MACTV News: HAS BLACK ANGER ENDED?, Posted by Menelik Zeleke

Week of July 18, 2011

BUSINESS EXCHANGE

By William Reed

HAS BLACK ANGER ENDED?

The worst abuses of the Jim Crow era have been eliminated, but the moral outrage inspired by a personal encounter with bigotry remains the most powerful vehicle for conveying the injuries and indignities of racial inequality.

In the days since the great civil rights awakening, a revolution has occurred across America. Uptight suburbanites who couldn’t imagine socializing with, working for or marrying a “Negro,” have given way to a new and different generation.  That process has cleared the way for a generation of “Black Believers” who fully accept that America means what it says when it promises to treat them fairly.  Are these young African Americans naive about racism or basically more confident than their elders? Now, from a venerated and best-selling author on American life comes a tremendously important book about one of the most significant issues in the history of our republic – America’s race relations.

WHO SPEAKS FOR YOU?, Posted by Meosha Eaton

By William Reed

WHO SPEAKS FOR YOU?
While many have questioned whether Barack Obama was Black enough, in the 2008 elections 96 percent of African Americans cast their vote for him. Today, the question has re-emerged. In a recent critique, African-American scholar Cornel West stated that

WORLD NEWS LATEST, FRIDAY APRIL 8, 2011, Posted By Meosha Eaton

**TOP STORIES**

JAPAN-

QUAKE A strong earthquake of magnitude 7.4 shook the northeast of Japan late on Thursday, and a tsunami warning was issued for the coast already devastated by last month's massive quake and the tsunami that crippled a nuclear power plant.

EXPECTED:

JAPAN-EVACUEES/IMPERIAL GARDENS - The Imperial gardens are opened up for the evacuees in Tokyo.

CHINA-AIRPORT FOOD INSPECTION - Hong Kong's Legislative Council Panel on Food Safety and Environmental Hygiene conducts a site visit to the Airport Food Inspection Office for members to better understand the inspection of radiation of food products imported from Japan.

JAPAN-CABINET SECRETARY - Japan's chief spokesman Yukio Edano talks twice a day about the latest development in the aftermath of the nation's triple disaster.

JAPAN-NUCLEAR PLANT - Latest from Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant where engineers are battling to contain a crippled nuclear reactor.

JAPAN-AFTERSHOCK CLEAN - Major aftershock hits northern Japan. (0332)

JAPAN-STOCK MARKET OPEN - Tokyo stocks open down in morning trade after a strong aftershock hits northern Japan. (0247)

JAPAN-QUAKE/SUPERMARKET MORNING - Memories of previous Japan quake triggers rush on supermarket.

IVORY COAST

IVORY COAST-UNREST French strikes hit Gbagbo forces in Ivory Coast.

EXPECTED:

TBC

IVORY COAST-OUATARRA - Ivory Coast presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara asks EU to lift sanctions, announces measures to bring life back to normal and claims incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo is blockaded at his residence. (2314)

USA-IVORY COAST AMBASSADOR - The Ivory Coast ambassador to the United Nations, Youssoufou Bamba and other Ivorian politicians hold a press conference about the situation on the ground in Ivory Coast. (2109)

IVORY COAST-EVACUATION - Journalists are evacuated from the Novotel in Abidjan.

IVORY COAST/FRANCE-EVACUATION/PROTEST - French army evacuates nationals from Abidjan hotel, Gbagbo supporters protest in Paris.

UN-IVORY COAST - U.N. humanitarian chief Valerie Amos reports hundreds of bodies in Ivory Coast.
IVORY COAST-TROOPS/PRISONERS - Hundreds of Gbagbo's men captured by forces loyal to Ouattara.

LIBYA-CONFLICT AND DIPLOMACY - A NATO air strike killed at least five rebels near the Libyan port of Brega on Thursday, medics said, and insurgents reported Muammar Gaddafi's forces killed five more in a bombardment of besieged Misrata.

EXPECTED:

TBC

DELIVERED (in past 12 hours):

4281WD-LIBYA-REBELS NEWSER - Rebel commander says NATO mistakenly hit Libyan rebels. (2042)

4268WD-TURKEY-ERDOGAN/LIBYA - Turkey works on 'roadmap' to end Libya war. (1839)

4243WD-LIBYA-US/WELDON - U.S. ex-Republican in Libya warns Gaddafi time is running out. (1639)

4221WD-USA-GENERAL-LIBYA - Libyan fighting a likely stalemate, top U.S. general says. (1615)

4198WD-LIBYA-REBELS/ROCKETS - Rebels set up rocket launchers east of Ajdabiyah. (1351)

4176WD-LIBYA-REBELS RETREAT - Rebels retreat as Gaddafi forces bomb the entrance to Ajdabiyah. (1233)

4166WD-LIBYA-AIRSTRIKE/WOUNDED/REACTIONS - Rebels blame NATO for Libya air strike; five dead. (1218)

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BRAZIL

BRAZIL-SHOOTING - A gunman fatally shot 12 people at a Rio de Janeiro school before killing himself, police said.

EXPECTED:

BRAZIL-SHOOTING/LATEST - Rio governor says school gunman planned to kill more students.

BRAZIL-SHOOTING UPDATE - Helicopter ambulances take injured away from school after gunman opens fire and kills 12 people.

BRAZIL-SHOOTING/CLEAN - Brazil gunman kills 12 in Rio school massacre.

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OTHER STORIES AROUND THE WORLD

OMAN-FRIDAY PROTEST - Following last week's crack down by police which left one protester dead, Omanis in the city of Sohar, say they will go out again on Friday demanding jobs, better pay and end to arrest of protesters.

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EGYPT-PRO-REFORM PROTEST - Large numbers of protesters are expected to gather in Tahrir square to declare their support for the speedy prosecution of ex-regime officials and an end to the longstanding Emergency Law.

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RUSSIA-GAGARIN DOCUMENTS - New archive documents to be released ahead of the 50th anniversary of cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin's first manned flight into space (Apr 12). An exhibition opens at the All-Russian Exhibition Centre (VDNKH) and veteran cosmonauts attend lay wreaths at the Cosmos memorial.

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NETHERLANDS-KENYA - Three Kenyan suspects are set to appear at the International Criminal Court on day two of the preparatory phase of a trial into the deadly violence that followed Kenya's 2007 election. The trial is set to start trials in 2012. Among the accused are former and current senior government officers including deputy Prime Minister and Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta.

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KENYA-ICC REACTIONS - The initial appearance hearing of William Samoei Ruto, Henry Kiprono Kosgey and Joshua Arap Sang is scheduled to take place before Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in Courtroom I. The hearing is being held in order to verify the identity of the suspects and to ensure that they have been informed of the crimes which they are alleged to have committed as well as of their rights under the Rome Statute, founding treaty of the ICC

White House News: Up coming event fro the President and the First Lady, Posted by Menelik Zeleke, White House Correspondent

Picture taken by Menelik Zeleke

Upcoming Guidance on “In Performance at the White House” White House to Celebrate Black History Month with Tribute to Motown’s Legacy Evening Performances and Daytime Student Workshop to Highlight Motown Legends The President and First Lady will invite music legends and contemporary major artists to the White House on Thursday, February 24, 2011, for “The Motown Sound: In Performance at the White House,” a concert celebrating Black History Month and the legacy of Motown Records.

The program will include tributes to Motown’s distinctive soul-infused pop music sound that solidified its popularity in American culture, and showcase Motown’s impact on all music. The event will include legends from Motown’s golden age and performances by artists from today, all in tribute to Motown's 50-year legacy. Performers include Smokey Robinson, Natasha Bedingfield, Sheryl Crow, Jamie Foxx, Gloriana, Nick Jonas, Ledisi, John Legend, Amber Riley, Mark Salling, Seal and Jordin Sparks with Greg Phillinganes as the night’s music director. This concert will be held in the East Room at 6:30 p.m. and is a POOLED press event.

“The Motown Sound: In Performance at the White House,” which is produced by public broadcaster WETA Washington, D.C., in association with Bounce, a division of AEG, and the National Black Programming Consortium (NBPC), will be broadcast on PBS stations nationwide on Tuesday, March 1 at 8 p.m. (ET). The program will also be broadcast via the American Forces Network on March 11 to American service men and women and civilians at U.S. Department of Defense locations around the world.

As she has done with previous White House music events, the First Lady will host a special daytime event for students. The First Lady will welcome more than 100 students from California, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota and Washington, D.C. to take part in an interactive student workshop event: “The Sound of Young America: The History of Motown.” Beginning at 1:30 p.m. in the State Dining Room, The GRAMMY Museum’s Executive Director Bob Santelli will lead the students in a discussion about the history of Motown’s long-lasting legacy, ranging from its beginnings in the city of Detroit to its effect on the music industry. Featured performers from the evening event will share their experiences as well as answer student questions about the music and entertainment world. “The Sound of Young America” will stream live on www.whitehouse.gov, www.pbs.org/whitehouse, www.grammymuseum.org and www.blackpublicmedia.org.

Since 2009, the President and First Lady have hosted musical tributes to Jazz, Country, Classical, Latin, Music of the Civil Rights Movement and Broadway genres. Many of these evening events featured daytime educational workshops designed to educate and inspire talented young people to use their gifts and develop a future for themselves in the arts community whether as a hobby or as a profession.
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America and China Relations

Black Business on the rise! Posted by Meosha Eaton

ABC News’ Arlette Saenz reports:

The number of black-owned businesses in the U.S. increased by 60.5% to 1.9 million between 2002 and 2007, more than triple the national rate according to U.S. Census data released Tuesday. The number of businesses across the country increased by 18% in the same amount of time. Black-owned businesses, which are defined by the government as firms with African-American owners holding a 51% or larger stake in the business, raked in $137 billion in sales and receipts and made up 7.1% of businesses nationwide in 2007, compared to 5.2% in 2002.

But while the number of black-owned businesses surged, many of these businesses remain small. “Many black owned firms still remain very small businesses,” Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League, said. “87% of all black-owned firms according to the survey earn less than $50,000 dollars a year in receipts.”

The data came from the Survey of Business Owners: Black-Owned Businesses: 2007, which provides detailed information every five years for black-owned businesses, including the number of firms, sales and receipts, number of paid employees and annual payroll. The states with the most black-owned businesses in 2007 were New York (204,032), Georgia (183,874) and Florida (181,437) making up 10.6, 9.6, and 9.4 percent respectively of black-owned businesses nationwide. New York City was the largest city with black-owned businesses in 2007- 154,929 - followed by Chicago (58,631), Houston (33,062) and Detroit (32,490). The Motor City had the highest percentage of businesses in its city that were black-owned at 64%.

Other cities with heavy proportions of black-owned businesses were Memphis (38%), Baltimore (35%), Atlanta (31%) and Washington, D.C. (28%) On the state level, 28% of the District of Columbia’s businesses were black-owned. Following D.C. were Georgia (20%), Maryland (19%), Mississippi (18%) and Louisiana (16%). Blacked-owned businesses were prominent in health care and social assistance (19% of black-owned businesses), repair and maintenance and personal and laundry services (19% of black-owned businesses), and administrative and support and waste management and remediation services (11% of black-owned businesses) industries.

Morial touted the study’s findings and the impact it could have on fostering innovation and job creation by black-owned businesses across the country. “It’s very important for every community in the nation that can glean from the report a profile of the black-owned firms in that city in terms of size, in terms of numbers.

I think it helps those communities develop coherent economic growth and economic development plans because while black-owned businesses remain relatively small, the fact that there’s an increase in business ownership, an increase in interest in entrepreneurship means that by focusing attention on helping black-owned businesses grow, you can create jobs and economic growth in the community.