Trayvon Martin Case: Zimmerman In Custody,

Faces Second-Degree Murder Charge

George Zimmerman, left, will face charges in the shooting of Trayvon Martin, right, the Associated Press is reporting. (The Associated Press) An official with knowledge of the case tells The Associated Press that neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman is in custody in Florida and will be charged with second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin. The shooting has led to protests across the nation and spurred a debate about race and the laws of self-defense all the way to the White House. Zimmerman has asserted since the Feb. 26 killing that he shot the 17-year-old in self-defense after the two fought. The case has sparked protests and calls for Zimmerman’s arrest.
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The Trayvon Martin and Tulsa Shootings:

The Time for Inaction Is Over

Most young people today have studied the stories of the great civil rights struggle in this country and the heroic acts of many from all walks of life that eventually brought about change in America. While older generations may recall segregation or the disturbing days of water hoses and police dogs, young kids today for the most part haven’t experienced open violence at the hands of bigots. Even though racial inequality clearly exists, they have been lucky to grow up in an integrated society that grows increasingly diverse by the day. So when news of the Trayvon Martin shooting first broke, it was no surprise that it sent shockwaves among our youth — and continues to do so today.
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Neighbors Fearful After Shootings In Tulsa

Residents of Tulsa's predominantly black north side said Saturday they're afraid a shooter is still roaming their neighborhoods looking for victims after five people were shot — and three killed — a day earlier. "We're all nervous," said Renaldo Works, 52, who was getting his hair cut at the crowded Charlie's Angels Forever Hair Style Shop on Saturday morning. "I've got a 15-year-old, and I'm not going to let him out late. People are scared. We need facts. "You don't want to be a prisoner in your own home," he said. Police are still waiting for the results of forensic tests, but investigators think the shootings are linked because they happened around the same time within a 3-mile span, and all five victims were out walking when they were shot. All the victims are black, and community met this weekend in an effort to calm any unrest.
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Amiri Baraka – “Why is We Americans” [Poetry Video]

Amiri Baraka formerly known as LeRoi Jones, is an American writer of poetry, drama, fiction, essays, and music criticism. He is the author of numerous books of poetry and has taught at a number of universities, including the State University of New York at Buffalo and the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Baraka was born Everett LeRoi Jones in Newark, New Jersey, where he attended Barringer High School. His father, Coyt Leverette Jones, worked as a postal supervisor and lift operator. His mother, Anna Lois (née Russ), was a social worker. In 1967, he adopted the Muslim name Imamu Amear Baraka, which he later changed to Amiri Baraka. Now a "black cultural nationalist," he broke away from the predominantly white Beats and became very critical of the pacifist and integrationist Civil Rights movement.
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Poll: Most African Americans Disappointed

with the State of Black Leadership in America

A new Your Black World/Kulture Kritic poll shows that the majority of African Americans are disappointed in the state of black leadership in America.  Participants were asked, ‘Are you happy with the state of black leadership in America?” A total of 85 percent of poll respondents said that they were either unhappy or extremely unhappy with the current state of black leadership. Most of the respondents also seemed to believe that white media plays an overwhelming role in defining black leadership.  Readers were asked the following question: “Do you think that predominantly white media determines who the black leadership is going to be?”  In response, 69 percent of respondents answered “yes,” while only 19 percent answered “no.”  The rest of the participants said they were not sure.
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Are Most Black Kids Biased Against White Children?

In an op-ed for NewsOne, Dr. Boyce Watkins analyzes a CNN study about children's racial attitudes and urges a deeper look. According to the study, while most black 6-year-olds had positive attitudes toward other races -- more positive than white children of the same age -- by age 13, most had developed a subconscious bias against white children: This “study” by CNN is very interesting, especially if the results are used to somehow imply that Black children are taught to be leery of Whites for no good reason.  The sad reality is that many Black parents must sometimes prepare their children for the sting of racism that will occur later in life, ultimately undermining their self-esteem at a very early age.
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Senator Calls President Obama “Stupid”

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley loves to Tweet, perhaps even more so than Roland Martin.  Like Martin, Grassley may learn that Twitter is not always your friend.  The senator, in response to remarks made by President Obama toward the Supreme Court, called the president “stupid” in a recent message. “Constituents askd why i am not outraged at PresO attack on supreme court independence. Bcause Am ppl r not stupid as this x prof of con law.” Grassley was referring to Obama’s alleged lack of understanding for Marbury v. Madison and the independence of the judiciary. His aides are saying “The Tweet is Sen. Grassley’s. He is saying that it doesn’t speak well of any constitutional law professor to not understand Marbury v Madison. The people understand the independence of the judiciary. So he thinks most Americans are smarter on the Constitution.”
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Vitamin D Can Reduce Breast Cancer Risk in Black Women

It was already established that African American (AA) women had more chances of getting cancer in the early ages and the developed tumors could be more aggressive. Researchers have found that genetic variations in the Vitamin D receptor and the enzyme, CYP24A1, which is responsible for deactivation of vitamin D, are linked to the increased chances of breast cancer in African American women. They have reported that vitamin D and CYP24A1 are significantly different in American women of African ancestry than in American women of European ancestry (EA).
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Melanie Fiona – “4AM” [Music Video]

Melanie Fiona Hallim is a Canadian R&B recording artist. She was born and raised in Toronto. Fiona's debut album The Bridge was released in 2009 having collaborated with Future Cut, Vada Nobles, Stereotypes, J. Phoenix and Peter Wade Keusch. The debut single "Give It to Me Right" was sent to radio stations on February 28, 2009, and peaked at number 20 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart and number 41 on the UK Singles Chart. The second single, "It Kills Me", became her breakout song on the Billboard Hot 100 where it entered the Top 50, along with topping the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.  Melanie Fiona joins forces with director Colin Tiley to visually bring her new single ’4AM’ to to life. The video, which premiered moments ago, sees the Soulful songbird lament over the whereabouts of her beau – who is played by newcomer Luke James.
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Chickens Fed Caffeine, Banned Antibiotics,

and Prozac Often Without The Farmer’s Knowledge

It’s no surprise that conventionally factory farmed chickens aren't fed the best diet. We already knew that they were routinely fed arsenic. In fact, a 2004 study from the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy showed that more than half of store-bought and fast-food chickens contained elevated levels of arsenic. Roughly 2.2 million pounds of it are being used every year to produce 43 billion pounds of poultry. It's called roxarsone and it's used to fight parasites and increase growth in chickens. New research not only confirms use of arsenic, but finds the addition of a frightening elixir of drugs that includes caffeine, banned antibiotics, and even Prozac.
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US Army Preparing for Martial Law Scenario in US?

Civil Disturbance and Mock Riot Drills In Washington

For years the alternative media has warned about the US military possibly being used against the American people in a time of economic collapse or any sort of martial law scenario. Drills such as Vigilant Guard 2010 have brought widespread attention to the fact that portions of our own military are training to take on crowds of American citizens demanding food and Constitutional rights in a time of crisis. Now, a new release by the website Public Intelligence, once again confirms that as recently as February and March of 2012, US troops at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington were conducting training scenarios for a civil disturbance domestic quick reaction force.
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Malawi Gets a New Female President

A champion of women’s rights, Joyce Banda has become the first female head of state in southern Africa after taking over as Malawi’s president following the death of Bingu wa Mutharika. As vice president, the mother of three assumed the top job in the landlocked and impoverished country on Saturday under the terms of the constitution. The 61-year-old cuts a maternal figure that presents a stark contrast to her professorial predecessor, who styled himself the “Economist in chief”. A winner of international awards for her work as a supporter of women’s rights, Ms Banda was last year named by Forbes Magazine as Africa’s third most powerful female politician after the Liberian president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and the Nigerian minister of finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
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China Buys Inroads In The Caribbean, Catching U.S. Notice

A brand new $35 million stadium opened here in the Bahamas a few weeks ago, a gift from the Chinese government. The tiny island nation of Dominica has received a grammar school, a renovated hospital and a sports stadium, also courtesy of the Chinese. Antigua and Barbuda got a power plant and a cricket stadium, and a new school is on its way. The prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago can thank Chinese contractors for the craftsmanship in her official residence. China’s economic might has rolled up to America’s doorstep in the Caribbean, with a flurry of loans from state banks, investments by companies and outright gifts from the government in the form of new stadiums, roads, official buildings, ports and resorts in a region where the United States has long been a prime benefactor.
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The Other Arab Spring [Editorial]

SN’T it interesting that the Arab awakening began in Tunisia with a fruit vendor who was harassed by police for not having a permit to sell food — just at the moment when world food prices hit record highs? And that it began in Syria with farmers in the southern village of Dara’a, who were demanding the right to buy and sell land near the border, without having to get permission from corrupt security officials? And that it was spurred on in Yemen — the first country in the world expected to run out of water — by a list of grievances against an incompetent government, among the biggest of which was that top officials were digging water wells in their own backyards at a time when the government was supposed to be preventing such water wildcatting?
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Iran Drones Capture Images Of

US Aircraft Carriers: Commander Esmaili

A senior Iranian military commander says Iran’s stealth surveillance aircraft photograph US aircraft carriers and other warships cruising the waters off Iran. Commander of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Air Defense Base Brigadier General Farzad Esmaili said on Tuesday that the remotely-controlled aerial vehicles operated by the Iranian Army as well as the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) fly over US aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf and capture images of them. The Iranian commander dismissed a recent report by the Washington Post which claimed that the CIA had dispatched drones into the skies over Iran and taken photos of Iran’s nuclear sites, saying that such images have indeed been captured by US reconnaissance satellites and not CIA stealth drones.
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15 Al-Shabab Fighters, 17 Military Forces Killed In Somalia

Clashes between al-Shabab fighters and Somalia’s military forces have claimed the lives of at least 15 fighters and 17 troops, Press TV reports. The clash broke out on Wednesday after al-Shabab fighters carried ambush attacks at a Somali military base near Sarkusta checkpoint in the outskirts of South Mogadishu Afgoye main road. At least 15 fighters and 17 troops were killed in the clashes while al-Shabab fighters set fire to two Somali troop vehicles, military officials told Press TV. Meanwhile, al-Shabab senior Sheikh Mohamed Abu Abdirahaman claimed that over 30 troops were killed in the battle. The attacks come days after al-Shabab fighters vowed to intensify their deadly attacks against the country’s transitional government and their foreign military supporters.
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Forks Over Knifes

This Movie Will Save Your Life

Forks Over Knives examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting animal-based and processed foods. The major storyline in the film traces the personal journeys of a pair of pioneering researchers, Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn. What has happened to us? Despite the most advanced medical technology in the world, we are sicker than ever by nearly every measure. Two out of every three of us are overweight. Cases of diabetes are exploding, especially amongst our younger population. About half of us are taking at least one prescription drug. Major medical operations have become routine, helping to drive health care costs to astronomical levels.
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Take The BRAINWASHED Quiz Today!

You may have read the book. You may have even discussed it with your family and friends…but until you take this quiz, you might not yet know the answer to the following essential question…ARE YOU BRAINWASHED? “There is no question that African Americans have internalized at least some of the belief that they are inferior. And there is no question that this has often produced at times feelings of self-loathing and self-destructive behavior. Tom Burrell’s book and his follow-up survey are engaging examinations of the issues surrounding how black people have internalized this sense of inferiority, the impact of that internalized inferiority on the minds and hearts of black people, and, most importantly, the ways black people can fight against this crippling psychological disorder.”

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The Belton Family

The Belton Family Website mission is to assist and support the heritage of the Belton Family Reunion and provide the family with the best information resources for improving the quality of life for our family. Our successes in life are directly related to our knowledgebase and to improve our knowledgebase will require us to have the best information possible for making good decisions. The Belton Family Website is an 1-Stop information resource to support the family in making the best decisions possible for improving our lives. This 1-Stop information resource is a collection of information in a single location on this site providing an excellent starting place for building your knowledgebase with the latest information on topics i.e., Belton Family History; African American History; national and international news; African American news; health news; relationships news; entertainment news and college preparation and assistance.

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