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Blog and Media Roundup - Tuesday, Feb 17, 2009; News Roundup
Topic Started: Feb 17 2009, 05:37 AM (729 Views)
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http://heraldsun.southernheadlines.com/durham/4-1099228.cfm?

Council OK gives chickens city roost
By Ray Gronberg : The Herald-Sun
gronberg@heraldsun.com
Feb 17, 2009

DURHAM -- A unanimous City Council voted Monday night to allow Durham residents to keep chickens in their backyards, provided they try to secure consent from neighbors and comply with several other restrictions.

The vote capped a weeks-long debate that at times even council members said was taking time away from other issues.

But members in the end agreed that they couldn't see a reason against following the example of other cities and towns in the state that have allowed people to have chickens.

"When the restrictions are in place, which they are, and when almost every major city in North Carolina allows hens, which they do, I hope this council will take the position of enhancing citizen freedom and not denying it," said Councilman Eugene Brown.

Before the vote council members did say they want City Manager Tom Bonfield to have his staff report back a year from now on how well the ordinance works.

The request came at the urging of Councilwoman Cora Cole-McFadden, who said she was particularly interested in hearing about the impact administering the ordinance would have on the city/county planning office.

The unanimity of the vote was the night's major surprise, as officials like Brown, Councilman Howard Clement and Mayor Bill Bell at different times had voiced skepticism about the proposal.

Bell in particularly prodded city/county planners to add language to the ordinance requiring would-be chicken owners to try letting neighbors know when they apply for permits allowing them to put in a coop.

The mayor for several weeks pushes to go further and give neighbors a veto over the erection of a coop next to them. But city attorneys blocked that, saying the courts would find such a provision unconstitutional.

Supporters who requested the change banded together into a group called Durham Hens. They turned out in force for two council meetings, and said they wanted the ordinance passed so they could gather eggs.

"We have to face the problem of a fragile economy and recognize that this ordinance is not a fight for pet chickens because they're cute and cuddly," said Christine Rasmussen, a Berini Drive restaurant. "This is a fight to provide a healthy and readily available food source to our families."

Critics of the proposal fretted that some people wouldn't honor the restrictions embedded in the ordnance, and that it would turn into an enforcement nightmare for the planning staff.

"I can't believe half the things that are in here," said Jackie Wagstaff, a former city councilwoman and school board members. "It's just a disaster waiting to happen and more stress to Durham's already stressed-out community."
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http://heraldsun.southernheadlines.com/durham/4-1099118.cfm

Terry pleads to 2nd-degree murder in case that also cost toddler an eye
BY MATT GOAD : The Herald-Sun
mgoad@heraldsun.com
Feb 17, 2009

DURHAM -- A defendant who once faced the death penalty for a Durham murder pleaded guilty to second-degree murder Monday and was sentenced to 24-31 years in prison.

Richard Lamont "Meat" Terry admitted to involvement in the 2003 shooting death of Collette Moss and the nonfatal shootings of three others, including a 2-year-old girl who lost her eye, but his defense team contended he was not the shooter.

The shooting was the result of money owed to two cousins from Clarksville, Va., from a large marijuana transaction, Durham District Attorney Tracey Cline said at the hearing Monday.

After weeks of calling Harold Garner, who lived on Markham Street, demanding he pay his debt, Terry and the cousins, Dennis and Brian Hargrove, and two other men, drove down from Clarksville on June 25, 2003, Cline said. After receiving a telephone call that they were on their way to his house, Garner left, leaving Moss and visiting friends at the house.

Terry and the Hargroves arrived at the house at about 11 p.m. looking for Moss, and someone opened fire.

Cline said that one of the other men said, "'Meat just shot up a whole bunch of women,'" referring to Terry by his nickname.

Moss was hit five times, including a fatal shot to the head. The 2-year-old girl was hit at least four times, including the shot to her head that took her eye. Two others, including a 14-year-old girl, were wounded.

Cline said 11 shell casings were found at the scene, all from a .38-caliber or 9-millimeter pistol, and that Terry was the only one carrying a .38 or 9 millimeter.

Terry's attorney, Michael Driver, painted the Hargroves as the leaders of the assaults.

Other than the Hargroves' statements, Driver said, "all the evidence points to Dennis and Brian Hargrove as the shooters or shooter."

Dennis Hargrove was known as an enforcer in the Clarksville drug operation, Driver said, and was known to carry a .38 or 9-millimeter pistol.

The Hargroves pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in 2006 after agreeing to testify against Terry, and Driver pointed to documents showing Cline had originally pursued Dennis Hargrove as the shooter.

Cline said she decided to pursue Terry as the shooter after new evidence from testimony and forensics tests emerged. Brian Hargrove passed a polygraph test in which he identified Terry as the shooter, Cline said.

Walter Moss, Collette Moss' grandfather, who came from Maryland to appear in court Monday, said he was not pleased with the sentence, saying a life sentence would have been more appropriate.

"He should be cast into the lake or sea," Walter Moss said. "That was my oldest grandchild, and she was such a sweet child."

In exchange for Terry's guilty plea, the District Attorney's Office agreed not to seek first-degree murder charges against him.

Terry also pleaded guilty to three counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury.

Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson sentenced Terry to 157-198 months in prison for the murder charge; 60-81 months each for two of the assault charges, with those charges consolidated; and 60-81 months for the third assault charge.
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http://heraldsun.southernheadlines.com/orange/10-1099082.cfm

Attorney: Atwater fired shot killing Eve Carson
BY BETH VELLIQUETTE : The Herald-Sun
bvelliquette@heraldsun.com
Feb 17, 2009

CHAPEL HILL -- Demario James Atwater fired a single shotgun round killing Eve Carson to eliminate her as a witness after she already had been wounded, according to U.S. Attorney Anna Mills Wagoner.

Carson was UNC's popular student body president when she was slain on March 5, 2008. Her body was found on a quiet residential street near campus after someone called 911 to report hearing screams and the sounds of gunshots.

Police charged Demario James Atwater and Laurence Lovette Jr. with first-degree murder in her death.

Federal prosecutors also filed charges against Atwater charging him with kidnapping resulting in death, carjacking resulting in death, and murder as a result of carrying a firearm during the kidnapping and carjacking.

Each of the charges carries a possible sentence of death.

If Atwater is convicted of any of the three charges, a jury would have to find aggravating factors in order to impose the death penalty.

The federal government intends to prove the following aggravating factors, according to a document released Friday:

- Carson's death occurred during the commission of the kidnapping.

- The death was especially heinous and cruel and involved torture and serious physical abuse of Carson.

- The homicide was committed for pecuniary gain.

- The homicide occurred after substantial planning and premeditation.

- Carson was killed to eliminate her as a possible witness to other offenses including kidnapping, carjacking and robbery.

- Atwater obstructed the investigation by dismantling the weapons used in the homicide and disposing of them.

- Carson was particularly vulnerable at the time Atwater killed her because she had already been wounded by four small-caliber gunshots (believed to have been fired by Lovette) when Atwater fired a single shotgun round from close range through Carson's hand and into her brain.

- Atwater had a significant criminal history engaging in unlawful conduct as his primary source of income and committed the homicide while he was on probation.

- Atwater involved a minor -- Lovette -- in the commission of the homicide.

- Atwater caused injury, harm and loss to Carson and her family.

A federal grand jury has not indicted Lovette, who was 17 at the time of the homicide, making him ineligible for the death penalty. But he is also charged with killing a Duke University student, Abhijit Mahato, in January 2008.
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http://heraldsun.southernheadlines.com/opinion/columnists/guests/68-1098949.cfm

Brenda James: Vigil honors homicide victims of '08
Guest columnist
The Herald-Sun
Feb 17, 2009

The Religious Coalition for a Nonviolent Durham is inviting the community to the 17th annual Vigil Against Violence on Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Shepherds House United Methodist Church, 107 N. Driver St.

We will gather to honor the lives of those who died from violence in 2008. The Religious Coalition is working tirelessly trying to help those of us who have lost loved ones. One of the most difficult ways to lose someone is to murder.

Murder is sudden, ruthless and leaves the victim's family, friends and the community feeling helpless, tormented and wondering what their last moments were like.

I lost my youngest child, Randolph LaDarius James, to murder on Aug. 1, 2007. He was 25. There is a hole in the fabric of our family and each of our lives since he was taken from us. I feel his absence every day.

Each day is a new beginning. It is a struggle to make it through from one minute or hour to the next.

Sometimes the feeling is so intense that I have to force myself to get out of bed and do the smallest things, like eating or answering the phone. Sometimes I am not able to accomplish even those easy tasks. We each have our own way of grieving. I have not talked to anyone yet who can say they have completely healed.

One of the most important things that happened to me at my lowest point was I met Marcia Owen and Anna Lee Mosley of the Religious Coalition and Diane Jones and Effie Steele of Parents of Murdered Children.

Marcia Owen reached out to me when I really needed someone who was not hurting from this tragedy. She offered to have a vigil to honor Randolph's life, giving those of us who knew, loved and cared for him a medium to share memories, pray, sing a favorite song or just commune together in his name.

So soon after his death, the funeral was very traumatic on everyone. We were all in shock and all I remember thinking was I wanted give him the best funeral that was in my power to give. I did not recognize it at the time, but I was holding on to him with everything in me.

But when I participated in the vigil a year later, I realized that I had to let him go. In honoring him that day amid family, friends and clergy, and most of all in the name of Jesus, I was able to let my son go home.

It also gave me and my family a support system that I never knew existed.

Since then I have met people from all walks of life whom I pray for and who pray for us, listen when we need an impartial person to talk with, or offer to find other resources depending upon what needs need to be met.

The Religious Coalition not only works with loved ones of murder victims, but they also work with families who have lost someone in whatever manner. We all need the support of our communities in times of crisis.

One way I have learned to go on is to give back in any way that I can. When I do so in Randolph's name, I feel that his tragic death will not be in vain. If telling his story and sharing with others the tools I am still learning to use will help someone in their journey through the pain and suffering, then that is a bonus.

If no one has been taken from you, then that is truly a blessing. None of us can afford to be so sure that everyone in our immediate circle will always be absolutely safe.

Please come Thursday. A reception follows the service at 8 p.m. Fellowship, pray, offer advice and help us honor those who have gone on before us. I sincerely believe that in giving of yourselves, will also be rewarding and a blessing in return.

Brenda James lives in Durham.
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http://www.johnincarolina.com/

Monday, February 16, 2009
N&O Public Editor Vaden's Leaving

McClatchy’s liberal/leftist Raleigh News & Observer announced today:

Ted Vaden, The News & Observer's public editor, is ending his 32-year career at the newspaper to take charge of communications at the state Department of Transportation.

Transportation Secretary Gene Conti announced Vaden's appointment today as deputy secretary for communications, a new post at DOT.

DOT announced a hiring freeze last fall, but Conti received Gov. Beverly Perdue's approval for the new hire.

As a deputy secretary, Vaden will direct communications policy and oversee about 20 employees including DOT's public information staff, at a salary of $117,000.

The new position was recommended by a consultant as part of a department reorganization aimed at making DOT more efficient, transparent and accountable to the public.

"DOT is an agency that has had its problems, and I see it as an interesting challenge to take on the communication function in addressing those problems," said Vaden, 61. "[Conti] has made it very clear he wants the department to be more open to the public, more accessible."

"He is a fine, fine human being, and he's done a really good job as public editor and before that as publisher in Chapel Hill," N&O Publisher Orage Quarles III said of Vaden. "I'm going to miss our conversations. He's a really smart man."

Quarles said he had not decided whether to appoint a successor after Vaden steps down as public editor at the end of the month. He said recently that a prolonged revenue slump will force staff reductions at The N&O later this year. . . .

The entire N&O announcement’s here.
______________________________________________

My comments:

Who can blame Vaden for bailing from the N&O and McClatchy which have been eliminating positions?

He’s lucky to have landed a government job that sounds like it was set up for him.

Vaden’s taken heat from N&O readers for his prominent role in “fogging over” and justifying the N&O’s racially inflammatory, biased and often fraudulent Duke lacrosse coverage.

For instance, except to say he agreed it “skirted the edge fairness,” Vaden endorsed the N&O’s notorious, deliberately fraudulent and now discredited Mar. 25, 2006 story the N&O said was about a night of “sexual violence.”

Vaden's refused readers’ requests that he ask the N&O to cite the police report it claims to have used to confirm the false accuser's false statements it published in its Mar. 25 story in which it said she was granted anonymity because of the N&O's policy of granting anonymity "to victims of sex crimes."

After reviewing the entire case file, North Carolina’s attorney general found no such police report.

Police reports in NC are public records and easily cited and confirmed when they exist.

Vaden’s never cited the “police report” he told readers the N&O used as part of its story the public later learned was instrumental in framing the Duke lacrosse players as the perpetrators of what the N&O falsely called a night of “sexual violence.”

In fact, Vaden’s never mentioned in his print columns or at his blog that in the almost three years since the story ran across five columns on the N&O's front page, no one’s found the N&O’s “police report.”

Such is what informed readers have come to expect from their self-described “readers' advocate” who also likes to tell readers about his and the N&O’s watchdog role. (See “The Watchdog still barks - - and bites”)

Look for more soon about Vaden’s work as public editor and what I think the N&O should consider when deciding whether to hire another public editor.

Hat tip: Journalist friend
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http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1408312.html


Published: Feb 17, 2009 12:30 AM
Modified: Feb 17, 2009 05:03 AM
Vaden came to The N&O in 1977 from Congressional Quarterly.

N&O's public editor to join DOT
Vaden to take over communications
Bruce Siceloff, Staff Writer Comment on this story
Ted Vaden, The News & Observer's public editor, is ending his 32-year career at the newspaper to take charge of communications at the state Department of Transportation.

Transportation Secretary Gene Conti announced Vaden's appointment Monday as deputy secretary for communications, a new post at DOT.

DOT announced a hiring freeze last fall, but Conti got Gov. Beverly Perdue's approval for the new hire. As a deputy secretary, Vaden will direct communications policy and oversee about 20 employees, including DOT's public information staff, at a salary of $117,403.

The new position was recommended by a consultant as part of a department reorganization aimed at making DOT more efficient, transparent and accountable to the public.

"DOT is an agency that has had its problems, and I see it as an interesting challenge to take on the communication function in addressing those problems," Vaden, 61, said. Conti "has made it very clear he wants the department to be more open to the public, more accessible."

Vaden served for 11 years as editor and publisher of The Chapel Hill News, an N&O subsidiary, before being appointed public editor in 2004.

As the first person to hold that position, he monitored N&O coverage for fairness and accuracy and served as a readers' representative at the paper. In a weekly column, Vaden explained news decisions to readers and sometimes sided with critics who found shortcomings or imbalance in The N&O's coverage.

"He is a fine, fine human being, and he's done a really good job as public editor and before that as publisher in Chapel Hill," N&O Publisher Orage Quarles III said of Vaden. "I'm going to miss our conversations. He's a really smart man."

Quarles said he had not decided whether to appoint a successor after Vaden steps down as public editor at the end of the month. Quarles said recently that a prolonged revenue slump will force staff reductions at The N&O later this year.

Vaden, who is teaching two journalism classes at Duke University this spring, will start part-time at DOT on March 2 and move to full time in May.

"Part of his primary focus will be on ensuring we receive broad public input into the decision-making process and communicate clearly and effectively with the public, government and business leaders on the department's goals and operations," Conti said Monday in a memo to DOT workers.

Vaden lives in Chapel Hill with his wife, Betsy. They have three children. A native of Washington, he graduated from Washington and Lee University and earned a master's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri.

He was a reporter for Congressional Quarterly for three years before joining The N&O in 1977. He served as business editor, metro editor and assistant managing editor and published three magazines for The N&O before taking charge of The Chapel Hill News from 1993 to 2004.

bruce.siceloff@newsobserver.com or 919-829-4527
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http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1408262.html


Published: Feb 17, 2009 12:30 AM
Modified: Feb 17, 2009 01:04 AM

Chickens win a place in Durham rules
But coop keepers can't sell the eggs
Jim Wise, Staff Writer Comment on this story
DURHAM - Chickens crossed into the city limits Monday night.

"What it really comes down to is a question of freedom, and that's what Durham is about. Live and let live," said Durham city councilman Eugene Brown.

By a vote of 7 to 0, the council approved an amendment to the Unified Development Ordinance to allow residents to keep up to 10 hens -- no roosters -- in their yards. The city joins Charlotte, Raleigh, New York City and Seattle in a nationwide fashion for "urban chickens."

The vote is the culmination of a saga that has occupied the council for two months and Durham HENS -- "Healthy Egg Neighborhood Supporters" -- for a year.

Prospective chicken owners have to get a permit to keep chickens, and a second permit to build their coops and pens. The amendment also spells out specifications for those facilities.

The amendment stipulates:

* Backyard chickens, their eggs and their waste may be kept for personal use only -- no sales;

* Chickens may be slaughtered, as long as the dispatching "is conducted in a humane and sanitary manner" and out of public view;

* Stored chicken droppings have to be kept in waterproof containers;

* No more than two cubic feet of chicken droppings may be kept for use as unprocessed fertilizer; any more than that has to be discarded or composted.

The council overrode objections to the amendment by Lavonia Allison, president of the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People, and former city councilwoman Jackie Wagstaff.

"I'm not against chickens," Allison said, "but I'm not very interested in us retrogressing. ... We are a municipality."

But she congratulated the chicken supporters, about 60 of whom were on hand for the vote and broke into applause when the result was announced.

Wagstaff said enforcing the chicken rules would be "added work to the already stressed city staff."

She added: "My concern is there are going to be some rule breakers and how are you going to monitor that?"

The chicken supporters didn't get everything they wanted. The council kept the requirement for neighbors' approval and for extending fencing at least 12 inches underground.

jwise@newsobserver.com or 919-932-2004
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http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1408269.html


Published: Feb 17, 2009 12:30 AM
Modified: Feb 17, 2009 01:05 AM

Plea deal in Wilson killing frees man
The Associated Press Comment on this story
WILSON - A man who spent three years in jail before prosecutors dropped a murder charge accepted a plea agreement Monday and won't spend any more time behind bars, ending a tumultuous and polarizing prosecution that divided this North Carolina community.

James Johnson entered an Alford plea to misprision of a felony in connection with the 2004 slaying of 17-year-old Brittany Willis.

Misprision of a felony is the failure to report a serious crime to the proper authorities and carries a maximum sentence of 15 months in prison. In an Alford plea, a defendant does not admit guilt but acknowledges prosecutors have enough evidence to possibly win a conviction.

The judge who accepted the plea granted Johnson a prayer for judgment continued, meaning the court did not impose a punishment and Johnson will not face additional jail time. Johnson had been scheduled to face a jury trial Monday morning on a charge of accessory after the fact to first-degree murder.

"This has been a long sojourn for the Johnson family, James and the community," the North Carolina NAACP, which rallied behind Johnson, said in a written statement. "Now, finally, James can move on with his life, go back to school, and live beyond what was thrust upon him. And, perhaps the community at large can heal."

A special prosecutor won an indictment last year against Johnson, accusing him of helping clean a vehicle driven by Kenneth Meeks, who was convicted in the killing.

Johnson has said he was terrified when Meeks, a new acquaintance, drove him to a construction site and showed him Willis' body. He contends he was so scared that he drove with Meeks to a nearby car wash to clean the SUV. He later went to Wilson police and told them what he knew.

Meeks initially told authorities Johnson participated in the crimes. Johnson was charged with murder and remained in jail for the next three years, during which time a jury convicted Meeks and sentenced him to life in prison. Meeks later recanted his accusation and told authorities and a local newspaper he'd acted alone.

As Johnson remained in jail on a murder charge, the state chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People rallied to his defense. Some in Wilson accused prosecutors of pursuing the case against Johnson because he is black.

A special prosecutor took over the case and dropped the charges of murder and rape. But soon after, a Wilson County grand jury indicted Johnson on a charge of accessory after the fact.
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http://www.wral.com/news/news_briefs/story/4553503/
Durham renames downtown civic center
Posted: 39 minutes ago
Updated: 13 minutes ago

Durham, N.C. — City and county officials on Tuesday renamed the struggling Durham Civic Center with an eye toward attracting more events downtown.

In addition to changing the facility's name to the Durham Convention Center, the city and county, which jointly own the building, are investing more than $3 million for interior upgrades like new ballrooms, carpeting and restrooms.

The name change was recommended by an outside consultant, who said a better description of the facility would make it easier book conventions and other events.

The Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce was the first group to hold an event at the Durham Convention Center. The chamber held its annual meeting there Tuesday afternoon.
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http://media.www.dukechronicle.com/media/storage/paper884/news/2009/02/17/News/Panel.Contemplates.A.PostRacial.Society-3633686.shtml

Panel contemplates a post-racial society
By: Julius Jones
Posted: 2/17/09
A lively group of intellectuals discussed the current state of race relations in America Monday.

"A Dream Fulfilled?: Barack Obama and the Prospects of a Post-Race America" was hosted by the Reginaldo Howard Memorial Scholars program, which provides scholarships to outstanding first-year students of African heritage. The panel was part of the program's annual "Reggie Day" and took place in the Bryan Center in front of an audience of approximately 50 students, faculty and staff.

The panel-which consisted of Lee Baker, dean of academic affairs of Trinity College of Arts and Sciences, Kerry Haynie, associate professor of political science, Ben Reese, vice president for institutional equity, Timothy Tyson, visiting professor at the School of Divinity and 9th Wonder, a hip-hop producer and artist-in-residence at North Carolina Central University-addressed a wide array of topics concerning race in America.

The main topic of discussion for the speakers was whether or not the election of Barack Obama-the nation's first black president-signaled the beginning of a post-racial society.

"If you conceptualize the issue of race in terms of ending one era and continuing in another, that logic doesn't resonate with me," Reese said. "I don't believe that the thing you dealt with in one era of history you don't have to continue to deal with it as time progresses."

Event organizers hoped that the discussion would engage issues concerning not just black and white relations, but race in society as a whole.

"We went through several questions asking: What is race? What is black? What do we mean when we say black? How do other races fit into the discussion? We wanted this post-racial conversation to cover a wide variety of subjects," said Treva Lindsey, a graduate student in the history department and a graduate assistant for the Reginaldo Howard Memorial Scholars program.

The panel largely agreed that America has not achieved post-racial status and that race still matters a great deal in American society.

"The short answer is that there will be no post-racial America anytime soon," Tyson said, citing disparities in educational achievement, socioeconomic status and incarceration rates as proof that there has been insufficient progress toward racial equality.

Tyson said these inequalities ensure that at least for another generation, there would be a continued need to focus on race and how it has shaped American history.

There was disagreement, however, among the panelists on the amount that society's views on race have changed as a result of the election. Though most of the speakers felt that the outcome showed a significant shift in racial attitudes, others questioned the level of change Obama's victory has symbolized.

"Barack Obama ran the same type of campaign any white Democrat would have ran," Haynie said, noting that Obama often distanced himself from black issues in order to appeal to a broader electorate. "The more you reach out to blacks, the more you lose white votes and I don't know if that is post-racial."

Haynie said Obama's desire to win black votes without being too closely associated with issues concerning the black electorate proved that the country is not fully beyond race.

Some panelists believed that the current economic crisis provides an opportunity for people to look past race and work together toward improving everyone's financial situation.

"I've had more conversations with 60 year-old white men at the gas station than ever before," Ninth Wonder said. "When gas is $4 a gallon, that hurts everybody."

Some students in the audience said they believed that their generation has evolved beyond many of the personal feelings of racism held by previous generations.

"I think the way people initially think about someone of a different race has changed," said freshman Jasmin Aldridge.
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http://media.www.dukechronicle.com/media/storage/paper884/news/2009/02/17/Columns/Launch.Your.Own.Takeover-3633698.shtml

Launch your own takeover
By: James Tager
Posted: 2/17/09
I spent this weekend at a place which has been marked by revolutionary action. Many years ago, a group of radicals boldly staged a takeover in order to have their voice heard and to assert their rights. As a result, subsequent generations were better off for their willingness to risk their own safety on behalf of a cause. As you probably can guess, this place was Boston.

On Monday, however, I returned to our University, soon after the 40th anniversary of our own radical action, the Allen Building Takeover. Dozens of black Duke students risked expulsion and jailtime in order to make Duke a better place, not just for themselves, but for future black students. Hundreds of other Duke students risked their health and physical safety to stand in solidarity with them (including my father, Mark Tager, Trinity '70). And it was worth it; the University eventually assented to subsequent talks with the protesting Afro-American Society and acceded to some of their demands.

In the aftermath of the 40-year anniversary, there has been significant introspection as to what this meant for the Duke community. Some, like Duke School of Medicine's Brenda Armstrong, told The Chronicle that it gave Duke back its soul. In contrast, anonymous commenters on The Chronicle's online articles, believe that the incident was overhyped or misleading, and doesn't reflect the true values of, or issues facing, Duke University

I'm less interested in seeing how Duke University has changed in 40 years, however, than in figuring out how Duke students have changed. Specifically, if we were placed in the same situation as those 50 to 75 Duke students, would we have risked jail time for something we believe in? Would we have risked tear gas and police batons to show our support?

I believe the answer is no. I know a lot of Duke students who have had run-ins with the law, but these have more to do with inebriation than with civil disobedience. Today's Duke student is marked by his or her ambition to excel, academically and socially. Jail time doesn't fit neatly into that framework. And we all have to get jobs after this, right? No one's going to hire an applicant with a penchant for rocking the boat.

Now, there are a lot of reasonable arguments for why Duke students shouldn't storm the Allen Building today. Firstly, Duke's administration has a great record of encouraging student-led social change on campus; they're the good guys, not the bad guys. Secondly, such direct-action tactics as a building takeover are so old news. Activism has evolved; there's no point putting ourselves on the line anymore. Besides, we're Duke students; we're smart. Can't we figure out how to solve major issues without getting in trouble ourselves?

Perhaps direct student action is dead. But if that's the case, students at nearby schools haven't gotten the memo. A little over a year ago, two Warren Wilson college students were arrested for protesting Duke Energy's plans to build a new coal-fired power plant. At the beginning of this school year, UNC students were convicted for "failure to disperse," after launching their own building takeover to protest UNC's current sweatshop-friendly apparel-manufacturing policy.

Whenever I share these recent examples of radical student activism with other Dukies, the question inevitably arises: "Why? I mean, what could going to jail possibly accomplish?" For my answer, I point to Boston, where a group of rich and well-educated men stormed a boat and destroyed private property in defiance of authorities. Many of these men continued to risk their lives, being branded as traitors by a government that saw them as bandits and ruffians. I point to the quad we walk across every day, where our progenitors breathed choking gas. I point to the Allen Building, where dozens of men risked their own futures in order to ensure that we, today's Dukies, could have a fairer and more inclusive future.

Forty years from now, will Duke students look back on what we have done? Will they be proud of the sacrifices we have made for their benefit? Will they be impressed by the bold action we took? I hope so. But I'm not sure. I know there are a variety of worthy causes out there which could use our time and commitment, our passion and our self-sacrifice. I'm not saying you should go to jail for a random cause. I'm just asking you to decide: What are you willing to do for the cause you believe in? Perhaps it's not jail. But if you're not willing to put something on the line for your beliefs, how strong are your beliefs in the first place?

James Tager is a Trinity senior. His column runs every other Tuesday.
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http://www.cavalierdaily.com/news/2009/feb/17/no-1-cavs-silence-bulldogs-bark-improve-to-2-0-on-/


No. 1 Cavs silence Bulldogs’ bark, improve to 2-0 on season
Carroll leads team with hat trick; Stanwick impresses Starsia with excellent play alongside senior attacks, scores twice for Virginia including opening goal

Conor Wakeman, Cavalier Daily Associate Editor
Published: Tuesday, February 17 2009


Jason O. Watson
Adam Ghitelman
Virginia coach Dom Starsia called goalkeeper Adam Ghitelman’s 12-save performance last night a “coming-out party” for the sophomore.

The Virginia men’s lacrosse team greeted Bryant College in its first Division I men’s lacrosse game with a sound 10-4 thumping.

The Cavaliers spread the scoring around; seven different players scored for Virginia. Freshman attack Steele Stanwick started the scoring just more than six minutes in the first quarter. Running across the field in front of the goal and pressing against a defender, he flicked a quick shot through Bryant goalkeeper Jameson Love’s feet. Though the freshman has benefited from playing alongside two seniors on the attack, Stanwick has shown poise and an ability to find the back of the cage.

“He’s got a bright future, I think. He’s just a really smart lacrosse player, again, very poised for a young kid,” Virginia coach Dom Starsia said. “And he fits in very nicely with Danny and Garrett, so it’s been a nice match so far.”

Starsia, however, pulled the three attackmen in the third quarter in part because “clearly they weren’t playing well ... [and] if any part of that is fatigue, you just want to get them out and give them a break.”

The Bryant game was the second in 48 hours for the Cavaliers.

“We ask a lot of those three attackmen that were out there,” Starsia said. “Our [midfielders] didn’t play a lot today.”

Stanwick also scored the game’s last goal, streaking from behind the goal into a hole in the defense and finding the far front corner of the net. In between the bookends of Stanwick’s two goals, junior midfielder Brian Carroll worked his way through the Bryant defense three times during the evening.

Carroll converted his first goal during a man-up situation 3:34 into the first quarter. Sophomore midfielder Shamel Bratton dumped the ball to Carroll in front of the goal, and Carroll turned and fired. Of Virginia’s five man-up situations of the game, the team only converted on Carroll’s first goal.

With this season’s personnel, the Cavaliers may need more offensive production from the midfield, of which Carroll’s hat trick provides a good example of a player that stepped up his game, Starsia said.

“Generally our attack is going to do the majority of the scoring,” Carroll said. “We had a pretty bad shooting percentage last game, and I think if our [midfielders] can start shooting a little better — I think they shot better this game — then the middies will definitely become more involved in scoring.”

Virginia put itself up 4-1 before the end of the first quarter, and when sophomore midfielder Rhamel Bratton found senior attackman Garrett Billings for a laser practically parallel to the cage, the Cavaliers led 8-3 going into halftime.

Both teams struggled to find the net in the second half, as neither team seemed to possess the intensity of the first half and both teams needed their defenses to hold the other team back. For the Cavaliers, their early shooting accuracy combined with solid defense kept Bryant at bay. With 5:00 left in the first quarter and the score at 2-0, Bryant had taken nine shots and made zeros saves, while Virginia had three shots and three saves.

Referring to Virginia sophomore goalkeeper Adam Ghitelman, Starsia said, “Today was, I felt like, a little of a coming-out party for him, It’s probably the best he’s played since he’s been here in Charlottesville, and it’s a day when we needed him to do that.”

Ghitelman tallied 12 saves in all, and “he seemed like he had a big save whenever we needed it,” Starsia said. “You just see that he’s got more confidence right now, a little bounce in his step. If he can continue to build on that, then we’ve got a chance to be pretty tough.”

Graduate Zack Greer, the NCAA career scoring leader who followed his former coach Mike Pressler from Duke to Bryant for his last year of eligibility, was limited to two assists, as the Cavaliers always seemed aware he lurked around the net. In the second quarter, Greer found himself with the ball directly in front of the cage, but four white Cavalier jerseys collapsed around him almost immediately.

Although Virginia may not have executed all it sought against Bryant, Starsia said, “It’s the beginning of a long journey, and I think we’re headed in the right direction.”
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HSLAXMOM

A couple of weeks ago, we had an article from the
Greensboro newspaper that quoted the UNCG student newspaper regarding Al Sharpton and the Duke Lax hoax. I just found the original article and thought some other hooligans might like to read it in its entirety.


http://media.www.carolinianonline.com/media/storage/paper301/news/2009/01/27/Opinions/The-Voice.Of.Reason.Al.Sharpton.Is.This.The.Best.Uncg.Can.Do-3628142.shtm

The Voice of Reason: Al Sharpton: Is this the best UNCG can do?
Jamie Freeze
Issue date: 1/27/09 Section: Opinions


When I first came to UNCG, I didn't pay much attention to the Martin Luther King Jr. Service Awards. That is, not until 2006 when UNCG hosted Angela Davis. I remember thinking to myself, "Why would UNCG bring in a former Black Panther to celebrate King's legacy of non-violent resistance?" That's like having a WWE champion teach a conflict resolution class. It's a clash of principles. Now, UNCG is hosting yet another speaker whose actions clash with King's actions. By hosting Reverend Al Sharpton as the keynote speaker for the MLK Award, UNCG is hosting a bigoted, anti-Semitic, race-baiter.

To be fair, Sharpton is to be commended for his work in the Civil Rights arena. He has brought attention to some issues that were long ignored by the public--especially in terms of international civil rights. However, Sharpton's public remarks separate him from the legacy of Dr. King. King, although not perfect, never resorted to the policy of, "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em." On several occasions, Sharpton has responded to racism with more racism.Consider the Crown Heights Riot in Brooklyn in 1991. The riot began when a Guyanese boy was accidentally struck and killed by an automobile traveling in the motorcade of a prominent rabbi. The Jewish driver of the car tried to help the boy, but was beaten before the ambulances could arrive. The riot began over rumors about the driver and led to people filling the streets shouting, "Let's go to Kingston Avenue and get a Jew!" Subsequently, many young black people went to a predominantly Jewish neighborhood where they proceeded to vandalize cars and throw rocks and bottles. As a result of the riot, a Jewish man was murdered, Jews were injured, stores were looted, property was damaged, and the police were fired upon. Instead of calling for an end to senseless violence against the Jews, Al Sharpton, who arranged a rally in Crown Heights following the child's death, made the following remarks, "If the Jews want to get it on, tell them to pin their yarmulkes back and come over to my house" and referring to Jews as "diamond merchants." Boy, that sure went a long way in healing race relations!
Sharpton made a bigger fool of himself in 1995 with the Freddie's Fashion Mart incident. A black Pentecostal church, which owned the retail property in question, asked the Jewish tenant of the store to evict his subtenant, a black-owned record store. Sharpton decided to lead a protest against the planned eviction of the record store owner. He told his protesters, "We will not stand by and allow them to move this brother so that some white interloper can expand his business." A protester later entered the store and shot several people and set the store on fire. Notice Sharpton's pattern of not getting all the facts straight, rallying people to a nonexistent cause where violence usually ensues, and then making racist remarks. That's a legacy King would be proud of.

Finally, the idiocy of Al Sharpton culminated in the Duke lacrosse fiasco. Remember how quick Sharpton was to condemn the lacrosse players? In an interview with Sharpton, Bill O'Reilly asked, " Why are we standing up for the girl if there is the possibility, based upon evidence, that the girl may have fabricated the story" Sharpton responded by saying, "Well, first of all, the authorities have charged there was a crime, so they are not saying that [she may be lying] at all. Second of all, people on any side of an argument have the to advocate on behalf of who they believe. Thirdly, I think that when the prosecutors [Mike Nifong, remember him?] went forward, they clearly have said this girl is the victim, so why would we be trying the victim and not the ..."

Again, Sharpton decided to act before the facts were in. When the dust settled and the charges were dropped against the lacrosse players, Sharpton remained silent. No apologies were necessary to the victims of overzealous, corrupt prosecution, but let's have marches and rallies and let's hurl racial slurs on behalf of imagined victims!

I call on UNCG to rethink the way they choose keynote speakers for the MLK Service Award. All I ask is that UNCG stop inviting bigots to honor King's legacy. It is a disgrace and embarrassment to the students and the recipients of the award. Stop scraping the bottom of the barrel--look for people who truly uphold King's legacy.
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Quasimodo

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/P/PROSECUTOR_CRITICIZED?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US

Feb 17, 7:50 PM EST

Judge throws out Missouri murder conviction


COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -- A man convicted 15 years ago of murdering a college student should be set free, a judge ruled Tuesday in a decision that sharply criticized the prosecutor, a prominent Missouri politician, for withholding evidence.

(snip)

"When you read this opinion, there is just no evidence against Joshua Kezer at all," he said. "I just can't see how a prosecution could proceed in good faith."

(snip)

Among the pieces of evidence the judge said Hulshof kept from Kezer's attorneys were:

(snip)

- A written statement by a Cape Girardeau jail inmate who admitted lying that Kezer had confessed to the killing. The inmate said he lied in hopes of getting a reduced sentence on his own pending charges.

Two other inmates seeking reduced sentences also claimed that Kezer confessed. But when defense attorney David Rosener introduced signed statements by the three inmates recanting their earlier claims, Hulshof succeeded in keeping those admissions from being introduced at trial by suggesting that Rosener threatened the men to obtain their statements.

In closing arguments, Hulshof said: "We put him at the scene, we put a gun in his hand, we put the victim with him, we have got blood on his clothes."

Callahan said that "none of what Mr. Hulshof said in that final summary was true. ... Testimony putting (Kezer) at the scene is totally discredited. No gun was ever found, and there is no credible evidence that he ever had a gun."

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