November 21, 2010

The BDPA Insider - November 21, 2010


 
The BDPA Insider – November 21, 2010

What better way to start the day than with your weekly message from BDPA!

In this issue:

  1. 2011 BDPA Chicago Awards Banquet Video
  2. BDPA Chapters on Twitter 
  3. BDPA Charlotte Chapter Supports eMentor Program at Garinger New Technology High School
  4. BETF Scholarship Winners (2009-2010) 
  5. Buy a Book Once. Read It Everywhere 
  6. Can BDPA Expand SITES Program to Elementary School Students With Tech Corps?
  7. Computer Science Education Week
  8. eWeek.com: IT Management: Non-Certified Technology Skills: the Top 25 Right Now 
  9. ITSMF: Executive Protege Program
  10. Mastering the technology of the Mind
  11. Not Just For Kids: Facebook For Grown Folks
  12. Summer Program for High School Students: Science and Engineering Apprenticeship with US Navy 
  13. Why Have You Been Out of Work So Long?
Much love to National BDPA past president Milt Haynes for pulling this information together every week.  

Kudos to the following websites for providing the articles used in this week's BDPA Insider: BDPA Foundation, Blacks Gone Geek, CSEdWeek, eWeek, SlideShare.net, The Ladders, Where Are The Blacks in Technology and YouTube.

November 20, 2010

Perp Walk: House Panel Recommends Censure of Rep. Charlie Rangel

The House Ethics Committee recommended censure for Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY), the most serious punishment it can hand out short of expulsion. Rangel was found guilty of 11 ethics violations, including failing to pay taxes on rental property, failure to report personal income, and improper fund-raising.

It is a sad day for any of us that admire this 80-year old man. Much of his legacy is tarnished by this recommendation. It is a reminder to all of us that we need to check ourselves before we wreck ourselves.

November 18, 2010

Taser Lawsuit: Family of Javier Aguilar Wins $1 Million from City of Roswell

The government officials in Roswell, New Mexico blinked. The city decided to pay $1 million rather than face a lawsuit into the extra-judicial electrocution of Javier Aguilar back in March 2008.





We are seeing more and more of these 7-figure settlements as the 'powers-that-be' realize that they cannot defend many of the taser-related deaths that are taking place each week in America.

November 17, 2010

Sarah Palin: 'I Believe I Can Beat President Obama' [VIDEO]

Sarah Palin is starting to drink the Tea Party kool-aid. It is becoming more and more obvious that she plans to take her experience as a half-term governor and losing vice presidential candidate into a 2012 campaign for the presidency. She says as much in a interview with Barbara Walters:





The Republican Party truly is feeling the rush of adrenalin from the recent mid-term election results. Do any of you truly believe that Sarah Palin is presidential material?

Rangel Found Guilty of Violating House Ethics

I'm very disappointed in Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY). He allowed his arrogance, ego and pride to get in the way of his commonsense and ethics. As a result a House Ethics subcommittee was able to find him guilty of 11 ethics violations after a two-year investigation.


Rangel had been accused of 13 charges, including misusing rent-controlled apartments, using his office to solicit donations to an educational center and improperly filing taxes and financial statements. The committee found he had violated all but one charge; two of the counts were rolled into one in the final verdict.


The findings will be sent to the full committee, who will make a recommendation to the House regarding Rangel's punishment. The House ethics committee set a hearing for tomorrow on the appropriate punishment for Rangel, a Democrat who formerly wielded great influence as chairman of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee.

Subcommittee chair Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) noted,
"We have tried to act with fairness, led only by the facts and the law, and I believe we have accomplished that mission."
The last time this subcommittee held a trial like this was in 2002 against Rep. James Traficant (D-OH). Traficant was eventually kicked out of the House of Representatives. Nobody thinks that 80-year old Rangel will face similiar punishment. Possible sanctions include a House vote deploring his conduct, a fine and denial of certain privileges.

Rangel didn't to himself any favors when the subcommittee met earlier this week. He walked out of the 'courtroom' when the subcommittee lawyer acting as the matter's prosecutor spent just minutes cycling through the evidence against him. After playing video clips of a speech in which the Harlem Democrat admitted wrongdoing, the lawyer, Blake Chisam, called no witnesses, an apparent testament to the strength of the case against Rangel, who openly admitted on the House floor that he broke some rules.


There are some who say that Rangel didn't do anything more than others have done before.  African Americans have always known that we cannot get away with the same things that others get away with.  We still need to operate on the premise of doing twice as much to get half as far.


Rangel is learning the hard way that nobody is above the law. It is a sad way for this old lion to end his career.

Wordless Wednesday: Sextuplets in Ohio

November 16, 2010

GOP Congressman Cantor Supports Foreign Leader Against President Obama

I guess it is inevitable that the Republican Party leadership will begin to get a swollen sense of ego. They will begin to demonstrate a feeling of entitlement. They will start to think that they are "all that and a bag of chips".

That is all I can conclude as I heard about the promise that Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) made to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu last week. Cantor wanted Netanyahu to know that the GOP had his back. Cantor met with Netanyahu -- the same day when the actual U.S. Secretary of State met with Netanyahu -- and vowed that he and his GOP colleagues would protect and defend Israeli interests against his own Government. According to a statement proudly issued by Cantor's own office:
"Eric stressed that the new Republican majority will serve as a check on the Administration and what has been, up until this point, one party rule in Washington," the readout continued. "He made clear that the Republican majority understands the special relationship between Israel and the United States, and that the security of each nation is reliant upon the other."
Even Jewish power brokers were shocked at Cantor's statement of loyalty to Netanyahu. Jewish Telegraphic Agency's bureau chief in Washington, Ron Kampeas, declared that Cantor's statement was "extraordinary." He wrote that he could not "remember an opposition leader telling a foreign leader, in a personal meeting, that he would side, as a policy, with that leader against the President."


I suspect that we will hear Cantor backtrack on his pledge to Netanyahu soon. It is one thing to be ego-driven in private. It's another thing when you ego-driven statements go public.

Village Tips: In Business, Fear = 1000 Deaths

Please welcome Anthony Hall to the Electronic Village. He agreed to share a Villager Tip that might prove useful for many of us!


What is your worst sales or any type of presentation nightmare?

Is it spilling coffee all over your suit right before you go on? Or dumping a bowl spaghetti on your laptop and in your lap? How about getting a blue screen right in the middle of demonstrating your new software?

Everyone has had those kinds of near disasters and worse. You will have to be the judge, but I believe mine qualifies as a ‘worse case scenario’.

Imagine the scene: The historic German city of Bad Kreuznach, during Christmas, all white and lit up. The hardware partner had brought in all their software vendors, along with some choice prospective customers.

The wives and girlfriends are being entertained with shopping trips into town and a cruise on the Nahe river, a tributary of the Rhine. Dinners are set up in an old wine cellar below the hotel and small conference center. Everyone is having a merry time… except me.

I thought I was prepared; but it turned out, not quite well enough.

There is a panel of us vendors, fielding questions and tossing back answers – no problem. I am a rock.

But for some reason when it became my turn to have the floor to myself; it shifted beneath me and I could not regain my balance. It’s a good thing they couldn’t tell I was blushing.

Maybe I should have opened with a joke in German. I can do that much. Somehow I managed to get through it without totally falling all over the place, and ended on an up note.

Now on the surface, this may not seem like much; but the part I didn’t stress is that not only was I presenting in front of partners and customers, but also in front of all our chief competitors.

QStar, K-Par, KOM, BridgeHead and StorageQuest. How am I going to show my face at the next tradeshow or partner conference? I see these guys all the time; at shows or during RFQs (Request For Quotation).

Especially QStar.

We were pretty much #1 & #2, going back and forth in the rankings. They’d close a big deal, then we’d knock one out of the park. Sometimes they’d get a string of them going, and because I subscribed to their newsletter, I would know when they did.

My contemporary at QStar is a guy named Todd Deveney. We’d run into each other all over the place: from San Francisco to Vegas, Dallas to Chicago, New York to Orlando, London to Rotterdam, Hanover to Vienna.

Now Todd is a funny guy and keeps everyone laughing, but he can also make it sting. He’s good; and we’re always going at it.

I was in Munich a couple of years ago and while doing some shopping down town, came across a ‘Bob’s Big Boy’ sitting on the sidewalk. Like someone had just placed it there.

So I took a picture of it on my Blackberry and sent it to Todd saying, “I see they have erected a statue in your honor”.

He’s always giving me those kinds of cracks. Well, I got him with that one. We had a great laugh about it on the phone.

Todd was also there when I went down in flames, and he was real cool about it. I’ve always appreciated that about him, because he has never once mentioned it when we’re joking around. He’s a good friend.

What also helped me was the fact I acknowledged certain points that one or two of my other competitors made as part of my introduction. We had some good laughs later that night over a few “große Bier”.

This experience taught me that the only way to recover from such ‘disasters’, is to have people you can talk to about it with; ones who can really relate.

I also learned that if you look closely enough, such ones are all around you. One of them just might be in the most unlikely of places.

Maybe I’ll get that picture framed for Todd.

Copyright ©2010 Anthony Hall

Asante sana to Anthony for sharing his tip with us. Have any of you experienced similar issues with making presentations in front of people?

November 15, 2010

Taser Death: Troy Hooftallen (Punxsutawney, PA)

The facts on this case are murky. Family members indicate that Troy Hooftallen, 26, of Punxsutawney, PA died on Tuesday, October 19 after being electrocuted multiple times by the taser of an unidentified police officer. I came across this comment to a posting on Solomon's Words For The Wise blog:
"He was Tazed by Police twice and had Head Trama from being knocked to the floor and was Choked By police at the Same time. All this was done after Police were called to the scene For a Man who Overdosed on some kind of drugs. I know this from family members whom i have spoke with Personally. His Uncle who showed up to the scene even tried to pull the police off of him when he was being choked by the officer after being Tazed Not once but Twice. He was unable to move after being tazed so why did they tackle and choke him. This young man was in need of medical help not this kind of treatment from the police. Nice work guys."
Criminal investigators from the Pennsylvania State Police are currently investigating the death of Mr. Hooftallen. All we know for certain at this point is that he was transported to Punxsutawney Hospital and then to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, where he was pronounced dead.

An autopsy is being performed to determine the cause and manner of death.

Troy previously worked as the assistant manager at Price Chopper in Scranton. He was an avid Denver Broncos fan, enjoyed playing basketball, softball, lifting weights and being outdoors.

Please let this blog know if you hear any new information on this taser-related death.

November 14, 2010

Taser Lawsuit: Jeffry Woodward (Gallatin, TN)

Jeffry Woodward died as a result of electro-shock torture from Gallatin police officers last year.   Readers of this blog recall that Mr. Woodward called police on October 27, 2009 "to report a home invasion and that his mother was in danger."   He thought that someone had kidnapped his mother.

The police arrived.  They checked his home and saw that his mother was unharmed.   The police decided to arrest Woodward for "filing a false police report."    The video news report on what happened next is horrifying.

Unidentified Gallatin police officers took Woodward out of the car ... they allowed their police dog to bite him and they tasered him multiple times.  Not surprisingly, Mr. Woodward went into cardiac arrest and was soon dead.

All of this was witnessed by neighbors and Woodward's mother.   A recent lawsuit filed by Woodward's mother states,
"While on the ground with a police canine on top of him, officers subjected him to multiple Taser applications.  Eyewitnesses report that during this time, Mr. Woodward was crying out, 'Help me! Help me!' and that she was pleading with officers not to kill her son. ... (T)he gratuitous use of force by the defendant officers against the decedent was unnecessary and resulted in severe injuries and death."
Woodward's wife and mother have filed a lawsuit against Taser International (claiming it misrepresents its products as non-lethal and safe) and the Gallatin Police Department (history of allowing its officers to use excessive and illegal force on civilians, failing to discipline the officers for it, and covering for them by falsely claiming that the beatings were "justified and proper.")

Woodward's family are represented by Joe Bednarz of Nashville.   This blog is hopeful that successful lawsuits against Taser International will drive them into bankruptcy ... and that successful lawsuits against the police department will cause them to use tasers more responsibly.

November 13, 2010

2011 Blogging While Brown Conference: Call For Ideas (Deadline: 12/3/2010)

2011 BWB Call for Ideas Now Open!

This blog wants you to know about the opening of the Call for Ideas for the 2011 Blogging While Brown conference. This will be a Black Social Media Weekend extravaganza and you can help build it the way you want it.

For the first time attendees will be able to vote on ideas submitted. Ideas are being accepted for the following program tracks:
  1. Online Activism
  2. The Business of Blogging/
  3. Niche and Lifestyle Blogging
  4. Hands-On Technical Workshops
The deadline for submissions is December 3, 2010. So don't hold back.   Submit your ideas and help Gina and her crew take the 4th annual Blogging While Brown Conference to the next level in 2011. Next year the conference will be held in Los Angeles, CA on July 8-9, 2011.

Questions?

November 12, 2010

Old School Friday * Patrice Rushen

Patrice Rushen was trained as a classical pianist. I remember enjoying her vibe back in the late 1970s when I was in college. Here are two of my favorite Rushen songs!







You can learn more about Patrice Rushen from her official website.   Are any of you ol' school enough to remember Sis. Rushen?

November 11, 2010

Blog Safari #45

Join our rhino guide, Nyabingi, as she takes you through the afrosphere to find some truly creative Black bloggers. We use this semi-regular blog safari to expose you to some Black bloggers that you might otherwise overlook. Visit the links below to enjoy these suggested blog posts!
Let us know if you come across any remarkable posts that should be shared in our next Blog Safari!

November 10, 2010

Taser Lawsuit: Linda Hicks (Toledo, OH)

I was glad to see that a lawsuit has been filed against the City of Toledo, the Toledo Police Department and TPD Officer Diane Chandler for their involvement in the taser electrocution of 62-year old Linda HicksVillagers may recall that Ms. Hicks was fatally shot by Officer Chandler on December 14, 2009 at Marria's Adult Family Home.

The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Ohio by Charles Boyk, Esq. against the following parties: the City of Toledo (for violation of civil rights and wrongful death); the Toledo Police Department (for violation of civil rights and wrongful death); Officer Diane Chandler, in her individual capacity (for violation of civil rights, gross negligence, assault, battery and wrongful death); and Marria’s Adult Family Home (for negligence and wrongful death).

Ms. Hicks was, at the time of her death, a 5’2”, 62-year-old woman who suffered from schizophrenia and a heart condition that required a pacemaker. She was a resident at Marria’s Adult Family Home.  Police were summoned to that location because Ms. Hicks was reported to be agitated and holding a pair of craft scissors in her room.

Crisis police were requested, but Officer Chandler and another officer, who were not crisis police officers, responded to the scene. Disregarding their lack of proper training with crisis situations and with the mentally ill, Marria’s Adult Family Home allowed the officers to approach Ms. Hicks with weapons drawn.

When the officers arrived at her room, Ms. Hicks was laying facedown on her bed with her hands under her pillow. She was asked to show her hands, and when she did not comply the officers proceeded to Taser her twice (without regard to her pacemaker). After the second shock, Ms. Hicks got out of bed and approached the two officers with the craft scissors in her hand.

At this point, Officer Chandler and the other officer successfully exited the bedroom into the hallway. For a moment, both officers were in the hallway while Ms. Hicks was still in her room. The second officer descended down nearby stairs and exited the scene, while Officer Chandler chose to remain in the hallway. As Ms. Hicks approached Officer Chandler, the officer proceeded to shoot and kill Ms. Hicks.





The lawsuit claims that this sad situation was wholly avoidable. Ms. Hicks was not given her proper medication by Marria’s Adult Family Home; if she had received her medication the scenario could likely have been avoided. The home also allowed Ms. Hicks to have access to the scissors and allowed non-crisis police officers to attempt to diffuse the situation.

I think that it may take lawsuits like this one to get police departments to take more proactive approaches to taser training.  Perhaps if the police have to pay the steep costs of lawsuits they will think twice before using their taser guns for convenience rather than for protection against immediate danger.

After all, how dangerous could a 5'2'' elderly woman with a pair of scissors actually be to trained police officers?

November 9, 2010

Dr. Melodie Mayberry-Stewart Will Keynote 2010 BDPA New York Scholarship Awards Dinner

Melodie Mayberry-Stewart is the chief information officer for the state of New York. She was recently named one of the Top 50 African Americans in Technology. I'm looking forward to meeting her on Wednesday, November 10, 2010 in Brooklyn NY. I will be the master of ceremonies at the BDPA New York Chapter Scholarship & Awards Dinner. Ms. Mayberry-Stewart will be the keynote speaker.

The purpose of the dinner is to recognize the outstanding contributions of BDPA New York chapter’s community supporters and corporate sponsors as well as award college scholarships to our students, who are members of the BDPA Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program. The SITES program affords students the opportunity to get hands-on computer and web development training, exposure to various careers in Information Technology and develop professional and interpersonal skills (i.e. business etiquette skills, resume writing and team building). This program is designed to develop the next generation of IT Professionals, and encourage African American youth to explore careers in such traditionally underrepresented fields as Computer Science and Information Technology.

Another highlight of the evening will be the announcement of the winners of the Roger Dunn Memorial Scholarship and the Renee McClure Scholarship Awards. These awards go to BDPA SITES students who have demonstrated strong excellent leaderships skills. BETF helped to fund both of these awards in the past.

I hope that you will consider supporting this annual event with your presence in person or via an advertisement in the program guide. Those of you that are unable to find a business-related reason to support the chapter can do so with a tax-deductible donation to the BDPA Education and Technology Foundation.

Taser Death: Robert Neill, Jr. (Mt. Joy, PA)

I think that the Mount Joy Borough Police Department may have screwed up bigtime. They electrocuted a highly decorated Vietnam War veteran and former U.S. Marine with their taser guns last weekend. Robert Neill, Jr. was an unarmed 61-year old man described by those who knew him as a gentle person.

The Lancaster County Vietnam Veterans of America director, Gary Levinson, said
"He was just a really sweet person, a good guy. That's why this was just such a shock to hear something like this."
Mr. Neill made the mistake of calling the police for help. He thought he was being harassed by neighbors. The police thought he had a mental illness and they were coming to take him into custody for a mental commitment.

The police shade their side of the story when it is told to put the dead man in the worst possible light.
Here is what Fox affiliate WPMT reports:
“As the police tried to investigate the harassment claims Neil became very aggressive and combative. Neill continued to struggle with the officers after several attempts to calm him down and the officers used a taser on him which did calm him down.”
No shyt Sherlock!? You think that pumping 50,000 volts of electricity into a person might "calm him down"? Perhaps it is not the best way to handle an UNARMED senior citizen, but, why let the facts get in the way of a good story, huh?!

Anyhow, after unidentified officers from the Mount Joy Borough Police Department had tranquilized Neill through a mild dose of taser-torture, officers from two other agencies — the Susquehanna Regional Police Department and the Pennsylvania State Police — arrived on the scene to “assist” the assailants. Thus fortified in their confrontation with the “aggressive,” “combative” man, the heroes once again deployed the taser against Neill. This succeeded in “subduing” the frantic man, who was collected by EMTs and died en route to the hospital. [SOURCE]






State police are investigating the unidentified Mount Joy Borough officers who used Tasers and mace on Neill.

Autopsy results are still pending. The Lancaster County coroner performed an autopsy Monday, but the results are pending a toxicology report.  


Please let this blog know if you become aware of any new information on the taser-related death.

Good News Tuesday: Jonecia Keels and Jazmine Miller (Spelman College)

Jonecia Keels and Jazmine Miller are full-time students at Spelman College. They are the 2010 Big Mobile on Campus winners.

There winning mobile application is called HBCU Buddy. HBCU Buddy is a mobile application created to educate and inform users, including both prospective and current college students, about Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) across the United States.

The application opens with a directory profiling each HBCU with information on academics, admissions, research, student life, alumni and other details. After selecting a school students can navigate through the school – literally – by accessing virtual tours of buildings, on-campus videos, and local GPS and directions. The application also provides students with customizable social networking features to connect with each other, their school and community. Students can use the application to follow the latest on school club and campus happenings, local events, hot spots around the community and more.

Here is interview that Ms. Keel and Ms. Miller gave to NBC on HBCU Buddy:





The future face of technology is all around us ... and that is good news!

This blog plans to share some good news about people of African descent each and every Tuesday. You can help ... let me know if you see a good news story that you think would inspire our Villagers!

November 8, 2010

Keith Olberman is BACK!

Keith Olbermann will be back on his MSNBC show tomorrow. He issued the following note:


Statement To The Viewers Of Countdown

I want to sincerely thank you for the honor of your extraordinary and ground-rattling support.

Your efforts have been integral to the remedying of these recent events, and the results should remind us of the power of individuals spontaneously acting together to correct injustices great or small.

I would also like to acknowledge with respect the many commentators and reporters, including those with whom my politics do not overlap, for their support.

I also wish to apologize to you viewers for having precipitated such anxiety and unnecessary drama. You should know that I mistakenly violated an inconsistently applied rule – which I previously knew nothing about -- that pertains to the process by which such political contributions are approved by NBC. Certainly this mistake merited a form of public acknowledgment and/or internal warning, and an on-air discussion about the merits of limitations on such campaign contributions by all employees of news organizations.

Instead, after my representative was assured that no suspension was contemplated, I was suspended without a hearing, and learned of that suspension through the media.

You should also know that I did not attempt to keep any of these political
contributions secret; I knew they would be known to you and the rest of the public. I did not make them through a relative, friend, corporation, PAC, or any other intermediary, and I did not blame them on some kind of convenient 'mistake' by their recipients.

When a website contacted NBC about one of the donations, I immediately volunteered that there were in fact three of them; and contrary to much of the subsequent reporting, I immediately volunteered to explain all this, on-air and off, in the fashion MSNBC desired.

I genuinely look forward to rejoining you on Countdown on Tuesday, to begin the repayment of your latest display of support and loyalty - support and loyalty that is truly mutual.

It is nice to see that MSNBC listened to the voice of the people. Villagers who are so inclined should feel free to congratulate Keith on his return.

Taser Death: Mark Shaver (Brimfield, OH)

The penalty for stealing $990 worth of video-games from Wal-Mart Stores should not be death. However, 32-year old Mark Shaver was killed by taser-wielding police in Portage County, Ohio last week.

Here is the story as shared by the folks at E-Portage News. Mark Shaver and Stephanie Eikelberry, 29, entered the Brimfield Wal-Mart store on Tuesday, November 2nd. Shaver allegedly stole $990 work of video games and DVDs and then ran out of the store into a nearby apartment complex. He was chased by Wal-Mart security staff and Brimfield Police Department Sergeant David Knarr and a police dog named 'Havoc'.

Knarr and Havoc chased Shaver for over 1.5 miles before finding him in the woods. Sgt. Knarr didn't feel that Shaver showed respect quickly enough ... so he electrocuted Shaver multiple times with his taser gun. He was then subdued and handcuffed.

He was booked in the early morning hours of Saturday in the Portage County Jail. While in jail Shaver began vomiting and had some diarrhea. Shaver family members indicate that he was found later that weekend in his cell, face down, with no heartbeat. The family feels that the taser shock was part of what killed him.

Brimfield Police Chief Blough thinks that Shaver killed himself as he stated,
"My understanding is that for about 4 to 6 weeks he had been complaining of bad chest pains to his girlfriend, and he refused to go to the doctor. My understanding, is that he allegedly had a pretty strong heroine habit and smoked two to three packs of cigarettes a day. It had absolutely nothing to do with the taser."
I guess we will learn more when the autopsy report is issued.

November 7, 2010

The BDPA Insider - November 7, 2010

Former National BDPA president Milt Haynes issued The BDPA Insider for the week beginning November 7, 2010.

In this issue:
  1. BDPAtoday  [USA Edition]
  2. Black Faces in White Places by Randal Pinkett and Jeffrey Robinson
  3. IT Job Seeker Accountability Groups
  4. Microsoft Charlotte Campus Kicks Off Citizen Schools Computer Apprenticeship Program
  5. Bing does THIS & Google does THAT…
  6. Can BDPA IT Showcase Winners Join White House Science Fair Next Year?
  7. This Week in BDPA (Oct 31 – Nov 7)
  8. Rochester Post-Bulletin, 11/1/2010 (Charlie Perkins)
  9. Are your skills ready for the opportunities in networking?
  10. Tech Corps Ohio
  11. Newman Networks News November 4th, 2010
  12. How to Network: 7 Ways to Give, Not Just Receive
  13. Become a BDPA Lifetime Member and Be Part of the Founder’s Club
  14. Top 50+ Novels for Tech Geeks
  15. BDPA Today [Chapter Edition]
  16. Unemployed find old jobs now require more skills
       You can locate past issues of The BDPA Insider in the archives housed by Blacks Gone Geek.

      This Week in Blackness: 'George W. Bush Doesn't Care About Earthlings'

      Somehow I've managed to miss the fact that Elon James White is still putting out his This Week in Blackness videos. In fact, when I saw the topic for this week's episode I thought perhaps I had messed up and gotten the dates wrong. After all, this week the big political news was the beat-down given to the Democratic Party in the mid-term elections ... what was Elon doing with his emphasis on the forgotten George W. Bush?

      You be the judge!





      Do you plan to read George W. Bush book when it comes out?



      November 6, 2010

      Taser Autopsy: Coroner Rules that Death of Edmund Gutierrez is 'Homicide'

      Edmund Gutierrez will never celebrate his 23rd birthday.  He died on July 5th after a violent struggle with Imperial (CA) police officers.  The autopsy report labels Gutierrez's death as a homicide.  The question that needs to be answered by the local district attorney is whether this homicide will lead to criminal charges against the unidentified Imperial police officer who pulled the trigger.

      The autopsy report says the cause of death was “agitated behavior associated with alcohol and marijuana intake needing restraint and other unknown factors.”  The report also details significant blunt force trauma to Gutierrez. It mentions multiple abrasions and contusions to Gutierrez’s face, mouth, abdomen, back, arms and legs.

      The report also reveals that there were eleven marks consistent with police baton marks on Gutierrez’s legs.

      The police are quick to point out that had a blood alcohol level of 0.16, which is twice the legal limit. The toxicology report also showed that Gutierrez had marijuana in his system.

      Friends and family continue to seek justice for Gutierrez. They are upset about the lack of journalistic reporting on his death.   They hope that the release of this autopsy report will bring them closer to justice and truth.   You can learn more on the Justice for Gutierrez Facebook page.

      November 5, 2010

      Lakeesha Alert: Kiarra Robinson (Columbus OH)

      Villagers, we need your help. We know that the Amber Alert system only works for the Ambers of the world. For people of African descent we need to let the drums ring out with our own Lakeesha Alert! This blog is putting the call out for a Lakeesha Alert on a young woman who has been missing for a week in Columbus OH.

      Reggie Hillery is a colleague of mine in Columbus OH. He shared the following message on Facebook tonight:
      Hey Columbus- Help me find my niece Kiarra Robinson. She has been missing since Sat. Oct 30th. She is 17 yrs old and was last seen possibly on the North side or Hilliard area. She was wearing sweat pants, tank top and a blue hoodie.

      My family would appreciate all your help in locating her. Thanks for your help and prayers. Her picture is my profile picture.
      That is picture of Kiarra shown above.  Any support you can provide in helping Reggie and his family locate Kiarra would be very much appreciated!  Reggie can be reached via his email address or his Facebook page.

      Keith Olbermann Suspended Without Pay by MSNBC

      NBC president Phil Griffin indefinitely suspended Keith Olbermann.  Griffin wrote,
      Became aware of Keith’s political contributions late last night. Mindful of NBC News policy and standards, I have suspended him indefinitely without pay.”
      Olbermann acknowledged to NBC that he donated $2,400 apiece to the campaigns of Kentucky Senate candidate Jack Conway and Arizona Reps. Raul Grijalva and Gabrielle Giffords.  He didn't think it was a big deal because he never told others, either privately or publicly, to make donations.

      However, Olbermann didn't get prior approval for the donation.  NBC News prohibits its employees from working on, or donating to, political campaigns unless a special exception is granted by the news division president -- effectively a ban. Olbermann's bosses did not find out about the donations until after they were made.

      The policy seems stupid.  There is nothing illegal about making a donation ... so why should an employee be penalized for doing so.

      On another level, it seems hypocritical because one of the major news networks (Fox) gave $1 million dollars to the Republican Governors Association without any consequence.   Yet, a major news network is suspending, without pay, one of their commentators for giving $2,400 to three candidates?

      Progressives took a shellacking during the mid-term elections on Tuesday.   Now it appears that some progressives are being eaten alive in the aftermath.

      If this isn't resolved quickly then I don't see how or why Keith Olbermann comes back to the network.   Like Conan or Juan Williams ... it seems likely that another network may make a lucrative offer to Olbermann.

      In the meantime, the call for a boycott of MSNBC has already been made by at least one progressive organization.

      Taser Death: Eugene Lamott Allen (Wilmington, DE)

      Delaware State Police say they are investigating the death of 40-year old Eugene Lamott Allen after he was electrocuted with taser gun wielded by an unidentified police officer. [SOURCE]

      Police say they were called to the 1000 block of South Market Street in Wilmington early Thursday morning for a report of a possible domestic altercation in the middle of the roadway.

      Police say that the first trooper arrived to find Allen and a woman fighting in the middle of the street. As the trooper attempted to escort the two subjects out of the roadway, Allen allegedly refused to comply.

      Allen then became combative and actively resisted arrest. A struggle then took place between the trooper and Allen. The trooper then deployed his Taser, however the trooper was unable to successfully take the suspect into custody.

      At this point, two additional troopers arrived at the scene and attempted to assist in taking the subject into custody. Allen allegedly continued to actively resist arrest. It was at this time that a 15 year veteran of the state police deployed his Taser.  Allen quit resisting arrest and was placed in handcuffs. It was at this point that the troopers realized that he had gone into cardiac arrest and immediately began administering CPR and additional life saving efforts until paramedics arrived.

      Allen's girlfriend, 42-year-old Lisa Badur of the New Castle, Del., area, told a different story.

      Badur said Allen left her motel room acting strangely and walked onto U.S. 13 and then into the sports bar parking lot, where he started flapping his arms and calling out for his mother.

      "He just lost his mind," she said, adding he had only been drinking beer. Badur said she was calming him down as they walked in the middle of the highway when the first trooper arrived, ordered him to the ground and fired his Taser.

      But he got up again as other officers arrived and pulled out their Tasers and fired, said Badur, who claimed she counted at least 10 Taser firings.

      Allen was then transported to the Christiana Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 1:13 a.m. His body was turned over to the Delaware State Medical Examiner’s Office where an autopsy will be performed to determine the exact cause and manner of death.

      The 15-year veteran of the state police was not injured. A three year veteran trooper sustained a minor injury to his knee and refused treatment. The third trooper, a six-year member, who had responded to the incident, was transported from the scene to the Christiana Hospital where he was treated and released with a hand injury. All three Troopers involved in this incident have been placed on administrative leave, as per department policy, pending the outcome of this investigation by the State Police and the Attorney General’s Office.

      Sen. McConnell: Obama Needs to Move Towards Our Policies If He Wants Our Cooperation

      Sen. McConnell doesn't sound much like a person looking to find a way to work hand-in-hand with the President. Rather he seems like a person bent on making President Obama a 1-term president. Here is a snippet from his speech given after the mid-term elections on Tuesday.






      It should be interesting to see how this plays out. What are your thoughts about Sen. McConnell's attitude?

      Old School Friday * Yarbrough and Peoples

      Calvin Yarbrough and Alise Peoples grew up together in Dallas, Texas. I remember Yarbrough & Peoples for a song they put out in 1981 called, Don't Stop the Music. Do any of y'all remember this one?




      I don't think that they qualify as a 'one-hit wonder' because they did have another hit that made it to #1 in 1984.






      Did y'all notice a very young Ice-T in the second video? I guess this was gig that he got before he began the gangsta rap portion of his career.

      November 4, 2010

      Taser Autopsy: Coroner Says Freddie Lee Lockett Died from Drugs (Not Six Taser Shots?)

      Freddie Lee Lockett, 30, was killed on September 12 after being electrocuted ... not once ... not twice ... but on six separate occasions by unidentified police officers. Seems simple enough. It seems that pumping 300,000 volts of electricity into a person who dies 21 minutes later is a simple 'cause and effect'.

      Not so fast my friends!


      The Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office says toxic levels of cocaine, PCP and Ecstasy caused the death of Lockett after Dallas police electrocuted him with a Taser.

      Lockett's family sees it differently. They feel that the police murdered him.


      View more news videos at: http://www.nbcdfw.com/video.


      November 3, 2010

      Black Bloggers Get Played by White House

      One of my AfroSpear colleagues is Bruce Dixon. I'm re-posting one of his recent Black Agenda Radio commentaries.


      When the White House wanted to get its latest message out to Black communities, it didn't call a press conference. Its spokespeople didn't turn to BET or Black radio. They called in Black bloggers, most of them not even remotely political, and few if any working journalists. What the White House hoped to accomplish was crystal clear --- to use them the manner corrupt and lazy reporters are used, to seduce them with the illusion of “privileged access” in return for the ability to plant anonymous stories and gossip as “news” items.
      Real journalists would have laughed those anonymous spokesperson and “off the record” requirements right out of the room. Ethical journalists only grant anonymity to sources like whistle blowers with well-founded fears of retaliation.”
      In the words of I.F. Stone, one of the 20th century's great investigative journalists, “Governments lie. All governments lie.” Stone's words are as true now as they were when he uttered them more than half a century ago.

      When the White House invited black bloggers in for a Columbus Day meeting, they were told they could print anything they heard in the first half of the meeting, but that they could attribute none of it to any White House spokesperson by name, while the second half of their meeting would be completely “off the record.” Fortunately, or perhaps by design, none of the invited bloggers were actually journalists. They hailed mostly from celebrity gossip sites like ConcreteLoop, and Young, Black and Fabulous, from BET, Essence magazine, from BlackSingles.Com.

      Real journalists would have laughed those anonymous spokesperson and “off the record” requirements right out of the room. Ethical journalists only grant anonymity to sources like whistle blowers with well-founded fears of retaliation, not to police to mayors or to prosecutors, not to military or civilian government officials. The only reason for representatives of these powerful institutions to speak to reporters, or bloggers “off the record” is to lie to them with the expectation that they will pass untraceable falsehoods on to the public as news, or in the case of Young, Black and Fabulous, celebrity gossip.

      Sure enough, cell phone video of the president dropping in to briefly address the bloggers hit the internet the very next day, prompting the Atlantic's token Black commentator Ta Nehisi Coates to grouse about colored folks who didn't understand what “off the record” meant, as if being the covert mouthpieces of the powerful were something they really should strive to be.


      Black Agenda Report was not invited to the White House briefing, and that's perfectly OK with us.“
      One of the invitees was a friend and colleague of ours, Ms. Leutisha Stills, now at Jack and Jill Politics. Observing that the White House hadn't called Black bloggers in since the 2008 presidential campaign, she opined that the bloggers were being, as she put it, “pimped.” We think Ms. Stills was correct, but for the wrong reasons. To be “pimped” is to be manipulated for some underhanded and shameful purpose. Whether bloggers, or journalists are shamefully used once every couple years, or three times every week is a difference only in the frequency of the act, not in the roles of the players or of the played.

      Thus when Keli Goff, a Huffington Post and theLoop21.com blogger, called the White House briefing “a good first date,” she was publicly signaling her willingness to be used any way, any time by the powerful. There's a word for people who play that role, and that word is not “journalist.”

      In his long career, the great investigative reporter I.F. Stone broke scores of original stories about war, peace and corruption. He never asked for, and he never got the privileged and “off the record” access to the powerful, which Ta Nehisi Coates imagines Black reporters should aspire to, the private interviews with mayors, admirals and presidents, who would have been much too afraid of his direct and probing questions anyway. Stone got his stories the old fashioned way, with diligent research.

      Black Agenda Report was not invited to the White House briefing, and that's perfectly OK with us. We understand that reporters and bloggers too, who subsist on privileged access to the powerful in return for passing their anonymous tidbits to the public as news, that such people are being pimped. Which makes them.... well.... you know....

      For Black Agenda Radio, I'm Bruce Dixon. Find us on the web every Wednesday at www.blackagendareport.com.

      Bruce makes some great points in his commentary. There are just two points that I'd like to make.
      1. First, the White House wanted to get their message out to a wide audience in the Black community. As we know from the Villager's Black Blog Rankings that I maintained for a couple of years ... gossip blogs have remarkably large audiences. That factoid seems to be the most important metric in the equation for the White House peeps.
      2. Second, bloggers are (for the most part) not journalists. We don't have journalistic training ... we don't have the budgets that many journalists have to travel ... we are simply bloggers. As such, to hold bloggers (for the most part) to the same standards as journalists isn't realistic.
      On the whole, I think that it is a good thing that Black bloggers are being included in more of the political discussions. Perhaps more of us need to get some journalistic training or learn what the standards are for things like "off-the-record" discussions. But, until then, I think that the African American online community needs to continue to seek out and accept these opportunities when they are available to us.

      What say u?

      November 2, 2010

      Good News Tuesday: Matthew Clark - Future Face of Technology

      BDPA Detroit is a historically strong chapter when it comes to the national high school computer competition (HSCC) championships. In fact, there is only one chapter (Southern Minnesota) with more championships than Detroit. One reason for the success in Motor City is the strong coaches and students in the program. One of the strong students over the past three years (2008-2010) has been Matthew Clark.

      Matthew shared his thoughts on his HSCC career with us:

      My name is Matthew Clark. I was born in December 1991. I have been participating in BDPA for three years. Before my dad introduced me to this program I had no idea about how web sites worked, let alone how to build them myself. When I first came to the program I was kind of shy and did not talk much. After a couple of weeks and the teaching of my instructors (Tonji, “Coach G” and Ms. Glynis) I began to open up and become more confident in myself.

      As I began to get better and better it made me feel great about myself, and influenced me to do other things. One of my most memorable moments was in my first year when we traveled to the national BDPA HSCC championships in Atlanta. I wasn’t feeling really well, but my teammates cheered me up by dancing around to music. I really enjoyed myself and couldn’t wait to come back.

      After three years, we experienced the ‘highs’ (2nd place in 2009), the ‘lows’ (10th place in 2008) and the ‘mediums’ (4th place in 2010). Throughout it all I had fun and learned things I could take with me for the rest of my life. I won $3,000 in Jesse Bemley Scholarships, plus other gifts our instructors gave us (iPods, gift cards, etc.). I hope that people will read this and be inspired to join the BDPA program, because it is truly a great experience.

      My career goal is to be the world’s greatest architect. I am currently enrolled in Lawrence Technological University, and will be studying Architecture as my major.

      For the last couple of years I have been working with my church. Our duties were to clean and maintain the building and its surroundings. Whenever I was not working with my church I would go to work with my dad. He owns his own construction/remodeling business. These jobs and BDPA have taught me responsibility and perseverance, things I will be able to use for the rest of my life.

      My first exposure to BDPA came when I lived in Detroit. As such, I am very proud of Matthew Clark. Often Detroit is only shown in a negative light by the national media. It is a pleasure to share this 'good news' story about a young African American man in Detroit. We wish Matthew nothing but success at Lawrence Tech University!

      This blog plans to share some good news about people of African descent each and every Tuesday. You can help ... let me know if you see a good news story that you think would inspire our Villagers!

      Today is the Day: Vote!

      Today is the day. You can't control the projections or the negative ads or the despair ... you can only control one thing today.


      You can VOTE!




      Please reply to this post. Let me know if you VOTED in this election! What say u?

      November 1, 2010

      The BDPA Insider - October 31, 2010

      BDPA Outside Director Milt Haynes publishes this weekly compilation of articles that are relevant for anyone African American who seeks to advance her career in the information technology industry 'from the classroom to the boardroom'.
      1. BDPAtoday  [USA Edition]
      2. Diversity in Tech: Be the Change You Want to See
      3. Why can’t the FCC “just make a decision”
      4. Detroitnet.org Updates and Jobs for October 28, 2010
      5. How to Choose a Laptop or Notebook Computer
      6. Do You Know the Most Important Part of a Résumé?
      7. Dr. Melodie Mayberry-Stewart Will Keynote 2010 BDPA New York Scholarship Awards  Dinner
      8. Become a BDPA Lifetime Member and Be Part of the Founder’s Club
      9. The Power of Communicating Your Vision
      Click here for the  latest issue of “The BDPA Insider”:
      http://blacksgonegeek.blogspot.com/2010/10/bdpa-insider-october-31-2010.html

      Click here for “The  BDPA Insider” Archives:
      http://blacksgonegeek.org/TheBDPAInsider.aspx

      Raise Your Vote: We Are STILL The Ones

      Our president came into office with remarkable challenges. In my view he has been a president focused on getting things done. He didn't take easy choices. He didn't go for popular choices. He looked at the issues and problems that were given to him by the former president ... and President Obama worked the issues in a professional way.

      He's only been in office for less than two years ... and his accomplishments are beyond comparison to most, if not all, of the presidents that have been in the White House during my lifetime.

      Yet, there are many who decided that they didn't want our president to succeed.

      I can't control them. I can only control myself. I choose to remember the vibe that ran through our country when Obama was elected as our president. I choose to remind myself and other 'villagers' reading this blog to raise our vote and shout it out -- We are STILL the ones!







      Are you with me on this one? Are you going to vote tomorrow? Are you going to ensure that those in your sphere of influence are also going to vote? We are STILL the ones!