforms in a forest. The instructor tells the soldier, "You are in the Bronx. A black van is stopping in front of you. Three African-Americans are getting out and they are insulting your mother in the worst ways. ... Act."

The soldier fires his machine gun several times and yells an obscenity several times in English. The instructor then tells the soldier to curse even louder.

In New York, Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion Jr. said whoever was responsible for the video should be disciplined.

"We need to put to rest the prejudices and the hate that is allowed ... to be perpetuated so easily and cheaply," said Carrion, who is of Puerto Rican descent.

Carrion, who just returned from a trip to Germany to promote Bronx tourism, said he would be willing to go back to talk to people in the German military about his borough.

"If we can get a delegation of German military officials to come or government officials, I will host them," he added. "I'll take them around the Bronx."

The Rev. Al Sharpton said he was outraged that Germans were "depicting blacks as target practice."

"I think this is an incredibly racist kind of insult to African-Americans and it speaks to the kind of institutional racism that people think we are hallucinating about," he said.

The existence of the video was first reported on the home page of the German news magazine Stern on Friday and excerpts were aired on the news television channel n-tv on Saturday.

According to Stern, the 90-second clip had been posted on a Web site used by soldiers to exchange private videos. A soldier who used the site alerted his superiors, the magazine reported.

The video is the latest embarrassment for the German army. Eighteen army instructors are currently on trial for allegedly abusing and humiliating 163 recruits in 2004. Last year, newspapers published photos of German soldiers in Afghanistan posing with a skulls -- including one who exposed himself while holding a skull.

"We can no longer talk about an isolated case," said Lt. Juergen Rose of the Darmstaedter Signal, a group of current and former army officers and sergeants who independently review military procedures.

"Things like this don't happen in the army on an everyday basis, but unfortunately in recent years there have been a number of comparable incidents."

Racist German Military Video


Mr. Starks

Time to Honor Another Great African American-Jackie Robinson

Something to note-tomorrow, April 15th, will mark the 60th anniversary of Brooklyn's number 42 breaking baseball's color barrier. Jackie Robinson is definitely a hero of mine not only because he was a conservative, or resided in St. Albans, N.Y. (my home town) at one time, but also because he maintained a strength of character and resolve the likes of which one would be hard pressed to find in today's sports figures. There have been cases (and shamefully so) of current players of color who honestly do not know who Robinson was or the sacrifices that he made, enabling them to participate in the sports they now take for granted. And Robinson is rarely noted as really being the harbinger of things to come as it relates to breaking down the rules of American apartheid before Dr. King's Civil Rights movement. Please take a gander at the links below commemorating the great Jackie Robinson:

Area athletes honor, remember Jackie Robinson

Montoya's No. 42 to Honor Major League Baseball Legend Jackie Robinson's Debut


Who's like Jackie Robinson today?

Better Late than never

This is yet another example of a thought (now an afterthought) that I had regarding a crucial spotlight moment and my failure to relay it to you guys in a timely fashion. The picture above is of noted educator and historian, Frank Snowden, who died at the age of 95 sometime in February. Please accept my apologies for not mentioning this at an obviously more timely moment but it didn't occur to me until I highlighted Roscoe Lee Browne's death. Well, this is a definitive example of "better late than never." Snowden, a Harvard trained academician, taught at Howard University for more than half a century specializing in the classics-specifically, blacks in ancient Rome and Greece. Two fascinating books written by Mr.Snowden that I think would be beneficial to our readers are Blacks in Antiquity: Ethiopians in the Greco-Roman Experience and Before Color Prejudice: The Ancient View of Blacks . Dr. Snowden should not only be heavily applauded for his scholastic works but also for debunking the notion that Black history should only be relegated to slavery and the subsequent Civil Rights struggle. Snowden should also receive praise for his research into the origins of racial prejudice, which he posited was not endemic to citizens of the ancient world. Here is an excerpt from the Washington Post pertaining to Snowden's contention that during ancient Rome and Greece racism was not an issue:

Using evidence he found in literature and art, he showed that blacks were able not only to coexist with Greeks and Romans but also were often revered as charioteers, fighters and actors.

Because Romans and Greeks first encountered blacks as soldiers and mercenaries and not slaves or "savages," they did not classify them as inferior and seek ways to rationalize their enslavement, he said.

William Harris, a Columbia University professor who specializes in Greek and Roman history, said Dr. Snowden was the first person to write in a serious way about blacks in antiquity, and his books influenced other scholars, including George M. Fredrickson ("Racism: A Short History") and Martin Bernal ("Black Athena").

I would like to give a belated salute to Dr. Snowden for his efforts and accomplishments in the world of historical research and extending the scope for Black excellence in the world of antiquity and beyond. For more on Snowden click on the links below:

Frank Snowden; Major Scholar of Blacks in Antiquity

Wiki on Frank Snowden

Yeasssss! What Time is IT!!!! Giving you guys some more Funk before Sunday!!!

Morris Day Entertainment

Dammit....I just couldn't find my Mims video (hack..had a piece phlegm caught in my throat as I said that), so I went into my crate and found something a tad more fun, funky and musical. It's no mystery that I am a Prince supporter, so I just had to provide you with a taste of Minneapolis' finest, The Time. Time for you guys to purify yourselves in the waters of Lake Minnetonka.....More serious fare coming up next entry.

Music on Afronerd Radio.......This Sunday

Actually, yesterday was slated to be the music show, but we were pulled into talking about Imus like everyone else, so that program was scrapped. This Sunday will definitely be devoted to discussing music-the past, present and (if there is one) future. Let's jam-join us and give us your opinions on Sunday at 5pm. Reach us Live at-646-915-9620 or email/IM via afronerdradio@yahoo. Check out the Miles Davis clip above and then below, chew on the hope for the future with a recent Grammy performance featuring Corinne Bailey Rae, John Mayer and John Legend. From Afronerd Radio-Be there and Be square. Enjoy!



Afronerd Radio-The Music Show

The Great Roscoe Lee Browne Passes

Associated Press
Los Angeles- Actor Roscoe Lee Browne, whose rich voice and dignified bearing brought him an Emmy Award and a Tony nomination, has died.

He was 81.

Browne died Wednesday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center after a long battle with cancer, said Alan Nierob, a spokesman for the family.

Browne's career included classic theater to TV cartoons. He also was a poet and a former world-class athlete.

His deep, cultured voice was heard narrating the 1995 movie "Babe." On screen, his character often was smart, cynical and well-educated, whether a congressman, a judge or a butler.

Born to a Baptist minister in Woodbury, N.J., Browne graduated from historically black Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, where he returned to teach comparative literature and French. He also was a track star, winning the 880-yard run in the 1952 Millrose Games. According to the Internet Movie Database Inc., Browne set a world record for the 800-meter run at Paris in 1951.

Browne was selling wine for an import company when he decided to become a full-time actor in 1956 and had roles that year in the inaugural season of the New York Shakespeare Festival in a production of "Julius Caesar."

In 1961, he starred in an English-language version of Jean Genet's play "The Blacks."

Two years later, he was the Narrator in a Broadway production of "The Ballad of the Sad Cafe," a play by Edward Albee from a novella by Carson McCullers. In a Page One story on the advances by blacks in the theater, the New York Times noted that Browne's understudy was white.

He won an Obie Award in 1965 for his role as a rebellious slave in the off-Broadway "Benito Cereno."

In movies, he was a spy in the 1969 Alfred Hitchcock feature "Topaz" and a camp cook in 1972's "The Cowboys," which starred John Wayne.

"Some critics complained that I spoke too well to be believable" in the cook's role, Browne told The Washington Post in 1972. "When a critic makes that re mark, I think, if I had said, 'Yassuh, boss' to John Wayne, then the critic would have taken a shine to me."

On television, he had memorable guest roles. He was a snobbish black lawyer trapped in an elevator with bigot Archie Bunker in an episode of the 1970s TV comedy "All in the Family" and the butler Saunders in the comedy "Soap." He won an Emmy in 1986 for a guest role as Professor Foster on "The Cosby Show."

In 1992, Browne returned to Broadway in "Two Trains Running," one of August Wilson's acclaimed series of plays on the black experience. It won the Tony for best play and brought Browne a Tony nomination for best featured (supporting) actor.

The Times said he portrayed "the wry perspective of one who believes that human folly knows few bounds and certainly no racial bounds. The performance is wise and slyly life-affirming."

Browne also wrote poetry and included some of it along with works by masters such as Lawrence Ferlinghetti and William Butler Yeats in "Behind the Broken Words," a poetry anthology stage piece that he and Anthony Zerbe performed annually for three decades.

First Images Of Ironman......the movie

I know our own resident Mr. Starks will get a kick out of the above photo. It is a early released picture of Ironman's armor (appears to pay homage to the silver age costume) from the film starring Robert Downey, Terrence Howard (as good ol'Rhodey) and Gwyneth Paltrow, slated for 2008. What do you guys (the comic book aficionados, specifically) think?

London Bridge really is Falling down.....at least for the Brothers.....

I really had intended to discuss Tony Blair's comment about Black criminality in London myself, but I was drafted in the War on Imus (please check out our podcast) and was diverted from providing an analysis. So let's take a look at Sister Toldjah's straightforward approach:

Will Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson head to London next?

Considering what Tony Blair said about knife crime and black culture?

Tony Blair yesterday claimed the spate of knife and gun murders in London was not being caused by poverty, but a distinctive black culture. His remarks angered community leaders, who accused him of ignorance and failing to provide support for black-led efforts to tackle the problem.
One accused him of misunderstanding the advice he had been given on the issue at a Downing Street summit.

Black community leaders reacted after Mr Blair said the recent violence should not be treated as part of a general crime wave, but as specific to black youth. He said people had to drop their political correctness and recognise that the violence would not be stopped “by pretending it is not young black kids doing it”.

It needed to be addressed by a tailored counter-attack in the same way as football hooliganism was reined in by producing measures aimed at the specific problem, rather than general lawlessness.
Mr Blair’s remarks are at odds with those of the Home Office minister Lady Scotland, who told the home affairs select committee last month that the disproportionate number of black youths in the criminal justice system was a function of their disproportionate poverty, and not to do with a distinctive black culture.

Giving the Callaghan lecture in Cardiff, the prime minister admitted he had been “lurching into total frankness” in the final weeks of his premiership. He called on black people to lead the fight against knife crime. He said that “the black community - the vast majority of whom in these communities are decent, law abiding people horrified at what is happening - need to be mobilised in denunciation of this gang culture that is killing innocent young black kids”.

Mr Blair said he had been moved to make his controversial remarks after speaking to a black pastor of a London church at a Downing Street knife crime summit, who said: “When are we going to start saying this is a problem amongst a section of the black community and not, for reasons of political correctness, pretend that this is nothing to do with it?” Mr Blair said there needed to be an “intense police focus” on the minority of young black Britons behind the gun and knife attacks. The laws on knife and gun gangs needed to be toughened and the ringleaders “taken out of circulation”.

[…]

Mr Blair is known to believe the tendency for many black boys to be raised in families without a father leads to a lack of appropriate role models.

He said: “We need to stop thinking of this as a society that has gone wrong - it has not - but of specific groups that for specific reasons have gone outside of the proper lines of respect and good conduct towards others and need by specific measures to be brought back into the fold.”


According to Toldjah:

Wow.

Of course, he’s being denounced by ‘black leaders’ in the UK, as well as a host of indignant politicians and other ususal suspects, but he has nothing to lose at this point since he’s not up for re-election and, as noted in the article, is feeling rather ‘frank’ these days.



I rather like ‘frankness’ myself. But ‘frankness’ usually gets people here in the US in a whole lot of trouble with the PC police, unfortunately. Let’s not let the truth get in the way of wanting to avoid ‘hurting feelings’ or ’stigmatizing’ a group of people.

Let's kick this around a bit-is gangsterism being imported? Does Blair have a point if one were to look beyond notions of political correctness? How does this subject relate to America's notions of Black criminality?

Swan Song for Imus....

Well If you haven't guessed it-Imus is out for the count. First he lost the MSNBC televised gig now CBS fired him from his radio position. I really am saddened for some reason. I believe the real point of this debacle has been missed-anyway, I will elaborate more on this tonight at 9pm via AfronerdRadio.com....click on the link below for more details on the Imus firing:

Imus' Firing