Saturday, May 2, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
hmmmmmm
All Things Considered, February 22, 2009 · No one wants to badmouth Florence Nightingale, but a new degree for nurses is causing bad blood between doctors and their longtime colleagues. The program confers the title of doctor on nurses, but some in the medical profession say only physicians should call themselves "doctor."
Dr. Steven Knope is a family practitioner in Tucson, Ariz. "If you're on an airline," he jokes, "and a poet with a Ph.D. is there and somebody has a heart attack, and they say 'Is there a doctor in the house?' — should the poet stand up?" Knope laughs. "Of course not."
Physicians such as Knope say the title of doctor implies a certain amount of training, hours in medical school that nurses just don't have. Dr. Ted Epperly, president of the American Association of Family Practitioners, says that while doctors place a high value on nurses, sharing the same title could confuse — and even harm — patients.
"I can just imagine a patient of mine walking into my exam room and saying, 'Now Dr. Smith, are you a doctor doctor, or are you a doctor nurse?'"
"I am a doctorally prepared nurse," says doctor nurse Ray Scarpa. A doctor, he says, "is a doctorall -prepared physician."
Scarpa works in the department of surgery at University Hospital in New Jersey. "I am not here to practice medicine, I am here to practice nursing," he says. "And I practice it at an advanced level, and I have earned the right to be called doctor."
For nursing students who begin right after college, it can take about six years to get the degree. While there is some overlap in knowledge, Scarpa says, doctors diagnose and treat while nurses have a wider focus including family, support and community.
Doctors Feel Threatened
The doctoral program for nurses is offered at more than 200 schools and began at the Columbia University School of Nursing. Dean Mary Mundinger says the tension is more about turf than patient confusion.
"It's about status," Mundinger says. "It's about ego, it's about presence. It's about standing in their community."
Here's where physicians and the new doctor nurses agree: Both groups say physicians feel threatened. They see the new breed of nurses as an invasion of their turf.
Fourth-year medical student Janet Pullockaran at University Hospital's emergency room understands the threat. "With all these new people — physician assistants, nurse practitioners coming into the field — maybe our training won't lead to a secure position in the future," she says.
A Role Doctors Can't Fill
But there's a shortage of primary caregivers, and it's possible the new nurses will help fill the void.
Louis Boeckel has throat cancer. He faces people in white coats day in and day out. He just had a tracheotomy and can't talk, so he writes notes on a pad for his wife, Carol, to read. When asked if he's worried about mixing up his physician with his nurse, Ray Scarpa, Boeckel writes, "Best doctor."
Boeckel's wife says they are concerned about who's providing their care, but to them, the title of doctor for their nurse just means he's that much more qualified.
"We view him as a doctor, because he does come and take care of all [Louis'] immediate needs as any doctor would do," she says.
The first exam to certify the doctor nurses was given in November. It's a modified version of a test given to physicians. The next test is scheduled for October, but some physicians are trying to prevent the National Board of Medical Examiners and the American Board of Comprehensive Care from administering it.
Dr. Steven Knope is a family practitioner in Tucson, Ariz. "If you're on an airline," he jokes, "and a poet with a Ph.D. is there and somebody has a heart attack, and they say 'Is there a doctor in the house?' — should the poet stand up?" Knope laughs. "Of course not."
Physicians such as Knope say the title of doctor implies a certain amount of training, hours in medical school that nurses just don't have. Dr. Ted Epperly, president of the American Association of Family Practitioners, says that while doctors place a high value on nurses, sharing the same title could confuse — and even harm — patients.
"I can just imagine a patient of mine walking into my exam room and saying, 'Now Dr. Smith, are you a doctor doctor, or are you a doctor nurse?'"
"I am a doctorally prepared nurse," says doctor nurse Ray Scarpa. A doctor, he says, "is a doctorall -prepared physician."
Scarpa works in the department of surgery at University Hospital in New Jersey. "I am not here to practice medicine, I am here to practice nursing," he says. "And I practice it at an advanced level, and I have earned the right to be called doctor."
For nursing students who begin right after college, it can take about six years to get the degree. While there is some overlap in knowledge, Scarpa says, doctors diagnose and treat while nurses have a wider focus including family, support and community.
Doctors Feel Threatened
The doctoral program for nurses is offered at more than 200 schools and began at the Columbia University School of Nursing. Dean Mary Mundinger says the tension is more about turf than patient confusion.
"It's about status," Mundinger says. "It's about ego, it's about presence. It's about standing in their community."
Here's where physicians and the new doctor nurses agree: Both groups say physicians feel threatened. They see the new breed of nurses as an invasion of their turf.
Fourth-year medical student Janet Pullockaran at University Hospital's emergency room understands the threat. "With all these new people — physician assistants, nurse practitioners coming into the field — maybe our training won't lead to a secure position in the future," she says.
A Role Doctors Can't Fill
But there's a shortage of primary caregivers, and it's possible the new nurses will help fill the void.
Louis Boeckel has throat cancer. He faces people in white coats day in and day out. He just had a tracheotomy and can't talk, so he writes notes on a pad for his wife, Carol, to read. When asked if he's worried about mixing up his physician with his nurse, Ray Scarpa, Boeckel writes, "Best doctor."
Boeckel's wife says they are concerned about who's providing their care, but to them, the title of doctor for their nurse just means he's that much more qualified.
"We view him as a doctor, because he does come and take care of all [Louis'] immediate needs as any doctor would do," she says.
The first exam to certify the doctor nurses was given in November. It's a modified version of a test given to physicians. The next test is scheduled for October, but some physicians are trying to prevent the National Board of Medical Examiners and the American Board of Comprehensive Care from administering it.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Jump .....Jump ......into Traffic ...PLEASE
A CL Reader spotted former Kris Kross member Chris Mac Daddy Kelly, 30, at Piedmont park in ATL earlier this week. The former 90s rap star, was just chilling and enjoying the atmosphere. He was still rocking his pants backwards like he did in the 90s.
As of 2007, the group supposedly reunited and are currently working on different projects with Jermaine Dupri. & word is he has his own label called C.co records. No word on what his former group member Chris Daddy Mac Smith is doing.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
K. West New Ole Lady
"Long hair, balhead, shit I don't care, I don't ever remember askin' a bitch for no hair."
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Store gives coupons for Grape Soda & Cornbread for black history month (snakehandler are you behind this??)
We perpetuate these sterotypes all the time...can we be mad anymore?
One thing is clear about Acme Markets' recent Black History Month circular: It sparked a debate.
Two NAACP chapters have different views about the circular. It has forced Supervalu, which owns Acme, to defend itself against accusations of racism.
All for an advertisement the company says it has been running for seven years and never caused a flap before.
In its Jan. 29 circulars, under a "Black History Month" banner, a set of specials is advertised for products including corn bread, collard greens and grape soda. Since then, the Delaware chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People says more than a hundred people have complained the products perpetuate stereotypes. Delaware NAACP President Cecil C. Wilson called for Acme to immediately run a full-page apology "in all of Delaware's newspapers."
"It's racist, it's insensitive, it's not culturally correct," Wilson said. "Don't assume that to celebrate Black History Month that we must have corn bread. Whoever put this ad together thought it'd be a good joke."
Officials from Supervalu did not respond to interview requests Friday. In a statement, the company said the advertisement was designed to highlight Black History Month and many of the items are products supplied through the company's "supplier diversity program."
"For example, Glory Foods, an African American-owned manufacturer, is featured with four of its products because it is our way of supporting and strengthening their brand with added exposure during the month of February," the statement said.
Supervalu, based in Eden Prairie, Minn., operates 12 Acme supermarkets in Delaware and 118 others in Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The promotional ad, which went to 3.5 million households, also advertises a President Barack Obama DVD and plaque, paper towels, dish soap, energy drinks and Jose Ole chimichangas and tacos.
The ad wasn't offensive to Jerry Mondesire, president of the Philadelphia chapter of the NAACP, whose organization has teamed up with Supervalu for events in the past, including in-store promotions.
Mondesire said Supervalu doesn't need to apologize for anything.
"I eat those foods, so it's fine if someone markets those foods to me," Mondesire said of the corn bread and collard greens. "A lot of companies market to African-Americans during the month of February."
Wilson, on the other hand, said Acme shouldn't be discounting any foods specifically because it's Black History Month.
"What they're trying to do is pull in a particular group of people during a particular month to jack up their sales," he said. "If they want to continue to do that, they're going to see a decline."
Acme discounts products tied to 21 other holiday and ethnic celebrations. During Hispanic Heritage Month -- starting Sept. 15, Acme discounts foods such as salsa and avocados. Maria Matos of the Latin American Community Center said those discounts wouldn't offend her. Instead, she'd "head over there to shop in a heartbeat."
But because food isn't tied to Black History Month, the discounts demonstrate that Supervalu doesn't comprehend the meaning of the observation, said Ken Smikle, the founder of Chicago-based Target Market News, a firm that focuses on marketing-industry activities that target black consumers. Any controversy could easily have been avoided, Smikle said, had Supervalu sought advice from a black advertising agency.
"It's not like Thanksgiving or Christmas, and this has nothing to do with the Hispanic holiday," he said. "What's offensive about this is how that store interprets how I or anyone else celebrate Black History Month."
In Colonial times, slave owners would discard the remains of butchered hogs, and slaves would cook and season those parts, such as chitterlings and feet, into delicacies. The Acme ad took on a similar theme, Wilson said, by discounting Acme soda and maple syrup instead of the brand-name counterparts.
"This whole thing is cheapo," he said. "All the products on sale are typically low-grade products that they have to clean off the shelves. I don't know what their motive is, but it still reeks with suspicion."
Jerome Brown Jr. of New Castle felt that the ad was stereotypical, but not racist.
"I have a few friends who don't use any of these items," said Brown, who is black. "Putting collard greens and hot sauce on sale makes it more of an ignorant stereotype -- but that doesn't mean I'll stop shopping at Acme."
Saturday, February 7, 2009
LOR
To Whom It May Concern:
I am a Real Estate Paralegal formerly employed by Citibank, I had the opportunity to work with Rosie **last name deleted** as my assistant while handling foreclosures and commercial loans. When we first started out, Rosie was doing an excellent job, she could be depended on no matter what the situation, shortly thereafter the bitch started to hang out downstairs on the pedway between our office building and the one adjacent to us, she was down there at least 2 times in the morning and 3 times in the afternoon smoking Kool Super Long cigarettes. When the year end came she was almost carted off to jail because instead of paying invoices for the Bank, she was paying her AT&T, ComEd, Cable and Peoples Gas bills from the Banks account. I cannot believe she would even think of asking me to write a letter of recommendation for her, what I recommend is you lock your damn door when you see her coming in your direction and please whatever you do let the dog out or else she’ll never go away. She used to have a noose hanging in her cubicle from the tall wall with a picture of a white man dangling from it. She says she is not a racist, but I sure as hell can’t tell. She would walk down the hall and would not allow them to invade her space, she would stop and place her back against the wall and give them one of those cheap sheepish grins that says “I’m gonna shoot you in the back as soon as you pass me”! Kudos to Rosie for a job she never got done, she got paid but for what, I don’t know.
But hey don’t take my word for it, hire her and see what I mean firsthand. Afterall, there are 2 sides to every story.
Oh by the way, I’m supposed to say she’s an exceptional worker who handled all of her responsibilities in a calm and timely manner. Yeh right, I remember I asked her to help me file some loan documents in August, 2002 she finished the filing in January, 2003, now that’s what I call timely.
Best Regards,
**Mygirl's trifling aunt**
I am a Real Estate Paralegal formerly employed by Citibank, I had the opportunity to work with Rosie **last name deleted** as my assistant while handling foreclosures and commercial loans. When we first started out, Rosie was doing an excellent job, she could be depended on no matter what the situation, shortly thereafter the bitch started to hang out downstairs on the pedway between our office building and the one adjacent to us, she was down there at least 2 times in the morning and 3 times in the afternoon smoking Kool Super Long cigarettes. When the year end came she was almost carted off to jail because instead of paying invoices for the Bank, she was paying her AT&T, ComEd, Cable and Peoples Gas bills from the Banks account. I cannot believe she would even think of asking me to write a letter of recommendation for her, what I recommend is you lock your damn door when you see her coming in your direction and please whatever you do let the dog out or else she’ll never go away. She used to have a noose hanging in her cubicle from the tall wall with a picture of a white man dangling from it. She says she is not a racist, but I sure as hell can’t tell. She would walk down the hall and would not allow them to invade her space, she would stop and place her back against the wall and give them one of those cheap sheepish grins that says “I’m gonna shoot you in the back as soon as you pass me”! Kudos to Rosie for a job she never got done, she got paid but for what, I don’t know.
But hey don’t take my word for it, hire her and see what I mean firsthand. Afterall, there are 2 sides to every story.
Oh by the way, I’m supposed to say she’s an exceptional worker who handled all of her responsibilities in a calm and timely manner. Yeh right, I remember I asked her to help me file some loan documents in August, 2002 she finished the filing in January, 2003, now that’s what I call timely.
Best Regards,
**Mygirl's trifling aunt**
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Would u take it?
IBM to laid-off: Want a job in India?
Employees who would otherwise face layoffs from their North American jobs at IBM are being given the chance to work abroad through 'Project Match.'
By Karina Frayter, CNN
Last Updated: February 5, 2009: 3:57 PM ET
NEW YORK (CNN) -- IBM employees being laid off in North America now have an alternative to joining the growing ranks of the unemployed - work for the company abroad.
Big Blue is offering its outgoing workers in the United States and Canada a chance to take an IBM job in India, Nigeria, Russia or other countries.
Through a program dubbed Project Match, IBM will help interested workers whose jobs are on the chopping block to "identify potential opportunities in growth markets and facilitate consideration by hiring managers in those markets," according to an internal company document obtained by CNN.
The company also will help with moving costs and provide visa assistance, it says.
Other countries with IBM opportunities include Argentina, Brazil, China, Czech Republic, Hungary, Mexico, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Turkey, and United Arab Emirates, according to the document.
Only "satisfactory performers" who are "willing to work on local terms and conditions" should pursue the jobs, the document says. IBM would not immediately confirm if it means that the workers would be paid local wages and would be subject to local labor laws.
A spokesman for Alliance@IBM, a workers' group that is affiliated with the Communications Workers of America but does not have official union status at IBM, slammed the initiative.
"IBM not only is offshoring its work to low-cost countries, now IBM wants employees to offshore themselves," spokesman Lee Conrad told CNN. "At a time of rising unemployment IBM should be looking to keep both the work and the workers in the United States."
The Armonk, N.Y.-based company has confirmed recent layoffs but has not provided any specifics on the number of people affected.
Conrad said IBM (IBM, Fortune 500) has laid off more than 4,000 workers in the United States since the beginning of the year, but called that "a conservative number."
"This is unacceptable to the Alliance and we are pursuing this by asking our members and all IBM employees to contact their political representatives to demand an accounting and transparency in job cuts and offshoring from IBM," Conrad said.
First Published: February 5, 2009: 3:30 PM ET
Employees who would otherwise face layoffs from their North American jobs at IBM are being given the chance to work abroad through 'Project Match.'
By Karina Frayter, CNN
Last Updated: February 5, 2009: 3:57 PM ET
NEW YORK (CNN) -- IBM employees being laid off in North America now have an alternative to joining the growing ranks of the unemployed - work for the company abroad.
Big Blue is offering its outgoing workers in the United States and Canada a chance to take an IBM job in India, Nigeria, Russia or other countries.
Through a program dubbed Project Match, IBM will help interested workers whose jobs are on the chopping block to "identify potential opportunities in growth markets and facilitate consideration by hiring managers in those markets," according to an internal company document obtained by CNN.
The company also will help with moving costs and provide visa assistance, it says.
Other countries with IBM opportunities include Argentina, Brazil, China, Czech Republic, Hungary, Mexico, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Turkey, and United Arab Emirates, according to the document.
Only "satisfactory performers" who are "willing to work on local terms and conditions" should pursue the jobs, the document says. IBM would not immediately confirm if it means that the workers would be paid local wages and would be subject to local labor laws.
A spokesman for Alliance@IBM, a workers' group that is affiliated with the Communications Workers of America but does not have official union status at IBM, slammed the initiative.
"IBM not only is offshoring its work to low-cost countries, now IBM wants employees to offshore themselves," spokesman Lee Conrad told CNN. "At a time of rising unemployment IBM should be looking to keep both the work and the workers in the United States."
The Armonk, N.Y.-based company has confirmed recent layoffs but has not provided any specifics on the number of people affected.
Conrad said IBM (IBM, Fortune 500) has laid off more than 4,000 workers in the United States since the beginning of the year, but called that "a conservative number."
"This is unacceptable to the Alliance and we are pursuing this by asking our members and all IBM employees to contact their political representatives to demand an accounting and transparency in job cuts and offshoring from IBM," Conrad said.
First Published: February 5, 2009: 3:30 PM ET
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Hard As Times In 29
HAVE MERCY
Former-USC Women's Volleyball Coach Cuts Entire ASU Cheer Squad
Rory MacDonald, TrojanWire
FoxNEWS is picking up a story from TheDirty.com that Lisa Love, USC's Women's Volleyball Coach (1989-98), and now Arizona State's Athletic Director, made the decision late Thursday evening to cut the entire cheer squad from next year's event because of a photo that features 6 of the cheerleaders posing in nothing but their bras and panties.
Although only six members of the squad are shown in the photographs, the entire 16-member squad will suffer the consequences, MyFOXPhoenix reported.
The cheerleaders told MyFOXPhoenix that the photographs were a result of college kids goofing off, and they believe the decision to disband the team has been in the works for a while. The photographs are two years old, and were taken at a “cheer party.”
Now to the picture... not that we need to tell you something about ASU cheerleaders is NSFW, but click the Continued... button to see what all the fuss is about.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Fuggg'ed UPPPPPPPPPPP
Frozen in indifference: Life goes on around body found in vacant Detroit warehouse
Charlie LeDuff / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- This city has not always been a gentle place, but a series of events over the past few, frigid days causes one to wonder how cold the collective heart has grown.
It starts with a phone call made by a man who said his friend found a dead body in the elevator shaft of an abandoned building on the city's west side.
"He's encased in ice, except his legs, which are sticking out like Popsicle sticks," the caller phoned to tell this reporter.
"Why didn't your friend call the police?"
"He was trespassing and didn't want to get in trouble," the caller replied. As it happens, the caller's friend is an urban explorer who gets thrills rummaging through and photographing the ruins of Detroit. It turns out that this explorer last week was playing hockey with a group of other explorers on the frozen waters that had collected in the basement of the building. None of the men called the police, the explorer said. They, in fact, continued their hockey game.
Before calling the police, this reporter went to check on the tip, skeptical of a hoax. Sure enough, in the well of the cargo elevator, two feet jutted out above the ice. Closer inspection revealed that the rest of the body was encased in 2-3 feet of ice, the body prostrate, suspended into the ice like a porpoising walrus.
The hem of a beige jacket could be made out, as could the cuffs of blue jeans. The socks were relatively clean and white. The left shoe was worn at the heel but carried fresh laces. Adding to the macabre and incongruous scene was a pillow that gently propped up the left foot of the corpse. It looked almost peaceful.
What happened to this person, one wonders? Murder in Motown is a definite possibility. Perhaps it was death by alcoholic stupor. Perhaps the person was crawling around in the elevator shaft trying to retrieve some metal that he could sell at a scrap yard. In any event, there the person was. Stone-cold dead.
Read the rest here: http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?A...TRO08/901290400
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
I'm jumping over to Snakehandler's team...
Just forget it..i give up...
the first 45 seconds were enough to make me flatline..
Forever.. pronounced "Fuhevah" gives birth to Cinsere...
the first 45 seconds were enough to make me flatline..
Forever.. pronounced "Fuhevah" gives birth to Cinsere...
Monday, January 26, 2009
Little Lady or LineBacker?
KrazyLegs, you may wanna think twice about trying out for pro-ball. I hear she'll be at tryouts too!
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
WTF.....So Sad
Meet Reggie Love: Barack Obama's Body Man
Reggie Love is Barack Obama's body man. What is a body man you ask? The personal assistant responsible for shadowing the presidential candidate making sure he has everything he needs, and nothing he doesn't like. Today's New York Times profiled the 26-year-old former Duke basketball and football player. Reggie gave the inside scoop from the campaign trail:
Reggie and Barack start the day with a dawn workout and end it winding
down to SportsCenter, during which Barack flosses his teeth.
Barack does not like mayonnaise, salt and vinegar potato chips, asparagus, or soft drinks (just water, please).
To see what Reggie always has on hand for Obama, and more Reggie Love info, read more.
Reggie always keeps a supply of the senator's must-haves: MET-Rx chocolate roasted-peanut protein bars, and bottles of organic Black Forest Berry Honest Tea.
If limited food options are available, a cheddar cheeseburger is the go-to option.
Talking heads are banned. The pair never watches CNN or MSNBC.
Obama also gave the newspaper the inside scoop on Reggie, who gave "the boss" a silver nano iPod for his 46th birthday. Obama told the NY Times:
“So I’ve gotten pretty fond of Jay-Z,” Mr. Obama said. “He’s broadened my horizons in the hip-hop world.” In turn, Mr. Obama said he had gotten Mr. Love into “everything from John Coltrane to Frank Sinatra. I think he’s got the most eclectic music of any 26-year-old.” the senator said.
Do you think a body man like Reggie Love gives Barack the advantage he needs? Are you ready to elect a president that doesn't enjoy asparagus?
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
WTH!!!...WHY are we closing GITMO?!?!?!
Orders to close Guantanamo facility drafted, officials say
Story Highlights
NEW: Order expected to call for closing facility within a year, review of all cases
Earlier, military judge granted Obama's request to stay cases for 120 days
Among cases stayed is that of alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba (CNN) -- The Obama administration is drafting executive orders calling for the closure of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, two administration officials said.
The revelation coincided with a judge's decision on Wednesday to halt the September 11 terrorism cases at the behest of President Obama. On Tuesday, he directed Defense Secretary Robert Gates to ask prosecutors to seek stays for 120 days so terrorism cases at the facility can be reviewed, according to a military official close to the proceedings.
The officials say the White House is expected to call for:
• Closing the detention facility within a year.
• A systematic review of detention policies and procedures and a review of all individual cases.
• A policy requiring the Army field manual for interrogations to apply to all people in U.S. custody. This is aimed at closing any potential loophole that might allow the CIA to engage in what many say are coercive interrogations.
It was not clear who would conduct the review, although the White House, the Defense Department and the Justice Department are expected to be deeply involved, the officials said. Watch experts debate the Gitmo dilemma »
The Pentagon has been reviewing the possibility of sending detainees who are not released or sent back to their home countries to Camp Pendleton in California; the Navy brig at Charleston, South Carolina; and Fort Leavenworth in Kansas.
There has been significant opposition from members of Congress in these states to such a plan.
Obama, who assumed office at noon Tuesday, appeared to be moving quickly on his campaign promise to close the controversial facility.
There are five defendants in the September 11 terrorist attacks case, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the confessed organizer of the operation. The other defendants are Ramzi Bin al-Shibh, Walid bin Attash, Ali Aziz Abdul Ali and Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi.
A different judge granted a prosecution request for a continuance in the case of another detainee at Guantanamo, an official said.
That case involves Omar Khadr, a Canadian charged with the murder of Sgt. Christopher Speer in Afghanistan and providing material support for terrorism. Khadr was 15 years old when he was captured in July 2002. His trial was set to begin next week. Watch what may happen to Gitmo's inmates »
"The defense did not oppose the prosecution's request for a continuance, so Presiding Judge Pat Parrish has granted the motion for a 120-day continuance," said Joe DellaVedova, a military commissions spokesman.
Prosecutors in all ongoing cases were expected to file requests for stays Wednesday, a military official said.
The camp holds about 245 detainees. Twenty-one of them have been charged with crimes, and 60 others have been cleared for release, but no country has agreed to take them.
Josh Colangelo, an attorney who represents some detainees through the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York, said the 120-day stay would affect only people charged with crimes.
"For the majority of detainees who never have been and never will be charged with crimes, this doesn't have any particular meaning," Colangelo said.
"Taking a step back, though, it shows that the Obama administration knows what virtually the rest of the world has known for quite a long time, which is that these military commissions are unfairly constituted and beyond that are perceived as being show trials by most of the world."
Among the remaining detainees, it should be determined who should be prosecuted and who should be released, said Sarah Mendelson, director of the human rights and security initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank.
For some, FBI agents and prosecutors will need to build cases with untainted evidence, not information gained from torture, according to a column Mendelson co-wrote with a former FBI special agent for The Washington Post about two months ago. Watch former detainee describe conditions at Guantanamo Bay »
Gabor Rona, an observer for Human Rights Watch, also called the order "a first step."
"The very fact that it's one of his first acts reflects a sense of urgency that the U.S. cannot afford one more day of counterproductive and illegal proceedings in the fight against terrorism," said Rona, who was in Cuba to watch the proceedings scheduled this week.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, has introduced legislation that would close the Guantanamo detention facility. It calls for detainees' cases to be disposed of in the following ways: charge the detainees with crimes and try them in the United States through the federal courts or military justice system, transfer them to an international tribunal, send them to their homeland or to the custody of another country, hold them as prisoners of war or release them.
Her legislation, co-sponsored by Sens. Jay Rockefeller, D-West Virginia, and Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, would also reform detention and interrogation practices, ending the "indefinite and secret detention and coercive interrogations that have been used by the CIA and at Guantanamo since 2002."
CNN's Susan Candiotti and Laurie Ure contributed to this report.
Story Highlights
NEW: Order expected to call for closing facility within a year, review of all cases
Earlier, military judge granted Obama's request to stay cases for 120 days
Among cases stayed is that of alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba (CNN) -- The Obama administration is drafting executive orders calling for the closure of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, two administration officials said.
The revelation coincided with a judge's decision on Wednesday to halt the September 11 terrorism cases at the behest of President Obama. On Tuesday, he directed Defense Secretary Robert Gates to ask prosecutors to seek stays for 120 days so terrorism cases at the facility can be reviewed, according to a military official close to the proceedings.
The officials say the White House is expected to call for:
• Closing the detention facility within a year.
• A systematic review of detention policies and procedures and a review of all individual cases.
• A policy requiring the Army field manual for interrogations to apply to all people in U.S. custody. This is aimed at closing any potential loophole that might allow the CIA to engage in what many say are coercive interrogations.
It was not clear who would conduct the review, although the White House, the Defense Department and the Justice Department are expected to be deeply involved, the officials said. Watch experts debate the Gitmo dilemma »
The Pentagon has been reviewing the possibility of sending detainees who are not released or sent back to their home countries to Camp Pendleton in California; the Navy brig at Charleston, South Carolina; and Fort Leavenworth in Kansas.
There has been significant opposition from members of Congress in these states to such a plan.
Obama, who assumed office at noon Tuesday, appeared to be moving quickly on his campaign promise to close the controversial facility.
There are five defendants in the September 11 terrorist attacks case, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the confessed organizer of the operation. The other defendants are Ramzi Bin al-Shibh, Walid bin Attash, Ali Aziz Abdul Ali and Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi.
A different judge granted a prosecution request for a continuance in the case of another detainee at Guantanamo, an official said.
That case involves Omar Khadr, a Canadian charged with the murder of Sgt. Christopher Speer in Afghanistan and providing material support for terrorism. Khadr was 15 years old when he was captured in July 2002. His trial was set to begin next week. Watch what may happen to Gitmo's inmates »
"The defense did not oppose the prosecution's request for a continuance, so Presiding Judge Pat Parrish has granted the motion for a 120-day continuance," said Joe DellaVedova, a military commissions spokesman.
Prosecutors in all ongoing cases were expected to file requests for stays Wednesday, a military official said.
The camp holds about 245 detainees. Twenty-one of them have been charged with crimes, and 60 others have been cleared for release, but no country has agreed to take them.
Josh Colangelo, an attorney who represents some detainees through the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York, said the 120-day stay would affect only people charged with crimes.
"For the majority of detainees who never have been and never will be charged with crimes, this doesn't have any particular meaning," Colangelo said.
"Taking a step back, though, it shows that the Obama administration knows what virtually the rest of the world has known for quite a long time, which is that these military commissions are unfairly constituted and beyond that are perceived as being show trials by most of the world."
Among the remaining detainees, it should be determined who should be prosecuted and who should be released, said Sarah Mendelson, director of the human rights and security initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank.
For some, FBI agents and prosecutors will need to build cases with untainted evidence, not information gained from torture, according to a column Mendelson co-wrote with a former FBI special agent for The Washington Post about two months ago. Watch former detainee describe conditions at Guantanamo Bay »
Gabor Rona, an observer for Human Rights Watch, also called the order "a first step."
"The very fact that it's one of his first acts reflects a sense of urgency that the U.S. cannot afford one more day of counterproductive and illegal proceedings in the fight against terrorism," said Rona, who was in Cuba to watch the proceedings scheduled this week.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, has introduced legislation that would close the Guantanamo detention facility. It calls for detainees' cases to be disposed of in the following ways: charge the detainees with crimes and try them in the United States through the federal courts or military justice system, transfer them to an international tribunal, send them to their homeland or to the custody of another country, hold them as prisoners of war or release them.
Her legislation, co-sponsored by Sens. Jay Rockefeller, D-West Virginia, and Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, would also reform detention and interrogation practices, ending the "indefinite and secret detention and coercive interrogations that have been used by the CIA and at Guantanamo since 2002."
CNN's Susan Candiotti and Laurie Ure contributed to this report.
Aaron McGruder
"The Boondocks,” comic strip and animated series creator Aaron McGruder entertained, intrigued and outraged his audience at Earlham College on Monday night.
Appearing at the college for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, McGruder answered questions posed by the audience and by associate professor James Logan. Mixing political opinion and satire is hard to do in comics and cartoons, he said. “It’s not having a statement, it’s entertaining people so they listen.”
On the eve of President Barack Obama’s inauguration, McGruder is “cautiously pessimistic” about the presidency. “I don’t think you’re going to see any dramatic change from Barack Obama,” said McGruder, who wore a “Boondocks” T-shirt over a black long-sleeve shirt and jeans. “I’m hoping he proves me completely wrong.”
McGruder bases his opinions of the U.S. presidency on the 2000 election and how nothing has been done since then to change the election system. “It was a sham then … It’s got to still be a sham,” McGruder said. “I don’t want to rain on anyone’s parade, but it’s what I tend to do.”
On the topic of race and ethnicity, McGruder said that to him, Obama is not black because he is not a descendant of a slave. “The person who is one of us in the White House is Michelle Obama and her momma,” McGruder said.
His comments outraged Dionne Robinson, 44, of Richmond. “I want my $5 back,” :dead2: she said. “It’s one thing to have an opinion, but he doesn’t have any facts. He needs to go back to college.”
Robinson said that people were enslaved in many parts of the world, not just in America.
Her son, Zane Robinson, 14, of Richmond watches “The Boondocks,” but was disappointed by the show’s creator. “He’s nothing like his show,” Zane said. “I thought it was kind of boring. His answers were long and they didn’t make any sense.”
Appearing at the college for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, McGruder answered questions posed by the audience and by associate professor James Logan. Mixing political opinion and satire is hard to do in comics and cartoons, he said. “It’s not having a statement, it’s entertaining people so they listen.”
On the eve of President Barack Obama’s inauguration, McGruder is “cautiously pessimistic” about the presidency. “I don’t think you’re going to see any dramatic change from Barack Obama,” said McGruder, who wore a “Boondocks” T-shirt over a black long-sleeve shirt and jeans. “I’m hoping he proves me completely wrong.”
McGruder bases his opinions of the U.S. presidency on the 2000 election and how nothing has been done since then to change the election system. “It was a sham then … It’s got to still be a sham,” McGruder said. “I don’t want to rain on anyone’s parade, but it’s what I tend to do.”
On the topic of race and ethnicity, McGruder said that to him, Obama is not black because he is not a descendant of a slave. “The person who is one of us in the White House is Michelle Obama and her momma,” McGruder said.
His comments outraged Dionne Robinson, 44, of Richmond. “I want my $5 back,” :dead2: she said. “It’s one thing to have an opinion, but he doesn’t have any facts. He needs to go back to college.”
Robinson said that people were enslaved in many parts of the world, not just in America.
Her son, Zane Robinson, 14, of Richmond watches “The Boondocks,” but was disappointed by the show’s creator. “He’s nothing like his show,” Zane said. “I thought it was kind of boring. His answers were long and they didn’t make any sense.”
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Defeating the Purpose.....
I'm embarrassed as all get out. I'm officially protesting Jay-Z and Jeezy forever...
Jeezy & Jay-Z rap "My president is Black" at the Hip Hop Inaugural Ball and riddle the song with the "N-word". They say it at least 70 times. As if comparing the president to a Lambo is not enough...
Jay-Z My President is black Remix LIVE 1-18-09 from pleasedontstare on Vimeo.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Monday, January 5, 2009
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