HAPPY THANKSGIVING

You Say Potato, I Say Yam

clipped from www.nytimes.com You Say Potato, I Say Yam By JESSICA B. HARRIS ON Oct. 3, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln declared the final Thursday of November to be a national holiday of Thanksgiving. That came just over a year after Lincoln made another more historic proclamation, one that directly concerned my family and their future: the Emancipation Proclamation, which had freed the enslaved in any territory “in rebellion.” Enlarge This Image Courtesy New York University Libraries A photo taken by Henry P. Moore. It shows African-Americans at work on a plantation on Edisto Island, off South Carolina. These two proclamations are visually conjoined in a stereograph made about the same time that is familiar to students of the American South. Taken by Henry P. Moore, it shows African-Americans at work on a plantation on Edisto Island, off South Carolina. They are captured in attitudes of deep concentration, posed with hoes in hands or seated around a large basket, preparing to plant.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/25/opinion/25harris.html

Race affects the way managers hire: study

clipped from news.cincinnati.com Race affects the way managers hire: study By Tali Arbel • The Associated Press • November 24, 2009 Managers’ race has had a “significant” effect on the race of employees, according to a study of personnel data from a U.S. retailer over 30 months. The study looked at whether the race of a store’s manager affected that of the employees hired at the store. The most significant tendency, the study said, was that white, Hispanic or Asian managers tended to hire fewer African-Americans than African-American managers did. The study tracked about 100,000 employees at more than 700 stores belonging to one, unidentified chain from February 1996 to July 1998.

State Emergency Alert System Now Includes Xbox and Wii

clipped from cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com State Emergency Alert System Now Includes Xbox and Wii In the event of an emergency, the state of New York may seize control of your Xbox or Wii, under a new notification system set to go live next year, The New York Post reports. Video games will pause and warnings about imminent danger, severe weather or Amber alerts will appear on the screen, under a new voluntary notification system for Xbox, Wii and PlayStation.

Gun-Sales Ring in Brooklyn Broken Up, Officials Say

clipped from www.nytimes.com Gun-Sales Ring in Brooklyn Broken Up, Officials Say By KAREEM FAHIM Against a backdrop of recent shootings of bystanders, including a 13-year-old boy from Queens and a 15-year-old girl from the Bronx, city officials and members of a civil rights group took action against gun violence on Monday, albeit in different ways and at different events. At City Hall, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and other officials announced they had broken up an illegal gun-sales operation in Brooklyn, while in Times Square and cities across the country, the civil rights group, the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network, gathered supporters for a “day of outrage.”

Rape accuser: I jailed man on lie

clipped from www.nypost.com Rape accuser: I jailed man on lie Post Wire Services A construction worker imprisoned for nearly three years was wrongfully convicted of a knifepoint gang rape the accuser now says she made up, prosecutors said yesterday. Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Richard Carruthers didn’t immediately rule after prosecutors said they would consent to overturning William McCaffrey’s conviction, instead setting a Dec. 10 court date. McCaffrey was convicted of rape, kidnapping and other charges in 2006 after Biurny Peguero said he and two accomplices raped her.

ANOTHER DNA VICTORY!

Chinese Drywall Linked to Corrosion

clipped from www.nytimes.com Chinese Drywall Linked to Corrosion By LESLIE WAYNE Federal investigators reported on Monday that a “strong association” exists between chemicals in Chinese drywall installed in thousands of homes during the housing boom and electrical problems in those homes. In addition, investigators said that the drywall was a possible cause of respiratory problems reported by homeowners, brought on by hydrogen sulfide gas emitted from the imported drywall in combination with formaldehyde, which is common in new homes. Enlarge This Image Kevin Lee/Bloomberg News Sheets of drywall on sale at a market in Shanghai. Chinese drywall is blamed for corrosion in some new homes in America. The commission has sent a letter to the Internal Revenue Service asking that the service allow homeowners to deduct drywall-related costs as a casualty loss on their federal income tax returns.

VIRUS WARNING

 

PLEASE FORWARD

 

 ATTENTION ALL GROUP MEMBERS:

Virus update (NO JOKE) This is legitimate. Please pass this along to your friends. The newest virus circulating is The UPS/FedEx/DHL Delivery Failure… You will receive an email from UPS/Fed Ex Service along with a packet number. It will say that they were unable to deliver A package sent to you on such-and-such a date. It then asks you to print out The invoice copy attached.. DON’T TRY TO PRINT THIS. IT LAUNCHES THE VIRUS! Pass this warning on to all your PC operators At work and home. This virus has caused Millions of dollars In damage in the past few days. Snopes confirms that it is real. http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/ups.asp

Ballet Hispanico New York Season

Angelica Burgos and Waldemar Quiñones-Villanueva Photo by: Cheryl Mann Ballet Hispanico New York Season Dec. 1st-13th THE JOYCE THEATER 175 Eighth Ave. at 19th St. New York, NY Ballet Hispanico fuses dynamic Latino movement, pulsing rhythms and rich traditions with classical and contemporary dance forms to create an experience in which theatricality and passion propel every move. Their 2009 season at The Joyce Theater features several world premieres, including a LIVE music collaboration between choreographer Ron De Jesús and Latin Jazz sensation Oscar Hernández, played by special guest artist Arturo O’Farrill. Join their 13 dancers on an unforgettable journey through Latino music and cultures. Tickets start at $10. For more information, click here or call JoyceCharge at 212-242-0800.

Hunting for Turkeys, for the First Time

clipped from www.nytimes.com Hunting for Turkeys, for the First Time Robert Stolarik for The New York Times John T. Rauh, 42, a state hunting instructor, headed out around 5:45 a.m. on Saturday, the first day of the first wild turkey hunting season on Long Island. The season ends Wednesday. By TINA KELLEY YAPHANK, N.Y. — At around 5:45 a.m., armed with a Mossberg 835 12-gauge shotgun painted in camouflage colors and his “sippy cup,” a travel mug full of coffee, John T. Rauh pulled his big red Ford F-250 out of the driveway, his Navy dog tags swinging from the rearview mirror. He had permission on Saturday to scout out a large patch of private land where he normally hunts for deer. Mr. Rauh was about to embark on a first, both for him and for Long Island: New York State approved wild turkey hunting in Suffolk County, and the five-day season began Saturday.