Serena Williams at the 2012 London Olympics

Serena Williams, in the Singles Women Match, quickly defeats former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, 6-0, 6-3, in the 2012 London Olympics in the quarterfinals.

No. 4 Williams will go on to play top-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in the semifinal, Azarenak who won her first major, in the the Australian Open this year.

Second Generation Olympians: Father and Daughter, Michael and Michelle Carter

Gabrielle Douglas: Is it because she's "BlacK"

You knew it was coming. Whether or not Gabby Douglas won a gold medal or not, her gel-back ponytail would be the Internet focus. As I critique the photos that placed her in the background,

I thought, how long before the mindset of what determines the beauty look of African-American women, would come raining down upon Gabby's head. It matter not that Douglas is an amazing acrobat , but her crown of glory is the buzz for a few.

I thought of the torment heaped upon the younger William sisters, Venus and Serena as they battled the tennis world as young girls with their beaded braids. But the upside of the talented sisters nurtured by their parents was you saw young girls emulating the hair style who were not African-Americans girls!

Indie Arie sings we are more than our hair. Our hair, if not white girl long, swinging allows one to give a thumbs up or thumbs down on whether or not we are having a good or bad hair day. Oprah, who has a mane of hair, recently let her hair down in a more natural look on her September issue of her magazine O. A look that in Oprah's early days of her career, she was discouraged from wearing in the media. Now, so filthy rich, who would even notice or care if Oprah went bald..our hair.

Now, so filthy rich, who would even notice or care if Oprah went bald..our hair.

Gabby realized early she was talented. She got those on board who supported her early in her career. And many of us who watched and critiqued her hair lacked the knowledge, skills or even the desire to do anything beyond point a finger. Gabby surely was not performing for us to judge her hair but for the world of Olympic judges to judge her talent, as requested by the late Dr. Martin Luther King, [I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.] and for that Gabby got a gold medal..go Gabby. And if you know nothing else,know that the one singular Gold Medal will have those monied folks fighting to have the gel-back ponytailed Gabby Douglas touting their products. Douglas joins 1996 winner Dominique Dawes as the second African American on a female Olympic gymnastic team to win a gold medal. And when she wins the all around event in gymnastic, Douglas with be the first African-American placing her in history books. Giving folks a whole lot more to talk about beyond her hair. S/N When I first wrote this Gabby had not completed the all around event. Gabby did indeed win her Gold Medal in the all around event.

Hillary Clinton courts Africa

United States. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton travels to nations in Africa to tout the united States as a good partner to fight global terrorist. It seems that the China is only providing investment dollars could be an issue later for Africa. The threat appears to be Muslim lead extremist groups found in various African nation. Clinton will start her 6 Africa nation tour in the Senegalese Capital of Dukar. According to reports, " Senegal is the most unabashedly pro-Western and belligerently aggressive member of ECOWAS which early last year pushed for an ECOWAS military force to be deployed to Ivory Coast. It is also the main member of the organization the U.S. can count on it developing a collective military intervention force to serve as the nucleus of and prototype for a West African component of the U.S.and NATO-backed African Standby Force, modeled after the NATO Response Force." After Senegal she will travel to South Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Malawi and South Africa; with Kenya and Uganda joining Senegal as important military allies to the United States. Unable to get a stronghold in Unstable Nigeria, South Africa military infRastructure could serve the United States as a standby military force to assist other African nations with military force.In South Africa Clinton will pay honor to Nelson Mandela.http://eliesmith.blogspot.it/2012/08/secretary-of-state-hillary-rodham.html Clinton will stop in Ghana to attend the state funeralof John Atta Milla.

Gabby Douglas captures the Olympic win

Gabrielle Douglas wins a gold with the United States Women Gymnastics team. Douglas contributed to the second title win in the history of Women Gymnastics for the United States.

Douglas join Dominque Dawes as the second African American female gymnast to win an Olympic gold medal.

James Holmes Mass Murder faces 142 counts.

James Holmes charged with 24 counts of Ist degree murders and an additionally 116 counts of attempted first degree murder in court today.

Branding vs Violence Summer Olympics 2012

Aurora, Colorado shooting took some of the spotlight off of London's 2012 Summer Olympics. Sure we were a little ticked about the United States uniforms that the athletes would be wearing. But their clean cut boy scout-girl scout uniform look paled in comparison to the tactical gear worn by our all-American boy, James Holmes during his killing spree. Holmes demonstration of brand eager fans failure to challenge the overkill could impact the security of folks rushing to be the first in line for another major attraction, the Olympics. So come Friday, thousands will overrun London in hopes of witnessing the world's greatest atheletes at their best will be a security nightmare. Fear should not overtake the fans who need not worry, as the protection of the athletes may not deter violence, but the numbers of military troops expected to be in attendance should. Military soldiers will be on hand to handle any type of disturbance. "As a result, the government is deploying 18,200 troops -- many more than planned and almost twice as many as are in Afghanistan -- in order to remedy the shortfall. About 1,200 of those were called up just this week after being placed on standby." Wait, there is more. Helicopters and ships will be used to protect the games, London is serious about its sport specatulars. "The Royal Navy's largest ship, the helicopter carrier HMS Ocean, is moored in the Thames off Greenwich, where it will be a base for helicopter operations and house troops providing security at the Greenwich Park Olympic venue. Additional airspace restrictions are also in force around London and the southeast." Londoners have no problem in turning a quiet day into a fierce riot, the London Riot of 2011 was it's most recent. "..the London Riots of 2011 engulfed major parts of the city, leading to nearly 1,200 arrests, intense fear among the city’s residents, and a racial tension between certain London communities thick enough to cut with a knife." With the Queen in attendance, perhaps that will be enough to tame the natives and any terrorist seeking to make a statement.

James Holmes appears in Court Dazed with reddish orange hair and maroon colored jumpsuit

James Holmes made his initial appearance in court on Monday to face charges in the deadly movie theater shooting with his public defenders today He sat in the witness stand with one of his attorneys right next to him. His head bobbed with his poorly dyed reddish orange colored untamed hair clashing with his maroon color jail house wardrobe. Holmes seem dazed and totally detached from the rambling of the procedure of the judge and counselors in his arraignment. The formal charges will be filed on July 30, 2012.

Holmes had to speak to help the police remove the bombs from his apartment.

James Holmes:The uniform to kill but not avoid arrest and persecution

James Holmes suited up for his day of killing. Holmes was reported to have worn tactical gear according to Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates. The wardrobe for killling included, "ballistic helmet, gas mask, throat-protector, tactical vest and pants -- such complete protective gear that responding officers almost mistook him for a member of the SWAT team." Holmes is due Monday to appear in court before 18th Judicial District Attorney Carol Chambers, to hear the mountain of charges that will lead to the death penalty. Holmes is currently being held, according to reports, in "Arapahoe County Detention Center on suspicion of multiple counts of first-degree murder. The death penalty is an option that will appeal to those seeking an eye for eye sort of justice. But the fact that Holmes is alive, will place him in a waiting zone. A place to determine whether or not he was sane at the time of the killings. A place that may allow him to sit on death row for ever or the more humane way of doing thing, just live out the rest of his life behind prison bars. What he wears to this appearance will be far less war like and a more disabling look. Descriptive of the brillancy will be muted by a jail house uniform with shackles for his legs and hands. The may have caught a human being but it will be treated less than an animal. That is how we dish out justice here in the United States in order to deter the masses from rising up..or send them to a movie theater to spend money to watch pretend violence, like Dark Knight Rises.

James Holmes, a mind is a terrible thing to waste

What was James Holmes thinking? Holmes loaded up his car with weapons and drove to a theater. Holmes had boobytrapped his apartment to explode at the same time he would begin to unload a volley of bullets into bodies watching a midnight showing of a Batman movie, called Dark Knight Rises. Holmes would be the executor for the latter, while the former lives would depend on those who would violate Holmes rights to privacy. Holmes had triggered the stereo to play loud music perhaps to lure someone to enter his apartment without his permission. The music was loud enough and it was late at night to provoke someone to demand that it be turned down. Holmes left the door ajar just enough for any bold soul willing to cross into the abode to reduce the volume and possible to set off an explosive. Holmes was elsewhere, from this potential disaster. Suited up Holmes, moved freely about a public theater, randomly killing those who purchased a ticket to quietly watch a movie. The music blasted away at Holmes apartment while he blasted away in the theater until his weapon jammed. According to a report, "[b]ack at Mr. Holmes's apartment, on the third floor of an old brick building, techno music blared, startling his neighbors below, who knocked on his door and called police to complain. The music played in an endless loop, as police descended on the mayhem unfolding at the theater." The 911 calls did not come from the apartment but from the theater too late to stop Holmes folly. As he would later proclaim his apartment was rigged with explosives. Was Holmes bragging and probably thinking that there was more collateral damage at his apartment? Holmes had meticulouly prepared his 2 fatal attacks, one failed but Holmes would survive as he had planned. Holmes wore protective body armor as he moved about the defenseless bodies he alone selected to kill. When those arrived, who swore to protect, first had to determine, if Holmes was one of them because he was wearing a swat like uniform. Holmes announcement was not that he was a person of interest, but a fictional persona, from a superhero comic book. New Reports provided of with little details as to why Holmes did what he did or the box office draw of the Batman movie, Dark Knight Rises. We were left to our device of informing, the Internet to seek answers. But, instead of learning what went wrong with whatever footprints Holmes had previous left behind we began to ponder about the unusual footprints, left behind. What his footprints told us was a brilliant student could purchase weapons and ammunitions over the internet to kill at random, and the Internet would not be enough to tell us who is James Holmes. Holmes sits in a jail cell waiting to tell us the rest of the story.

Picket NRA headquarters

Today is the day. Folk will get up out of their beds and demand gun control. James Holmes, stood in a multiplex-theater and unloaded rounds of ammunitions. When the massacre ended, there were 12 dead bodies and countless injuries. Holmes purchased his arsenal and his body protection from the Internet.

" In the last 60 days Mr. Holmes had purchased four guns at local gun shops, Chief Oates said. And through the Internet, he bought more than 6,000 rounds of ammunition: more than 3,000 rounds for the assault rifle, 3,000 rounds of .40 caliber ammunition for the two Glocks, and 300 rounds for the 12-gauge shotgun. The guns were all bought legally, a federal law enforcement official said."http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/21/us/shooting-at-colorado-theater-showing-batman-movie.html?_r=1&hp

All purchased legally. Holmes showed us how terrorists really get their gear.
http://www.bagnewsnotes.com/2012/07/dark-knight-massacre/

And Holmes showed us, a terrorist isn't far from home.
Holmes' apartment was wired to exploded,"trapped with various incendiary and chemical devices and apparent trip wires,” Chief Oates said around midday Friday. “We have an active and difficult scene. It may be resolved in hours or days. We simply don’t know how we’re going to handle that.” Federal law enforcement officials said that the apartment had been so extensively booby-trapped that the devices could not be safely defused and that a robot would be sent to trigger them. Late Friday, the dozens of residents in five apartment buildings in the area remained evacuated."



Today, it was not Trayvon Martin mistaken for a thug; those folks in the theater,lives were quickly taken while waiting to see the movie, Dark Knight Rises, were just as innocent as Martin.

Dark Knight/ Batman/ Kiddie Movies no more

Batman. The inferior to Superman. I read and watched quite a few episodes of Superman, not so much Batman. Batman appears more of a joke, he had a sidekick, called Robin. And had word clouds like bam, wham and pow!, I just could not take him serious. He did have a cool car, and I did watch a few episodes of the Television show, Batman, but not for long. So, when the Dark Knight Rises was release, I did not feel anything. The fact that it was a 2 hours and 44 minutes, was not encouraging for me to revisit, the Batman of old. And than the unthinkable happened...12 people killed. 12 people killed by a person armed to kill at a midnight showing of the Dark Knight Rises. http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-dark-knight-shooting-20120720,0,2147749.story. The killer, a graduate student called himself the Joker was a medical student!http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/20/12850048-man-calling-himself-joker-kills-12-injures-59-at-batman-screening-in-aurora-colorado-authorities-say?lite Sad..no clouds of pow, bam, or wham will ever remove this massacre of the love of violence in the minds of young adults from those who went to see a cartoon character.

Africa: Whose on first, China, Europe, or US

There appears to be a tug of war going in Africa between the United States and China. "The tension between these competing powers is escalating as, in an attempt to overcome their economic and energy crises, developed countries look more towards Africa's unexplored mineral and energy resources. In addition to long-time energy giants such as Angola, Nigeria and Libya – all of which have close ties with China – recent colossal discoveries of oil and gas along the East African coast have upped the stakes in the renewed scramble for Africa." But how the two fight for the attention of the Dark Continent is telling; "China is simply doing it through financial and economic muscle. The West uses military muscle." An article goes say, "[a]ccording to Pat Barnes, a spokesman for U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), Camp Lemonnier serves as the only official U.S. base on the continent. “There are more than 2,000 U.S. personnel stationed there,” he told TomDispatch recently by email. “The primary AFRICOM organization at Camp Lemonnier is Combined Joint Task Force -- Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA). CJTF-HOA's efforts are focused in East Africa and they work with partner nations to assist them in strengthening their defense capabilities.” "Barnes also noted that Department of Defense personnel are assigned to U.S. embassies across Africa, including 21 individual Offices of Security Cooperation responsible for facilitating military-to-military activities with “'partner nations.” He characterized the forces involved as small teams carrying out pinpoint missions. Barnes did admit that in “several locations in Africa, AFRICOM has a small and temporary presence of personnel. In all cases, these military personnel are guests within host-nation facilities, and work alongside or coordinate with host-nation personnel.'”

George Zimmerman...money making appearances for the Attorney

This picture tells it all...guilty, guilty...

The attorney, Mark O'Mara,is only an agent in the court to represent George Zimmerman before the court. The attorney appears to be indifferent to his client which make me think Zimmerman has confessed his guilt to this attorney. Look for a book by this attorney after Zimmerman sentencing.

Gives new meaning to diarrhea of the mouth : Don't talk stuff if you ain't packing

See sometimes you need to close your lips, because you never know what a person is packing.

Marijuana, Mary Jane, Cannabis, or Food for the MInd

A recent trip to the Netherland exposed me to a subject I had not really thought of for a minute. As I approved my hotel two fellows were puffing on a Marijuana joint outside the door. Startled at first, I was informed it is legal. Hell, there I go imposing United States moral standards on the World. The World is bigger than the United States, and once you step outside of the U.S. you began to challenge your way of thinking or what you are taught. "Dutch drug policy is unique in the whole world. It is directed by an idea that every human being may decide about the matters of its own health. The Dutch consider this rule as fundamental, accepting for example as the only country in the world, the possibility of the controlled suicide (voluntary euthanasia), for terminally ill patients. Another idea which guides Dutch laws in their drug policy is a conviction that hiding social negative phenomena does not make them to disappear - on the contrary makes them worse, because when concealed, they become far more difficult to influence and control." But large quantity of marijuana is not encouraged, so the dealers in the United States need to stand down. But here young people are pimping the sells of marijuana. In two Cincinnati-area schools, a young teenager grows and distributed to other teens, high grade marijuana selling at $300-$400 an ounce. This bought in a good $20,000 a month for the young man. But now he is going to be labeled a drug kingpin and sentenced to hard time in somebody's prison.

Jesse Jackson, Jr. Political Suicide in the Works

Chicago State Representative Jesse Jackson, Jr. is in seclusion. Speculation is that Jackson, Jr. the son of Rev. Jesse Jackson is fighting either an alcohol or drug problem. A mood disorder is given as a description of why Rep.Jackson, Jr. has been missing in action. A mood disorder could be a possible description for depression. If we remember, the young charismatic Jackson, Jr. was on the fast track of the political treadmill destined to higher office if not the White House. But something happened, that could be the root of Jackson's illness, the fall of Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. Blagojevich was charged, along with other charges, with peddling the former senate seat of President Barack Obama. And one of the names linked to the buy was none other than Jackson, Jr. Scandal does not help one in the political world and scandal would have slowed down Jackson, Jr. hopes to occupy certain seats of power. Disappointment. Yes that is what his mother calls it..disappointment. Political manipulation may be the drug that is the root of Jackson, Jr. problem. He just might be seeking a cure.

Cross Talk: AFRICOM

Military training of Africans to protect oil interest of the United States

Why Women Still Can't have it all

If I put Roger Federer's name in my post I would get more hits than posting the name Serena Williams. Society tends to reward champions who are men. Federer gets more coverage because his family is depending on his success. Williams is just for show of bosoms and colorful underwear, she has no family depending on her success. So it is not a surprise to read an article, like Why Women Still Can't Have It All. Society is not trying to support women success, especially when they believe women are needed to support men and raise their families. Society wants to encourage men to reach high level of success not women. Inspite of this, women do success and some like Williams reach a high level of success. But that does not mean because Williams stand out she will be afforded the same media coverage as her male counterpart. Even those her work on the court is more record breaking than Federer, but he has the numbers 20-14 Wimbledon Grand Slams.

In the article, women who have children have even greater difficulty,

[t]he discipline, organization, and sheer endurance it takes to succeed at top levels with young children at home is easily comparable to running 20 to 40 miles a week. But that’s rarely how employers see things, not only when making allowances, but when making promotions. Perhaps because people choose to have children? People also choose to run marathons.

So just imagine if Williams had children. Williams career would probabl be over, but Feder does not have that to worr about. Feder only has to find a wife. Williams biological clock is ticking, folks expecting her not to be able to carry on with her tennis career. Because having children does not keep you in the spotlights or help with selling products, unless you are married to a superstar. So what the article is requesting is that the fact that women do have children and not men, give them, "flexible working hours, investment intervals, and family-comes-first management. But what about the real world? Most American women cannot demand these things, particularly in a bad economy, and their employers have little incentive to grant them voluntarily. Indeed, the most frequent reaction I get in putting forth these ideas is that when the choice is whether to hire a man who will work whenever and wherever needed, or a woman who needs more flexibility, choosing the man will add more value to the company." In Italy a woman and a man is given certain work benefit based on the family situation. Don't we in America say we value family or saying it sounds good. It is not that women can not have it all, it is that the rules are different for women.

Serena representing every woman at the Wimbledon Ball 2012