e-HUG mag

The Census 2010: Its in OUR hands!

               

                The 2010 Census questionnaires are on their way to our homes and it is our responsibility to fill them out (correctly!) and mail them back.  The U.S. Constitutions dictates that a census of the population is taken every 10 years to ensure that an up-to-date count of all citizens and non-citizens is done.  The federal government uses Census results to help determine how to divide approximately $400 billion per year for the next ten years.  Ideally, those neighborhoods that need the most help should be allotted the most money, and the only way to determine this is with a clear and accurate count of the nation’s population.

                The U.S. Census Bureau has spent a great deal of money on advertisement to ensure that everyone is aware of the census, and that everyone participates.  In fact, almost every time you turn on the radio or television, you hear the familiar slogan, “We can’t move forward until we mail it back”.  Despite this effort, many people are still hesitant about participating, especially illegal immigrants and those with criminal backgrounds.  Also, many of us spend too much time complaining about the state of our government, or at least know others that do.  The Census is our chance to do something about it.

                Our generation made such an impact in the 2008 election that named Barack Obama as the first African-American to lead our country.  However, that huge milestone doesn’t mean anything if our communities remain in dismal states of inadequate schooling and hospitals, disheveled roads, and polluted parks and recreation centers.  Since the results from this Census will not be updated for another ten years (when many of us will start or continue our families), it is important that we not only fill out the Census forms, but also spread the news to everyone in our neighborhoods.  Future generations are depending on us to map out their well being.  Complaining about a problem without taking action is pointless.  Put your money where your mouth is. Fill it out…..

-Chelles

World Wildest Police Chases:NY

  

  Everyone should know me as the Reality Junkie by now.  I watch about 85% of all reality TV shows on air.  One of my favorites is on TruTv: Worlds Wildest Police Chases.  Ten times better than Cops, you follow law enforcement as they pursue drug dealers, drunk drivers and mentally ill as they try their best to run away.  The only thing that bothered me was that they never show ANY in New York. I know New York has some action man! And yesterday we sure did. 

It all started in Newark, NJ around 1:30am Thursday morning.  State police attempted to pull over a white Chevy Malibu with South Carolina Plates for a traffic violation. (tip: out of state plates will always be more scrutinized ).  It started as a low speed pursuit and turned into a high speed chase as they raced over the Goethals Bridge and ended up at a dead end street in New Springville Park, Staten Island.

23 year old, Ann Marie Boudreau, manned the wheel as she tried to make a u-turn out of the deadend and rammed the NJ State Police squad car.  Fearing their lives, the troopers fired numerous shots to contain the situation.

Three troopers who had approached the car on foot were knocked to the ground and suffered minor injuries, officials said. The suspects Boudreau and Vincent Selci, 45 - were unhurt and later charged with eluding capture and drug possession, police said.

 

 

H&M and Walmart Throwing Clothes Away?

Clothing store H&M faced uproar Thursday over a report that one of its New York outlets is slashing and throwing out unsold clothing.

According to the New York Times, workers at the store in the heart of Manhattan's shopping district regularly throw away bags of clothing, most of the items having first been cut up with box cutters or razors.Clothes destroyed included gloves with fingers cut off and men's jackets opened so that insulating fiber was coming out.

With unemployment at more than 10 percent and the city's homeless population facing bitter temperatures the report sparked anger on H&M's Facebook page. Here's what some folks had to say:

"What??!! Throwing clothes away?? That does not make any sense... it's true they should be donating them instead or at least call some people up so we can pick them up and donate them!!" wrote Carolina De Jesus.

"Sorry H&M but until you find a better way to dispose of unsold clothing, I don't really want anything to do with you," another customer fumed.

H&M defended itself, saying the company donated half a million pieces of clothes to charity last year, but that not all items qualified. "We donate garments that do not meet our quality requirements to organizations such as Gifts in Kind, UNHCR, Caritas, the Red Cross and Helping Hands," the company said in a statement. "However, we do not donate clothes that do not meet our safety requirements, chemical restrictions or are damaged.... We are currently looking into if we can further improve our routines."

Unfortunately, Walmart and Kmart has been seen doing the same. An employee says, "I work at Kmart, and most Kmarts are supposed to lock their dumpsters. What's really sad is when we throw away finished goods just because they aren't selling." ManPac added, "They don't want poor people wearing their name-brand clothing. It creates a bad image for their apparel. I think they avoid donating food so they don't create a dependence on it for the shelters."

Your thoughts?

(Source: NYTimes and Yahoo)

-PeggyM.

Chris Henry laid to rest

Last week, Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver, Chris Henry lost his life after a domestic dispute with his fiancé, Loleini Tonga. The 26 year old died after falling from a pickup truck driven by Tonga. According to eye witnesses, he exclaimed that he was going to jump out the back of the truck and kill himself if she drive off and he did just that.

            Tuesday, his family, friends and teammates gathered at Westwego in Louisiana for his open casket funeral. His fiancé and 3 children sat right up front while all his Bengals teammates were not too far behind.  In addition, the NFL Commissioner and Reggie Bush were also in attendance.  Everyone was still in shock and a lot of tears were flowing throughout the service.

        Ehug would like to send our condolences to the Henry and Tonga family at this difficult time.

~ Empress

15 year old shooting victim's 1st interview

      

         Just a little over a month after getting shot in the head, Vada Vasquez did her very first interview. A couple of weeks ago, we reported that Vada was shot in the temporal lobe, which would be responsible for her speech.  She has beat the odds and is not only speaking perfectly fine but embraced her love of music by strumming a few bars on her guitar.  In this time when we're sending condolences left and right, I am elated for the Vasquez family this Holiday season.
 

 ~ Empress

Obama Accepts Nobel Peace Prize & Defends War.

So, Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. Some folk are throwing their arms up in the air at this one. The infamous question circling this seems to be "How is Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize and still shipping troops out to war?" Well, our President, aware of the buzz that his winning has created, has decided to speak on the situation. Here's a piece from MSNBC:

Newly enshrined among the world's great peacemakers, President Barack Obama offered a striking defense of war. Eleven months into his presidency, a fresh Obama doctrine. Evil must be vigorously opposed, he declared as he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on Thursday. At the same time, he made an impassioned case for building a "just and lasting peace."

"I face the world as it is, and cannot stand idle in the face of threats to the American people," Obama told his audience in Oslo's soaring City Hall. "For make no mistake: Evil does exist in the world."

Pronouncing himself humbled by such an honor so early in "my labors on the world stage," Obama nevertheless turned his Nobel moment into an unapologetic defense of armed intervention in times of self defense or moral necessity. The hawkish message was an inevitable nod to the controversy defining his selection: an American president, lauded for peace just as he escalates the long, costly war in Afghanistan.

Understand that the war in Iraq and the war in Afganistan are different, although war is war. What's your take on this?

(Source: MSNBC)

PeggyM.

Oh Christmas Tree!

With two of the most important tree lighting's taking place this week, it's clearly beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Despite a steady rain, thousands of people amassed at Rockefeller Center Wednesday night for the annual Tree Lighting event. Besides the long-awaited moment when the lights go from off to on, there were performances by Aretha Franklin, Rod Stewart, Rob Thomas, Alicia Keys, Jo Dee Messina, Barry Manilow, Shakira, The Muppets, and The Roots. Here are some pictures from the event:

 

 

Also, yesterday evening, our President and his family lit up the National Christmas Tree after a countdown surrounded by celebrity performers and characters from the North Pole.

First lady Michelle Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha helped President Barack Obama press a button to light the tree, an annual tradition since the 1920s. "I'm technologically challenged and I might not get this right," the president joked. "Everybody has got to help me out here."

They counted down from five, and the red and yellow lights came alive on the 40-foot Colorado blue spruce growing on the Ellipse, just south of the White House. "It worked," Obama shouted.

Performers including singer Sheryl Crow, hip hop artist Common and "American Idol" winner Jordin Sparks dazzled the crowd, bundled in coats and scarves.

Here's some more pics:

(Source: MSNBC)

-PeggyM.

Thanksgiving Miracle

(Vada Vasquez, sister and Mother, Gemma)

            

          A 15-year-old girl who was shot in the head by a stray bullet on her way home from school has a lot to be thankful for – her doctor said she is expected to make a full recovery. The Bronx girl struck in the head by a stray bullet during a street fight looked up at her mother yesterday and whispered her first word since being shot: "Mom."

           "She's recognizing family members," said Renelda Walker, a spokeswoman for Lincoln Hospital, where 15-year-old Vada Vasquez is miraculously recovering since she took a bullet meant for another teen during a gang dispute. "She's improving. She's in stable condition, but still in the intensive-care unit."

            Vada's devoted mother, Gemma, has been at the girl's bedside virtually every moment since her child was shot. "It’s good news to me," her elated mother, Gemma, told reporters at Lincoln Hospital. "I couldn’t believe it, that she’d be the way she is today. Thanksgiving will be good and Christmas, everything."
          
           Vada’s doctor, Narayan Sundaresan, Lincoln’s chief of neurosurgery, performed the three-hour surgery during which the bullet that was meant for someone else was removed from Vada’s skull.  Sundaresa said some bone fragments and brain tissue were removed during the tricky craniotomy.  The surgeon said the bullet damaged Vada’s left temporal lobe, the area of the brain that is responsible for speech.  But Sundaresan said Vada has youth on her side, and that rehabilitation should allow Vada to reach her full potential, regain her speech and sing along with her favorite songs. "She can make a full recovery," Sundaresan said.

            Vada was shot in the back of the head on Nov. 16 as she walked home from school, when a young would-be gang member allegedly opened fire on a crowded Bronx street in a bid to kill a gang rival. Carvett Gentles, 16, has been charged with attempted murder in what authorities say stemmed from a jailhouse dispute. Five reputed gang members (four with criminal records) were arrested in the violence, including a 16-year-old baby-faced gunman, police said.

SUSPECTS

Investigators say Carvett Gentles (16 years old) was aiming for 19-year-old gangster Tyrone Creighton, who was struck in the leg and abdomen. But one of his bullets struck Vasquez as she stood nearby. Gentles is the only suspect without a criminal record.

DWAYNE TAYLOR, 23

■ 7/30/06 arrest: Taylor is caught with a loaded .22-caliber revolver inside his pants pocket. He tells police, “I carry it only when I’m not on my block . . . I use it for protection in case someone steps up. I use it to scare them. I know it was loaded.”
CHARGES: Weapon possession.
OUTCOME: Smith pleads guilty to third-degree weapons possession and is sentenced to a year in jail. A second-degree charge, which carried a longer prison sentence, is dropped

CLIVIE SMITH, 19

■ 3/23/07 arrest: Smith is attacked by three men looking for his friend. He flees into a bodega, where the store clerk hands him a .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol. Smith fires at his assailants, hitting one and a bystander. He later shoots at a NYPD narcotics officer responding to the gunfire.
CHARGE: Weapon possession.
OUTCOME: Judge dismisses case on Oct. 29, 2009, after Bronx prosecutors fail to bring the case to trial in a speedy manner.

■ 7/25/09 arrest: Smith punches Zelita Mighty, the mother of shooting suspect Carvett Gentles, in the forehead and nose outside her home. While carrying a black handgun in his waistband, he threatens, “I’ll make one phone call and all this will be smashed up.”
CHARGES: Assault, menacing, weapon possession, harassment.
OUTCOME: Bronx prosecutors request $50,000 bail, citing Smith’s violent past; judge releases him on his own recognizance. Case awaiting trial

CLEVE SMITH, 20

■ 10/9/09 arrest: Police responding to a 911 call observe Smith and five men loitering outside a Bronx apartment building. Cops order them to leave, but after repeated requests, Smith refuses and yells, “F- - - you, I’m not leaving.” Smith flails his arms and swings his fists at the officers when they arrest him. One officer is injured.
CHARGES: Assault, resisting arrest, menacing, harassment, and disorderly conduct.
OUTCOME: Bronx prosecutors request bail and jail time for Smith, but the judge releases him on his own recognizance. Case has not gone to trial

ROHAN FRANCIS, 18

■ Arrests in 2007, 2008, 2009: Francis is busted for possession of a loaded handgun, criminal trespass and gun and marijuana possession.
CHARGES AND OUTCOME: Because they were juvenile arrests, the cases are sealed.

(Source: NY Post)

~ Empress

The Oprah Winfrey Show: Ending After 25 Years.

As most of you have heard by now, The Oprah Winfrey Show will cease in 2011. Holding back tears, Oprah Winfrey told her studio audience Friday that she would end her show after a quarter-century on the air. She said praying and careful thought led her to her ultimate decision.

Winfrey told the audience that she loved the show and that it had been her life and that she knew when it was time to say goodbye. “Twenty-five years feels right in my bones and feels right in my spirit,” she said.

Unfortunately, Winfrey offered no specifics about her plans for the future, except to say that she intended to produce the best possible shows during her last 18 months on the air. Looking forward to the future shows - and at least we still have The Oprah Magazine.

Click here for a quick recap of Oprah's success.

(Source: MSNBC)

-PeggyM.

1 Dead after Miley Cyrus Tour Bus Crash

        A tour bus transporting Miley Cyrus's crew was involved in a fatal crash near Dinwiddie, Virginia earlier this morning at about 8:15am.

Cyrus, 16, was not on board, PEOPLE has confirmed, and, according to her Web site, she is scheduled to perform Sunday in Greensboro, N.C.

"It was one of our tour buses, but not Miley's,” her manager told TMZ. "It was one of our buses that transported our lighting crew."

Source: Copyright 2009 / WWB TV

        An investigation is underway to determine exactly why the bus – part of a four vehicle caravan – drifted off Interstate 85 and overturned. One person, presumed to be the bus driver, died, while nine other people sustained minor injuries. TMZ reported that the bus was one of four in a tour caravan carrying the 16-year-old singer. Officials told the site that the roads were slick at the time of the accident, due to overnight rains, but that it was unknown at press time if the driver died before or after the bus went off the road and overturned. 

Source: The Insider, AP, MTV News, People, TMZ

~ Empress