Janet Jackson Speaks for Family at BET Awards 2009

Janet Jackson Speaks for Family on behalf of Michael at BET Awards 2009

Janet Jackson at BET Awards

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Janet Jackson has taken the stage at the BET Awards to speak on behalf of her grieving family and thank fans for their love and support.

It was Janet Jackson’s first public appearance since her brother died last Thursday. With a deep sadness on her face, she strolled to the microphone and began to speak.

She said: “My entire family wanted to be here tonight, but it was just too painful, so they elected me to be here.”

She noted that the King of Pop was an icon to all in attendance, but that to the Jacksons, “he was family.”

After her brief comments, Ne-Yo and host Jamie Foxx took the stage and sang a poignant “I’ll Be There” by the Jackson 5.

AP, BET

Michael Jackson: Victim of Extreme Celebrity

To the People,

I hung out with Michael Jackson (MJ) and his brothers during the recording of their TRIUMPH album, and I must say that MJ was very, very kind and brotherly-like to me.  (Mind you now, this was a secret and off-limits recording session, and his brother Jackie did not like the fact that I was there).

But MJ insisted that I stay, and he and I spent about 2 hours (while waiting for a piece of recording equipment to arrive) – just talking about beautiful world destinations like Hawaii, Africa and other places.

More importantly, I have been very critical of and dismayed by MJ’s physical transformation that from my view, disrespected the tens of millions of Black brothers worldwide and their bold and beautiful African features and hair.

My  verdict?  MJ was guilty of dissing his original Africa features for Europeans ones.

Min. Farrakhan blames MJ’s issues on “extreme celebrity” that negatively distorts a person’s clarity.

Still others say that the childhood “beatings” by his father Joe Jackson were too many and were too brutal causing MJ to carry this fear/hate/love of his father to places that afforded him an escape from his reality.

Maybe MJ physical change to “white” was his attempt to dare the world to love him (and everyone) despite his (their) skin color or physical attributes.

Or maybe MJ did not want his children to face the same racism and the multitude of other problems Black people have to deal with is another possible reason MJ only wed and befriended white women (some of whom supposedly mothered his three children).

In conclusion, I just want to confess that I love music.  But I also detest how music, sports, and celebrity are used to program the masses into a state of ignorance and servitude.

To his credit, MJ did leave the confines of the brutally racist entertainment industry to address world hunger, racism and the lack of basic human rights for various people of the world.

This, for me, is what makes MJ stand apart more than what any melody or lyric can ever do.

RIP my Brother.  And please scout out a place for me in the other world.

In Love With My People,

Fige Bornu, Chairman – Positive African Image Institute

Michael Jackson dead at 50 ” I am Peter Pan”

Zimbabwe Troops take over Diamond Fields

By CELEAN JACOBSON, Associated Press Writer Celean Jacobson, Associated Press Writer – 2 hrs 56 mins ago

JOHANNESBURG – Human Rights Watch said Friday that Zimbabwe’s armed forces have taken over diamond fields in the east and killed more than 200 people, forcing children to search for the precious gems and beating villagers who get in the way.

The New York-based organization said its call for a ban on diamonds from the region had received an endorsement from Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. A statement from the couple’s foundation was expected later Friday.

“Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have issued a call for a ban on any sale or purchase of Marange diamonds … until … the mining is not based on the violent abuse of residents in that region,” said Kenneth Roth, Human Rights Watch’s executive director.

Zimbabwe’s deputy mining minister, Murisi Zwizwai, has denied the allegations and said the presence of the military is to secure the area.

More than 100 witnesses, miners, police officers, soldiers and children were interviewed for the report entitled “Diamonds in the Rough,” which details allegations of human rights abuses by Zimbabwean armed forces in an attempt to control access to the precious gems.

The human rights group said esearchers had gathered evidence of mass graves and accounts of an incident last year when military helicopters fired at miners, while armed soldiers on the ground chased villagers from the area.

“There are hundreds of victims of human rights abuses that are unwilling to come forward for fear of the military,” Zimbabwe researcher Dewa Mavhinga said.

The report also alleges that some of the income from the diamond fields is going to officials of President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party, long accused of trampling on human rights and democracy in the southern African country.

The international human rights watchdog is calling on Zimbabwe’s coalition government, formed in February, to stop the abuses and prosecute those responsible.

It is also calling on the international body that governs the global diamond industry to press Zimbabwe, a participant, to end the illegal trade in Marange diamonds.

The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, established in 2002, aims to stem the flow of “blood diamonds” being used to fund fighting across Africa. Participants are forced to certify the origins of the diamonds being traded. This assures consumers that by purchasing diamonds they are not financing war and human rights abuses.

Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, said the group is calling for the definition of blood diamonds to be broadened to include gems mined through “repression and violent abuses” by governments.

The Marange diamond fields were discovered in 2006 – at the height of Zimbabwe’s political, economic and humanitarian crisis. Villagers rushed to the area and began finding diamonds close to the surface. Mining is now managed by Zimbabwe’s Mining Development Corporation under protection of the military.

It is estimated that the diamonds could be worth $200 million a month to the cash-strapped country but the Mining Development Corporation claimed in 2007 that it was made $15 million from gem exports.

Zwizwai, the Zimbabwean deputy minister, said the country did not have the money to fence off the area and so was using the military to secure the diamond fields.

He said there had been no deaths by the military but that there had been “skirmishes” among the illegal diggers, which resulted in three reported deaths and eight arrests.

“The special operation by security forces has been successful as evidenced by (the) order and sanity which now prevails in the Marange area,” he told The Associated Press on the sidelines of a Kimberley Process meeting in neighboring Namibia.

___

Associated Press Writer Rodrick Mukumbira in Windhoek, Namibia contributed to this report

Israel Block Aid to Gaza

Israeli Block Aid to Gaza

Subject: Public Advisory – We did not leave Cyprus today

PUBLIC ADVISORY

(25 June 2009, LARNACA) – This is not the statement we in the Free Gaza Movement intended to release today. We had hoped to announce that our two ships, the Free Gaza and the Spirit of Humanity, departed from Larnaca Port on a 30-hour voyage to besieged Gaza, carrying human rights activists who have travelled to Cyprus from all across the world for this journey, 3 tons of medical supplies, and 15 tons of badly needed concrete and reconstruction supplies.

Nobel peace laureate Mairead Maguire, returning for her second trip to Gaza aboard one of our ships, said “[The people of Gaza] must know that we have not and will not forget them.”

That was our hope, but that is not what happened.

Instead, our ships were not given permission to leave today due to concerns about our welfare and safety. Our friends in Cyprus tell us that the voyage to Gaza is too dangerous, and they are worried we will be harmed at sea.

Cyprus has been a wonderful home for the Free Gaza Movement over these last 10 months. Cypriots know first hand the terrible consequences of occupation. They too know what it is to suffer from violence, injustice, and exile. Since our first voyage to break through the siege of Gaza, the Cypriot authorities have been extremely helpful and understanding of our goals and intentions.

The journey to Gaza is dangerous. The Israeli navy rammed our flagship, the Dignity, when we attempted to deliver medical supplies to Gaza during their vicious assault in December/January. Israel has previously threatened to open fire on our unarmed ships, rather than allow us to deliver humanitarian and reconstruction supplies to the people of Gaza.

The risks we take on these trips are tiny compared to the risks imposed every day upon the people of Gaza.

The purpose of nonviolent direct action and civil resistance is to take risks – to put ourselves “in the way” of injustice. We take these risks well aware of what the possible consequences may be. We do so because the consequences of doing nothing are so much worse. Anytime we allow ourselves to be bullied, every time we pass by an evil and ignore it – we lower our standards and allow our world to be made that much harsher and unjust for us all.

In addition to the concerns expressed by our Cypriot friends today, the American consulate in Nicosia warned us not to go to Gaza, stating that:

“…[T]he Israeli Foreign Ministry informed U.S. officials at the American Embassy in Tel Aviv that Israel still considers Gaza an area of conflict and that any Free Gaza boats attempting to sail to the Gaza Strip will “not be permitted” to reach its destination.”

Former U.S. Congresswoman & presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney responded to this warning by pointing out that, “The White House says that cement and medical supplies should get into Gaza and that’s exactly what we are attempting to take to Gaza.”

“Instead of quoting Israel policy to us,” McKinney continued, “…the U.S. should send a message to Israel reiterating the reported White House position that the blockade of Gaza should be eased, that medical supplies and building materials, including cement, should be allowed in. The Free Gaza boats should be allowed to reach their destination, traveling from Cyprus territorial waters, through international waters, and straight into Gaza territorial waters.”

“The State Department has chosen to advise us to take the Israeli notification seriously.  Our question is, ‘Can we take President Obama seriously?’  Will he stand by his own words and allow us to provide relief for Gaza or will he back down?”

Tomorrow we will deliver a waiver, signed by all going to Gaza, that we absolve Cyprus of all responsibility for our safety. We would like to tell our friends here in Cyprus that though we understand and appreciate their concerns, we will not back down to Israel’s threats and intimidation.

###

www.FreeGaza.org

—
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Former Congress Woman Cynthia McKinney to the President of United States

One killed in Washington-area subway train collision

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Two Metro subway trains collided between stations north of downtown Washington, D.C., during afternoon rush hour Monday, killing at least one person, CNN has confirmed.

The crash occurred just before 5 p.m. on an above-ground track on the Red Line in Takoma Park, Maryland, just north of the District of Columbia.

Taryn McNeil, a spokeswoman for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, said there were reports of injuries, but she was unable to provide confirmation

Chris Brown – Settlement reached in Chris Brown’s alleged beating of Rihanna

2:09 PM | June 22, 2009

A plea deal has been reached between Los Angeles prosecutors and pop star Chris Brown, who is accused of assaulting singer Rihanna before the Grammy Awards.

Brown will plead guilty to a felony and receive six months in jail or community labor — such as graffiti removal or trash pickup — and five years’ formal probation. He will also undergo domestic violence counseling. Judge Patricia Schnegg said he will be allowed to complete counseling, community labor and probation in his native Virginia, but is to be treated there like any other offender.

[Updated at 2:15 p.m.: Schnegg says she plans to issue “a stay-away” order barring Chris Brown from having contact with Rihanna. But an attorney for Rihanna said she doesn’t want the order. Sources told The Times that Brown’s camp initially rejected the plea agreement and had been mulling the settlement for several days.]

[Updated at 2:26 p.m.: “I think it is comendable you took responsibility for your conduct,” Schnegg told Brown.

After Chris Brown left with his entourage, Rihanna was brought into the courtroom and informed of the stay-away order by the judge. “Thank you,” she told the judge and then left through a back door of the courtroom.]

Brown, 20, was arrested in February for allegedly beating and threatening Rihanna during an argument in a rented Lamborghini.

The alleged altercation occurred as the couple drove home from a pre-Grammy party. The news that Rihanna was injured and that Brown was wanted by police surfaced the next day as scores of celebrity reporters awaited the couple’s arrival on the red carpet.

If convicted of felony assault and criminal threats, Brown would have faced a maximum of five years in prison.

— Harriet Ryan and Richard Winton

More:

Live courthouse reports from the Chris Brown-Rihanna preliminary hearing

Michelle Obama kicks off volunteer campaign in SF

By MICHELLE LOCKE – Associated Press Writer

SAN FRANCISCO — First lady Michelle Obama plans to kick off a summer of community service Monday by helping refurbish a school playground, while a number of cabinet officials fan across the country donating time to promote the campaign.

The initiative, known as United We Serve, was announced by President Barack Obama in a video message last week.

The president is urging people to help in the nation’s economic recovery by volunteering at schools and hospitals and pitching in on community needs ranging from tutoring to trash pickup.

First lady Michelle Obama eats a pea with fifth graders from Bancroft Elementary School in the First Lady’s Garden after they harvested some of the vegetables that they planted in a garden on the South Lawn of The White House in Washington, Tuesday, June 16, 2009.

Michelle Obama is putting the idea into action by joining California first lady Maria Shriver and local volunteers at Bret Harte Elementary School in San Francisco, where the playground is being refurbished to include an edible garden with a farmers market stand where kids and seniors can sell vegetables to raise money for the school.

Later, the first lady is scheduled to speak at the 2009 National Conference on Volunteering and Service.

A number of other people are also set to speak, including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Earlier, a volunteer driver from the nonprofit Disabled American Veterans participated in the United We Serve program by transporting Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki and two Vietnam-era veterans through commuter traffic to a VA hospital in Washington.

Shinseki said he was amused by the advice the veterans gave the driver to quickly get to their appointments.

“Except for them, we’d still be in traffic,” Shinseki told staff members at the hospital after the ride.

More than 80,000 people donated time last year helping with VA-related programs, but Shinseki said there’s concern that there’s been a decline in the number of volunteers.

Other senior VA officials volunteered at homeless shelters and in other ways.

Tammy Duckworth, a VA assistant secretary who lost both her legs and partial use of one arm in an attack in Iraq in 2004, recalled a fellow veteran offering to wash her hair when she was injured and another volunteer pulling up a blanket for her when she was on a gurney in a hospital hall and unable to move her arms.

“Sometimes, it’s the smallest gesture that makes the difference to these vets,” Duckworth said.

Other officials promoting the event included Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., who was to play basketball and talk with young people at the Police Athletic League in Philadelphia.

Commerce Secretary Gary Locke was visiting La Mesita Homeless Shelter for Families in Mesa, Ariz. to read to children and serve lunch at the child care center.

Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan was set to help rebuild a home in New Orleans.

United We Serve is led by the government-run Corporation for National and Community Service.

Associated Press Writer Kimberly Hefling in Washington contributed to this report.

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