you know what time it is....

yo check out my boy Alan King's article in the Gazette Newspaper.... Hip-hop conference empowers adults

Hip-hop conference empowers adults
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by Alan King
Staff Writer

Adults reflected on when they were adolescents, as Minnie Riperton's "Memory Lane" played low in the background.

And soon they realized they were no different from their own children.

"I remember the blue-light in the basement," one lady said, as everyone in the Martin's Crosswinds ballroom in Greenbelt recited his or her own experience of slow dances in the basement.

This aspect of the Youth Popular Culture Conference held June 22 helped adults find a way to relate to their youths through past experiences.

Dr. Patricia Harper Hicks and Timothy Jones, workshop facilitators, used an interactive hip-hop quiz where various prizes were awarded to those who associated artists with important events in hip-hop history.

At the beginning of the workshop, Hicks and Jones walked through a row of standing adults who laughed as they clapped and fumbled over the words to "Rapper's Delight," projected on the front screen. Click here to read more

this will take DC hip hop heads back....

so i am in Border at 18th and L NW looking through some magazine and i come across this rag with 50cent on the cover. being that i am totally on this ownership kick ever since i bought my first peice of property, the name of the mag caught my attention. Anyway, i start flipping through and i come to the masthead where i see a picture of 50cent and another fmailiar face......it was the "Da Great Deity Dah"....WHAT!?!?!.
I never knew the brother personally, but he was a fixture on the DC hip hop scene for a quite some time; that cat was CONSTANTLY pushing something, CD's, tapes, Da Great Deity Dah comic books, etc; and then he was just gone! So needless to say I was surprised to see him, not being pictured in his own magazine, but being pictured in his own magazine mugging someone like 50cent.....
Anyway here is link to his site.

Black-conscious hip-hop deals with an overwhelmingly white live audience

The Cotton Club
Black-conscious hip-hop deals with an overwhelmingly white live audience

Armed with messages of Black political resistance, Black pride, and opposition to militarization and corporatization, designed in part to counter the commercial hip-hop party-and-bullshit madness dumbing down the nation's youth, hip-hop's lyrical descendants of the "fight the power" golden era today are booking concerts in record numbers—far beyond anything imaginable by their predecessors. Problem is, they can hardly find a Black face in the audience.

As the Coup (Pick a Bigger Gun), Zion-I (True and Livin'), and the Perceptionists (Black Dialogue) get set for a wave of touring to promote their new CDs this summer, the audience that will be looking back at them unmasks one of the most significant casualties of hip-hop's pop culture ascension: the shrinking Black concert audience for hardcore, political hip-hop.

"My audience has gone from being over 95 percent Black 10 years ago to over 95 percent white today," laments Boots Riley of the Coup, whose 1994 Genocide and Juice responded to Snoop Dogg's 1993 gangsta party anthem "Gin and Juice." "We jokingly refer to our tour as the Cotton Club," he says—a reference to the 1920s and '30s Harlem jazz spot where Black musicians played to whites-only audiences. Click here to read more

now this brother is hard!!

Kenyan, 73, kills leopard with bare hands
Grandfather turns tables on attacking cat by grabbing tongue
Reuters
Updated: 12:55 p.m. ET June 22, 2005

NAIROBI - A 73-year-old Kenyan grandfather reached into the mouth of an attacking leopard and tore out its tongue to kill it, authorities said Wednesday. Click here to read more

All your perception belongs to us: the politics of the symbol

Symbolic Lynching Resolution Forced Concrete Political Choice

By Terry M. Neal
washingtonpost.com Staff Writer
Thursday, June 23, 2005; 8:12 AM

There's not much these days that the two parties in Washington can rally around, as evidenced by the increasingly shrill tone here. You might think that one thing on which everyone in both parties could agree would be a resolution apologizing for the Senate's failure, over many decades, to make it a federal crime for racists to hunt black people like animals and hang them from trees.

When the Senate passed just such a resolution last week, 21 senators had not signed on as co-sponsors. Three of those 21 were Democrats, who added their names the next day. Seven Republicans also signed on after the vote, leaving 11 Senators -- all Republicans -- who have yet to sign on as co-sponsors. Because Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) opted for a voice vote instead of a roll call vote, and the resolution passed with only a few senators actually in the chamber. For supporters of the resolution, led by Sens. George Allen (R-Va.) and Mary Landrieu (D-La.), that elevated the importance of having all 100 members of the Senate sign on as co-sponsors, because it would officially put the support of each member into the record. Click here to read more

"All your personal data belongs to us"

Pentagon Creating Student Database
Recruiting Tool For Military Raises Privacy Concerns

By Jonathan Krim
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 23, 2005; A01

The Defense Department began working yesterday with a private marketing firm to create a database of high school students ages 16 to 18 and all college students to help the military identify potential recruits in a time of dwindling enlistment in some branches.

The program is provoking a furor among privacy advocates. The new database will include personal information including birth dates, Social Security numbers, e-mail addresses, grade-point averages, ethnicity and what subjects the students are studying.

The data will be managed by BeNow Inc. of Wakefield, Mass., one of many marketing firms that use computers to analyze large amounts of data to target potential customers based on their personal profiles and habits.

"The purpose of the system . . . is to provide a single central facility within the Department of Defense to compile, process and distribute files of individuals who meet age and minimum school requirements for military service," according to the official notice of the program.

Privacy advocates said the plan appeared to be an effort to circumvent laws that restrict the government's right to collect or hold citizen information by turning to private firms to do the work.

Some information on high school students already is given to military recruiters in a separate program under provisions of the 2002 No Child Left Behind Act. Recruiters have been using the information to contact students at home, angering some parents and school districts around the country.

School systems that fail to provide that information risk losing federal funds, although individual parents or students can withhold information that would be transferred to the military by their districts. John Moriarty, president of the PTA at Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda, said the issue has "generated a great deal of angst" among many parents participating in an e-mail discussion group.

Under the new system, additional data will be collected from commercial data brokers, state drivers' license records and other sources, including information already held by the military.

"Using multiple sources allows the compilation of a more complete list of eligible candidates to join the military," according to written statements provided by Pentagon spokeswoman Lt. Col. Ellen Krenke in response to questions. "This program is important because it helps bolster the effectiveness of all the services' recruiting and retention efforts."

The Pentagon's statements added that anyone can "opt out" of the system by providing detailed personal information that will be kept in a separate "suppression file." That file will be matched with the full database regularly to ensure that those who do not wish to be contacted are not, according to the Pentagon.

But privacy advocates said using database marketers for military recruitment is inappropriate.

"We support the U.S. armed forces, and understand that DoD faces serious challenges in recruiting for the military," a coalition of privacy groups wrote to the Pentagon after notice of the program was published in the Federal Register a month ago. "But . . . the collection of this information is not consistent with the Privacy Act, which was passed by Congress to reduce the government's collection of personal information on Americans." Click here to read more

"All your homes belong to us"

Supreme Court Rules Cities May Seize Homes

By HOPE YEN
The Associated Press
Thursday, June 23, 2005; 10:43 AM

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that local governments may seize people's homes and businesses _ even against their will _ for private economic development.

It was a decision fraught with huge implications for a country with many areas, particularly the rapidly growing urban and suburban areas, facing countervailing pressures of development and property ownership rights.

The 5-4 ruling represented a defeat for some Connecticut residents whose homes are slated for destruction to make room for an office complex. They argued that cities have no right to take their land except for projects with a clear public use, such as roads or schools, or to revitalize blighted areas. Click here to read more

African American Heritage Fetsival in Bmore June 24-26

Dates: June 24-26, 2005
Location: Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Admission: $1.00 Donation

The African American Heritage Festival is a family celebration of the history, culture, heritage and arts of African Americans. The festival embraces rich traditions and is committed to providing cultural experiences from the African Diaspora.
The three (3) day Festival will attract a local and national audience of more than 460,000 visitors. Embracing a spirit of community, the Festival will include specific areas for children, education, visual arts, vendors, entertainment, and community organizations.

Click here for more info

Sankofa Dance Theater, Angela Johnson , Fertile Ground, India Arie, Lauryn Hill, Doug E. Fresh, Black Notes, etc too many people to completely listgo here for a full schedule...

The African Diaspora Ancestral Commemoration Institute (ADACI) 13th Annual Commemoration

Saturday, June 18, 2005, 7:00 AM - 10:00 PM
The African Diaspora Ancestral Commemoration Institute (ADACI) 13th Annual Commemoration “Re-Envisioning Ancestors: Maroon Films and the Legacy of Resistance”

Howard University’s Blackburn Center, Digital Auditorium, 2397 6th Street, NW, Washington, DC

The African Diaspora Ancestral Commemoration Institute (ADACI) 13th Annual Commemoration will highlight the historical and contemporary manifestations of Maroonism, featuring a mini film festival, panel discussion, and cultural presentation on the legacy of resistance.

At the ADACI program this year there will be a presentation of the first "Walking in the Footsteps of the Ancestors Award" to Bro. Damu Smith, Prof. Haile Gerima and Dr. Acklyn Lynch.

For more information contact:
Eurica Huggins Axum 202.581.4337
Karla M. Wynn Diouf 443.570.5667
Paula Wright Coleman 301.292.6822
or click or here

African Diaspora Ancestral Commemoration Institute, P.O. Box 77278, Washington, D.C. 20013-7278
Tel: (Washington) 202.581.4337 (Baltimore) 443.570-5667
Fax: 202.635.7355

ADACI Washington…ADACI Senegal… ADACI Nigeria Imte Release

National Archives presents early african american films

Friday, June 17 & Saturday, June 18
Close Up in Black
In partnership with the Foundation for the National Archives, the Charles Guggenheim Center for the Documentary Film at the National Archives, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the National Archives presents three programs in conjunction with the exhibit "Close Up in Black: African American Film Posters." The exhibit, from the collection of the Academy, is on display at the Smithsonian Institution's International Gallery through July 28, and takes a historical look at African American cinema through the vibrant medium of the movie poster. Reservations required for all three films. Click here to read more

other events

Bakari Kitwana -- Author of "Why White Kids Love Hip Hop: Wankstas, Wiggers, Wannabes and the New Reality of Race in America." @ Mimi's American Bistro, 2120 P St. NW. 5pm. Free. 202-464-6464.


MYRLIE EVERS-WILLIAM, discusses and signs copies of The Autobiography of Medgar Evers. Politics and Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW. Wed., 6/15, at 7 p.m. Free. (202) 364-1919.



Click here for TransAfrica Forum's Community Events Page

Caribbean American Heritage Month, June 2005

also go here for more info

Death Row Conviction Overturned Over Race

Death Row Conviction Overturned Over Race
Supreme Court Cites Jury Selection Bias

By William Branigin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, June 13, 2005; 3:18 PM

The Supreme Court ruled today that prosecutors in a Texas murder trial unfairly kept blacks off a jury that convicted a black man in 1986 and sentenced him to death.

The 6-3 decision overturned an appeals court ruling in the case of Thomas Miller-El, who was found guilty of the execution-style murder of a 25-year-old motel clerk during a robbery near Dallas in November 1985.

In a separate decision, the Supreme Court today also sided with a black defendant in California who claimed that jury selection in his case was racially biased, resulting in his conviction on charges he killed his white girlfriend's baby.

In both cases, the underlying issue was prosecutors' use of "peremptory challenges" to dismiss a limited number of jurors without giving a reason. The court did not rule in either case on the constitutionality of such challenges, but Justice Stephen G. Breyer, in a concurring opinion in the Texas case, wrote that "the peremptory challenge system as a whole" should be reconsidered. Click here to read more

"deep in the heart of Texas...."

LINDEN, Texas (AP) -- After a mentally disabled black man was found beaten, unconscious, and shivering on a fire ant mound in 2003, four white men charged in the crime could have faced 10 years in prison.

But folks in this poor, pine-locked Texas hamlet of 2,300 say they knew better. Click here to read more

FRESH FRIDAY @ the BLACK CAT!!! w/PRINCE PAUL, W. ELLINGTON & PPP!!!

ODUNDE FESTIVAL in Philly SUNDAY JUNE 12

ODUNDE Festival official website


Sunday, June 12, 2005 @ 10:00 am
FREE!
· · ·
The annual ODUNDE African American festival, will hold its 30th annual celebration on Sunday, June 12, 2005.
ODUNDE attracts over 300,000 people annually and is one of the largest community- based street festivals held in the country. Click here to read more

WIl the US try to bring "democracy" to Cuba?

What do y'all thing the implications of HR 193 will have on political refugees living in exile in Cuba?


Do y'all thing Hentoff analysis is off? Do you think Dr. Oscar Elais Biscet is being presented as "Afro-Cuban" or "Black" and "follower of Martin Luther King and Gandhi' to further rally American support (particularly African American support) of some type of US intervention in Cuba?

---

Click here to read more

GM big layoffs

General Motors Cutting 25,000 U.S. Jobs

By Daniela Deane
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, June 7, 2005; 12:15 PM

General Motors Corp. announced today it plans to cut 25,000 jobs in the United States over the next three years by closing various assembly and component plants, a move brought on by both a cooling of the American love affair with the mighty SUV and rapidly spiking health care costs.

Rick Wagoner, chairman and chief executive of GM, told a packed annual shareholder's meeting in Wilmington, Del., this morning that the undisclosed plant closings will save the world's largest automaker an estimated $2.5 billion a year once completed. He said the job losses were prompted by a "sudden downturn in performance" in the U.S. market. Click here to read more

DC area housing

Putting Renters in a Tight Spot
Condominium Conversions Force Many to Find New Housing

By David Cho
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, June 7, 2005; B01

Elsie Cunningham's landlord presented her with a difficult choice: buy her Arlington apartment or pack up and move.

Cunningham, 62, had been renting the two-bedroom unit for $1,300 a month. Earlier this year, the landlord at the Brittany complex said she could buy it for $421,000, which would require a mortgage far beyond her means.

"We had a lot of elderly and disabled friends . . . who had planned on dying at the Brittany," said Cunningham, a retired federal worker who lived there for 18 years. "The shock of having to move very quickly because they could not afford to purchase their homes or did not want to purchase was devastating."

Landlords seeking to exploit skyrocketing real estate prices are converting apartments into condominiums at a blistering pace, a trend that is providing new buying opportunities for some of the region's middle-class residents but is also pushing thousands of less-affluent residents out of their homes.

Five thousand area apartments become condos in 2003, and a whopping 14,500 in 2004, according to Delta Associates, a real estate consulting firm. The number of conversions this year is expected to far surpass last year's total, housing officials say. Click here to read more

art show tonight 6-6-05 @ Bar Nun 8pm

Douglass Originals
http://www.dnstar.org Click here to read more

Opus Akoben is back (online that is)!!

Actually they never went anywherethey were just grinding, wearing the many hats they do. If you see any members of this band congratulate them on their appointment to the State Department's Cultural Arts Ambassador Program! Brothers is working it out!
New Opus Akoben website

PS- I think Kokayi is doing something in NY this weekend cna someone confirm that?

assumption, (conspicuous) consumption and class: part 2

Fortune's Wheels
Sleek, Sparkling Rims Power A $3.1 Billion Aftermarket Industry

By Neely Tucker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 2, 2005; C01

We write today in honor of chrome. We write of the lowly car tire elevated to art form. Of P. Diddy and designer wheels, of Shaq and the $40,000, 24-inch Superman set of spokes on which his la fabulousness glides.

We write today of rims.

We write of the formerly unremarkable steel or aluminum cylinders which, when bolted onto a grimy axle, support your tires. A hundred years, they make cars in Detroit and everywhere else and most people didn't think too much about rims, which usually were plain old utilitarian wheels -- so ugly that you hid them with hubcaps.

What idiots. Click here to read more

assumption, (conspicuous) consumption and class: part 1

May 29, 2005
When the Joneses Wear Jeans
By JENNIFER STEINHAUER

BEACHWOOD, Ohio - It was 4:30 p.m., sweet hour of opportunity at the Beachwood Place Mall.

Shoppers were drifting into stores in the rush before dinner, and the sales help, as if on cue, began a retail ritual: trying to tell the buyers from the lookers, the platinum-card holders from those who could barely pay their monthly minimum balance.

It is not always easy. Ellyn Lebby, a sales clerk at Saks Fifth Avenue, said she had a customer who regularly bought $3,000 suits but "who looks like he should be standing outside shaking a cup."

At Oh How Cute, a children's boutique, the owner, Kira Alexander, checks out shoppers' fingernails. A good manicure usually signals money. "But then again," Ms. Alexander conceded, "I don't have nice nails and I can buy whatever I want."

Down the mall at the Godiva chocolate store, Mark Fiorilli, the manager, does not even bother trying to figure out who has money. Over the course of a few hours, his shoppers included a young woman with a giant diamond ring and a former airplane parts inspector living off her disability checks.

"You can't make assumptions," Mr. Fiorilli said. Click here to read more

could this happen to housing in DC? is happenning already?

When the Numbers Don't Match
By WILLIAM NEUMAN

AS real estate prices have soared in recent months, some buyers have found that the apartments they've agreed to purchase were appraised for less than the sale price - with often knotty consequences.

Sometimes, the collision of inflated prices and deflated expectations so unnerves buyers that they look for ways to get out of a deal. Other times, they still want to go ahead but are forced to find more cash or more creative financing, because a low appraisal means they can't borrow as much in the form of a traditional mortgage.

A bank that is financing a home purchase uses an appraisal to make sure the price being paid reflects the market value of the property, so that it could recoup its capital if the borrower defaults. In setting a value for a property, appraisers rely primarily on data from comparable closed sales, known as "comps."

But in areas where prices have been rising rapidly, closed sales may represent an outdated snapshot of a market, taken several months earlier when prices may have been significantly lower. According to a market report prepared by Halstead Property, the average price for all Manhattan apartment sales that closed in April was 17 percent higher than the average for December. In many parts of the city, prices have climbed even more rapidly, and, especially in those areas, the prices on contracts being signed today can be expected to be significantly higher than recent closings. Click here to read more

the housing hustle in DC

A Crash Course in Dealmaking

One Group of D.C. Tenants Chooses to Look Beyond a Quick Sale

By Robert E. Pierre
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, June 1, 2005; B01

The competing developers stepped over condoms and other trash in the stairwells to make their pitch to tenant association President Thaia Grace and her neighbors at 1020 Monroe St. NW.

The 22-unit apartment building, within walking distance of two Metro stations, had a tentative offer on it for $1 million -- proof that Washington's almost insatiable demand for luxury condos and rentals had reached the eastern edge of Columbia Heights, where barren lots, graffiti and crumbling sidewalks had been the norm.

Click here to read more

hello matrix in 2050: Brain downloads 'possible by 2050' from CNN

Brain downloads 'possible by 2050'

London, England -- By the middle of the 21st century it will be possible to download your brain to a supercomputer, according to a leading thinker on the future.

Click here to read more