With such high unemployment numbers in the black community, this was inevitable — especially given Obama’s stated reluctance to target African Americans for specific help — even though unemployment is hitting them twice as hard: New cracks have begun to show in President Obama’s support amongst African Americans, who have been his strongest supporters. Five months ago, 83 percent of African Americans held “strongly favorable” views of Obama, but in a new Washington Post-ABC news poll that number has dropped to 58 percent. That drop is similar to slipping support for Obama among all groups. “There is a certain amount of racial loyalty and party loyalty, but eventually that was going to have to weaken,” said Andra Gillespie, a political scientist at Emory University, who studies African Americans. “It’s understandable given the economy.” African Americans have historically correlated approval ratings of the president to the unemployment rate, she said. The slip in the strongly favorable rating continues the decline Obama has seen among all groups, but black voters have been his staunchest supporters. Overall, they still hold a generally favorable view of the president with 86 percent saying they view him at least somewhat favorably. Gillespie’s view that the decline is tied to the disproportionately high jobless rate faced by African Americans correlates with the drop in their view of Obama’s handling of the economy. In July, only 54 percent of blacks said they thought Obama’s policies were making the economy better compared with 77 percent the previous year. Similarly, the White House has been sharply criticized in recent months by black political leaders, who argue that he has not done enough to help blacks. The unemployment rate for African Americans hit 16 percent this summer, the highest rate since 1984, and the members of the Congressional Black Caucus launched a jobs tour focused on the problem. This week the caucus is holding its annual legislative caucus in Washington, and the focus of a series of morning panels Wednesday was the lack of progress on jobs. Rep. Maxine Waters, who has been pushing Obama and publicly chided an administration official during the jobs tour to say the word “black” and directly address the needs of the community, said she would “continue to push the president and the Congress to adopt targeted policies to address the need.” Waters, who heads the CBC’s jobs initiative, said she saw the frustration that is registering in the president’s polls at the jobs fairs she attended. “I saw the kind of hopelessness that is setting in. People were not only discouraged, they came to try to get a job, but they didn’t really believe that something substantive was going to happen,” she said. Clyde McQueen, who is African American and runs a job placement firm in Kansas City, agreed. “The masses of young people and the first-time voter and entry-level workers are being so adversely impacted through downsizing at all levels,” said McQueen, who is attending the CBC meetings this week. “They are looking at the head of the government. When you are at the top, you take the blame.” And yet, MSNBC talking head and Nation writer Melissa Harris-Perry seems to think Obama’s dropping poll numbers are based on a more insidious form of racism: President Obama has experienced a swift and steep decline in support among white Americans—from 61 percent in 2009 to 33 percent now. I believe much of that decline can be attributed to their disappointment that choosing a black man for president did not prove to be salvific for them or the nation. His record is, at the very least, comparable to that of President Clinton , who was enthusiastically re-elected. The 2012 election is a test of whether Obama will be held to standards never before imposed on an incumbent. If he is, it may be possible to read that result as the triumph of a more subtle form of racism. Once again, a member of the media/academic Village misses the obvious: We didn’t have all these people struggling to find work during the Clinton administration. In fact, unemployment was at 4.7 percent – not like the double-digit, long-term unemployment we have now. Not this sense of hopelessness. It’s still the economy. Racism didn’t magically disappear, but the economy still matters more than anything else.
Continue reading …NB Publisher Bozell to Networks: Stop Your Assault On GOP Presidential Candidates
September 26, 2011 No CommentNewsBusters publisher and Media Research Center (MRC) President Brent Bozell has issued a letter
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Teenage monks who called for religious freedom before burning themselves said to be in stable condition Two monks set fire to themselves in a Tibetan town in western China on Monday, months after the brother of one of the men died in a self-immolation, according to the Free Tibet campaign . The campaign group said Lobsang Kalsang and Lobsang Konchok, both aged 18 or 19 and from Kirti monastery in Aba county, Sichuan, had called for religious freedom and shouted “Long live the Dalai Lama” before burning themselves. State news agency Xinhua said two monks had been rescued by police and had suffered slight burns and were in a stable condition, adding: “The suicide attempt is under further investigation.” In all, five monks have set fire to themselves in Sichuan within the last two and a half years. Prior to that, the only known case of a self-immolation protest by a Tibetan was by a layman living in exile in 1998. “It does suggest that this situation is getting out of control and that the efforts of the authorities in Sichuan to use the most aggressive techniques against one monastery – for reasons that have never been clear – are just making things worse,” said Professor Robert Barnett, an expert on Tibet at Columbia University in New York. “There have been suicides by Tibetan monks before, but they have never been public events … [they were] private statements of desperation.” Kirti is one of the largest Tibetan monasteries and Aba county saw fierce clashes in March 2008, when riots in Lhasa sparked wider unrest. Tibetan exiles claimed security forces shot dead at least 10 people, while Chinese state media said that officers shot and wounded four people in self-defence . The following year, one of Kirti’s lamas set fire to himself, but is thought to have survived. Tensions flared again when Lobsang Kalsang’s 21-year-old brother Rigzin Phuntsog, also from Kirti, died after self-immolating in March. Their uncle and another of their brothers were among six lamas recently sentenced for “intentional homicide” and other crimes in connection with his death. Phuntsog’s uncle, Drongdru, was jailed for 11 years for “intentional homicide”, with the court finding that he had hidden his injured nephew, preventing medical treatment. Exile groups said that monks rescued Phuntsog and took him back to the monastery because police were beating him rather than putting out the flames. A Xinhua spokesman denied he had been beaten. Chinese officials also denied that Kirti was under lockdown by armed police following the incident. Last month, 29-year-old Tsewang Norbu burned himself to death . He was a lama at Tawu monastery in Sichuan, about 150 miles from Kirti. “Clearly the community in Ngaba [the Tibetan name for Aba] is feeling it is under immense pressure … My worry is that this is becoming a trend,” said Stephanie Brigden of Free Tibet. “It is not just the arrests [of Phuntsog's brother and uncle] but also house searches, monitoring and tracking of the family and anyone closely associated with it.” No one could be reached for comment at the Aba county government offices. An employee at the public security bureau could be overheard telling a colleague: “This person is asking what happened in [inaudible] Square.” The colleague then took over the call, saying: “We do not have this information at hand.” Tibet China Buddhism Dalai Lama Tania Branigan guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Teenage monks who called for religious freedom before burning themselves said to be in stable condition Two monks set fire to themselves in a Tibetan town in western China on Monday, months after the brother of one of the men died in a self-immolation, according to the Free Tibet campaign . The campaign group said Lobsang Kalsang and Lobsang Konchok, both aged 18 or 19 and from Kirti monastery in Aba county, Sichuan, had called for religious freedom and shouted “Long live the Dalai Lama” before burning themselves. State news agency Xinhua said two monks had been rescued by police and had suffered slight burns and were in a stable condition, adding: “The suicide attempt is under further investigation.” In all, five monks have set fire to themselves in Sichuan within the last two and a half years. Prior to that, the only known case of a self-immolation protest by a Tibetan was by a layman living in exile in 1998. “It does suggest that this situation is getting out of control and that the efforts of the authorities in Sichuan to use the most aggressive techniques against one monastery – for reasons that have never been clear – are just making things worse,” said Professor Robert Barnett, an expert on Tibet at Columbia University in New York. “There have been suicides by Tibetan monks before, but they have never been public events … [they were] private statements of desperation.” Kirti is one of the largest Tibetan monasteries and Aba county saw fierce clashes in March 2008, when riots in Lhasa sparked wider unrest. Tibetan exiles claimed security forces shot dead at least 10 people, while Chinese state media said that officers shot and wounded four people in self-defence . The following year, one of Kirti’s lamas set fire to himself, but is thought to have survived. Tensions flared again when Lobsang Kalsang’s 21-year-old brother Rigzin Phuntsog, also from Kirti, died after self-immolating in March. Their uncle and another of their brothers were among six lamas recently sentenced for “intentional homicide” and other crimes in connection with his death. Phuntsog’s uncle, Drongdru, was jailed for 11 years for “intentional homicide”, with the court finding that he had hidden his injured nephew, preventing medical treatment. Exile groups said that monks rescued Phuntsog and took him back to the monastery because police were beating him rather than putting out the flames. A Xinhua spokesman denied he had been beaten. Chinese officials also denied that Kirti was under lockdown by armed police following the incident. Last month, 29-year-old Tsewang Norbu burned himself to death . He was a lama at Tawu monastery in Sichuan, about 150 miles from Kirti. “Clearly the community in Ngaba [the Tibetan name for Aba] is feeling it is under immense pressure … My worry is that this is becoming a trend,” said Stephanie Brigden of Free Tibet. “It is not just the arrests [of Phuntsog's brother and uncle] but also house searches, monitoring and tracking of the family and anyone closely associated with it.” No one could be reached for comment at the Aba county government offices. An employee at the public security bureau could be overheard telling a colleague: “This person is asking what happened in [inaudible] Square.” The colleague then took over the call, saying: “We do not have this information at hand.” Tibet China Buddhism Dalai Lama Tania Branigan guardian.co.uk
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Teenage monks who called for religious freedom before burning themselves said to be in stable condition Two monks set fire to themselves in a Tibetan town in western China on Monday, months after the brother of one of the men died in a self-immolation, according to the Free Tibet campaign . The campaign group said Lobsang Kalsang and Lobsang Konchok, both aged 18 or 19 and from Kirti monastery in Aba county, Sichuan, had called for religious freedom and shouted “Long live the Dalai Lama” before burning themselves. State news agency Xinhua said two monks had been rescued by police and had suffered slight burns and were in a stable condition, adding: “The suicide attempt is under further investigation.” In all, five monks have set fire to themselves in Sichuan within the last two and a half years. Prior to that, the only known case of a self-immolation protest by a Tibetan was by a layman living in exile in 1998. “It does suggest that this situation is getting out of control and that the efforts of the authorities in Sichuan to use the most aggressive techniques against one monastery – for reasons that have never been clear – are just making things worse,” said Professor Robert Barnett, an expert on Tibet at Columbia University in New York. “There have been suicides by Tibetan monks before, but they have never been public events … [they were] private statements of desperation.” Kirti is one of the largest Tibetan monasteries and Aba county saw fierce clashes in March 2008, when riots in Lhasa sparked wider unrest. Tibetan exiles claimed security forces shot dead at least 10 people, while Chinese state media said that officers shot and wounded four people in self-defence . The following year, one of Kirti’s lamas set fire to himself, but is thought to have survived. Tensions flared again when Lobsang Kalsang’s 21-year-old brother Rigzin Phuntsog, also from Kirti, died after self-immolating in March. Their uncle and another of their brothers were among six lamas recently sentenced for “intentional homicide” and other crimes in connection with his death. Phuntsog’s uncle, Drongdru, was jailed for 11 years for “intentional homicide”, with the court finding that he had hidden his injured nephew, preventing medical treatment. Exile groups said that monks rescued Phuntsog and took him back to the monastery because police were beating him rather than putting out the flames. A Xinhua spokesman denied he had been beaten. Chinese officials also denied that Kirti was under lockdown by armed police following the incident. Last month, 29-year-old Tsewang Norbu burned himself to death . He was a lama at Tawu monastery in Sichuan, about 150 miles from Kirti. “Clearly the community in Ngaba [the Tibetan name for Aba] is feeling it is under immense pressure … My worry is that this is becoming a trend,” said Stephanie Brigden of Free Tibet. “It is not just the arrests [of Phuntsog's brother and uncle] but also house searches, monitoring and tracking of the family and anyone closely associated with it.” No one could be reached for comment at the Aba county government offices. An employee at the public security bureau could be overheard telling a colleague: “This person is asking what happened in [inaudible] Square.” The colleague then took over the call, saying: “We do not have this information at hand.” Tibet China Buddhism Dalai Lama Tania Branigan guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Teenage monks who called for religious freedom before burning themselves said to be in stable condition Two monks set fire to themselves in a Tibetan town in western China on Monday, months after the brother of one of the men died in a self-immolation, according to the Free Tibet campaign . The campaign group said Lobsang Kalsang and Lobsang Konchok, both aged 18 or 19 and from Kirti monastery in Aba county, Sichuan, had called for religious freedom and shouted “Long live the Dalai Lama” before burning themselves. State news agency Xinhua said two monks had been rescued by police and had suffered slight burns and were in a stable condition, adding: “The suicide attempt is under further investigation.” In all, five monks have set fire to themselves in Sichuan within the last two and a half years. Prior to that, the only known case of a self-immolation protest by a Tibetan was by a layman living in exile in 1998. “It does suggest that this situation is getting out of control and that the efforts of the authorities in Sichuan to use the most aggressive techniques against one monastery – for reasons that have never been clear – are just making things worse,” said Professor Robert Barnett, an expert on Tibet at Columbia University in New York. “There have been suicides by Tibetan monks before, but they have never been public events … [they were] private statements of desperation.” Kirti is one of the largest Tibetan monasteries and Aba county saw fierce clashes in March 2008, when riots in Lhasa sparked wider unrest. Tibetan exiles claimed security forces shot dead at least 10 people, while Chinese state media said that officers shot and wounded four people in self-defence . The following year, one of Kirti’s lamas set fire to himself, but is thought to have survived. Tensions flared again when Lobsang Kalsang’s 21-year-old brother Rigzin Phuntsog, also from Kirti, died after self-immolating in March. Their uncle and another of their brothers were among six lamas recently sentenced for “intentional homicide” and other crimes in connection with his death. Phuntsog’s uncle, Drongdru, was jailed for 11 years for “intentional homicide”, with the court finding that he had hidden his injured nephew, preventing medical treatment. Exile groups said that monks rescued Phuntsog and took him back to the monastery because police were beating him rather than putting out the flames. A Xinhua spokesman denied he had been beaten. Chinese officials also denied that Kirti was under lockdown by armed police following the incident. Last month, 29-year-old Tsewang Norbu burned himself to death . He was a lama at Tawu monastery in Sichuan, about 150 miles from Kirti. “Clearly the community in Ngaba [the Tibetan name for Aba] is feeling it is under immense pressure … My worry is that this is becoming a trend,” said Stephanie Brigden of Free Tibet. “It is not just the arrests [of Phuntsog's brother and uncle] but also house searches, monitoring and tracking of the family and anyone closely associated with it.” No one could be reached for comment at the Aba county government offices. An employee at the public security bureau could be overheard telling a colleague: “This person is asking what happened in [inaudible] Square.” The colleague then took over the call, saying: “We do not have this information at hand.” Tibet China Buddhism Dalai Lama Tania Branigan guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Teenage monks who called for religious freedom before burning themselves said to be in stable condition Two monks set fire to themselves in a Tibetan town in western China on Monday, months after the brother of one of the men died in a self-immolation, according to the Free Tibet campaign . The campaign group said Lobsang Kalsang and Lobsang Konchok, both aged 18 or 19 and from Kirti monastery in Aba county, Sichuan, had called for religious freedom and shouted “Long live the Dalai Lama” before burning themselves. State news agency Xinhua said two monks had been rescued by police and had suffered slight burns and were in a stable condition, adding: “The suicide attempt is under further investigation.” In all, five monks have set fire to themselves in Sichuan within the last two and a half years. Prior to that, the only known case of a self-immolation protest by a Tibetan was by a layman living in exile in 1998. “It does suggest that this situation is getting out of control and that the efforts of the authorities in Sichuan to use the most aggressive techniques against one monastery – for reasons that have never been clear – are just making things worse,” said Professor Robert Barnett, an expert on Tibet at Columbia University in New York. “There have been suicides by Tibetan monks before, but they have never been public events … [they were] private statements of desperation.” Kirti is one of the largest Tibetan monasteries and Aba county saw fierce clashes in March 2008, when riots in Lhasa sparked wider unrest. Tibetan exiles claimed security forces shot dead at least 10 people, while Chinese state media said that officers shot and wounded four people in self-defence . The following year, one of Kirti’s lamas set fire to himself, but is thought to have survived. Tensions flared again when Lobsang Kalsang’s 21-year-old brother Rigzin Phuntsog, also from Kirti, died after self-immolating in March. Their uncle and another of their brothers were among six lamas recently sentenced for “intentional homicide” and other crimes in connection with his death. Phuntsog’s uncle, Drongdru, was jailed for 11 years for “intentional homicide”, with the court finding that he had hidden his injured nephew, preventing medical treatment. Exile groups said that monks rescued Phuntsog and took him back to the monastery because police were beating him rather than putting out the flames. A Xinhua spokesman denied he had been beaten. Chinese officials also denied that Kirti was under lockdown by armed police following the incident. Last month, 29-year-old Tsewang Norbu burned himself to death . He was a lama at Tawu monastery in Sichuan, about 150 miles from Kirti. “Clearly the community in Ngaba [the Tibetan name for Aba] is feeling it is under immense pressure … My worry is that this is becoming a trend,” said Stephanie Brigden of Free Tibet. “It is not just the arrests [of Phuntsog's brother and uncle] but also house searches, monitoring and tracking of the family and anyone closely associated with it.” No one could be reached for comment at the Aba county government offices. An employee at the public security bureau could be overheard telling a colleague: “This person is asking what happened in [inaudible] Square.” The colleague then took over the call, saying: “We do not have this information at hand.” Tibet China Buddhism Dalai Lama Tania Branigan guardian.co.uk
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Public spat with Dmitry Medvedev ends up with liberal finance minister leaving the Putin government Russia’s finance minister has left the government following a public row with President Dmitry Medvedev which blew apart the idea that Vladimir Putin’s return to the presidency would entail a smooth transition. A visibly angry Medvedev asked Alexei Kudrin to step down on Monday after the minister said he would refuse to serve once Medvedev swapped the presidency with Putin in May. Medvedev called the liberal official an “irresponsible chatterbox” and denounced Kudrin’s claim that he would consult with Putin before making a decision on whether or not to leave the government. “You know what, you can consult with whomever you want, but as long as I’m president, I take these decisions myself,” Medvedev said. “I will take all necessary decisions until 7 May next year – I hope everyone understands that.” Kudrin told RIA-Novosti news agency that he handed in his resignation late Monday. Medvedev’s spokeswoman, Natalia Timakova, claimed that the president fired Kudrin. Kudrin is the highest-ranking liberal official in the Russian government, credited with easing the country’s ride through the global financial crisis and challenging hardline elements in the regime that hope to buy popularity through increased social spending. His departure will rile foreign investors, who have relied on his commitment to reforms and fiscal discipline. Russia’s economy has yet to truly recover from the financial crisis and has faced renewed challenges in recent weeks. The rouble fell to a two-year low on Monday. Russia Dmitry Medvedev Vladimir Putin Miriam Elder guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Public spat with Dmitry Medvedev ends up with liberal finance minister leaving the Putin government Russia’s finance minister has left the government following a public row with President Dmitry Medvedev which blew apart the idea that Vladimir Putin’s return to the presidency would entail a smooth transition. A visibly angry Medvedev asked Alexei Kudrin to step down on Monday after the minister said he would refuse to serve once Medvedev swapped the presidency with Putin in May. Medvedev called the liberal official an “irresponsible chatterbox” and denounced Kudrin’s claim that he would consult with Putin before making a decision on whether or not to leave the government. “You know what, you can consult with whomever you want, but as long as I’m president, I take these decisions myself,” Medvedev said. “I will take all necessary decisions until 7 May next year – I hope everyone understands that.” Kudrin told RIA-Novosti news agency that he handed in his resignation late Monday. Medvedev’s spokeswoman, Natalia Timakova, claimed that the president fired Kudrin. Kudrin is the highest-ranking liberal official in the Russian government, credited with easing the country’s ride through the global financial crisis and challenging hardline elements in the regime that hope to buy popularity through increased social spending. His departure will rile foreign investors, who have relied on his commitment to reforms and fiscal discipline. Russia’s economy has yet to truly recover from the financial crisis and has faced renewed challenges in recent weeks. The rouble fell to a two-year low on Monday. Russia Dmitry Medvedev Vladimir Putin Miriam Elder guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Public spat with Dmitry Medvedev ends up with liberal finance minister leaving the Putin government Russia’s finance minister has left the government following a public row with President Dmitry Medvedev which blew apart the idea that Vladimir Putin’s return to the presidency would entail a smooth transition. A visibly angry Medvedev asked Alexei Kudrin to step down on Monday after the minister said he would refuse to serve once Medvedev swapped the presidency with Putin in May. Medvedev called the liberal official an “irresponsible chatterbox” and denounced Kudrin’s claim that he would consult with Putin before making a decision on whether or not to leave the government. “You know what, you can consult with whomever you want, but as long as I’m president, I take these decisions myself,” Medvedev said. “I will take all necessary decisions until 7 May next year – I hope everyone understands that.” Kudrin told RIA-Novosti news agency that he handed in his resignation late Monday. Medvedev’s spokeswoman, Natalia Timakova, claimed that the president fired Kudrin. Kudrin is the highest-ranking liberal official in the Russian government, credited with easing the country’s ride through the global financial crisis and challenging hardline elements in the regime that hope to buy popularity through increased social spending. His departure will rile foreign investors, who have relied on his commitment to reforms and fiscal discipline. Russia’s economy has yet to truly recover from the financial crisis and has faced renewed challenges in recent weeks. The rouble fell to a two-year low on Monday. Russia Dmitry Medvedev Vladimir Putin Miriam Elder guardian.co.uk
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