Daily Challenge 8-12-11

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STATUE OF LIBERTY TO CLOSE FOR A YEAR - PG. 2 NATIONAL NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION

THE NATION’S ONLY BLACK DAILY 35 Cents

Final

GREENEST BLOCK IN BROOKLYN

Proud winners of the 2011 Greenest Block in Brooklyn Con- their neighborhoods in the 17th year of lively competition test are all smiles as they gathered with officials on the sponsored by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Photo: Robin East Flatbush block that won in the residential category. Simmen, courtesy of BBG. Thousands of borough residents committed to beautifying SEE PAGE 3.

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DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

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N EW S BR IE F S REPORT: NYPD KEEPING TABS ON SOCIAL MEDIA The city is reportedly looking to crack down on people who promote crime on social media. According to the Daily News, the New York City Police Department has formed a unit to monitor sites including Facebook, Twitter and others and keep an eye out for action around the city that could lead to trouble. They will also be looking for people posting photos and video of crimes. Information used to crack cases has been found on social media in the past. Back in March, six people were arrested for the beating death of a gay teen at a Queens party after one of them bragged about the death on Facebook. SHOOTER BLASTS CAR CARRYING BROOKLYN ASSEMBLYMAN, YOUNG SON The rear window of a car carrying State Assemblyman William Boyland Jr. and his seven-year-old son was shot out in Brownsville, Brooklyn on Wednesday night, but police say no one was hurt. According to investigators, the assemblyman was driving just before 7 p.m. at Saratoga and Sutter Avenues when he came under attack. Police say no arrests have been made and that it’s still unclear if Boyland was the intended target. In April, Boyland pleaded not guilty to charges in connection to a corruption case involving State Senator Carl Kruger. Boyland is accused of being paid about $177,000 for doing favors for a hospital executive in exchange for a no-show consulting job and faces up to 25 years in prison. REPORT: LOWER MANHATTAN BOOMING IN WAKE OF 9/11 ATTACKS Nearly 10 years after the September 11th terrorist attacks a new report is detailing the remarkable comeback of Lower Manhattan. After more than $30 billion in public and private investment, the Alliance for Downtown New York finds the area that was once mostly commercial is now one of the city’s fastest growing residential areas. The population of Lower Manhattan has more than doubled since 2001. It’s estimated more than 56,000 people live south of Chamber Street. The number of hotels have tripled in the past decade, with 78 percent more hotel rooms now. Business in the area is also expanding with employment jumping three percent in the last two years. The reports shows 8,428 companies now call Lower Manhattan home — 130 more than on September 11, 2001. It also finds nearly all the jobs lost in the wake of the attacks have been recovered.

Media-savvy lawyer defends maid in Strauss-Kahn case By LEIGH JONES and JOSEPH AX It was Kenneth Thompson’s starring role in the prosecution of New York police accused of beating and sodomizing a Haitian immigrant that put the son of one of the city’s first female beat cops on the map in 1997. As an assistant with the U.S. Attorney’s office in Brooklyn, his stomach-turning opening statement spared no details of the assault against Abner Louima in a police precinct bathroom. His work helped win some convictions. Almost fifteen years later he is at the center of another high-profile race-tinged case — representing Nafissatou Diallo, a hotel maid from Guinea who has accused International Monetary Fund director Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexual assault. And the details, should the civil case go to court, are equally vivid. Diallo has alleged that StraussKahn emerged naked from the bathroom of his luxury suite on May 14 and forced her to perform oral sex. Strauss-Kahn’s attorneys have asserted that any sexual encounter was consensual. Thompson, considered an aggressive and media-savvy litigator, has already employed those skills to help his latest client: calling out prosecutors, delivering dramatic speeches and pressing his case in the media. “Some people are turned off by (his) bluster,” said defense lawyer Joseph Tacopina, a friend who first opposed Thompson in a high-profile police brutality case. “I like a lawyer who embraces the client and the cause and who takes it personally.” Tacopina, who represented one of the officers in the Louima case, said he and Thompson almost came to blows during the trial, the result of two “full-blast” attorneys going head-to-head. After five years as a prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York he moved to a law firm where he defended companies accused by employees of wrongdoing. He has since focused

on representing individual plaintiffs at his own firm. Thompson said his choice in cases is often motivated by his upbringing. The youngest of three, Thompson grew up in the Bronx and was raised by his mother, Clara Dolores Thompson, who was one of the first female uniformed police officers with a street beat. His father left when Thompson was three. “I feel strongly about standing up for people who are taken advantage of, people who are down and out,” he said in an interview. “The world is against them.” While prosecutors are still debating whether or not to pursue criminal charges against Strauss-Kahn, Thompson on Monday filed a civil lawsuit against him. The complaint is classic Thompson, filled with impassioned language and dramatic accusations seemingly aimed more at the media than the court: “Ms Diallo now brings this lawsuit to vindicate her rights, to assert her dignity as a woman…and to stand up for all women who have been raped, sexually assaulted and/or abused throughout the world but who are too afraid to speak out.” It would not be the first time he sought to use the media to build public sympathy for his clients. In 2009, he took up the case of a New York Post editor who said her complaints about a cartoon that portrayed President Barack Obama as a chimpanzee got her fired. The raceand sex-discrimination case is pending. He is also representing a group of women in a 2010 sex-discrimination suit pending against Citibank — a case also followed in the press including a Forbes magazine cover story. Race, privilege and power — echoes of the Louima case have surfaced in the Diallo case against Strauss-Kahn. Diallo, an illiterate immigrant and single mother, was initially embraced by the media and public as the victim of a rape after StraussKahn was arrested in May. Yet sentiment toward her has shifted after prosecutors advised Strauss-Kahn’s lawyers in writing that they had rea-

son to believe she had told authorities numerous lies. Again, Thompson found reason to try to create sympathy for his clients in the press. Thompson’s unorthodox decision to respond by putting Diallo in front of the cameras — it is extremely rare for alleged sexual assault victims to drop their anonymity — has drawn widely varying reactions. Some legal experts have questioned the strategy, pointing out that any inconsistencies in her public statements can be used in court to impugn her credibility. Women’s groups, too, have joined in the criticism of Thompson, saying he erred in allowing Diallo to speak publicly. Yet other observers have applauded the move. Zachary Carter, a former U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of New York who hired Thompson as a prosecutor in 1995, said Thompson learned during the Louima trial how to deal with a victim’s contradictory statements. In that case, Louima initially said that that the police officers had shouted “It’s Giuliani time” during the attack, referring to then-Mayor Rudolph Giuliani’s tough stance on crime. Louima’s statement turned out to be false, but Thompson still managed to go forward with the case and win some convictions. Throughout this case, Thompson has stressed that Diallo’s story of what happened in Strauss-Kahn’s hotel room at the Sofitel — that he forced her to perform oral sex — has not wavered.

Statue of Liberty to close for a year The Statue of Liberty will close in October, the day after its 125th anniversary, for a year’s worth of safety upgrades, U.S. officials said. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said the $27.5 million project was delayed by planning and getting funding in place. He promised “a major step in bringing a 19th-century icon into the 21st century.” Liberty Island is to remain open to tourists, although the statue will be closed beginning Oct. 29. David Luchsinger, the National Park Service superintendent for Liberty and Ellis islands, said most visitors do not climb the statue and will get

“exactly the same experience” while it is closed. The changes include replacing the elevator, upgrading electrical systems and adding new fire suppression equipment and enclosing one of the staircases. “It’s safe now, but it will be so much safer when we’re done,” Luchsinger said. The entire statue was closed for three years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The crown, which can only be reached by climbing 146 steps, did not reopen until 2009.

DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

The greenest blocks in Brooklyn

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Health spending more complex than Medicare shows By ANDREW SEAMAN

2011 Residential Category 2nd Place Winner Bainbridge Street Homeowners and Tenants’ Association Bainbridge Street between Malcolm X Boulevard and Stuyvesant Avenue Bedford-Stuyvesant Jen Stewart in her yard.

2011 Residential Category 2nd Place Winner Lincoln Road R&B Block Association Lincoln Road between Bedford Avenue and Rogers Avenue Lefferts Gardens Association members Louise Carabello (left) and Tolanda Tolbert An East Flatbush block is the residential winner of the 2011 Greenest Block in Brooklyn Contest. East 25th Street between Avenue D and Clarendon Road won the contest because of “its splendid use of native plants” and care for tree beds along the sidewalk, according to the contest sponsor, GreenBridge. This is the third time East 25th Street has been named the Greenest Block in Brooklyn, with first-place victories in 2004 and 2006. “We tried for 100 percent participation,” said Hazel Deane, who has lived on East 25th Street for 37 years and is chairperson of the block’s gardening club. “With 56 homes on the block, that’s a challenge, but this year we had the most participation ever.”

2011 Residential Category 1st Place Winner 300 East 25th Street Block Association E 25th Street between Clarendon Road and Avenue D Flatbush

2011 Commercial Category 1st Place Winner Mid-Atlantic Block Association Atlantic Avenue between Bond Street and Nevins Street Boerum Hill Runner-up in the contest’s residential category was Bainbridge Street between Malcolm X Blvd. and Stuyvesant Avenue, and placing third was Lincoln Road between Bedford and Rogers avenues. In the contest’s commercial category, first place was awarded to Atlantic Avenue between Bond and Nevins streets. GreenBridge is the community environmental horticulture program of Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Photos: Robin Simmen, courtesy of BBG

Poll: Washington can’t fix economic mess WASHINGTON — U.S. residents have little confidence the federal government can fix the nation’s economic woes and are dissatisfied with the political system, a poll found. Nearly three-quarters of respondents said they have little or no confidence in Washington’s ability to fix the economy, results released in a Washington Post poll released Wednesday indicated. About four in 10 people expressed no confidence at all in the federal government on economic matters. Nearly eight in 10 poll participants said they were dissatisfied with the political system, with 45 percent saying they are “very” dissatisfied, results indicated. More than seven in 10 Americans polled said Wash-

ington is focused on the “wrong things,” the Post said. Confidence in President Obama to make the right decisions for the country’s economic future was 33 percent, a 10 percentage point drop since January. Confidence in congressional Republicans fell to 18 percent from 35 percent in January. Obama’s overall job ratings were 44 percent approval and 46 percent disapproval in the Post survey, both numbers down from three weeks ago, when he was at 47 percent and 48 percent, respectively. Results are based on a national telephone survey of 601 adults conducted Tuesday. The margin of error is 4.5 percentage points.

WASHINGTON — Communities known for paying the most on healthcare may not be spending as much as once thought, according to new data. A Thomson Reuters study, touted as the first of its kind, examined private insurance claims for 23.5 million Americans across the U.S. in 2009. The findings identified “metropolitan statistical areas” throughout the country that spent the most and least on healthcare across demographics. The study’s researchers said the findings challenge the established literature that has traditionally used data from the Medicare program for the elderly to determine geographic spending variations for people of all ages. The study looked at 382 communities throughout the U.S. “The real world is actually more complicated than some people might think, and that the patterns you see for the Medicare population aren’t exactly the same as the patterns you see for adults or children in the same areas,” said William Marder, the study’s lead author. As Congress considers how to further cut federal spending ahead of a November deadline, including spiraling healthcare costs, the study shows that there may be better ways to project how healthcare cuts affect a community. It highlighted McAllen, Texas, a community known for having the highest Medicare spending in the U.S. However, the new research puts McAllen on the list of the ten cheapest areas for individuals with employer-sponsored health insurance. “What we’re looking at here is that McAllen, Texas is actually a pretty cheap place when you start looking at people under age 65,” said Marder. The study did not examine the causes behind McAllen’s spending disparity. Previous studies by the Dartmouth Atlas project on healthcare have attributed its high spending to McAllen doctors performing more tests and diagnostics than in similar towns. The Thomson Reuters study also looked at spending patterns. Researchers found that spending depended on age and the type of procedure. Marder attributed the spending variations to a community’s use of services, like doctor’s visits and hospital stays. In general, the research identified Ogden and Clearfield, Utah as the area spending the least on healthcare for the commercially insured at $2,623 per person. Anderson, Indiana was the most expensive area at $7,231 per person.

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DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

JOURNAL OF THE PEOPLE’S PASTOR ‘WRITING THE HISTORY I’VE LIVED, LIVING THE HISTORY I WRITE!’

Harry Potter: The return of Tarzan By REV. DR. HERBERT DAUGHTRY

THOMAS H. WATKINS

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Part Four Today, we have Harry Potter to carry on the Tarzan tradition. Thus, the legacy of Euro-American superhumans continues in the Euro-ethnic superhuman youth, Harry Potter. The youth of African ancestry will find themselves unconsciously worshipping at the altar of white supremacy while at the same time rejecting themselves. Hence, if the doll tests were supplied again, another generation of Black children would choose white dolls as better and more beautiful than Black dolls. In the Harry Potter movies, the Black presence is almost nil except in the dark and shadowy presence of evil creatures or in the use of language. In the Tarzan movies, the Black presence is conspicuous and pervasive. I don’t know which is worst — the near absence of the African presence in Harry Potter or the emasculation of the African presence in Tarzan. I still believe the inconspicuous and conspicuous attacks on people of African ancestry have taken, broadly speaking, three directions: negation, emasculation, and decimation. To counter the Euro-American saturation of white heroes and supermen/women, my wife and I tried, as much as possible, to give our children (and other children) the broadest exposure

to African greatness and achievements, including travel, books, museums, and interaction with living legends. Even the United Nations was included in our educational and conscious raising efforts. Because I had the freedom of access, we used to sit at the Diplomat’s Lounge and converse with statesmen and stateswomen from various socalled Third World countries. Occasionally, we would go to the General Assembly. What I was doing was teaching and showing the pre-dominance of leaders of color, in particular, African leaders. I wanted to give a global perspective from which it became obvious that people of African ancestry were not minorities, but were the majority, and that people of African ancestry did not come to the human altar empty-handed. In fact, they laid the foundation of civilization which Europeans built upon. I don’t want to leave the impression that our education and training were totally Black or African to the exclusion of all others. No, we taught by words and actions to respect and appreciate the contributions of all religions, nationalities, cultures, etc. We encourage our children, other children, and parents to study abroad. In addition to their African travels and studies, other countries were included. One child studied in France, another in Spain, and the other in Italy. The fourth was headed to London. She was scheduled to be on the Lockerbie flight that

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** Join Reverend Daughtry in Jersey City for the weekly Thursday Evening Educational, Cultural, and Empowerment Forum from 6pm-8pm for an evening of information, inspiration, and challenge at 315 Forrest Street (Ground Floor), corner of MLK, Jr. Drive. For more info, contact The National Community Action Alliance at (201) 716-1585. ** Listen to Reverend Daughtry on the weekly radio program which airs Sunday mornings at Continued on page 5

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was blown out of the sky. Thank God that God had other plans for her. Let me be clear. I am not suggesting that the creators of these fantasies are racists and deliberately engaged in the projection of Euro-ethnic supremacy and superiority. I can not say who or how many are consciously and deliberately creating ways to sustain Euro-ethnic mastery and supremacy, but I am certain that there are those who fit the description of “racists” who consciously scheme to perpetuate Euro-ethnic superiority, imperialism, and idealism by any means necessary. It is the challenge of people of African ancestry and others to discern, study, and teach the truths related to racism’s continual strategies to promote its own kind and demote others.

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DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

Proposed tech campus can do more to level playing field for opportunity By NYC COMPTROLLER JOHN C. LIU The Mayor’s recently announced plan to build a government-sponsored, engineering and science campus in New York challenges us to deliver training and jobs to the many talented young men and women of color that our economy has left behind. It is an opportunity we cannot afford to miss. Mayor Bloomberg is to be commended for launching the ambitious Applied Sciences NYC initiative that seeks to partner with a top-tier engineering school and establish a cuttingedge science and technology campus here. The Bloomberg Administration projects that the new institution will generate billions of dollars of economic activity, spin off hundreds of new companies, and create nearly 30,000 jobs. This addition to New York’s economic and intellectual capital will only reach its full potential, however, if it

directly addresses the glaring opportunity gap facing women, AfricanAmericans and Latinos in science and engineering. According to the National Science Foundation, just 6 percent of graduate engineering students are African Americans or Latinos. Women hold just 24 percent of the jobs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics — a shameful statistic that has not budged in a decade and that US Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank has rightly described as “unacceptable.” It is encouraging that the Mayor has included some conditions to support the involvement of women and underrepresented minorities. But the initiative as it is proposed presents a rare chance to level the playing field even more. The schools that hope to benefit from this partnership with City government should be required to demonstrate their commitment to expanding opportunities to all New Yorkers. The institutions applying to build a

science campus here should be measured on their track record with minorities and women in areas such as student recruitment, graduation rates, and job-placement; their hiring and promotion of faculty and staff; and their success in turning academic breakthroughs into spin-off companies owned by minorities and women. Schools should also provide detailed plans for outreach and partnership with underrepresented communities moving forward. The City should also consider appointing more underrepresented minorities, as well as more women to the Advisory Committee for the Applied Sciences NYC initiative. Currently, there are nine members but no African-Americans or Latinos on the committee. Lastly, the review process should be as open and transparent as possible. The Advisory Committee should hold public hearings, applicant submissions should be accessible to the public, and scoring criteria should be publicized. The better informed and

reach for millions of Americans. Last week, in the wake of the dysfunctional debt ceiling debate and an agreement that fell far short of just about everyone’s expectations, the nation’s credit rating was downgraded for the first time in history from AAA to AA+. This could mean higher interest rates for mortgages, car loans, and credit cards. In addition, the July jobs report shows that while overall unemployment has ticked down to 9.1 percent, 14 million Americans remain out of work. Hispanic unemployment is stuck at 11.3 percent. African American unemployment continues to lead the nation at 15.9 percent. And with Black male unemployment at 17 percent, and as high as 34 percent in cities like Milwaukee, some have dubbed this the “Black Mancession.” The National Urban League (NUL), the Congressional Black Caucus and other progressive leaders have long understood that America’s future is inextricably linked to the fate of the millions of Black men in our cities who have historically languished at the bottom of the economic ladder in both good times and bad. In addition to being last in line for jobs, 50 percent of Black males don’t finish high school and Black men are six times more likely than white men to be incarcerated. Empowering Black males to reach their full potential is one of the most serious economic and civil rights challenges of our times. In 2004, the National Urban League launched its Black Male Initiative to address the obstacles impeding the success of Black men and boys – especially the poor and young who’ve fallen off the nation’s radar

screen. From our Black Executive Exchange Program, which exposes HBCU students to African American role models to our Urban Youth Empowerment Program, which provides education, job training and mentoring assistance to prepare outof-school and/or adjudicated young people for the world of work, the NUL has fought an often lonely battle to save the next generation. Last week, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg joined that effort in a big way – announcing one of the boldest and most comprehensive programs in the nation to address the huge economic disparities impeding the advancement of more than 300,000 of that city’s Black and Latino young men. The Young Men’s Initiative, a three-year, $127 million public-private partnership, which includes $30 million from the Mayor’s own charitable foundation, will make significant reforms to education, health, employment and justice system services to better prepare young African American and Latino men for jobs and keep them out of prison. We applaud Mayor Bloomberg’s commitment and action. His Young Men’s Initiative, like the National Urban League’s 12-point Jobs Rebuild American plan and the Urban Jobs Bill championed by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Representative Edolphus Towns, recognizes that without a targeted, comprehensive effort to help those hardest hit by the economic downturn, the nation’s recovery will never be fully complete.

involved the public is in this process, the more successful it will be. Aggressive support for the science, technology and engineering sectors is critical to diversifying the City’s economy, which has relied heavily on the volatile financial sector in the past few decades. But as a government-sponsored initiative, Applied Sciences NYC has a responsibility to provide all New Yorkers with greater opportunities to acquire new skills and find jobs in emerging industries. If we are not fully utilizing more than half the talent in our City, we are not going to get close to realizing our full potential. Fairness, diversity and opportunity should be the values that drive our economic development and job creation programs. Bringing diversity to this project —and all of New York’s economic development — will keep our city on top for the 21st Century and beyond. Comptroller John C. Liu is a product of NY public schools including the Bronx High School of Science and SUNY Binghamton where he studied Mathematical Physics.

In loving memory of Donovan K. Mayor Bloomberg joins fight against ‘Black Mancession’ Johnston By MARC H. MORIAL

“When we look at poverty rates, graduation rates, crime rates, and employment rates, one thing stands out: Blacks and Latinos are not fully sharing in the promise of American freedom and far too many are trapped in circumstances that are difficult to escape.” — Mayor Michael Bloomberg The great recession was officially declared over in 2009, but the events of the last few weeks make it clear that while Wall Street and big business may be coming back, the economic recovery has remained out of

Harry Potter Continued from page 4 10:30 a.m. on New York City’s WWRL-AM, dial 1600. ** NEED QUALITY CHILD CARE? Call the Alonzo A. Daughtry Memorial Daycare Center located at: 460 Atlantic Avenue (corner of Atlantic and Nevins) 718 596 1993 333 Second Street (between 4th & 5th Avenues) in Park Slope (718) 499-2066 Immediate openings are available in a state-of-the-art center. ** Visit The House of the Lord Church’s website at holc.org. Or, contact us at 415@holc.org.

— Marc H. Morial is the President and CEO of the National Urban League.

Donovan Keith Johnston, 82, resident of Palm Coast, Florida for the past 25 years passed away peacefully at home in the early hours of July 29, 2011. Donovan was the first born of John and Ivy Johnston of his beloved Jamaica West Indies. He was a retired United Airlines employee and a veteran of WWII for the Royal Air Force. He was predeceased by son, Douglas; daughter Denise, and brothers Eddie and Audley. He is survived by his loving wife, Dorothy; daughter, Danette; grand-daughter; Keisha; great grandson, Donovan; great grand-daughter Mikya; his five sisters Jean, Alison, Merle, Fay, Joy, and a host of family and friends. The ones we love don’t go away, They walk beside us every day. Unseen, unheard, but always near, Forever loved forever dear.

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DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

Customs agents seize ‘date rape’ drug at LA airport

The chemical Gamma-Butyrolactone (GBL), used to make the date rape drug GHB, is shown in this plastic container.

By DAN WHITCOMB LOS ANGELES — Customs agents have seized three gallons of a chemical used to make the date rape drug GHB at Los Angeles International Airport amid a surge in illegal shipments of the intoxicant, authorities said on Wednesday. Customs and Border Protection officers discovered the three, one-gallon plastic jugs of Gamma-Butyrolactone, or GBL, in a late July shipment from China, labeled as “Propylene Glycol,” a spokesman for the agency said. Tests this week confirmed that the clear liquid was GBL, a key ingredient in the date rape drug GHB, which is known on the street by such names as Everclear, Easy Lay, Georgia Homeboy, Liquid Ecstasy or Salty Water. It has become popular in recent years at dance clubs and rave parties, CBP spokesman Jaime Ruiz said, and has become known as a date rape drug because in certain doses it can render an unsuspecting victim incapable of resisting

advances. Gamma-Butyrolactone also has legitimate uses in paint thinners and solvents but it’s import is regulated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Ruiz said the three gallons of GBL, which have an estimated street value of about $1,400, were being sent to an undisclosed address somewhere in Southern California. No arrests had been made but Ruiz said customs officials had seen a rise in illegal shipments of the drug and were seeking to alert parents. “We want parents to be aware that this stuff is coming, we’re seeing a bigger volume,” Ruiz said. “This release was strategically put out there as a heads up to parents to make sure they know this stuff is out there and it’s pretty dangerous.” The effect of GHB is similar to alcohol, causing relaxation, reduced inhibitions and sleepiness, said Sheila Eng, assistant Los Angeles lab director for the CBP. Large quantities can cause short term amnesia, she said, and an overdose can lead to coma or even death.

White House rejects claim about bin Laden raid film the continued threat from terrorism, the House Committee on Homeland Security would have more important topics to discuss than a movie,” Carney added. U.S. Marine Corps Colonel Dave Lapan, a Pentagon spokesman, said the Defense Department is cooperating with filmmaker Kathryn Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal as they work on a motion picture about the raid that killed bin Laden. The two, who collaborated on the Oscar-winning Iraq war movie “The Hurt Locker,” had been developing the bin Laden film even before the al Qaeda leader was killed in May in a raid on a compound in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad. In a statement, the pair said their movie covered a period of three different U.S. administrations that searched for bin Laden, including those of Presidents Clinton and Bush. “This was an American triumph, both heroic and non-partisan, and there is no basis to suggest that our film will represent this enormous victory otherwise,” Bigelow and Boal said in their joint statement. The Pentagon has a twoperson entertainment media

office that assists makers of films, television shows, computer games and other entertainment media targeting mass audiences. “Mostly when we’re contacted by filmmakers they’re looking for access to our equipment, our personnel and our installations. Technical advice is kind of a byproduct of that relationship,” said Phil Strub, who heads the office. Reacting to a New York Times column saying the film was timed to give Obama a “home-stretch boost” in his re-election bid, King called for an investigation into the assertion that Bigelow had been given “top-level access to the most classified mission in history.” On the Bigelow film, Lapan said the Defense Department is “providing assistance with script research, which is something we commonly do for established filmmakers.” Lapan said the Pentagon attempts to help filmmakers and authors but “we do not discuss classified information.” Carney said information provided to the filmmakers “has been focused on the president’s role.”

Group gives Obama only C grade for helping Hispanics

that the achievement gap remains between Hispanics and white Americans. But the NHLA report, issued on Wednesday, mentioned improvements in education such as an initiative to improve Hispanic education in science, technology, engineering and math. Access to adequate healthcare also has improved for Hispanics, the largest uninsured group in the country, according to Elena Rios, president and CEO of the National Hispanic Medical Association. Preventative care for conditions like diabetes and obesity and expansion of Medicaid will include many Latinos, she said. The NHLA report found the Obama administration has hired more Latinos into top positions than any previous administration but concluded that challenges remain for Hispanic representation. Hispanics are faring the worst in the recession, suffering the greatest percentage of job losses and reduced wages among minority communities, according to the NHLA.

By DAVID ALEXANDER WASHINGTON — Moviemakers producing a film about the U.S. special forces raid that killed Osama bin Laden are getting help from the Pentagon, but the Obama administration dismissed concerns on Wednesday that classified information has been divulged. The film, focusing on one of President Barack Obama’s key successes in office, is due to be released in October 2012, less than a month before the election in which the Democrat is seeking a second term. Republican Peter King, chairman of the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee, called on Tuesday for an investigation into contacts between the administration and the filmmakers. King questioned whether special operations methods had been compromised. “The claims are ridiculous,” White House spokesman Jay Carney told a White House briefing. “We do not discuss classified information. And I would hope that as we face

By MOLLY O’TOOLE WASHINGTON — The credit rating is not the only thing being downgraded. Lack of action on federal immigration reform prompted a leading Hispanic advocacy group to give the administration of President Barack Obama a grade of “C” on issues important to Hispanics. The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda gave the government a just-passing overall grade for six areas it said are critical. “Immigration is clearly an area where we say Obama overpromised and underdelivered,” said Lillian Rodriguez Lopez, Chairperson of NHLA and President of the Hispanic Federation. She said Obama has

deported more Hispanic people than any other president, overshadowing other accomplishments. NHLA’s two-year progress report is the first to assess actions over an administration on six areas: education, immigration, accountability, health, civil rights and economy. “The last seven months have been disastrous,” said Lopez. Hispanics, the largest and fastest growing minority population, now number 50.5 million or 16.3 percent of the total population, according to latest Census data. In 2008, 67 percent of Hispanics voted for Obama over Republicans, according to Pew Hispanic Center. They could bring even more voters to the 2012 elections. The National Center for Education Statistics found

DAILY D CHALLENGE FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

CARIBBEAN NEWS

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Jamaica security minister promises small arms policy By DOUGLAS MCINTOSH KINGSTON, Jamaica — National Security Minister, Senator Dwight Nelson, has announced the development of a national small arms policy, as part of efforts to stem the flow of illegal firearms into Jamaica. Speaking at a media briefing on Tuesday, Nelson said that the service of an international consultant with “wide and vast” experience in small arms policy has been engaged. He said that the development of new approaches for the control of small arms, both legal and illegal, as well amendments to the relevant laws and other issues related to arms and explosives would be addressed by the policy. The briefing was held jointly with Head of the United States Southern Military Command (SOUTH-

COM), General Douglas Fraser, to re-affirm collaboration between the US and Jamaica in the fight against crime and violence in the Caribbean and Latin America, involving SOUTHCOM and the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF). The briefing formed part of the itinerary for the two-day visit by Fraser, who arrived in Jamaica on Tuesday. Highlighting the significance of the bilateral between cooperation both countries in maintaining law and order, Nelson said that crime and violence were “very destructive to our democracy”. He contended that the cooperation created a safer and a more enabling environment and protects and preserves democracy. The minister said significant areas of the cooperation included support for Jamaica’s law enforcement agencies to disrupt criminal activity, bi-lateral training of law enforcement agents and multinational capacity build-

ing. He noted that these areas of cooperation, particularly through US Southern the Command, enhance Jamaica’s capabilities and preserve its democracy. “We look forward to continuing the cooperation between the United States and Jamaica,” Nelson said. JDF Chief of Defence Staff, Major General Antony Anderson, said Fraser’s visit will give him a different perspective on the country’s security challenges. He said it will also enable him to have greater appreciation of the JDF’s role and connectivity with other local law enforcement agencies, as well as the extent of support it provides within the region. “No matter how much you are briefed about what is happening in a country, and about the circumstances in a country, you will never be able to quite appreciate those circumstances, until you have been there,” he contended. Noting that SOUTH-

Minister of National Security, Senator Dwight Nelson (right), makes a point during a joint media briefing on Tuesday, while head of the United States Military Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), General Douglas Fraser (left), looks on. The briefing addressed bilateral cooperation between Jamaica and the US on crime and violence. General Fraser arrived in Jamaica on Tuesday, August 9, on a two-day visit. COM and the JDF have talk, “face to face”, and The United States collaborated in many to understand the situa- Southern Command is areas, Anderson said tion that Anderson has the geographic comthe cooperation has to deal with daily. mand responsible for all been mutually benefi“We look forward to US military cooperation cial. continuing that part- and partnerships in the Fraser said that nership for many, Caribbean and Latin there was nothing bet- many years, into the America. ter than being able to future,” he said.

OECS officials to meet in Antigua-Barbuda next Jamaica to sign air services agreement with United Arab week to finalise a common tourism policy Emirates

CASTRIES, St Lucia — Senior tourism officials from the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) are scheduled to meet in Antigua and Barbuda on August 16 and 17, 2011, at a workshop designed to finalise the first ever common tourism policy for the OECS region. Programme officer at the OECS Secretariat Dr Lorraine Nicholas said tourism officials are reviewing a draft final common tourism policy document ahead of the meeting in St John’s. “Quite a bit of work has gone into the formulation of the policy.

The consultants have done considerable work in putting together this policy, which is it draft form. When we meet in Antigua next week the primary objective will essentially be to finalize the policy. The senior tourism officials from across the region will be reviewing the draft policy with a view to ensuring that it in sync with their vision and aspirations for tourism development in the OECS region,” she said. The coming workshop follows an initial consultation held in March 2011, where tourism professionals from the region’s private and public sectors identified and prioritized key areas on which the policy should focus. Some of the broad focus areas highlighted by the first workshop include:

transportation; tourism awareness; product development; customs and immigration procedures; environmental and cultural sustainability and sustainable financing. The March meeting also identified actions to address each of the policy focus area. Immediately following the first workshop in St Lucia, the consultants visited all nine OECS member states to discuss with key stakeholders key issues affecting the development of tourism and their buy-in to the emerging common tourism policy. The consultants also presented initial findings and observations to the OECS Council of Tourism Ministers at their 10th meeting held in St Kitts on 19 April 2011. At that meeting,

OECS tourism ministers endorsed the priority areas identified for inclusion in the policy, emphasizing the need for immigration and border control in the OECS to be addressed as priority issues in the policy. The pending common tourism policy is within the context of the OECS Economic Union as a single financial and economic space. At least twenty tourism professionals from the region’s private and public sectors are confirmed to attend the second workshop in Antigua. The primary aim of the workshop will be to review the draft document and secure agreement among OECS member states on priorities and actions for the final common tourism policy.

By CHRIS PATTERSON KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Jamaican Cabinet has approved the signing of an air services agreement between the governments of Jamaica and the United Arab Emirates. This was disclosed by Minister with responsibility for Information, Telecommunications and Special Projects, Daryl Vaz, at Wednesday’s post-Cabinet press briefing. Vaz noted that the air services agreement was negotiated within the context of the open skies policy, which was previously approved by Cabinet. “The agreement entitles the designated airline(s) of both countries the right to exercise in any type of service (passenger, cargo and mail separately or in combination), full fifth freedom traffic rights to or from any intermediate or beyond points without any restriction,” he said. Open skies liberalises the movement of airlines between countries, creating a free market and competition. The agreement is meant specifically, to remove limits on the number of carriers, the number of frequencies per week and the size of aircraft operating between the states that are party to these air services agreements.

AFRICAN SCENE

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DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

Somali children struggle in famine-struck Mogadishu By WILLIAM DAVIES In drought-ravaged Somalia where food is scarce, three-year-old Ibrahim is so severely malnourished he weighs less than eight kilos (18 pounds), about the same as an eightmonth-old baby. “My child is very sick, he’s had a fever, vomiting and got diarrhoea,” said his mother Rukyo Abdullahi, sitting worriedly by her tiny son’s bedside, his skin stretched tight against his small bones. “He was given some medicine from a local pharmacy, but as soon as he took it, he got worse — the blood drained away from his face.” Abdullahi fled with Ibrahim into the famine-hit Somali capital last week, risking violence in one of the world’s most dangerous cities in a desperate effort to save her son’s life. “I don’t have any money to support my family,” the tired looking mother added sadly, waving away the flies that buzz above her crying child.

Tens of thousands of Somalis have poured into Mogadishu, fleeing the drought that has wiped out livestock and crops. At the city's only dedicated paediatrics ward, doctors say they are overwhelmed by the huge numbers of malnourished children. She trekked some 50 people have fled into kilometres (30 miles) on Mogadishu, seeking foot into the war-torn food, water and shelter. city with her feeble Hard working docchild, who also has tors are struggling to measles. cope, offering what litBrought to tle they can with their Mogadishu’s Banadir basic facilities. hospital, Ibrahim is The UN’s food monistruggling to survive. toring unit has Too weak to eat, doctors described Somalia as are fitting him with a facing the most severe feeding tube through humanitarian crisis in his nose. the world and Africa’s C o n f l i c t - r i d d e n worst food security criSomalia is the hardest sis since the country’s hit by an extreme 1991-1992 famine. drought affecting 12 Doctor Lulu million people across Mohamed, head of paethe Horn of Africa. diatrics at the hospital, The United Nations said the situation is the has officially declared worst she has seen since famine in Somalia for 1992. the first time this centuThat was the year ry, including in after then president Mogadishu and four Siad Barre was toppled southern regions. from power, and In the past two Somalia spiralled into months, some 100,000 the bloody conflict that

Conflict-ridden Somalia is the hardest hit by an extreme drought affecting 12 million people across the Horn of Africa. The United Nations has officially declared famine in Somalia for the first time this century, including in Mogadishu and four southern regions. has engulfed it ever ment troops. in no way cope with the since. There is some help in sheer number of people “Since then we the city, but local aid in need. haven’t seen this over- workers say they are Outside the city, whelming number of being overwhelmed by from where thousands malnourished children the demand. continue to flee, the sit— and the death rate is “Day after day the uation is reportedly increasing,” Mohamed situation is worsening worse, with aid agency said. because new arrivals access even more limitAl-Qaeda-affiliated are coming from ed there. Shebab rebels, who had drought affected areas “Where I am from, controlled around half to Mogadishu,” said life is very difficult,” of Mogadishu, aban- Adan Yusuf Mahadi, said Abdullahi, who doned their positions in who helps run a feeding abandoned her family’s a surprise withdrawal centre run by a local aid farm after crops withat the weekend. agency. ered and animals died But clashes have con“People are in need, from the lack of rain. tinued between rebel people need help,” he “There is no aid getremnants and African said, warning that cur- ting there, we never get Union-backed govern- rent relief efforts could any help.”

Et hi op ia r e bu f fs U N 26 Ivory Coast executions Libyan r ebe ls at the ga tes of oi l h ub B r eg a in four weeks: UN r eco mme ndatio n to halt dam ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) - Ethiopian officials say they will not heed the U.N.’s recommendation to halt construction on a dam that the world body says endangers a world heritage site. Project manager Azeb Asnake said Thursday that government impact studies found Gilgel Gibe III dam does not endanger Lake Turkana, the world’s largest desert lake. She says the dam will have a positive effect on the lake and will regulate the water flow of the Omo River, preventing floods and raising the water level during dry seasons. Ethiopian officials say the dam costs about $1.7 billion and is partly financed by China’s development bank. Ethiopia is also building what will become the largest hydroelectric dam in Africa, on the Nile River, in an attempt to add to the country’s ailing power grid. Four more Nile Basin dams are planned.

There were 26 extrajudicial killings in the Ivory Coast in the past four weeks, mostly blamed on fighters who helped President Alassane Ouattara take power, the UN mission reported Thursday. The killings were reported between July 11 and August 10, the rights representative for the UN’s Ivory Coast mission, Guillaume Ngefa, said at a press conference. There were “26 cases of extrajudicial execution, summary or arbitrary” and “85 cases of arbitrary arrest and illegal detention,” he said. Most often implicated in the “numerous violations of human rights” being recorded were men whom locals and victims identified as belonging to the Republican Forces of Ivory Coast (FRCI), he said. The FRCI helped Ouattara to take power in May after an election dispute with ex-president Laurent Gbagbo, who refused to give up office after losing elections in November. Gbagbo’s position led to a four-month conflict in which 3,000 people were killed and both sides were accused of serious human rights abuses.

Libyan rebels fighting to oust strongman Moamer Kadhafi have no doubt about it — in just a “a few days” they plan to retake the strategic oil hub of Brega, nestled on the Gulf of Syrte.

Rebels, backed by NATO helicopters, have tried for the past three weeks to seize this vital port 240 kilometres (140 miles) southwest of their eastern stronghold Benghazi. On Wednesday, they were poised on the eastern fringes of the city, the outskirts of its residential area, an AFP journalist saw. “Every day, we are gaining ground. We are at the entrance of the city. Some of our fighters have even got inside the residential area,” said Fawzi Bukatif, a civil engineer who became a top commander of the insurrection. “We could be inside the city today, but with heavy casualties. We are trying to spare lives. It’s wiser to go slowly, to secure methodically our advance,” Bukatif, who is in charge of operations in Brega, told AFP.

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DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

NJ Transit derailment renews calls for second tunnel under Hudson River to Manhattan By MIKE FRASSINELLI The area between New York Penn Station and the Hudson River train tunnel resembles a big bowl of spaghetti, with wires and tracks and trains veering in every direction. Even on a normal day, it is a delicate dance to make the system work for the 1,300 trains that pass through the tunnel each day. But throw in what NJ Transit calls a “minor derailment” and you have two mornings of hellish commutes, overheated train riders and news releases with I-told-you-so’s from advocates of an additional commuter rail tunnel from Secaucus to midtown Manhattan. Twenty eight hours after two train cars derailed outside the Hudson River train tunnel, rail operations

resumed without interruptions at around noon. The tracks were repaired, but commuters’ nerves remained frayed over what they termed miscommunication by NJ Transit. The cause of the derailment still wasn’t known. When she got an early morning text alert stating trains were expected to run “on or close to schedule” to New York Penn Station, Audrey Kuchtyak figured it would be safe to board the 5:43 a.m. out of Woodbridge. She opted not to take the bus. But repairs were still being made on the damaged tracks, delaying the commute for Kuchtyak and other riders for at least 40 minutes - neither on nor close to schedule. “They know that if

they’re single tracking that there will be delays,” Kuchtyak, who lives in Woodbridge, said by email after another brutal commute. “I would have taken the bus if that single fact was communicated at the time of ... departure. Communication is a major problem for them.” “Our customers have every right to be upset about lack of communication as we did not provide them with the proper delay information in a timely fashion,” she said today. “We apologize for that and have put new protocols into place to alert our customers sooner than later of potential delays - particularly before the start of our morning peak service period.” Another derailment happened in that area on Oct. 25 - three days before Gov. Chris

Trenton mayor’s former chief of staff cited for leaving scene of accident LAWRENCE Trenton Mayor Tony Mack’s ex-chief of staff, Paul Sigmund IV, will receive at least five summonses in the mail following a minor traffic accident in the township Tuesday, police said yesterday. Sigmund, who was arrested in the city in May on a charge of heroin possession, was identified by police as the driver who rearended a vehicle driven by Priyanka Mathur, 38, of Plainsboro in the parking lot of Halo Farms on the 900 block of Spruce Street at about 4:45 p.m. Tuesday. “(Sigmund) got out and said that he would take care of the damages and not to call the police,” said Lt. Charles Edgar of the Lawrence

Township Police Department. “She (Mathur) took his information and went inside the store to get some assistance and, when she came out, he was gone and his vehicle was gone,” Edgar said. According to Edgar, Sigmund was driving a 2004 Nissan Pathfinder with a California registration that expired earlier this year. The driver’s license he provided to Mathur, he added, was a valid California license. Sigmund was issued five citations including summonses for careless driving, leaving the scene of an accident, and driving a car without valid registration, Edgar said. “(The crash) is still under

investigation and we’re making efforts to contact Mr. Sigmund,” Edgar said, adding that additional charges could be filed. Sigmund resigned as Mack’s chief of staff several days after a May 2 arrest on Academy Street in Trenton. Police said they found him in possession of 10 bags of heroin. He was also charged with two counts of aggravated assault on a police officer after struggling with officers who attempted to subdue him. He was released on $25,000 bail. Sigmund entered a drug rehabilitation program after posting bail, but he returned to Trenton several weeks later. - Matt Fair

Christie terminated an over-budget commuter train tunnel project from Secaucus to New York. This week’s derailment provided another rallying cry for a second set of tunnels under the Hudson River. “That a single train derailment could cause a multi-day disruption to virtually all train travel into and out of Manhattan is both disturbing and vexing,” said Assemblyman John Wisniewski (DMiddlesex), who chairs the Assembly Transportation Committee. “ ... If it had been, God forbid, an act of terror, who knows how long our railway would have been crippled.” Kate Slevin, executive director of the TriState Transportation Campaign regional transportation policy watchdog group, said

the latest incident on the tracks highlights the need for increased investment in reliable New Jersey mass transit. “It’s been a summer of woe for commuters, who have endured delay after delay,” she said. “NJ Transit does the best it can with limited resources, but train and bus riders have the right to ask why the state’s commitment to them seems to be slipping.” Christie has said he is open to two recent proposals to extend rail service from Secaucus to Manhattan, including Amtrak’s planned Gateway Tunnel to New York Penn Station and a connection of the No. 7 subway line from New York to New Jersey. U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) said he would continue to push for the Gateway Tunnel and other

investments in railways. Meanwhile, it took Amtrak, which owns the track, about 12 hours to make the necessary repairs. Power was shut down for several hours overnight so an engineering team could examine the track. Then, the team had to make sure signals were operating properly, Amtrak spokesman Cliff Cole said. “The ultimate goal here is to provide a safe infrastructure,” Cole said. “Our engineering team wouldn’t release the track until they felt it was safe.” NJ Transit reported the engineer guiding the bilevel, 10-car train was traveling at 14 mph at the time of the accident. The last two cars derailed, and the train traveled about four car lengths before the derailment was noticed, she said.

TCNJ students indicted in sexual assault of freshman By LISA CORYELL EWING - Two College of New Jersey students accused of sexually assaulting a freshman on campus have been indicted by a grand jury. Samuel Sarpeh, 20, of East Orange and Christen Solomon, 19 of Irvington, face up to 10 years in prison if convicted of attacking the woman after a dorm party during the first week of school last fall. Prosecutors say the woman, whose name is being withheld by The Times, was at a party in Sarpeh’s dorm when

she became intoxicated and reached out to Sarpeh, a friend, for a place to spend the night. Sarpeh and Solomon assaulted the girl, prosecutors said. Both men were charged with sexual assault, but before the case was sent to a grand jury for possible indictment, Sarpeh pleaded guilty to criminal sexual contact in exchange for a sentence of two years probation. On the day of Sarpeh’s sentencing in June, the victim asked Superior Court Judge Gerald Council for a harsher sentence, saying the attack left her physically and emotionally damaged. She said she was harassed

at school, forced to drop out for months to receive counseling and tried to commit suicide several times because she couldn’t bear the memory of what happened to her. Visibly moved, Council said a probationary sentence was “far too lenient” and ordered Assistant Prosecutor Renee Robeson and defense attorney Dorion Morgan back to the negotiating table to hammer out a more suitable punishment. No new deal was struck, and the case was presented to the grand jury, said Casey DeBlasio, a spokeswoman for the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office.

DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

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New American

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DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

One Thought - One Humanity

Tia and Tamera get real with new TV series

For the conclusions of these stories check out the August 4th - August 10th, 2011 issue of The New American, which hits newsstands every Thursday Congratulations may be in order for Janet Jackson who reportedly has let billionaire boyfriend Wissam Al-Mana put a 15carat ring on it!!! According to reports: The singer’s boyfriend, bil lionaire Qatari businessman Wissam Al Mana, recently popped the question, and now the happy couple is planning an end-of-theyear marriage ceremony. “Janet is head over heels in love with Wissam,” said a close source. “He’s showered her with love, expensive presents and boosted her self-esteem by helping her lose weight and shape up.” Wissam, 36, first brought up a walk down the aisle last fall, when he reportedly presented the Jackson clan beauty with a magnificent 15-carat diamond ring. But Janet, 45, wasn’t ready because she wanted to focus on preparations for her current concert tour, which runs into September. “Now Janet’s telling friends that an official engage ment announcement will come by summer’s end, and that she and Wissam will marry in late 2011 – and they’re shopping for an even bigger diamond ring to celebrate their official engagement.” The two are anxious to start a family as soon as possible. Janet would love to have a baby the natural way, but at 45, she’s also looking into adoption possibilities, according to the source. The-Dream will make his dedicated fans very happy this month. The producersinger-songwriter will release a free 10-track LP, entitled ‘Terius Nash Est. 1977,’ prior to dropping his fourth studio album ‘The Love, IV: Diary of a Madman’ later this year. According to The-Dream, ‘Terius Nash Est. 1977’

will be released to the public free on August 31. “LP4 is Underway I THE-DREAM have decided to go forward with Diary Of A Madman LP it almost didn’t happen. So ill be in my Def Jam uniform for at least one More Season!” he tweeted. “Also a free 10 song Internet album will be released by Aug 31st. LP 4 because of the Contract negotiations does not have a date but it will be released 4th quarter but I will give a 10 song Internet LP while you guys wait!!!! LOVE YOU.” Chante Moore made an announcement that she and her hubby of nine years Kenny Lattimore are officially a wrap. The singer posted the following “private announcement” on her Facebook page. In the meantime Chante’ has her hands full as the host of an upcoming Sporty Girl Fitness 90 Day Transformation reality show. Michael Jai White, Vivica Fox and Tamyra Gray are also involved with the project. “Can’t Be Friends” producer Mario Winans is finalizing his new album with plans to release the project by the end of the year. Winans’ third album, entitled ‘My Purpose,’ is a follow-up to his 2004 platinum effort ‘Hurt No More.’ During his hiatus from releasing solo material, Winans told YKIGS “I produced some stuff for the Diddy and Dirty Money [album] and with different artists like Rick Ross and all the Bad Boy artists.” With urge to continue his solo career, he was inspired to record new material: “I had been living a little differently than what my purpose is, and that is really just to humbly serve others to pray for others and to really be a good person and live

the way I believe. From that, I was inspired to title my album that because those changes were going on in my life while I was working on the album.” In addition to his forthcoming album, Winans is grooming Hip Hop artist Superstar Piper, who is credited for producing Carl Thomas’ new single “It Ain’t Fair.” Beyonce’s publicist told Today.com that Beyonce has no plans for a cookbook. “This is untrue,” she said. Rumors started that Beyonce Knowles planned to publish a soul food cookbook, a “source” told the Daily Mirror. The singer was allegedly inspired by her mother, who prepares a spread of collard greens, cornbread, macaroni and cheese and fried chicken no matter where in the world they were. The only problem is that Beyonce has previously admitted that she isn’t such a great cook, and that she doesn’t really enjoy it. In fact, Beyonce says she’s a disaster in the kitchen. Will.i.am has signed up to perform a special concert in China to encourage American students to study abroad and expand their cultural boundaries. The Black Eyed Peas star met with officials at the U.S. State Department in Washington, D.C. and agreed to headline a gig for the 100,000 Strong Initiative, a motion made by President Barack Obama to match the rising number of Chinese students who travel to America to learn. The singer’s show will benefit Americans Promoting Study Abroad, a non-profit organization which provides financial support to low-income students partaking in exchange programs in the Asian country.

with the pressures of their personal relationships and responsibilities. During the series, viewers get to see The twin sisters best known for Tia preparing for the birth of her their hit ‘90s sitcom Sister, Sister first child and Tamera planning the are back again. Tia Mowry Hardrict wedding of her dreams. and Tamera Mowry-Housley have In an interview, Tia and Tamera teamed up with the Style Network opened up about their new show, for a behind the scenes look into obstacles of parenting, balancing their major life transformations. their relationships and careers, and Their new docu-series Tia & Tamera, how they were able to break the teen premieres Monday, August 8 at star curse. 9:00pm ET/PT. What made you want to do this Last summer Tia and Tamera show? aired a successful preview to their Tia: This is the time... the timing series on The Style Network, and is right. Tamera and I have such this summer they are giving a more loyal fans that have stuck with us in-depth look into their lives as sis- throughout the years and we ters and friends. Throughout the thought it would be nice to open series they learn how to balance them to our world and let them their successful acting careers along know who we really are. - Full Story In This Week’s New American Newspaper -

By CHRIS WITHERSPOON

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DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

NYC Dance Alliance Foundation Gala Names Roberta Flack First Ambassador for the Arts The NYC Dance Alliance Foundation held its first Annual Bright Lights, Shining Stars Gala at the Jack H. Skirball Center for the Performing Arts at NYU and clearly delivered on its promise of a star-studded evening of music & dance with one show-stopping number after another. Following cocktails hosted by Honorary CoChairs Cassandra Seidenfeld Lyster and Robin Cofer, eager guests flooded into the elegant theater for an evening of unforgettable dance from Broadway to ballet to hip-hop. From the opening number, “New York, New York� from Leonard Bernstein’s “On the Town�, the crowd knew they were in for a very special treat. Choreographed brilliantly by Scott Jovovich, the piece featured a number of NYCDA alumni including Corey Snide who starred as “Billy Elliot� in a jaunty, free flying toast to the city. Executive Director Joe Lanteri took to the stage to welcome the guests and talk passionately about the NYCDAF’s mission to empower promising young dancers by promoting education, while investing in the next generation of professional artists, by offering scholarships for secondary and college education. Indeed, just weeks ago at the close of its national convention, NYCDAF awarded more than $2.8 million in college scholarships. Underscoring the success of this program, 16 of the 2011 NYCDAF scholarship winners performed the hauntingly beautiful “Prelude� choreo-

Tony Award winner Adriane Lenox, Honorary Co-Chair, Cassandra Seidenfeld Lyster, Honoree Roberta Flack, NYCDA Executive Director, Joe Lanteri, and Honorary Co-Chair Robin Cofer at the NYC Dance Alliance Foundation award ceremony. believe these teens were graphed by Andy they win the lottery. Tearing up the stage anything but seasoned Pellick and set to music Andy pros. They sparkled in of Jorge Quintero to a to standing ovation, the Blankenbuehler’s elec- “To Build a Homeâ€? chofirst of many that night. tric choreography were reographed by Michael performers Stafford. Ramping up the heat, featured Next up was internaRobin Lanteri next presented Miranda, cast members from DeJesus, Chris Jackson, tionally acclaimed tap “Smokey Joe’s CafĂŠâ€? - Sabrina Sloan, Isabel dancer and choreograStephanie pher Chloe Arnold in a Brenda Braxton, Felicia Santiago, Finley, Ramona Keller Klemons and Jon Rua pounding “We Are the from and Deb Lyons – in a backed up by an out- Musicâ€? Ladies. sultry rendition of the standing ensemble that Syncopated Michael Arnold and her trio of Leiber & Stoller nod to included women power, “I’m a Balderamma, Natalie dancers all clad in flirty Jennifer Betsey Johnson mini Woman,â€? that raised the Caruncho, – Karida Doreen dresses temperature at least 10 Locke, Montalvo, Antuan Griffith, Anissa Irving degrees. Alejandra and Melinda Sullivan – D e s m o n d Raimone, Richardson, co-artistic Reyes, Gabrielle Ruiz, tapped their way into Santos and the crowd’s hearts and director of Complexions Kevin were rewarded with a Contemporary Ballet, Rickey Tripp. It would be hard to thunderous ovation. lived up to the accolade Bringing the evening with a stunning solo match this but Lanteri performance of did in following the big around to NYCDAF’s Lanteri “Moonlightâ€? with music rousing Heights num- mission, and choreography by ber with the plaintive announced the seven co-artistic director and heart wrenching winners of college solo “Electricityâ€? from scholarships totaling Dwight Rhoden. One of the major “Billy Elliotâ€? featuring $57,500 once again highlights - in an the current “Billy,â€? Tade reinforcing the organidesire to another zation’s evening filled with them Beisinger, empower promising - was the reunion of Lin- NYCDA alumni. The second of two young dancers by offerManuel Miranda and his award winning “In NYCDA award winning ing funds to further the Heightsâ€? cast mem- dance troupes, Next their education at the bers who recreated the Step Dance, also from institution of their famous number Texas, knocked the choice. A three-part tribute “96,000â€? in which resi- audience out with their the legendary dents of the Heights grace and professional- to spill out their dreams if ism, making it hard to songstress and story-

Roberta Flack accepts her award. teller Roberta Flack moment of first love. Tony Award-winning began with Katie Thompson’s rendering actress and longtime a powerful version of friend Adriane Lenox the iconic “Killing Me had the honors of introSoftly� while featured ducing Ms. Flack prior dancer Cindy Salgado to her award presentaswirled dreamily tion. Lenox had the around the stage; audience in stitches Ta’Rea Campbell, Nala with the story of how In The Lion King and her honeymoon with Jersey Boys Michael synthesizer player Zane Longoria paired for an Clark was interrupted updated version of the by Ms. Flack’s tour. Grammy winning duet Zane took off to play for between Donny Flack and then ultiHathaway and Miss mately recruited his Flack, “Where is the new wife to sing back Love� and ending the up and the pair was tribute was the extraor- rejoined. A very humble and dinary Capathia Jenkins wrenching grateful Roberta Flack every ounce of love at accepted the NYCDAF’s first glance emotion first Ambassador for from Flack’s famed the Arts Award in “First Time Ever I Saw recognition of her Your Face� while Come incredible achievements Fly Away’s Tony-nomi- as a recording artist; nated Karine Plantadit her journey from talentand Clifton Brown, for- ed teenager to accommerly with Alvin Ailey, plished professional, performed a memorable which serves as a true duet capturing the Continued on Page 15

DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

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NYC Dance Alliance Foundation Gala Names Roberta Flack First Ambassador for the Arts

The Syncopated Ladies - Karida Griffin, Chloe Arnold, Anissa Irving, Melinda Sullivan.

Roberta Flack reunites with old friends Zane Mark & Adriane Lenox

Continued from Page 14

inspiration to aspiring artists everywhere, and her long-time advocacy for arts education for young people. A joyful “Feeling Good� choreographed by A C Ciulla with featured vocalist Natalie Venetia Belcon and dancers Callan Bergman, Grace Buckley, Hector Flores, Kristen Hoagland, Ryan Koss, Rachel Kreilling, Cathy Lee Ross and Holly Shunkey ended the evening on an optimistic high note. Guests then proceeded up to the magnificent glass enclosed Rosenthal Room with its sweeping views of the city for a champagne and dessert reception. Among the glittering crowd were philanthropist Jean Shafiroff; actor Jeremiah James fresh from a critically acclaimed run as Billy Bigelowe in “Carousel� on London’s West End and soon to be seen in

Jean Shafiroff, Robin Cofer, Lucia Hwong Gordon, Cassandra Seidenfeld Lyster and Flor Riccio the Broadway bound ships for secondary and “Nightmare Alley;� college training. For the fashion designer Mary past 16 years, the McFadden; choreogra- NYCDA has lead the phers Joey McNeely and industry in offering Bronwen Carson; Flor professional weekend conventions exposing Riccio; Miss New York 2011 young dancers to the Kaitlin Monte with best of the New York broadcast personality City dance world in a Tom Murro; Food supportive, positive and Network Chef Chris fun environment and Nirschel; Kathryn helping them take their Dianos of Betsey first steps into the proJohnson, and scores fessional world. Under the auspices of more. The NYC Dance Executive Director Joe Alliance Foundation is Lanteri the NYC Dance dedicated to empower- Alliance National Dance ing the next generation Convention, the culmiof professional dancers nation of scores of local held by advocating education gatherings and offering scholar- throughout the year,

Tia Walker

Karine Plantadit, Clifton Brown, Brooke Wendle has become the single alumni number among most important scout- the ranks of such dance ing opportunity for col- companies as Alvin Cedar Lake lege and university Ailey, scarcely a recruiters and their Ballet; scholarship committees. Broadway musical is No surprise as NYCDA without a dancer from

Tony nominee Karine Plantadit performed in the tribute to Roberta Flack

Ta'Rea Campbell NYCDA and the world famed Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular recruits much of it young talent via NYCDA.

DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

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THE RELIGIOUS ROUTE BY VELMA HART A bit of catch-up. In July, the Merrick Park Baptist Church, Jamaica, the male chorus held its anniversary. Many male choruses were in the house. There was lots of good singing going on. While I was visiting MPBC, I learned the Pulpit Committee is accepting candidates for its vacant pastorate. On Aug. 35 nightly, St. John Baptist in Harlem, Rev. John Scott, pastor, had a Big Revival going on. The guest preacher was none other than Minister Caura N. Washington. She is the daughter of Rev. Carl L. Washington, Jr., pastor at the New

Mount Zion Baptist Church, also in Harlem. In Queens, the tents are being erected all around. The Greater New Bethel Ministries in Queens Village, Rev. John Boyd, pastor, is conducting Tent Church Services in Roy Wilkins Park on Merrick Blvd., St. Albans. The All Nations Apostolic Tabernacle Church tent services are being held on the corner of Brookville Road and Merrick Blvd., Laurelton, and on Aug. 7 evening time I attended the tent services of the Greater Fellowship Church Ministries, 106-01 Guy R. Brewer Blvd.,

Jamaica. Their tent is erected in the back yard of the church. Moreover, at GFC they say, “There’s a blessing in the overflow of the overflow services. You are invited by the Apostle Kendra Manigault and Cities of Refuge Alliance Worldwide, Inc., to attend the services Aug. 16 and 18 at 7:30 p.m. and a closing service Aug. 21 at 5 p.m. Invited guest preachers are Pastor James Pressey of True Worship Church of Christ, Hollis; Apostle Ernest Dorsey of Tehillah World Ministries, Laurelton, and Apostle Anna B. Thompson of New Refuge Temple Ministries,

Inc., Brooklyn. All services will be held at GFCM headquarters. The Calvary Baptist Church, 1110 Guy R. Brewer Blvd., Jamaica, Rev. Victor T. Hall, Sr., pastor, will have an “Open Air Revival” Aug. 2426 at 7 p.m. Services will be held on the church parking lot. Come one, come all. When the revival ends, Calvary will have a community carnival Aug. 27. Vendors invited; call the church (718) 297-2300 for more information. Until next time, show love.

Getting along with coworkers may add years to your life By DENISE MANN Good relationships with your coworkers and a convivial, supportive work environment may add years to your life, new Israeli research finds. Published recently in Health Psychology, the study tracked 820 adults with an average age of 41 who worked 8.8 hour days for about 20 years; a third of them were women. Employees who reported low social support at work were 2.4 times more likely to die during those two decades, compared with their colleagues who said they had a good social support system in the workplace. During the study period, 53 people died, most of whom had negligible social connections with their coworkers. Lack of emotional support at work, in fact, was associated with an 140 percent increased risk of dying in the next 20 years, the researchers found. “We spend most of our waking hours at work, and we don’t have much time to meet our friends during the weekdays,” co-author Dr. Sharon Toker of the department of organizational behavior at Tel Aviv University in Israel, explained in a statement. “Work should be a place where people can get necessary emotional support.” Dr. Toker and her colleagues surveyed the study volunteers about their relationships with their supervisors and peers. They found that peer or informal

social support at work was a more potent predictor of health and longevity than r el at i on sh i ps with a supervisor or boss. This effect was significant a m o n g employees aged 38 to 45, but not in those younger or older. The findings held up even after the researchers controlled for factors such as age, sex, obesity, smoking, alcohol use, blood sugar, cholesterol, depression and anxiety. Study participants were also asked if they took initiative at work and if they had the freedom to make their own decisions. Men did better when they were given more control at work, while women with the same amount of control actually had shorter lifespans. Specifically, women who reported significant control over their tasks and workflow were 70 percent more likely to die during the 20-year period, the study showed. Exactly what is behind this finding is not known, but the study authors suggest that women in positions of

power may be overwhelmed by the need to be tough at work and still carry out stressful duties at home. The study authors also noted that the modern workplace often lacks a supportive environment. Many people telecommute; others communicate via email even if they are in the same office. Coffee corners where people can sit and talk, informal social outings for staff members and/or a virtual social network may encourage employees to feel more connected, the researchers suggested. “Being happy at work can be a huge productivity booster, and happy people work better with others, are more creative, have more energy, get sick less often, learn faster and worry less about mistakes,” said Dr. Alan Manevitz, a psychiatrist with Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City who was not involved in the study. “The old-fashioned coffee break, talking to people face to face or having an employee picnic on the weekend are very good morale boosters,” he said.

However, the study can’t answer whether the happy, healthy employee is the chicken or the egg, Manevitz said. Are these employees happy because they work in a supportive environment, he asked, or does their positive energy spill over into how they perceive their work place? New companies like Google and Zappos are famous for their work hard, play hard credos, and this really speaks to balance, he said. “You don’t want to play hard without working or work hard without playing,” he said. These companies break down the traditional workplace hierarchies and create bullpens where people can approach one another freely, but this only works in companies where people are not worried about losing their jobs, he said. Due to the economy, “job security has gone out the window.” Dr. Elyse Schimel, a psychologist in private practice in New York City, said that in the current economy, you have to really weigh your options. “Feeling supported and having a good work environment isn’t as important as keeping a roof over your family’s head and food on the table,” she said. “There are buffers that can help you cope with stress including exercise, sleeping well, eating well, family support and social support,” she said. “If you are in a hostile work environment, but don’t have feasible options to leave, you want to get balance elsewhere in your life.”

No proof that aspirin aids conception, review shows There’s no strong evidence that taking aspirin while undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) improves a woman’s chances of becoming pregnant, researchers say. Routine use of aspirin during IVF treatment is controversial. Proponents believe that aspirin may improve blood flow to the womb and ovaries, but there are concerns that taking aspirin may cause pregnancy

complications or miscarriage. To investigate the issue, researchers reviewed data from 13 clinical trials that included a total of 2,653 women undergoing IVF. Many of the women were taking a 100-milligram dose of aspirin per day. One large study did suggest there was some benefit to taking aspirin while having IVF treatment, but the overall conclusion of the review was

that there was no evidence that aspirin improved the likelihood of getting pregnant, the researchers said. The review appears in the August edition of The Cochrane Library. “Couples undergoing IVF often feel so desperate that they are prepared to try anything that may improve their chances of conceiving,” lead researcher Charalambos

Siristatidis, of the assisted reproduction unit at the University of Athens in Greece, said in a journal news release. “But given the current evidence, there is still no basis to recommend that women take aspirin to help them become pregnant.” The researchers said large clinical trials showing beneficial results would be required to change their conclusions.

DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

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Tyler Perry TV channel may soon become reality By JOHN SELLERS Tyler Perry has been saying for years that he wants to launch his own network. Now he may be on the verge of starting an Oprah Winfreystyle channel with the backing of Lionsgate. “Tyler is one of those rare resources that one could launch a channel with,” said Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer on a conference call with financial analysts Wednesday morning. “We have a lot of options if we choose to go down that path.” If Perry’s cable network — which the New York Times reported may be

called Tyler TV — does happen, it would fulfill a goal the “Madea” star has been contemplating for a while. At TBS’ 2009 television upfront, for example, Perry spoke of his desire to start a network. “It’s a standalone type of night, and as I grow it from ‘House of Payne’ to ‘Meet the Browns’ and spread out with more and more shows, who knows?” he said of the back-to-back shows TBS airs. “I’m working on anchoring my own network, but this is a great place to sharpen the anchor.” Lionsgate is well acquainted with Perry, having distributed every

Eddie Murphy to voice film version of Hong Kong Phooey Eddie Murphy is taking on another popular animated character. The comedian, already cemented as the voice of Donkey in the four “Shrek” movies, has signed on to voice Hong Kong Phooey, in a film of the same name based. Folks of a certain age already know the character from the 1970s Hanna-Barbera animated TV series about a dog who becomes a kung fu crime fighter. Alex Zamm (“Tooth Fairy 2”) is directing Alcon Entertainment’s big screen version, which will mix live action with animation. Alcon cofounders and co-CEOs Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove will produce with Jay Stern and Brett Ratner. The property revolves around a dog, Penry, to be played by Murphy, who is granted mystic powers, including the ability to walk, talk and do kung fu. Donning a costume to become Hong Kong Phooey, he sets out to combat criminals. Scatman Crothers provided the character’s voice in the TV series. Murphy also voiced the character of Mushu, the Dragon, in Dream-

“Madea” movie as well as “Precious,” the 2009 film he produced with Oprah Winfrey and others. The company holds a first-look deal for his projects, and Lionsgate subsidiary Debmar-Mercury distributes his sitcoms “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne” and “Meet the Browns.” TBS will debut a third Perry sitcom, “For Better or Worse,” in November, replacing “House of Payne,” which will end this fall after seven seasons and 222 episodes. “He is a rare piece of talent that can bring an audience anywhere,” said Feltheimer to analysts. Feltheimer said that a course of action with the proposed Tyler TV hadn’t been established but that it might begin with a purchase of an existing channel that would then be rebranded, or it could be rolled into a network it already owns, such as the TV Guide Channel. The company does have cash on hand. On Tuesday, Lionsgate announced better-than-predicted quarterly earnings, realizing a net profit of $12.2 million for the first quarter of 2011, well up from the

$64.1 million loss it suffered in the same frame the year before. The New York Times reported that the Tyler Perry venture would initially be stocked with reruns of his sitcoms and airings of his many films, but that Perry would also acquire programing befitting his signature homespun style.

IN A SUMMER OF R-RATED COMEDIES ONLY ONE CAN BE “

THE FUNNIEST MOVIE OF THE YEAR.” Robert Fure, FILM SCHOOL REJECTS

FULLY WORTHY OF ITS R-RATING. OUTRAGEOUS AND FUNNY.”

“

Stephen Rebello, PLAYBOY

works Animation’s “Mulan.” He’ll next be seen in Universal’s “Tower Heist,” starring opposite Ben Stiller for director Ratner, and Dreamworks’ “A Thousand Words.”

‘Glee’ nabs ‘Friday Night Lights’ star By JAKE WEINRAUB LOS ANGELES — “Glee” diva Mercedes (Amber Riley) has found a new beau following the departure of the show’s Chord Overstreet. “Friday Nights Light” star LaMarcus Tinker has been signed on as a regular for the musical series’ season five, TheWrap has confirmed. Tinker, who also appeared on last season’s ABC comedy “Cougar Town” as Travis’ college roommate Kevin, will play the creatively named Marcus, a lovable linebacker for McKinley High who hits it off with

the high-note-hitting New Directions member. He will make his first appearance in the show’s season September 21 premiere. “Glee” executive producer Brad Fulchuk promised audiences at a July 24 Comic-Con panel that Mercedes’ significant other would be “a man who lifts her up, a big bubba kind of guy who encourages her to want more for herself, which will drive her arc for the first half of the season.” “Think Cuba Gooding Jr. and his wife in “Jerry McGuire,” Fulchuk told the crowd.

UNIVERSAL PICTURES PRESENTS IN ASSOCIATION WITH RELATIVITY MEDIA AN ORIGINAL FILM/BIG KID PICTURES PRODUCTION A DAVID DOBKIN FILM RYAN REYNOLDS JASON BATEMAN “THE CHANGE-UP” LESLIE MANN OLIVIA WILDE AND ALAN ARKIN MUSICBY JOHN DEBNEY EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS

PRODUCED JEFF KLEEMAN JONATHON KOMACK MARTIN JOE CARACCIOLO, JR. ORI MARMURWRITTEN BY DAVID DOBKIN NEAL H. MORITZ DIRECTED BY JON LUCAS & SCOTT MOORE BY DAVID DOBKIN A UNIVERSAL PICTURE © 2011 UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

CHECK LOCAL LISTINGS FOR THEATERS AND SHOWTIMES MOBILE USERS: For Showtimes - Text CHANGEUP with your ZIP CODE to 43KIX (43549)!

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DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

U.S. mail aims to stamp out loss, deliver digital future By EMILY STEPHENSON

Google Inc and Apple Inc and others for both customers and developers. “I think the real question is, how do we retain the Postal Service in this competitive communications environment?” said A. Lee Fritschler, a George Mason University professor who previously served on the Postal Regulatory Commission. “The whole environment is changing so much that the old model simply doesn’t fit very well.” Mail volume fell about 20 percent in the four years ending in 2010, when the Postal Service lost $8.5 billion. The agency now faces its own debt crisis: Despite delaying some payments to retirement programs, officials expect the Postal Ser-

vice to hit its borrowing limit next month. The agency, which gets no taxpayer funding, is both the pride and the punching bag of Congress, which has handed great control of Postal Service business decisions to its regulator. It delivers about 40 percent of the world’s mail, but attempts to cut service — the Postal Service says it could save $3 billion annually by slashing Saturday mail — or close post offices are deplored by lawmakers who do not want to lose jobs or the symbolic presence of a post in their districts. Lawmakers have proposed a range of fixes but are on recess until September, when the agency expects to default on a $5.5 billion retiree health payment. As customers corre-

spond by email and pay bills online, the gap is expected to widen. The Postal Service has tried in the past to go digital, but those efforts were often short-lived and met with skepticism. A 2003 presidential commission on the Postal Service called its initiatives at the time — electronic bill presentment, certified electronic mail and greeting cards — “dubious forays” and told it to stick to traditional mail. “Whenever there is a discussion or an effort by the Postal Service to get into so-called nonpostal activities, there has been some real tension,” said Art Sackler of the Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service. Foreign postal agencies are far ahead, according to a Government Accountability Office report. Germany, Finland and others can scan physical letters and deliver them to email boxes or have electronic documents

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delivered by hand. Such ideas could be viable but would be labor-intensive for a Postal Service with weighty personnel costs, experts said. “If you go and check on some of these hybrid services and so forth ... they ain’t money-makers,” Sackler said, adding that the agency also would need to compete for expertise in an already crowded e-services arena. Paul Vogel, chief of marketing and sales at USPS, is drafting a digital strategy for the Postal Service. He said he plans to begin gathering feedback this month. “I’m not planning on doing a big-bang thing because I think that’s just not appropriate,” Vogel said, explaining that the agency is

focusing on products it believes businesses want. Officials hope direct mail — or junk mail — will help fill the gap left by the loss of letters and postcards. The agency’s Direct Mail Hub offers an online tool to create advertising from templates. Every Door Direct Mail lets mailers go online to choose postal routes to send mail at a discount. A promotion for smartphone barcodes, which lead to ads or sales, was created to keep advertisers from moving online. “We have to think out what the market really wants, so it’s going to take us a little bit of work,” Vogel said. “I want to build a platform the American public needs, respects and wants.”

Disney magic fades, economy fears wallop shares

forecast. But they also warned about higher programing and production costs at ESPN, lower syndication sales at ABC and tough yearover-year comparisons for its studio division in the fourth quarter. Wunderlich Securities analyst Matthew Harrigan lowered his rating on Disney to “hold” from “buy,” saying the company’s asset value appeared “excessively ... oriented toward ESPN.” “Disney has major upside off better monetization of Disney Pixar, Marvel, ABC, and the parks, but this hinges on creative execution and the economy,” Harrigan said in a note to clients. RBC Capital Markets analyst David Bank, who cut his price target to $43 from $48, said ESPN ad growth and margins at theme parks were “softer than expected” in the justended quarter. “While years of execution justify ‘best of breed’ premium valuation, we think several quarters of ‘misses’ could make it somewhat vulnerable,” Bank said in a research note.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Postal Service has its eye on a digital future, if it can get through its present financial straits. Postal officials and observers say the traditional business of delivering letters, postcards and other First Class mail will inevitably dwindle and may eventually disappear. The agency saw a $3.1 billion net loss in its most recent quarter and has drawn criticism from leaders in Congress and others that it has been slow to modernize. The agency sees online services and digital advertising as keys to survival, but many of those ideas are in their infancy and would face competition from

By LISA RICHWINE LOS ANGELES — Shares of Walt Disney Co. were hammered on Wednesday as Wall Street worried how the company’s steadygrowth media and resort businesses would fare if consumers get pinched in a weak economy. Disney shares closed 9.1 percent lower at $31.54 after falling

nearly 15 percent earlier in the session, one day after quarterly results failed to inspire investors already nervous about theme park revenue and the sustainability of an advertising rebound. Several brokerages lowered expectations after the results, which followed a rare earnings miss in the previous quarter. Barclays Capital, Wunderlich Securities, RBC and Evercore Partners all

cut their price targets and lowered forecasts for those core divisions. “Given an uncertain consumer, we are taking a more conservative stance on our estimates going forward,” including lowering estimates for ESPN advertising revenue, said Barclays Capital analyst Anthony DiClemente. He lowered his price target for Disney shares to $44 from $52.

The company’s shares fell much more than those of rivals like Time Warner Inc, which dropped 4.6 percent. Disney lost some $6 billion in market value even after the shares recouped some of their losses in afternoon trading. They still finished with a considerably sharper drop than the 4.4 percent fall in the broader S&P 500. The operator of theme parks, the ESPN

Viacom, Cablevision settle iPad streaming dispute By JONATHAN STEMPEL Viacom Inc. and Cablevision Systems Corp. have resolved a dispute over the latter’s alleged unauthorized streaming of Viacom programing on devices such as Apple Inc’s iPad. In a joint statement, the companies on Wednesday said the settlement allows Viacom programing to

remain on Cablevision’s Optimum Apps for the iPad and other devices. It also resolves a lawsuit that Viacom had filed in June against Cablevision in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan. “Cablevision and Viacom were able to resolve the iPad matter and an unrelated business matter to their mutual satisfaction,” they said. “Neither side is conceding its original legal position or

will have further comment.” In its lawsuit, Viacom had alleged that Cablevision’s April 2 launch of Optimum App, a computer application to allow the streaming of television programs through a cable modem to iPad tablets, violated its agreement to distribute Viacom programing only on cable TV systems. Cablevision has faced a similar lawsuit

by Time Warner Cable Inc, but that case was put on hold in June as those companies tried to work out their differences. The popularity of mobile devices such as iPads has caused friction between content providers such as Viacom and cable companies such as Cablevision over whether various means to distribute programing violate contractual or trademark rights.

sports and ABC broadcast networks and a movie studio is known for consistently beating analysts’ expectations. But the company had reported a miss when it released fiscal secondquarter results in May. In fiscal third-quarter results reported on Tuesday, the Mouse House beat most analysts’ expectations. But that came after it recorded $228 million in ESPN revenue that was expected in the fourth quarter, nearly 5 percent of the $4.9 billion in total revenue for the company’s media networks. Disney “has not lived up to the earningsbeatings behavior it is known for,” Nomura Securities analyst Michael Nathanson said in a note to clients. He lowered his price target on the shares to $42 from $45. Disney executives told analysts the company is not seeing any advertiser downturn at its TV networks, and hotel bookings were down 2 percent less than the company had

20

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DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

21

22

DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

SPORTS BRIEFS Roy Williams happy with Bears rookie

Chicago Bears rookie free agent Jimmy Young wasn’t sure what to make of the text message congratulating him for not pulling a “Dez Bryant,” but he quickly learned. Young, following the rookie tradition of carrying a veteran’s shoulder pads after practice in training camp, carried the gear of former Dallas Cowboys receiver Roy Williams after a recent session. Williams had asked Bryant to do the same last year in Cowboys camp, and Bryant’s refusal generated several days of headlines. “I was [aware of the Bryant incident] after I did it,” Young said Wednesday. “I got a text message from somebody, and they were just like, ‘Man, I’m glad you didn’t pull a Dez Bryant.’ I’m like, ‘What?’ “They just said something about me carrying Roy Williams’ pads, and I told them that it wasn’t a big deal to me at all. I had a free hand. I just grabbed them and went with it. It wasn’t a big deal. But I was fully aware of the Dez Bryant deal.” Williams laughed about getting back to tradition as a guest on “The Ben And Skin Show” on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM. “Oh man, it was lovely,” Williams said. “I was like, ‘Hey 19, take my pads.’ ‘Yes sir.’ “There was no, ‘I ain’t got to do this ...’ none of that, so it was good.” Young, from TCU, believed it was part of his role as a rookie in training camp. “I think it’s a mixture of both [respect and rookie tradition],” he said. “You respect the player, and it’s just something that you understand is going to happen. You being a rookie, and an undrafted rookie at that, you feel like you have to do things like that. It’s part of the game, and it’s part of being a rookie. “So I didn’t second-guess it, didn’t think twice about it. He asked me to do it, and I got it done.”

Pryor not part of NFL supplemental draft - yet Terrelle Pryor is not yet eligible for the NFL’s supplemental draft. The league has informed its 32 teams that the supplemental draft is set for Wednesday, but the former Ohio State quarterback is not on an approved list - at least so far - that includes several other players. An NFL official with knowledge of the process tells The Associated Press on Thursday that four players have been declared eligible. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the league has said an official announcement on the draft will not be made until after it takes place. The eligible players are former Georgia running back Caleb King, former Northern Illinois safety Tracy Wilson, former Western Carolina cornerback Torez Jones and former Lindenwood University defensive end Keenan Mace. The league could still expand the list before the draft. - RICHARD ROSENBLATT

DAILY CHALLENGE

SPORTS

ARTHUR ASHE KIDS’ DAY PRESENTED BY HESS

Quddus

La La Anthony & Quddus will Host 16th Annual Music and Tennis Spectacular Set for Saturday, August 27th at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York.

The day includes tennis and music festival for children and families – including interactive games, musical entertainment and grounds activities honoring the legacy of Arthur Ashe. Tickets are on sale now

La La Anthony

through Ticketmaster (1-866-OPEN-TIX), usopen.org and at the

USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center box office.

Organizers confident of trouble-free Games despite riots By DAVE THOMPSON LONDON The London riots will not undermine confidence in the city’s ability to stage a trouble-free Olympics next year, organizing committee chairman Sebastian Coe said on Thursday. Asked if the violence and looting seen across London since Saturday would lead to doubts about the capital hosting a safe Olympics, Coe told Reuters: “I don’t think that for one moment. “That’s not to remotely minimize the

disfiguring scenes that we’ve witnessed on our TV sets and in the media more generally,” he said at Wembley Arena. Coe is visiting various Olympic venues with large numbers of IOC personnel. The schedule included a stop at Wembley Arena which is staging the world badminton championships this week as a dry-run for next year’s Games. “We have had 205 national Olympic committees with us this week, we have the leadership of the IOC with us and actually it has

been quite important for them to have seen that while we have had our challenges in London these events have gone on in an orderly and timely way,” Coe said. With no police presence needed, organizers have been able to stage the badminton championships at Wembley as planned though a couple of delegations voiced concern earlier in the week when the rioting was at its height. Coe said: “I can understand that but I’ve spent a lot of time with the different

national Olympic committees in the last 48 hours and I think they recognize that under very difficult circumstances we have managed to deliver what we set out to deliver.” Coe expressed confidence that everything was on track for the Games. He added: “I do know we have a lot of work to do in the next year to make sure we absorb everything we can from the test events and that we go on delivering at what is now the business end of this seven years.”

DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

DAILY CHALLENGE

23

SPORTS

Some NFL coaches seek ‘the same page’ in preseason By JAIME ARON . ARLINGTON, Texas - The tradition goes back generations, to the days when the NFL still referred to preseason games as “exhibitions.” One coach calls the other and they decide things like how long to play their starters and how often they blitz. It’s not fixing the game, it’s trying to get the most out of their glorified scrimmage. Consider it the football equivalent of planning a potluck dinner; you’ve got to know who is bringing what to make sure you don’t end up with six desserts but no salad or vegetables. Such arrangements don’t always happen any more in the NFL, and aren’t always acknowledged when they do. This preseason, however, some coaches believe they’re needed more than ever. With the lockout having wiped away offseason work, the new labor deal limiting practice time in training camp and other delays keeping free agents from suiting up for practices until late last week, teams are nowhere near ready to get everything they need out of the games that begin Thursday night. So, says Cowboys

coach Jason Garrett, it only makes sense to agree on the rules of engagement for a game that doesn’t count in the standings. “I think everybody in the league will do something like that because everything has been so shortened,” Garrett said. “You need to be on the same page as to who is playing against whom and what kind of stuff we’re using. I think those conversations are important.” Although this is Garrett’s first preseason in charge, he’s been around long enough to know the drill. Dolphins coach Tony Sparano mentioned having such conversations with Garrett last preseason, when Garrett was Dallas’ offensive coordinator. This preseason, Sparano expects more of the same across the league. He said there could even be strategic trade-offs, such as encouraging a foe to try blocking a kick just to see if your special teams can prevent it, in exchange for testing one of their potential weaknesses. “As we get on in this thing here and start with these preseason games that would be something I would strongly consider just because you’ve lost practices,” Sparano said. “You wouldn’t

under normal circumstances do that, but because you’ve lost practices there might be something that they need or you need.” Garrett revived the subject of coaches cutting deals by saying last weekend that he planned to talk to Denver coach John Fox about “what the overall approach is” when their teams meet Thursday night at Cowboys Stadium. The league office probably wasn’t thrilled to hear that. The reason is printed on every preseason ticket. Teams charge the same for preseason games as for regular season games, so they want to at least give the appearance that fans are getting their money’s worth. This is especially true for season-ticket holders forced to pay for all 10 home games, even though only eight truly matter. Fans know the quality of these games is lousy, which is why hardly anyone buys individual tickets. Empty seats close to the field are proof some season-tickers holders can’t even give them away. Owners acknowledged the frivolity of four preseason games by asking the players’ association to turn two into regular-season

games. That didn’t make the new collective bargaining agreement, but it wasn’t ruled out, either. Both sides only agreed to hold off for at least two years. If there were only two, they’d carry more weight. Star players would be in the game longer, and they’d probably try harder. With four preseason games, that’s certainly not the case. Perhaps that’s why old-guard coaches Bill Belichick of the Patriots and Mike Shanahan of the Redskins issued versions of the same league-approved stance when asked if they’ll set anything up this preseason. “I’ve always been under the mindset that whatever the other team wants to do, we’ve got to be ready for,” Shanahan said. Said Belichick: “We’re just going to play the game, do what we need to do and I’m sure (the Jaguars, his upcoming foe) will do what they need to do. That’s football. You’ve got to be able to react to whatever it is.” The concerns for this weekend - teammates who don’t know each other, new playbooks, lack of prep time - are similar to what everyone faces at the Pro Bowl. Since there’s less pretense about that game

being played at halfspeed, the league mandated things such as defenses remaining in basic formations and not being allowed to blitz; offenses aren’t allowed to go in motion or shift, and quarterbacks have an extra layer of protection from sacks by being allowed to throw a ball away. That might be a bit extreme for this weekend. But only a little. “Teams like Pittsburgh, New England, Indianapolis and Green Bay have their systems in place, their quarterbacks in place, a lot of veterans returning, so I don’t think they will treat the preseason any different than they have been,” said NFL Network analyst Steve Mariucci, the former coach of the 49ers and Lions. “But there are 20something new coordinators teaching from square one. Even their returning starters are learning a new playbooks. They have to play their starters longer, even at the risk of players getting injured. Otherwise, you could have a product on opening weekend that’s going to be insufficient. I don’t think teams want to look sloppy and flat in September.” Mariucci also warned that some of those new coordinators may not follow the usual presea-

son script, agreed upon or not. “I think you’ll always find some of these young, aspiring defensive coordinators bringing the kitchen sink in preseason games to get their teams confident, to say ‘Yeah, this is what I want to do,’” he said. “Congratulations. You’re going to get to the quarterback, but that’s a false positive. You’re fooling them, not beating them. What you need to be doing is the basics. You install your system from the foundation-up.” Herm Edwards expects to see all sorts of zany things this weekend because preseason openers are always a circus. It starts with rookies and new coaches not knowing where to stand on the sideline and never stops, with a constant concern over having too many or too few players in the huddle. When he coached the Jets and Chiefs, Edwards took aspirin before kickoff to ward off the headache he knew was coming, something he didn’t do during the regular season or even the playoffs. And that was with a full offseason, unlimited two-a-days and mapping out the structure of the game with his coaching counterpart.

After all the tur moil, questions loom for Buckeyes By RUSTY MILLER COLUMBUS, Ohio The 2010 season was vacated. The head coach’s job was vacated. Now a bunch of 20somethings coming off summer vacation are left with the previously unfathomable task of picking up the pieces at tattered Ohio State. “We still hold ourselves to a high stan-

dard,” says Joe Bauserman, an unknown backup quarterback who now may hold the Buckeyes’ season in his hands. “We expect to win and that’s what we’re going to do.” But expecting to win and actually doing it are two dramatically different things heading into the most troublesome of Ohio State’s 122 seasons of bedrock football. The program has never faced any-

thing like this. A scandal centered on a tattoo-parlor owner giving cash and discounts for memorabilia to several players grew geometrically. After players were suspended for the start of the 2011 season, it was discovered coach Jim Tressel had known about their complicity for more than nine months and had kept the information to himself - contrary to NCAA

rules and his own contract. After a torrent of daily revelations, rumor and innuendo, Tressel’s startlingly successful decade in Columbus came to a disgraceful end when he was forced out on May 30. Shortly thereafter, Tressel’s pet player, three-year starting quarterback Terrelle Pryor, announced he was giving up his senior season to make an

end run at an NFL career. Seeking to mollify the NCAA, Ohio State has vacated its 12-1 season a year ago (including wins over rival Michigan and in the Sugar Bowl against Arkansas), and has tagged itself with two years of NCAA probation. It won’t find out until September at the earliest if the NCAA accepts those sanctions or wants to pile on

more. Now Luke Fickell, a linebackers coach the previous nine years at his alma mater, is the interim head coach. He calls the last few months “a whirlwind, exciting, crazy, emotional.” Now that all the accusations and allegations have given way to actually taking the field and practicing, the next few weeks figure to be all of that and more.

DAILY CHALLENGE

S SP PO OR RT TS S FIRST AFRICAN TEAM TO QUALIFY CAN’ T PL AY IN L .L. WORLD SERIES FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

When the 65th Little League World Series get underway next week, the team that became the first from Africa to qualify won’t be participating. The team from Kampala, Uganda, qualified for the championship series last month, and there was joy throughout the landlocked East African nation. But the gaiety didn’t last long. The trip to Williamsburg, Pa., was cancelled when the team’s visa applications were denied by the U.S. State Department, which said it could not verify the players’ ages. The players and their supporters were disappointed. Players in the Little League World Series are supposed to be 11 to 12 years old. The documentation provided by Ugandan officials to prove its players’ ages was not substantial enough, and in some cases it appeared some birth records were altered, State Department officials said. Kampala, Uganda, qualified for the champi-

onship series last month, and there was joy throughout the landlocked East African nation. But the gaiety didn’t last long. The trip to Williamsburg, Pa., was cancelled when the team’s visa applications were denied by the U.S. State Department, which said it could not verify the players’ ages. The players and their supporters were disappointed. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said, “It is a difficult situation, I won’t deny that. But, you know, these cases are adjudicated by consular officials who look very closely at all the appropriate data, and they make their decisions based on that.” “It is unfortunate, as we were very much looking forward to welcoming the first African team to the Little League Baseball World Series,” Stephen Keener, president of Little League Baseball and Softball, said in a statement.

In Uganda, people don’t always get birth certificates because many children are not born in hospitals and the nation has a high illiteracy rate. There is controversy about the State Department decision because the Ugandan team was allowed to travel to Kutno, Poland, for the qualifying game in which it beat Saudi Arabia. Ugandan officials want to know why the age issue surfaced just as their team was set to take a leap forward. “It should have been discussed long before this,” one official said. Little League officials are generally keeping a low profile, having been embarrassed 10 years ago. It was 2001 when a youngster from New York, Danny Almonte, made an appearance. He was a dominant pitcher. But when he tournament ended it was found that Almonte had a forged birth certificate and was two years older than the eligible age.

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