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Monday, August 31, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Two brothers, no fears and $1 billion empire
ST. LOUIS, Missouri (CNN) -- Michael and Steven Roberts didn't have two quarters to rub together a couple of decades ago. Now, the two African-American business leaders estimate their holdings -- from hotels to TV stations -- are worth $1 billion. One St. Louis hotel they own once barred black people.
Steven Roberts, left, and his brother, Michael, own a St. Louis theater that once segregated African-Americans.
Steven Roberts, left, and his brother, Michael, own a St. Louis theater that once segregated African-Americans.
"Black folks need legacy. We have to have examples of successes in order for us to be able to let the generations to come know that many of the successes that occurred by African-Americans in this country can be seen and pointed out and can be emulated," says Michael Roberts, the chairman and CEO of The Roberts Companies.
Michael and his brother Steven, who is three years younger, stroll through their office, complete with wood-paneled doors, large leather chairs and a pool table fit for a king. Their office sits along a busy street in St. Louis called Kingshighway.
"They used to call us the Kings of Kingshighway, because we own so much on this street," Michael Roberts says.
Their office is the culmination of hard work and a can-do American business attitude to strive for greatness. They launched their business from a historically black neighborhood in north St. Louis. Video Roberts brothers share secrets of their success »
From a one-room office, they created an empire now made up of 76 companies and 1,100 employees, many of them minorities. They own commercial real estate, TV stations, hotels, telecommunication companies and more. The name Roberts adorns all their properties.
"We weren't rich. We weren't poor, but we just never had any money," Michael says of their upbringing.
They like to tell their story, encouraging people with new ideas to chase their dreams. If you don't have money, they say, don't let that stop you.
Don't Miss
* Sound off: What are the challenges for black entrepreneurs, businesses?
* Tyler Perry: Ownership is key to wealth
* Voices of black America
* In Depth: Black in America
"We tell folks, learn it, get your hands dirty -- you know, a little sweat equity," says Steven Roberts, the president of The Roberts Companies. "For that college student, for that future entrepreneur ... we're saying understand what your passion is, and understand what your product is, too."
Michael Roberts chuckles. He notes that his younger brother has always been good at "putting the meat on the bone." He says he likes to tell youths and college students: "What would your life be like if you could eliminate the fear of failure, and where would you be at this point in life?"
There will be times, he says, when you will stumble, but don't let those hiccups get you down. "If you eliminate the fear of failure and if you use every moment to its fullest extent -- a very existential concept -- then you are able to take your ideas, your dreams, your aspirations, and you can pursue them with courage and confidence and bravado." What are the challenges for black entrepreneurs, businesses?
The brothers operate on a simple business philosophy: You diversify or die. And they don't believe in a full retirement. "What other animal retires?" Michael Roberts says. "If a lion retires today, tomorrow morning he becomes his brother's breakfast."
They point to their father as exhibit A. At 86, he still comes to the office that his sons named after him, the Victor Roberts Building, a large complex complete with restaurants and retail stores. He worked 39 years in the Postal Service before retiring in the 1980s. He now keeps a keen eye on his now grown boys. He refuses a paycheck.
"I suggest anyone who has a father," Michael says with a laugh, "please hire them, because you can get them for free."
The two brothers also have served in public office, elected to the St. Louis Board of Alderman in the late 1970s.
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They recently walked through The Roberts Orpheum Theatre in downtown St. Louis. It symbolizes their quest for a legacy. Decades ago, their mother and other black people were only allowed to sit in the highest balcony. Now, the brothers own the theater.
They stood on the stage and scanned the empty seats. Again, they laughed. "Mom can sit wherever she likes," Michael Roberts said.
Steven Roberts, left, and his brother, Michael, own a St. Louis theater that once segregated African-Americans.
Steven Roberts, left, and his brother, Michael, own a St. Louis theater that once segregated African-Americans.
"Black folks need legacy. We have to have examples of successes in order for us to be able to let the generations to come know that many of the successes that occurred by African-Americans in this country can be seen and pointed out and can be emulated," says Michael Roberts, the chairman and CEO of The Roberts Companies.
Michael and his brother Steven, who is three years younger, stroll through their office, complete with wood-paneled doors, large leather chairs and a pool table fit for a king. Their office sits along a busy street in St. Louis called Kingshighway.
"They used to call us the Kings of Kingshighway, because we own so much on this street," Michael Roberts says.
Their office is the culmination of hard work and a can-do American business attitude to strive for greatness. They launched their business from a historically black neighborhood in north St. Louis. Video Roberts brothers share secrets of their success »
From a one-room office, they created an empire now made up of 76 companies and 1,100 employees, many of them minorities. They own commercial real estate, TV stations, hotels, telecommunication companies and more. The name Roberts adorns all their properties.
"We weren't rich. We weren't poor, but we just never had any money," Michael says of their upbringing.
They like to tell their story, encouraging people with new ideas to chase their dreams. If you don't have money, they say, don't let that stop you.
Don't Miss
* Sound off: What are the challenges for black entrepreneurs, businesses?
* Tyler Perry: Ownership is key to wealth
* Voices of black America
* In Depth: Black in America
"We tell folks, learn it, get your hands dirty -- you know, a little sweat equity," says Steven Roberts, the president of The Roberts Companies. "For that college student, for that future entrepreneur ... we're saying understand what your passion is, and understand what your product is, too."
Michael Roberts chuckles. He notes that his younger brother has always been good at "putting the meat on the bone." He says he likes to tell youths and college students: "What would your life be like if you could eliminate the fear of failure, and where would you be at this point in life?"
There will be times, he says, when you will stumble, but don't let those hiccups get you down. "If you eliminate the fear of failure and if you use every moment to its fullest extent -- a very existential concept -- then you are able to take your ideas, your dreams, your aspirations, and you can pursue them with courage and confidence and bravado." What are the challenges for black entrepreneurs, businesses?
The brothers operate on a simple business philosophy: You diversify or die. And they don't believe in a full retirement. "What other animal retires?" Michael Roberts says. "If a lion retires today, tomorrow morning he becomes his brother's breakfast."
They point to their father as exhibit A. At 86, he still comes to the office that his sons named after him, the Victor Roberts Building, a large complex complete with restaurants and retail stores. He worked 39 years in the Postal Service before retiring in the 1980s. He now keeps a keen eye on his now grown boys. He refuses a paycheck.
"I suggest anyone who has a father," Michael says with a laugh, "please hire them, because you can get them for free."
The two brothers also have served in public office, elected to the St. Louis Board of Alderman in the late 1970s.
advertisement
They recently walked through The Roberts Orpheum Theatre in downtown St. Louis. It symbolizes their quest for a legacy. Decades ago, their mother and other black people were only allowed to sit in the highest balcony. Now, the brothers own the theater.
They stood on the stage and scanned the empty seats. Again, they laughed. "Mom can sit wherever she likes," Michael Roberts said.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Official: Jackson's Death Ruled a Homicide
(CBS/ AP) Michael Jackson's death has been ruled a homicide caused by a mix of drugs meant to treat insomnia, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press, while his personal doctor told investigators he was actually trying to wean the King of Pop off the powerful anesthetic that did him in.
Forensic tests found the anesthetic propofol combined with at least two sedatives to kill Jackson, according to the official, who spoke Monday on condition of anonymity because the findings have not been publicly released. Based on those tests, the Los Angeles County Coroner has ruled the death a homicide, the official said.
The coroner's homicide ruling does not necessarily mean a crime was committed. But it makes it more likely criminal charges will be filed against Dr. Conrad Murray, the Las Vegas cardiologist who was caring for the pop star when he died June 25 in a rented Los Angeles mansion.
The coroner's finding "doesn’t mean we are going to see a homicide, as opposed to manslaughter case against anyone," said CBS News legal analyst Andrew Cohen. "The examiner’s office doesn’t distinguish between legal terms 'manslaughter' and 'homicide.'"
Through his lawyer, Murray has said he administered nothing that "should have" killed Jackson.
Murray told investigators that Jackson stopped breathing about 10 minutes after he relented and finally gave in to his patient's demands for propofol around 10:40 a.m., following a nightlong regimen of sedatives that did not work, according to court documents unsealed Monday.
A search warrant affidavit unsealed in Houston, where Los Angeles police took materials from one of Murray's clinics last month as part of their manslaughter investigation, includes a detailed account of what detectives say Murray told them. Manslaughter is homicide without malice or premeditation.
Read the full search warrant affidavit (PDF)
The doctor said he'd been treating Jackson for insomnia for about six weeks with 50 milligrams of propofol every night via an intravenous drip, the affidavit said. Murray said he feared Jackson was becoming addicted to the anesthetic, which is supposed to be used only in hospitals and other advanced medical settings, so he had lowered the dose to 25 milligrams and added the sedatives lorazepam and midazolam.
That combination had succeeded in helping Jackson sleep two days prior to his death. So the next day, Murray told detectives, he cut off the propofol — and Jackson fell asleep with just the two sedatives.
Then around 1:30 a.m. on June 25, starting with a 10-milligram tab of Valium, Murray said he tried a series of drugs instead of propofol to make Jackson sleep. The injections included two milligrams of lorazepam around 2 a.m., two milligrams of midazolam around 3 a.m., and repeats of each at 5 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. respectively.
They didn't work.
Murray told detectives that around 10:40 a.m. he gave in to Jackson's "repeated demands/requests" for propofol, which the singer called his "milk," according to the affidavit. He administered 25 milligrams of the white-colored liquid — a relatively small dose — and finally, Jackson fell asleep.
Murray remained with the sedated Jackson for about 10 minutes, then left for the bathroom, the affidavit said. Less than two minutes later, Murray returned — and found Jackson had stopped breathing.
Cell phone records show three separate calls from Murray's phone for between 11:18 a.m. and 12:05 p.m., the affidavit said. It's not clear who received the calls. Murray had told authorities he was administering CPR during that time.
In a statement posted late Monday on his firm's Web site, Murray's attorney Edward Chernoff questioned the timeline as depicted in the affidavit, calling it "police theory."
"Dr. Murray simply never told investigators that he found Michael Jackson at 11:00 am not breathing," Chernoff said. He declined to comment on the homicide ruling, saying "We will be happy to address the Coroner's report when it is officially released."
It is no surprise that such a combination of medications could kill someone, said Dr. David Zvara, anesthesia chairman at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
"All those drugs act in synergy with each other," Zvara said. Adding propofol on top of the other sedatives could have "tipped the balance" by depressing Jackson's breathing and ultimately stopping his heart.
The 25 milligrams of propofol "is not a whopping amount," said Lee Cantrell, director of the San Diego division of the California Poison Control System. It was the cocktail of the other sedatives, known as benzodiazepines, that "may have been the trigger that pushed him over the edge," Cantrell said.
Cantrell said it's perplexing that someone would give various benzodiazepines if one was found not to be effective.
"This is horrible polypharmacy," he said, referring to the interaction between the various drugs. "No one will treat an insomniac like this."
CBS News analyst Trent Copeland told CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric that he is surprised Murray has yet to be charged.
"It's actually surprising that those charges have not yet been filed," he said. "Particularly, given all the evidence that appears to be mounting against the doctor. There's documentary evidence, there's evidence from statements he provided to law enforcement in those six hours plus interviews. I'm a little surprised that we have not yet seen charges filed against the doctor, or him arrested. But… I expect that to happen very, very soon."
The affidavit, signed by a judge July 20, said that the coroner's office chief medical examiner told police his review of preliminary toxicology results showed "lethal levels of propofol."
Besides the propofol and two sedatives, the coroner's toxicology report found other substances in Jackson's system but they were not believed to have been a factor in the singer's death, the official told the AP.
Murray didn't tell paramedics or doctors at UCLA hospital where Jackson was rushed about any drugs he administered other than lorazepam and flumazenil, according to the affidavit.
It was only during a subsequent interview with Los Angeles Police detectives that Murray gave a more full accounting of the events leading up to the 911 call, the document said.
The coroner's office has not publicly released its autopsy findings, citing a request from police to withhold results until their investigation is complete.
A call to the coroner's office was not returned Monday. A spokeswoman for the Los Angeles District Attorney's said no case had been presented so the office had nothing to comment on.
The line between safe and dangerous doses of propofol is thin, and according to the drug's guidelines a trained professional must always stay bedside.
Word that Jackson was given the drug to help him sleep startled the medical community, not the least because the setting was his rented mansion. Home use of propofol is virtually unheard of — safe administration requires both a specially trained anesthesiologist and an array of lifesaving equipment. Murray was trained as a heart doctor, not a pain and sedation specialist.
At Jackson's bedside were pill bottles for other drugs prescribed by Murray and two other doctors, the document says. The medicines include a variety of anti-insomnia drugs, a muscle relaxant and a drug for urinary problems from an enlarged prostate.
Investigators found about eight bottles of propofol in Jackson's home along with numerous other medications, according to the affidavit. Murray told investigators he didn't order or buy any propofol, but investigators served a search warrant Aug. 11 at a Las Vegas pharmacy and uncovered evidence showing Murray legally purchased from the store the propofol he gave Jackson the day he died.
When he died, Jackson was skinny but not overly emaciated, and his body had bed sores, the official said. The singer is believed to have developed bed sores in the months following his 2005 acquittal of child molestation charges, when he went into seclusion and spent long stretches in bed.
Jackson's family released a statement Monday, saying it has "full confidence" in the legal process and the efforts of investigators. It concludes: "The family looks forward to the day that justice can be served."
Complete coverage of Michael Jackson's life and death
The affidavit contains the following excerpts:
• "I have reason to believe and do believe that evidence of the crime of manslaughter" was found in Murray’s storage facility.
• Murray says he administered "several drugs to Jackson in the early morning hours" and at 11am, Jackson stopped breathing.
• "toxicology analysis showed that MJ had lethal levels of Propofol in his blood"
• Murray administered Propofol and Lidocaine intravenously in early morning hours of 6/25/09
The warrant says the following:
• Murray told LAFD paramedics he had given Jackson Lorazepam before he stopped breathing - 2 doses of 2 mg during the night
• Search of residence found the following bottles of meds prescribed by Murray: diazepam (valium), tamsulosin (flomax), lorazepam (ativan) and temazepam (restoril)
• Also from Dr Metzger clonazepam (klonopin) and trazonone (desyrl)
• And tizanidine (zaanaflex) by Dr. Klein
• Murray gave Jackson an intravenous drip every night to help him sleep of Propofol diluted with Lidocaine
• On June 22, Murray gave MJ propofol and lorazepam and midazolam
• On June 23 gave him lorazepam and midazolam.
On June 25, the day of Jackson's death, the warrant has the following information:
• 0130am - valium pill.
• 0200 lorazepam IV.
• 0300 midazolam IV.
• 0500 lorazepam IV.
• Jackson remained awake and at 0730 Murray gave him more midazolam in IV.
• Jackson remained awake and at 1040am Murray gave him propofol diluted with lidocaine via IV drip. Jackson finally went to sleep.
• 1050am Murray went to the bathroom for 2 minutes, returned and said Jackson wasn’t breathing. Started CPR and gave him Flumanezil
Forensic tests found the anesthetic propofol combined with at least two sedatives to kill Jackson, according to the official, who spoke Monday on condition of anonymity because the findings have not been publicly released. Based on those tests, the Los Angeles County Coroner has ruled the death a homicide, the official said.
The coroner's homicide ruling does not necessarily mean a crime was committed. But it makes it more likely criminal charges will be filed against Dr. Conrad Murray, the Las Vegas cardiologist who was caring for the pop star when he died June 25 in a rented Los Angeles mansion.
The coroner's finding "doesn’t mean we are going to see a homicide, as opposed to manslaughter case against anyone," said CBS News legal analyst Andrew Cohen. "The examiner’s office doesn’t distinguish between legal terms 'manslaughter' and 'homicide.'"
Through his lawyer, Murray has said he administered nothing that "should have" killed Jackson.
Murray told investigators that Jackson stopped breathing about 10 minutes after he relented and finally gave in to his patient's demands for propofol around 10:40 a.m., following a nightlong regimen of sedatives that did not work, according to court documents unsealed Monday.
A search warrant affidavit unsealed in Houston, where Los Angeles police took materials from one of Murray's clinics last month as part of their manslaughter investigation, includes a detailed account of what detectives say Murray told them. Manslaughter is homicide without malice or premeditation.
Read the full search warrant affidavit (PDF)
The doctor said he'd been treating Jackson for insomnia for about six weeks with 50 milligrams of propofol every night via an intravenous drip, the affidavit said. Murray said he feared Jackson was becoming addicted to the anesthetic, which is supposed to be used only in hospitals and other advanced medical settings, so he had lowered the dose to 25 milligrams and added the sedatives lorazepam and midazolam.
That combination had succeeded in helping Jackson sleep two days prior to his death. So the next day, Murray told detectives, he cut off the propofol — and Jackson fell asleep with just the two sedatives.
Then around 1:30 a.m. on June 25, starting with a 10-milligram tab of Valium, Murray said he tried a series of drugs instead of propofol to make Jackson sleep. The injections included two milligrams of lorazepam around 2 a.m., two milligrams of midazolam around 3 a.m., and repeats of each at 5 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. respectively.
They didn't work.
Murray told detectives that around 10:40 a.m. he gave in to Jackson's "repeated demands/requests" for propofol, which the singer called his "milk," according to the affidavit. He administered 25 milligrams of the white-colored liquid — a relatively small dose — and finally, Jackson fell asleep.
Murray remained with the sedated Jackson for about 10 minutes, then left for the bathroom, the affidavit said. Less than two minutes later, Murray returned — and found Jackson had stopped breathing.
Cell phone records show three separate calls from Murray's phone for between 11:18 a.m. and 12:05 p.m., the affidavit said. It's not clear who received the calls. Murray had told authorities he was administering CPR during that time.
In a statement posted late Monday on his firm's Web site, Murray's attorney Edward Chernoff questioned the timeline as depicted in the affidavit, calling it "police theory."
"Dr. Murray simply never told investigators that he found Michael Jackson at 11:00 am not breathing," Chernoff said. He declined to comment on the homicide ruling, saying "We will be happy to address the Coroner's report when it is officially released."
It is no surprise that such a combination of medications could kill someone, said Dr. David Zvara, anesthesia chairman at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
"All those drugs act in synergy with each other," Zvara said. Adding propofol on top of the other sedatives could have "tipped the balance" by depressing Jackson's breathing and ultimately stopping his heart.
The 25 milligrams of propofol "is not a whopping amount," said Lee Cantrell, director of the San Diego division of the California Poison Control System. It was the cocktail of the other sedatives, known as benzodiazepines, that "may have been the trigger that pushed him over the edge," Cantrell said.
Cantrell said it's perplexing that someone would give various benzodiazepines if one was found not to be effective.
"This is horrible polypharmacy," he said, referring to the interaction between the various drugs. "No one will treat an insomniac like this."
CBS News analyst Trent Copeland told CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric that he is surprised Murray has yet to be charged.
"It's actually surprising that those charges have not yet been filed," he said. "Particularly, given all the evidence that appears to be mounting against the doctor. There's documentary evidence, there's evidence from statements he provided to law enforcement in those six hours plus interviews. I'm a little surprised that we have not yet seen charges filed against the doctor, or him arrested. But… I expect that to happen very, very soon."
The affidavit, signed by a judge July 20, said that the coroner's office chief medical examiner told police his review of preliminary toxicology results showed "lethal levels of propofol."
Besides the propofol and two sedatives, the coroner's toxicology report found other substances in Jackson's system but they were not believed to have been a factor in the singer's death, the official told the AP.
Murray didn't tell paramedics or doctors at UCLA hospital where Jackson was rushed about any drugs he administered other than lorazepam and flumazenil, according to the affidavit.
It was only during a subsequent interview with Los Angeles Police detectives that Murray gave a more full accounting of the events leading up to the 911 call, the document said.
The coroner's office has not publicly released its autopsy findings, citing a request from police to withhold results until their investigation is complete.
A call to the coroner's office was not returned Monday. A spokeswoman for the Los Angeles District Attorney's said no case had been presented so the office had nothing to comment on.
The line between safe and dangerous doses of propofol is thin, and according to the drug's guidelines a trained professional must always stay bedside.
Word that Jackson was given the drug to help him sleep startled the medical community, not the least because the setting was his rented mansion. Home use of propofol is virtually unheard of — safe administration requires both a specially trained anesthesiologist and an array of lifesaving equipment. Murray was trained as a heart doctor, not a pain and sedation specialist.
At Jackson's bedside were pill bottles for other drugs prescribed by Murray and two other doctors, the document says. The medicines include a variety of anti-insomnia drugs, a muscle relaxant and a drug for urinary problems from an enlarged prostate.
Investigators found about eight bottles of propofol in Jackson's home along with numerous other medications, according to the affidavit. Murray told investigators he didn't order or buy any propofol, but investigators served a search warrant Aug. 11 at a Las Vegas pharmacy and uncovered evidence showing Murray legally purchased from the store the propofol he gave Jackson the day he died.
When he died, Jackson was skinny but not overly emaciated, and his body had bed sores, the official said. The singer is believed to have developed bed sores in the months following his 2005 acquittal of child molestation charges, when he went into seclusion and spent long stretches in bed.
Jackson's family released a statement Monday, saying it has "full confidence" in the legal process and the efforts of investigators. It concludes: "The family looks forward to the day that justice can be served."
Complete coverage of Michael Jackson's life and death
The affidavit contains the following excerpts:
• "I have reason to believe and do believe that evidence of the crime of manslaughter" was found in Murray’s storage facility.
• Murray says he administered "several drugs to Jackson in the early morning hours" and at 11am, Jackson stopped breathing.
• "toxicology analysis showed that MJ had lethal levels of Propofol in his blood"
• Murray administered Propofol and Lidocaine intravenously in early morning hours of 6/25/09
The warrant says the following:
• Murray told LAFD paramedics he had given Jackson Lorazepam before he stopped breathing - 2 doses of 2 mg during the night
• Search of residence found the following bottles of meds prescribed by Murray: diazepam (valium), tamsulosin (flomax), lorazepam (ativan) and temazepam (restoril)
• Also from Dr Metzger clonazepam (klonopin) and trazonone (desyrl)
• And tizanidine (zaanaflex) by Dr. Klein
• Murray gave Jackson an intravenous drip every night to help him sleep of Propofol diluted with Lidocaine
• On June 22, Murray gave MJ propofol and lorazepam and midazolam
• On June 23 gave him lorazepam and midazolam.
On June 25, the day of Jackson's death, the warrant has the following information:
• 0130am - valium pill.
• 0200 lorazepam IV.
• 0300 midazolam IV.
• 0500 lorazepam IV.
• Jackson remained awake and at 0730 Murray gave him more midazolam in IV.
• Jackson remained awake and at 1040am Murray gave him propofol diluted with lidocaine via IV drip. Jackson finally went to sleep.
• 1050am Murray went to the bathroom for 2 minutes, returned and said Jackson wasn’t breathing. Started CPR and gave him Flumanezil
Monday, August 24, 2009
Friday, August 21, 2009
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Egypt's Valley Of The Kings Tombs Could Disappear In 150 Years Due To Tourists
The head of Egypt's antiquities has warned that a pharoah's tombs could disappear in as little as 150 years due to damage by visitors, AFP reports.
Zahi Hawass said that the Valley of the Kings tombs are being damaged by visitors' breath and poor ventilation, causing damaging fungus to develop.
Hawass said that the colors of engravings and paintings were being eroded and the tombs themselves could disappear between 150 and 500 years.
The Telegraph reports that Egyptian authorities have decided to close some tombs to tourists and will replace them with replicas.
The Valley of the Kings tombs include those of Tutenkhamun, Nefertiti and Seti I.
Every year, thousands of people travel to the Nile valley to see the tombs firsthand.
Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities has already begun protective measures by introducing ventilation systems and restricting the level of visitors, the New Kerala reports.
Your request is being processed... Obama, Mubarak Meet To Repair Relations After Bush
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama won lavish praise from his Egyptian counterpart on Tuesday and spoke of an "extraordinary opportunity" for making peace in the Middle East, saying he was encouraged by U.S. efforts to restart talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
Seated next to President Hosni Mubarak, who was making his first visit to the U.S. capital in five years, Obama thanked his Egyptian counterpart for joining him in trying to construct a deal that has eluded world leaders for more than six decades.
Returning the compliment, Mubarak asserted that Obama's speech to the Muslim world – delivered in Cairo earlier this summer – had convinced Arabs the United States truly was an honest broker.
The 81-year-old Egyptian leader, who was estranged from the Bush administration, said Obama had "removed all doubts about the United States and the Muslim world."
Mubarak said, "The Islamic world had thought that the U.S. was against Islam, but his (Obama's) great, fantastic address there has removed all those doubts."
Obama's positive assessment of the peace effort was issued in response to a question about reports that Israel had stopped granting permission for new settlements in the West Bank, even though building in progress was continuing.
Obama has made a resumption of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians one of his key foreign policy goals, hoping a breakthrough there would lead to wider agreements among the Jewish state and the Arab world.
To that end, Obama has demanded that the Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu freeze construction of Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, land that the Palestinians want for a state. Netanyahu's public refusal has opened a rare rift between the traditionally close allies.
Nevertheless, Obama said: "The Israeli government has taken discussions with us very seriously." He said he was "encouraged by some of the things I am seeing on the ground."
"All parties," Obama said, "have to take steps to restart serious negotiations," including Palestinian efforts to end the incitement of violence against Israel.
Obama took pains to include references to needed steps not only from Israel but also the Palestinians and the larger Arab world.
"If all sides are willing to move off of the rut that we're in currently, then I think there is an extraordinary opportunity to make real progress. But we're not there yet," Obama said.
Mubarak said an end to Jewish settlement activity was central to a resumption of Israeli-Palestinian talks and a wider improvement of ties among the Israelis and all of its Arab neighbors. Egypt made peace with Israel 30 years ago and Jordan, Israel's eastern neighbor that formerly controlled the West Bank, followed suit, but not until 1994.
Mubarak took a traditionally tough stand about the thorny issues that still must be settled between Israel and the Palestinians, saying he had told the Israelis that they must "forget temporary solutions and forget about temporary borders."
The Arabs, backing a long-standing peace offer from Saudi Arabia, have said they were willing to recognize Israel and make peace if the Jewish state returns to borders as they existed before the 1967 war. Israel annexed all of Jerusalem and captured the West Bank during that conflict.
Mubarak looked robust despite reports that he was growing increasingly frail and preparing his 46-year-old son, Gamal, as a successor.
Egypt has an exploding population, ravaged by widespread poverty and high unemployment. The Egyptian president, who has ruled the country for 28 years, has kept a lid on Egypt's burgeoning social and fundamentalist Islamic religious pressures through heavy repression of much of the political opposition in Egypt. He has been particularly tough on the Islamic fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood, the most organized group challenging his rule.
Mubarak had been a regular visitor to Washington during the Clinton administration. Then he stayed away to protest the U.S. invasion of Iraq and President George W. Bush's intensified pressure to open the Egyptian political system and moderate its human rights policies.
But that was in the past, Mubarak said.
"Relations between us and the United States are very good relations and strategic relations. And despite some of the hoops that we had with previous administrations, this did not change the nature of our bilateral relations."
Both leaders said they had talked about reforming Egypt's political system, but Obama has been far less vocal publicly – an obvious bid to lower the temperature in relations with the Middle East's most populous Arab country. Mubarak's fulsome praise of Obama suggested the strategy was paying benefits.
U.S. critics, however, insist that Obama must not relent in pressuring Mubarak on reform.
On Iran, one of the largest and most complicated foreign challenges facing Obama, Mubarak said he and Obama talked at length about concerns that Tehran is trying to build a nuclear weapon.
Mubarak – like Obama, the Israeli leadership and many Arab countries – sees a nuclear-armed Iran as a "game-changing" possibility that could upend the power balance in the Middle East.
While noting they confronted the issue, neither leader indicated how they intend to move forward.
Obama has sought to establish a dialogue with the Iranians but has set a September deadline for Tehran's Islamic leadership to respond.
A next U.S. step would center on efforts to enforce tougher U.N. sanctions aimed at punishing Iran economically and further isolating the Islamic regime, which claims it is developing the technology for nuclear generation of electricity, not a bomb.
Israel has spoken openly of a military attack on Iran's nuclear facilities but is widely believed to have agreed to stand down to give the U.S. policy time to work.
Your request is being processed... Nate Robinson Arrested, Had Suspended License
EW YORK — New York Knicks player Nate Robinson was arrested Tuesday for driving without a license.
Police said Robinson was arrested after officers pulled him over in the Bronx at about 5:30 p.m. and discovered he had a suspended license.
The Knicks guard was taken to the 52nd Precinct and charged with aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and issued a summons to return to court at a later date, police said.
A Knicks spokesman said they were aware of the situation and would discuss it with Robinson directly.
Robinson is a restricted free agent, meaning the Knicks can match any offer he receives from another team. The club has said it hopes to keep the popular guard at the right price.
Robinson was in New York to work at a basketball camp. In a series of postings on his Twitter page late Tuesday night, he apologized to the Knicks, his family and his fans, and thanked the police.
The NBA's slam dunk champion explained that he believed he was being pulled over for tinted windows but learned it was because he had an unpaid ticket that led to the suspended license. He added the matter would be cleared up.
You think your Man May be On The "Down Low"
Are you looking for signs your husband is gay? just know that I've been where you are.
When I was 41 years old, I found out that my husband was gay. I was not only devastated, but I couldn't help asking myself how I could not have known. Wouldn't there have been obvious signs my husband was gay? After much research I realized that most gay married men are masters at concealing their sexual orientation. Their wives and girlfriends are usually the last to know.
The Centers for Disease Control (and Prevention), CDC, estimates that at least 4,000,000 women have been involved with men that have had sex with other men! That's a lot of us! Most of us never even see it coming.
Here is another killer statistic: according to the Family Pride Coalition, 20 percent of all gay men in America are in heterosexual marriages.
So…what are the signs your husband is gay? Let's look at some of the signs that may indicate your husband is homosexual. First you must rule out some of the stereotypes often associated with gay men, such as being overly sensitive or caring, emotional, having a lisp or carrying himself a certain way. Just because he has some effeminate qualities does not mean that he is necessarily gay.
You can click here to download the complete list of signs your husband is gay, but here are a few:
* Suspicious non-verbal communication with other men -- a look, a touch or hug that lasts a little too long or seems to be intimate
* Possession of homosexual pornography.
* Extreme homophobic behavior, coupled with the other factors on this list, is a major sign your husband might be gay.
* If your husband continually makes "gay" jokes, or rages towards homosexuals or homosexual behavior, beware!
You Suspect Your Husband is Gay…Now What?
Despite how worried you may be that he is gay, be careful about accusing your husband until you have proof of his homosexuality. If he does not offer an explanation that is believable about his "typically gay" behavior, search deeper. You have every right to probe because it is your future and your family's well being on the line.
Hopefully, you have the means and the fortitude to handle the situation with grace and dignity.
This is especially true if you have children. You want to demonstrate to them how to handle difficult situations. There is perhaps no better opportunity to do this than when you are discovering the truth about their father.
If you really think your husband is gay, start by reading my book. If you need some advice on what to do next, email me.
Recognizing the signs your husband might be gay is step one in a long process. Take a deep breath, hold your head up high, and know that, like me, you'll survive.
Top signs your husband is gay
1. Suspicious non-verbal communication with other men -- a look, a touch or hug that lasts a little too long or seems to be intimate.
2. Possession of homosexual pornography (videos, magazines, photos stored on his computer). If your husband has consistently viewed homosexual pornography, on the computer (check the history in your internet browser!) remember that he probably would not be doing this if he did not enjoy it. It is simply too risky an activity to merely "check out".
3. Your husband's inability to be sexually aroused by you. If sexual activity steeply declines within the first few years of marriage, or if you're always more sexually aggressive than your husband, don't think it is all your fault!
4. An abundance of male friends with whom he seems to be too close or too familiar. Watch out if your husband spends too much alone time with one man or a small group of men. This is a sign that perhaps your husband is gay. At the very least, you can suspect that he is involved with his male friend(s) with a level of intimacy that he should be saved for you. Trust your instincts if he spends a great deal of time with one man or a few without inviting you to the party. If you really feel as though something strange is going on, there is probably a reason.
5. Lots of phone calls from other men. If they are men you don't know or men that your husband does not willingly tell you about (such as an old friend from high school who happened to get in touch with him), be concerned.
6. Buying or receiving expensive, intimate, or overly personal gifts from other men.
7. A consistent overreaction to anything concerning gay men -- extreme homophobic behavior. If your husband turns almost militantly angry when confronted by someone who is gay, it may indicate that your husband is gay. This doesn't make sense at first, but take a minute and think about it... People often lash out at those who embody traits they do not like about themselves. They are in fact empathizing with that person, but it doesn't come across that way.
8. A strong preference for non-typical sex.
9. Unusually high percentage of male friends who are gay. Watch out if your husband's new best friend is gay!
10. Male friends who are overly friendly.
11. A tendency for your husband to brag about gay men complimenting him on his looks.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
A White Woman Explains Why She Prefers Black Men
Black skin is thick and lush, sensuous to the touch, like satin and velvet made flesh. There's only one patch of skin on a white man's body that remotely compares to nearly every inch of a black man's skin. The first time I caressed black skin, it felt like a luxury I shouldn't be able to afford. I craved it more strongly than Carrie Bradshaw craved Manolo Blahnik shoes. That phrase, "Once you go black, you never go back" is all about the feeling of the skin.
And I had the socially acceptable explanation for my craving. I used that paucity-of-available-white-partners rationale to explain my relationships with black men for several years. A white woman past forty is often passed over by her white-male contemporaries. She goes younger or ethnic or foreign-born or down the socioeconomic scale or darker or she spends lonely nights at home with her cats. Black men are happy to get the babe they couldn't have when she was twentysomething and fertile. The laws of the marketplace do prevail. It's not me, it's themthem being the white guys who weren't after me anymore, or so I claimed.
That's a lie. The truth is, I attract about the same percentage of available white men my age (and far younger!) now as I did when I was thirtyand that's not including the unavailable white men who want to play around anyway.
Enough white men want me that I was hardly facing enforced celibacy, but I don't want them.
I want black men. They want me. We look at one another and exchange a visible frisson of sexual energy in the lingering glances. And our attraction is based first on race. We are not those couples who "happen to fall in love" with someone of a different race or more purposefully come together but out of some greater sense of interracial understanding and respect. Not as politically-correct men and women do we seek one another out. The Internet has made it a lot easier for us to find each other now. Men advertise: ebony seeks ivory. Women write: seeking tall, dark, and handsome. Very dark. We are not the same people who say: Race is not important. It is important to us. We have race-specific desires.
Even in a time when nearly 40 percent of single Americans have dated outside their race, that deliberate seeking of the specific other makes some people, especially black women, damned mad.
We are what they denigrate and castigate: white women and black men who choose one another because of our racial differences. They resent our taking their men. Black men are two and a half times more likely to marry a white woman than a black woman is to marry a white man. Black women can point to that statistic in justifying their wrath. But in truth, black sisters, we're after the sex, not the ringand these guys aren't the marrying kind anyway.
Yes, the sex!
The woman who goes after black men is a variant of sex journalist Susie Bright's "white bitch in heat," a woman who puts sex first even though women aren't supposed to do that. According to one school of thought, white women turn to black men when their sex drives kick into higher gear and their social inhibitions recede into the rearview mirror. It's a "yes, baby, now I'm ready for you" reaction.
When we get to the "yes, baby" place, they know it, and they are ready and waiting for us. Black men have more energy, style and edge than white men. They know how to flirt, a nearly lost art among the rest of us. A black man is so damned sexy because he knows how to make a woman feel sexy.
Black men have something white guys don't have anymore: confidence in their masculinity, their sexuality. They clearly know they're men. White men appear to be waiting for the latest sociological research study to let them know if they are men or not. Yet black men are gentlemen, something else white men no longer are. They make me feel like a woman, both respected and desired. I can let go of my inhibitions, my need to control, when I am with them. How many white men can treat a woman like a lady and ravish her too?
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I often felt in my White Period that only during heated sex does that little layer of air bubbles between me and the world pop and disappear, leaving me open to intimate connection. It takes a lot of friction for two white people to get that close. These black men, so alive with erotic electricity, cut through the bubbles with a touch, a caress, a kissand they free meand I can truly touch them. I am like a pampered passenger in a Porsche with an expert driver at the wheel. I know I could suggest a route change, but I never really want to do that. On the other hand, the last time I had sex with a white man, we slogged along a bumpy road in a really old VW, the driver like the typical bumbling tv husband who would neither ask for nor accept the directions he badly needed.
My current lover, a handsome businessman, seduced me via eye contact at a neighborhood bar while I was eating burgers with a friend. Without saying a word, he paid the compliments, asked the questions with his expressive eyes. He didn't move over to sit beside me and ask if he could buy me a drink until he knew the time was right. Both soft-spoken and assertive, he has impeccable manners and charm. I was kissing him in a cab 30 minutes after that drink.
On another night in that same bar, a different black man, an artist, knelt and kissed my knees.
I am sure there must be some black men who aren't good in bed. Personally, I have not experienced one who isn't. (True, I am not dating down the socioeconomic ladder, but I didn't do that when I dated white either, so the racial comparisons seem valid and fair.) They look better than white men, they touch and kiss and make love better than white men. Statistically, their penises are only a fraction of an inch bigger on average, but they seem bigger and harder.
White men over 40 have lost their waistlines and their zest for lifeif they ever had it. They carry resentments, grudges and extra pounds in their basketball bellies. Perhaps a good part of that bloat is unhappiness. Even the thin ones look flabby somehow and deeply aggrieved. They nurse the smallest perceived slight longer than their double shots of Scotch. Surely our culture as much as biology turns them into softer, spongier, less-interesting versions of their youthful selves just at the point where women and black men and other minorities are emerging strong. Society overvalues the white man, leaving him angry and bitter when he realizes, around age 40, that he's not all that.
With the exception of some Italians, white men don't turn me on anymore.
That admission puts me in the same category as the older man only interested primarily or exclusively in young women. While women my age scowl and frown at these aging, Upper West Side Boomers pushing strollers as the hand of the thin, blonde wife 20 years their junior rests lightly on their arm, I feel a kinship with the old goats. We are the same, me and that bald white guy, drawn to the exotic other, not caring that the object of our desire has no childhood memory of a Kennedy assassination or a typical WASP Sunday dinner of over-roasted beef, lumpy mashed potatoes and soggy vegetables.
Analyze the roots of attractions all you wantlike scientists have doneand you won't come up with a perfect explanation for why we crave what we do. Desire rises from our depths and is gloriously oblivious to the good opinion of others. Yet until recently, I pretended that my lust was an equal-opportunity craving, because that seemed like the right thing to do.
Halfway through the first glass of wine in my last date with a white man, I realized that little clouds of sadness and self-pity were regularly fluffing off his psyche like the dust clouds kicked up by that dirt-smudged "Peanuts" character as he walks through Charlie Brown's life. This guy was at least mildly depressed, and I wanted to tell him to exercise, lose weight, trim the combover and get interested in something outside yourself. I would have walked out on him immediately, but he seemed to expect that. I couldn't deliver the blow to his ego proffered like the naked neck of a martyr to the ax. My Southern cousins would describe his general demeanor as a "hangdog air." Into the second glass of wine and glancing longingly at the exit, I wanted to hang that dog myself when he mentioned that his face was flushedI hadn't noticedbecause he'd taken a Viagra "just in case."
What did he think would entice me more: That he assumed sex was probable because I'm a sex journalistor that he would need chemical help if sex did occur?
I cannot even imagine a black man bungling an attempted seduction in such a sad way.
That was my last token white guy. I recently came out of my racial-preference closet and told my friends, "I love black men. I'm not attracted to white men over 40, and I'm not dating them anymore. Really, it's not them, it's me.
Nobody was surprised.
And I had the socially acceptable explanation for my craving. I used that paucity-of-available-white-partners rationale to explain my relationships with black men for several years. A white woman past forty is often passed over by her white-male contemporaries. She goes younger or ethnic or foreign-born or down the socioeconomic scale or darker or she spends lonely nights at home with her cats. Black men are happy to get the babe they couldn't have when she was twentysomething and fertile. The laws of the marketplace do prevail. It's not me, it's themthem being the white guys who weren't after me anymore, or so I claimed.
That's a lie. The truth is, I attract about the same percentage of available white men my age (and far younger!) now as I did when I was thirtyand that's not including the unavailable white men who want to play around anyway.
Enough white men want me that I was hardly facing enforced celibacy, but I don't want them.
I want black men. They want me. We look at one another and exchange a visible frisson of sexual energy in the lingering glances. And our attraction is based first on race. We are not those couples who "happen to fall in love" with someone of a different race or more purposefully come together but out of some greater sense of interracial understanding and respect. Not as politically-correct men and women do we seek one another out. The Internet has made it a lot easier for us to find each other now. Men advertise: ebony seeks ivory. Women write: seeking tall, dark, and handsome. Very dark. We are not the same people who say: Race is not important. It is important to us. We have race-specific desires.
Even in a time when nearly 40 percent of single Americans have dated outside their race, that deliberate seeking of the specific other makes some people, especially black women, damned mad.
We are what they denigrate and castigate: white women and black men who choose one another because of our racial differences. They resent our taking their men. Black men are two and a half times more likely to marry a white woman than a black woman is to marry a white man. Black women can point to that statistic in justifying their wrath. But in truth, black sisters, we're after the sex, not the ringand these guys aren't the marrying kind anyway.
Yes, the sex!
The woman who goes after black men is a variant of sex journalist Susie Bright's "white bitch in heat," a woman who puts sex first even though women aren't supposed to do that. According to one school of thought, white women turn to black men when their sex drives kick into higher gear and their social inhibitions recede into the rearview mirror. It's a "yes, baby, now I'm ready for you" reaction.
When we get to the "yes, baby" place, they know it, and they are ready and waiting for us. Black men have more energy, style and edge than white men. They know how to flirt, a nearly lost art among the rest of us. A black man is so damned sexy because he knows how to make a woman feel sexy.
Black men have something white guys don't have anymore: confidence in their masculinity, their sexuality. They clearly know they're men. White men appear to be waiting for the latest sociological research study to let them know if they are men or not. Yet black men are gentlemen, something else white men no longer are. They make me feel like a woman, both respected and desired. I can let go of my inhibitions, my need to control, when I am with them. How many white men can treat a woman like a lady and ravish her too?
Related content
Flavor of the Week: Martha Cool GirlBash Compactor: Opening NightBlack and white dating, Black women white menBash Compactor: HOT Hot HeatThe Flip-Flop KingMore Than Zero
Related to:nypressnew yorkblackmenwhite womanvelvet fleshskinfetish
I often felt in my White Period that only during heated sex does that little layer of air bubbles between me and the world pop and disappear, leaving me open to intimate connection. It takes a lot of friction for two white people to get that close. These black men, so alive with erotic electricity, cut through the bubbles with a touch, a caress, a kissand they free meand I can truly touch them. I am like a pampered passenger in a Porsche with an expert driver at the wheel. I know I could suggest a route change, but I never really want to do that. On the other hand, the last time I had sex with a white man, we slogged along a bumpy road in a really old VW, the driver like the typical bumbling tv husband who would neither ask for nor accept the directions he badly needed.
My current lover, a handsome businessman, seduced me via eye contact at a neighborhood bar while I was eating burgers with a friend. Without saying a word, he paid the compliments, asked the questions with his expressive eyes. He didn't move over to sit beside me and ask if he could buy me a drink until he knew the time was right. Both soft-spoken and assertive, he has impeccable manners and charm. I was kissing him in a cab 30 minutes after that drink.
On another night in that same bar, a different black man, an artist, knelt and kissed my knees.
I am sure there must be some black men who aren't good in bed. Personally, I have not experienced one who isn't. (True, I am not dating down the socioeconomic ladder, but I didn't do that when I dated white either, so the racial comparisons seem valid and fair.) They look better than white men, they touch and kiss and make love better than white men. Statistically, their penises are only a fraction of an inch bigger on average, but they seem bigger and harder.
White men over 40 have lost their waistlines and their zest for lifeif they ever had it. They carry resentments, grudges and extra pounds in their basketball bellies. Perhaps a good part of that bloat is unhappiness. Even the thin ones look flabby somehow and deeply aggrieved. They nurse the smallest perceived slight longer than their double shots of Scotch. Surely our culture as much as biology turns them into softer, spongier, less-interesting versions of their youthful selves just at the point where women and black men and other minorities are emerging strong. Society overvalues the white man, leaving him angry and bitter when he realizes, around age 40, that he's not all that.
With the exception of some Italians, white men don't turn me on anymore.
That admission puts me in the same category as the older man only interested primarily or exclusively in young women. While women my age scowl and frown at these aging, Upper West Side Boomers pushing strollers as the hand of the thin, blonde wife 20 years their junior rests lightly on their arm, I feel a kinship with the old goats. We are the same, me and that bald white guy, drawn to the exotic other, not caring that the object of our desire has no childhood memory of a Kennedy assassination or a typical WASP Sunday dinner of over-roasted beef, lumpy mashed potatoes and soggy vegetables.
Analyze the roots of attractions all you wantlike scientists have doneand you won't come up with a perfect explanation for why we crave what we do. Desire rises from our depths and is gloriously oblivious to the good opinion of others. Yet until recently, I pretended that my lust was an equal-opportunity craving, because that seemed like the right thing to do.
Halfway through the first glass of wine in my last date with a white man, I realized that little clouds of sadness and self-pity were regularly fluffing off his psyche like the dust clouds kicked up by that dirt-smudged "Peanuts" character as he walks through Charlie Brown's life. This guy was at least mildly depressed, and I wanted to tell him to exercise, lose weight, trim the combover and get interested in something outside yourself. I would have walked out on him immediately, but he seemed to expect that. I couldn't deliver the blow to his ego proffered like the naked neck of a martyr to the ax. My Southern cousins would describe his general demeanor as a "hangdog air." Into the second glass of wine and glancing longingly at the exit, I wanted to hang that dog myself when he mentioned that his face was flushedI hadn't noticedbecause he'd taken a Viagra "just in case."
What did he think would entice me more: That he assumed sex was probable because I'm a sex journalistor that he would need chemical help if sex did occur?
I cannot even imagine a black man bungling an attempted seduction in such a sad way.
That was my last token white guy. I recently came out of my racial-preference closet and told my friends, "I love black men. I'm not attracted to white men over 40, and I'm not dating them anymore. Really, it's not them, it's me.
Nobody was surprised.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Millions of people without jobs, but no worries, working at home is the way to go.
Are online jobs for you? For Mary Steadman, who lives in Gretna , LA , who filled out a simple online form, working online was the way to get a new job.
From Mary Steadman's personal website: "Basically I actually make around $5,000 to $7,000 a month from Google. Not a ton of money. But, very solid and good. I was able to replace my previous job's income, working less than 10 hours a week on my computer at home."
For Mary Steadman, this is not a new story - Mary is a mom who lost her job and faced a complete financial despair. But this person didn't give up. From her own words: "I was not interested in some fly by night get rich quick business opportunity, pyramid scheme or anything to do with network marketing. You know the ones that want you to try to sell stuff to your friends and family members. I just wanted a legitimate honest way for me to earn extra income from home. I am here to spread this word. Hopefully my story can inspire you to try what I discovered.
To make a long story short on my result of Google is that within four weeks, I was generating $5,000 a month at home. All I do is post the links Google gave me. I don't even have to sell anything. Did you read that? Yes, no one actually needs to buy anything from you, me or Google. Just post the website links and get paid. You can do exactly what i did."
Online Giant Google has been making people rich overnight. Worth over $100 Billion Dollars, this great company has been helping people to work from and home and give them new jobs. From Mary Steadman's own words: "Now, I have seen scams out on the Internet that talk about making $50,000 a month online. But that is exactly what they are - scams. This is my story of my real life where I am now generating a legitimate income from home that easily replaced my previous job's income and helped me raise my son and daughter. Here's a check from early last year I got.
" In a short time Mary Steadman was able to make it with a system called "Google Fortune" that saved her life. She was able to share her story with us, which we're finally revealing to the public for the first time:
Step 1:
Go to this link, fill out a basic online form and hit submit at Google Fortune. Pay the $1.87 for shipping*
Step 2:
Follow the directions on Google Fortune and set up a Google account. Then they will give you the website links to post. Start posting those links. Google tracks everything.
Step 3:
Google will start sending their first check to you in about 48 hours. Or you can start to have them wire directly into your checking account. (Your first checks will be about $500 to $1,500 a week. Then it goes up from there. Depends on how many links you posted online.)
Can you say "I can afford $1.87? to have become completely debt free* and cash in your pocket. Yes!!! You see, I am just doing my part and let the word out so that you don't have to go through what I ended up going through. And yes it is legitimate you can generate between $5,000 to $7,500 a month just working a few hours a day posting links on Google and Twitter. These systems did show me how. So just do it."
Associated Links: "Google Fortune" official site
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Dumpster diving + computer = 100 trees
DOBBS FERRY, New York (CNN) -- Jude Ndambuki teaches high school chemistry, but when he's not in class, you might find him Dumpster diving for discarded computers.
Jude Ndambuki's Help Kenya Project provides refurbished computers for Kenyan students.
Jude Ndambuki's Help Kenya Project provides refurbished computers for Kenyan students.
For the past eight years, the Kenya native has been refurbishing computers, printers and other electronic educational resources otherwise headed for landfills, then sending them to grateful students back home.
"The children in Kenya have very few resources; even a pencil is very hard to get," said Ndambuki, 51, who lives in the New York City suburb of Dobbs Ferry. "Being one of the kids who actually experienced very dire poverty in Kenya, I feel any part that I can play to make the life of kids better, I better do it."
In lieu of compensation for the considerable time, expertise and expenses he devotes to his Help Kenya Project, Ndambuki asks that recipients plant 100 trees for every computer they receive. By connecting computer recycling, educational development and environmental conservation, he hopes to encourage a greener, more prosperous future for his country.
The Help Kenya Project has provided more than 2,000 refurbished computers to Kenya's schools and planted more than 150,000 trees. Video Watch Ndambuki and his Help Kenya Project in action »
"Many of the schools that I give computers [to] in Kenya have not seen computers before. So we're bringing them closer to the development," explained Ndambuki, adding that without this opportunity, some of those schools might have gone another 20 years without touching a computer.
"It's like giving the kids new life," he said. "Computers are getting new life, and trees are being planted to bring a new life, too. It's all connected."
Don't Miss
* Get involved: Help Kenya Project
* In Depth: CNN Heroes
Finding treasure in the trash
"Growing up was not easy" for Ndambuki, who said he became a teacher to help children who are struggling the way he did.
The second of eight children raised by a widowed mother, Ndambuki attended school at the expense of his older brother; he quit because the family couldn't afford both boys' education.
Ndambuki was appointed principal at a Kenya high school where he befriended American exchange students who helped bring him to the United States to further his education. In 1997, he arrived with his wife and two children for his new teaching post in a Dobbs Ferry private school.
On a late-night walk home from continuing-education classes, he passed a computer thrown out on the curb for trash collection. He brought it home, where he found it was in perfect working order. It struck Ndambuki that the machines ending up in landfills could offer life-altering opportunities for children in his homeland.
"It all came together," recalled Ndambuki. "Kids in Kenya need to know technology. It's the way of the world, and they will be left behind without it. I am determined to prepare them for office jobs instead of field work."
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization estimates that 98 percent of Kenya's public primary schools and 80 percent of public high schools lack computers. And 70 percent of Kenya's energy is derived from charcoal and firewood culled from the country's forests, according to the UN Environment Programme.
"There's a lot of trees that are cut every year," Ndambuki said. "We find the land becomes bare, a lot of erosion of the soil takes place. So we need trees to be planted."
The trees also help protect the computers from dust blowing in through the classroom windows, he said.
Ndambuki ships a 40-foot container loaded with hundreds of refurbished computers to Kenya for distribution once a year. He and a few of his chemistry students often tinker with computer parts after classes, spending hours refurbishing, packing and preparing the shipments. Each Kenya school receives an average of five computers.
To ensure that private data of the computers' former owners is not accessible to new users, the Help Kenya Project wipes that information from the machines, loads them with necessary memory and restores them to functioning order.
Every two years, Ndambuki visits recipient schools to show teachers and students the basics of computer programming and maintenance. Some of his American students accompany him and help teach the computer classes. Video Watch Ndambuki trade technology for trees in his native Kenya village »
In addition, Ndambuki joins students, teachers and members of their communities to plant trees.
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"While I'm doing this project, I feel so much connection with the kids in Kenya," he said. "I'm not just gone to America to enjoy the good life. This has been a very nice bridge for me so that I can feel I've not left them."
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Friday, August 14, 2009
Gimmie some Africa!
Lamb Tagine
SUBMITTED BY: BenevolentEmpress PHOTO BY: Baby Pop
"When I made this dish I left the kitchen window open. The smell attracted several male neighbors, and when my husband came in, he said that it smelled so good, he hoped it was coming from our house and not from someone else's! Serve with my Moroccan Couscous and Cucumber Raita on this site."
Lamb Tagine Recipe
RECIPE RATING:
This recipe has been rated 97 times with an average star rating of 4.8
Read Reviews (72)
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PREP TIME 45 Min
COOK TIME 2 Hrs
READY IN 10 Hrs 45 Min
SERVINGS
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Servings
US METRIC
INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)
* 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
* 2 pounds lamb meat, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
* 2 teaspoons paprika
* 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
* 1 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
* 1 pinch saffron
* 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
* 3/4 teaspoon ground coriander
* 2 medium onions, cut into 1-inch cubes
* 5 carrots, peeled, cut into fourths, then sliced lengthwise into thin strips
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
* 1 lemon, zested
* 1 (14.5 ounce) can homemade chicken broth or low-sodium canned broth
* 1 tablespoon sun-dried tomato paste
* 1 tablespoon honey
* 1 tablespoon cornstarch (optional)
* 1 tablespoon water (optional)
* add to recipe box Add to Recipe Box
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What to Drink?
Wine Zinfandel
DIRECTIONS
1. Place diced lamb in a bowl, toss with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, and set aside. In a large resealable bag, toss together the paprika, turmeric, cumin, cayenne, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, salt, ginger, saffron, garlic powder, and coriander; mix well. Add the lamb to the bag, and toss around to coat well. Refrigerate at least 8 hours, preferably overnight.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add 1/3 of the lamb, and brown well. Remove to a plate, and repeat with remaining lamb. Add onions and carrots to the pot and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the fresh garlic and ginger; continue cooking for an additional 5 minutes. Return the lamb to the pot and stir in the lemon zest, chicken broth, tomato paste, and honey. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until the meat is tender.
3. If the consistency of the tagine is too thin, you may thicken it with a mixture of cornstarch and water during the last 5 minutes.
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Tony Dungy, right, said of, Michael Vick, left, who served 18 months in prison for dogfighting, "I think he has a better understanding of who he really is."
Tony Dungy, right, said of, Michael Vick, left, who served 18 months in prison for dogfighting, "I think he has a better understanding of who he really is." (By Matt Rourke -- Associated Press)
Quarterback Michael Vick, center, is flanked by Philadelphia Eagles Coach Andy Reid, left, and Vick's mentor, former Super Bowl-winning coach Tony Dungy. Said Dungy: "Sometimes the light goes on. And I think it has gone on for Mike."
Quarterback Michael Vick, center, is flanked by Philadelphia Eagles Coach Andy Reid, left, and Vick's mentor, former Super Bowl-winning coach Tony Dungy. Said Dungy: "Sometimes the light goes on. And I think it has gone on for Mike." (By Larry French
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By Les Carpenter and Mark Maske
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, August 15, 2009
On May 5, Tony Dungy walked into the visitor's room at the 22-acre U.S. Federal penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kan., and met Michael Vick. It was not unusual for Dungy to be inside a prison. As part of his Christian outreach programs, the man who coached the Indianapolis Colts to the Super Bowl title in 2007 has long worked with young men convicted of crimes.
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This time he had come at the request of Vick's attorney, Billy Martin, who was from the same home town as Dungy's wife. He wanted a mentor for Vick. Would Dungy be one?
Dungy was interested. In Vick, who was nearing the end of a 23-month prison sentence for dogfighting, he saw a potential role model, someone who could speak of the mistakes that had destroyed Vick's reputation at the peak of his career. But first Dungy had to talk to Vick, to look at him, to gauge his remorse.
Many had been wondering the same thing.
As the end of Vick's sentence drew near and the potential loomed for a return by one of the National Football League's most dynamic players, the list of people Vick had to impress was lengthy. It included league commissioner Roger Goodell, the country's most prominent animal rights organization, and, not to be underestimated, one of the NFL's 32 team owners and his head coach.
Soon there would be more pilgrimages to Leavenworth from people wishing to speak to Vick, to measure his soul.
Dungy, as the first, wanted to know about Vick's faith. "Where was the Lord in all of this?" Dungy recalled Friday.
Vick told him he had been a religious person before he reached the NFL but as he became a bigger and bigger star he had abandoned his religion. Now, he told Dungy, who retired as the Indianapolis head coach after this past season, he wanted to bring it back.
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"That's when I felt this is a young man who is on the right direction," Dungy said.
And largely because of the respect most in the NFL have for Dungy and his judgment of people, this is where the rehabilitation of Michael Vick began. If Dungy, who spent two hours that day talking about life and choices with the 29-year-old quarterback, was willing to take a chance on believing in Vick, perhaps others could too. Which is how Vick began his journey from being a social scourge, a man who admitted to wantonly torturing and killing dogs as part of an organized dogfighting operation, to a point where he signed a contract with the Philadelphia Eagles this week that could pay him more than $7 million over two years.
On Friday, Vick sat at a news conference alongside Dungy and his new coach, Andy Reid, at the Eagles' headquarters in Philadelphia and declared: "I have done some terrible things. I made a horrible mistake. And now I want to be part of the solution and not the problem."
It is a conditional reclamation, one in which Goodell must still decide how soon Vick will be allowed back on the field for a regular season game. His contract with Philadelphia can be voided after a year. But given where he was, getting to this point was among the unlikeliest of journeys.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
C Murder Found Guilty Of Murder In Second Jury Verdict
After judge rejected first verdict, the jury again finds rapper guilty of 2002 slaying.
Three hours after a judge rejected their first guilty verdict, the jury in the trial of Corey "C Murder" Miller again found the former No Limit Records rapper guilty of the 2002 slaying of a New Orleans teenager on Tuesday.
The jury initially voted 10-2 to convict Miller on Tuesday morning, but Judge Hans Liljeberg rejected the verdict and ordered the jury to deliberate further, even though the voting margin was enough to convict the defendant of second-degree murder.
Miller's legal team requested a mistrial, but Liljeberg rejected that motion and pressed the jury to go back to deliberations. The New Orleans Times-Picayune vividly described the contentious scene inside the jury room, in which the jurors struggled for 13 hours over two days in deliberations that "degenerated into yelling, crying and 'people getting violently sick and vomiting.' "
In the end, though, the jury again voted 10-2, finding that Miller, 38, shot 16-year-old Steve Thomas once in the chest as the teen lay on his back while being beaten by the rapper's friends at the now-shuttered Platinum Club in Harvey, Louisiana, on January 12, 2002. Miller faces a mandatory life sentence in prison and a date will be set for his sentencing on Friday.
Judge Liljeberg rejected the panel's initial verdict because he said one juror might have changed his or her vote just to end deliberations. Miller was found guilty by a unanimous verdict of the same crime in 2002, but was granted a new trail by the State Supreme Court.
Miller's family criticized the judge for putting too much pressure on the jury to deliberate, saying he should have ended the proceedings by ruling a hung jury, which would have led to a third trial in the case. "It was a corrupted trial," Miller's aunt Marie Miller said, according to the paper. "It's not fair from the beginning. ... The judge was putting too much pressure on the jury."
A juror who asked not to be identified disagreed, saying she thought the judge was fair and that the jury never felt pressure from him. "He did his job; he warned us this is going to be a very difficult process," the juror told the paper. "I can say that on behalf of the entire jury, we never felt pressured, none of us, by the judge, not one."
The juror said that after three days of testimony last week, by the time deliberations began on Monday morning, nine of the 12 jurors thought Miller was guilty, one short of a legal verdict. But once in the jury room, those who believed Miller was guilty began trying to persuade the other three to change their minds, which resulted in the yelling, arguing and vomiting. "It definitely took a toll on us," the juror said.
The jurors unanimously discredited four defense witnesses because they all put Miller in different places in the club and none showed up to testify in person. Most jurors found the state's two key witnesses, who testified that they saw Miller shoot Thomas, to be credible.
Thomas was a high school student who idolized Miller and his rapper brothers, No Limit founder Percy "Master P" Miller and Vishonn "Silkk the Shocker" Miller, and had even made some gold fronts out of golden ashtrays he got from work as an homage to the hometown hip-hop heroes, whose posters he had all over his bedroom. On the night of the shooting, Thomas told his father he was going to a movie, but used a fake I.D. to go to the Platinum Club, knowing Miller would be there for a rap competition, in which Thomas performed, according to testimony. It is unknown what sparked the fight that led to Thomas' death.
Once deliberations began on Monday, the jury was unable to overcome the split vote and on Tuesday, they sent a note to Liljeberg complaining that one juror — who had fallen asleep several times during the trial — had a Bible and was quoting scripture. "She wants off this jury and really doesn't seem to be able to handle this process," the note read. The judge spoke to the three dissenting jurors and explained that Bibles, and other "extraneous factors" were not allowed in court. Less than an hour later, a 10-2 verdict was returned, but one juror wrote that she changed her vote "under duress" to end the deliberations.
Liljeberg then rejected that verdict and sent them back for more deliberations. When the second verdict came back a short time later, Liljeberg said it was a legal one, and Miller was immediately placed in handcuffs.
Thomas' parents were happy to end the ordeal. "Thank God it's all over," Dolores Thomas said according to the paper. "Now we can rest, and my baby, too."
George Thomas added, "My baby can rest. ... I'm not rejoicing over this. I feel sorry. At least they (Miller's family) can see him. All I got is a grave."
Prosecutors said they were confident in the verdict and did not believe an appeal would be filed. Miller, who changed his rap name from C Murder to C Miller during the trial, pleaded no contest to separate second-degree attempted murder charges stemming from a 2001 incident in a Baton Rouge nightclub, in which he allegedly pulled a gun on a bouncer at Club Raggs. His sentencing in that case is scheduled for August 25.
Jennifer Hudson gives birth to son
Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson has given birth to a baby boy. The newborn weighed seven pounds and 14 ounces.
The Dreamgirls star and her fiance David Otunga welcomed little David Daniel Otunga, Jr. Monday, reported imdb.com.
"The baby is beautiful and perfect. His parents are ecstatic," said Hudson's representative Lisa Kasteler.
Hudson never confirmed her pregnancy news, but staged a baby shower at a relative's Chicago, Illinois home in May. In July, she appeared at Michael Jackson's Los Angeles memorial concert sporting a big baby bump.
The baby's birth will mark a fresh start for Hudson following the brutal murders of her mother, sister and nephew in her native Chicago last October.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Why Men Cheat-True Confessions
How often does a man cheat on his wife with a woman who's more attractive? Not as often as you may think. Gary found that 88 percent of the men surveyed said the other women were no better looking or in no better shape than their own wives.
For the first five years of his marriage, AJ says things were rocky with his wife, Janet. "We got to the point where we were really living in separate parts of the house. I went downstairs every time I came home from work," he says. "So when somebody else took an interest in me and was interested in what I did, interested in my job, interested in what I wear—you name it—before I had the self-awareness to understand my vulnerabilities and take responsibility, I liked it—even though it was the worst decision of my life."
Every couple will eventually face certain life changes, but Gary urges couples to think back about the interest they took in one another when they were first dating or newlyweds. "Everybody deserves that. Everybody wants that," Gary says. "Because it's not about the sex, what everyone's been made to believe. Anybody, no matter how you look, can be admiring and kind and warm and give you that extra little pump and that extra kindness and hang on your words."
How often do men confess to cheating on before being caught? Only 7 percent of men who strayed told their wives without being asked. Fifty-five percent of men in Gary's study have either not told their wives or lied after being confronted with hard evidence. "I kind of tell people, 'If you're going to wait for him to come tell you, go buy a lottery ticket, because you like playing against the odds,'" Gary says.
In 2004, Colleen discovered that her husband, Scott, was having an affair and says she caught him several times. The first time she says she caught Scott was on Father's Day when the other woman called the house. "I was standing there right with him in the kitchen so I heard her, and she said, 'Are you okay? Are you okay? Hang in there,'" Colleen says. "He tried to tell me it was a dispatcher from work and that was very suspicious."
Colleen says Scott's affair was painful, but the lying was worse. "When you've been married for so long and you trust someone so much and they look you right in the eye and they're telling you a lie, it takes a lot to move past that," she says.
Gary says Colleen's desire to believe her husband is common. "The problem is that that's the moment where every woman has to look at her husband and say, simply, 'Look. The fact [is] that I think you may be cheating. I'll trust you at your word. I've got no choice. But there's something wrong with us.'" Gary says.
Although he felt connected to his wife, Scott says he started to feel insecure when Colleen's mother passed away. "I felt powerless; I didn't feel able to talk with my wife," he says. "Looking back on it, I felt that it transferred onto our relationship when it really didn't. She was really looking for me to be that strong point and I kind of walked away from it because of the insecurities I was feeling and the challenges we were facing in our marriage at the time and my abilities to be able to love her as a husband."
Just as the little things are often signs that something is wrong, the little things can also help rebuild relationships, Gary says. For example, if a man tries to make breakfast and burns the toast, Gary suggests staying positive. "[Men] want to feel like they're pleasing their wives. … When you give him the message mainly that you screwed up, then believe it or not, it makes him feel insecure. [He thinks,] 'I can't win,'" Gary says. "Engender the good feeling of the trying and the effort that he's made. That's where the love really is."
Why Nice Guys Finish Last
New Research Points to Biological Reason Why Girls Like Bad Boys
Ricky Menezes, a 22-year-old from Marlborough, Mass., says he knows he will hook up with "about 20 girls" in the next month.
nice guy
New research suggests that bad boys may indeed beat nice guys when it comes to getting female attention.
(Getty/ABC News)
How does he know this, you ask? Ricky knows this because he's what we call a "bad boy" -- the type of guy who knows exactly how to act, what to say and how to manipulate women into giving him what he wants.
"It all started in high school," Ricky said. "I started being the outgoing, crazy, funny kid that everyone thought was fun and wanted to hang out with."
After being validated by his peers in high school, Ricky said he has more or less mastered the art of being a bad boy, and has done so with one overriding goal in mind -- sexual conquest.
"I don't pretend to be anything I'm not," Ricky said. "I'm honest and outspoken. I say that I'm just looking to hook up. ... I'm not afraid to go for it, and I rarely get rejected.
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"Oh, and I'm in a band. You have to be in a band. Girls love guys in bands," he added.
Most everyone knows -- or at least knows of -- a stereotypical "bad boy" like Ricky. The guy with such high self-esteem he could aptly be called a narcissist. The guy who wins women over with deceit, callousness and impulsive behavior. Basically, the type of guy who resembles a real-life version of Hugh Grant's character in "Bridget Jones' Diary."
The success of Ricky and so many other "bad boys" with women seems to add weight to the popular saying "good guys finish last."
And there might be more than just a grain of truth in these mantras about bad boys; new research suggests they might actually be attracting more women than their "nicer" counterparts.
The Positive Side of Negative Traits
Researchers at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces gave 200 college students personality tests to see how many of what psychologists call "dark triad traits" they possessed. These traits include callousness, impulsive behavior, extroversion, narcissism and various other anti-social traits for which "bad boys" are known.
24 people stuck on roller coaster
By David Louie
SANTA CLARA, CA (KGO) -- 24 people got trapped on a roller coaster at the Great America theme park for hours after their ride got stuck on Monday. Preliminary reports say the lift chain on 'Invertigo' had a problem.
Riders were stuck as high as 80 feet in the air. It took rescue crews several hours to get them down safely, bringing down one person at a time.
Many park guests did not have a clue what was happening on the "Invertigo," one of the most visible rides at the park. They were shielded from the area and Great America staff told many people to go home and would only say they were closing down for repairs.
Fire rescue teams from Santa Clara County, the City of Santa Clara and San Jose responded to the incident. They used a 100-foot aerial ladder to get the 24 stranded riders back to the ground.
It was a painstaking process. Firefighters have had to strap each person into a safety harness before releasing the rollercoaster's harness. The first rescue was completed around 3:15 p.m., just over two hours after the incident began.
Great America spokesman Jim Stellmack told ABC7 they process was intentionally slow.
"All the guests are seated. They're not upside down or anything like that. They're in a seated position, comfortably. So, safety is our number one priority, so we're taking it slow and easy to make sure that we do this and don't have any issues as a result," he said.
"Most of the kids that were up there, they were pretty much, they were kicking their feet and they didn't look like anybody was in any distress. Looked like a lot of people were handing them water and stuff, keeping them hydrated," recalled park visitor Brian Murrell.
It was a very hot afternoon in Santa Clara so riders have been provided bottled water in order to stay hydrated.
Invertigo made its debut 11 years ago at Great America. It experienced a similar accident in April of 2000 when 25 riders were stuck halfway up for half an hour. There were no injuries then and none have been reported today.
A Cal-OSHA official in charge of park safety will take a closer look into what happened. Park officials will also investigate exactly what led to the car getting stuck.
The ride will be closed until Great America can figure out what went wrong.
LINK: Riders'-eye view of Invertigo (YouTube)
Today's latest headlines | ABC7 News on your phone
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(Copyright ©2009 KGO-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
Have you ever experienced a Roller coaster scare?
SANTA CLARA, CA (KGO) -- 24 people got trapped on a roller coaster at the Great America theme park for hours after their ride got stuck on Monday. Preliminary reports say the lift chain on 'Invertigo' had a problem.
Riders were stuck as high as 80 feet in the air. It took rescue crews several hours to get them down safely, bringing down one person at a time.
Many park guests did not have a clue what was happening on the "Invertigo," one of the most visible rides at the park. They were shielded from the area and Great America staff told many people to go home and would only say they were closing down for repairs.
Fire rescue teams from Santa Clara County, the City of Santa Clara and San Jose responded to the incident. They used a 100-foot aerial ladder to get the 24 stranded riders back to the ground.
It was a painstaking process. Firefighters have had to strap each person into a safety harness before releasing the rollercoaster's harness. The first rescue was completed around 3:15 p.m., just over two hours after the incident began.
Great America spokesman Jim Stellmack told ABC7 they process was intentionally slow.
"All the guests are seated. They're not upside down or anything like that. They're in a seated position, comfortably. So, safety is our number one priority, so we're taking it slow and easy to make sure that we do this and don't have any issues as a result," he said.
"Most of the kids that were up there, they were pretty much, they were kicking their feet and they didn't look like anybody was in any distress. Looked like a lot of people were handing them water and stuff, keeping them hydrated," recalled park visitor Brian Murrell.
It was a very hot afternoon in Santa Clara so riders have been provided bottled water in order to stay hydrated.
Invertigo made its debut 11 years ago at Great America. It experienced a similar accident in April of 2000 when 25 riders were stuck halfway up for half an hour. There were no injuries then and none have been reported today.
A Cal-OSHA official in charge of park safety will take a closer look into what happened. Park officials will also investigate exactly what led to the car getting stuck.
The ride will be closed until Great America can figure out what went wrong.
LINK: Riders'-eye view of Invertigo (YouTube)
Today's latest headlines | ABC7 News on your phone
Follow us on Twitter | Fan us on Facebook | Get our free widget
(Copyright ©2009 KGO-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
Have you ever experienced a Roller coaster scare?
Monday, August 10, 2009
Michael's Dad Did Not Reign Supreme
Michael Jackson's dad did not hit on one of the sexiest women in the Mowtown stable -- not because he was married, but because she was just too damn old ... according to Mary Wilson.
Wilson -- an original member of The Supremes -- was at a New York club over the weekend when someone asked her if Joe Jackson ever made his move on her. According to the New York Post, Wilson laughed and responded, "I was too old for him."
By the way, Mary was linked to Tom Jones and Steve McQueen in her day ... and the best -- Flip Wilson
Sunday, August 9, 2009
ATLANTA
Atlanta is not only the county seat for Fulton County, but it is also the State capital. The city was named Terminus in 1842 and later changed to Marthasville, in honor of Governor Wilson Lumpkin's daughter, and then to Atlanta in 1848. Incorporated as a city December 29, 1845, Atlanta was named the state capital on April 20, 1868.
Atlanta is the cultural center for the state with a vast array of arts available to the public, including the High Museum of Art, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and the Atlanta Ballet. Atlanta also offers many sports on both the professional and collegiate levels. Atlanta is the home to the following professional clubs: Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta Thrashers and Atlanta Hawks. Collegiate level sports are available through the Georgia Institute of Technology and the hosting of the Peach Bowl during football season.
The city of Atlanta hosts a number of festivals, celebrations and parades. Some of the well-known festivals are the Georgia Renaissance Festival, Black College Spring Break, Sweet Auburn Festival, the Atlanta Dogwood Festival and the National Black Arts Festival.
Famous individuals from the city of Atlanta have included civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr., golfer Bobby Jones, comedian Nipsey Russell and author of Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell.
The City of Atlanta is home to a number of colleges, technical schools, and universities. Emory University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia State University, and Oglethorpe University make Atlanta their home. Also, four historically black colleges and universities are centrally located in the area: Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Morris Brown College and Spelman College.
Africa: Barack Obama's Address to Ghanaian Parliament - As Delivered
THE PRESIDENT: (Trumpet plays.) I like this. Thank you. Thank you. I think Congress needs one of those horns. (Laughter.) That sounds pretty good. Sounds like Louis Armstrong back there. (Laughter.)
Good afternoon, everybody. It is a great honor for me to be in Accra and to speak to the representatives of the people of Ghana. (Applause.) I am deeply grateful for the welcome that I've received, as are Michelle and Malia and Sasha Obama. Ghana's history is rich, the ties between our two countries are strong, and I am proud that this is my first visit to sub-Saharan Africa as President of the United States of America. (Applause.)
I want to thank Madam Speaker and all the members of the House of Representatives for hosting us today. I want to thank President Mills for his outstanding leadership. To the former Presidents -- Jerry Rawlings, former President Kufuor -- Vice President, Chief Justice -- thanks to all of you for your extraordinary hospitality and the wonderful institutions that you've built here in Ghana.
I'm speaking to you at the end of a long trip. I began in Russia for a summit between two great powers. I traveled to Italy for a meeting of the world's leading economies. And I've come here to Ghana for a simple reason: The 21st century will be shaped by what happens not just in Rome or Moscow or Washington, but by what happens in Accra, as well. (Applause.)
Obama Discusses Africa - AllAfrica Interview
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This is the simple truth of a time when the boundaries between people are overwhelmed by our connections. Your prosperity can expand America's prosperity. Your health and security can contribute to the world's health and security. And the strength of your democracy can help advance human rights for people everywhere.
So I do not see the countries and peoples of Africa as a world apart; I see Africa as a fundamental part of our interconnected world -- (applause) -- as partners with America on behalf of the future we want for all of our children. That partnership must be grounded in mutual responsibility and mutual respect. And that is what I want to speak with you about today.
We must start from the simple premise that Africa's future is up to Africans.
I say this knowing full well the tragic past that has sometimes haunted this part of the world. After all, I have the blood of Africa within me, and my family's -- (applause) -- my family's own story encompasses both the tragedies and triumphs of the larger African story.
Some you know my grandfather was a cook for the British in Kenya, and though he was a respected elder in his village, his employers called him "boy" for much of his life. He was on the periphery of Kenya's liberation struggles, but he was still imprisoned briefly during repressive times. In his life, colonialism wasn't simply the creation of unnatural borders or unfair terms of trade -- it was something experienced personally, day after day, year after year.
My father grew up herding goats in a tiny village, an impossible distance away from the American universities where he would come to get an education. He came of age at a moment of extraordinary promise for Africa. The struggles of his own father's generation were giving birth to new nations, beginning right here in Ghana. (Applause.) Africans were educating and asserting themselves in new ways, and history was on the move.
But despite the progress that has been made -- and there has been considerable progress in many parts of Africa -- we also know that much of that promise has yet to be fulfilled. Countries like Kenya had a per capita economy larger than South Korea's when I was born. They have badly been outpaced. Disease and conflict have ravaged parts of the African continent.
In many places, the hope of my father's generation gave way to cynicism, even despair. Now, it's easy to point fingers and to pin the blame of these problems on others. Yes, a colonial map that made little sense helped to breed conflict. The West has often approached Africa as a patron or a source of resources rather than a partner. But the West is not responsible for the destruction of the Zimbabwean economy over the last decade, or wars in which children are enlisted as combatants. In my father's life, it was partly tribalism and patronage and nepotism in an independent Kenya that for a long stretch derailed his career, and we know that this kind of corruption is still a daily fact of life for far too many.
Now, we know that's also not the whole story. Here in Ghana, you show us a face of Africa that is too often overlooked by a world that sees only tragedy or a need for charity. The people of Ghana have worked hard to put democracy on a firmer footing, with repeated peaceful transfers of power even in the wake of closely contested elections. (Applause.) And by the way, can I say that for that the minority deserves as much credit as the majority. (Applause.) And with improved governance and an emerging civil society, Ghana's economy has shown impressive rates of growth. (Applause.)
This progress may lack the drama of 20th century liberation struggles, but make no mistake: It will ultimately be more significant. For just as it is important to emerge from the control of other nations, it is even more important to build one's own nation.
So I believe that this moment is just as promising for Ghana and for Africa as the moment when my father came of age and new nations were being born. This is a new moment of great promise. Only this time, we've learned that it will not be giants like Nkrumah and Kenyatta who will determine Africa's future. Instead, it will be you -- the men and women in Ghana's parliament -- (applause) -- the people you represent. It will be the young people brimming with talent and energy and hope who can claim the future that so many in previous generations never realized.
Now, to realize that promise, we must first recognize the fundamental truth that you have given life to in Ghana: Development depends on good governance. (Applause.) That is the ingredient which has been missing in far too many places, for far too long. That's the change that can unlock Africa's potential. And that is a responsibility that can only be met by Africans.
As for America and the West, our commitment must be measured by more than just the dollars we spend. I've pledged substantial increases in our foreign assistance, which is in Africa's interests and America's interests. But the true sign of success is not whether we are a source of perpetual aid that helps people scrape by -- it's whether we are partners in building the capacity for transformational change. (Applause.)
This mutual responsibility must be the foundation of our partnership. And today, I'll focus on four areas that are critical to the future of Africa and the entire developing world: democracy, opportunity, health, and the peaceful resolution of conflict.
First, we must support strong and sustainable democratic governments. (Applause.)
As I said in Cairo, each nation gives life to democracy in its own way, and in line with its own traditions. But history offers a clear verdict: Governments that respect the will of their own people, that govern by consent and not coercion, are more prosperous, they are more stable, and more successful than governments that do not.
Relevant Links
* West Africa
* U.S., Canada and Africa
* Ghana
* Human Rights
* Sustainable Development
This is about more than just holding elections. It's also about what happens between elections. (Applause.) Repression can take many forms, and too many nations, even those that have elections, are plagued by problems that condemn their people to poverty. No country is going to create wealth if its leaders exploit the economy to enrich themselves -- (applause) -- or if police -- if police can be bought off by drug traffickers. (Applause.) No business wants to invest in a place where the government skims 20 percent off the top -- (applause) -- or the head of the Port Authority is corrupt. No person wants to live in a society where the rule of law gives way to the rule of brutality and bribery. (Applause.) That is not democracy, that is tyranny, even if occasionally you sprinkle an election in there. And now is the time for that style of governance to end.
In the 21st century, capable, reliable, and transparent institutions are the key to success -- strong parliaments; honest police forces; independent judges -- (applause); an independent press; a vibrant private sector; a civil society. (Applause.) Those are the things that give life to democracy, because that is what matters in people's everyday lives.
Now, time and again, Ghanaians have chosen constitutional rule over autocracy, and shown a democratic spirit that allows the energy of your people to break through. (Applause.) We see that in leaders who accept defeat graciously -- the fact that President Mills' opponents were standing beside him last night to greet me when I came off the plane spoke volumes about Ghana -- (applause); victors who resist calls to wield power against the opposition in unfair ways. We see that spirit in courageous journalists like Anas Aremeyaw Anas, who risked his life to report the truth. We see it in police like Patience Quaye, who helped prosecute the first human trafficker in Ghana. (Applause.) We see it in the young people who are speaking up against patronage, and participating in the political process.
Across Africa, we've seen countless examples of people taking control of their destiny, and making change from the bottom up. We saw it in Kenya, where civil society and business came together to help stop post-election violence. We saw it in South Africa, where over three-quarters of the country voted in the recent election -- the fourth since the end of Apartheid. We saw it in Zimbabwe, where the Election Support Network braved brutal repression to stand up for the principle that a person's vote is their sacred right.
Now, make no mistake: History is on the side of these brave Africans, not with those who use coups or change constitutions to stay in power. (Applause.) Africa doesn't need strongmen, it needs strong institutions. (Applause.)
Now, America will not seek to impose any system of government on any other nation. The essential truth of democracy is that each nation determines its own destiny. But what America will do is increase assistance for responsible individuals and responsible institutions, with a focus on supporting good governance -- on parliaments, which check abuses of power and ensure that opposition voices are heard -- (applause); on the rule of law, which ensures the equal administration of justice; on civic participation, so that young people get involved; and on concrete solutions to corruption like forensic accounting and automating services -- (applause) -- strengthening hotlines, protecting whistle-blowers to advance transparency and accountability.
And we provide this support. I have directed my administration to give greater attention to corruption in our human rights reports. People everywhere should have the right to start a business or get an education without paying a bribe. (Applause.) We have a responsibility to support those who act responsibly and to isolate those who don't, and that is exactly what America will do.
Now, this leads directly to our second area of partnership: supporting development that provides opportunity for more people.
With better governance, I have no doubt that Africa holds the promise of a broader base of prosperity. Witness the extraordinary success of Africans in my country, America. They're doing very well. So they've got the talent, they've got the entrepreneurial spirit. The question is, how do we make sure that they're succeeding here in their home countries? The continent is rich in natural resources. And from cell phone entrepreneurs to small farmers, Africans have shown the capacity and commitment to create their own opportunities. But old habits must also be broken. Dependence on commodities -- or a single export -- has a tendency to concentrate wealth in the hands of the few, and leaves people too vulnerable to downturns.
So in Ghana, for instance, oil brings great opportunities, and you have been very responsible in preparing for new revenue. But as so many Ghanaians know, oil cannot simply become the new cocoa. From South Korea to Singapore, history shows that countries thrive when they invest in their people and in their infrastructure -- (applause); when they promote multiple export industries, develop a skilled workforce, and create space for small and medium-sized businesses that create jobs.
As Africans reach for this promise, America will be more responsible in extending our hand. By cutting costs that go to Western consultants and administration, we want to put more resources in the hands of those who need it, while training people to do more for themselves. (Applause.) That's why our $3.5 billion food security initiative is focused on new methods and technologies for farmers -- not simply sending American producers or goods to Africa. Aid is not an end in itself. The purpose of foreign assistance must be creating the conditions where it's no longer needed. I want to see Ghanaians not only self-sufficient in food, I want to see you exporting food to other countries and earning money. You can do that. (Applause.)
Now, America can also do more to promote trade and investment. Wealthy nations must open our doors to goods and services from Africa in a meaningful way. That will be a commitment of my administration. And where there is good governance, we can broaden prosperity through public-private partnerships that invest in better roads and electricity; capacity-building that trains people to grow a business; financial services that reach not just the cities but also the poor and rural areas. This is also in our own interests -- for if people are lifted out of poverty and wealth is created in Africa, guess what? New markets will open up for our own goods. So it's good for both.
One area that holds out both undeniable peril and extraordinary promise is energy. Africa gives off less greenhouse gas than any other part of the world, but it is the most threatened by climate change. A warming planet will spread disease, shrink water resources, and deplete crops, creating conditions that produce more famine and more conflict. All of us -- particularly the developed world -- have a responsibility to slow these trends -- through mitigation, and by changing the way that we use energy. But we can also work with Africans to turn this crisis into opportunity.
Together, we can partner on behalf of our planet and prosperity, and help countries increase access to power while skipping -- leapfrogging the dirtier phase of development. Think about it: Across Africa, there is bountiful wind and solar power; geothermal energy and biofuels. From the Rift Valley to the North African deserts; from the Western coasts to South Africa's crops -- Africa's boundless natural gifts can generate its own power, while exporting profitable, clean energy abroad.
These steps are about more than growth numbers on a balance sheet. They're about whether a young person with an education can get a job that supports a family; a farmer can transfer their goods to market; an entrepreneur with a good idea can start a business. It's about the dignity of work; it's about the opportunity that must exist for Africans in the 21st century.
Just as governance is vital to opportunity, it's also critical to the third area I want to talk about: strengthening public health.
Relevant Links
* West Africa
* U.S., Canada and Africa
* Ghana
* Human Rights
* Sustainable Development
In recent years, enormous progress has been made in parts of Africa. Far more people are living productively with HIV/AIDS, and getting the drugs they need. I just saw a wonderful clinic and hospital that is focused particularly on maternal health. But too many still die from diseases that shouldn't kill them. When children are being killed because of a mosquito bite, and mothers are dying in childbirth, then we know that more progress must be made.
Yet because of incentives -- often provided by donor nations -- many African doctors and nurses go overseas, or work for programs that focus on a single disease. And this creates gaps in primary care and basic prevention. Meanwhile, individual Africans also have to make responsible choices that prevent the spread of disease, while promoting public health in their communities and countries.
So across Africa, we see examples of people tackling these problems. In Nigeria, an Interfaith effort of Christians and Muslims has set an example of cooperation to confront malaria. Here in Ghana and across Africa, we see innovative ideas for filling gaps in care -- for instance, through E-Health initiatives that allow doctors in big cities to support those in small towns.
America will support these efforts through a comprehensive, global health strategy, because in the 21st century, we are called to act by our conscience but also by our common interest, because when a child dies of a preventable disease in Accra, that diminishes us everywhere. And when disease goes unchecked in any corner of the world, we know that it can spread across oceans and continents.
And that's why my administration has committed $63 billion to meet these challenges -- $63 billion. (Applause.) Building on the strong efforts of President Bush, we will carry forward the fight against HIV/AIDS. We will pursue the goal of ending deaths from malaria and tuberculosis, and we will work to eradicate polio. (Applause.) We will fight -- we will fight neglected tropical disease. And we won't confront illnesses in isolation -- we will invest in public health systems that promote wellness and focus on the health of mothers and children. (Applause.)
Now, as we partner on behalf of a healthier future, we must also stop the destruction that comes not from illness, but from human beings -- and so the final area that I will address is conflict.
Let me be clear: Africa is not the crude caricature of a continent at perpetual war. But if we are honest, for far too many Africans, conflict is a part of life, as constant as the sun. There are wars over land and wars over resources. And it is still far too easy for those without conscience to manipulate whole communities into fighting among faiths and tribes.
These conflicts are a millstone around Africa's neck. Now, we all have many identities -- of tribe and ethnicity; of religion and nationality. But defining oneself in opposition to someone who belongs to a different tribe, or who worships a different prophet, has no place in the 21st century. (Applause.) Africa's diversity should be a source of strength, not a cause for division. We are all God's children. We all share common aspirations -- to live in peace and security; to access education and opportunity; to love our families and our communities and our faith. That is our common humanity.
That is why we must stand up to inhumanity in our midst. It is never justified -- never justifiable to target innocents in the name of ideology. (Applause.) It is the death sentence of a society to force children to kill in wars. It is the ultimate mark of criminality and cowardice to condemn women to relentless and systemic rape. We must bear witness to the value of every child in Darfur and the dignity of every woman in the Congo. No faith or culture should condone the outrages against them. And all of us must strive for the peace and security necessary for progress.
Africans are standing up for this future. Here, too, in Ghana we are seeing you help point the way forward. Ghanaians should take pride in your contributions to peacekeeping from Congo to Liberia to Lebanon -- (applause) -- and your efforts to resist the scourge of the drug trade. (Applause.) We welcome the steps that are being taken by organizations like the African Union and ECOWAS to better resolve conflicts, to keep the peace, and support those in need. And we encourage the vision of a strong, regional security architecture that can bring effective, transnational forces to bear when needed.
America has a responsibility to work with you as a partner to advance this vision, not just with words, but with support that strengthens African capacity. When there's a genocide in Darfur or terrorists in Somalia, these are not simply African problems -- they are global security challenges, and they demand a global response.
And that's why we stand ready to partner through diplomacy and technical assistance and logistical support, and we will stand behind efforts to hold war criminals accountable. And let me be clear: Our Africa Command is focused not on establishing a foothold in the continent, but on confronting these common challenges to advance the security of America, Africa, and the world. (Applause.)
In Moscow, I spoke of the need for an international system where the universal rights of human beings are respected, and violations of those rights are opposed. And that must include a commitment to support those who resolve conflicts peacefully, to sanction and stop those who don't, and to help those who have suffered. But ultimately, it will be vibrant democracies like Botswana and Ghana which roll back the causes of conflict and advance the frontiers of peace and prosperity.
As I said earlier, Africa's future is up to Africans. The people of Africa are ready to claim that future. And in my country, African Americans -- including so many recent immigrants -- have thrived in every sector of society. We've done so despite a difficult past, and we've drawn strength from our African heritage. With strong institutions and a strong will, I know that Africans can live their dreams in Nairobi and Lagos, Kigali, Kinshasa, Harare, and right here in Accra. (Applause.)
You know, 52 years ago, the eyes of the world were on Ghana. And a young preacher named Martin Luther King traveled here, to Accra, to watch the Union Jack come down and the Ghanaian flag go up. This was before the march on Washington or the success of the civil rights movement in my country. Dr. King was asked how he felt while watching the birth of a nation. And he said: "It renews my conviction in the ultimate triumph of justice."
Now that triumph must be won once more, and it must be won by you. (Applause.) And I am particularly speaking to the young people all across Africa and right here in Ghana. In places like Ghana, young people make up over half of the population.
And here is what you must know: The world will be what you make of it. You have the power to hold your leaders accountable, and to build institutions that serve the people. You can serve in your communities, and harness your energy and education to create new wealth and build new connections to the world. You can conquer disease, and end conflicts, and make change from the bottom up. You can do that. Yes you can -- (applause) -- because in this moment, history is on the move.
Relevant Links
* West Africa
* U.S., Canada and Africa
* Ghana
* Human Rights
* Sustainable Development
But these things can only be done if all of you take responsibility for your future. And it won't be easy. It will take time and effort. There will be suffering and setbacks. But I can promise you this: America will be with you every step of the way -- as a partner, as a friend. (Applause.) Opportunity won't come from any other place, though. It must come from the decisions that all of you make, the things that you do, the hope that you hold in your heart.
Ghana, freedom is your inheritance. Now, it is your responsibility to build upon freedom's foundation. And if you do, we will look back years from now to places like Accra and say this was the time when the promise was realized; this was the moment when prosperity was forged, when pain was overcome, and a new era of progress began. This can be the time when we witness the triumph of justice once more. Yes we can. Thank you very much. God bless you. Thank you.
Good afternoon, everybody. It is a great honor for me to be in Accra and to speak to the representatives of the people of Ghana. (Applause.) I am deeply grateful for the welcome that I've received, as are Michelle and Malia and Sasha Obama. Ghana's history is rich, the ties between our two countries are strong, and I am proud that this is my first visit to sub-Saharan Africa as President of the United States of America. (Applause.)
I want to thank Madam Speaker and all the members of the House of Representatives for hosting us today. I want to thank President Mills for his outstanding leadership. To the former Presidents -- Jerry Rawlings, former President Kufuor -- Vice President, Chief Justice -- thanks to all of you for your extraordinary hospitality and the wonderful institutions that you've built here in Ghana.
I'm speaking to you at the end of a long trip. I began in Russia for a summit between two great powers. I traveled to Italy for a meeting of the world's leading economies. And I've come here to Ghana for a simple reason: The 21st century will be shaped by what happens not just in Rome or Moscow or Washington, but by what happens in Accra, as well. (Applause.)
Obama Discusses Africa - AllAfrica Interview
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This is the simple truth of a time when the boundaries between people are overwhelmed by our connections. Your prosperity can expand America's prosperity. Your health and security can contribute to the world's health and security. And the strength of your democracy can help advance human rights for people everywhere.
So I do not see the countries and peoples of Africa as a world apart; I see Africa as a fundamental part of our interconnected world -- (applause) -- as partners with America on behalf of the future we want for all of our children. That partnership must be grounded in mutual responsibility and mutual respect. And that is what I want to speak with you about today.
We must start from the simple premise that Africa's future is up to Africans.
I say this knowing full well the tragic past that has sometimes haunted this part of the world. After all, I have the blood of Africa within me, and my family's -- (applause) -- my family's own story encompasses both the tragedies and triumphs of the larger African story.
Some you know my grandfather was a cook for the British in Kenya, and though he was a respected elder in his village, his employers called him "boy" for much of his life. He was on the periphery of Kenya's liberation struggles, but he was still imprisoned briefly during repressive times. In his life, colonialism wasn't simply the creation of unnatural borders or unfair terms of trade -- it was something experienced personally, day after day, year after year.
My father grew up herding goats in a tiny village, an impossible distance away from the American universities where he would come to get an education. He came of age at a moment of extraordinary promise for Africa. The struggles of his own father's generation were giving birth to new nations, beginning right here in Ghana. (Applause.) Africans were educating and asserting themselves in new ways, and history was on the move.
But despite the progress that has been made -- and there has been considerable progress in many parts of Africa -- we also know that much of that promise has yet to be fulfilled. Countries like Kenya had a per capita economy larger than South Korea's when I was born. They have badly been outpaced. Disease and conflict have ravaged parts of the African continent.
In many places, the hope of my father's generation gave way to cynicism, even despair. Now, it's easy to point fingers and to pin the blame of these problems on others. Yes, a colonial map that made little sense helped to breed conflict. The West has often approached Africa as a patron or a source of resources rather than a partner. But the West is not responsible for the destruction of the Zimbabwean economy over the last decade, or wars in which children are enlisted as combatants. In my father's life, it was partly tribalism and patronage and nepotism in an independent Kenya that for a long stretch derailed his career, and we know that this kind of corruption is still a daily fact of life for far too many.
Now, we know that's also not the whole story. Here in Ghana, you show us a face of Africa that is too often overlooked by a world that sees only tragedy or a need for charity. The people of Ghana have worked hard to put democracy on a firmer footing, with repeated peaceful transfers of power even in the wake of closely contested elections. (Applause.) And by the way, can I say that for that the minority deserves as much credit as the majority. (Applause.) And with improved governance and an emerging civil society, Ghana's economy has shown impressive rates of growth. (Applause.)
This progress may lack the drama of 20th century liberation struggles, but make no mistake: It will ultimately be more significant. For just as it is important to emerge from the control of other nations, it is even more important to build one's own nation.
So I believe that this moment is just as promising for Ghana and for Africa as the moment when my father came of age and new nations were being born. This is a new moment of great promise. Only this time, we've learned that it will not be giants like Nkrumah and Kenyatta who will determine Africa's future. Instead, it will be you -- the men and women in Ghana's parliament -- (applause) -- the people you represent. It will be the young people brimming with talent and energy and hope who can claim the future that so many in previous generations never realized.
Now, to realize that promise, we must first recognize the fundamental truth that you have given life to in Ghana: Development depends on good governance. (Applause.) That is the ingredient which has been missing in far too many places, for far too long. That's the change that can unlock Africa's potential. And that is a responsibility that can only be met by Africans.
As for America and the West, our commitment must be measured by more than just the dollars we spend. I've pledged substantial increases in our foreign assistance, which is in Africa's interests and America's interests. But the true sign of success is not whether we are a source of perpetual aid that helps people scrape by -- it's whether we are partners in building the capacity for transformational change. (Applause.)
This mutual responsibility must be the foundation of our partnership. And today, I'll focus on four areas that are critical to the future of Africa and the entire developing world: democracy, opportunity, health, and the peaceful resolution of conflict.
First, we must support strong and sustainable democratic governments. (Applause.)
As I said in Cairo, each nation gives life to democracy in its own way, and in line with its own traditions. But history offers a clear verdict: Governments that respect the will of their own people, that govern by consent and not coercion, are more prosperous, they are more stable, and more successful than governments that do not.
Relevant Links
* West Africa
* U.S., Canada and Africa
* Ghana
* Human Rights
* Sustainable Development
This is about more than just holding elections. It's also about what happens between elections. (Applause.) Repression can take many forms, and too many nations, even those that have elections, are plagued by problems that condemn their people to poverty. No country is going to create wealth if its leaders exploit the economy to enrich themselves -- (applause) -- or if police -- if police can be bought off by drug traffickers. (Applause.) No business wants to invest in a place where the government skims 20 percent off the top -- (applause) -- or the head of the Port Authority is corrupt. No person wants to live in a society where the rule of law gives way to the rule of brutality and bribery. (Applause.) That is not democracy, that is tyranny, even if occasionally you sprinkle an election in there. And now is the time for that style of governance to end.
In the 21st century, capable, reliable, and transparent institutions are the key to success -- strong parliaments; honest police forces; independent judges -- (applause); an independent press; a vibrant private sector; a civil society. (Applause.) Those are the things that give life to democracy, because that is what matters in people's everyday lives.
Now, time and again, Ghanaians have chosen constitutional rule over autocracy, and shown a democratic spirit that allows the energy of your people to break through. (Applause.) We see that in leaders who accept defeat graciously -- the fact that President Mills' opponents were standing beside him last night to greet me when I came off the plane spoke volumes about Ghana -- (applause); victors who resist calls to wield power against the opposition in unfair ways. We see that spirit in courageous journalists like Anas Aremeyaw Anas, who risked his life to report the truth. We see it in police like Patience Quaye, who helped prosecute the first human trafficker in Ghana. (Applause.) We see it in the young people who are speaking up against patronage, and participating in the political process.
Across Africa, we've seen countless examples of people taking control of their destiny, and making change from the bottom up. We saw it in Kenya, where civil society and business came together to help stop post-election violence. We saw it in South Africa, where over three-quarters of the country voted in the recent election -- the fourth since the end of Apartheid. We saw it in Zimbabwe, where the Election Support Network braved brutal repression to stand up for the principle that a person's vote is their sacred right.
Now, make no mistake: History is on the side of these brave Africans, not with those who use coups or change constitutions to stay in power. (Applause.) Africa doesn't need strongmen, it needs strong institutions. (Applause.)
Now, America will not seek to impose any system of government on any other nation. The essential truth of democracy is that each nation determines its own destiny. But what America will do is increase assistance for responsible individuals and responsible institutions, with a focus on supporting good governance -- on parliaments, which check abuses of power and ensure that opposition voices are heard -- (applause); on the rule of law, which ensures the equal administration of justice; on civic participation, so that young people get involved; and on concrete solutions to corruption like forensic accounting and automating services -- (applause) -- strengthening hotlines, protecting whistle-blowers to advance transparency and accountability.
And we provide this support. I have directed my administration to give greater attention to corruption in our human rights reports. People everywhere should have the right to start a business or get an education without paying a bribe. (Applause.) We have a responsibility to support those who act responsibly and to isolate those who don't, and that is exactly what America will do.
Now, this leads directly to our second area of partnership: supporting development that provides opportunity for more people.
With better governance, I have no doubt that Africa holds the promise of a broader base of prosperity. Witness the extraordinary success of Africans in my country, America. They're doing very well. So they've got the talent, they've got the entrepreneurial spirit. The question is, how do we make sure that they're succeeding here in their home countries? The continent is rich in natural resources. And from cell phone entrepreneurs to small farmers, Africans have shown the capacity and commitment to create their own opportunities. But old habits must also be broken. Dependence on commodities -- or a single export -- has a tendency to concentrate wealth in the hands of the few, and leaves people too vulnerable to downturns.
So in Ghana, for instance, oil brings great opportunities, and you have been very responsible in preparing for new revenue. But as so many Ghanaians know, oil cannot simply become the new cocoa. From South Korea to Singapore, history shows that countries thrive when they invest in their people and in their infrastructure -- (applause); when they promote multiple export industries, develop a skilled workforce, and create space for small and medium-sized businesses that create jobs.
As Africans reach for this promise, America will be more responsible in extending our hand. By cutting costs that go to Western consultants and administration, we want to put more resources in the hands of those who need it, while training people to do more for themselves. (Applause.) That's why our $3.5 billion food security initiative is focused on new methods and technologies for farmers -- not simply sending American producers or goods to Africa. Aid is not an end in itself. The purpose of foreign assistance must be creating the conditions where it's no longer needed. I want to see Ghanaians not only self-sufficient in food, I want to see you exporting food to other countries and earning money. You can do that. (Applause.)
Now, America can also do more to promote trade and investment. Wealthy nations must open our doors to goods and services from Africa in a meaningful way. That will be a commitment of my administration. And where there is good governance, we can broaden prosperity through public-private partnerships that invest in better roads and electricity; capacity-building that trains people to grow a business; financial services that reach not just the cities but also the poor and rural areas. This is also in our own interests -- for if people are lifted out of poverty and wealth is created in Africa, guess what? New markets will open up for our own goods. So it's good for both.
One area that holds out both undeniable peril and extraordinary promise is energy. Africa gives off less greenhouse gas than any other part of the world, but it is the most threatened by climate change. A warming planet will spread disease, shrink water resources, and deplete crops, creating conditions that produce more famine and more conflict. All of us -- particularly the developed world -- have a responsibility to slow these trends -- through mitigation, and by changing the way that we use energy. But we can also work with Africans to turn this crisis into opportunity.
Together, we can partner on behalf of our planet and prosperity, and help countries increase access to power while skipping -- leapfrogging the dirtier phase of development. Think about it: Across Africa, there is bountiful wind and solar power; geothermal energy and biofuels. From the Rift Valley to the North African deserts; from the Western coasts to South Africa's crops -- Africa's boundless natural gifts can generate its own power, while exporting profitable, clean energy abroad.
These steps are about more than growth numbers on a balance sheet. They're about whether a young person with an education can get a job that supports a family; a farmer can transfer their goods to market; an entrepreneur with a good idea can start a business. It's about the dignity of work; it's about the opportunity that must exist for Africans in the 21st century.
Just as governance is vital to opportunity, it's also critical to the third area I want to talk about: strengthening public health.
Relevant Links
* West Africa
* U.S., Canada and Africa
* Ghana
* Human Rights
* Sustainable Development
In recent years, enormous progress has been made in parts of Africa. Far more people are living productively with HIV/AIDS, and getting the drugs they need. I just saw a wonderful clinic and hospital that is focused particularly on maternal health. But too many still die from diseases that shouldn't kill them. When children are being killed because of a mosquito bite, and mothers are dying in childbirth, then we know that more progress must be made.
Yet because of incentives -- often provided by donor nations -- many African doctors and nurses go overseas, or work for programs that focus on a single disease. And this creates gaps in primary care and basic prevention. Meanwhile, individual Africans also have to make responsible choices that prevent the spread of disease, while promoting public health in their communities and countries.
So across Africa, we see examples of people tackling these problems. In Nigeria, an Interfaith effort of Christians and Muslims has set an example of cooperation to confront malaria. Here in Ghana and across Africa, we see innovative ideas for filling gaps in care -- for instance, through E-Health initiatives that allow doctors in big cities to support those in small towns.
America will support these efforts through a comprehensive, global health strategy, because in the 21st century, we are called to act by our conscience but also by our common interest, because when a child dies of a preventable disease in Accra, that diminishes us everywhere. And when disease goes unchecked in any corner of the world, we know that it can spread across oceans and continents.
And that's why my administration has committed $63 billion to meet these challenges -- $63 billion. (Applause.) Building on the strong efforts of President Bush, we will carry forward the fight against HIV/AIDS. We will pursue the goal of ending deaths from malaria and tuberculosis, and we will work to eradicate polio. (Applause.) We will fight -- we will fight neglected tropical disease. And we won't confront illnesses in isolation -- we will invest in public health systems that promote wellness and focus on the health of mothers and children. (Applause.)
Now, as we partner on behalf of a healthier future, we must also stop the destruction that comes not from illness, but from human beings -- and so the final area that I will address is conflict.
Let me be clear: Africa is not the crude caricature of a continent at perpetual war. But if we are honest, for far too many Africans, conflict is a part of life, as constant as the sun. There are wars over land and wars over resources. And it is still far too easy for those without conscience to manipulate whole communities into fighting among faiths and tribes.
These conflicts are a millstone around Africa's neck. Now, we all have many identities -- of tribe and ethnicity; of religion and nationality. But defining oneself in opposition to someone who belongs to a different tribe, or who worships a different prophet, has no place in the 21st century. (Applause.) Africa's diversity should be a source of strength, not a cause for division. We are all God's children. We all share common aspirations -- to live in peace and security; to access education and opportunity; to love our families and our communities and our faith. That is our common humanity.
That is why we must stand up to inhumanity in our midst. It is never justified -- never justifiable to target innocents in the name of ideology. (Applause.) It is the death sentence of a society to force children to kill in wars. It is the ultimate mark of criminality and cowardice to condemn women to relentless and systemic rape. We must bear witness to the value of every child in Darfur and the dignity of every woman in the Congo. No faith or culture should condone the outrages against them. And all of us must strive for the peace and security necessary for progress.
Africans are standing up for this future. Here, too, in Ghana we are seeing you help point the way forward. Ghanaians should take pride in your contributions to peacekeeping from Congo to Liberia to Lebanon -- (applause) -- and your efforts to resist the scourge of the drug trade. (Applause.) We welcome the steps that are being taken by organizations like the African Union and ECOWAS to better resolve conflicts, to keep the peace, and support those in need. And we encourage the vision of a strong, regional security architecture that can bring effective, transnational forces to bear when needed.
America has a responsibility to work with you as a partner to advance this vision, not just with words, but with support that strengthens African capacity. When there's a genocide in Darfur or terrorists in Somalia, these are not simply African problems -- they are global security challenges, and they demand a global response.
And that's why we stand ready to partner through diplomacy and technical assistance and logistical support, and we will stand behind efforts to hold war criminals accountable. And let me be clear: Our Africa Command is focused not on establishing a foothold in the continent, but on confronting these common challenges to advance the security of America, Africa, and the world. (Applause.)
In Moscow, I spoke of the need for an international system where the universal rights of human beings are respected, and violations of those rights are opposed. And that must include a commitment to support those who resolve conflicts peacefully, to sanction and stop those who don't, and to help those who have suffered. But ultimately, it will be vibrant democracies like Botswana and Ghana which roll back the causes of conflict and advance the frontiers of peace and prosperity.
As I said earlier, Africa's future is up to Africans. The people of Africa are ready to claim that future. And in my country, African Americans -- including so many recent immigrants -- have thrived in every sector of society. We've done so despite a difficult past, and we've drawn strength from our African heritage. With strong institutions and a strong will, I know that Africans can live their dreams in Nairobi and Lagos, Kigali, Kinshasa, Harare, and right here in Accra. (Applause.)
You know, 52 years ago, the eyes of the world were on Ghana. And a young preacher named Martin Luther King traveled here, to Accra, to watch the Union Jack come down and the Ghanaian flag go up. This was before the march on Washington or the success of the civil rights movement in my country. Dr. King was asked how he felt while watching the birth of a nation. And he said: "It renews my conviction in the ultimate triumph of justice."
Now that triumph must be won once more, and it must be won by you. (Applause.) And I am particularly speaking to the young people all across Africa and right here in Ghana. In places like Ghana, young people make up over half of the population.
And here is what you must know: The world will be what you make of it. You have the power to hold your leaders accountable, and to build institutions that serve the people. You can serve in your communities, and harness your energy and education to create new wealth and build new connections to the world. You can conquer disease, and end conflicts, and make change from the bottom up. You can do that. Yes you can -- (applause) -- because in this moment, history is on the move.
Relevant Links
* West Africa
* U.S., Canada and Africa
* Ghana
* Human Rights
* Sustainable Development
But these things can only be done if all of you take responsibility for your future. And it won't be easy. It will take time and effort. There will be suffering and setbacks. But I can promise you this: America will be with you every step of the way -- as a partner, as a friend. (Applause.) Opportunity won't come from any other place, though. It must come from the decisions that all of you make, the things that you do, the hope that you hold in your heart.
Ghana, freedom is your inheritance. Now, it is your responsibility to build upon freedom's foundation. And if you do, we will look back years from now to places like Accra and say this was the time when the promise was realized; this was the moment when prosperity was forged, when pain was overcome, and a new era of progress began. This can be the time when we witness the triumph of justice once more. Yes we can. Thank you very much. God bless you. Thank you.
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