N'The News

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Congrats to my niece Alicia McDaniels!

It's really wonderful to see young ladies grow up and become in tune with their natural gifts, talents and abilities!  I remember when she was just a baby!  Now she's 6'2!  Yes!  You go girl!

Get your kids involved in sports, something to keep their mind of negativity so they can live to their fulletst potential!  Alicia did!  So can your children! Read about Alicia!  Thanks Karen! Job Well Done!!

/www.lehmanathletics.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=630

The Great American Think-Off!
2010 Edition

Paid positions to work on Haitian Reconstruction.

 

ACET, Inc. has received an immediate request to provide assistance tothe
devastation from the recent earthquake that has befallen the nation of
Haiti. We are looking for anyone interested in going to Haiti to help for a
3- 6 month period.  There are no particular skills sets defined at this
point, except the willingness to help wherever needed. We will be presenting
folks and highlighting their unique skills and trade qualifications, so if
the opportunity to help in your area exists - it will be noted and
presented.  As you can well imagine, any skill that you may have - can be
of great help.

Typical skill sets needed:

Carpenters
Masons
Electricians
Medical Personnel
Communications
Builders
Heavy Equipment Operators
Plumbers
Logistics
Etc.

I am making my store, Seaway Furniture @89th & Stony island, 
a depository for water, cereal, bandages, shoes, cloths, etc, 
for the brothers and sisters in Haiti. 

The plan is to box everything up and then I'll have it trucked 
to the Red Cross Headquarters on Harrison . 
Weekdays and Saturday 10-6, 
closed Wednesday and Sunday. 

Prayer WORKS!!!

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"100 History Makers in the Making". 

  www.thegrio.com

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The MLK that is seldom heard



Click here to view video: >>>

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A Message from the President of the US.

On Tuesday, a catastrophic earthquake struck near Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The full extent of the damage is still being assessed, but the death toll -- already in the thousands -- is climbing fast.

This is the worst earthquake to hit the area in more than 200 years. Entire communities have been ripped apart and as many as 3 million people have been directly affected, including tens of thousands of American citizens who are in Haiti.

Our neighbors in Haiti are racing to confront the enormous devastation -- and the OFA community can help.

Click here for more information about essential relief efforts and ways you can help today.

Footage is pouring in of homes collapsing, Haitians carrying injured family members, and hospitals being overrun in what was already the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere.

I have directed my administration to respond with a swift, coordinated, and aggressive effort to save lives. Personnel from the United States and our partners in the international community are on the ground in damaged areas right now, working side by side with the Haitian people. They're providing much-needed food, water, and sanitation supplies, saving lives and helping local communities start to rebuild.

Despite the fact that we are experiencing tough times here at home, I encourage those who can to reach out and help. It's in times like these that we must show the kind of compassion and humanity that has defined the best of our national character for generations.

Click here to find out what you can do:

http://my.barackobama.com/Haiti

As this story continues to unfold, I hope you will continue to keep the people of Haiti in your thoughts and prayers, as well as the many Haitian-Americans who have done so much to enrich our country and who are worried about friends and loved ones in this time of need.

Thank you,

President Barack Obama

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The Illinois Text Messaging Ban

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America Without a Middle Class

Can you imagine an America without a strong middle class? If you can, would it still be America as we know it?

Today, one in five Americans is unemployed, underemployed or just plain out of work. One in nine families can't make the minimum payment on their credit cards. One in eight mortgages is in default or foreclosure. One in eight Americans is on food stamps. More than 120,000 families are filing for bankruptcy every month. The economic crisis has wiped more than $5 trillion from pensions and savings, has left family balance sheets upside down, and threatens to put ten million homeowners out on the street.

Families have survived the ups and downs of economic booms and busts for a long time, but the fall-behind during the busts has gotten worse while the surge-ahead during the booms has stalled out. In the boom of the 1960s, for example, median family income jumped by 33% (adjusted for inflation). But the boom of the 2000s resulted in an almost-imperceptible 1.6% increase for the typical family. While Wall Street executives and others who owned lots of stock celebrated how good the recovery was for them, middle class families were left empty-handed.

The crisis facing the middle class started more than a generation ago. Even as productivity rose, the wages of the average fully-employed male have been flat since the 1970s.

But core expenses kept going up. By the early 2000s, families were spending twice as much (adjusted for inflation) on mortgages than they did a generation ago -- for a house that was, on average, only ten percent bigger and 25 years older. They also had to pay twice as much to hang on to their health insurance.

To cope, millions of families put a second parent into the workforce. But higher housing and medical costs combined with new expenses for child care, the costs of a second car to get to work and higher taxes combined to squeeze families even harder. Even with two incomes, they tightened their belts. Families today spend less than they did a generation ago on food, clothing, furniture, appliances, and other flexible purchases -- but it hasn't been enough to save them. Today's families have spent all their income, have spent all their savings, and have gone into debt to pay for college, to cover serious medical problems, and just to stay afloat a little while longer.

Through it all, families never asked for a handout from anyone, especially Washington. They were left to go on their own, working harder, squeezing nickels, and taking care of themselves. But their economic boats have been taking on water for years, and now the crisis has swamped millions of middle class families.

The contrast with the big banks could not be sharper. While the middle class has been caught in an economic vise, the financial industry that was supposed to serve them has prospered at their expense. Consumer banking -- selling debt to middle class families -- has been a gold mine. Boring banking has given way to creative banking, and the industry has generated tens of billions of dollars annually in fees made possible by deceptive and dangerous terms buried in the fine print of opaque, incomprehensible, and largely unregulated contracts.

And when various forms of this creative banking triggered economic crisis, the banks went to Washington for a handout. All the while, top executives kept their jobs and retained their bonuses. Even though the tax dollars that supported the bailout came largely from middle class families -- from people already working hard to make ends meet -- the beneficiaries of those tax dollars are now lobbying Congress to preserve the rules that had let those huge banks feast off the middle class.

Pundits talk about "populist rage" as a way to trivialize the anger and fear coursing through the middle class. But they have it wrong. Families understand with crystalline clarity that the rules they have played by are not the same rules that govern Wall Street. They understand that no American family is "too big to fail." They recognize that business models have shifted and that big banks are pulling out all the stops to squeeze families and boost revenues. They understand that their economic security is under assault and that leaving consumer debt effectively unregulated does not work.

Families are ready for change. According to polls, large majorities of Americans have welcomed the Obama Administration's proposal for a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA). The CFPA would be answerable to consumers -- not to banks and not to Wall Street. The agency would have the power to end tricks-and-traps pricing and to start leveling the playing field so that consumers have the tools they need to compare prices and manage their money. The response of the big banks has been to swing into action against the Agency, fighting with all their lobbying might to keep business-as-usual. They are pulling out all the stops to kill the agency before it is born. And if those practices crush millions more families, who cares -- so long as the profits stay high and the bonuses keep coming.

America today has plenty of rich and super-rich. But it has far more families who did all the right things, but who still have no real security. Going to college and finding a good job no longer guarantee economic safety. Paying for a child's education and setting aside enough for a decent retirement have become distant dreams. Tens of millions of once-secure middle class families now live paycheck to paycheck, watching as their debts pile up and worrying about whether a pink slip or a bad diagnosis will send them hurtling over an economic cliff.

America without a strong middle class? Unthinkable, but the once-solid foundation is shaking.

Elizabeth Warren is the Leo Gottlieb Professor of Law at Harvard and is currently the Chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel.

$5,000 Bounty

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Embracing lifetime value

If you walk into a company-owned cell phone store to sign up for a contract, what are you worth?

Given the huge gross margins at AT&T and Verizon and the standard two-year contract, I think it's easy to figure on more than $2000 in lifetime value.

If you ran a business where a customer represented an additional $2,000 in profit, how would you staff? How long would you make someone wait? If staff costs $25 an hour, how long would that extra person take to pay off?

Few businesses understand (really understand) just how much a customer is worth. Add to this the additional profit you get from a delighted customer spreading the word--it can easily double or triple the lifetime value.

So, a chiropractor might see a new patient being worth $2,500, easily. And yet... how much is she spending on courting, catering to and seducing that new customer? My guess is that $50 feels like a lot to the doc. Instead of comparing what you invest to the benefit you receive from the first bill, the first visit, the first transaction, it's important to not only recognize but embrace the true lifetime value of one more customer.

Write it down. Post it on the wall. What would happen if you spent 100% of that amount on each of your next ten new customers? That's more money than you have to spend right now, I know that, but what would happen? Imagine how fast you would grow, how quickly the word would spread.

Here's how you'll know when you've really embraced this--a good customer at your podiatry practice (or supermarket or tax firm) walks out the door in a huff and you turn to your partner and say, "There goes $74,000."

"Seth Godin" <blogmailfromseth@yahoo.com>

Things you can do to fight against H1N1

  From our Favorite Dr Oz@
 

The only portals of entry are the nostrils and mouth/throat.

In a global epidemic of this nature, it's almost impossible to avoid coming into contact with H1 N1 in spite of all precautions.

Contact with H1 N1 is not so much of a problem as proliferation is.

While you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of H1 N1 infection, in order to prevent proliferation,
aggravation of symptoms and development of secondary infections, some very simple steps, not fully highlighted in most official communications, can be practiced (instead of focusing on how to stock N95 or Tamiflu):

1.  Frequent hand-washing (well highlighted in all official communications).

2.  "Hands-off-the-face" approach.  Resist all temptations to touch any part of face (unless you want to eat or bathe.)

3.  Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine or Hydrogen Peroxide if you don't trust salt).  H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat!  nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. 
Simple gargling prevents proliferation.  In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected one.  Don't underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.

4.  Similar to 3 above, clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water, or hydrogen peroxide.  *Not everybody may be good at Jala Neti or Sutra Neti (very good Yoga asanas to clean nasal cavities), but *blowing the nose softly once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population.*

5.  Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C (Amla and other citrus fruits).  *If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.

6.  Drink as much of warm liquids (tea, coffee, etc) as you can.  Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling,  but in the reverse direction.  They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot
survive, proliferate or do any harm.

A word from me, Stay Focused!

Be conscious of your surroundings.

Illness begins in the head, before it even makes it to the body!

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This is interesting . .. .

Margarine was originally manufactured to fatten turkeys. When it killed the turkeys, the people who had put all the money into the research wanted a payback so they put their heads together to figure out what to do with this product to get their money back. It was a white substance with no food appeal so they added the yellow coloring and sold it to people to use in place of butter. How do you like it? They have come out with some clever new flavorings..

DO YOU KNOW.. the difference between margarine and butter?

Read on to the end...gets very interesting!

Both have the same amount of calories.

Butter is slightly higher in saturated fats at 8 grams compared to 5 grams.

Eating margarine can increase heart disease in women by 53% over eating the same amount of butter, according to a recent Harvard Medical Study.

Eating butter increases the absorption of many other nutrients in other foods.

Butter has many nutritional benefits where margarine has a few
only because they are added!

Butter tastes much better than margarine and it can enhance the flavors of other foods.

Butter has been around for centuries where margarine has been around for less than 100 years .

And now, for Margarine..

Very high in Trans fatty acids.

Triple risk of coronary heart disease .
Increases total cholesterol and LDL (this is the bad cholesterol) and lowers HDL cholesterol, (the good cholesterol)

Increases the risk of cancers up to five fold..

Lowers quality of breast milk.

Decreases immune response.

Decreases insulin response.

And here's the most disturbing fact..... HERE IS THE PART THAT IS VERY INTERESTING!

Margarine is but ONE MOLECULE away from being PLASTIC..

This fact alone was enough to have me avoiding margarine for life and anything else that is hydrogenated (this means hydrogen is added, changing the molecular structure of the substance).

You can try this yourself:

Purchase a tub of margarine and leave it in your garage or shaded area. Within a couple of days you will note a couple of things:

* no flies, not even those pesky fruit flies will go near it (that should tell you something)

* it does not rot or smell differently because it has no nutritional value ; nothing will grow on it. Even those teeny weeny microorganisms will not a find a home to grow. Why? Because it is nearly plastic . Would you melt your Tupperware and spread that on your toast?

Share This With Your Friends......(If you want to 'butter them up')!

Chinese Proverb:
'When someone shares something of value with you and you benefit from it, you have a moral obligation to share it with others.
Pass the BUTTER PLEASE

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Sick for Profit  Video

"America's High Tech "Invisible Man" 
By Tyrone D. Taborn 

You may not have heard of Dr. Mark Dean. And you aren't alone. But almost everything in your life has been affected by his work.. 

See, Dr. Mark Dean is a Ph.D. from Stanford University. He is in the National Hall of Inventors. He has more than 30 patents pending. He is a vice president with IBM. Oh, yeah. And he is also the architect of the modern-day personal computer. Dr. Dean holds three of the original nine patents on the computer that all PCs are based upon. And, Dr. Mark Dean is an African American. 

So how is! it that we can celebrate the 20th anniversary of the IBM personal computer without reading or hearing a single word about him? Given all of the pressure mass media are under about negative portrayals of African Americans on television and in print, you would think it 
would be a slam dunk to highlight someone like Dr. Dean. 

Somehow, though, we have managed to miss the shot. History is cruel when it comes to telling the stories of African Americans. Dr. Dean isn't the first Black inventor to be overlooked Consider John Stanard, inventor of the refrigerator, George Sampson, creator of the clothes dryer, 
Alexander Miles and his elevator, Lewis Latimer and the electric lamp. 
All of these inventors share two things: 

One, they changed the landscape of our society; and, two, society relegated them to the footnotes of history. Hopefully, Dr. Mark Dean won't go away as quietly as they did. He certainly shouldn't. Dr. Dean helped start a Digital Revolution that created people like Microsoft's Bill Gates and Dell Computer's Michael Dell. Millions of jobs in information technology can be traced back directly to ! Dr. Dean. 

More important, stories like Dr. Mark Dean's should serve as inspiration for African-American children. Already victims of the "Digital Divide" and failing school systems, young, Black kids might embrace technology with more enthusiasm! if they knew someone like Dr. Dean already was leading the way. 

Although technically Dr... Dean can't be credited with creating the computer -- that is left to Alan Turing, a pioneering 20th-century English mathematician, widely considered to be the father of modern computer science -- Dr. Dean rightly deserves to take a bow for the machine we use today. The computer really wasn't practical for home or small business use until he came along, leading a team that developed the interio! r architecture (ISA systems! bus) that enables multiple devices, such as modems and printers, to be connected to personal computers. 

In other words, because of Dr. Dean, the PC became a part of our daily lives . For most of us, changing the face of society would have been enough. But not for Dr. Dean.. Still in his early forties, he has! a lot of inventing left in him. 

He recently made history again by leading the design team responsible for creating the first 1-gigahertz processor chip.. It's just another huge step in making computers faster and smaller. As the world congratulates itself for the new Digital Age brought on by the personal computer, we need to guarantee that the African-American story is part of the hoopla surrounding the most stunning technological advance the world has ever seen.. We cannot afford to let Dr.. Mark Dean become a footnote in history. He is well worth his own history book. 

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Mortgage HELP from - NACA -

Neighborhood Assistance Corp. of America

NACA (a non-profit HUD certified counseling agency) that helps people keep their homes. The address for the local Chicago office is below. NACA’s tour began July 17th in Cleveland and then every week nationwide. The tour was in Chicago last weekend. Over 25,000 homeowners participate at each event with thousands having their mortgage restructured the same day to an affordable payment with interest rates permanently reduced to as low as 2%. NACA has legally binding agreements with all the major lenders/servicers to achieve this. All of NACA’s services are FREE.

www.naca.com

4425 W. 63rd St. Chicago, IL 60629

773.723.6222

888-302-6222

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Our children ARE our responsibility!

We must all do what we can to insure their future as well as ours.   You can be of service by passing this info along to everyone and every organization that you know of that relates to our youth.  This is an email from fellow community youth organizer:

Dear Friends of KOB;

We hope that this email finds you well. Our gratitude goes to those who have continually supported KOB throughout our short but succesful years of existence. It is with great disappointment that we announce that some of the youth involved in the summer job programs have lost their positions in the workforce due to a lack of funding. There were about 8 jobs that we're lost due to the cut.

We realize here at KOB, that this economic crisis has affected all of our communities. Furthermore, it gives youth an alternative into any kind of involvement in youth violence.As you may know, KOB has initiated the summer job program this June and for many it was shortly lived. With that said, we were inquiring as to any job openings that you may know of, or have open yourself. T

he youth have dilligently gone through the process of orientations and specific job trainings and would make an asset to any work environment. We are asking now more than ever that any possible opening be considered for KOB members.

Thank you in advance and thank you for your continual support.

Sincerely,

Kids Off The Block

     

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Air Conditioner


Please do NOT turn on A/C as
soon as you enter the car.  Open the  windows after
you enter your car and turn ON the air-conditioningafter a couple of minutes.

Here's why:
According to a research, the car dashboard, sofa, air freshener emit Benzene, a Cancer causing toxin (carcinogen - take time to observe the smell
of heated plastic in your car).  In addition to causing cancer, Benzene poisons your bones, causes anemia and reduces white blood cells.  Prolonged exposure will cause Leukemia, increasing the risk of cancer.  May also cause 
miscarriage.  Acceptable Benzene level indoors is 50 mg per sq. ft.

A car parked indoors with windows closed will contain 400-800 mg of Benzene.

If parked outdoors under the sun at a temperature above 60 degrees F, the Benzene level goes up to 2000-4000 mg, 40 times the acceptable level...
People who get into the car, keeping windows closed will inevitably inhale,
in quick succession excessive amounts of the toxin.  Benzene is a toxin that affects your kidney and liver.  What's worse, it is extremely difficult for your body to expel this toxic stuff.

So friends, please open the windows and door of your car - give time for interior to air out -dispel the deadly stuff - before you enter. SHARE THE GOOD NEWS! What goes out, must come back!

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You probably don't realize just how much power you have, especially when it comes to the media.

Everything you see and hear is not the truth.

Get outside of the box and read this article!

http://reclaimthemedia.org/journalistic_practice/we_save_journalism0227

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President Barack Obama and Family

June 2-7th 2009 Presidential Trip

http://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/sets/72157619421980633/show/

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LIFE WITH BIG BROTHER
Census GPS-tagging your home's front door
Coordinates being taken for every residence in nation

---

Posted: May 05, 2009
8:32 pm Eastern

By Bob Unruh
© 2009 WorldNetDaily

GPS satellite

According to an online Yahoo program, the Global Position System coordinates for the White House, probably one of the best-known publicly owned buildings in the world, are 38.898590 Latitude and -77.035971 Longitude. And since you know that, it's no big deal for the White House to know the coordinates for your front door, is it?

Some people think it is, and are upset over an army of some 140,000 workers hired in part with a $700 million taxpayer-funded contract to collect GPS readings for every front door in the nation.

The data collection, presented as preparation for the 2010 Census, is pinpointing with computer accuracy the locations and has raised considerable concern from privacy advocates who have questioned why the information is needed. The privacy advocates also are more than a little worried over what could be done with that information.

Enhancing the concerns is the Obama administration's recent decision to put White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel in an oversight role over the census, which will be used to determine a reapportionment of congressional seats and could be used to solidify a single political party's control over the nation, its budget, military and future.

Commerce Secretary Gary Locke recently told the W ashington Post: "The census director reports to me, and, of course, I serve at the pleasure of the president." He added the White House told him "it has no interest in politicizing [the census]."

But at American Daily Review, blogger Douglas Gibbs had more than a few doubts.

"GPS coordinates of your front door will make it easier for the government to monitor you," he said.

"The U.S. Census Bureau is simply an excuse – a harmless looking means of obtaining the front door coordinates. The creation of GPS coordinates for front doors has nothing to do with the census, in all honesty, no matter how much the United States government tries to convince you that it does."

Learn what America means, get "The Patriot's Handbook: A Citizenship Primer for a New Generation of Americans"

He recalled wondering why, just weeks ago, the Obama administration announced its oversight of the census, "literally taking control of the census away from the Commerce Department."

He put that together with Obama's longtime push for national service.

"The Obamites, thirsty to serve their new messianic figure, have lost enough of their objectivity to be willingly recruited into such an insidious program like gaining these coordinates for the U.S. government. … I ask again, what would be the purpose of shooting the GPS coordinates of American doorways?" he wrote.

The answer he provided was alarming.

"Imagine, if you will, that there are a number of people in a neighborhood that could not find the addresses they are tasked with finding. They are not locals, maybe are unable to read a map, or perhaps do not have the time to pull out a map, and they need to find you with specific GPS coordinates. Their devices would lead them to your front door with these coordinates.
Imagine a crisis is afoot, and martial law is put into place. U.S. troops need to round up particular folks," he wrote.

"Let's take this a step further. After all, with Barack Obama desiring to decrease the number of folks in the military, and with forces committed worldwide, we may not have sufficient military forces at home to deal with a rising national emergency.

If the government decided to rely on foreign troops, perhaps United Nations personnel, most of which may not understand the street signs, much less know the lay of the land, they could use GPS devices to direct them to your front door," he wrote.

(does anyone remember after 911 how Bush thanked the many foreign pilots who flew combat aircraft along our borders to "prevent terrorism at home" (in actuality, a foreign national is a lot less likely to question an order to shoot  or bomb civilians, if it's not his home country he is flying in). rs

According to the Census Bureau's website, the GPS technology "allows us to reduce the amount of time spent by census workers in locating addresses. … Most importantly, by adding a GPS coordinate to each housing unit, the Census Bureau is able to ensure that residents are counted in the right location."

At Canada Free Press, commentator J.B. Williams said, "I can't resist the urge to question the authority and purpose behind such a BIG BROTHER initiative, when the official census itself is not due to be taken until 2010…

"No imagination is required to think up a whole laundry list of evil that could be done with a nationwide GPS grid of coordinate's markers painted on every private home across the country. But I was having trouble thinking up one good reason for it, even one legitimate use that would justify what must be a very expensive undertaking," he said.

"Why does the Obama administration need or want the latitude and longitude coordinates for every home in America?
Why the rush to GPS paint every home in the next 90 days?
Why must the marker be within 40 feet of every front door?
For what possible purpose does the Fed need GPS coordinates for every home, and under what authority do they have the right?

Census workers, whom I asked, had the same holy-crap look on their faces that I had by then," he wrote.

Then he cited the cooperative effort that the U.S. Census Bureau has reached with ACORN, the organization of community activists with which Obama worked.

"Obama's interest in an ACORN-controlled 2010 Census, for the purpose of redistricting to the advantage of Democrats before the 2010 mid-term elections, comes as NO shock from a regime known for their heavy handed Rules for Radicals political strategies. But what does this have to do with GPS marking every home in the country?" he questioned.

Ask those who have served military duty, he said. They are very familiar with the most common use of GPS target painting, and the rest might want to read books such as "The Precision Revolution: GPS and the Future of Aerial Warfare."

Online sources noted that Google Maps already probably has listed most homes in the nation.

"But the front door? Sounds like a jackboot convenience to me," said RightSoup.com.

Added Williams, "What I do know is this … Coincidences of this number and magnitude don't happen. … I also know that people had better start asking the right people the right questions and demanding answers fast. Begin with asking the mainstream press why there has been no public notification of the federal governments GPS marking your front door?"

A number of concerned citizens have contacted WND about the program, and repeatedly have cited warnings delivered by the GPS squad members that their failure to allow the readings would result in fines and possibly imprisonment under Title 13, which allows the census to be taken.

But repeatedly they've gotten no answers when asked what a GPS reading has to do with the number of people living at the home – which isn't supposed to be subject to questions until 2010 anyway.

One WND reader raised these questions to a local census office.

"What authority does the U.S. Census Bureau have for sending anyone to my front door in April of 2009 to mark it with GPS coordinates? This is unacceptable. The census is not due until 2010, and the usurpation of the census by the White House is unconstitutional. … This citizen will not answer census questions until the year they are due, and demands that my GPS coordinates be removed from all government records."

The census response?

"Address canvassing should conclude by mid-July. The operation will use new hand-held computers equipped with GPS to increase geographic accuracy. The ability to capture GPS coordinates for most of the nation's housing units will greatly reduce the number of geographic coding errors caused by using paper maps in previous counts. … During the address canvassing operation, census workers may ask to verify a housing structure's address and whether there are additional living quarters on the property. All census workers carry official government badges marked with just their name. You also may ask them for a picture ID from another source to confirm their identity. In addition, some census workers might carry a 'U. S. Census Workers' bag."

Another WND reader, from Washington state, reported he is having his attorney look into the legality of the GPS data collection and hopes to have enough support for a legal challenge.

The reader, whose name was withheld because of his concerns over repercussions, said a government home data collector ignored his no trespassing sign, and he was threatened by the collector for wanting to refuse to provide "census" information.

He said GPS mapping nowhere is authorized for census workers.

Census spokesman Stephen Buckner told WND the activity is, in fact, proper, and even necessary. There are homes being built and torn down constantly, and the census needs such information. Local building records and other government databases such as tax records would not suffice, he said.

"There are 140,000 workers walking every street of America," he told WND, in order to document 145 million addresses with GPS coordinates.

He assured WND that all such personal information is confidential, because employees of contractors doing the work are subject to a $250,000 fine or imprisonment for five years for revealing personal information. He also confirmed that the last case that was prosecuted under the law was nearly 50 years ago.

"We have to verify every single address," he said.

************************************************

THIS IS SCARY STUFF, IF YOU THINK OF ALL THE POSSIBLE RAMIFICATIONS OF SOMETHING LIKE THIS BEING IMPLEMENTED HERE IN THE "LAND OF THE FREE"...least ways..seeems that way to me.

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BET to Launch New Network

Centric Will Target Affluent, Trendsetting Black Audience Beginning in October
by Andrew Hampp
Source: AdAge.com

The cable upfront season has already spawned announcements ranging from programming acquisitions and ventures into live action to new names. But tonight Viacom's BET Networks will announce the launch of a new network, Centric, at its presentation to advertisers in New York.



Centric, named for "being at the center of the universe" of black culture, BET CEO Debra Lee said, is slated to launch in October in nearly 45 million homes. The network is designed to target affluent, trendsetting black 25- to 54-year-olds with programming that resembles a black-skewing version of Bravo.



Scott Mills, president-chief operating officer of BET Networks, said Centric allows BET to focus on what he calls a "very valuable segment" of the black audience while simultaneously serving more-diverse viewers on BET's flagship channel. Centric likely will take the place of BETJ, a sibling network now in nearly 45 million homes. "We are currently in discussions with our affiliate partners around the future of BETJ,"
Mr. Mills said.



Among the new shows Centric will use to reach that valuable segment are "Keeping Up With the Joneses," a "Real Housewives"-esque docu-soap chronicling the lives of high society in Houston; "Model City," which
follows young black men trying to crack the New York modeling industry; and "Urban Livin'," billed as a "chic lifestyle interio-design show." Centric will also focus heavily on music and revive the Soul Train Awards for a November event in Atlanta.

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For Students!

Recruiting candidates for the fall session of  a paid Independent Media Internships program. We're looking to recruit a diverse set of graduate and undergraduate students who are experienced with everything from blogging to vlogging; audio to video. More information about the program is below, but the deadline for Fall applications is Friday, May 1 at 12:00 p.m. CST!

The application is here:

http://www.themedia consortium. org/internship- application/ .

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 Essential back-to-school software

Visit:  Download.com

You might be enjoying the dog days of summer now, but look out!

The school year is just around the corner, and teachers, books, classes, and winter
will be here before you know it. Get a jump on the upcoming school year with
a collection of downloadable software for communicating with classmates,
managing your homework, learning new study skills, or harnessing the reference
power of the Internet. You can even find software to let you call your parents
free from college. (Seriously, your mom wants a call.)

Read the entire article and try the software FREE, click here

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Interactive One Network Includes NewsOne, TheUrbanDaily, HelloBeautiful and Black Planet

Interactive One, LLC the digital connection for Black America and the new digital division of  Radio One, Inc. (Nasdaq: ROIAK and ROIA), the largest African-American multimedia company, launches three new content-driven websites: NewsOne, TheUrbanDaily and HelloBeautiful.

The three sites will join BlackPlanet, the social networking site for African-Americans,  acquired by Radio One earlier this year, making it the largest online media entity for African-Americans reaching more than 6 million unique visitors monthly. This announcement comes just a few weeks after Radio One announced the results of its "Black American Survey,"
the largest ever national survey of African-Americans. The survey showed that nearly 68% of African-Americans are now online compared with 71% of all Americans, proving that the digital divide is now closed. The study also shows that more than 16 million African-Americans are
currently using broadband, a number that is projected to grow by 31% to 21 million by 2009.

"Interactive One is the largest and most comprehensive digital network for African-Americans," said Smokey D. Fontaine , Chief Content Officer, Interactive One. "Our family of targeted content sites and our social network enables users to find original and intelligent content tailored to
African-American's interests and needs and to engage in conversation
with the Black community online."

Read the entire article:  click here>>>

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                                                                           archives

Network Before You Need Work

Article written by Zelda Robinson

See Details at:

http://www.latinamericanchamberofcommerce.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=138&Itemid=1

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May 2008

 See Master Accupuncturist Dr. Frank Yurasek &

Radio/TV Personality Zelda Robinson in Self Healing Video

http://womenandchildren1st.blogspot.com/

************

This month, we feature WomenOnCall.org volunteer Jeri Ann Cheswick, who shared her skills and expertise with Higher Learning Network, a local nonprofit.... About Higher Learning Network: The Higher Learning Network, www.HigherLearningNetwork.org, offers self empowerment seminars/training for the community with an emphasis on learning how to develop and trust the inner self. It evolved over the past 15 years under Zelda Robinson Communications as a result of facilitating Free Self-Empowerment Information Seminars for the general public on a variety of subjects.(www.ZeldaSpeaks.com) As an International Speaker/Trainer/Author her passion for helping people gave her much joy, but she also discovered how hard it was for some parents to get their children into school. Because of this Zelda began searching for scholarship monies.

 

Sunday, February 17, 2008

  inspirational conversations

inspirational conversations in chicago sun-times

be sure and visit

http://www.chicagosuntimes.com

click on columnists
scroll down on left and see Columns
click on Colums
click on stella foster
click on PINK NOIR WOMAN LOGO (to the left of her photo)
click on page 6 - wah lah! N'Spirational Conversations!
enjoy!

pick up your copy SOUTH of Roosevelt Road and South Suburbs!

ABC7Chicago.com:

Zelda Robinson & The Higher Learning Network presents Make A Difference Day for youth in community who are tired of negative images portrayed on TV. ...
abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=community_calendar&id=3382841 - 50k

American Women Journalists 15th Anniversary Celebration at ABC Channel 7 Thursday Jan. 31st, 2008

Networking after Keynote Speech by
Entrepreneur Melody Spann

Chatting with the Girls Afterwards
Dee Daniels - Publisher Noir Woman News
Shelomith Yisrael (aka Zelda Robinson,
CLTV Traffic/Noir Woman Columnist)
Debra DeVaughn - Journalist/Producer

On The Air with Shelomith
in ABC 7 Studios, Chicago

 

 Chicago Media Personalities
By CRDDC Interactive Advertising Agency(CRDDC Interactive Advertising Agency)
Zelda Robinson's blog. http://crddcselfempowermenttraining.blogspot.com. SPONSORS PLACE YOUR AD HERE.
Mid Austin Chamber Of Commerce - http://midaustinchamberofcommerce.blogspot.com/

Source:  BroadcastNewsroom.com

Radio One's Interactive Unit Creates the Largest Online African-American Community

 
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Diane Latiker - Founder/President

Kids Off The Block, Inc.

11621 S. Michigan Ave.

Chicago, IL 60628

773-995-9077

http://dogoodchannel.com/nonprofits
www.kidsofftheblock.org

www.youtube/dianekob  
www.nationalblockclubuniversity.com

www.myspace.com/kidsofftheblock

 The Mandatory 15-Second Voicemail Instructions

The Times's technology columnist, David Pogue, keeps you on top of the industry
in his free, weekly email newsletter.

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Cell phone numbers go public this month. 

Telemarketers can call you on your cell, and you may have to pay for the calls.  To block these calls, call the DO NOT CALL REGISTRY at 1-888-382-1222.

You must call from your cell phone. 

Drivers to pay more at metered spots
The cost of visiting Chicago — or at least parking there — is about to go up.

Starting next week, the price of metered parking on city streets will climb.
Chicago Parking Meters says that the cost of parking in the Loop will climb
from $3.50 to $4.25 an hour. The price to park outside the Loop but in the
central business district will rise from $2.00 to $2.50 an hour. And parking
everywhere else in the city will be $1.25 an hour instead of the current
$1.00 an hour.

The rates on the meters will be changed throughout January, starting on
Jan. 4 in the Loop. Officials say they plans to change all the rates by the
end of the month, but motorists only have to pay the posted rates.