Scott Brown, who snubbed 9-11 workers, posed nude, ahead of Coakley?

Massachusetts State Senator Scott Brown, who voted against providing assistance to 9-11 workers, is reportedly ahead of Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley in the race to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by the death of Ted Kennedy.



But all of the news organizations reporting the lead are conservative: Fox News, The Washington Examiner, and Politico have Scott Brown ahead in their polls; the liberal Daily Kos calls the race a tossup and has many newspapers endorsing Coakley.

Still, it's questionable that Massachusetts voters would actually replace Ted Kennedy with a man who not only voted against providing assistance to Massachusetts 9-11 aid workers, but posed nude and has a questionable record of legislative experience.

The Attleboro Sun Chronicle wrote this endorsement:

The candidates in Tuesday's special U.S. Senate election have given a pretty clear idea of how they would vote on the major questions of the day. Martha Coakley is right on more of the big issues, mainly health care and the economy. We endorse her for election.

As the state's first female attorney general, Democrat Coakley since 2007 has proven herself an effective administrator. Throughout her career as a lawyer and district attorney she has exhibited rare skills in mediation and conciliation - the arts of finding middle ground for divergent viewpoints. It will serve her, and Massachusetts, well in the Senate.

(snip)

There's much to be said for endorsing a local candidate. However, we have an insurmountable problem. To paraphrase words Brown applied to his Democratic opponent, "he's a nice man, but he's wrong on all the issues."

Brown initially took a militant stand against gay marriage, which we have consistently supported. While he has softened his position some, his outlook on equal rights in a private matter remains worrisome. After voicing support in this space for health care reform, we can't very well back Brown when he is promising to submarine national health care on his own as "the 41st Republican senator." We are left instead to wonder how he sees himself as a fitting successor to Sen. Edward Kennedy, who made health care reform a signature issue, while planning to spoil the best chance for reform the nation has ever had.

The vote is today; stay tuned.

Guatemala, Venezuela, Argentina earthquakes after Haiti Earthquake

It's one week after the Haiti Earthquake and the World has seen earthquakes in Argentina, Venezuela and most recently Guatemala.

This AP video shows the eruption of a quake in Guatemala City, Guatemala:



It was 6.0 on the Richter Scale and rocked Guatemala and parts of El Salvador on Monday, but no damage was reported.

On Sunday a 6.3 earthquake was reported in the South Atlantic, just near Argentina. The Latin American Herald Tribune reports:

The earthquake occurred some 380 kilometers (236 miles) south-southeast of Ushuaia, the capital of Tierra del Fuego, in the Drake Passage at a depth of 25 kilometers (15 miles).

Again, no word of damage or a tsunami warning.

Venezuela was struck by a 5.6 Richter Scale earthquake, Friday of last week, and right on the heels of the 7.0 Haiti Earthquake. According to NPR (National Public Radio), it hit near the coastal town of Carupano, Venezuela, which is just 813 miles from Port-au-Prince, Haiti.


View Larger Map

A point six miles below and 10 miles from Port-au-Prince was the epicenter of Tuesday's 7.0 Haiti Earthquake, which left thousands of victims.

The US Geological Survey reports that the quake hit 7.3 miles below the ground in a region called Sucre, Venezuela.

There's no word of damage; just reports of people scared and shaken up.

The last large quake in Venezuela was in September 2008; it was 6.2 on the Richter Scale.

There's no word if these quake events in South and Central America and the Carribean - all close to each other - are in some way related, as of this writing. But the timing alone would seem a good reason to investigate what's happening.

Stay tuned.

2010 Golden Globe Awards winners press conference

UPDATE: 2010 Golden Globe Awards was the focus of house parties like this one:



The 2010 Golden Globe Awards show was a success Sunday, with great speeches and well deserved awards by many, most notably Jeff Bridges.

This blogger took MLK day off not just to rest, but to wait for the Hollywood Foreign Press to upload its videos. Thanks to the Hollywood Foreign Press' YouTube channel, we can see the back stage press at work, talking with the winners.  

While by Tuesday, many will have seen video clips of the acceptance speeches, what's not seen to as great a degree are the press conferences that go on back stage.   Some of the questions were interesting and others were controversial: two concerning Tiger Woods went unanswered.

Each video is presented in the order of the list of winners.

FILM AWARDS - Courtesy of Entertainment Weekly

Best Picture, Drama
Avatar WINNER
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
Up in the Air

Avatar Director James Cameron's speech:



Best Picture, Musical/Comedy
The Hangover WINNER
500 Days of Summer
It’s Complicated
Julie & Julia
Nine

The Hangover - cast presentation:



Best Director
James Cameron, Avatar WINNER
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
Clint Eastwood, Invictus
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds



Best Actor, Musical/Comedy
Robert Downey, Jr., Sherlock Holmes WINNER
Matt Damon, The Informant!
Daniel Day-Lewis, Nine
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, 500 Days of Summer
Michael Stuhlbarg, A Serious Man

Robert Downey Jr:



Best Actress, Musical/Comedy
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia WINNER
Sandra Bullock, The Proposal
Marion Cotillard, Nine
Julia Roberts, Duplicity
Meryl Streep, It’s Complicated

Meryl Streep on how she "becomes" a character:



Best Actress, Drama
Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side WINNER
Emily Blunt, The Young Victoria
Helen Mirren, The Last Station
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious

Sandra Bullock talks about The Blind Side:



Best Actor, Drama
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart WINNER
George Clooney, Up in the Air
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Morgan Freeman, Invictus
Tobey Maguire, Brothers

Jeff Bridges on why he turned away from Crazy Heart, at first:



Film, Best Supporting Actress
Mo’Nique, Precious WINNER
Penelope Cruz, Nine
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Julianne Moore, A Single Man

Mo'Nique on her acceptance speech:



Best Supporting Actor
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds WINNER
Matt Damon, Invictus
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones

Christoph Waltz:



Best Screenplay
Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner, Up in the Air WINNER
Neill Blomkamp & Terri Tatchell, District 9
Mark Boal, The Hurt Locker
Nancy Meyers, It’s Complicated
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds

Best Animated Film
Up WINNER
Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Princess & The Frog



Best Song
“The Weary Kind,” Crazy Heart WINNER
“Cinema Italiano,” Nine
“I Want to Come Home,” Everybody’s Fine
“I Will See You,” Avatar
“Winter,” Brothers

Best Score
Up WINNER
The Informant!
Avatar
A Single Man
Where the Wild Things Are

Michael Giacchino talks about being in the spotlight..after a long pause as no one opened with a question:



Best Foreign Language Film
The White Ribbon WINNER
Baria
Broken Embraces
The Maid
A Prophet

The White Ribbon interview:




Cecil B. DeMille Award
Martin Scorsese:



TV AWARDS
BEST TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
Mad Men (AMC) WINNER
Big Love (HBO)
Dexter (Showtime)
House (Fox)
True Blood (HBO)

Mad Men Cast question and answer:



BEST TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Glee (FOX) WINNER
30 Rock (NBC)
Entourage (HBO)
Modern Family (ABC)
The Office (NBC)

The Cast of Glee:



BEST MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Grey Gardens (HBO) WINNER
Georgia O’Keefe (Lifetime)
Into the Storm (HBO)
Little Dorrit (PBS)
Taking Chance (HBO)



BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES –
COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Toni Collette, United States of Tara WINNER
Courteney Cox, Cougar Town
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Lea Michele, Glee

Toni Collette:



BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES –
COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock WINNER
Steve Carell, The Office
David Duchovny, Californication
Thomas Jane, Hung
Matthew Morrison, Glee

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
Michael C. Hall, Dexter WINNER
Simon Baker, The Mentalist
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Hugh Laurie, House
Bill Paxton, Big Love

Michael C. Hall on why this season took off, the impact of John Lithgow, and cancer:



BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES –
DRAMA
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife WINNER
Glenn Close, Damages
January Jones, Mad Men
Anna Paquin, True Blood
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer

Julianna Margulies slaps down an awful question about Tiger Woods' wife, Elin:



BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES,
MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
John Lithgow, Dexter WINNER
Michael Emerson, Lost
Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother
William Hurt, Damages
Jeremy Piven, Entourage

John Lithgow on his role in Dexter as "The Trinity Killer":



BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A
SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Chloe Sevigny, Big Love WINNER
Jane Adams, Hung
Rose Byrne, Damages
Jane Lynch, Glee
Janet McTeer, Into the Storm



BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION
PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Kevin Bacon, Taking Chance WINNER
Kenneth Branagh, Wallander: One Step Behind
Chiwetel Ejiofor, Endgame
Brendan Gleeson, Into the Storm
Jeremy Irons, Georgia O’Keefe

Kevin Bacon:



Chloë Sevigny also bats down another weird question about Tiger Woods:



BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION
PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Drew Barrymore, Grey Gardens WINNER
Joan Allen, Georgia O’Keefe
Jessica Lange, Grey Gardens
Anna Paquin, The Courageous Heart of Irena
Sendler
Sigourney Weaver, Prayers for Bobby

Drew Barrymore:



Does all of this mean a clean-swwep for Avatar all the way to the Academy Awards? Stay tuned.

The 2010 Golden Globes - Sophia Loren wows the World

The 2010 Golden Globes, the Hollywood Foreign Press' annual party for the Hollywood entertainment industry, just got its hot meter tuned up. Sophia Loren introduced the category of Best Foreign Film and said "The Golden Globe goes to The White Ribbon."

Now Mad Men just won Best TV Series Drama, bringing the stars to the stage.

MoNique

Looking back, MoNique won Best Supporting Actress for her role on Precious; it was her second in as many weeks, having won The Critics Choice Award in the same category last week. No word on questions about the many events she skipped last winter.

Robert DeNiro on Martin Scorsese: "He eats, sleeps, and drinks film.  I here there's a YouTube of him sleeping with film"

More soon. 7:15 PM

James Cameron wins Best Director for Avatar, and beats his wife Katheryn Bigelow for the prize.

And to the shock of many at the Golden Globes event I'm attending, Glee won "Best Television Series: Comedy"

Jeff Bridges winning Best Actor in A Motion Picture Drama for Crazy Hearts produced a much-deserved standing ovation.  He's produced a body of work that's just incredible.

Stay tuned.

Miley Cyrus 17, not engaged to Liam Hemsworth, 20

The buzz is was that Miley Cyrus was wearing a ring that some believed meant she was engaged to her boyfriend, Liam Hemsworth. The relationship, like many aspects of Miley Cyrus life as a pop-culture star - from the stripper pole dance at the Teen Choice Awards, to her concert crotch-grab dancing - is controversial. Liam Hemsworth is 20 and Miley Cyrus is 17.

Miley Cyrus

There's some question as to the legality of such a relationship. The blog comments at Just Jared Jr. focus on the fact that Miley Cyrus is just 17:

lily @ 10:42 am on 01/05/2010
OMG he is 20!, i didn’t know that. i don’t think it ok for a 17 year old dating a 20 year old but it is that a legal?

But to many of Miley Cyrus' fans, it doesn't matter:

Katie g! @ 11:25 am on 01/05/2010
=) i love the two of them together, and she looks kind of tan, and i love her hair. all in all sher looks happy and healthy

Still:

Sketch @ 11:54 am on 01/05/2010
@lily:
If he is 20 then it would be illegal for them to have sex. Does that answer your question?

According to Avert.org, the legal age of consent varies with states in America: in California it's is 18, but in Georgia, it's 16; Miley Cyrus is 17. So Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth would have to carry a check chart with them to make sure they weren't doing it in the wrong state.

But with all of this, Miley Cyrus is not engaged to Liam Hemsworth. Miley Cyrus' representative told People Magazine that while she's sporting a new ring, she's not engaged at all.

Cowboys vs Vikings - Brett Favre torches Dallas Cowboys

In today's Cowboys vs Vikings NFL Divisional Playoff game, Minnesota Vikings Quarterback Brett Favre is torching the Dallas Cowboys, having just completed a 45 yard touchdown to Wide Receiver Sidney Rice. Brett Favre is 12 of 20 for 201 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Vikings are ahead of the Cowboys, 27 to 3.

The keys to the game are the quick strikes to single-covered Vikings receivers by Brett Favre. Both of Sidney Rice's touchdown catches were against single coverage while he was running "up" patterns.

It's 7:27 in the fourth quarter as of this writing. Green Bay Packers fans everywhere and watching this game are wondering what might have been. The Packers, under their signal caller Aaron Rogers, lost to the Arizona Cardinals last week.

If the Vikings win this game, they will go on to play the New Orleans Saints in the NFL Championship Game next week. The Saints beat the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday.

Stay tuned.

Gaines Adams dead at 26: 2007 NFL Draft star called "fine young man"

Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Chicago Bears Defensive End Gaines Adams is dead at 26 years old. According to ESPN, Gaines Adams died of cardiac arrest. The Greenville, South Carolina native and Clemson Football standout, was a star at the 2007 NFL Draft.

Gaines Adams at the NFL Combine

The NFL flew Gaines Adams to New York City as part of a select group of NFL Draft-bound college stars including LSU and now Oakland Raiders Quarterback JaMarcus Russell, Notre Dame and now Cleveland Browns Quarterback Brady Quinn, Georgia Tech and now Detroit Lions Wide Receiver Calvin Johnson, and Oklahoma and now Minnesota Vikings Running Back Adrian Peterson. The videos below capture the sprit of Gaines Adams at the 2007 NFL Draft:

At the Chelsea Piers Luncheon:



At Radio City Music Hall, outside:



Gaines Adams was the 4th pick of the 2007 NFL Draft by the then-Jon Gruden-coached Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He led all defensive rookies with six sacks in 2007. He would go on to become one of the most effective defensive players in the NFL, with a promising future that's now cut short.

Marcia Kelley-Clark, Chief Deputy Coroner for Greenwood County, said that no one in Gaines Adams Family was aware of a medical condition.

"I remember him at the 2007 Draft as a fine young man," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. "Our condolences to Gaines' family, his teammates on the Bears and Buccaneers, and their organizations on their loss."

6.3 magnitude earthquake hits Argentina after Haiti and Venezuela

The latest news is a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck Argentina after the 7.0 Haiti Earthquake and the 5.6 Venezuela Earthquake, and all less than a week apart.

According to the US Geological Survey, the earthquake was centered 354 km southeast of Ushuaia, Argentina, the capital of the Argentine province of Tierra del Fuego, at a depth of 21 km, or about 10.5 miles down. The earthquake hit at 8am local time (1200 GMT, 8pm Singapore time). Reuters reports that no tsunami warning was immediately issued by the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center.

No word of damage as of this writing.

Argentina was planning to send a plane of supplies and aid for Haiti.

Selena Gomez million dollar contract contains problem

TMZ.com reports that pop star Selena Gomez, while not getting "Miley Cyrus money", is "worth millions at 17" and points to the earnings for the movie she's working on, Ramona, at $65,000 (net), and then...

if the movie gets huge box office numbers, Fox Pictures has to fork over more cash -- Selena could collect anywhere from $250,000 to $1 million extra depending on how much it makes over the cost of production.

That's the problem.

TMZ's account reveals a "net", rather than "gross" contract. The rule in entertainment is never settle for a "net" contract; make sure you get money before production costs are paid.  Jack Nicholson learned this when he signed on to play "The Joker" in Batman.   His gross percentage revenue contract paid him $60 million.

Selena Gomez

What could happen in Selena Gomez case is the production numbers could be adjusted to avoid paying Selena Gomez the back end money she could get.  If the production cost is greater than revenue, then the movie fails to show a profit and Gomez doesn't not get the extra money.

But if Selena Gomez just took, say, 10 percent of the movie's revenue, she would get that, period, profit or not.

The the future, Selena should make sure she gets a Jack Nicholson-style contract, otherwise she will always feels that she's not getting what she's worth.

She would be right.

Oakland breaking up Friendly Cab's monopoly

The City of Oakland is in the process of breaking up the monopoly long-held by Oakland's Friendly Cab. According to a source who did not wish to be named, last week on Friday, Oakland Police Officers took taxi medallions away from Yellow Cab cars owned by Friendly Cab. The source reports that the cabs will be offered to the public "sometime around January 25th."

According to the source, Surrender Singh, the owner of Friendly Cab, was making as much as $250,000 a week from operations; that's $12 million a year. But allegedly Friendly Cab was "abusive" to its drivers," said the source, who did not elaborate on the claim, "Something needed to be done."

Before the City of Oakland's action to end their monopoly, you had to go to Friendly Cab to lease a taxi and the cost is $65 per day. All of the expenses are paid by the driver.

Friendly Cab has 100 cars, so the 11 Yellow Cabs that will be lost should not be a large impact on its fleet. But it's not clear how far the City will go in stripping Friendly Cab's fleet. It's the beginning of the end of Friendly Cab's vice grip on Oakland's cab industry. The overall objective, according to an obscure sentence in the Oakland Wikipedia entry is "to increase the supply of taxis by increasing the number of taxi licenses."

The problem is cars are needed to cause this to happen; they will come from downsizing Friendly Cab's fleet.

Perhaps this will mean better overall cab service, more cabs operating all day and night as many Oaklanders have wanted, and an end to the kind of driver abuse this blogger suffered last year:



Stay tuned.

Racism rises in Oakland: patron writes anti-black slur at bar

Racism returned to Oakland Friday night. A patron at Oakland's popular Cafe Van Kleef wrote "Happy Nigger Day" on the bathroom's wall board. The person who discovered the slur was one of the establishments' employees, who came out to tell Cafe Van Kleef owner Peter Van Kleef as he was in conversation with this blogger, who's obviously black.

The group of us, Peter, Eric, and a person who's name I do not know, talked about it and agreed that Peter, as the owner, should make a defining statement and ask for the person who did it to identify his or her self.

Peter Van Kleef made the decision to go up and take time from the blues band that was playing to tell the patrons what was done and that "Cafe Van Kleef is not a place for that." While the sound did not carry well in the crowded bar, Peter's speech was loud enough for many to hear near the stage.

Peter asked for the person who wrote the slur to step forward; that person did not. But a number of people looked around at each other. Of the near capacity crowd of over 100 people, by my scan only four were African American, three Asian, and the rest largely white.

How did I feel? Sick. I just stood in the corner that I normally occupy when I visit Peter's establishment and wondered what kind of people were around me.  I was really disappointed to see white patrons who just had white friends.  That - to be really frank - is far more common than it is for people of color, even in Oakland.  A person can't know who they are until they have friends who don't have their skin color.  That's just a fact.

By that, I mean people they invite over to their house and talk to; not people they see at the gym or at work.  I'm talking about real friends.

I walked over to the much more racially-mixed Luka's and talked to a friend of mine in law enforcement about what happened.  He - who's black - shrugged and said "It's Van Kleef's", and seemed surprised that I was shocked about what happened.

Peter Van Kleef and his employees are fine people. But someone - some coward that may also be an Internet troll - in there felt comfortable enough to write a racial slur on the bathroom wallboard.

Speaking out against it was a welcome action on Peter Van Kleef's part and he's a good man and a friend of mine, but the damage was done. Racism is rising in Oakland.

Historically, Oakland has been a town known for its racial harmony. As far back as the 1960s, Oakland never had serious racial problems. And when the Watts riots broke out, it was feared by some that Oakland would be the next city to have a major conflict because of its large black population.

It never happened, and the shock that it did not, led the production of a classic book called Oakland's Not For Burning.  But today, we have the death of Oscar Grant.

Oscar Grant

But Oakland's changing; last year some people of color thought Oakland was for burning in the wake of the Oscar Grant Murder, and that perception caused the riots that followed:



Oakland's downtown bar and dining scene has degenerated into a black versus white divide, with one Asian bar in the middle on Telegraph that draws a mixed crowd of mostly people of color: Luka's is predominantly black and Latino on the weekends, but not on weeknights. Cafe Van Kleef is mostly white. The eatery Flora's patronage is mostly white; Pican and Osumo on Broadway and Grand are mostly black. The bar "The Den at The Fox" is mostly black (and has security door people who act like thugs; a side effect of the patronage, I suppose). It's hard to find any place that's perfectly racially mixed, and that's sad.

There should not be such a pattern.

Fortunately, the bar scene on Grand Avenue - with The Alley and The Lucky Lounge - is far more racially mixed. Why that's the case may be that Grand Avenue draws much more of a local audience. This is also true at The Conga Lounge in Rockridge, and who's Haiti Benefit Party attracted a well-integrated audience, the perfect mix. While racism in Oakland is a problem, for the most part it's not generated by Oakland residents; outsiders and institutions have to be instructed on the rules of engagement in Oakland.

I write institutions because of the 2007 incident where Yoshi's Jazz Club in Oakland's Jack London Square released a CD without a single black jazz artist.  For that to happen in Oakland was just incredible.

The City of Oakland needs to make a strong and powerful statement. To this date, the Mayor and the Oakland City Council have been silent on the issue of race. Oakland needs to have a diversity policy. A statement of effort to maintain a racially-integrated city that does not tolerate racism or the creation of images of racism.

Stay tuned.

Venezuela 5.6 Earthquake on heels of Haiti Earthquake

Venezuela was struck by a 5.6 Richter Scale Earthquake today, Friday, right on the heels of the 7.0 Haiti Earthquake. According to NPR (National Public Radio), it hit near the coastal town of Carupano, Venezuela, which is just 813 miles from Port-au-Prince, Haiti.


View Larger Map

A point six miles below and 10 miles from Port-au-Prince was the epicenter of Tuesday's 7.0 Haiti Earthquake, which left thousands of victims.

The US Geological Survey reports that the quake hit 7.3 miles below the ground in a region called Sucre, Venezuela.

There's no word of damage; just reports of people scared and shaken up.

The last large quake in Venezuela was in September 2008; it was 6.2 on the Richter Scale.

Stay tuned.

Peralta College Chancellor Elihu Harris out - The Black Hour

Photo: Sustainable Peralta

Peralta Colleges Chancellor Elihu Harris will leave the community college district after his contract expires this June.

Trustees opted not to renew Harris’ contract at Tuesday night's Board meeting and announced the search for a new chancellor. Abel Guillen, the Board’s new president, declined to discuss the decision further.

The decision follows a series of damaging reports by the Bay Area News Group (BANG) last summer that led to increased scrutiny of Harris -- and the Peralta Board. The Oakland Tribune later ran a front page article calling for Harris to be fired, but has not criticized the Board since. 

The Board was scheduled to approve its annual budget Tuesday, but pulled the item from the agenda prior to the meeting. At the Peralta Board's December 17 meeting – when the approval of the budget was postponed due to inaccuracies and public complaints – students demanded Trustees wait until the January 26 meeting to vote on the budget. Students' rationale was that the spring semester begins January 21, and approving the budget while students and staff were on winter break would not be transparent. 

In addition to all managers being placed on one-year contracts at Tuesday's Peralta Board meeting, Vice-Chancellor of Finance Tom Smith was placed on administrative leave and escorted off the Peralta premises by Peralta Police Services (Alameda County Sheriff’s Deputies). 

Harris is a former Mayor of Oakland, a state assembly member, and has been the Chancellor of the four-campus Peralta Colleges since 2003.

Read the complete report by The Black Hour Radio Show.

Haiti Earthquake News: Oakland Attorneys return to USA - Aimee Allison

[Aimee Allison, OaklandSeen] Oakland attorneys and activists Walter Riley and Barbara and Selena Rhine are back in the states after a harrowing experience in the aftermath of the quake in Haiti. For three days they dug through rubble and gave emergency medical care in the midst of the crisis. Longtime Haiti activists, their work continues now that they are coming home.

Riley and Rhine had been in the Port-au-Prince area touring service programs and schools as part of their work for the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund. On Tuesday afternoon, they were visiting Cite Soleil, a poor industrial area north of the airport. They joined Jean Van Kernizan, host and producer of Haiti's Radio Soleil, for dinner when the quake hit. At the the end of the shaking, his home was one of the few left standing in the area. Answering the need, Haiti Action set up a makeshift hospital in Van Kernizan's home to do what they can for the masses of injured people in the area. Until last night, Riley and the Rhines dug through rubble, dust and debris looking for survivors and cared for the injured including setting broken bones.

Riley and the Rhine arrived in New Jersey late last night and will arrive in the bay area tonight. They told follow Oakland's Haiti Emergency Relief board member Randall White about their experiences in the last hour. University students were among the survivors that came to the Van Kernizan home - for medical treatment. "We're calling these lawyers 'doctors' now," White said.

Randall White also spoke to the Riley about his observations of United Nation personnel immediately following the crisis. Apparently, they were riding around in their trucks but were not participating in relief efforts. In the critical hours after the quake, Riley said the state department was discouraging relief work because of security concerns, but on the ground Riley didn't witness violence or rioting. The UN headquarters collapsed during the earthquake.

Haiti Emergency Relief Fund workers have experienced losses, even while they as they try to help others. Radio Soleil Reporter Jean Ristil's two children were killed. The losses are still being counted as communication and aid is slow to reach many of the hardest hit areas.

Today, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and Senator Leland Yee will honor the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund and other local relief efforts in a press conference later today. Walter Riley and Barbara Rhine will continue raising funds for Haiti relief upon their return to the bay area.

Haiti Relief is receiving about $14,000/hour right now, money Randall White hopes will keep coming to help those facing incredible hardships in Haiti.

Donate at: www.haitiaction.net/about/herf/herf.html
***
Aimee Allison is Executive Producer for OaklandSeen.com. Join the facebook group here.

Rush Limbaugh Haiti comments lead to tampon insult to female caller

In blasting Haiti for, well, being Haiti in the wake of the devastating 7.0 Earthquake and many aftershocks,Rush Limbaugh managed to upset people who care about the Haitian problem, but Thursday he added women to that list, when he told a female caller named "April" that she had 'tampons in her ears because April wasn't following his "piercing, penetrating logic." Here's the text:

Rush Limbaugh: No, I’m not evading it at all. If I said it I meant to say it, and I do believe that everything is political to this president. Everything this president sees is a political opportunity, including Haiti, and he will use it to burnish his credentials with minorities in this country and around the world, and to accuse Republicans of having no compassion. [...]

APRIL: [A]re you implying that the Huffington Post as the one and only resource that I [read]? I even watch Fox News once in a while.

Rush Limbaugh: No, no, no, no, no. I’m not implying that. … What I’m illustrating here is that you’re a blockhead. What I’m illustrating here is that you’re a closed-minded bigot who is ill-informed. … And if you had listened to this program for a modicum of time you would know it. But instead you’re a blockhead. You’re mind is totally closed. You have tampons in your ears. Nothing is getting through other than the biased crap that you read.

Here's the entire conversation as recorded by Media Matters:



That comment set off a storm of online coverage and commentary from Think Progress, Yahoo Buzz, and hundreds of bloggers. The Reid Report asked:...… and at what point do rational people simply stop listening?

NewsBusters, a conservative blog, totally ignored Rush's tampon blast, and focused on the Haiti comments as if to maintain their ability to defend Limbaugh.

Rush Limbaugh defended his Haiti comments, but will he defend his tampon insult?

Stay tuned.

Haiti Earthquake news: Rep Barbara Lee leads Moment of Silence

On January 13th, Rep Barbara Lee (D - California, 9th District, Oakland) led the U.S. House of Representatives in a Moment of Silence for the victims in the wake of the devastating 7.0 Haiti Earthquake, and the over the thousands of people killed and injured as a result of the many aftershocks over 4 on the Richter Scale.

Here's Rep. Barbara Lee:

Haiti Earthquake update: Oakland's Walter Riley and Barbara Rhine in USA

In this Haiti Earthquake update: Oakland's Walter Riley and Barbara Rhine are back in the USA. CNN Associate Producer Katie Hawkins-Gaar sent an email reporting that Walter Riley, Barbara Rhine and Selene Rhine are safe and have landed in Ner Jersey on an evacuation plane, according to a family member.

Here's the CNN Ireport:



On January 13th in a blog report by Aimiee Allison of OaklandSeen, KPFA, and Zennie62.com, Water Rliey, Barbara Rhine, and their daughter Selena were feared missing. They were last seen in in Port-au-Prince carrying out mission work for Haiti Action (http://www.haitiaction.net/About/HERF/HERF.html) when the Haiti Earthquake struck.

Water Rliey's family, including hip hop singer Boots Riley and ABC News Reporter Denise James had not received any word from Walter, Barbara or Selena that day.

Walter Riley is a well-known civil rights attorney and progressive activist in Oakland. He is also lawyer for the Oakland Post, and President of Vanguard Foundation. Barbara Rhine is a practicing lawyer in downtown Oakland and lifelong progressive activist. Barbara Rhine has represented the United Farmworkers Union, serves on the board of the Kehilla Community Synagogue, and was a law professor at San Francisco's Golden Gate University.

The State Department has a phone number for Americans seeking information about family members. That number is 1-888-407-4747. you can post a pic and info about missing people at CNN iReport.

Tiger Woods donating $3 million to Wyclef Jean for Haiti support

According to the NY Daily News and Rap Mogul Russell Simmons, Tiger Woods, the World's Greatest Golfer, is establishing a $3 million aid donation consisting of doctors and supplies to Wyclef Jean as part of his Haiti recovery support efforts.

Earlier, Tiger Woods was considering the donation, but in this update, he's done it.

The original Daily News report was that Simmons said "Tiger Woods is working on sending a mobile hospital with 50 EMTs to go set up a triage."

According to Simmons and representatives of Wyclef Jean's Haitian relief organization, Yele Haiti, Tiger Woods Management is "excited" about the idea.

Reportedly, Simmons spokesman Marcus Harris is going to talk to Tiger Woods Friday morning. "I am just asking for his heart and his hand", Harris said. "Just to meet the needs of the people."

Simmons is working to get Wyclef Jean some help, although Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie gave $1 million for his effort, already.

Doctors are badly needed to help with the thousands of Haitians wounded and sick. Moreover, the level of medicine available was primitive at best, according to CNN's Anderson Cooper Thursday night.

Want a dancing job? Oscar needs you now for 2010 Academy Awardss!

Dancers wanted! The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is looking for a few good dancers. So if you are a dancer looking for a big-time dancing job or "gig" look no further, check out The Oscars. Here's the info from AMPAS:

Beverly Hills, CA — Open dance auditions for the 82nd Academy Awards® telecast will be held on Friday, January 22, and Saturday, January 23, at CenterStaging in Burbank, California, telecast producers Adam Shankman and Bill Mechanic announced today. Cast dancers will perform live during the Academy Awards show on Sunday, March 7, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®.

The auditions are open to professional-level male and female dancers in the contemporary and hip-hop styles who are between the ages of 18 and 30. Shankman, who began his career as a dancer and once performed on the Oscar show, will be choreographing the audition numbers with associate choreographers Anne Fletcher and Jamal Sims.

CenterStaging is located at 3407 Winona Avenue in Burbank. Interested dancers should note that parking is not available at CenterStaging. Individuals will need to find parking in the vicinity and pay any associated costs. Only qualified dancers will be admitted; there is no access for watching the auditions.

Following is the audition schedule:

Friday, January 22, 2010

Contemporary
9 a.m. – 11 a.m. - Union, Male
10 a.m. – noon - Union, Female
Noon – 2 p.m. - Non-union, Male
1 p.m. – 3 p.m. - Non-union, Female
3 p.m. – 6 p.m. - Trickers and Tumblers

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Hip Hop
9 a.m. – 11 a.m. - Union, Male
10 a.m. – noon - Union, Female
Noon – 2 p.m. - Non-union, Male
1 p.m. – 3 p.m. - Non-union, Female
3 p.m. – 6 p.m. - Callback

Adam Shankman has been tweeting about this for a while. You can also visit the Oscar website for more information.

Haitian relief efforts draw Wyclef Jean, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie

The Haitian relief efforts are well underway and now are being helped by celebrities like Wyclef Jean, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and George Clooney. In the wake of the Haiti 7.0 Earthquake, the greatest natural disaster in two centuries in the Caribbean has left thousands upon thousands of people injured or dead; people and aid are on the ground there, on the way, and underway in America and the World.

Wyclef Jean

Haitian native Wyclef Jean got his cell-phone based campaign Yele Haiti! going early and he's now on the ground in Haiti. *You can send your donations to Yele Hati or text "Yele" to 501 501 to donate $5 from your cell phone.)

Wyclef was on Fox News from Haiti Thursday to talk about the ground effort with Bill Hammer. "We spent the day picking up dead bodies all day. From kids," Wyclef said. "There's so much bodies in the street that the morgue has filled up. The cemeteries are filled up." Wyclef and his wife said there were so many bodies that they had no choice. He's calling for a State of Emergency.



Brad Pitt and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie are in the United States as per this writing. They have reached out to Haitian relief efforts by donating $1 million to Wyclef Jean's Haiti Fund.

In a statement, Brad and Angelina said "We will work closely with our good friend Wyclef Jean to support the humanitarian efforts on the island and help those who have been injured and left without homes and shelter."

Meanwhile, Up In The Air's George Clooney has organized a telethon to be hosted on the MTV Networks and ABC, NBC, HBO and CNN February 22nd from 8 to 10 PM. The events logistics are still being developed and entertainment identified.

Stay tuned.

Haiti Earthquake benefit at Oakland's Conga Lounge this Friday

The Haiti Earthquake is the focus of a benefit party to be held at The Conga Lounge in Oakland Friday night at 5422 College Avenue in the Rockridge District.

Conga Lounge owner Mano Gougoumis Thanos wrote this note about the event:

"I will be DJ'ing Haitian Kompa music pus Zouk , Latin music and Reggae. There is no cover for the event, but I will be accepting donations at my DJ booth.

The benefit is from 10pm to 2 am this Friday at the Conga Lounge. I have contacted Hatian friends of mine to bring someone from Hatian Relief to the event , to collect the money at the conclusion of the party. But if you know of any other organizations assisting Haiti have them call me - 510 - 867 - 1092.

This party is gonna be a lot of fun and we will be assisting Haiti too. I hope you can make it to. Haitian music is really fun, tropical and laid back. Great for dancing! Plus I think the Conga Lounge is gonna be the only bar spinning Kompa this Friday!"

So get down to the place that's the home of the Oakland MaiTai, The Conga Lounge, and help Haiti in the process.

Haiti Earthquake more important than Zennie's Ron Dellums opinion

A large number of blog posts back I wrote that Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums should not run for reelection. Within the blog post, I did, what bloggers do: give their opinion. That's what blogging is all about.

I linked to a small local publication really for the purpose of giving it some link love and used it as a springboard, not a reference point, for my own views of Mayor Dellums's job in Oakland's City Hall. (Which is separate from how I view the Mayor personally. He's a giant in politics and African-American history. Period.)

So, I wrote that post, and moved on. Today, it was brought to my attention that the author at the small, local publication wrote a large, laughable, tome of an article all devoted to me, Zennie Abraham as the "Chronicle Blogger" (uh, my website is Zennie62.com). My first response was "Cool" and my second was "This is silly" and finally I thought "Let's put them into play to teach a lesson."  Which I've done.

It's really terrible for an East Bay, California publication - on a day when Oaklanders Walter Riley and Barbara Rhine are still reported missing in Haiti - to waste time writing about their issues with my opinion and not about Riley and Rhine or Haiti.

I can almost see that author pacing the floor, ringing their hands, and talking to themselves over this whole deal, cursing my name all the time saying "That #$$ Zennie".   And didn't even bother to mention the Haiti organization aid list!

Geez.

No wonder I hit the floor laughing!

Yes, I generate a lot of traffic. OK, I'm now at over 11 million video views on YouTube. So what? People over in Haiti need our help and our organization, not for people who have silly issues with video-bloggers to spend a lot of time getting out their media ya-ya's over them, let alone losing sleep over me.

Let's focus on Haiti and the big stuff around us. Please?

Ron Dellums should not run for reelection. He will lose. That's my view and I'm sticking to it. If that angers some and they can't sleep or eat, too bad.  If you want to run 20 miles and cry havoc, go right ahead. (But you'd be better off waiting until the Oakland Marathon.)  I don't want to see Dellums lose an election.  OK?

But there's one thing I do know for certain: Mayor Dellums is far more concerned about Haiti than about me.

At least I hope so.

When you can, find a place here to help Haiti, and God bless.

Rush Limbaugh Haiti comments defended by Free Republic

In a classic example of "why-did-they-do-that?" Kristinn at Free Republic tries to play Matrix with Conservative Radio Host Rush Limbaugh's terrible and insensitive Haiti comments.

Kristinn claims this:

Led by the Democratic party front group Media Matters which issued a posting headlined "We've already donated to Haiti, it's called the U.S. income tax", the media is smearing Rush Limbaugh with a despicable lie accusing Rush of telling his listeners to not donate to Haiti earthquake relief efforts.

Rush was warning listeners of being taken in by the Obama administration by going to WhiteHouse.gov, as Obama instructed, to make donations to Haiti earthquake relief. He was concerned the donations made there would go to the Obama administration. It was that concern that prompted his remark that has been taken out of context and used to smear Rush--and conservatives.

A caller to Rush questioned why he should go through the Obama administration to make a donation to the Red Cross and Rush expounded on that thought. Additionally, the caller said his mother was headed to Haiti to help out. Rush did not discourage that nor did he in any way discourage people making donations to non-Obama administration controlled charities.

He did make the point that throwing money at the problems in Haiti has not worked because of thievery by dictators who've run Haiti and a failure to focus on self-reliance with the charitable work.

Rush did not tell people not to help the Haitians.

Kristinn didn't listen to what Rush Limbaugh said, or did hear it but only picked out what she wanted to hear and not what Ruch Limbaugh said. Here's what Rush Limbaugh said:



In addition to "We've already donated to Haiti. It's called the U.S. income tax", Rush Limbaugh made this statement after the caller said his mother was going to go to Haiti. Note that Rush Limbaugh never encourages the effort:

There are people who do charitable work everyday in Haiti. It's not as though (Florida Democratic Representative) Debra Wasserman Schultz, 'It's our fault. Reverend Wright "It's our fault; excuse for such poverty when there' a nation as rich as we are so close (hear hand pound on desk). Uh. There are people who have been trying to save Haiti, just as we're trying to save Africa. You just can't keep throwing money at it cause the dictatorships there just take it all. They don't spread it arou...and even if they did you're not creating a permanent system where people can provide for themselves.

Translation: none needed. Rush Limbaugh is openly discouraging donations and expenditures to help Haiti after the horrifying Earthquake.  Note that's what he did because Rush Limbaugh's about to provide a lesson in how he gains ratings below.

The fact that hundreds of thousands of people may have died is apparently of no concern to Rush Limbaugh. For anyone from Free Republic to defend Rush at this point in time is to run the risk of being accused of exhibiting the same level of insensitivity as Rush Limbaugh did yesterday.   But Rush Limbaugh's playing a game that even the Free Republic doesn't get.

Rush Limbaugh cleared his comments today in a phone comment to a caller named "April". He said today he does not discourage donations to Haiti: "I did not say do not send donations to Haiti." He said he loves to "tweak" the media.

Right. He didn't say donate to Haiti and he made a long statement that anyone would interpret as "don't donate to Haitian relief."

What Rush Limbaugh likes to do is say things that he knows will upset people, then backtrack after people do get upset about them and say that what he did say was wrongly interpreted by "The Liberal Media" (he forgot Conservative Pat Buchanan).

Rush Limbaugh then called April a blockhead and a bigot (?) and said she was ill-informed. Then he says... "Your mind is totally closed. You've got tampons in your ears."

That was sexist and uncalled for. But here we go again.

In a way, Rush Limbaugh's starting to look like the Perez Hilton of radio, violating the basic decency of people to cause a fuss which then turns the attention to himself, which Clear Channel then makes sure he gets paid for.    How long that will go on for is anyone's guess.  But Clear Channel's going to have to atone for Rush Limbaugh's antics.

Stay tuned.

Pat Robertson and Rush Limbaugh show Haiti foot-in-mouth disease

The damage caused by the Haiti 7.0 Earthquake has brought out the best in the World's compassion; but that's punctuated by occasional doses of racism, hatred, and evil. 700 Club Televangelist Pat Robertson has gained the anger of many in America for his comments regarding Haiti. And Conservative Radio Talk Show Host Rush Limbaugh proved he learned nothing from his chest pains and heart attack threat during the holidays, when he made racist comments about Haiti and African Americans on Wednesday.

Rush Limbaugh's skewed view surfaces again

As people by the thousands turned up dead in Haiti, Rush Limbaugh returned to his racist "us versus them" "white versus black" white supremacist stance when he said this about President Obama's call to action to help Haiti:

“use this to burnish their, shall we say, credibility with the black community, in the… the both light-skinned and dark-skinned black community in this country. It’s made to order for them.”

But Rush Limbaugh didn't stop there. The Huffington Post and Digital Journal report Limbaugh worked to discouarge aid to Haiti, saying...

"We've already donated to Haiti. It's called the U.S. income tax."

According to Politico, Rush Limbaugh didn't score points with liberals or conservatives. MSNBC's Pat Robertson said Limbaugh's remarks were "deeply insensitive."

Pat Robertson made a "pact with the Devil" in claiming that Haiti's Earthquake was a result of a pact with the Devil. Robertson said that when Haiti was a French colony, it swore a pact with the Devil in escaping French rule. Translation: not being ruled by a white nation is not in the sprit of God, but a pact with the Devil. Robertson said:

“But ever since they have been cursed by one thing after the other. That island of Hispaniola is one island. It is cut down the middle on the one side is Haiti the other is the Dominican Republic. Dominican Republic is prosperous, healthy, full of resorts, etc. Haiti is in desperate poverty.”

Robertson has since worked to back away from his statements, claiming compassion for Haiti. Rush Limbaugh has not backed away from his statements as of this writing. There's no word on Clear Channel's support of Rush Limbaugh's opinion on Haiti. Clear Channel has a $400 Million contract with Limbaugh's radio program.

Haiti Disaster: Why You should Give To Help Yourself

[Republished with permission from DocGurley's blog]

Image by Dr Stephen Dann via Flickr

Are your fingers hovering over the keys? Did you even go so far as to get out your wallet and look at your credit card? But then there were those little voices in your head, weren't there? Not the kind that succumb to Abilify, maybe, but evil, portentous voices nonetheless. The kind of voice that says, "yeah, but those people are dirt poor already. Giving a few bucks, now that it's too late, isn't going to fix a damn thing in that godforsaken country." Or, "didn't the Red Cross bungle the last disaster? They're all corrupt, these programs." Or, worse, it might be a voice that says, "hey, I remember that rude Haitian cab driver in New York. They come here, take jobs, what do I owe those people?"

Or, instead, for so many of us, it's a voice that says, "yeah, but I haven't spent twenty bucks on myself - not for a splurge - in God knows how long. Who knows when I'll get that job?"

So why, exactly, should you use your splurge on the people of Haiti? Personally, I believe hopelessness is contagious. It's a virulent disease that spreads rapidly. Despair and destruction and the voices of the lost infect us. Even from a distance. To watch and do nothing is to forfeit a bit of your own joy. If nothing else, it takes emotional energy to ignore the pain of others, and the only way to sustain that energy is by feeding and nurturing anger and frustration and contempt. We are forced to justify our own indifference when we deliberately close the door on suffering of Haiti's magnitude.

But giving, now giving...giving, even a teensy bit, is a form of wellness. Giving of your time, or a bit of your money, or your voice in social media, or some volunteer hours, or a pint of blood - all those things crack the hard wall of smothering despair and anger and contempt we build around ourselves. It cracks, and light comes in, we open to the world around us.

Giving is lighting a match. It takes a bit of effort, a gritty strike to squelch those voices and then you feel the warmth. Even if your contribution is tiny, it joins with others and altogether we become a stadium filled with lighters, a veritable retina-searing billboard of micro-energy LEDs that illuminate not only our own inner goodness, but a group effort that stands as a beacon to others, no matter what their lonely individual plight. Because hope, too, is contagious.

More and more, science is discovering that it is not enough just to eradicate the bad. If you try to destroy virulent germs, doing so can leave a void, and, all too often, another pathogen just as bad, or worse, moves into that void. And grows. Instead, for better outcomes, you need to nurture the good too. Nothing makes it more difficult for badness to take hold, than a culture of beneficial organisms, growing and working and thriving together.

Studies also show that our emotional health is somewhat similar. Altruism is associated with better life satisfaction, no matter what the circumstances (and here). The benefits of altruism persist, even among those who have been victimized themselves, even the most traumatized among us. Altruism is also associated with what's called more self-efficacy - in other words, when you give to others, you are more empowered to help yourself. And altruism is even associated with not just a better life, but a longer life. Giving to others is a gift you give yourself. It is a form of personal wellth that you can invest and grow.

See, giving to Haiti is a splurge. Go ahead. Indulge yourself.

Go here to see where you can donate (confession: since I went to medical school with Paul Farmer, I'm a bit biased towards Partners in Health, as well as Doctors Without Borders). Got no money? How about spreading the word - use your social media to twitter, email, and FB awareness, and poke your representatives to do something. Or how about giving the Red Cross a boost by donating some blood, so they can free up more resources in other areas (hey, donating blood can help your heart disease risk!). What do you think? Got an "I gave and I feel better" story to share? Do you have more tips for those you want to give? Share in the comments section. And do you want to be on the inside, fast track of news and tips? Get on the Twitter bandwagon and follow Doc Gurley! Also check out Doc Gurley's joyhabit and iwellth twitter feeds - so you can get topic-specific fun, effective, affordable tips on how to nurture your joy and grow your wellth this coming year.

Haiti Earthquake update: Red Cross family finder website up

A Haiti Earthquake update. The American and Haitian Red Cross, and the International Committee of the Red Cross has announced a new website to allow loved ones to work to find their lost family members in Haiti, in the wake of the 7.0 Earthquake.

The site is called FamilyLinks and is intended to "accelerate the process of restoring contact between separated family members", according to its front page.

While the FamilyLinks site, ran by the International Committee of the Red Cross, is well-intentioned, this ominous warning means that it could be used for horrible intentions by Internet spammers:

The ICRC has no means of verifying the information sent through the network. It cannot accept responsibility for any inaccurate information given through the services made available on this site.

The information given on this website is not confidential and can be consulted by everyone. It is the responsibility of the persons publishing information on this website to ensure that no harm can result from this publication. The ICRC cannot be held responsible for any possible consequence that might arise from the publication in this website.

Haiti Earthquake update: support and donations coming in

The Haiti earthquake update news reports that support and donations are coming in, but is it enough? Organizations that in the past would have their own fiscal resources and need donations of items like food and clothing now ask for money, first. But the donations are coming in.

According to OnlyKent, American Red Cross has committed to sending $1 million in aid to Haiti, and Australia has pledged $2 million with more funds to follow for reconstruction. In total around £20 million will be sent to Haiti from around the world as of this writing, but it's not enough.

More money is needed. How much, is anyone's guess at this point.

What follows is an updated and expanded list of organizations planning relief efforts for Haiti. The response to the Haiti Earthquake support and donations list has been tremendous. Emails from around the country and from people not only presenting organizations that should be included in the list, but from people who want to know where to go to provide their own volunteer help for Haiti.

The damage, destruction, and loss of life has been just shocking. The impact has been immediate, and immediately felt. In Oakland, the lawyer-activist couple Walter Riley and Barbara Rhine, are missing.

Power is out everywhere and people are in the dark and need help. The capital city of Port-Au-Prince has been catastrophically damaged; hundreds of thousands of people are reported injured or dead.

Fortunately, legitimate online help efforts have been established. Here are more of them as of this writing and the list will be updated again, later this evening:

Airline Ambassadors - This organization of airline employee and members donates trips, in this case, to Haiti. The website reports:

Airline Ambassadors has acquired several aircraft from various major carriers. Each aircraft will carry 80,000 lbs. of critically needed, prescribed aid. Flights will depart from Denver, Miami, and JFK. We are currently working with Catholic Relief Services, Food for the Poor, LDS Charities, and Southern Command.

American Jewish World Service - Has a special Haiti-relief effort underway. From the press release:

"We are assessing where the gaps in service are and putting a process in place to help specific communities that might not be immediately served otherwise," said AJWS's vice president for programs, Aaron Dorfman. "Because of the economic and political situation in Haiti, disasters like this have devastating consequences throughout the country. Our long-standing partnerships with grassroots organizations in Haiti allow us to reach the poorest and most remote populations with the speed necessary to save lives."

American Red Cross (Reportedly has contributed $200,000 to Haiti relief.)

AmeriCares Help For Haiti. Goes to their International Disaster Relief Fund.

American Friends Service Committee - From the email:

American Friends Service Committee is seeking donations for immediate Haiti relief. This (Nobel Peace Prize winning) organization has a strong track record for efficient delivery of aid that actually goes to those in need.

AMURT is Ananda Marga Universal Relief Team - From the website:

AMURT & AMURTEL staff and volunteers are already on the ground and support teams are flying there in the coming days to assist in the operation. We have a decade of experience with relief work in Haiti and facilitate many ongoing development projects there. We are going to respond to this calamity fast and effectively and we are committed to stay as long as it takes to alleviate the suffering this natural disaster has brought about.

CARE - Reportedly has an ongoing program that focuses on food, water, and health security in Haiti  For program info: http://www.care.org/careswork/countryprofiles/61.asp (donation link is in the name itself.)

Catholic Relieft Services - From an email:

Please add Catholic Relief Services to the list of organizations responding in Haiti. CRS has already committed to a $5 million emergency response, and its 300 staff in Haiti are well-positioned to commence immediate relief activities. CRS works with many local partner organizations in Haiti. Website: www.crs.org

Caritas Internationalis - From the email and website:

Caritas Internationalis always gets primary aid and medical workers on the ground very rapidly as it has a large network of charities and sister organizations. Caritas has been unable to contact its staff in the capital, although CRS has report the CRS office is intact and the staff present there at the time of the quake are safe. Please pray for the safety of all our staff and all the people of Haiti. An international emergency response team is deploying in Haiti, including Caritas Internationalis Communications Officer Michelle Hough.

Chuck Simmins also has this blog - http://northshorejournal.org/haiti-earthquake-aid - of coverage of the Haiti Earthquake Disaster and where to donate, including any organizations that may not be listed here.

Compassion International - From email:

Compassion International is already established in the Haiti, with Nationals in position to distribute aid. Take a look at their web site at Compassion.com They are a highly rated child advocacy ministry. They would be a good addition to your list.

Direct Relief International - From email:

Direct Relief International is aiding Haiti. They have a fantastic record of supplying medical supplies and aid.  (Based in Santa Barbara.)  

Doctors without Borders - Updated web page to reflect their Haiti assistance efforts.

Faith In Action International  - Founded in 1997 by Tom Braak, Faith in Action International is a Christian, grass-roots organization whose goal is to tangibly express God's love to people living in impoverished communities.

Famine Relief Foundation - From email:

My Name is Pastor Mark Dreibelbis.

My Orphanage is in Citi Soleil, Haiti We are located down by the loading docks in Port Au Prince.

We are 7 miles from the epicenter of the quake.
We need donations badly!

Our organization is Famine Relief Foundation
The website is:
Faminerelieffoundation.com

Our orphanage is called Mission Ranch Orphanage
We are 501c3 here in the states and a registered NGO in Haiti.

Please get us on the donation list we need immediate help.

In His service

Pastor Mark Dreibelbis
President
Famine Relief Foundation
Mission Ranch Orphanage

Habitat for Humanity - HFH has a special Haiti page. They're seeking financial support.

HaitiArise - HaitiArise has provided education and relief for the past six years. It's a registered Canadian charity and reports that 100 percent of donated funds go directly to Haiti.

Haiti Emergency Relief Fund - by Vanguard Public Foundation in San Francisco. Established for Haiti before the Earthquake.

International Medical Corps - From their website:

International Medical Corps’ Emergency Response Team is on the way to Haiti, focusing on providing lifesaving medical care and relief to survivors of this devastating earthquake.

Islamic Relief - Islamic Relief has launched an appeal for £1 million to respond to the disaster.

Life In Haiti - Founded in 2007 by R.J. (Bob) Davisson. They have a school in Chabin and report they're providing education to 400 children.

Life For The World - From an email:

My friends and my chldren at my orphanage and school are in deep trouble in Haiti. Eight years ago I built an orphanage and school in Source Matelas, Haiti called Maranatha Orphanage and School. We have 150+ children. We also feed thousands of the poor and befriend Haitians in Bon Repo and Port Au Prince. I personally know thousands of people that have been devastated by this disaster.

I am an American and you can go to our website at www.lifefortheworld.com and click on the lower right hand side to see the 50+ videos I have posted of our work and you will see me in at least half of them doing the work of feeding the poor in Port au prince and at our orphanage. We are seeking donations on our website to help the displaced with food, shelter and other necessities in the distressed areas of Port au Prince. You can also check out our facebook by searching facebook at "lifefortheworld".

Thank you for your support of our distressed brothers and sisters in Haiti!

Lutheran World Relief - From the website:

Lutheran World Relief is responding to the affected communities through its partners on the ground in Haiti. The coming days are critical as teams dispatch to Haiti to conduct search and rescue efforts. LWR anticipates a large response. Every dollar donated to this life-saving effort is critical to providing the necessary emergency support to the people of Haiti.

Merlin-USA - From an email:

In the aftermath of a massive earthquake that hit Haiti last night, Merlin has launched an emergency appeal to bring urgent humanitarian aid and assistance to those affected. Early reports suggest many buildings have sustained massive damage, including hospitals. Port-au-Prince and the surrounding area is very densely populated and millions of people have been affected. Merlin is assembling a team to assess the damage and health needs in the disaster zone. The team will arrive in Haiti on tomorrow, January 14th. Their first task will be to assess the most urgent medical needs, likely to be water, sanitation, shelter and disease prevention...Our initial fundraising target is $500,000 which will cover one month of the emergency response.

Mercy Corps - Mercy Corps' website is devoted to the Haiti Earthquake Disaster; they're deploying a team bound for Haiti now.

Mountain Top Ministries - Based in Chicago, they're organizing a medical team to go to Haiti.

Operation Blessing International - Operation Blessing International, the 7th largest international charity, has disaster relief teams on the ground and more en route. They are currently assessing the damage and beginning relief efforts.

Oxfam-America - From an email:

Has a Haiti Earthquake Response Fund. I choose them because they already had people in Haiti working on programs and created the donation link on their website within 2 hours.

Partners in Health - You can use the drop-down menu to specify donations to Haiti.

Real Help for Haiti - From the website:

The missionaries of RHFH count it an honor and a priviledge to serve the Haitian people. We trust as you prayerfully consider how to support what God is doing among the Haitian people, you too will see the beauty of the Haitians and be challanged and changed as well.

Sirona Cares - Has a trip scheduled for next Tuesday.  Michelle Lacourciere's the Director. You can contact her at the link to the blog.  The blog itself features posts on Haiti efforts and stories before the Earthquake struck.

The Salvation Army - The Salvation Army is active and on the ground in Haiti.  A representative was just on CNN's Larry King tonight.


Three Angels Children's Relief - Reportedly has a school and medical clinic in Petionville. 

Touch Ministries -  Recommended but no Haiti-specific page or announcement as of this writing.  




Yele Haiti - Wyclef Jean's Haiti initiative to assist his native Haiti.

UNICEF - UNICEF has set up a special page for donations for the children of Haiti. In an email, UNICEF's Alissa Pinck reports: "UNICEF’s country office in Haiti and the regional office located in Panama is on the ground and have already deployed emergency teams to assess the situation and determine what the additional emergency needs are for the people of Haiti."

What If Foundation - From the email:

I read your entry regarding Haitian aid donations; the What If? foundation is heavily involved with a feeding and education program for children in St Clare parish. As of the last report they have not been able to reach their contacts but continue to try, and will doubtless be active in assisting the people affected by this disaster. Please view their website at www.whatiffoundation.org and consider including them on your list.

William J. Clinton Foundation - From an email and the website:

My UN office and the rest of the UN system are monitoring the situation. While we don't yet know the full impact of this 7.0-magnitude earthquake, we do know that the survivors need immediate help. There's a way you can help Haiti recover and rebuild right now. (The link takes you to a special page for Haiti relief.)

World Vision - Has a Haiti-specific page with a range of donation levels.  The organization says they're on the ground in Haiti already.

If there are any Haiti-specific efforts not listed here, please send an email to zennie@zennie62.com and this entry will be updated.

Teddy Pendergrass dead at 59: the legendary prince of R&B

One of the most popular R&B singers of our time, Teddy Pendergrass is dead at 59 from colon cancer. EOnline explains that, Teddy Pendergrass - who's voice has been favorably compared to that of the late Barry White and called "Teddy Bear" - had what his son Teddy, Jr. described as a rough recovery from surgery for colon cancer eight months ago. The music legend and signpost of the Zeitgeist died Wednesday at Bryn Mawr Hospital in Philadelphia, his home town.

Teddy Pendergrass

Teddy Pendergrass got his start with the Philadelphia group Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes in 1970 when he was recruited as a drummer, then promoted to lead singer. That started a long string of 70s hits, from If You Don't Know Me By Now to The Love I Lost and Bad Luck.

Bad Luck:



Teddy became known for swooning women at his "For Women Only" concerts, and for selling over 10 million records during the amazing 80s. One of the post popular was made after he left Harold Melvin, thus taking away "the Blue note" which earned their albums platnum status; it's called Love T.K.O.

Here's Teddy singing it on Soul Train in 1980:



But it all nearly came to a fatal end in 1982. On March 18, 1982, in Philadelphia, Teddy Pendergrass' Silver Spirit Rolls- Royce reportedly ran into a guardrail and into a bank of trees, leaving the singer partially paralyzed.

He was wheelchair-bound and angry, but fought back with the help of his wife Karen and his family. He went on to make other songs, and was nominated for a Grammy for Voodoo in 1993.

Overall, Teddy Pendergrass produced 33 singles and received five Grammy nominations. He will forever been remembered and hailed as one of the pioneer success stories in black music, defining the music and culture of the 70s and 80s. Before his death Teddy Pendergrass had already achieved living legend status, and will forever hold that place in our lives. Teddy Pendergrass is the legendary prince of R&B.

More Teddy:

Go With Me (Come over to my place):



Close The Door: Apollo Hall of Fame Concert 1993



Teddy Pendergrass: RIP.