Anti terror laws produce new crisis for Black leadership
ERICTOUREM and James Muhammad Originally published, 12-25-2001 WASHINGTON (FinalCall.com) - Political, civic and religious activists met here Dec. 11 to sound the alarm that not enough Black leaders are raising their voices to the fact that new laws limiting a range of civil liberties ultimately will target them. At the call of the Rev. Al Sharpton-who is considering a run for the...
Stereotypes, the media and Black athletes who get into trouble
-Contributing Editor- (FinalCall.com) - Quick, name a professional athlete who received extensive national media coverage because of a sex scandal. Name two. OK, name a baseball player involved in a steroid use scandal. Did the names Kobe Bryant and Tiger Woods go through your mind? How about Barry Bonds? More than likely the images and names conjured up when speaking...
Report: Foreclosure crisis worse than ever
-Staff Writer- (FinalCall.com) - The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported November 19, that a record number of loans–1 in 7–is delinquent, up from 1 in 10 a year ago. The numbers also show that 1 in 22 families in the U.S. is in the process of losing their home, up from 1 in 34 a year ago. Based on...
From peacemaker to war president
ASKIAM and Brian Muhammad Analysts see problems with the Obama plan for Afghanistan WASHINGTON (FinalCall.com) - President Barack Obama went from a “peace” candidate who promised “change” his supporters could “believe in,” into being just another “war president” Dec. 1, announcing that he would send an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan in the coming months, bringing the total number of U.S. military...
Sex crimes on campus
CHARLENEM -Western Reg. Correspondent- Report warns assaults going unreported; victims' needs ignored (FinalCall.com) - Young women are being raped on college campuses all across the United States but instead of receiving support, resources and justice from their school administrators, many face institutional barriers and either drop out of school entirely, or adapt to victimization a second time around. After a nine-month investigation...
Loan modifications still not stopping foreclosures
-Staff Writer- WASHINGTON (FinalCall.com) - While the Treasury Department tightens the screws on mortgage lenders with monetary penalties and sanctions for not using government money to help homeowners, a new report says there are few incentives for lenders to offer modifications. The National Center for Consumer Law's report, “Why Servicers Foreclose, When They Should Modify, and Other Puzzles of...
The good, the bad and the ugly of celebrity worship
CHARLENEM Stardom is costly in a society where the well-known are worshipped LOS ANGELES (FinalCall.com) - American society is obsessed with celebrities, whether it is Jay-Z and Beyonce, Ludacris, Chris Brown or Rhianna, rapper Kanye West and tennis star Serena Williams, or talk show host David Letterman. Some popular culture analysts say the celebrity influence is strong because people get to relax,...
Obama quietly backs Patriot Act provisions
, IPS NEW YORK - With the health care debate preoccupying the mainstream media, it has gone virtually unreported that the Barack Obama administration is quietly supporting renewal of provisions of the George W. Bush-era U.S.A. Patriot Act that civil libertarians say infringe on basic freedoms. And it is reportedly doing so over the objections of some prominent Democrats. When a...
Supreme Court won’t rule on racist NFL team name
- WASHINGTON (FinalCall.com) - The U.S. Supreme Court will not intervene, ending a 17-year-old case against the Washington NFL franchise over its name–the “Redskins”–which Native Americans contend is a racist label, the Court announced Nov. 16. The name “is patently offensive, disparaging and demeaning and perpetrates a centuries-old stereotype,” according to the National Congress of American Indians in a court brief. Without...
FBI Cold Case Initiative offers little comfort for families
-Staff Writer- BATON ROUGE, La. (FinalCall.com) - ”I'm sick and tired of the games and lies told in the newspaper. We have a $20,000 reward and no one wants to come forward and do anything. There's a whole lot of investigating going on but nothing's happening. I've been screwed around for the past 45 years. The FBI is my...