The Michael Jackson Gothenburg Concert 1997

The Michael Jackson Gothenburg Concert 1997


Black and White


You Are Not Alone



Wanna Be Startin Somethin

Has Obama Sold Out Already?

Obama and Health Care

Vick: 'I've Done Some Terrible Things'

Michael Vick said 'I know I've done some terrible things, made a horrible mistake. Now I want to be part of the solution and not the problem,' Vick said Friday, referring to his conviction for his role in running a dogfighting ring. (Aug. 14)

Jon Gosselin Goes Off on Kate, Police Called

Police were called to the home of Jon and Kate Gosselin last night after the soon-to-be divorced spouses got into a heated argument, according to new reports.

One source close to the situation described the situation as such: "Kate showed up at the house unexpectedly during Jon's scheduled time to be with the kids."

As the couple's marriage has unraveled, so has the civility between them in recent weeks. It was quite apparent that Jon Gosselin was not happy to see her.

"Kate couldn't get access to the house. She was upset," said the source.




Tensions between Jon and Kate Gosselin are heating up.

It's not clear who called the police (our money is on Mady and Cara), but witnesses say they heard Jon and Kate arguing audibly. The police arrived but no arrests were made, officials say. Kate Gosselin left and checked into a local hotel.

Perhaps Jon was angered by Kate's media tour this week, during which she's made increasingly scathing remarks about her ex and his post-split lifestyle.

Last night, Kate really gave it to Jon on CNN, primarily for him giving it to new play thing Hailey Glassman - under the same roof as the kids, she alleges!

If so, that's a pretty bold move, Jon. But then again, so is nailing Stephanie Santoro, who's employed as the kids' babysitter when she's not waitressing.

Follow the jump for a video of some of Kate's choice lines on CNN ...

Daryl Mikell Brooks Starting New Civil Rights Group

Message from Brooks
My friends, New Jersey and America is a troubled place and we have all seen too many dreams fade away. We have millions who are impoverished, millions in prisons, and millions more without access to decent healthcare. We live in a state and a nation where not one, but both of the leading parties - yes Democrats and Republicans - have abandoned those who need them the most in order to guarantee the privilege of those who line their pockets. But there is one thing they have forgotten; there is one thing that they have underestimated. They have forgotten that it is precisely those who struggle, who built this country, and it is the poor the oppressed, and the neglected who will fight to make it great.

As the President of the Poor Peoples Campaign, I have joined people of faith all across this country in taking up the banner of the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to say that we must not let dreams of a better world remain dreams. We must fight to make those dreams a reality. We must always pray with our hearts, but we must also pray with our hands for a tomorrow where equality, opportunity, peace and justice are not just nice words at campaign time but the lived experience of every generation.

And what kind of prayer will that be? It will be a prayer to reform a criminal justice system that continues to indict the color of skin. It will be a prayer that begs that all people are to be treated with the dignity they deserve, that they will have access to health care. It will be a prayer that seeks to squash poverty, to fight for better schools, we that protects affirmative action. It is a prayer to preserve this creation that God has so blessed us with and to restore suburb, city, and country. It will be a prayer that ends senseless wars abroad and at home.

My dear citizens, it will always be dangerous to raise our voice as the citizens of old once did. We will always be in danger for attempting to right wrongs, but I must ask: if not now, then when? If not us, then who? The time has come for a new voice, one that places peace and justice at the very heart of its ideology. The time has come to admit that the party we have supported for so long has taken us for granted. It is time now for the Poor People’s Campaign.

To move the People to go out and improve their community

To focus on direct action, justice system reforms, immigration, community economics, gang-related violence, non-violent methods, and housing.

Adequate jobs for the unemployed and the underemployed.

A massive program of building and renovation to provide decent housing for the poor and those Americans who live on minimum, fixed income.

Better schools that will provide students with a world class education.

Adequate medical and dental care for all Americans.

The elimination from the law enforcement and judicial systems of whatever forms of discrimination against minority groups and poor people.
We are hoping that through these efforts; our citizens will be able to understand and navigate situations of changing safety in their communities, changes proposed by health care reforms that affect the elderly and the poor, and changes that need to occur in public education to help the break the cycles of poverty and violence.

Poor People's Campaign/Resurrection City the Movement History:

The first phase of Poor People's Campaign began in May 1968 when nine caravans of poor people arrived in Washington D.C.. The convoys started from different parts of America on May 2 and picked up demonstrators along the way. In Washington, D.C., demonstrators erected a camp called “Resurrection City” on a sixteen-acre site near the Lincoln Memorial. Reverend Ralph Abernathy, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference's (SCLC) successor to the slain Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., began the Poor People's Campaign with the proclamation that "the poor are no longer divided. We are not going to let the White man put us down anymore. It is not white power, and I will give you some news, it's not Black power, either. Its poor power and we are going to use it.”

The Poor People's Campaign (PPC) was a convergence of racial and economic concerns that brought the poor, including those who were black, white, Indian, and Hispanic to live in shantytowns and demonstrate daily in Washington, D.C. from May 14 until June 24, 1968. The PPC was conceived by Dr. Martin Luther King, but unfortunately, was not led by him.

Our intent in 2009 is to move beyond just making poverty visible, since there are already myriads of programs doing that. Our intent is to move toward empowering people to change their environments by training, teaching, and encouraging them to use the skills they have and to gain the skills they lack.
Poor People's Campaign/ The Movement
Email: gcw2008@gmail.com
Mail to: P.O. Box 5430
Trenton, NJ 08638

































Brooks at the poverty march with the SCLC in Jackson, Mississppi<


Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on change

Aerosmith Cancels Tour, Steven Tyler Speaks on Fall

Following its lead singer's serious fall off stage at a South Dakota show, Aerosmith just announced the cancellation of the remainder of their tour:

"In his current condition, Tyler is unable to tour and the band wants to give him time to get healthy," reads the statement from the rockers.

"Words can't express the sadness I feel for having to cancel this tour,” says guitarist Joe Perry. "I would like to thank our loyal fans for sticking by us through thick and thin. We hope we can get the Aerosmith machine up and running again soon."

Meanwhile, Steven Tyler has issued his first public comments on the fall:





"We were in the middle of "Love in an Elevator," Tyler said, "and the band slowly realized something was up. Well, I wasn't gonna go hide under the big top and play ROCK STAR and wait for everything to be fixed.

"I wanted to go out to the crowd to continue the show... so, the Train Kept A- Rollin' and I ran out on the cat walk and grabbed my mic to finish the song. I was doing the Tyler shuffle and then I zigged when I should have zagged... AND I slipped."

"As I live on the edge... I fell off the edge!

"I landed upside down, and after twenty stitches on the back of my head, and a broken left shoulder, I just want to say that I'm plain grateful that I didn't break my neck! In truth, after thousands of live shows, falling off the edge four times ain't too bad."

A good attitude. Here's a video of the Steven Tyler accident ...

Prisons bursting at the seams, destroying our future

By Rev. Al Sharpton

As the battle lines for health care reform are being drawn - and redrawn - a silent segment of the population is strategically left out of the conversation. It's a group of individuals who have been deemed enemies of society, and cast away behind iron bars to fend for themselves. In California's 33 prisons, healthcare is so inadequate that one unnecessary death takes place per week, as inmates are often stacked in triple bunk beds in hallways and gymnasiums. With nearly twice the number of prisoners than they were designed to hold, California prisons will have to reduce at least 40,000 prisoners in the next two years - and it's about time.

Federal judges just released a 184-page order demanding that California's inmate population be reduced by 27%, and gave the state 45 days to come up with a plan. In what they termed an "unconstitutional prison healthcare system", the three-judge panel concluded that disease was spreading rampantly and prisoner-on-prisoner violence was all but unavoidable. Forced to close a $26 billion dollar budget gap, California will now have to look at mechanisms to reducing its extensive prison spending, which in 2007 topped out at nearly $10 billion (approximately $49,000 for each inmate).

Whether it's for pure economic reasons or for an actual concern over the well being of prisoners, California will hopefully serve as an example for a reversal of the ever-growing prison industrial complex. A system that unfairly profiles and detains minorities, American jails produce a vicious cycle of recidivism and community breakdown. Last year, the Pew Center on the States released a scathing report stating that one in every 100 American adults was in jail, and that an astonishing one in 15 black adults was behind bars. According to government reports in 2007, there were three times as many blacks in jail than in college dorms, with Latinos not far behind at 2.7 times more behind bars than in secondary schooling.

In order for us to truly amend our incarceration culture where one in four prisoners in the entire world are in the United States, we have to take a look at the root causes of the dilemma. Why is it that more than half of all black men in America don't finish high school? Why is the unemployment rate in powerful cities like New York at 50% for black men? Why did Congress abolish Pell grants for prisoners in 1994 that virtually eliminated all 350-incarceration college programs across the country? Is it any coincidence then that six out of 10 black men who drop out of high school have spent time in jail by their mid-30s? With unemployment rates on the rise (and many would argue well in to the double digits among people of color), arrests for nonviolent infractions and petty crimes are leaving families motherless, fatherless and hopeless.

We live in a world that promotes law, order and justice, yet our actions often times prove otherwise. As if the implementation of ridiculous drug laws and the 'three strike rule' weren't enough to catapult our prison population, now our children are increasingly finding themselves in handcuffs at an early age. In 2006, a 14-year-old black student in Texas was sentenced to seven years for shoving a teacher's aide, while in 2007, an eighth grader in New York found herself handcuffed to a pole above her head for three hours while being questioned by police for writing on her desk at school. In Chicago it's no better, as 77% of all student arrests were black, although blacks make up just half of the city's student body.

And let's not forget women, who are in fact the largest growing segment of the prison population. According to Prisoners for Children, 85% of women are now serving time for non-violent crimes, with black women six times as likely to go to jail than their white counterparts. These women, often the heads of their households, are forced to withstand dire circumstances including giving birth while in shackles.
In 2006, the state of California spent about $500 million in overtime for its incarceration system, and in 2007, states spent $44 billion in American tax dollars on prisons. Whether it's because of our diminishing economy, or if it's out of genuine concern, California is leading the way - or rather being forced to lead the way - in amending our unjust prison industrial complex. If we truly care about the future our nation and all its inhabitants, each and every state needs to follow suit immediately.

No Surprise Here: Auditors and Regulators Failed to Double-Check Madoff’s Bogus Info

By Greg Farrell and Brooke Masters

The bottom line was: the government was lax, and consequently people lost millions. Maybe if there were consequences for those lax people– like a big fat fine — others might not be so lax in the future.

Bernard Madoff’s $65bn Ponzi scheme was able to evade detection for years partly because auditors and regulators failed to double-check the information his firm gave them, court documents filed in the case of Madoff lieutenant Frank DiPascali suggest.

Mr DiPascali, 52, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to 10 criminal charges and is co-operating with prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Based partly on his information, US authorities filed documents alleging how

Mr Madoff repeatedly deceived regulators and auditors with fake documents and false explanations that they apparently never questioned.

Bill Clinton Takes on Town Hall Disruptions

There was a lot to chew on in former President Bill Clinton’s speech at Netroots Nation, which started warmly but veered off track after hecklers yelled at him over Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.

“You really ought to go to one of those congressional health care meetings,” Clinton snapped. “They’d love to have you.”

After launching into a protracted defense of the process back in 1993, Clinton said that conservative opponents of health care reform were protesting now at town halls because “they know they have no chance to beat health care this time unless” they frighten swing-district Democrats.

“They don’t have the filibuster this time,” Clinton said. In 1993 and 1994, “Bob Dole was running for president,” and all Republicans needed was for “Bill Kristol to write that memo” telling them to slow it down.

Disgraced Dog Fighting Michael Vick Signs with the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles … Why?

The Philadelphia Eagles win the Michael Vick distraction sweepstakes.

Every one deserves a second chance in life it it appears that the NFL has provided one to Michael “dog fighting” Vick. The former Atlanta Falcon QB has signed with the Philadelphia Eagles for a reported two year contract, the first year of the deal is only for a reported $1.6 million. Most people wish they are provided such second chances.

A long with that contract comes the distraction and most likely backlash and protests from PETA for Vick’s past involvement with dog fighting and cruelty to animal. However, more so than that comes the acceptance of the Philly fans, who as everyone knows are tough to win over. Let’s hope for Vick’s sake he does a better job than Santa Claus. Then there are the away games where in every city there will be protests and fans in the stands holding up Milk Bone dog biscuit boxes with Vick’s likeness on it. However, the real issue is how will most fans look at Vick and his actions after he has served prison time for dog fighting?

The other more pressing question as it pertains to the football operations of the Eagles is why take a flyer on Vick when you already have McNabb and just drafted back up Kevin Kolb. Are we really supposed to believe that Vick is competing for a starting QB role? Hardly. What about back up? Many of suspected that Vick will be used in a “wildcat” type offense. You mean to tell me that Philly is willing to go through all the headaches with Vick and the baggage he carries for 5 plays a game from a QB who has not played in two years? Strange at best.

Exit Question: Will Philadelphia change it’s name to the Beagles to make Vick feel more comfortable and at home?