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Israeli Navy Arrests Ex-Rep. Cynthia McKinney
From CNN: ” The Israeli navy took control of a boat that violated an Israeli blockade and crossed into Gazan waters Tuesday, the Israel Defense Forces said, while a Gaza group said the ship was carrying humanitarian aid, a former U.S. congresswoman and a Nobel laureate. The boat’s crew included former U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney,…
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R.I.P., Vibe, 1993-2009
GALLERY—Losing the Vibe Vibe magazine is dead. Just like that. No wake, no second line, no funeral. Nothing. Vibe is gone like a pocket full of singles at an Atlanta strip club. Gone, but certainly not forgotten. I can remember the inaugural Vibe magazine cover like it was yesterday. Snoop Doggy Dogg—as he was known at the…
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Money Talks; We Should Listen
The Obama White House is evidence of the latest political strides of black Americans. Very recent history in the form of the mortgage crisis is evidence of just how far we have to go economically and financially. And the conversation about economic equality requires a fundamental change in the conversation. “Rights imply that somebody has…
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The Sarah Palin Saga: Desperate Housewives meets Northern Exposure?
Todd Purdum has written a blistering report in next month’s VANITY FAIR about Sarah Palin that draws on sniping from former John McCain aides, shrugging statements of disownment from acquaintances in Wasilla, and sorrowful head-shaking from the Republican intelligentsia. The wide-ranging “profile” of the woman who almost stood second in line to the presidency pre-empts…
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The Employment Cost of Health Care Reform
At a time when many congressional conservatives are worrying about the cost of proposed health reforms, their liberal colleagues seem surprisingly unconcerned about the human cost, the inevitable loss of ten of thousands of good jobs at good wages that the nation’s older cities are increasingly dependent on. Efforts to make American medicine more efficient…
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Losing the VIBE
In September 1993, VIBE Magazine, founded by music legend Quincy Jones one month prior, published its very first issue, which featured Snoop Dogg on the cover. Captions by Tabitha Peyton Wood In April 1995, VIBE ran an interview with rap legend Tupac Shakur, in which the artist famously anticipated his death before being killed the following…
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VIBE Magazine Folds
From Gawker: “Vibe Magazine—one of the biggest music magazines in America—is folding. The entire music magazine landscape is full of the dead and dying. Wikipedia sums up Vibe unexpectedly well: The magazine owes its success to having a broader range of interests than its closest competitors The Source and XXL which focus more narrowly on…
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A Complex(ion) Issue
From Adam Serwer over on The Atlantic: “Ya’ll can’t get mad at me, because I haven’t done a Michael Jackson post yet. This will be my only one, barring unforseen developments. On the bus yesterday, I was reading Newsweek and found this article from David Gates on Michael Jackson: Why did he feel so deeply…
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Reading List: The Music Edition
There’s nothing like the marriage between literature and music. For that reason, this Reading List edition highlights titles that combine the best of both worlds. Stormy Weather: The Life of Lena Horne By James Gavin Although she led a fairly illustrious career, Lena Horne’s behind-the-scenes world was a tumultuous one marked by racism, failed marriages,…
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The King of Debt
With respect to my namesake, Michael Jackson was both a hero to business savvy music artists and a nightmare to creditors. The New York Times, along with many other outlets have started playing the speculation game about the financial mess the now deceased legend has left behind. It’s been estimated that Jackson has earned as…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
