Wednesday, March 26, 2008 |
( Booking photos released by the Wayne County Sheriff’s Deptarment: Associated Press )
On Wednesday, Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, and his former chief of staff, Christine Beatty, pleaded not guilty to perjury charges regarding an affair and using taxpayer money in an attempt to cover it.
They were released on $75,000 bail each, and preliminary examination has been set for June 9. If convicted of all charges, Kilpatrick could face up to 90 years in jail.
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Tuesday, March 25, 2008 |
Sen. Hillary Clinton was forced to retract a claim that she landed under sniper fire during a trip to Bosnia in 1996.
In a speech earlier this month at George Washington University, Clinton said:
“I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base.”
Comedian Sinbad, who traveled with singer Sheryl Crow and the First Lady to Bosnia, debunked the claim with the Washington Post following Clinton’s red-phone ad. According to Sinbad, “the only ‘red-phone’ moment was: ‘Do we eat here or at the next place?’”
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Monday, March 24, 2008 |
( Photo: Clarence Tabb Jr. / The Detroit News ) On Monday, criminal charges were filed against Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his former chief of staff, Christine Beatty, following a 56-day investigation of their text message scandal that erupted in January.
There are a total of 12 counts, including obstruction of justice, misconduct in office and perjury.
Last week, Kilpatrick vowed not to resigned, however Detroit’s charter calls for the mayor to be removed from office if convicted of a felony.
Following the announcement of the charges, Kilpatrick declared his innocence:
“This has been a very flawed process from the beginning,” Kilpatrick said. “I look forward to complete exoneration.”
The details of the charges are available online.
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Saturday, March 22, 2008 |
World Water Day is recognized each year on March 22, and this year is the International Year of Sanitation, which is intended to urge countries to stick to one of the targets set under the Millennium Development Goals — cutting in half, by 2015, the number of people who still lack toilet facilities.
World Water Day grew out of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development to draw attention to the plight of the now more than 2 billion people who lack access to clean, safe drinking water.
World Water Day is a relatively unknown event but committed individuals are determined to make a strong, symbolic act to demonstrate support for action on the world water crisis.
FreePoverty.com allows everyone to contribute in donating water to people from all over the world who live in extreme poverty. By letting users locate places on the map, their accuracy will determine how many cups of water will be donated on their behalf.
Friday, March 21, 2008 |
( Photo: Alex Brandon/Associated Press )
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, the nation’s only Latino governor, endorsed Sen. Barack Obama, on Friday, calling him an “extraordinary American” and urging Democrats to unite behind his candidacy and move the nation beyond its racial and partisan divide.
Richardson dropped out of the race in January and said that Obama’s speech earlier this week prompted him to inform the senator that he was inspired and impressed.
“Senator Barack Obama addressed the issue of race with the eloquence and sincerity and decency and optimism we have come to expect of him,” Richardson said at a Portland rally. “He did not seek to evade tough issues or to soothe us with comforting half-truths. Rather, he inspired us by reminding us of the awesome potential residing in our own responsibility.”
[ Read the article in its entirety. ]
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Thursday, March 20, 2008 |
Ota Benga (ca. 1881-1916) was a 23-year-old Congolese who was featured in a 1906 human zoo exhibit at the Bronx Zoo, which was intended to promote the theory that humans evolved from primates and scientific racism.
Ota Benga (or Bi, which means ‘friend’ in his language) was born around 1881 in what is now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. At the time, the area was under control of the Belgians, who plundered the land for ivory and rubber. Upon returning from gathering ivory one day, Ota Benga found that his village had been destroyed and his wife and two children murdered.
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Wednesday, March 19, 2008 |
( Photo: J. D. Pooley/The New York Times )
A white police officer, Sgt. Joseph Chavalia, was charged with negligent homicide in the death of Tarika Wilson, 26, who, according to her family, was an unarmed, innocent bystander killed in a January SWAT raid, and negligent assault in the wounding of her 1-year-old son, Sincere, whose finger had to be amputated.
Chavalia pleaded not guilty to both misdemeanors. If convicted, he would face a maximum of eight months in jail.
According to an Associated Press article, the NAACP office in Lima, OH, said the charges should have been more serious:
“Any time a man shoots through a baby and kills an unarmed woman, and is charged with two misdemeanors, I think it would be an understatement to say that that’s unacceptable,” said Jason Upthegrove, Lima NAACP president.
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