Wise Intelligent Speaks: Trenton Police Shoot, Kill a Man Last Night

July 18, 2009 By mrDaveyd

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It was just a few days ago that we ran the article of Wise Intelligent being falsely arrested. Sadly this type of over the top behavior is what Wise Intelligent was trying to avoid.. Police terror is at an all-time high.I said it before and I’ll say it again, whats taking place is alow grade one sided war of sorts. brothers are being picked off left and right by the police..

-Davey D-

INTELLIGENTNEWZNET
INFORMING the HIP-HOP COMMUNITY

Trenton Police Shoot, Kill man last night (7/16/09)

Wise Intelligent Speaks on yet another incident of police terror

On Wednesday July 8, 2009 here is what I was lucky to avoid in Trenton, New Jersey. This is the environment we as black men are embedded in. Regardless of our vocation, lawyer, doctor, beggar, thief, rapper, activist, youth program director or civilian on a path train enjoying New Years Eve; ala Oscar Grant, we are subject to inhumane treatment by “law” enforcement officers that come to the job with a less than human view of black people. This brother had a 7 inch knife (including the handle) in hand. He ran from the police and into his child’s grandfathers home. Police pursued him to the home, he ran out of the back door where he was confronted by several officers brandishing firearms. Of course the official police report says this scared brother who was already running from the police “lunged” at them with a knife? The report says there were more than 20 cops on the scene, police dogs, etc. I can hardly believe that unless police officers are trained to “shoot to kill” they could not subdue this suspect without open firing with multiple gunshots killing this man? Are police officers trained to “shoot to kill”?, or have they through America’s history of devaluing black life, in effect been trained to kill black people? To add insult to injury police officers arrested the grandfather for “giving the suspect shelter in his house” when they admit the suspect “ran” into the elderly mans home? This is colonial era policing! Oppression by any other name is still oppression….

http://www.intelligentseedz.org / http://www.intelligentmuzik.com / http://twitter.com/wiseintelligent

Police shoot, kill suspect
Man wielded knife in incident
Thursday, July 16, 2009

BY ALEX ZDAN

TRENTON — City police shot and killed a man who was carrying a knife on Stuyvesant Avenue last night, officials said.

The unidentified man was wanted following an earlier call reporting a man with a gun, Capt. Joe Juniak said. Based on a description, officers spotted the man on Prospect Street at 7:02 p.m.

Juniak said the man fled from the officers, running to Stuyvesant Avenue, where he entered a house on the 400 block. With marked cars and uniformed officers pursuing him, the suspect fled out the back of the house and onto the avenue, police said. At this point, Juniak said, the suspect was armed with a knife.

In front of 475 Stuyvesant, the man was confronted by officers with guns drawn. Juniak said the suspect lunged at the officers, and they fired, striking the man.

He was taken to Capital Health at Fuld, where he died of his inju ries just before 8:30 p.m.
At the Stuyvesant intersection with Linwood Avenue, people lined their porches in the fading sunlight and watched police pacing back and forth on the street, in and out of the house. The street was shut down for several blocks and lined with crime scene tape.

“They had to shoot him?” one man wondered aloud to his friends sitting behind him on the porch. “Twenty cops, right there.”

The man said the suspect had been carrying a seven-and-a-half inch knife.
A young man on the porch said police had fired three times.

“All I heard was, ‘Toot, toot, toot,'” he said.

Officials confirmed the man had been shot multiple times. One woman who knew the man who had been shot, but not his name, wondered why police didn’t at tempt to wound their suspect.
“You could have shot him one time in the leg. He would have been down,” a woman said. “He’s skin and bones anyway.”

An elderly man in handcuffs sat uncomfortably on the front stoop, guarded by police. Neighbors said he was the grandfather of the man’s child, under arrest for allegedly giving the suspect shelter in his house.
Juniak said that over 30 law enforcement officers were on the scene last night beginning an investigation.

Contact Alex Zdan at azdan@nj times.com or (609) 989-5705.

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Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News, Political articles, Southern Shift Tagged With: Kill a Man Last Night, police terror-Davey D Hip Hop news, Trenton Police, Wise Intelligent, Wise Intelligent Speaks: Trenton Police Shoot

White Cops In Philly Refer to Black Kids As Ghetto Monkeys-Black Cop Set to Sue

July 18, 2009 By mrDaveyd

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daveyd-raider2 As you read the article below please keep in mind several things which make this story even more disturbing. First, Philadelphia currently has a Black Mayor, Michael A Nutter and had another mayor John F Street, a community activist and organizer who served for 8 years. This means that the website Domelights used by white Philly Cops to post up racist rantings about the people and the communities they a re supposed to serve was launched and has existed un-challenged on the watch of two African Americans leading the City of Brotherly Love. How is this possible?

For the past 8 years, Philadelphia has had two Black Police Commissioners, Sylvester Johnson and the Charles Ramseywho is highly decorated and currently oversees the department. How is racism this blatant amongst white officers tolerated on their watch? Do these men not have power or do these men not have backbone to stand up and shut things down? How was Johnson and now Ramsey able to lead officers who feel comfortable enough to embrace and exude the type of unconscionable racism described in the article? Their inability to have a zero tolerance policy put in place and acted upon when such egregious behavior occurs is a stark reminder that even though we have Black faces in high places it don’t mean a damn thing for the everyday Black person on the streets of Philly and throughout this country.

Professor and Fox news Commentator Marc Lamont Hill came across out of control cops on the Temple University campus in Philadelphia just last week. They were making several young men drop their pants in a public place while they laughed and cracked jokes.

As I’m reading this story, I can’t help but think about two things. First, is a situation which took place just last week around Temple University in Philly when Professor and Fox News Commentator Marc Lamont Hill came upon some out of control officers who thought it would be funny to harass several young Black men passing through the campus by having them drop their pants in public while being detained.

Hill tweeted about the incident and described how he stood watching the officers when he himself got confronted. The officers wanted him to leave the scene. They said he was ‘hovering ‘when Hill was actually observing which he has a right to do as tax paying citizen. Perhaps the only thing that kept him from being made to drop his pants was that he let it be known he was a professor on the campus where the young men were being jammed up.

Hill tweeted about how angry he was because after the cops let the boys go they started laughing and cracking jokes about the incident. What made this more outrageous was they did this in front of Professor Hill- The message seemingly conveyed by these callous cops was; It don’t matter who the hell you are, we’ll do what we want. One has to wonder if these cops went home wrote about the incident and shared a good laugh with other white cops on the racist website Domelights.

The second thing that comes to mind, is the plight of political prisoner Mumia Abu Jamal. Year after year when his case comes up, the Philadelphia police union Fraternal order of Police #5 leads the charge to block any attempt to free him. Mumia has long talked about the insidious racism and brutality of the Philly police. The things he’s reported on prior to going to jail over 20 years ago and throughout his stay on death row have been met with skepticism, rebuke and disbelief by mainstream pundits who simply feel the police can do no wrong. Perhaps these pundits need to look at the daily, pervasive racist commentary on Domelights from these White officers serving a city with a majority population of people of color and has Black leadership which is more than unnerving. One can then ask how much worse and in your face were these racist attitudes under white leadership, especially when Mumia was free and having to deal with well known racist Police Commissioners like Frank Rizzo. One can only imagine it was even worse.

Lastly one has to ask, how is such conduct tolerated by the Fraternal Order of Police. You go to their website and you see they are alerting their members to upcoming contract hearings on July 24th. I didn’t see anything telling their officers to fall back and set a good example for other officers by not tolearting racism. The FOP want a new contract when they have pretty much remained silent and not reined in their members? Pay attentions folks and lets see how this plays out.

When will President Obama aggressively address these increasing issues of police terror and the racism that is pervasive throughout many departments?

In closing I will say this.. yesterday we had a huge debate on my website and facebook pages about whether or not President Obama was doing enough to address racial issues that are impacting Black folks daily. Many felt like he was on the case. Others felt like he was falling short. One of the main sticking points in our debate were these increasing incidents of police terror that are happening from Oakland to Mississippi to Houston to Trenton, NJ with Wise Intelligent to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with Hip Hop pioneer and X-Clan member Paradise Gray. It was not lost on me that earlier this week President Obama went out of his way to offer prayer and praise to officers who were shot and seriously injured in the line of duty while chasing down suspects in Jersey City, New Jersey. He offered prayer and praise to slain officers in Pittsburgh a couple of months ago and he offered prayer and praise to the 4 officers slain in Oakland back in March. These things he should do.

At the same time, when is our President going to put out of control police on notice and offer solace to people brutalized by renegade cops? When is he going to instruct his Attorney General Eric Holder to draft a plan of action to hold police accountable and make sure that there will be zero tolerance for abuse and racist behavior as demonstrated by the white officers on Philly’s police force.

President Obama gave lots of money in his stimulus package for police-Perhaps he needs to take some of that money bback and treat the polce the way he treated the car companies. Let them know they don’t get any money until they start doing right by the American people.

Something to Ponder…

-Davey D-

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Cops claim police message board “infested with racist, white supremacist” remarks

Boards reference swim club incident, calls black kids “ghetto monkey faces”

One post describes “no car insurance driving, bad weave wearing” black women

Lawsuit seeks for site to be taken down or have cops stop posting during work

Black Philadelphia police sue over message board, say it’s racist

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/07/17/police.racism.lawsuit/index.html

Domelights is a privately run website used by police in Philadelphia where they routinely post up racist rantings including one where they referred to Black kids discriminated at a Philly country club as Ghetto Monekeys

(CNN) — A group of black Philadelphia police officers filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against their department, alleging an online forum geared toward city police is “infested with racist, white supremacist and anti-African-American content.”

The suit alleges white officers post on and moderate the privately operated site, Domelights.com, both on and off the job.

Domelights’ users “often joke about the racially offensive commentary on the site … or will mention them in front of black police officers,” thus creating “a racially hostile work environment,” according to lawyers for the all-black Guardian Civic League, the lead plaintiff in the suit.

A look at the site’s forums Friday for racist comments found several possibilities.

Reads one: “In urban areas, it seems [African-Americans] living on welfare in paid for housing is ingrained in their culture as well as fighting. … Kids, along with adults can’t speak proper English or spell at a 3rd grade level, but they can sing among “theyselves” the lyrics to a rap song.”

Said another Domelights user of an African-American woman: “She is a classic example of that exact non tax paying, no car insurance driving, bad weave wearing, all the whitey’s are racist black women.”

The site’s tagline is “the voice of the good guys.”

Don’t Miss

Read the lawsuit (PDF) Warning: Contents may offend some readers

“Every time African-Americans do or say something in our city, we get this backlash of cops who think they’re anonymous on this Web site — just racist, nasty, hurtful things about what we do,” said Rochelle Bilal, the president of the Guardian Civic League and a 23-year veteran of the force.

The league’s attorney said other black officers echo Bilal’s statement.

“We’ve heard the same story over and over again, which is that [African-American officers] witness in the workplace Domelights being used and discussed [in a racial manner],” said Brian Mildenberg, whose firm is also representing a Philadelphia day camp that recently gained national attention when its mostly black campers were turned away from a swim club.

He said it was “a gift from the heavens in a way that the two things happened at once.”

While Mildenberg and Bilal said they had been monitoring the 10-year-old Web site for years, the pool incident did seem to play into the timing of the lawsuit.

“When they said something about our pretty, brown, young, innocent children and called them monkeys because they wanted to go swimming, that was enough,” Bilal said.

She may have been referring to this comment posted on Domelights: “Maybe the people who work for a living didn’t want to swim with a bunch of ghetto monkey faces.”

The lawsuit also highlights comments made on Domelights by the site’s founder and administrator, a sergeant in the Philadelphiapolice force who goes by the online handle “McQ.”

A statement from McQ that Mildenberg described as “racially abusive commentary” reads, “Blacks and other minorities frequently don’t have the resources that white people have. Consequently, blacks may not be able to keep their vehicles inspected, registered, and roadworthy.”

McQ is also listed as a defendant in the lawsuit. Asked why McQ bears responsibility for the racist remarks of his site’s anonymous commenters, Mildenberg said it was because “he started it.”

The person known as McQ did not respond to a request for comment, but posted a message on the site citing the lawsuit. McQ wrote that the suit may cause the Web site to be suspended, but added his statement was not an admission of wrongdoing.

“I categorically deny any wrongdoing on my part,” the message reads. “I did not make racist posts. I did not maintain the Web site on city time.”

Ideally, Mildenberg said, his clients would like to see the site shut down. Failing that, they want Philadelphia police officers to be prohibited from posting comments on the site, particularly during working hours.

The plaintiffs in the class-action suit also are seeking unspecified financial damages available under the Civil Rights Act for Philadelphia’s 2,300 African-American police officers, according to Mildenberg.

Shelley Smith, Philadelphia’s city solicitor, said. “The lawsuit is about a private Web site. It’s not a police department Web site. It’s not operated or overseen by the police department. The allegations against the city and police department are misplaced.”

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Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News, Davey D-Words to Ponder Blog, Political articles, Southern Shift Tagged With: Black Cops Sue White Cops, black Guardian Civic League, Black Philadelphia police sue over message board, Cops claim police message board "infested with racist, Davey D Hip Hop news Police terror in Philly, Domelights, Marc Lamont Hill, Mumia abu jamal, Philadelphia Police, say it's racist, Shelley Smith, temple University, white supremacist" remarks

Wake Up GOP: Sotomayor Is This Generation’s Jackie Robinson

July 17, 2009 By mrDaveyd

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Wake Up GOP: Sotomayor Is This Generation’s Jackie Robinson

New America Media, Commentary, Roberto Dr. Cintli Rodriguez, Posted: Jul 15, 2009 Review it on NewsTrust

soniaSatamayor-225 Nine years into the new millennium and conservatives and Republicans — with straight faces – insist that it is they who should define the nation’s racial debate and that it is their views that are fair and objective and part of the U.S. mainstream. Nowhere is this fallacy more evident than in their incomprehensible opposition to Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In their upside-down world, extreme conservatives, including the entire right-wing talk show universe, have gone from defending racial supremacy (by opposing integration and the precepts of “equality and justice for all”) to appropriating the right to define the very words and terms of this debate. Interestingly, Senate Republicans, who espouse virtually the same views as those of their influential talk show brethren, minus the most incendiary language, have failed to denounce their hate and ultra-nationalist demagoguery.

For instance, Sen. Jeff Sessions’ questioning of Sotomayor regarding her supposed biases, and the Republican demand that she be neutral, is mind-boggling. Lest we forget (aside from his own documented extreme racial views), it is “objectivity” that permitted the U.S. Supreme Court for nearly 200 years to uphold legal segregation and discrimination. Implicit in their arguments is that the decisions by white male Supreme Court justices have always been fair and infallible, while the continued attempts to right the nation’s wrongs – by activists or judges – constitute bias and even racism.

In addition to a history refresher course, many of these Republicans and conservatives are in need of an English dictionary. They also need to pay a visit to the Southern Poverty Law Center’s website to learn who the racists are and what kinds of supremacist ideologies they espouse and carry out.

None of those that have denounced Sotomayor as a “racist,” such as Newt Gingrich, are in line to win a Nobel Peace Prize for their work on race relations any time soon. And yet, more incredible is that the mainstream media continually turn to extremist talking heads for their opinions on the topic, virtually granting them an imprimatur of impartiality and fairness.

The Republican conservative effort to keep Sotomayor off the bench seems like a bizarre murder-suicide plot. Regardless of the obstacles put in her way, she will be the next Supreme Court justice. If there is to be any casualty, it will be the GOP, not she. She is a twice-Senate-confirmed moderate judge with 17 years of judicial experience, not the flaming radical they project her to be. She is boricua or Puerto Rican, part of a demographic (Latino/Latina) that is growing and has the potential to lean either Democratic or Republican.

What GOP leaders haven’t figured out is that, symbolically, Sotomayor represents this generation’s Jackie Robinson. If they had wanted to broaden their political tent, they could have celebrated her nomination, thereby projecting a welcoming party. Instead, they have questioned her impartiality and more important, her integrity. By opposing her these past two months with inflammatory rhetoric, they have poisoned relations with this expanding demographic group, ironically ensuring that the GOP will be remanded to the status of minority party for at least the next generation.

GOP leaders have the right to oppose her; the problem is that they have failed to do so respectfully. Many Republicans/conservatives have not simply defamed her, they have also unjustifiably denigrated both the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund and the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) – respected civil rights organizations she has been associated with as a professional. In the case of the NCLR, the anti-immigrant ex-Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo has likened it to the KKK. This is beyond intellectually dishonest.

This attempt by extreme conservatives to redefine the meaning of terms such as “racists” either reveals an Orwellian strategy to upend the meaning of words, or it reveals complete political illiteracy and/or lunacy. The consequence is that the GOP continues to send off the message that it is the party of the past, the party of greed, permanent war, hate, intolerance and racial supremacy. Also, because many conservatives equate ‘illegal alien’ with Mexican (or Latino) and view both as vermin and subhuman, the GOP already has a huge [recruitment] problem among these groups.

The failure of its leaders to disassociate from those extreme views means that this is the way the GOP will be perceived, long after Sotomayor dons her new Supreme Court robes.

Roberto Dr. Cintli Rodriguez, an assistant professor at the University of Arizona, writes for New America Media, including Arizona Watch. He can be reached at: XColumn@gmail.com

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Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News, Political articles, Southern Shift Tagged With: Jackie Robinson, Newt Gingrich, Senator Jeff Sessions, Sonia Sotomayor, Wake Up GOP: Sotomayor Is This Generation's Jackie Robinson

Starbucks Set to Start Swagger jacking Local Coffee Houses by removing Its Name

July 17, 2009 By mrDaveyd

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daveyd-raider2 Should we call it good business savvy where one is being smart and competitive or should we call it being deceptive, thievery or outright ‘swagger jacking’ ? In case you haven’t heard in recent months Starbucks has been closing coffee houses all over the country. In this bad recession many people don’t wanna pay 4 bucks for a cup of coffee with names they can’t pronounce. The other story which Starbucks has not been telling folks is that many places, people hate walking into a store that’s not local. In many communities people have been opting to go to the mom and pop/ indy coffee house where they will allow you do poetry readings, give you free wi-fi and basically be a ‘real’ neighborhood hangout. Starbucks in spite of its nice ambiance has become simply too Clear Channelish for people’s tastes and hence folks started to bounce in droves.

So how has the coffee giant responded? First it closed a bunch of stores and blamed it on the recession. Next they did some market research and are now undergoing a sneaky makeover. They are now experimenting by opening coffee houses without the Starbucks name or their green and white logo. They are trying to blend in and make people think they are some small, quaint, corky indy coffee house owned by local people. In Seattle, Starbucks swagger jacked damn near everything a local coffee house was doing down to the color of paint. Who is next? Will the Starbucks in the hood sudeenly start sporting a Red, Black and Green flag toss up a couple of Malacolm X or Marcus Garvey photos and make folks think its Black owned? Oh yeah I forgot a whole lot of businesses on 125th street in Harlem do that now..lol, but lemme not digress.

Will Starbucks suddenly adapt Southwestern decor and toss a Spanish sign here and there, play some Salsa, ranchero or tejano tunes and have up a Mexican, El Savadorian or Puerto Rican flag hanging out front to make us think its owned by folks in the barrio? Should we be upset by this? Haven’t we been pushing corporations to be more reflective of the community? If the communities needed are being served should we be celebrating this? Or do we want corporations to identify themselves as corporations?

Now many corporate folks are paying close attention to this latest ‘stealth marketing move by Starbucks because they know, people aren’t feeling the way corporations are doing things, so these entities are falling back and trying to hit us up by pretending to be something that we aren’t.. is this a good thing?

Time will tell and so will the people

Something to Ponder

Davey D

Can the next Starbucks makeover result in a corporate coffee shop like this without us knowing?

Neighbor: Starbucks stole my ambiance

By SARA KIESLER
SPECIAL TO SEATTLEPI.COM

Linda Derschang, owner of Smith neighborhood pub, walks into a meeting in a Starbucks store undergoing renovation next door to her business on 15th Avenue East in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood. Derschang, who said she worked hard to distinguish her business with its motif, said she was furious that the Starbucks matched its look to the look of her businesses next door. The exterior of the remodeled Starbucks location is color matched to Smith's and uses reclaimed wood on the exterior, similar to the reclaimed wood Derschang uses in her business.

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/408205_starbucks17.html?source=mypi

If imitation is the kindest form of flattery, the restaurant and bar known as Smith is feeling … well … flat-out worshiped.

Located next to the Starbucks store that will now be called 15th Avenue Coffee and Tea in Capitol Hill, Smith owner Linda Derschang said Thursday that everything from the paint color to the light fixtures inside the coffee shop have been replicated to match her rustic, mountaineer-like bar.

“It’s got a lot of salvaged wood, it’s the same paint color inside as Smith and some of the wood framed chalkboards look very, very similar,” she said. “If they had decided to do that look in a different neighborhood or city that would be one thing, but trying to position themselves as an independent coffee house? Where’s the independent spirit in knocking someone off?”

The remodeled Starbucks store, which will serve beer and wine as well its usual caffeinated fare, is making attempts to reflect its neighborhood location, spokeswoman Anna Kim-Williams said. The 15th Avenue store was expected to close last year but is being remodeled instead.

“We’re continuing our commitment to delivering specialty coffee excellence while refreshing our store design approach with an amplified focus on local relevance,” Kim-Williams said, citing the earthy store at First Avenue and Pike Street as an earlier example of the guise. “Ultimately, we hope customers will feel an enhanced sense of community and a deeper connection to our coffee heritage.”

But Derschang said she wishes Starbucks Corp. had approached her to ask if it was OK that the store is painted almost the same deep woods brown color as hers. All five of her restaurants, bars and coffee shops throughout Seattle have a signature look Derschang designed. Managers at another bar of hers, Odd Fellows Cafe and Bar, said they saw Starbucks designers frequent the store to observe its motif.

“If Smith was Subway sandwiches would they really try to match the paint color?” she said. “It’s definitely more to their advantage to look like Smith than Smith’s advantage to look like Starbucks.”

Smith manager Keara Matthiesen said she was asked on Wednesday by representatives of Starbucks Corp. about where the awnings were purchased.

“I told them I don’t know even though I know very well,” she said. “No more!”

Smith isn’t the first local store to feel it has been copy-catted by another. Two Tex-Mex restaurants duked it out in November after Pesos Kitchen and Lounge in Queen Anne claimed that Matador in Ballard had replicated its theme in violation of civil laws regulating the use of “identifying marks.”

After a court battle lasted over a month, Matador agreed to a settlement that included changes to its menu and interior as well as an undisclosed sum of money.

Derschang and Matthiesen will be meeting with representatives of Starbucks Corp. on Monday, Derschang said. She hopes to give the designers a chance to make changes before even considering a lawsuit, she said.

Other neighborhood bars and coffee shops aren’t as concerned about the change in their neighbor’s appearance and product.

“In today’s economy, everybody’s trying to stay afloat,” said Caffe Ladro manager Courtney Howard. “If they’re trying to go back to the neighborhood feel … more power to them.”

Starbucks is planning to open two more Seattle-area stores without the Starbucks name.

Analyst Patricia Edwards said the move to invoke more of a coffee house aura is a return to the roots of artsy, local shops that “(CEO) Howard (Schultz) has always been so enamored with.”

If it brings more traffic in during the afternoon and evening hours, she said that is reason to applaud the stock price slumping company.

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Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News, Life style articles, Political articles, Southern Shift Tagged With: Davey D Hip hop news-Starbucks makeover, Starbucks, Starbucks makeover, Starbucks Set to Start Swagger jacking Local Coffee Houses by removing Its Name, Starbucks stole my ambiance

Q-Tip Set to Pen a Book About Industry Rule 4080

July 17, 2009 By mrDaveyd

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Q-Tip is ready to expound upon his rhyme 4080 the record business is shady

Former Tribe Called Quest front man Q-Tip has teamed with Ballantine Books to publish Industry Rules which will contain the rapper’s thoughts on the entertainment business, fashion, love and morality.

The book’s concept will expand upon a classic Q-Tip line on A Tribe Called Quest’s classic song “Check the Rhime,” in which he states: “Industry rule #4080/Record company people are shady.”

The 4080 line became popular in Hip-Hop circles and was even the name of a popular rap magazine in the 1990’s.

“It was important to me to write a book because on the whole, I feel we could all be more literate, and as an artist, I’m always looking for ways to do something cool, different, and both light and introspective at the same time,” Q-Tip said in a statement. “With so many influences, like Duke Ellington’s writing, or the music played by radio DJs in the 70’s, or just what you see hanging out on Linden Blvd., there’s a lot to say, and I look forward to reaching a bunch of colorful dudes and gals with the project.”

In addition to the aforementioned subjects, Q-Tip will also reveal never-before-told stories about his personal and professional experiences during his 20-year-recording career.

Industry Rules will be released in conjunction with A Tribe Called Quest’s 20th anniversary of their debut album, People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm (1990).

Q-Tip is also planning to drop his unreleased album Kamaal the Abstract on Battery Records.

written by By Roman Wolfe

source: http://www.allhiphop.com/stories/news/archive/2009/07/16/21807250.aspx

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Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News, Industry news & Views, Southern Shift Tagged With: Davey D Hip Hop news-Q-tip, Q-Tip, Q-Tip Set to Pen a Book About Industry Rule 4080, Q-tip to pen book industry rules, Tribe Called Quest

Did President Obama Come too hard with his ‘No Excuses’ Speech to the NAACP?

July 17, 2009 By mrDaveyd

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ObamaNAACP-400

People are buzzing about President Obama’s speech to the NAACP the other night. It’s getting a lot of praise for being energetic. It received a rousing standing ovation. Many are saying he spoke sobering words that really needed to be heard during these hardtimes. He called for personal responsibility. he encouraged parents to step it up and be more involved.

He basically let us know that times are changing, the world is more competitive and quite frankly with him being in the White House a whole lot of non-Black folks aren’t trying to hear any excuses as to why we aren’t making it.

He pointed out that there are lots of opportunities for people to take advantage to move forward and its sad that so many are not.

Minista Paul Scott feels that President Obama glosses over important issues about race and racism

On the other hand there are those like Truth Minista Paul Scott who emphatically feel that a good speech and false perceptions held by others do not erase systemic conditions. Police brutality, poverty and institutional racism have not disappeared with the election of President Obama. In fact they may have gotten worse as there seems to be a backlash to America electing its first Black president.

Paul brings to the forefront some other interesting facets to consider including Obama’s tendency to downplay white supremacy when he talks about race. He feels that when Obama speaks to Black people he’s doing so to appease whites hence he adapts a harsh ‘personal responsibility’ tone. Paul points out personal responsibility is a good thing, but it suggests that many of the barriers in front of us are there because we aren’t trying hard enough. Racism is there because we have not educated ourselves enough.

Paul suggest that Preisent Obama take a look at Carter G Woodson’s book ‘The Miseducation of the Negro”.

Anyway take a listen to the two speeches and let us know what u think. Was Obama on point with his make no excuses speech or is Minista Paul Scott correct in pointing out that some excuses are just too damn big to ignore.

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Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News, Essential videos to peep, Political articles, Southern Shift Tagged With: Davey D Hip Hop news-Response to Obama's NAACP speech 2009, Did President Obama Come to Hard with his 'No Excuses' Speech to the NAACP?, Did President Obama Come too hard with his 'No Excuses' Speech to the NAACP?, Miseducation of the Negro, No warning shots fired, Paul scott responds to president Obama Naacp speech, President Obama 2009 NAACP speech, Race relations, Was President Obama On Point w/ His NAACP 'No Excuses' Speech?, white supremacy

Radio’s Stupid Consolidation Tricks

July 17, 2009 By mrDaveyd

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Radio’s Stupid Consolidation Tricks
By Jerry Del Colliano

Jerry_Colliano-225 What do you get when you fire most of your local employees, revert to using voice tracking or cheap outside programming, manage from corporate headquarters, spy on stations and treat engineers like they are not necessary?

No local radio — or as I like to call it — Nocal radio.

You could call it Knuckleradio because you’d have to be a knucklehead to do what radio CEOs are doing in the name of economies of scale.

Or Lowcal Radio — because the costs for running consolidated stations are increasingly low.

Whatever you decide to call it, consolidators are busy at work carrying out their plans to reduce expenses even if it hurts their product and industry.

The three largest groups — Clear Channel, Cumulus and Citadel — are leading the way (if you could actually use the term “leading” to describe this self-immolation). Believe me, the other small groups are falling all over themselves to adopt the same destructive and shortsighted policies as you will see.

Here are a few self-destructive examples:

1. Playing offensive videos at “sales meetings”.
Turns out one of my Repeater Reporters got wind of an Atlanta GM’s attempt at motivating his sales department. The GM reportedly played Alec Baldwin’s rant from Glengarry Glen Ross, the 1992 movie about the behind the scenes operation of a real estate office. The clip, as submitted by my reader, is full of insults and obscene language — some directed at the alternative life style of other employees with children. Give a listen, but you’ve been warned. Some motivation, eh?

2. Raising ad rates by 20% to cover losses.
Recession? What recession? One consolidator ordered a 20% rate increase effective immediately ostensibly to cover his company’s losses. Salespeople on the street are cringing as their prospects are hurting so much many are already skipping radio advertising at existing rates. Talk about being disconnected from your advertisers. Now is the time to cut rates — not during economic booms. Radio, which had decades to raise its rates, stuck to low ball pricing and now you dance with the one that brought you (low ad rates) — to quote Shania Twain.

3. Clear Channel’s goal: no one in the building on weekends.
I know what you’re going to say, there’s already no one in their buildings during the week. One CC reader tells me this has been the company’s apparent goal for years now and he can prove it. This Repeater Reporter attended a Prophet System training session in Denver a few years back. Here’s how he quoted the trainer: “…yes, that’s our goal; no one in the building on the weekends.” When this concerned radio exec asked what would happen if the station went off the air, he recalls the trainer as saying, “He replied that Prophet had the capability to page the engineer or PD in that situation. He also said that hopefully station personnel would monitor local newscasts for news events that took place and send someone in if any unforeseen events occurred”. There’s more listeners, TSL and audience interaction on the weekends — guess Clear Channel doesn’t want it.

4. Father’s Day Weather — one day late.
Another disgusted radio exec says that on Father’s Day — well, let’s let him tell it, “Clear Channel’s high-rated WSRZ-FM, Sarasota, FL, 60s-70s hits, was plugging along, no back announcing, no local content, totally on automatic, when every hour, the recorded weather talked about the expected high tomorrow- FATHER’S DAY !! Seems someone forgot to update the weather. Another fine example of serving the community’s needs”. No harm done. No one got killed by a tornado this time — just voice tracking egg on your face.

5. Michael Jackson coverage — with no overtime.
This has probably happened at a lot of stations in the aftermath of the death of Michael Jackson. As one radio exec put it, “No one else was in the building when the MJ story broke. I put it on all stations (in the cluster) and then pieced together some tribute sets. Got a call reminding me…”No Overtime.” (Did get a thanks from the PD who was on the way to the station.). This is not the way to do it.

6. Some Mom and Pop stations want to be Cumulus.
Another eyewitness account from a longtime radio vet who was fired from his consolidated radio job and wound up at a mom and pop operation. His comments remind us why once the genie is out of the bottle, you can’t stuff it back in again: “…your article on tracking hit home…even with this local owner…we have a bare bones staff, everything is voicetrax even the morning shows!!…I took (a few) days off last week and had to track my shows while was gone… plus I put in all spots, write, produce etc”.

7. “We’re live today and you’re lucky” on-air attitude.
One veteran broadcaster said, “I heard a personality on the air at a Radio One station on Friday last week who is usually voice tracked. She was on the air playing Michael Jackson songs back-to-back, and said during one of her breaks, ‘Call me in the studio today, I’m actually here taking your phone calls and playing DJ today!’ Nice sentiment, but she said it as though it was supposed to be a bonus for the audience… Almost as if to say, ‘Don’t call me any other day, because I have much more important things to do’.”

8. Less station identification even in non-PPM markets.
An insider from Vegas said, “…in recent weeks, I’ve noticed a disturbing trend. The voice-tracks are totally generic. There’s no mention of the station by the announcers, just a lot of ‘that was… this is ‘ and ‘hey, did you know Lonestar was coming out with a new CD?’ One can only assume that they’re now having jocks do generic voice-tracks that run on multiple stations, eliminating the need to cut custom tracks for each station. Other than the occasional imaging stuff, the station itself is never mentioned. Plus, there’s no weather, no local happenings, no local comments about artists appearing locally… nothing. That’s you’re new local radio for you.

Seth Godin, the marketing guru, recently did a blog post on the demise of the sewing machine business and the once mighty Singer Corporation.

I got the feeling Godin was also talking about the radio industry in a way.

But I was convinced he was when he added, “The best marketing strategy is to destroy your industry before your competition does”.

I guess radio CEOs are taking him literally.

For those of you who would prefer to get Jerry’s daily posts by email for free, please click here. IMPORTANT: Service cannot start until you verify an email from “Feedburner” immediately after you sign up (may have to check your filtered mail).
Thanks for forwarding my pieces to your friends and linking to your websites and boards.

Here’s link to original article: http://insidemusicmedia.blogspot.com/2009/07/radios-stupid-consolidation-tricks.html

BRAINSTORM WITH JERRY. One or two-day “Solutions Labs” to solve problems and to discover new opportunities based on Jerry’s work as a professor at the University of Southern California where he helped radio companies, music industry businesses and new media ventures develop creative, revenue-producing ideas. You supply the “goals”. Choose the participants in a private setting. Leave with an easy-to-implement “action plan”.

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Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News, Industry news & Views, Political articles, Southern Shift Tagged With: Clear Channel, Davey D's Hip Hop news-Radio consolidation, Jerry Del Colliano, Knuckleradio, Radio's Stupid Consolidation Tricks

First Wise Intelligent, Now Hip Hop pioneer Paradise of X-Clan get arrested on trumped up charges

July 17, 2009 By mrDaveyd

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Hip Hop pioneer Paradise Gray is the latest in a string of journalis/ community activist to be arrested on trumped up charges by police from coast to coast

Yesterday I received several disturbing phone calls from the city of Pittsburgh informing me that Hip Hop pioneer and X-Clan member Paradise Gray the Architect was falsely arrested by a police department that seemed bent on targeting him. The details are still coming in but from what was conveyed, ‘Dice’ was at a demonstration filming the procedings so he could write and report back the story. For those who don’t know, Dice is also a long time seasoned journalist and documentarian. During the demonstration a doorway was blocked resulting in a bottleneck which spawned the anger of a number of people who rushed the door, pushing people and creating a situation where a couple of women would be crushed and stampeded if action was taken. Dice went to the door to assist by creating a path so people could move through the door when he was tackled by police. He was accused of blocking the doorway and preventing people from leaving and later for resisting arrest

According to witnesses, there were several demonstrators on hand, all of the white who were there at the doorway to commit acts of civil disobedience. They were clearly present blocking the door, yet police ran right past them to attack Paradise who got tagged with the resisting arrest charge when he put his hands in the air to let the police know he was a working journalist and not part of the demonstration. It didn’t matter to the police Dice was hauled off. Later on police arrested the actual demonstrators who were all cited and immediately let go. Paradise who spent much of the day in jail was later quoted as saying. ” (I was not one of the people who was trying to be arrested. I was rushed by the Police after trying to free a young lady from being crushed by the revolving door that was being pushed hard by a man trying to exit the building) – Paradise

This incident had a chilling effect on several levels. First Paradise is known for his peace making activities by the police. He’s met with them on anumber of occassions and has long advocated that the community spark dialogue instead of confrontation. They knew that Dice is a journalist covering the story. Second point was that several people who started the bottlneck and disruption by blocking the door were arrested and let go. Third this pattern of false arrest and trumped up charges has happened to several other well known people who are part of the Hip Hop community and do journalism. I hardly think this is coincidence.

The first is Minister of Information JR out of Oakland, California. During the demonstrations for police killing of Oscar Grant, JR was doing what he’s done for years, covering the story and taking pictures so he can later report back to the community through the SF Bayview newspaper and on his widely heard Block Report Radio show and podcast. He was tackled by 4 officers and charged with arson. It did not matter that he was standing next to a number of other people including a couple of lawyers who were also observing the demonstrations. His outspoken, bold activism made him a target. He is currently fighting the trumped up charges. http://www.sfbayview.com/2009/oakland-pd-brutally-arrests-minister-of-information-jr-at-oscar-grant-protest/

Last week we ran the story of Wise Intelligent of Poor Righteous Teachers being falsely arrested by Trenton, New Jersey police. His account of the incident is quite chilling. Wise does a weekly radio show where he brings to light community issues. http://hiphopandpolitics.wordpress.com/2009/07/12/wise-intelligent-of-poor-righteous-teachers-falsely-arrested/

If you add to the mix the arrest/kdnapping of former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney by the Israeli government and the outlandish arrest of former gang member turned peacemaker Alex Sanchez in Los Angeles, you can see just how insidious and this pattern really is. We will keep you posted on the situation involving Paradise Gray. In the meantime check out his website Http://www.1hood.org

written by Davey D

Community Benefits Protesters Arrested On North Shore
Demonstration Held Outside Del Monte Building

http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/20075464/detail.html

PITTSBURGH — At least four members of a community group were arrested during a protest on Pittsburgh’s North Shore, where they were calling on local corporations to offer more community benefits.The demonstration was staged outside the Del Monte Building on North Shore Drive on Thursday morning. Some protesters held a sign that said “Millionaires Get Our $ While Our Kids Die.”City police made arrests when members of Northside United began blocking the building’s main entrance.Meanwhile, the group chanted, “It’s the North Side, not the North Shore, this land is our land, it’s not yours.”

Land around Heinz Field on the North Shore will be built up by developers.

“We keep giving things to millionaires who don’t even live in the state of Pennsylvania, and the residents of the city of Pittsburgh get nothing in return,” said Michael Glass, co-chair of Northside United. “Those of us who live on the North Side are being most impacted by the developers. Our homes are falling down. There’s a high rate of unemployment, a high rate of violence. We have people who work in these buildings making $8 an hour getting no benefits for their families. Develpoment should support the community.”Northside United consists of neighbors, churches, social service agencies and labor unions. The group has been asking for a community benefits agreement with developers who are planning to build up the land near the sports stadiums on the North Shore.”This community was a thriving community years ago. I lived here. You can’t even find the street where I lived. It’s all asphalt now. It’s not reponsible development,” Glass said.Glass acknowledged that the group was trying to publicize its agenda with civil disobedience, and he said the police officers responded appropriately.He wants Mayor Luke Ravenstahl to “force developers to sit down and have a real conversation with people in the community, so their needs can be heard and understood. That’s all we’re asking.”

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Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News, Political articles, Southern Shift Tagged With: Davey D Hip Hop news-Paradise arrested, First Wise Intelligent, Hip Hop Pioneer Paradise, Minsister of Information JR, Now Hip Hop pioneer Paradise of X-Clan get arrested on trumped up charges, Paradise Arrested in Pittsburgh, police terrorism, Wise Intelligent

Cynthia McKinney, Charles Barron & M-1 of dead Prez Arrive in Gaza

July 16, 2009 By mrDaveyd

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More than 200 people came on to Gaza to bring humanatarian supplies.. New York City Councilman Charles Barron, Cynthia McKinney and M-1 were among the folks

http://www.vivapalestina-us.org/2009/07/we-are-in-gaza/

Former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney and Viva Palestina USA arrived in Gaza with a convoy of desperately needed humanitarian aid. She traveled with a group of Rabbis, UK Member of Parliament George Gallaway, elected US officials and hundred of citizens of the United States.

http://www.blackagendareport.com/?q=content/cynthia-mckinney-and-charles-barron-enter-gaza-relief-convoy

Cynthia McKinney and Charles Barron Enter Gaza on Relief Convoy
by BAR Editors

“The U.S. Embassy required American citizens to sign papers waiving their right to protection by their own government.”

M-1 of dead prez always represents for the people- photo-Next left Notes

After days of maddening delays by Egyptian and U.S. authorities, on Wednesday the Viva Palestine US caravan crossed from Egypt into the Gaza strip, home to 1.5 million besieged Palestinians. Former Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, New York City Councilman Charles Barron and Dead Prez rapper M-1 are among the 200 delegates who attempted to deliver hundreds of thousands of dollars in humanitarian aid. The Egyptians, who control the only non-Israeli entrance to Gaza, at the town of Rafah, reportedly prevented the activists from delivering some of the 47 vehicles purchased.

The activists have been warned they must leave Gaza in 24-hours, or will have to stay until the Egyptians open the border crossing for normal business. The Egyptians have been helping the Israelis enforce a blockade of Gaza since 2007.

The supplies are meant to aid recovery from Israel’s brutal December-January assault on Gaza in which at least 1,400 people died.

For McKinney, this is the third attempt to enter Gaza. She was a passenger in the relief vessel Dignity when it was rammed by the Israeli navy in international waters,

December 30. The heavily damaged craft was forced to limp into a Lebanese port. Then, in late June, McKinney and 20 other human rights activists were arrested when their boat Spirit of Humanity was boarded by the Israeli Navy on the high seas. McKinney spent days in an Israeli prison before being released, but within days was on her way to join the Viva Palestine US caravan, organized by British Member of Parliament George Galloway.

“The Egyptians government harassed the convoy at every opportunity.”

The American delegates were angered at the extent of U.S. government collaboration with Egyptian and Israeli efforts to frustrate the humanitarian mission. The U.S. Embassy required American citizens to sign papers waiving their right to protection by their own government should they enter Gaza. “This was not required in the first Gaza convoy nor was such an item required in the Free Gaza Movement,” said McKinney.

The Egyptians government, which gets more U.S. aid than any foreign government other than Israel, harassed the convoy at every opportunity, roughing up delegates on the bridge at the Suez Canal. Meanwhile, two Israeli destroyers ostentatiously passed through the canal on Tuesday heading to the Red Sea. Israeli sources say the warships are on a mission to stop arms smuggling to Gaza.

On Tuesday, McKinney and Barron sent the following letter to President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton:

Dear Mr. President
Dear Madam Secretary
Viva Palestina USA, a humanitarian relief effort for Gaza, is now in Egypt and requests your immediate assistance. We were supposed to have arrived in Gaza on Monday, July 13, 2009, but our arrival into Gaza was delayed because our departure from Cairo, Egypt was delayed by at least two days. Last-minute bureaucratic questions and additional requirements caused the delay. The people of Gaza can’t wait.

You have noted that Israel’s siege of Gaza should be eased and medical supplies should be allowed in. We are implementing what you reportedly put into writing. The people of Gaza need your help and we have important assistance for them. Please contact the Egyptian authorities and ask them to let Viva Palestina USA humanitarian assistance proceed through the Rafah crossing. We need your help today so that we can help the people of Gaza rebuild their lives devastated by occupation and brutal invasion McKinney and Barron signed the letter on behalf of “200 Viva Palestina USA volunteers and thousands of Viva Palestina USA donors.”

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Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News, Political articles, Southern Shift Tagged With: Charles Barron -davey d hip hop news, Charles Barron & M-1 of dead Prez Arrive in Gaza, Cynthia Mckinney, George Gallaway, M-1 arrives in gaza, Viva Palestina USA

Wise Intelligent of Poor Righteous Teachers Falsely Arrested!!!

July 12, 2009 By mrDaveyd

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//
INTELLIGENTNEWZNET
INFORMING the HIP-HOP COMMUNITY

Wise Intelligent Falsely Arrested!!!

TODAY WAS almost A GOOD DAY!

wiseIntelligentfatiguefinal On Wednesday, July 8th I got out of bed feeling a little bit better than good! IntelligentSeedz were finally going to interview Mr. Rodney Lofton – Superintendent of Trenton Public Schools. We were happy that we had been granted the interview and it was finally about to happen. Mr. Lofton is a magnanimous brother with a lot of knowledge to offer our youth film makers on the subject of high lead levels in schools as well as what’s being done to correct the problem.

You can check out a clip of our Intelligent Seedz upcoming documentary “Dying to Learn” (The Effect of Lead on Inner City School Children) http://www.intelligentseedz.org

So, I do the normal run through go over the punch list of things needed for the shoot, make sure all of the children are up, waiting and ready to go. We arrive at the Board of Education, the youth set up and conduct the interview (big shout to Ra’Ees, Ibreania and Kai yall held it down with a three youth crew, they missed you Amir and Megan). Everything was great, interview went well, superintendent Rodney Lofton was nothing short of informative, well knowledgeable on the subject and he also allowed the seedz to interview Mr. Everett Collins – Director of Buildings and Grounds for Trenton Public School district.

We completed the shoot, wrapped up and got on our way; mission accomplish, I’m ecstatic. After dropping the seedz off I hurry to make a studio session scheduled for 1:30pm with Kal and Bizz p.k.a. AD (Angels to some Devils to most). Get there we breeze through the track like professionals, everybody’s happy…we exchange pounds, handshakes and hugs and I’m on my way to my place in Trenton. At this point I’m looking for my Ice Cube cd because TODAY is A GOOD DAY!

Driving down Chestnut St. (One block from my gate), I stop at the light. This is when Diamond – a friend, good brother and Hip Hop/reggae drummer for many established and local artist, myself included – jogs over to the car. He asks me “what’s up”, said he hadn’t seen me around in a while, I tell him “my numbers still the same, give me a holla!” He reaches into the car window we shake hands, in the usual long drawn-out way brothers do, he walks off, the light turns green I pull off.

Less than two minutes later I’m turning on to my street. I begin to park and this is when the Ice Cube Good Day lyrics and melody begin to grind to a dead-batteries in ya boom box halt. As good as my day was going I’m now being chirped to pull over by the TAC Unit (fancy name for COPS), at the moment I am parking! I mean in mid park, they put the Cherries on, chirp me so I stop about 18 inches from the curb.

They jump out of their cruiser briskly, the male officer rushing up to my driver side window, while his partner a female officer maneuvers towards my passenger side window with her hand on her firearm.

My windows were already down, so he comes up and asks “do you have license?” To which I reply “absolutely.” Then he asked “do you have vehicle registration?” To which I again replied in the affirmative “absolutely!” He asked if they were valid, again my reply was “absolutely!” After giving him my valid license, registration and insurance cards, he asked “do you have guns or drugs in the car?”To which I replied ABSOLUTELY NOT!” I asked him “what is the reason I’m being stopped?” I’m just parking in front of my home, he didn’t answer the question. Instead he asked…”Who was the guy you were talking to on the corner back there?” To which I reply “someone I know…why?” To which he replied “get out of the car!” I ask him “why..what did you stop me for?” Again he asked me to get out of my car…again I asked why? This time he answered “because I said so!” To which I said “so I’m expected to just do whatever you say no matter what?” To which he replied..”basically!” So, I got out of the car (complete cooperation, although I still haven’t been told why I’ve been pulled over?). He asks me to go to the back of my car. Next, he ask me to put my hands on the back of my car and I did so.

At this point he’s patting me down. Then he walks away to search in the driver side of my vehicle? His partner is searching in the bushes up the block where I had just driven past and in the bushes I was now parked in front of (my neighbor’s yard basically). The male cop comes back and continues patting me down, checking my pockets.

So, I turn around slightly gazing under my right arm pit, both hands still on my car, and ask “am I being arrested?” And this A-hole of an officer says “now you’re being arrested for ASSAULT ON AN OFFICER!”???? Am I crazy or did he just say I’m being arrested for assault on an officer? Yep, assault on an officer I never touched, disrespected, raised my voice to or challenged in any way?

So he handcuffed me they put me in the cruiser and took me down to the precinct. But before we got to the precinct I asked “so, let me get this straight, you arrested me for assault on an officer?” Now, the arresting officer says to me “do you want to be arrested for assault on an officer?” I’m thinking, is this a trick question? So I respond “absolutely not!” This is when he says “you don’t have any warrants, traffic violations, etc., so we’ll take you down, they’ll give you a couple tickets and a summons and let you go!” OOOO..K? I’m thinking “tickets for what..a summons for what?” I’ve done absolutely nothing???

So, I ask him again..”what are you arresting me for?” This time he says “for obstructing an investigation?” At this point I’m just dumb, none of this shit makes since? I ask him “what investigation? And who are you investigating…me?” To which he says “yes!” Investigating me my ass! This is a familiar case of over aggressive police work turned harassment! Nothing more, nothing less!

These two Tactical Unit officers thought they had witnessed a drug transaction when Diamond (the drummer), came to my window at the light. We exchanged words, he reached into the window to shake my hand and they thought we exchanged more than salutations!

They followed me to my block, stopped me, searched all the bushes up the street for the distance I had traveled thinking maybe I threw drugs out of my car window!?!?! When they realized I was not a drug dealer that had somehow out witted them, but a married father of two, a youth organization director and co-founder without any warrants, prior arrests, traffic or parking violations they felt just a little disappointed! This disappointment lead them in their arrogance and abuse of power and authority to make up all kinds of BS to charge me (an apparently innocent civilian) with some kind of violation?

Please understand me. I can accept being pulled over because the officer suspected I may have been trafficking, selling or distributing drugs. However, at the moment it is realized that’s not the case, send me on my way..you don’t even have to apologize! But, don’t, after discovering you were wrong, treat me like I am in effect a “drug dealer” who just happened to outwit you this time!

I am a youth advocate, not a drug dealer, drug user, gangbanger, or criminal. I know many people in Trenton, I grew up here since I was two years old! Trenton is only 7.5 square miles, everybody knows everybody! I went to school with, grew up with and I am friends with lawyers, judges, doctors, nurses, police officers, firemen, garbage men, government workers, rappers, city workers, school teachers, principals, businessmen, politicians, activist and yes, gangbangers, convicts, drug addicts, etc. The good, the bad, and the ugly…I AM TRENTON!

An apparent part of the problem is that the arresting officers ARE NOT TRENTON! They didn’t grow up here, they do not know the people. It’s hard to have lived in the 7.5 square mile box that is Trenton and not know me, what I do and or what I’m about! I’ve been the same ole me for years!

Is this what the justice system is? Arresting innocent people on bogus charges knowing most will want to avoid court, missing work and paying for attorneys. So, get them to plea bargain to the lesser tickets and or summons while dropping other charges? Most people take this “deal” to avoid court, attorney fees and possibly more fines, even though they’re innocent! This is extortion, intimidation and abuse of power in the worse way!

Nearly half Trenton’s population are “minorities” living somewhere below or at the poverty-line and cannot afford to pay their basic household bills let alone bogus tickets, summons and citations. Not to mention missing days from work to go to arraignments and trials! So, they pay “the lesser” of the fines knowing they are guilty of absolutely nothing at all. This is an oppressive system and that’s saying the least! With all the educated people local and state governments have on its payroll I’m sure they can figure out a better way to raise money rather than arresting obviously innocent civilians and charging them with violations they did not commit!

Nonetheless, my GOOD DAY gone astray, turned into two tickets and a summons for Obstructing an Investigation that carries a $1000 fine and up to 6 months in prison!?!? Needless to say I plead NOT GUILTY to all charges and my day in court is August 28th of this year…I’ll keep you posted!

You can leave all your comments and thoughts on my Facebook page (I’m under Timothy Taylor) and my twitter spot… http://twitter.com/wiseintelligent

Thank you in advance for all your support!

Wise Intelligent
intelligentmuzik@yahoo.com

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Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News, Southern Shift Tagged With: Davey D hip Hop News-Wise Intelligent, Dying to learn documentary, Poor Righteous Teachers, Trenton, Trenton Police Arrest Wise Intelligent, Wise Intelligent Falsely Arrested!!!

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