Five US Soldiers Accused in Iraq Rape and Murder Inquiry

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Five US soldiers in Iraq rape and murder inquiry

The Pentagon said yesterday it was pursuing a new war crimes investigation into five American soldiers, alleged to have raped and murdered a young Iraqi woman and killed three members of her family in their home.
Yesterday's investigation is the fourth alleged war crime in Iraq to come to light in a matter of weeks, putting the Pentagon's legal system to its most stringent test since the Vietnam war.

In the latest suspected war crime, it is believed the woman's body was burnt, and that a child was killed along with two other Iraqi adults in the family's home.

The alleged rape and murders are believed to have taken place in the town of Mahmoudiya, about 18 miles south of Baghdad several months ago. The events were brought to the attention of the authorities on June 23 by two soldiers who saw blood on their comrades' clothing and heard them talking about the incident...

It's Lonely Out There

It's lonely out there - The Boston Globe

Americans don't have as many close friends as they used to.

We're networking on myspace.com, sharing photos and text messaging on our cellphones, and blogging at all hours. But a major national survey being released today shows that the average number of people with whom Americans discuss important matters has dropped from three to two in just two decades, a steep falloff in confidants that startled the researchers.

The study by sociologists at Duke University and the University of Arizona provides powerful evidence for the argument that the country is becoming increasingly socially isolated even as cellphones, the Internet, and other technology make people more interconnected. The authors found that fully one-quarter of Americans say they have no one with whom to discuss their most important personal business.

Survey: African-Americans Lag in Efforts To Save More Money For Retirement

Thanks to Patric Dublin for this blog entry!

Atlanta Daily World

African Americans have saved on average $59,000 for retirement, compared to the $93,000 that their White counterparts have saved. This is just one of the important findings in the 2006 Ariel/Schwab Black Investor Survey.
Blacks contribute less to their retirement accounts monthly; the median monthly contribution is $254 for Black employees, compared to $306 for White employees, according to the ninth annual survey.
When asked about other retirement savings outside retirement accounts, the median amount for Blacks who have such savings is $36,000, compared to $75,000 for Whites.
It is a risky trend in light of the uncertainty of pension funds and Social Security, Lisa Toppin, a director of human resources and diversity programs with Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., said.
"It is a disparity that compounds over time," she said.
This year, the survey focused exclusively on retirement planning -- specifically the different expectations and strategies Blacks and Whites have for retirement.
An important difference between Blacks' and Whites' retirement funding is that Blacks are significantly more reliant on employer pensions than Whites, Toppin said.

Does Black Enterprise Ban Dredlocks?

"No Such Policy Here":

"No Such Policy Here'
June 26, 2006
Black Enterprise Seems Alone in Ban on Dreadlocks

It was in 1998 that Kenneth Meeks, then assistant managing editor of the New York Amsterdam News, the Harlem black weekly, interviewed for a job at Black Enterprise magazine. He had worn his hair in dreadlocks for 11 years, and he was aware of the publication's no-dreadlocks policy. But he had twins to feed who were less than a year old.
Though he had free-lanced for the magazine and went for the interview, Meeks didn't give working there a serious thought. But then Black Enterprise offered the salary he wanted. And, as they wooed him, they kept asking, 'Can you cut your locks?'
Meeks is a man who admires the philosophy of the Rastafarian religious movement. But he gave in to Black Enterprise's requirement. 'I took a bunch of photographs for my kids with my locks, I whispered a silent prayer, and handed the scissors to my wife, who did it. For the first year, it was devastating,' said Meeks, who now runs the publication's television enterprises. 'Every lock I passed' on the street, he told Journal-isms, was painful to look at.
This year, as reported Friday, the magazine required a summer intern, Mashaun Simon, who is the student representative on the board of the National Association of Black Journalists, to cut his dreadlocks, too.... "

The US Proxies Who Haunt Washington

Asia Times Online :: Asian News, Business and Economy.: "The US proxies who haunt Washington
By Jason Motlagh

WASHINGTON - After four months of bloody gun battles shook the streets of the Somali capital Mogadishu, jihadist militias loyal to a union of Islamic courts preside over a tense calm and a routed alliance of US-backed warlords is on the run.

Now that the dust has cleared, however, the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is under fire for its clandestine support of secular fighters in a thorny conflict critics say it has failed to grasp, and inadvertently fueled. Worse still, it appears to have chosen the losing side.

But as the United States' messy history of using proxy forces in Africa and elsewhere shows, short-term victories in such dubious dealings assure little.

The most successful campaign to date, the CIA-sponsored
Afghan war against the Soviets, has in fact also been the most destructive: a Faustian pact with Islamist militants that helped end the Cold War while cultivating the 'terror' in the global 'war on terror' that will consume the foreseeable future.... "

Being at Mom with a Home Based Business

Why I love (hate) being a work-at-home mom - Entrepreneur.com - MSNBC.com

created an entire business just so I could be a work-at-home mom. But is it a blessing or a curse? It depends on which day you ask me. Let me tell you what I really think.

I hate being a work-at-home mom because:

No one respects that I'm actually at work. My husband, friends and family still call me throughout the day and expect me to be able to talk on the phone even if it's my precious work time.
My children are almost more tortured having me work at home because throughout the day, I'm constantly having to tell them, "Not now, honey. I have to work". (If I worked at a "real" office, I'd only have to say good-bye once during the day.) ......

A Cautionary Tale About Adjustable Rate Mortgages

Wrenching loss of foreclosure expected to rise : The Morning Call Online: "In 2003, Anita Britten refinanced her two-story brick cottage in Lithonia, Ga. using a hybrid adjustable rate mortgage, or ARM. Her lender reassured her that she could refinance out of the riskier loan into a traditional one when her interest rate started to reset.

Three years later, Britten can't get a new mortgage and her monthly payment has jumped by a third in six months. She can't afford her payments and may face foreclosure if her financial situation doesn't change.

As more ARMs adjust upward and housing prices begin to dip, many Americans such as Britten can't refinance and are finding themselves trapped in too-high monthly payments. For those who can'tmake their payments, foreclosure is the only way out. "

Black vs. Brown in Lynwood CA

Black-Latino Tensions Rise - Newsweek Politics - MSNBC.com: "July 3-10, 2006 issue - Leticia Vasquez calls hers a 'typical immigrant story.' Her parents, poor strivers from Mexico, raised five splendidly thriving children one of whom, Leticia, 34, is now mayor of Lynwood, Calif., the small town where she grew up. It is a heartwarming tale that readily brings to mind a host of cliches about the American dream. But the story does not end with wine, roses and applause. Instead it segues into the troubled terrain of race, corruption and polarization."

An Editorial: Black Power's Quiet Side

Black Power's Quiet Side - New York Times: "Op-Ed Contributor
Black Power's Quiet Side


By PENIEL E. JOSEPH
Published: June 19, 2006
JUST over 40 years ago, on June 16, 1966, Stokely Carmichael, chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, mounted a podium on a sticky evening in the Mississippi Delta and introduced the phrase 'Black Power' to a crowd of civil rights demonstrators. 'Black Power' quickly became the controversial slogan for a movement that was largely perceived as rejecting the civil rights movement's nonviolent tactics and goals of integration in favor of a new ethos of black identity, self-defense and separatism.

For the next several years expressions of black power appeared everywhere: from gun-toting Black Panthers and clench-fisted athletes at the Olympics to sky-high Afros and dashiki-clad poets, politicians and actors. Then, like a bright streaking comet, the movement seemed to vanish as quickly as it appeared, plagued by internal divisions, poor leadership and pressure from authorities......"

The Death of News

The Death of News: "article | posted June 20, 2006 (July 3, 2006 issue)
The Death of News
Mark Crispin Miller

Ten years ago, when we first focused national attention on the dangers of the US media cartel, the situation was already grim, although in retrospect it may seem better than it really was. In the spring of 1996 Fox News was only a conspiracy (which broke a few months later). CNN belonged to Turner Broadcasting, which hadn't yet been gobbled by Time Warner (although it would be just a few months later); Viacom had not yet bought CBS News (although it would in 1999, before they later parted ways); and, as the Telecommunications Act had been passed only months earlier, local radio had not yet largely disappeared from the United States (although it was obviously vanishing). One could still somewhat plausibly assert, as many did, that warnings of a major civic crisis were unfounded, overblown or premature, as there was little evidence of widespread corporate censorship, and so we were a long way from the sort of journalistic meltdown that The Nation had predicted.

Thus was the growing threat of media concentration treated much like global warming, which, back then, was also slighted as a 'controversial' issue ('the experts' being allegedly at odds about it), and one whose consequences, at their worst, were surely centuries away--a catastrophic blunder, as the past decade has made entirely clear to every sane American. Now, as the oceans rise and simmer and the polar bears go under, only theocratic nuts keep quibbling with the inconvenient truth of global warming.....

Ethanol as an Alternative Fuel Source in Latin America

ENERGY-LATIN AMERICA: Ethanol Is All the Rage: "ENERGY-LATIN AMERICA:
Ethanol Is All the Rage
Patricia Grogg

HAVANA, Jun 23 (IPS) - The countries of Latin America are turning more and more to plans for the use and development of ethanol, or alcohol made from sugar cane, as they are feeling an ever-pressing need to diversify their sources of energy for economic and environmental reasons.

Colombia, one of the countries most advanced in this respect after Brazil, the region's undisputed leader, now produces between 900,000 and one million litres a day of ethanol. In 60 percent of the national territory, the petrol sold is a mandatory blend containing 10 percent ethanol.

'The idea is to extend that to the entire country,' Julio C�sar Vera, director of hydrocarbons in the Colombian Ministry of Mines and Energy, told IPS. 'We have already begun to carry out studies for raising the proportion of alcohol in petrol to 20 percent over the next five to 10 years.' "

Juneteenth

Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | Our Town: "In 1992, I stood in ankle-high weeds at Comanche Crossing in Mexia. I had come in part to write a story about Juneteenth. And I had come because, as a recent transplant to Texas, I was having a hard time understanding the holiday.

I quickly learned the historical facts: Juneteenth marks June 19, 1865, when Union Army officer Gordon Granger read the Emancipation Proclamation in Galveston. The reading came two months after the end of the Civil War and more than two years after the document took effect. More than 200,000 Texas slaves were free.

But I couldn't see the soul of Juneteenth. It seemed buried under a plethora of city parades, Miss Juneteenth contests and catfish fries that sprang up to celebrate the occasion. When I visited Comanche Crossing, which is formally known as Booker T. Washington Emancipation Proclamation Park, nothing much was left. Former slaves had purchased the land in the late 1800s as a place to celebrate Juneteenth. Now there were rotting summer cottages, a semicircle of low wooden benches and my tour guide, Lewis Burnett Echols. "

Gentrification Impacts African-Americans in the Northwest

In Parts of U.S. Northwest, a Changing Face:

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Already the whitest major city in America, Portland is rapidly becoming even whiter at its core.

"The heart of the black community is gone," said Charles Ford, 76, a black activist whose neighborhood in Portland has flipped in recent years from majority black to majority white. "There ain't no center anymore."

About 150 miles north in Seattle, the nation's second-whitest major city, the same process of downtown demographic bleaching is accelerating for the same reasons.

An invasion of young, well-educated and mostly white newcomers is buying up and remaking Seattle's Central District, the birthplace of Jimi Hendrix and the once-bluesy home of the young Ray Charles. What had been the largest black-majority community in the Pacific Northwest has become majority white.

Bush Adminstration Rejected Iranian Overtures in 2003

US rejected Iranian overtures in 2003 | Jerusalem Post: "Officials in US President George W. Bush's administration turned down a 2003 Iranian offer to begin talks with the US, recognize Israel, and end support of Palestinian terror organizations, The Washington Post reported on Sunday.
The proposal, which arrived via fax along with a letter of authentication by a Swiss ambassador, was ignored. Reports have circulated in the past that Iran had extended its hand to the US, but the document itself was only recently obtained by the Post - reportedly from Iranian sources - and confirmed as genuine by both American and Iranian officials"

India: An economic superpower in the making?

CNN.com - India's influence soars - Jun 18, 2006: India's influence soars
The 'un-China' could be world's next economic superpower
Sunday, June 18, 2006.

You may not be aware of it, living in the United States, but your world is increasingly being shaped by India. Even if you've never been to India, eaten its food or watched its movies, there is a good chance you interact with it every day of your life. "

Bloods Gang Crashes Peace Party

The Trentonian - Bloods crash kids’ peace party

TRENTON -- Eight members of the Bloods gang set "Sex Money Murder" crashed the city-sponsored Covenant of Peace Children’s March yesterday.

While Mayor Doug Palmer spoke to and danced with some of the hundreds of school children who marched to Mill Hill Park to protest gang gun violence here, the Bloods gathered and lurked at the back of the small amphitheater.

They, too, said they were there in the name of peace. Some wore red bandannas. Some smoked. Their own cameraman filmed their own video.

As the school children filed out afterwards, a half-dozen of the young men who had marched with them -- who were wearing Peace March T-shirts -- reached out to the Bloods and bumped hands as they passed.

A Black Doctor's Patient Problems

A Black Doctor's Patient Problems - Newsweek My Turn - MSNBC.com

The first time it happened I was a brand-spanking-new M.D., filled with an intern's enthusiasm. Proudly wearing my pristine white coat and feeling sure that I was going to save the world, I walked into my patient's room.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Kasongo. How can I help you?" I asked cheerfully. The patient was a pleasant African-American woman whose chief complaint was abdominal pain. I spent the next 10 minutes taking her history, examining her thoroughly and doing a rectal exam to spot signs of internal bleeding. I explained that I'd treat her pain, check her blood work and urine samples, and go from there. "That's great," she said with a smile. "When is the doctor going to see me?"

I frowned. Hadn't she heard me? Hadn't I just administered an invasive exam on her posterior? "I am the doctor," I told her, making myself smile again. Did she sense my newness? Was it my lack of confidence that made it hard for her to believe I had a medical degree? I decided that even though I was a 30-year-old intern, it must be the youthful appearance I inherited from my ageless mother that was confusing her.

That was four years ago. There have been many such incidents since then, ranging from the irritating to the comical, and I no longer have much doubt that what baffled my patient was the color of my skin.

Every Start-Up Business Needs a Mentor!

A Wealth of Experience on Tap

VoIP Phone Systems Vulnerable?

Is Your VoIP Phone Vulnerable?

After I just switch to VoIP, now someone tries to suggest that VoIP may be vulnerable to hacking, phising and spam just like e-mail. Nevermind the fact that none of this has occurred.

Something makes me think that some of the traditional telephone companies had something to do with the article.

Just another one of those articles that makes one reflect by saying hmmm.

More on FEMA Fraud

CNN.com - FEMA hurricane�cards bought�jewelry, erotica - Jun 14, 2006

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A $200 bottle of champagne from Hooters and $300 worth of "Girls Gone Wild" videos were among items bought with debit cards handed out by FEMA to help hurricane victims, auditors probing $1 billion in potential waste and fraud have found.

The cards -- given to people displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita -- also bought diamond jewelry and a vacation in the Dominican Republic, according to the Government Accountability Office audit.

The GAO uncovered records showing that $1,000 from a FEMA debit card went to a Houston divorce lawyer; $600 was spent in a strip club and $400 was spent on "adult erotica products," all of which auditors concluded were "not necessary to satisfy legitimate disaster needs."

$ 1 Billion in Katrina Relief Stolen from FEMA

FEMA relief rife with abuse, fraud, report says - Nightly News with Brian Williams - MSNBC.com


The Bush administration ranks at the top for gross incompetence. First off, these guys couldn't get the relief to the Katrina victims in a timely manner and now we find out that they couldn't even prevent the relief money from getting stolen. This is a replay of all the fraud uncovered by the General Accounting Office in Iraq.

You know, this really begs the question about the whole Homeland Security apparatus as well. An administration who exhibits gross incompetence with administering funds in Katrina relief and in Iraq is not going to become suddenly competent in protecting the nation.

Thinking about this doesn't exactly give one a warm and fuzzy feeling.

Hilliary Clinton Slams Ann Coulter

For those who are unfamiliar, Ann Coulter is a conservative talking head who's written a book she's trying to promote. Apparently, her promotion strategy involves attacking a group of 9/11 widows who supported John Kerry over George Bush, which shouldn't be a biggie considering that Bush's support level has been eroded even among republicans. Anyway, Coulter still has a problem with them. This lady is way over the line.

CNN.com - Clinton slams Coulter's�'vicious' put-down of some 9/11 widows - Jun 7, 2006: "WASHINGTON (AP) -- New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton lashed out at Ann Coulter for a 'vicious, mean-spirited attack' on a group of outspoken 9/11 widows, whom the right-wing television pundit described as 'self-obsessed' and enjoying their husbands' deaths.
Coulter writes in a new book, 'Godless: The Church of Liberalism,' that a group of New Jersey widows whose husbands perished in the World Trade Center act 'as if the terrorist attacks happened only to them.'
She also wrote, 'I've never seen people enjoying their husbands' deaths so much.'"

Network Marketing

Entrepreneur.com

I ran across this article and thought I'd post it as I know that some people have an interest in network marketing. Since I'm an CPA, I often get approached with network marketing proposals as it's known that most people in my business have a client base that they have some degree of influence over. Without fail, I turn down all of these proposals.

While I believe that network marketing can contribute to an individual's skills, I can't recall one instance where I've seen anyone make any real money at this. I prepare a broad variety of business tax returns and in all the tax returns I've done over the years, I've yet to see anyone make more than $ 500, if that. That's not to suggest that someone isn't making real money, it's just not the vast majority of the people who sign up for this sort of activity. I think the growth in the industry numbers are likely due to purchases of goods and services by aspiring network marketers. Most folks are better served by looking at other opportunities if they wish to make real money.

Home Foreclosure Hot Spots

Home foreclosure hot spots - Forbes.com - MSNBC.com

The fact that people are writing about foreclosure hot spots reveals how far things have reversed as far as real estate is concerned, especially considering that this time a year ago, things were booming like they'd never end. What a difference a day makes!

Guerrilla Marketing Ideas

How To Swing With Guerrilla Marketing - Forbes.com

Some great and inexpensive marketing techniques for the small business person in this article.

Being a Black Man

Being a Black Man (washingtonpost.com)

This link is to a series of articles and videos on the topic of African-American males in America.

Generally, it's my feeling that articles addressing the socio-economic aspects of being a black man aren't usually broad enough to reflect the entirety of our experience here in America. Despite the litany of statistics about maladaptive behaviors, there are many black men who know nothing about jails, drugs and crime. There are many who grew up with traditional family structures with fathers in the home. I count myself among that number.

Unlike most articles on this topic, I do believe that this series does offer good balance and is worth a look. Be sure to click on the archives link to read past articles in this series.

African-Americans & Latinos Pay Higher Rates on Mortgages

Study: Blacks, Latinos pay more for mortgages - Real Estate - MSNBC.com

This article references a study where blacks and latinos are found to pay higher interest rates on mortgages mainly due to being steered to subprime products.

While I don't doubt that this is true, I don't believe that this establishes a case for discrimination per se. Rather, I believe this establishes a case for a lack of knowledge; the sort of knowledge gap that needs to be closed. You can only be victimized here based on ignorance.

If one knows his credit score,takes steps to maintain and enhance it and takes care to have a basic knowledge about loan products, it's virtually impossible to be scammed like this.