If this isn’t proof that Rupert Murdoch’s Fox organization is a mouthpiece for an sinister, counterproductive and archaic faction of backwards individuals, then we shudder to think of what is. The sheer display of disrespect and obstruction of vital communication from the President of the United States is no doubt a classic “Faux News” trademark and the epitome of the hideous side of American culture.

So-called news anchor Bret Baier is likely the toast of News Corp, and a crass buffoon in the eyes of the international community. In fact, The White House has made no bones about their take on the fraudulent news source. In October its then-communications director, Anita Dunn, called Fox News “either the research arm or the communications arm of the Republican Party” and added, “Let’s not pretend they’re a news organization like CNN is.” The shocker is not that Baier conducted himself like the angry little narrow minded guy that he is, but that Obama wasn’t better prepared to shut that simple fellow down once he got out of line.

Let’s hope when his tenure is through, he gets a chance to ’smack’ those fools down a la Fmr. Pres. Clinton vs. Chris Wallace in September, 2006.

Yahoo News

It is yet another one of those grave social injustices that you may have never of heard of before, but thanks to The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, that will change. Author Rebecca Skloot’s inquisitiveness, thorough research, and vivid narration resurrect this remarkable story.

Back in 1951, when Henrietta Lacks, a 31-year-old mother of five, was a patient at Johns Hopkins hospital’s “colored ward,” doctors removed a dime-size sample of her cancer-ridden cervix without her permission and without informing her. Scientists, like George Gey (who first handled the study), had been trying to establish continuously reproducing cells for years for use in medical research, but cells never lasted very long. It turned out that Henrietta’s did. HeLa cells (named from the first two letters of her first and last name) grew, with what Skloot describes as, “mythological intensity,” So much so, in fact, that Gey began sharing them with others in the field. They went to the Tuskegee Institute where the first ever cell production factory was established, and then all around the world, as far as Chile, Amsterdam, and India; then onto the for-profit venture Microbiological Associates, and beyond.

When Lacks succumbed to the disease some eight months after her diagnosis, the legacy of her cells would later become a source of confusion and outrage among her family. Today, HeLa cells are still the most widely utilized in labs all across the world and are bought and sold by the billions. And her family, many of whom have lived in poverty all of their lives, never knew about any of this until 20 years after her death. Her husband, Day, had not been informed about the tissue samples or the astounding things that were done with them; the family found out about the cells through reporters, who, as soon as Henrietta’s real name was leaked, began to contact them with questions that lead them to believe that part of Henrietta was still alive in a lab somewhere, somehow.

Rebecca Skloot, a science journalist, was a curious high school student when she first became intrigued with the story of the woman behind HeLa, and in 1999 she began a decade-long journey of discovery. After years of feeling taken advantage of by doctors, scientists, and journalists, to say that the Lacks family was reluctant to speak with Skloot was an understatement. However, her patience and perseverance paid off and the author was able to find a real connection, especially with Deborah Lacks, Henrietta’s daughter. Thanks in part to this bond, the book is not only a tribute to the scientific of wonder of Henrietta Lacks, but a touching portrait of a vibrant, beautiful, and nurturing young woman and a family torn apart after losing her. Skloot’s biography flows like a novel and the scientific explanations are clearly deciphered for those of us whose memories of biology classes past are more than a little dim.

Scientists have grown some 50 million metric tons of Henrietta’s cells; NASA launched HeLa into orbit to test how human cells react in zero-gravity; there are over 60,000 HeLa-related scientific studies around the globe, and the medical establishment has profited handsomely from the cells. How on earth do you quantify the importance of such a gift?

(Continue Reading @ The Grio…)

Wal-Mart ‘appalled’ at announcement telling Blacks to leave
New Jersey authorities are investigating an announcement made over a public address system at a southern New Jersey Wal-Mart telling “all blacks” to leave the store. Shortly before 5 p.m. Sunday, an unidentified male accessed the public address system at the Turnersville, New Jersey, Wal-Mart Supercenter Store, Gloucester County prosecutors said. “All blacks need to leave the store,” the voice announced. Store management contacted the Washington Township Police Department, which opened an investigation in conjunction with the county prosecutor’s office, Deputy Police Chief John Dalesandro said. (Continue Reading…)

Haiti ‘orphans’ taken by missionaries reunite with families
Tears stream down 12-year-old Daphnis Adrien’s face on the day he is supposed to be reunited with his family after six weeks of separation. His mother walks up to him, but he won’t hug her. Instead he clings to the woman who has been caring for him for more than a month and cries. “I am leaving my mother,” he says in a whisper, referring to his caretaker from SOS Children’s village. Daphnis knows his biological mother gave him away after the earthquake. He is one of the 33 Haitian children that the government placed in the SOS Children’s Village after they were taken to the Dominican border by American Baptist Missionaries, who said they were trying to help the orphans in the aftermath of Haiti’s earthquake. (Continue Reading…)

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Today is St. Patrick’s Day and most likely no matter where you work, there’s bound to be a celebration of some sort, whether you like it or not. Legend has it that it has something to do with Irish pride, although it seems to be strongly embraced by Euro-Americans of all persuasions. One can assume that St. Patrick’s Day has some sort of cultural significance but the overabundance of shamrocks, Leprechauns, pots of gold, corned beef & cabbage beer and all things green manages to over shadow it.

Ultimately, St. Patty’s Day appears to be more of an overall celebration of “White Pride” (not that there’s anything wrong with that – as Seinfeld would say) with the whole nation in support of green clad drunkards committing various acts of obnoxious behavior in the middle of a workweek. Amidst the green beer guzzling festivities are those who would prefer to simply just avoid the whole majority-inflicted holiday, particularly those trapped for 8 hours in an office filled with tacky St. Patrick’s Day party favors and faded co-workers making unfamiliar cultural references while rockin’ Leprechaun shoes and green wigs. Taking the day off may not be an option, but there are ways you can get through the rest of the afternoon without making any unnecessary waves:

Headphones: This may not be an option for many, but if your place of work, and temporary Irish pub, allows for the use of them, they can provide you with the perfect distraction from all the foolery.

Take on a Big Project: Have you been procrastinating about re-organizing your workspace or file cabinet? If you want to get away from your obnoxious co-workers, this is a great opportunity to do so. You can avoid feeling like you’re rejecting the annoying bunch by actually doing work on St. Patrick’s Day, after all, that is why you’re there.

Call/IM Your Friends: Birds of a feather flick together so if you’re not keen on the holiday, most likely neither are your friends. Many of them may be a captive audience to Irish overload and would appreciate the distraction. While the population at your work gets tore up, you can take pleasure in a conversation of a good friend, boyfriend, relative or whomever you choose to help you “get away.”

Take An Extra Long Lunch or Leave Work Early: Desperate times may call for desperate measures if you’re surrounded by straight St. Patty’s Day fiends. If their festivities are so boisterous that they prevent you from actually being able to hear yourself think, then you may as well steal away. Chances are they’d be too wasted to notice your absence.

Woods has been on hiatus from golf since November 15^th when he won the Australian Open. It was nearly two weeks later that the world learned of his insatiable sexual appetite and its unfortunate affect on his marriage. TW admits, “I have undergone almost two months of inpatient therapy and I am continuing my treatment,” he said. “Although I’m returning to competition, I still have a lot of work to do in my personal life.”

Woods did his time at a Mississippi clinic from December 31 until February 11 followed by an additional week of family counseling at an Arizona facility. In the aftermath of this personal scandal going public, it remains to be seen how much this will affect his performance on the green – in addition to the impact of his sex addiction withdrawal on his overall conduct. In all likelihood, a grand return may be a bit premature, but it’s only Tiger who has the final say in this matter.

From The Grio.com

Wealth is generally determined by one’s total assets minus debts. According to the report, single, middle age white women have a median wealth of $42,600, which is still about 60 percent of single white men; the median wealth for single black women is only $5. Married white women have a median wealth of $167,500, but married black women have a median worth of $31,500.

I’m not surprised by these findings. While the economic disparities are complex, there are some clear reasons for the gap. Black women are more likely to be in careers that that pay less and offer little to no health insurance or retirement plans, which contribute to their debt problems. Over 40 percent of black women are single, making us the financial backbones for our families.

The study was conducted before the current recession, but clearly the decade long sub-prime loan crisis has stretched the wallets of many black women. In addition, jobless rates for both black women and men are nearly double the national unemployment average.

If this report doesn’t prove that America is nowhere close to being “post racial,” then I don’t know what will. President Obama has said he wants to deal with the social ills affecting the black community without actually framing them as black problems. For the last year, he has promoted the idea that the stimulus plan will save Americans of all racial backgrounds.

Nonetheless, a report from the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity says just the opposite, stating that the “stimulus did not go far enough in terms of marginalized communities, and it lacked transparency and accountability in regard to racial equity.” In addition, the report states that the stimulus has not properly established an infrastructure that would help enable blacks to find jobs.

(Continue Reading @ The Grio…)