LOS ANGELES - Slain Brooklyn rapper Christopher "Notorious B.I.G." Wallace was killed with "very rare" metal-piercing German ammunition that could help unlock his 1997 unsolved murder, new files released by the FBI reveal.
The so-called 9mm Gecko bullets are sold exclusively at two distributors in the U.S. - one in California and one in New Jersey - the 359-page cold case file released under the Freedom of Information Act says.
According to the feds, ammunition also thought to be 9mm Gecko was later found in the residence of rogue Los Angeles Police Department cop David Mack - along with a "shrine" to Tupac Shakur - when Mack was busted for bank robbery shortly after Wallace's death.
The FBI scrubbed Mack's name from the paperwork, but his identity is clear based on previously released information about his robbery conviction and the Shakur shrine uncovered in his garage.
Investigators wrote they were unaware of any tests conducted to connect the bullets.
"LAPD has also never matched the ammunition found (redacted) during the search after the bank robbery with the bullets used to kill Biggie," an FBI chronology from 2002 states. "It is unclear whether the 9mm Gecko ammunition has ever been compared to some of the 9mm ammunition found (redacted) that is believed to be Gecko."
A retired LAPD cop testified about Mack's Shakur shrine in 2005 and his theory that Mack used his police expertise to help hip-hop mogul Marion "Suge" Knight order Wallace's hit as payback for Shakur's unsolved murder six months earlier.
Both Mack and Knight have denied any involvement in the hail of gunfire that killed Wallace, 24, as he sat in a vehicle on a Los Angeles street.
LAPD did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In another interesting twist, the FBI paperwork claims Wallace had connections to New York's Genovese crime family and that NYPD investigators were tailing him in Los Angeles shortly before his murder.
The FBI shelved its investigation in 2005 after failing to find enough evidence to charge anyone. The LAPD probe is continuing.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Cathie Black Out As New York City Schools Chancellor; Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott To Lead Schools
NEW YORK (WABC) -- Cathie Black is being replaced as New York City's schools chancellor Mayor Bloomberg said in a news conference.
Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott will replace her. Walcott has served as the Deputy Mayor for Education and Community Development, which oversees and coordinates the operations of the Department of Education. A graduate of New York City public schools PS 36, JHS 192, and Francis Lewis High School and a lifelong resident of Southeast Queens, Walcott began his career as a Kindergarten teacher after graduating from the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut with a Bachelor's degree and a Master of Education. He earned a Master of Social Work from Fordham University and served as an adjunct professor of social work at CUNY's York College.
Cathie Black was appointed to the position November 9th by Mayor Bloomberg.
Bloomberg said he takes full responsibility for Black not working out as schools chancellor. The two met Thursday morning and decided it was best for her to step down.
"The progress we have made in our schools over the last nine years has been extraordinary," said Mayor Bloomberg. "Cathie Black became Chancellor of our school system earlier this year and worked tirelessly to continue to build on our progress. I have nothing but respect and admiration for her, but we both agree it is in the City's best interest if she steps down as Chancellor. I am pleased to announce that Dennis Walcott a key part of, and a leader on, all of our education reform initiatives will serve as the City's new Schools Chancellor."
Black, the former Hearst chairwoman and former publisher of USA Today, has been largely shielded from the public since Bloomberg announced her appointment.
Critics said that Black's lack of experience in public education and the secrecy surrounding her appointment put her at a disadvantage when she took the reins of the 1.1 million-pupil school system.
Earlier this week a poll released found that 17 percent of New York City adults say the former media executive was doing a good or excellent job, down from 21 percent in early February. Twenty-three percent say they don't know how to rate her work or haven't ever heard of her.
When faced by heckling from hostile parents she heckled them back. And she made a misstep by joking that school overcrowding could be fixed with birth control.
Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott will replace her. Walcott has served as the Deputy Mayor for Education and Community Development, which oversees and coordinates the operations of the Department of Education. A graduate of New York City public schools PS 36, JHS 192, and Francis Lewis High School and a lifelong resident of Southeast Queens, Walcott began his career as a Kindergarten teacher after graduating from the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut with a Bachelor's degree and a Master of Education. He earned a Master of Social Work from Fordham University and served as an adjunct professor of social work at CUNY's York College.
Cathie Black was appointed to the position November 9th by Mayor Bloomberg.
Bloomberg said he takes full responsibility for Black not working out as schools chancellor. The two met Thursday morning and decided it was best for her to step down.
"The progress we have made in our schools over the last nine years has been extraordinary," said Mayor Bloomberg. "Cathie Black became Chancellor of our school system earlier this year and worked tirelessly to continue to build on our progress. I have nothing but respect and admiration for her, but we both agree it is in the City's best interest if she steps down as Chancellor. I am pleased to announce that Dennis Walcott a key part of, and a leader on, all of our education reform initiatives will serve as the City's new Schools Chancellor."
Black, the former Hearst chairwoman and former publisher of USA Today, has been largely shielded from the public since Bloomberg announced her appointment.
Critics said that Black's lack of experience in public education and the secrecy surrounding her appointment put her at a disadvantage when she took the reins of the 1.1 million-pupil school system.
Earlier this week a poll released found that 17 percent of New York City adults say the former media executive was doing a good or excellent job, down from 21 percent in early February. Twenty-three percent say they don't know how to rate her work or haven't ever heard of her.
When faced by heckling from hostile parents she heckled them back. And she made a misstep by joking that school overcrowding could be fixed with birth control.
NAACP Report Ties Lower Educational Spending To Mass Incarceration
(Washington, DC) – David Keene, former Chairman of the American Conservative Union, and Grover Norquist, President of Americans for Tax Reform and a board member at the National Rifle Association, will join a group of bipartisan leaders April 7th to speak about the NAACP’s upcoming report, “Misplaced Priorities: Under Educate, Over Incarcerate”. The report examines escalating levels of prison spending and its impact on state budgets and our nation’s children. It uncovers a disturbing connection between high incarceration rates and poorly performing schools.
Misplaced Priorities tracks the steady shift of state funds away from education and toward the criminal justice system. For instance, in Houston, Los Angeles and Philadelphia, more than 65 percent of the lowest-performing schools are in neighborhoods with the highest rates of incarceration. Researchers found that over-incarceration most impacts vulnerable, often minority populations, and that it destabilizes communities. The report offers recommendations that would help policymakers downsize prison populations and shift the savings to education budgets.
The effort is part of the NAACP’s “Smart and Safe Campaign,” an initiative designed to reform the nation’s criminal justice system.
The press conference will be held at the National Press Club at 1:30 pm on April 7th. It will feature representatives of law enforcement and a growing bipartisan coalition calling on state lawmakers to rethink decades-old criminal justice policies. In addition to NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous, Keene and Norquist, speakers will include: Rod Paige, former Secretary of Education under President George W. Bush; Mike Jimenez, a member of the executive committee of Corrections USA, which represents 80,000 corrections officers nationwide, as well as president of the California Correctional Peace Officers Association; Mitchell Kapor, philanthropist and founder of Lotus 1-2-3; Lindsay McCluskey, President of the United States Student Association; and Pat Nolan, Vice President of the Prison Fellowship, who worked with former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich to establish the conservative Right On Crime coalition.
“We need to be ‘smart on crime’ rather than ‘tough on crime’ and address soaring incarceration rates in this country,” stated Jealous. “Failing schools, college tuition hikes and shrinking state education budgets are narrowing the promise of education for young people all across the country. Meanwhile, allocations for our incarceration system continue to increase, sending our youth the wrong message about their future.”
A billboard campaign will accompany the report’s release. It will be displayed in airports around the United States, including Washington DC, Los Angeles and Philadelphia. The ads will feature jarring statistics about our nation’s criminal justice system. One message will read: “Welcome to America, home to 5% of the world’s people and 25% of the world’s prisoners. There is a better way.”
President Obama Addresses National Action Network During Convention
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
AT THE NATIONAL ACTION NETWORK ANNUAL GALA
Sheraton New York Hotel
New York, New York
6:01 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Good to be in New York City. Let me begin by acknowledging some very, very special guests. Dr. Richardson, thank you. Charlie Rangel, for your outstanding work on behalf of your constituents. Mayor David Dinkins. (Applause.) Governor David Paterson is here. (Applause.) State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli. DiNapoli, excuse me. This is another one that’s hard to pronounce: Stevie Wonder. (Laughter.) Martin Luther King III. (Applause.) All the Keepers of the Dream honorees with us tonight, and the National Action Network.
It is wonderful to be here as you celebrate your 20th anniversary. Some things have changed a lot since 1991. I told Reverend Al backstage he’s getting skinnier than me. (Laughter.) He’s getting skinnier than Spike. (Laughter.) But he hasn’t lost his sense of style. The other thing that hasn’t changed is the National Action Network’s commitment to fight injustice and inequality here in New York City and across America. And that’s not only a testament to Reverend Sharpton. It’s a testament to all of you who are here tonight. I want to commend you for the work that you’ve done over the last two decades to lift up not only the African American community but the broader American family. That’s what you’re about. (Applause.)
The last time I came was in April of 2007, four months ago — four years ago this month. Back then I had fewer supporters. Most of you couldn’t pronounce my name, so Tom, don’t feel bad. (Laughter.) I had a lot fewer gray hairs. I was looking at some pictures — I looked really young back then. (Laughter.) I said that we were facing extraordinary challenges in this country, but that what was stopping us from solving them wasn’t a lack of policies; it wasn’t a lack of plans. What was stopping us was a broken politics. A broken politics in Washington — a politics that was all about the next election instead of the next generation; that was all about what we disagreed about instead of what we had in common; a politics that made us cynical about our ability to change this country.
And I said that if you stand with me and believe in what we can do together, if you do what civil rights groups like the National Action Network have always done, if you put your shoulder to the wheel of history, then we can move this country toward the promise of a better day. I told you at the time I wasn’t a perfect person, I wouldn’t be a perfect President, but what I could commit to was always telling you the truth even when it was hard, and I would spend each and every day thinking about you.
And because you made our campaign your own, because you believed in our ability to shape our own destiny, we won that chance to bring about real change. And I said on inauguration night in Chicago that that was simply the end of the beginning, and that now the real business started.
Because I didn’t run and so many of you didn’t support me just to win an election. We won the election so that we could then actually get moving on all the work that had been left undone. Even though we understood, of course, the magnitudes of the challenges we faced, we didn’t fully realize until late in the game, probably the last month of the campaign, that we would be facing the worst recession in generations — a recession that was leaving millions of Americans without a home, without a job, without hope for the future.
And as Reverend Al said, some folks have amnesia about this. Where are we two years later? Our economy has started to grow again. The recovery is gaining momentum. People are finally starting to get hired back. We had to make some tough choices in between. You remember when we decided we had to move to save the American auto industry and everybody said, that can’t happen. And then two weeks ago, GM just announced that it’s going to hire back every single worker that has been laid off and every U.S. automaker is making a profit. (Applause.) But that wasn’t popular. That wasn’t popular.
A while back, I visited a small trucking business, and its owner Stephen Neal is one of our country’s African American business leaders. And he told me that because of the uptick in our economy, he was buying new equipment and adding more workers. And that’s what’s happening all across America. In the first three months of this year, we’ve added nearly half a million private sector jobs — nearly 2 million jobs in the last 13 months.
So we’re making progress, but we’re not there yet. And I want you to know that so long as there are Americans who cannot find work I will be fighting for jobs, and so long as the gap between the wealthiest few and everybody else keeps on growing I will be fighting for opportunity. And I know you’ll be right there alongside with me. (Applause.)
We are going to keep fighting until every family gets a shot at the American Dream. That’s our North Star. That’s the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning. That’s the last thing I think about when I go to bed at night — the hopes and dreams of people who work hard every single day, look after their families, take care of their responsibilities, and just need a little bit of help to make it.
Now, there are Americans of all colors and creeds who are struggling to live out those dreams today. That’s part of what our campaign was about, was reminding ourselves that everybody is in this together. Now, what’s also true, though, is the unemployment rate for African Americans is almost double what it is for other groups. It’s also true that those with the least have been sacrificing the most during this recession. What’s also true is that even before the recession hit, too many communities were marked by structural inequalities in health and education and employment that made it profoundly difficult for too many people to get ahead.
You understood that. I understood that. That’s part of the reason I ran for President, because I’ve seen the frustration and the wounded pride in the eyes of folks who’ve lost their jobs or a father who has to go home and tell his kids that we might not have enough this month, might be losing our apartment this month. I’ve heard the stories of struggling families who are doing everything right and still at the end of the month don’t quite have enough to pay the bills. I did not start hearing those stories when I became President. Those are stories that led me to run for President in the first place. (Applause.)
As Reverend mentioned, I got my start tackling the problems of joblessness and hopelessness that afflict so many of our cities and rural communities. I got my start working to bring opportunity to neighborhoods that were full of boarded-up houses and shuttered stores, fighting to keep kids off the street, fighting to get them into school, fighting to make sure that they went on to college, fighting to make real the promise of justice in our judicial system.
And these causes of justice and equality and opportunity, they aren’t just what led me into politics, they’re what led ordinary people to sit down at the front of the bus, to cross that bridge in Selma, to heed a King’s call to perfect our union. They’re the heart of what makes us Americans. That’s who we are. And because of your support, they’re the causes that I’ve been carrying since I’ve been in the Oval Office.
With the help of folks at the grassroots, we passed historic health insurance reform that will not only extend coverage to 30 million more Americans and give Americans more affordable choices, but will narrow the cruel health disparities between African Americans of different backgrounds. That was because of your work. (Applause.)
We passed Wall Street reform that will protect consumers from the kind of predatory lending practices that helped cause this recession. We’re rewarding work with an expanded Earned Income Tax Credit. We’re tackling poverty with Promise Neighborhoods that build on the great work of Geoffrey Canada up in Harlem. We’re making sure our civil rights and anti-discrimination laws are enforced. And if you’re interested in learning more, if you want to spread the word about what we’re doing not just in the African American community but all across the country, go to our website and it will give you a long list of what we’ve done over the last two years — promises made and promises kept.
That’s what we’ve tried to do over these past couple years — advance the causes that make us who we are. But we’ve still got more work to do. If we’re serious about opening up opportunity and making sure America prospers in the 21st century, we’re going to have to up our game as a nation. I was talking to Magic right before we came out — I was talking about the Bulls, of course. (Laughter.) He’s still picking the Lakers, but he made the point, a young man Derek Rose upped his game, worked hard, and is having an MVP season. Well, we have to do that in classrooms, we have to do that in the workplaces, we’ve got to do that in our communities and our neighborhoods. (Applause.) Our fathers got to up their games.
If we want to attract new jobs and new opportunities to our shores, we’ve got to make sure America can out-compete the rest of the world. That’s what we mean when we say we got to win the future. It means we got to rebuild our crumbling transportation networks with high-speed rail, upgrade our communications networks with high-speed Internet. It means we’re investing in cutting-edge research and technology like clean energy — and most of all, making sure we are giving every one of our children the best possible education. (Applause.) The best possible education is the single most important factor in determining whether they succeed. But it’s also what will determine whether we succeed. It’s the key to opportunity. It is the civil rights issue of our time.
I know education is important to everybody here, especially Reverend Al. In fact, a while back, he stopped by the White House to talk about education. He was joined by the great mayor of this city, Mike Bloomberg. He was also joined by Newt Gingrich. Newt — hmm. (Laughter.) Newt said he and Reverend Sharpton were “the original odd couple.” That’s an understatement. (Laughter.)
But I welcomed them to the White House because I don’t think there’s anything odd about the two of them coming together around the importance of education. When there is an achievement gap between students of different races and backgrounds, that’s not a Democratic problem, that’s not a Republican problem — that is an American problem that we have to address. (Applause.) When too many of our schools are failing our children, too many of our kids are dropping out of school, that’s not a black or white or brown problem — that is an American problem. We’re going to have to solve that problem. We are all responsible for the education of all of our children.
That starts with parents making sure that we’re doing right at home, staying engaged in our child’s education, setting high expectation. Without parental responsibility, nothing else we do will matter. But we also know that each of us has a responsibility not just as parents, but as civic leaders, as Americans, to do a better job of educating our children.
And that’s why, two years ago, we started something called Race for the Top. We’re saying to states, prove you are serious about improving education not just for some kids, but for all kids. And if you do, we will show you the money. And for less than 1 percent of what our country as a whole spends on education each year, Race to the Top has led 40 states to raise their standards for teaching and learning and student achievement, and developed plans for some of the schools that are underperforming the worst. And all this was done not in Washington. It was developed by Republican and Democratic governors across the country.
We’re going to have to take same approach when it comes to fixing No Child Left Behind. Instead of measuring students based on whether they’re above or below some arbitrary test, we need to make sure our students are graduating from high school ready for a career, ready for college. That’s what we need to do. (Applause.) Instead of labeling our schools a failure one day — instead of labeling our schools a failure one day and then throwing up our hands and walking away, we’ve got to refocus on the schools that need help the most. In the 21st Century, it’s not enough to just leave no child left behind. We’ve got to help every child get ahead. (Applause.) That’s our goal — get every child on a path to academic excellence.
And we need to make sure that that path leads to a college degree. That’s why we ended a system where we were subsidizing banks in the student loan program. They were taking billions of dollars out of the student loan program. We said, why don’t we give that to the students directly? That would make sense. (Applause.) So we made college more affordable for millions of students. Millions of students across the country are now getting student loans that they weren’t getting before and more loans than they were getting before. That’s why we’re making it easier to repay student loans so kids don’t graduate, like Michelle and I did, with massive loan payments each month. It was more than our mortgage for 10 years. It’s one of the things I try to remember — I try to remind people when they say, well, you’re President now. You’re out of touch. I said, listen, it was only a few years ago I was still paying off my student loans. (Applause.) And it’s true, I don’t pump gas now, but I remember what it was like pumping gas. (Laughter.) I remember. I remember the end of the month. (Laughter.) I remember that. (Applause.)
We appreciate all of you buying the book, Michelle and I. (Laughter.) That’s the college fund right there. (Laughter.) That was not a given. That’s why we’re reinvesting in Historically Black Colleges and Universities. (Applause.) That’s why we are — that’s why we’re upgrading our community colleges that prepare so many working families to succeed in this economy. And by taking all these steps, I’m confident we are going to meet a goal that I set when I took office that I announced in my first State of the Union: By the end of this decade, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world. That is something that we can achieve. That’s something we can achieve. (Applause.)
That’s how we can out-educate countries around the world. That’s how we will out-compete. That’s how we will win the future in the 21st century.
Now, one thing we won’t be able to win is — if some of our people are falling behind, we will not win the future. The only way for America to prosper is for all Americans to prosper. We’ve seen that in the census that just came out. The face of America is changing. You can’t get away with having a third of our children, half of our children, not doing well. Not today, not in the 21st century. All of us — black, white, Latino, Native American, Asian American, men, women, disabled, non-disabled — in America, we rise and fall together.
An America where the American Dream is within reach of everybody, that’s what we’ve been fighting to build over the last two years. That’s what the National Action Network has been fighting to build over the past two decades. I know that there are times where the work is frustrating. I know there are times where it is hard. There are times when change can seem painfully slow to come by. There are times when some of you may have said, I don’t know what Obama is doing there. There are times where you lose hope, times when folks in Washington focus on scoring points instead of solving problems. And some of you may just put up your hands and say, politics is too tough.
But in those moments when we start asking ourselves if change is possible, you’ve got to remember what we’ve done together over the past few years. Remember all the children who will graduate from high school ready for college and beyond. Remember all the Americans who will no longer have to worry about going bankrupt because they got sick. Remember all the families who will no longer be exploited by insurance companies or a credit card company or a mortgage lender.
I’m not asking you to think about what we’ve already done so you can be satisfied with our progress. I know this isn’t the National Satisfaction Network. This is the National Action Network. (Laughter and applause.) But I am asking you to draw inspiration from the fact that we know change is possible. I am living testament that change is possible. (Applause.) We know we have the ability to put our shoulders to the wheel of history and steer America towards the promise of a better day. We know that we stand on other shoulders and step by step, inch by inch, we make progress.
That’s what we’ve been doing. And if you’re as committed as I am to continuing to change this country for the better, if you feel the same determination that I do to tackle the problems that haven’t yet met, if you’re still willing to believe in what we can do together, I am absolutely confident we will do what you’ve been doing for the last 20 years. We will build an America where the ideals of justice and equality and opportunity are alive and well, and we will reclaim the American Dream in our time. So thank you. God bless you. God bless the United States of America. Thank you.
AT THE NATIONAL ACTION NETWORK ANNUAL GALA
Sheraton New York Hotel
New York, New York
6:01 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Good to be in New York City. Let me begin by acknowledging some very, very special guests. Dr. Richardson, thank you. Charlie Rangel, for your outstanding work on behalf of your constituents. Mayor David Dinkins. (Applause.) Governor David Paterson is here. (Applause.) State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli. DiNapoli, excuse me. This is another one that’s hard to pronounce: Stevie Wonder. (Laughter.) Martin Luther King III. (Applause.) All the Keepers of the Dream honorees with us tonight, and the National Action Network.
It is wonderful to be here as you celebrate your 20th anniversary. Some things have changed a lot since 1991. I told Reverend Al backstage he’s getting skinnier than me. (Laughter.) He’s getting skinnier than Spike. (Laughter.) But he hasn’t lost his sense of style. The other thing that hasn’t changed is the National Action Network’s commitment to fight injustice and inequality here in New York City and across America. And that’s not only a testament to Reverend Sharpton. It’s a testament to all of you who are here tonight. I want to commend you for the work that you’ve done over the last two decades to lift up not only the African American community but the broader American family. That’s what you’re about. (Applause.)
The last time I came was in April of 2007, four months ago — four years ago this month. Back then I had fewer supporters. Most of you couldn’t pronounce my name, so Tom, don’t feel bad. (Laughter.) I had a lot fewer gray hairs. I was looking at some pictures — I looked really young back then. (Laughter.) I said that we were facing extraordinary challenges in this country, but that what was stopping us from solving them wasn’t a lack of policies; it wasn’t a lack of plans. What was stopping us was a broken politics. A broken politics in Washington — a politics that was all about the next election instead of the next generation; that was all about what we disagreed about instead of what we had in common; a politics that made us cynical about our ability to change this country.
And I said that if you stand with me and believe in what we can do together, if you do what civil rights groups like the National Action Network have always done, if you put your shoulder to the wheel of history, then we can move this country toward the promise of a better day. I told you at the time I wasn’t a perfect person, I wouldn’t be a perfect President, but what I could commit to was always telling you the truth even when it was hard, and I would spend each and every day thinking about you.
And because you made our campaign your own, because you believed in our ability to shape our own destiny, we won that chance to bring about real change. And I said on inauguration night in Chicago that that was simply the end of the beginning, and that now the real business started.
Because I didn’t run and so many of you didn’t support me just to win an election. We won the election so that we could then actually get moving on all the work that had been left undone. Even though we understood, of course, the magnitudes of the challenges we faced, we didn’t fully realize until late in the game, probably the last month of the campaign, that we would be facing the worst recession in generations — a recession that was leaving millions of Americans without a home, without a job, without hope for the future.
And as Reverend Al said, some folks have amnesia about this. Where are we two years later? Our economy has started to grow again. The recovery is gaining momentum. People are finally starting to get hired back. We had to make some tough choices in between. You remember when we decided we had to move to save the American auto industry and everybody said, that can’t happen. And then two weeks ago, GM just announced that it’s going to hire back every single worker that has been laid off and every U.S. automaker is making a profit. (Applause.) But that wasn’t popular. That wasn’t popular.
A while back, I visited a small trucking business, and its owner Stephen Neal is one of our country’s African American business leaders. And he told me that because of the uptick in our economy, he was buying new equipment and adding more workers. And that’s what’s happening all across America. In the first three months of this year, we’ve added nearly half a million private sector jobs — nearly 2 million jobs in the last 13 months.
So we’re making progress, but we’re not there yet. And I want you to know that so long as there are Americans who cannot find work I will be fighting for jobs, and so long as the gap between the wealthiest few and everybody else keeps on growing I will be fighting for opportunity. And I know you’ll be right there alongside with me. (Applause.)
We are going to keep fighting until every family gets a shot at the American Dream. That’s our North Star. That’s the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning. That’s the last thing I think about when I go to bed at night — the hopes and dreams of people who work hard every single day, look after their families, take care of their responsibilities, and just need a little bit of help to make it.
Now, there are Americans of all colors and creeds who are struggling to live out those dreams today. That’s part of what our campaign was about, was reminding ourselves that everybody is in this together. Now, what’s also true, though, is the unemployment rate for African Americans is almost double what it is for other groups. It’s also true that those with the least have been sacrificing the most during this recession. What’s also true is that even before the recession hit, too many communities were marked by structural inequalities in health and education and employment that made it profoundly difficult for too many people to get ahead.
You understood that. I understood that. That’s part of the reason I ran for President, because I’ve seen the frustration and the wounded pride in the eyes of folks who’ve lost their jobs or a father who has to go home and tell his kids that we might not have enough this month, might be losing our apartment this month. I’ve heard the stories of struggling families who are doing everything right and still at the end of the month don’t quite have enough to pay the bills. I did not start hearing those stories when I became President. Those are stories that led me to run for President in the first place. (Applause.)
As Reverend mentioned, I got my start tackling the problems of joblessness and hopelessness that afflict so many of our cities and rural communities. I got my start working to bring opportunity to neighborhoods that were full of boarded-up houses and shuttered stores, fighting to keep kids off the street, fighting to get them into school, fighting to make sure that they went on to college, fighting to make real the promise of justice in our judicial system.
And these causes of justice and equality and opportunity, they aren’t just what led me into politics, they’re what led ordinary people to sit down at the front of the bus, to cross that bridge in Selma, to heed a King’s call to perfect our union. They’re the heart of what makes us Americans. That’s who we are. And because of your support, they’re the causes that I’ve been carrying since I’ve been in the Oval Office.
With the help of folks at the grassroots, we passed historic health insurance reform that will not only extend coverage to 30 million more Americans and give Americans more affordable choices, but will narrow the cruel health disparities between African Americans of different backgrounds. That was because of your work. (Applause.)
We passed Wall Street reform that will protect consumers from the kind of predatory lending practices that helped cause this recession. We’re rewarding work with an expanded Earned Income Tax Credit. We’re tackling poverty with Promise Neighborhoods that build on the great work of Geoffrey Canada up in Harlem. We’re making sure our civil rights and anti-discrimination laws are enforced. And if you’re interested in learning more, if you want to spread the word about what we’re doing not just in the African American community but all across the country, go to our website and it will give you a long list of what we’ve done over the last two years — promises made and promises kept.
That’s what we’ve tried to do over these past couple years — advance the causes that make us who we are. But we’ve still got more work to do. If we’re serious about opening up opportunity and making sure America prospers in the 21st century, we’re going to have to up our game as a nation. I was talking to Magic right before we came out — I was talking about the Bulls, of course. (Laughter.) He’s still picking the Lakers, but he made the point, a young man Derek Rose upped his game, worked hard, and is having an MVP season. Well, we have to do that in classrooms, we have to do that in the workplaces, we’ve got to do that in our communities and our neighborhoods. (Applause.) Our fathers got to up their games.
If we want to attract new jobs and new opportunities to our shores, we’ve got to make sure America can out-compete the rest of the world. That’s what we mean when we say we got to win the future. It means we got to rebuild our crumbling transportation networks with high-speed rail, upgrade our communications networks with high-speed Internet. It means we’re investing in cutting-edge research and technology like clean energy — and most of all, making sure we are giving every one of our children the best possible education. (Applause.) The best possible education is the single most important factor in determining whether they succeed. But it’s also what will determine whether we succeed. It’s the key to opportunity. It is the civil rights issue of our time.
I know education is important to everybody here, especially Reverend Al. In fact, a while back, he stopped by the White House to talk about education. He was joined by the great mayor of this city, Mike Bloomberg. He was also joined by Newt Gingrich. Newt — hmm. (Laughter.) Newt said he and Reverend Sharpton were “the original odd couple.” That’s an understatement. (Laughter.)
But I welcomed them to the White House because I don’t think there’s anything odd about the two of them coming together around the importance of education. When there is an achievement gap between students of different races and backgrounds, that’s not a Democratic problem, that’s not a Republican problem — that is an American problem that we have to address. (Applause.) When too many of our schools are failing our children, too many of our kids are dropping out of school, that’s not a black or white or brown problem — that is an American problem. We’re going to have to solve that problem. We are all responsible for the education of all of our children.
That starts with parents making sure that we’re doing right at home, staying engaged in our child’s education, setting high expectation. Without parental responsibility, nothing else we do will matter. But we also know that each of us has a responsibility not just as parents, but as civic leaders, as Americans, to do a better job of educating our children.
And that’s why, two years ago, we started something called Race for the Top. We’re saying to states, prove you are serious about improving education not just for some kids, but for all kids. And if you do, we will show you the money. And for less than 1 percent of what our country as a whole spends on education each year, Race to the Top has led 40 states to raise their standards for teaching and learning and student achievement, and developed plans for some of the schools that are underperforming the worst. And all this was done not in Washington. It was developed by Republican and Democratic governors across the country.
We’re going to have to take same approach when it comes to fixing No Child Left Behind. Instead of measuring students based on whether they’re above or below some arbitrary test, we need to make sure our students are graduating from high school ready for a career, ready for college. That’s what we need to do. (Applause.) Instead of labeling our schools a failure one day — instead of labeling our schools a failure one day and then throwing up our hands and walking away, we’ve got to refocus on the schools that need help the most. In the 21st Century, it’s not enough to just leave no child left behind. We’ve got to help every child get ahead. (Applause.) That’s our goal — get every child on a path to academic excellence.
And we need to make sure that that path leads to a college degree. That’s why we ended a system where we were subsidizing banks in the student loan program. They were taking billions of dollars out of the student loan program. We said, why don’t we give that to the students directly? That would make sense. (Applause.) So we made college more affordable for millions of students. Millions of students across the country are now getting student loans that they weren’t getting before and more loans than they were getting before. That’s why we’re making it easier to repay student loans so kids don’t graduate, like Michelle and I did, with massive loan payments each month. It was more than our mortgage for 10 years. It’s one of the things I try to remember — I try to remind people when they say, well, you’re President now. You’re out of touch. I said, listen, it was only a few years ago I was still paying off my student loans. (Applause.) And it’s true, I don’t pump gas now, but I remember what it was like pumping gas. (Laughter.) I remember. I remember the end of the month. (Laughter.) I remember that. (Applause.)
We appreciate all of you buying the book, Michelle and I. (Laughter.) That’s the college fund right there. (Laughter.) That was not a given. That’s why we’re reinvesting in Historically Black Colleges and Universities. (Applause.) That’s why we are — that’s why we’re upgrading our community colleges that prepare so many working families to succeed in this economy. And by taking all these steps, I’m confident we are going to meet a goal that I set when I took office that I announced in my first State of the Union: By the end of this decade, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world. That is something that we can achieve. That’s something we can achieve. (Applause.)
That’s how we can out-educate countries around the world. That’s how we will out-compete. That’s how we will win the future in the 21st century.
Now, one thing we won’t be able to win is — if some of our people are falling behind, we will not win the future. The only way for America to prosper is for all Americans to prosper. We’ve seen that in the census that just came out. The face of America is changing. You can’t get away with having a third of our children, half of our children, not doing well. Not today, not in the 21st century. All of us — black, white, Latino, Native American, Asian American, men, women, disabled, non-disabled — in America, we rise and fall together.
An America where the American Dream is within reach of everybody, that’s what we’ve been fighting to build over the last two years. That’s what the National Action Network has been fighting to build over the past two decades. I know that there are times where the work is frustrating. I know there are times where it is hard. There are times when change can seem painfully slow to come by. There are times when some of you may have said, I don’t know what Obama is doing there. There are times where you lose hope, times when folks in Washington focus on scoring points instead of solving problems. And some of you may just put up your hands and say, politics is too tough.
But in those moments when we start asking ourselves if change is possible, you’ve got to remember what we’ve done together over the past few years. Remember all the children who will graduate from high school ready for college and beyond. Remember all the Americans who will no longer have to worry about going bankrupt because they got sick. Remember all the families who will no longer be exploited by insurance companies or a credit card company or a mortgage lender.
I’m not asking you to think about what we’ve already done so you can be satisfied with our progress. I know this isn’t the National Satisfaction Network. This is the National Action Network. (Laughter and applause.) But I am asking you to draw inspiration from the fact that we know change is possible. I am living testament that change is possible. (Applause.) We know we have the ability to put our shoulders to the wheel of history and steer America towards the promise of a better day. We know that we stand on other shoulders and step by step, inch by inch, we make progress.
That’s what we’ve been doing. And if you’re as committed as I am to continuing to change this country for the better, if you feel the same determination that I do to tackle the problems that haven’t yet met, if you’re still willing to believe in what we can do together, I am absolutely confident we will do what you’ve been doing for the last 20 years. We will build an America where the ideals of justice and equality and opportunity are alive and well, and we will reclaim the American Dream in our time. So thank you. God bless you. God bless the United States of America. Thank you.
White House Warns Of Dire Consequences Of Goverment Shutdown
WASHINGTON – The Obama administration warned Wednesday that a federal shutdown would undermine the economic recovery, delay pay to U.S. troops fighting in three wars, slow the processing of tax returns and limit small business loans and government-backed mortgages during peak home buying season.
The dire message, delivered two days before the federal government's spending authority expires, appeared aimed at jolting congressional Republicans into a budget compromise. Billions of dollars apart, congressional negotiators were working to strike a deal by Friday to avert a shutdown by setting spending limits through the end of September. The last such shutdown took place 15 years ago and lasted 21 days.
President Barack Obama telephoned House Speaker John Boehner on Wednesday, and Boehner's office said the speaker told Obama he was hopeful a deal could be reached.
As the talks continued, the White House sought to put the prospect of a shutdown in terms people would care about, warning even that the beloved National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade in the nation's capital would be wiped out. The Smithsonian Institution and national parks around the country would also be closed.
A shutdown would come at an especially busy time for the Smithsonian. The Cherry Blossom Festival, which concludes this weekend, draws many tourists to an area near the museums. The Smithsonian counts about 3 million visits each April and has already sold 23,000 IMAX movie and lunch combos to school groups for the month.
Under long-standing federal rules, agencies would not be affected that provide for U.S. national security, dispense most types of federal benefit payments, offer inpatient medical care or outpatient emergency care, ensure the safe use of food and drugs, manage air traffic, protect and monitor borders and coastlines, guard prisoners, conduct criminal investigations and law enforcement, oversee power distribution and oversee banks.
Mail deliveries would continue in the event of a shutdown. U.S. postal operations are not subsidized by tax dollars.
According to the shutdown scenario described by the administration, the government would have to significantly cut staffing across the executive branch, including workers at the White House and civilian employees at the Defense Department; close to 800,000 workers would be affected. Congress and the federal court system will also be subject to a shutdown.
At the Pentagon, defense officials were finalizing plans that would lay out how the department would deal with a shutdown. But they already have acknowledged that U.S. military troops — including those in war zones — would receive one week's pay instead of two in their next paycheck if the government were to close.
Military personnel at home and abroad would continue to earn pay, but they wouldn't get paychecks until there was a budget agreement and government operations resumed.
Col. Dave Lapan, a Pentagon spokesman, said that the Pentagon would be open on Monday and would be staffed. He said decisions on which Defense Department employees must report to work would depend on their jobs, rather than where they were based.
Key national security responsibilities, including operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya and earthquake assistance to Japan, would not be interrupted by a shutdown, the Pentagon said.
The CIA also would not close, though it would be drawing down some nonessential personnel to be in compliance with federal law, according to a senior intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss matters of intelligence.
Officials familiar with the shutdown say essential counterterrorism functions in other parts of the intelligence community would continue, like monitoring of the terrorist watch lists and essential intelligence collection and analysis.
In the event of a shutdown, the Justice Department said it would be forced to stop or significantly curtail most civil litigation, community outreach to victims of crime and the processing of grants.
But other Justice Department functions would continue, including efforts to combat drug trafficking and gun violence. All 116 federal prisons would remain open and prison staff would continue to work. At the department's headquarters and in U.S. Attorneys offices, all criminal cases would continue without interruption.
At the Internal Revenue Service, the tax filing deadline remained April 18 — delayed three days because of a local holiday in Washington. Tax audits, however, would be suspended if there were a shutdown.
The IRS wouldn't process paper returns during a shutdown. Those expecting a refund should file their returns electronically and ask that the money be deposited directly into their bank accounts. Tax payments were welcome, though it was still unclear whether help lines for taxpayers would be staffed.
Social Security payments would continue to be delivered, and applications for benefits would continue to be processed, Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue said.
Astrue said Social Security headquarters and regional offices would be closed. Some limited services would still be available at field offices, but the details were still being worked out, he said.
Medicare would still pay medical claims for its 48 million recipients, who are mainly seniors but also several million younger people who are permanently disabled or have kidney failure. Payments to doctors, hospitals and other service providers could be delayed, however, should a shutdown continue for several months.
At the National Institutes of Health, groundbreaking medical research would experience a disruption. Patients already being treated at the NIH's famed hospital in Bethesda, Md., would continue to get that care, but new patients could not be admitted. Likewise, no new studies of drugs or other treatments could begin.
The Federal Housing Administration, which guarantees about 30 percent of home mortgages, would stop guaranteeing loans. The issuance of government backed loans to small businesses would be suspended, according to the White House.
The Obama administration said the impact on the housing market would be more severe than in 1995, the last time there was a government shutdown. The Federal Housing Administration accounts for 30 percent of the mortgage market, nearly three times the amount 16 years ago.
The nation's 15,700 air traffic controllers would keep working, as would many of the Federal Aviation Administration's 6,100 technicians who install and maintain the equipment for the nation's air traffic control system.
FAA inspectors who oversee airlines' compliance with safety regulations probably would continue to be at work. But it was unclear Wednesday whether the safety inspectors assigned to aircraft manufacturers would be told to stay on the job. Support personnel at the agency would be told to stay home.
Almost all of the Federal Transit Administration would close and that means local transit agencies would have to wait longer to get federal aid. Most of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which issues auto recalls and makes grants to states for safety campaigns, would also close.
Operation of the International Space Station would be unaffected. NASA's Mission Control in Houston would continue to work around the clock to keep watch.
But it was unclear what impact there might be on preparations for the final two space shuttle missions, said NASA spokesman Bob Jacobs. Endeavour is due to lift off April 29, Atlantis on June 28.
Among other consequences cited by the administration:
_The Environmental Protection Agency would cease issuing permits and stop reviewing environmental impact statements, which would slow the approval of projects.
_Most government websites would not be updated, unless they were deemed essential.
_Federal courts would be unable to hear cases as clerks, stenographers, bailiffs, security guards and other employees would not be at work.
The dire message, delivered two days before the federal government's spending authority expires, appeared aimed at jolting congressional Republicans into a budget compromise. Billions of dollars apart, congressional negotiators were working to strike a deal by Friday to avert a shutdown by setting spending limits through the end of September. The last such shutdown took place 15 years ago and lasted 21 days.
President Barack Obama telephoned House Speaker John Boehner on Wednesday, and Boehner's office said the speaker told Obama he was hopeful a deal could be reached.
As the talks continued, the White House sought to put the prospect of a shutdown in terms people would care about, warning even that the beloved National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade in the nation's capital would be wiped out. The Smithsonian Institution and national parks around the country would also be closed.
A shutdown would come at an especially busy time for the Smithsonian. The Cherry Blossom Festival, which concludes this weekend, draws many tourists to an area near the museums. The Smithsonian counts about 3 million visits each April and has already sold 23,000 IMAX movie and lunch combos to school groups for the month.
Under long-standing federal rules, agencies would not be affected that provide for U.S. national security, dispense most types of federal benefit payments, offer inpatient medical care or outpatient emergency care, ensure the safe use of food and drugs, manage air traffic, protect and monitor borders and coastlines, guard prisoners, conduct criminal investigations and law enforcement, oversee power distribution and oversee banks.
Mail deliveries would continue in the event of a shutdown. U.S. postal operations are not subsidized by tax dollars.
According to the shutdown scenario described by the administration, the government would have to significantly cut staffing across the executive branch, including workers at the White House and civilian employees at the Defense Department; close to 800,000 workers would be affected. Congress and the federal court system will also be subject to a shutdown.
At the Pentagon, defense officials were finalizing plans that would lay out how the department would deal with a shutdown. But they already have acknowledged that U.S. military troops — including those in war zones — would receive one week's pay instead of two in their next paycheck if the government were to close.
Military personnel at home and abroad would continue to earn pay, but they wouldn't get paychecks until there was a budget agreement and government operations resumed.
Col. Dave Lapan, a Pentagon spokesman, said that the Pentagon would be open on Monday and would be staffed. He said decisions on which Defense Department employees must report to work would depend on their jobs, rather than where they were based.
Key national security responsibilities, including operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya and earthquake assistance to Japan, would not be interrupted by a shutdown, the Pentagon said.
The CIA also would not close, though it would be drawing down some nonessential personnel to be in compliance with federal law, according to a senior intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss matters of intelligence.
Officials familiar with the shutdown say essential counterterrorism functions in other parts of the intelligence community would continue, like monitoring of the terrorist watch lists and essential intelligence collection and analysis.
In the event of a shutdown, the Justice Department said it would be forced to stop or significantly curtail most civil litigation, community outreach to victims of crime and the processing of grants.
But other Justice Department functions would continue, including efforts to combat drug trafficking and gun violence. All 116 federal prisons would remain open and prison staff would continue to work. At the department's headquarters and in U.S. Attorneys offices, all criminal cases would continue without interruption.
At the Internal Revenue Service, the tax filing deadline remained April 18 — delayed three days because of a local holiday in Washington. Tax audits, however, would be suspended if there were a shutdown.
The IRS wouldn't process paper returns during a shutdown. Those expecting a refund should file their returns electronically and ask that the money be deposited directly into their bank accounts. Tax payments were welcome, though it was still unclear whether help lines for taxpayers would be staffed.
Social Security payments would continue to be delivered, and applications for benefits would continue to be processed, Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue said.
Astrue said Social Security headquarters and regional offices would be closed. Some limited services would still be available at field offices, but the details were still being worked out, he said.
Medicare would still pay medical claims for its 48 million recipients, who are mainly seniors but also several million younger people who are permanently disabled or have kidney failure. Payments to doctors, hospitals and other service providers could be delayed, however, should a shutdown continue for several months.
At the National Institutes of Health, groundbreaking medical research would experience a disruption. Patients already being treated at the NIH's famed hospital in Bethesda, Md., would continue to get that care, but new patients could not be admitted. Likewise, no new studies of drugs or other treatments could begin.
The Federal Housing Administration, which guarantees about 30 percent of home mortgages, would stop guaranteeing loans. The issuance of government backed loans to small businesses would be suspended, according to the White House.
The Obama administration said the impact on the housing market would be more severe than in 1995, the last time there was a government shutdown. The Federal Housing Administration accounts for 30 percent of the mortgage market, nearly three times the amount 16 years ago.
The nation's 15,700 air traffic controllers would keep working, as would many of the Federal Aviation Administration's 6,100 technicians who install and maintain the equipment for the nation's air traffic control system.
FAA inspectors who oversee airlines' compliance with safety regulations probably would continue to be at work. But it was unclear Wednesday whether the safety inspectors assigned to aircraft manufacturers would be told to stay on the job. Support personnel at the agency would be told to stay home.
Almost all of the Federal Transit Administration would close and that means local transit agencies would have to wait longer to get federal aid. Most of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which issues auto recalls and makes grants to states for safety campaigns, would also close.
Operation of the International Space Station would be unaffected. NASA's Mission Control in Houston would continue to work around the clock to keep watch.
But it was unclear what impact there might be on preparations for the final two space shuttle missions, said NASA spokesman Bob Jacobs. Endeavour is due to lift off April 29, Atlantis on June 28.
Among other consequences cited by the administration:
_The Environmental Protection Agency would cease issuing permits and stop reviewing environmental impact statements, which would slow the approval of projects.
_Most government websites would not be updated, unless they were deemed essential.
_Federal courts would be unable to hear cases as clerks, stenographers, bailiffs, security guards and other employees would not be at work.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Asian Woman's Racist Ideology Costs Her Indefinite Jury Duty By Incenced Judge
An incensed federal judge sentenced a racist Brooklyn woman to indefinite jury duty on Tuesday after she trashed the NYPD and minorities.
"This is an outrage, and so are you!" Federal Judge Nicholas Garaufis told the woman, holding up her bile-filled juror questionnaire.
Juror No. 799, an Asian woman in her 20s who said she works in the garment industry, was up for jury duty in the death penalty trial of Bonanno crime boss Vincent (Vinny Gorgeous) Basciano.
It didn't take long for her to start looking worse than the defendant.
Asked to name three people she least admired, she wrote on her questionnaire: "African-Americans, Hispanics and Haitians."
When the judge asked why she answered the question that way, she replied, "You always hear about them in the news doing something."
She also declared that cops are all lazy, claiming that they sound their sirens to bypass traffic jams.
Garaufis flipped forward several pages in her questionnaire.
He landed on the page where she had said she had a relative who was a member of the Chinese Ghost Shadows gang in the 1980s, convicted of murder and still in prison.
"Why didn't you put 'Asians' down also?" the judge asked sarcastically, referring to her list of least-liked people.
"Maybe I should have," she said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Taryn Merkl requested that the woman be disqualified from the Vinny Gorgeous case because of her "inappropriate" comments. The motion was granted.
It is not unheard of for people to try to get out of jury service by making ridiculous statements concerning their views.
It was unclear Tuesday whether that was this woman's motive.
And if it was, it didn't work.
Indeed, the woman was going to be seeing a lot of Brooklyn Federal Court.
"She's coming back [today], Thursday and Friday - and until the future, when I am ready to dismiss her," Garaufis said.
One thousand prospective jurors have filled out questionnaires for the Basciano case, approaching the Eastern District of New York record of 1,089 summoned for the late Gambino boss John Gotti's trial 20 years ago.
Nearly half of the jurors are struck before they even get to court for questioning due to language barriers, fear of the Mafia or their extreme views for and against the death penalty.
The panel members that do get selected for the trial will be anonymous and transported to the courthouse by U.S. marshals to thwart any possibility of jury tampering.
"This is an outrage, and so are you!" Federal Judge Nicholas Garaufis told the woman, holding up her bile-filled juror questionnaire.
Juror No. 799, an Asian woman in her 20s who said she works in the garment industry, was up for jury duty in the death penalty trial of Bonanno crime boss Vincent (Vinny Gorgeous) Basciano.
It didn't take long for her to start looking worse than the defendant.
Asked to name three people she least admired, she wrote on her questionnaire: "African-Americans, Hispanics and Haitians."
When the judge asked why she answered the question that way, she replied, "You always hear about them in the news doing something."
She also declared that cops are all lazy, claiming that they sound their sirens to bypass traffic jams.
Garaufis flipped forward several pages in her questionnaire.
He landed on the page where she had said she had a relative who was a member of the Chinese Ghost Shadows gang in the 1980s, convicted of murder and still in prison.
"Why didn't you put 'Asians' down also?" the judge asked sarcastically, referring to her list of least-liked people.
"Maybe I should have," she said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Taryn Merkl requested that the woman be disqualified from the Vinny Gorgeous case because of her "inappropriate" comments. The motion was granted.
It is not unheard of for people to try to get out of jury service by making ridiculous statements concerning their views.
It was unclear Tuesday whether that was this woman's motive.
And if it was, it didn't work.
Indeed, the woman was going to be seeing a lot of Brooklyn Federal Court.
"She's coming back [today], Thursday and Friday - and until the future, when I am ready to dismiss her," Garaufis said.
One thousand prospective jurors have filled out questionnaires for the Basciano case, approaching the Eastern District of New York record of 1,089 summoned for the late Gambino boss John Gotti's trial 20 years ago.
Nearly half of the jurors are struck before they even get to court for questioning due to language barriers, fear of the Mafia or their extreme views for and against the death penalty.
The panel members that do get selected for the trial will be anonymous and transported to the courthouse by U.S. marshals to thwart any possibility of jury tampering.
YouTube Restores Farrakhan Video
After “going viral” and gaining over 400,000 views, nearly 300,000 in one day, the original video excerpt of the March 10 WVON interview featuring the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan was removed by the popular Google-owned YouTube due to “inappropriate content.”
After many concerns and complaints by the public were registered with YouTube, the Nation of Islam Web Services team was notified that the original video had been restored. According to the NOI Web Services Team, although the interruption was brief, YouTube's action effectively censored the video clip's rapid pace of views, which at the time was listed as the second trending clip on the popular web video site's front page.
The nearly 9 ½ minute video uncovers the hypocrisy in U.S. actions toward Libya and how “noble motives” of humanitarian activity are being used to cover American aims to destroy Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi and advises President Obama to be careful in the handling of the Libyan situation. Min. Farrakhan warned that what America has seen, the unrest and protests in Libya, are headed for the United States.
The Minister also warned the public to understand that once the political power structure decides to remove or destroy someone, the media is used to make the target a “bogeyman.” Millions of dollars have been spent to foment regime change in Iran because America does not like the government, he said.
How much money was spent to remove Col. Gadhafi because imperialist powers America, Britain and France do not like his leadership? asked Min. Farrakhan. The CIA sends in agents to “stimulate” legitimate dissatisfaction, dissatisfaction that is present in every nation, he said.
Visit youtube.com and search “Farrakhan warns, advises Obama on Libya” to view this insightful excerpt and see what some people didn't want in the public. Visit finalcall.com for more coverage of the Minister's warning on Libya and visit store.finalcall.com to obtain a full copy of the 2 hour interview conducted by WVON AM radio host Cliff Kelley with Min. Farrakhan.
After many concerns and complaints by the public were registered with YouTube, the Nation of Islam Web Services team was notified that the original video had been restored. According to the NOI Web Services Team, although the interruption was brief, YouTube's action effectively censored the video clip's rapid pace of views, which at the time was listed as the second trending clip on the popular web video site's front page.
The nearly 9 ½ minute video uncovers the hypocrisy in U.S. actions toward Libya and how “noble motives” of humanitarian activity are being used to cover American aims to destroy Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi and advises President Obama to be careful in the handling of the Libyan situation. Min. Farrakhan warned that what America has seen, the unrest and protests in Libya, are headed for the United States.
The Minister also warned the public to understand that once the political power structure decides to remove or destroy someone, the media is used to make the target a “bogeyman.” Millions of dollars have been spent to foment regime change in Iran because America does not like the government, he said.
How much money was spent to remove Col. Gadhafi because imperialist powers America, Britain and France do not like his leadership? asked Min. Farrakhan. The CIA sends in agents to “stimulate” legitimate dissatisfaction, dissatisfaction that is present in every nation, he said.
Visit youtube.com and search “Farrakhan warns, advises Obama on Libya” to view this insightful excerpt and see what some people didn't want in the public. Visit finalcall.com for more coverage of the Minister's warning on Libya and visit store.finalcall.com to obtain a full copy of the 2 hour interview conducted by WVON AM radio host Cliff Kelley with Min. Farrakhan.
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