Rising youth crime in US

Justice Department to spend nearly $50 million to fight gangs and guns
Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Increasing violence among teenagers and other youths appears to have contributed to a nationwide crime spike, the Justice Department said Tuesday.

Gangs and gun violence are partly to blame for the rise in crime that is on pace to increase for the second straight year, says Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in a prepared speech.

In response, the Justice Department is pledging to spend nearly $50 million this year to combat gangs and guns, and will push Congress to enact new laws to let the federal government better investigate and prosecute violent crime. See: U.S. reports rising youth crime

KNN - Is throwing more money at the problem really the answer? Let's hear from you!!!

Report: U.S. health care expensive, inefficient

America ranks last among six countries on key measures, group finds
Reuters News Service

WASHINGTON - Americans get the poorest health care and yet pay the most compared to five other rich countries, according to a report released on Tuesday.

Germany, Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Canada all provide better care for less money, the Commonwealth Fund report found.

“The U.S. health care system ranks last compared with five other nations on measures of quality, access, efficiency, equity, and outcomes,” the non-profit group, which studies health care issues, said in a statement. See: Report: U.S. health care inefficient

Rap music sales decline

Violence, demeaning lyrics give industry negative image -The hip-hop and rap industries are losing fans and sales. Sales dropped 20 percent nationwide from 2005 to 2006
By Mark Dent
Kansa.com

Television has taken on an MTV, BET image the last few weeks. Rapper Cam’ron told everyone to stop snitching on “60 Minutes.” Common said all women were princesses on “Oprah.” Snoop Dogg’s explanation of how rapper’s usage of words differs from Don Imus’ played on several network news programs.

Their goal: to restore hip-hop’s image in the wake of recent criticism stemming from Don Imus’ now infamous words about the Rutgers women’s basketball team.

But they may be too late.

Long before Imus uttered his “nappy-headed ho” comment, rap, the music part of hip-hop culture, was in a downward spiral. After about 30 years of growth, rap sales nationwide decreased 21 percent from 2005 to 2006. Sales of other kinds of music in the same time frame only went down 6 percent. Those numbers, from the Recording Industry Association of America, include compact disc and digital sales.

Lawrence rap, which is usually grouped together with Kansas City as one scene because of the cities’ close proximity and large number of venues in Lawrence, has also been affected. Sales have plummeted about 70 percent at one Lawrence music store since 2005 and crowds have decreased where rap artists play.

“The last few years have been terrible for rap,” said Chuck “Jigsaw” Creekmur, co-founder and CEO of AllHipHop.com, a leading rap Web site. See: http://www.kansan.com/stories/2007/may/10/rap/?news

Firefighters battle US blazes coast to coast

MSN News

US firefighters have battled huge blazes, including one that burned homes and forced residents and visitors on Santa Catalina Island to flee the resort off the southern California coast.

Dozens of fire engines arrived through the night aboard giant military hovercraft from the Marine Corps' Camp Pendleton. The high-speed hovercraft can carry 60 tons over land or water and are often used by the military on humanitarian missions.

The blaze broke out on Thursday afternoon on the island more than 20 miles off the coast.
Flames threatened the city limits of Avalon, where hundreds of people lined up at the harbour to board ferries back to the mainland. Many covered their faces with towels and bandanas as ashes fell.

A few homes burned but firefighters were protecting other properties late into the night, Avalon Fire Chief Steven Hoefs said. About 1,200 homes were under voluntary or mandatory evacuation orders.

In Georgia, a second wildfire in Okefenokee Swamp has burned more than 100,000 acres, rivalling in just five days the vast record-setting fire that has scorched south-east Georgia for more than three weeks, firefighters said.

The rapidly growing fire, fed by fast-burning swamp grasses, was ignited ON Saturday by a lightning strike in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.

Georgia and Florida have been battling wildfires for weeks, with nearly 300 square miles charred as a drought has left the land tinder-dry.

Smoke-filled air created a burning smell and a dusting of ashes that coated cars and buildings through much of Florida and south-eastern Georgia. The haze over Florida forced the closure of several highways.

Health officials warned the elderly, small children and people with breathing problems to stay indoors, although some areas were not as smoky. No one has died in the fires and just one firefighter had minor injuries.

The New Soul Vegetarian Cookbook

From
Communicators Press Books

At last, the very best recipes culled from the kitchens of the award-winning Soul Vegetarian restaurant chain. Good eating has married good health in this collection of fresh and exciting main dishes, entrees, appetizers and desserts that highlight the very best of healthy, delicious and easy to prepare, vegetarian cuisine. The step-by-step instructions are exact, and easy-to-follow, with an accompanying guide for weights and measures, and a handy list of natural supplements and vitamins.

To place your order click on: Communicators Press Online: The New Soul Vegetarian Cookbook

Yahweh Ben Yahweh dies at 71

BY AMY DRISCOLL
adriscoll@MiamiHerald.com

Yahweh Ben Yahweh, who founded a Liberty City temple in Florida that transformed the neighborhood in the 1980s, is dead at 71.

Yahweh Ben Yahweh, died Monday in Miami. Yahweh, 71, died of prostate cancer in his sleep, his lawyers said.

KNN - Yahweh Ben Yahweh has no affiliation with the African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem.

L.A. fire forces evacuation of homes, landmarks

A sad night for Los Angeles
MSNBC News Service

LOS ANGELES - Firefighters made progress early Wednesday against a wildfire blazing over Dante’s View in the brush-covered hills behind the city’s iconic Griffith Observatory. Animals at the nearby Los Angeles Zoo were moved indoors, and dozens of homes were evacuated.

The 600-acre blaze in sprawling Griffith Park was just one firefighters were battling across the nation. A wildfire in northern Minnesota has already destroyed 40 homes and buildings, and brush fires in Georgia and northern Florida have charred more than 200 square miles.

Overnight, five helicopters flew dangerous water-dropping missions in Los Angeles, helping fire crews get the blaze about 40 percent contained. Griffith Park is a mix of wilderness, cultural sites, horse and hiking trails and recreational facilities set on more than 4,000 acres in the hills between Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley. SEE: Progress made in L.A. fire

Too many babies are teeny couch potatoes

Study finds 90 percent of kids under age 2 watch TV and DVDs
Reuters News Service

About 90 percent of U.S. children under age 2 and as many as 40 percent of infants under three months are regular watchers of television, DVDs and videos, researchers said on Monday.

They said the number of young kids watching TV is much greater than expected.

A second study suggested excessive TV viewing can lead to attention and learning problems down the road.

The American Academy of Pediatrics estimates that children in the United States watch about four hours of television every day. They recommend that children under age 2 should not watch any and older children should watch no more than 2 hours a day of quality programming.

In a separate survey of 1,051 parents published in the journal Pediatrics, 75 percent of children aged 0 to 6 were found to watch TV every day, often in their own bedrooms.

A second study in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine found that teens who watch three to four hours of television a day are more likely to have attention or learning problems and are less likely to get a college degree.

“Even watching more than an hour of TV per day had some adverse consequences, but three hours was much worse than one hour, and two was worse than one,” Jeffrey Johnson of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and the New York State Psychiatric Institute said in a telephone interview. See: Too many babies are TV watchers

Softball: Dimona steals win from Tigers

By JPOST.COM STAFF

A straight steal of home gave Dimona a 2-1 win over the Tigers in an Israel Softball Association game last week.

On Monday, Yigahl Ben Israel took off for home plate on a throw back to Tigers pitcher Goose Gillett to break the 1-1 deadlock in a scintillating pitching duel between Gillett and Yarone Ben Israel (12 strikeouts, four hits allowed).

The Fountain of Youth Series

Improving Lifestyle - Nutrition
By Physician Bilgah B.Israel

Physician Bilgah B. Israel is a nutritionist and live (raw) food cuisine expert. She has been a vegan more than half her life. Born in the U.S. Dr. Bilgah completed her secondary education in Ghana, West Africa. Always being intrigued with the laws of nature encouraged her to major in science and study traditional healing in Ghana. After studying in W.A, Dr.Bilgah moved to southern Israel where she currently resides with her family.

Dr. Bilgah has degrees in Nutrition, Reflexology, Reiki and Spinal Adjustments. She maintains a live (raw) food diet for herself and family and lives in a community of people whose lifestyle has virtually wiped out many illnesses identified with western people today.

Many Sixty year olds, in the community, look thirty. This defies the myth that you are physically stronger at twenty-five than sixty-five. The community of Dimona (in southern) Israel is truly a testimony that disease is unnatural and regenerative health and longevity is attainable. Dr.Bilgah has come to share with the world her expertise on how to slow aging, attain regenerative health, and receive extreme longevity.

Click Here to See Articles 1-9: article1

Who minds the child?

Power to the Parents? Advertising convinces both parents and children that commodities positively define the self
From WhoMindsTheChild.org

The family has been identified as being instrumental in teaching children aspects of consumption, such as price-quality relationships, learning to save money and comparison shopping. Historically, advertisements to children were directed through their mothers, as women became the key targets in the early stages of the modern consumer society due to their purchasing power in the family. Corporate advertising used the role of mother as a propaganda strategy to develop a culture of consumption with young children as the targets.

Children now crave an image -- popularity and belonging amongst their peers -- that becomes increasingly difficult for parents to challenge. Parent-child conflict over purchasing contributions adds significantly to familial strife.

Corporations have not only succeeded in convincing children of the need for specific objects of pleasure in the form of toys and food, they have done an equally convincing job with their parents. Advertising convinces both parents and children that commodities positively define the self.

Many parents have also been deluded into thinking the new generation of children, who can manage computers and identify a mouse as a piece of computer hardware before they know a mouse is also an animal, are somehow smarter, more sophisticated and better informed. What is overlooked is exposure to corporate control and influence is still prominent.

For more info see: Who Minds the Child? - Parents

America's Finest

Detroit police sergeant told drivers to perform or be ticketed
Associated Press

DETROIT - A police sergeant is accused of pulling couples over with his cruiser and forcing them to engage in sex acts while he watched, threatening them with penalties if they refused.

Detroit Sgt. Roosevelt Tidwell, 39, pleaded not guilty Thursday and has been suspended from his job with pay. A 21-year-old Detroit woman told investigators that she and a male friend were driving through Chandler Park early Feb. 7 when a Detroit police officer pulled them over.

The officer took their identification and got in the back seat of her car, then told the male friend to perform a sex act on the woman, according to court records. He threatened them with a $500 ticket if they didn’t, according to court records.

The woman said the officer also fondled her breast and forced her to fondle him. The officer then told her to get out of the car and demanded her cell phone number. See: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18340889/?GT1=9246

Cleveland Cavs advance to 2nd round of NBA playoffs

It's sweeps week in the NBA. Even the Cleveland Cavaliers got in on the act
Associated Press

The Cavaliers completed a playoff sweep for the first time in franchise history Monday night, beating the Washington Wizards 97-90 with yet another unconvincing performance, doing just enough to beat a depleted team that nearly emptied its bench in the first half.

LeBron James labored through an 8-for-22 shooting night, but he made 14 of 17 free throws to finish with 31 points for the Cavaliers. He also had 11 rebounds and seven assists, including back-to-back assists to Zydrunas Ilgauskas in the decisive final minute.

Ilgauskas finished with 20 points and 19 rebounds, and he and Larry Hughes (19 points) scored 18 of Cleveland's final 20 points.

The Cavaliers became the third Eastern Conference team in three days to finish a first-round sweep. Detroit dismissed Orlando on Saturday, and Chicago ended defending champion Miami's season on Sunday. See: LeBron, Cavs sweep into second round

Your Cellphone is a Homing Device

Don't want the government to know where you are? Throw away your cell, stop taking the subway, and pay the toll in cash
By Brendan I. Koerner
LegalAffairs.org

IF YOU PURCHASED A NEW CELLPHONE over the past 18 months or so, odds are that one of the features listed in small print on the side of the box was "E911 capable." Or, as in the case of my latest Motorola, "Location technology for piece [sic] of mind." Perhaps you asked the salesman to explain the feature, and he replied that it means that cops can home in on your phone in case of an emergency, a potentially important perk should you ever find your hand pinned beneath an immovable boulder in rural Utah, as Aron Ralston did recently. Assuming he could have gotten a signal, an E911-capable phone might have saved the young backpacker the pain of having to amputate his own arm.

So what's preventing them from doing so, at the behest of either direct marketers or, perhaps more chillingly, the police? Not the law, which is essentially mum on the subject of location-data privacy. As often happens with emergent technology, the law has struggled to keep pace with the gizmo. No federal statute is keeping your wireless provider from informing Dunkin' Donuts that your visits to Starbucks have been dropping off and you may be ripe for a special coupon offer. Nor are cops explicitly required to obtain a judicial warrant before compiling a record of where you sneaked off to last Thursday night. Despite such obvious potential for abuse, the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission, the American consumer's ostensible protectors, show little enthusiasm for stepping into the breach. As things stand now, the only real barrier to the dissemination of your daily movements is the benevolence of the telecommunications industry. A show of hands from those who find this a comforting thought? Anyone?

THE WIRELESS INDUSTRY HAS A NAME FOR SUCH CUSTOM-TAILORED HAWKING: "location-based services," or LBS. The idea is that GPS chips can be used to locate friends, find the nearest pizzeria, or ensure that Junior is really at the library rather than a keg party. One estimate expects LBS to be a $15 billion market by 2007, a much-needed boost for the flagging telecom sector. See Complete Article: Legal Affairs

KNN-This article was originally written in July/Aug. 2003. Just think what they can do now!!

The State of Black America

Race Matters – or Does It? – in Growth, Progress of Black Community
By: Jackie Jones
BlackAmericaWeb.com

On average, black people have one-eighth of the family wealth of their white counterparts. U.S. census data show that 30 percent of white adults had at least a bachelor’s degree in 2005, compared to 17 percent of black adults. The median income for white households was $50,622, compared to $30,939 for black households, and three-fourths of white households owned their homes in 2005, compared with 46 percent of black households.

See: BAW: The State of Black America, Part One: Race Matters – or Does It ...

Dr. AviMelech Speaks at Chicago Public Libraries

Dr. AviMelech present the Hidden Ones Multi-media Presentation
KNN-Chicago

This is a special announcement that we will present the Hidden Ones Multi-media Presentation to the the City of Chicago through the Chicago Public Library system.

Please notify and invite friends and family that might be in the area to attend and support our lecture series.

Whitney Young Branch-Tuesday, April 24th at 6:30 pm; West Pullman Branch-Thursday, April 26th at 7:00 pm; Bessie Coleman Branch-Monday, April 30th at 6:00 pm. For more info contact Dr. AviMelech at futureofafrica@yahoo.com

Obesity rising in Europe, especially in children

More than 80 percent of kids are overweight, studies show
Reuters News Service

BUDAPEST - The number of overweight people in Europe is rising and there is an especially worrying trend of increasing childhood obesity and in the number of people who are grossly obese, according to recent studies.

Europe is facing major health and social burdens and the rise in obesity is reaching "epidemic" proportions, the 15th European Congress on Obesity in Budapest was told on Sunday.

Estimates show there are around 1.1 billion overweight people in the world, of whom 312 million are obese, and that in Europe 10-20 percent of men are obese and almost half the population is overweight. See: Obesity rising in Europe

Despite hardships, Cubans live long lives

Free medical care, mild climate may make up for food and water shortages
Associated Press

HAVANA - “Fidel: 80 More Years,” proclaim the good wishes still hanging on storefront and balcony banners months after Cubans celebrated their leader’s 80th birthday.

Fidel Castro may be ailing, but he’s a living example of something Cubans take pride in — an average life expectancy roughly similar to that of the United States.

“Sometimes you have all you want to eat and sometimes you don’t,” said Raquel Naring, a 70-year-old retired gas station attendant. “But there aren’t elderly people sleeping on the street like other places.”

They ascribe it to free medical care, mild climate, and a low-stress Caribbean lifestyle, which they believe make up for the hardships and shortages they suffer.

Laid-back lifestyle
Most Cubans live rent-free, and food, electricity and transportation are heavily subsidized. But the island can still be a tough place to grow old.

But most prescription drugs and visits to the doctor are free and physicians encourage preventive care. “There’s a family doctor on almost every block,” said Luis Tache, 90 and blind from glaucoma but still chatty and up on the news.

A relaxed lifestyle, which prizes time spent with family over careers, helps keep Cubans healthy, Tache said.The government runs residence halls for seniors with no family to care for them, though space is severely limited. Community groups make sure older people look after one another.

“It’s a very happy society. There aren’t so many worries and problems and that helps,” said Alida Gil, 57, leader of a community group in Old Havana known as “Circle of Grandmothers 2000.” See Complete Article: Despite hardships, Cubans live long lives

Soul Vegetarian Chicago bakes Mayor Daley B-Day Cake

Chicago puts on green face as Green Festival opens
By Bob Burgdorfer
US News

CHICAGO - Chicago put on its green face this Earth Day weekend as Mayor Richard Daley opened the Green Festival on Saturday by boasting about the city's aggressive tree planting effort and other actions to clean up the environment.

'It is not just for beauty, it is for the environment,' said Daley of his tree planting campaign. 'Everything that we plant cleans the environment. ... I am very passionate about green technology.'

Billed as the world's largest environmentally friendly consumer event, the Green Festival is expected to draw about 30,000 people during its two-day run. Daley urged attendees to join the nation's third-largest city in helping the environment by switching to more efficient florescent lightbulbs, turning off water while brushing teeth, drive less, walk or bike more and replace plastic shopping bags with reusable ones.

While Daley was talking about the city's environmental efforts, the Chicago Park District was conducting Earth Day clean-up efforts at the city's parks. After his speech, Daley, who turns 65 on Tuesday, was given an organic birthday cake made by Soul Vegetarian Restaurant.

For the elect sake - these days must be shortened

Scientists Offer Frightening Forecast
By Ker Than and Andrea Thompson
AOL News

(April 22) -- Our planet's prospects for environmental stability are bleaker than ever as the world celebrates Earth Day on Sunday. Global warming is widely accepted as a reality by scientists and even by previously doubtful government and industrial leaders. And according to a recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), there is a 90 percent likelihood that humans are contributing to the change.

The international panel of scientists predicts the global average temperature could increase by 2 to 11 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100 and that sea levels could rise by up to 2 feet. Scientists have even speculated that a slight increase in Earth's rotation rate could result, along with other changes. Glaciers, already receding, will disappear. Epic floods will hit some areas while intense drought will strike others. Humans will face widespread water shortages. Famine and disease will increase. Earth’s landscape will transform radically, with a quarter of plants and animals at risk of extinction.

While putting specific dates on these traumatic potential events is challenging, this timeline paints the big picture and details Earth's future based on several recent studies and the longer scientific version of the IPCC report, which was made available to LiveScience. See: Scientists Offer Frightening Forecast for Earth