danja's Blog

Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe can.
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>> i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg.
>> The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at
>> Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a
>> wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be
>> in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed
>> it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey
>> lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas
>> tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! if you can raed tihs forwrad it.
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>> ONLY FORWARD IF YOU CAN READ THIS

 

What an interesting study at Cambridge! I can read through this just as I would anything else. The human brain is definitely a work of art. Amazing.

A video in which rapper-actor Mos Def asked students around the country to walk out Oct. 1 to support the "Jena Six" escaped comment by this town's mayor. But when John Mellencamp sang, "Jena, take your nooses down," he took issue.

"The town of Jena has for months been mischaracterized in the media and portrayed as the epicenter of hatred, racism and a place where justice is denied," Jena Mayor Murphy R. McMillin wrote in a statement on town letterhead faxed on Friday to The Associated Press.

He said he had previously stayed quiet, hoping that the town's courtesy to people who have visited over the past year would speak for itself. "However, the Mellencamp video is so inflammatory, so defamatory, that a line has been crossed and enough is enough."

Mellencamp could not comment immediately because he was on a plane from California to Indiana and had not heard about McMillin's comments, publicist Bob Merlis said late Friday.

A brief note from Mellencamp posted Thursday on his Web site says he is telling a story, not reporting. "The song is not written as an indictment of the people of Jena but, rather, as a condemnation of racism," it says.

I feel that Mellencamp as an artist did what he felt was needed in writing that song. It was an act that was very big of him and probably will bring him much criticism, but there are alot of upstanding caucasian Americans as well as other races that see what is wrong with the whole Jena 6 situation. Kudos for Mellencamp!

Listen to the controversial song and watch the video at the link below.

http://www.mellencamp.com/

Before three nooses were hung from a tree on the campus of Jena High School in Jena, Louisiana, last summer, most people had never heard of the small Southern town (population 3,000). But after a series of racially charged incidents that harkened back to the violent, divisive pre-civil rights era, the world's attention has turned to Jena, which will be the site of a large protest Thursday in support of a half-dozen black teens who have been dubbed the "Jena Six." The six — Robert Bailey Jr. (17), Theo Shaw (17), Carwin Jones (18), Bryant Purvis (17), Mychal Bell (16) and a 14-year-old boy — were arrested in connection with an assault on a white student in December, with all but the minor initially charged as adults on attempted second-degree murder charges and all six expelled from school. While the charges on the teens have been reduced, supporters have alleged that their harsh prosecution was tainted by racial prejudice in a town that, unlike most of Louisiana, is predominantly white (85 percent), and where it has been suggested that justice is not colorblind. "What this case has exposed is the deep disparities in our justice system and how there is a two-tiered justice system in the South and many other places," said Booth Gunter, public-affairs director for the Southern Poverty Law Center. "This harshness for black defendants, contrasted with more leniency for white defendants and, in this case, a number of elements — nooses hung from a tree — recall the days of Jim Crow when 'Southern justice' was commonplace." The troubles began in summer 2006, when a black student, Kenneth Purvis, asked the school's principal during an August assembly if he could sit under the "white tree," a large, shady tree on campus that had traditionally been a hangout for white students. The principal said students could sit wherever they wanted, but the next morning, three nooses were discovered hanging from the tree. The students responsible were found and expulsion was recommended by the principal, but LaSalle Parish Schools Superintendent Roy Breithaupt disagreed and reduced the punishment to three days of in-school suspension, saying the noose hanging seemed more like a prank than a threat. Apparently angered by the reduced punishment, a group of black students organized a sit-in under the tree in September that was dispersed by police, who had already responded to several calls of fights between black and white students after the noose incident. A school assembly that month, at which white and black students pointedly sat on opposite sides, didn't help matters, as a local district attorney — upset at his inability to calm the room down — reportedly glared at the side of the room where the black students were sitting, held up a pen and said, "with one stroke of my pen, I can make your life disappear." Tensions continued to mount and police were called in to patrol the halls of the school, which was put on total lockdown the week of September 8, 2006. Several days later, the school board rejected a request by some black students to address the issues plaguing the school, saying they felt the noose incident had been resolved satisfactorily. Things were relatively quiet for much of the rest of September and October, mostly due to the soaring fortunes of the football team, whose winning streak was helped by the efforts of some key black players. But shortly after the season ended on November 30, a fire burned down the main academic building of Jena High School in what was believed to be arson, with blacks pointing the finger at whites and vice versa. The fire preceded a series of ugly racial conflicts that escalated tensions in the town. The night after the fire, then-16-year-old Robert Bailey Jr. was attacked and beaten when he and some black friends attempted to enter a party that was mostly attended by whites. On December 2, Bailey got into a verbal altercation with a white student who had also attended the party, with the white teen running to his truck and pulling out a shotgun. Bailey and his friends chased the teen and took the gun away, leading to charges of theft of a firearm, second-degree robbery and disturbing the peace for Bailey, while the student who pulled the weapon was not charged at all. At Jena High School that Monday, December 4, a white student, Justin Barker, 17, was allegedly overheard bragging to friends about how Bailey had been whipped by a white man. When he stepped into the school's courtyard, Barker was attacked by a group of black students who knocked Barker out with one punch and then kicked him in the head repeatedly. He was treated and released from a local hospital and attended a party later that night, while the six were arrested and all but the 14-year-old charged as adults. The escalation of the charges — which could have kept the boys in prison for more than 30 years — outraged many of the town's black residents, who said the charges were way out of line with the crime. "It reminded African-Americans of what they've gone through and where they've come and that those days aren't over yet and that we still have this system in the south that grinds down black people and treats them unfairly," Gunter said. "This case can serve as an awakening that these things still go on." In June, on the morning of his trial, the charges against Bell were reduced to aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy. The black community again protested, taking issue with the battery charge, which requires the use of a "deadly weapon" — in this case the gym shoe that Bell was wearing when he kicked Barker. District Attorney Reed Walters argued the shoe was indeed a deadly weapon. Bell was found guilty by an all-white jury — which included two people who were allegedly friendly with the DA and one who was a friend of the victim's father — after his court-appointed public defender did not call any witnesses. He now faces up to 22 years in prison at his sentencing hearing on Thursday — the conspiracy charge was dropped on September 4 and the battery conviction overturned on Friday when a court of appeals ruled that Bell should not have been tried as an adult. He remains in jail while prosecutors deliberate whether to file new charges against him in juvenile court. The charges against Jones and Shaw were also reduced to aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy on September 4, with Bailey's charges also reduced on September 10. Bryant Purvis has yet to be arraigned in the case and is the only remaining Jena Six member to be charged as an adult with attempted second-degree murder. Many of the young men remained in jail for months because their families could not afford their bail, which ranged from $70,000 for Purvis to $138,000 for Bailey. Bell was visited in jail by the Reverend Al Sharpton on Wednesday (September 19) in advance of Thursday's planned protest. According to CNN, some citizens of Jena have expressed concerns that the small town cannot handle the thousands of expected protesters scheduled to arrive by bus Thursday morning for a march to the high school. Some business owners have boarded up their shops downtown and left Jena fearing violence or a boycott from protesters, though Sharpton reiterated on Wednesday that he is urging supporters of the Jena Six to march peacefully and focus on what he said was the legal injustice against the black teens. "I don't think the sense of injustice and outrage around the country is limited to black folks," said Gunter, who added that the SPLC has gotten many vehement responses from both black and white members to the case. "They could not imagine that this type of prosecutorial overreaching is still going on in America. A lot of people thought those days were over." Maybe, on a much smaller scale, like the racial disparities uncovered by Hurricane Katrina, this case will serve as an awakening, he said. In the meantime, Thursday's protesters will descend on a formerly sleepy town that is, by all accounts, overwhelmed by the media glare and struggling to come to grips with what many see as a pervasive, formerly shadowed remnant of the South's ugly racist past. The "white tree" was cut down by the school's administration earlier this summer, but for many of the town's residents, the memory of those nooses remains.

(courtesy of Gil Kaufman)

Looks like Lebron and the Cavs are in trouble down 0-2 in this series against the well-oiled Spurs. I'm not sure if he can do what he did against the Pistons when hey battled back truly in a historical fashion in the Eastern Conf. Finals. This brings up the question that many have been posing and that is "...Is Lebron the next Micheal Jordan?.." there were signs that he was definitely comparable looking at his late series performance against the Pistons when they won 4 games straight including an outstanding 4th quarter and overtime performance by James in game 5. Can he bring his Cavs back in this series? Is he the next Jordan?

I don't know about anyone else but I'm all but burnt out about hearing about how horribly wrong things went and are going with the War in Iraq. In fact I don't even think I care to hear any of the good things at this point. I'm just tired of hearing about a war that is almost senseless and based on lies or manipulation of facts. Based on the approval ratings and support for the war, I believe a large number of Americans now feel the same way. I support the brave troops whom many are my friends and classmates, but golly I think it needs to over by now. Saddam is gone, they have their own gov't., and we gave them a ______load of money,training, and weapons. It's time we get the heck out  and let the whatever is gonna happen happen. While we have been in Iraq, N. Korea have tested nuclear weapons, Bin Laden has slipped away, Iran is closer to acquiring Nukes, China has made it to space and have technology now to shoot down our satellites (as well as poisoned our pets), there's a genocide in Darfur, Russia is soon reverting to Cold War tactics,Hamas, Hezbollah, and Al Qaeda have grown in popularity, and yes, Saudi Arabia has never been held accountable for any of the hijackers from 9/11, and last but not least Iraq is a breeding ground for more terrorists as well as an inferno of a Civil War in which our brothers are in the middle of. That's just my take. What do you think?

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       Once again another rich blond bimbo gets off and shows how unjust the system can be. If you or I break the law, you better believe we will have to pay for our crime....But of course there are two different justice systems in this country....one for rich white people, and the other for everyone else. How can the Sheriff Dept. use a loop hole to go against a judge's order and release this bimbo only after 3 days of her measley little sentence? What the $">!@#$ is wrong with this country?

I went to Publix the other day to purchase some cold medicine, Vicks 44, and got carded for I.D. Apparently a lot of kids have been getting high off this as well as other over the counter drugs. But this has been going on for years, so what is the big deal now? I don't need Publix or any other store policing my cold medicine. What ever happened to parental responsibility in raising their kids?

If you haven't seen it by now, the AP has released a video of a German Officer training his troops to shoot machine guns, motivating them by telling them to imagine shooting African Americans in the Bronx, N.Y.!!

Well my opinion on this is that if the German gov't. does not reprimand the officer, then all Americans should be outraged. In fact if it is uncovered that this is more widespread in the German military than just this training officer, then our gov't. has a big decision to make because Germany is considered to be one of our allies. Meaning that in the event of any conflict, we most likely will offer many of our soldiers' lives to help them in their conflict. Many of our soldiers are African Americans, if they don't know! Why should our soldiers be obligated to help these racist Germans on the battlefield if they are training to kill members of their race and country? (Bronx is still in America last time I checked.)

If nothing is done, all African American soldiers, entertainers, athletes, politicians, and companies should refuse to do anything in Germany I think. If that's the way they feel about blacks then we shouldn't try to change those bastards, just wash our hands of them. Looks like our Nazi neighbors are up to their old tricks again. We should not be allies with people like this. (That is if it turns out to be widespread, and Germany ignores it.)

These colleges make millions of dollars every year, now collectively billions off of these student athlete's. Why can't they be paid even a mediocre or 6 or 7 figure salary? The coaches make millions these days, and the merchandise, commercial, and broadcast deals are off of the scale. So why then can't these athlete's get paid? Who is pocketing all the money? What do you guys/gals think?

Wow! I guess Kramer just put his foot in his mouth and took alot of money out of Seinfeld's pocket. If you haven't heard by now, Kramer was caught on tape calling a heckler the N-word. I saw the tape on TMZ.com. I think he went a little further than Mel Gibson on this one. He's probably done for sure after this one. What an embarassment Michael Richards, "Kramer" is to decent people of all colors. The sad thing is, there will be people on this blog that come to his defense. What do you think about this loser's rampage?

I received an email the other day and as I speculated, it's a scam to steal your identity! So beware of any emails with the subject line "Miss Aranima Enfandy." Here it is:



Miss Aranima Enfandy
UNHCR Refugee Camp,
Danane,
Cote d'Ivoire.

Dearest One,
A PLEA FOR ASSISTANCE.

It's my pleasure to contact you for an investment assistance which I intend to establish with you in your country. Though we have not met with you before but I believe, one has to risk confiding in someone to succeed sometimes in life. However is not mandatory nor will in any manner compel you to honour against your will. I am the only daughter to the late Markeni Enfandy, from the Nshili District of Gikomgoro Province in the Republic of Rwanda. My father before his death was a successful Gold and Cocoa Merchant in Johannesburg, South Africa and Ghana. Barely a week my father returned from his usual European business trips, on Wed. 14th June 2004, he was attacked and killed by some unknown assassins together with my dearest Mum. The Police could not trace the killers till today, and because I do not know those behind my parents brutal killing and their reasons, I felt out of fear that my safety is not guaranteed, that is the reason why I decided to relocate with the help of the International Care to Abidjan in Cote D'Ivoire(formerly Ivory Coast) to save my life. They loved me so much, and I was like their confidants to them before their untimely death, as such my Dad gave me information where he kept the documents on the very huge amount.(USD $10.500,000.00) Which he kept for the family. Presently the money is in a Courier's Company Bonded Warehouse called the (IVSF) (full information to be disclosed later to you on confirmation of your acceptance to assist me. I have decided to invest this money in your country or anywhere safe enough outside Africa for security and political reasons and because of the problems in where I am now (Abidjan). I want you to stand as my appointed beneficiary whom will receive the consignment on my behalf since it was deposited for shipment which stands the best way to retrieve the deposit. Note: The Courier's company does not know the exact content of the box, as the content was declared to be classified documents and valuables. The shipment was done with Diplomatic Immunity[not to be inspected by any authority]. If you can be of assistance to me I will be pleased to offer you 10% of the total fund for your assistance and your advice for the investments. I hope to hear from you soonest for us to proceed.

Thank you and God Bless you,
Yours Sincerely,
Miss Aranima Enfandy