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Black Jobless Rate Jumps in August Compared to July By Frederick H. Lowe

Black Jobless Rate Jumps in August Compared to July
By Frederick H. Lowe

north star unemployment chart

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from TheNorthStarNews.com

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased in August for Black men and Black women, but it dropped for Whites and Hispanics. The jobless rate for Asians, which is not seasonally adjusted, also showed a dramatic decline.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported this morning that the unemployment rate for Black men and Black women 20 years old and older was 13.0 percent in August compared to 12.6 percent in July. The Black unemployment rate, however, is down from August 2012, when it was 14 percent.

The jobless rate for Black men 20 years old and older jumped to 13.5 percent in August from 12.5 percent in July.

The unemployment rate for Black women 20 years old and older was 10.6 percent in August compared to 10.5 percent in July, BLS reported.

Among the major worker groups - whites, Hispanics and Blacks - only African Americans reported an increase in their jobless rate.

The August unemployment rate for whites was 6.4 percent compared to 6.6 percent in July. The jobless rate for white men 20 years old and older in August was 6.2 percent compared to 6.3 percent in July.

The unemployment rate for White women 20 years old and older was 5.5 percent in August compared to 5.8 percent in July.

The jobless rate among Hispanics in August was 9.3 percent compared to 9.4 percent in July. Unemployment among Asians in August was 5.1 percent compared to 5.7 percent in July.

BLS reported that the unemployment rate was 7.3 percent in August compared to 7.4 percent in July.

The nation's businesses added 169,000 jobs in August compared to 104,000 jobs added in July. The job-creation rate in July was revised downward from162, 000.

The retail trade added 44,000 jobs last month, and manufacturing increased its workforce by 19,000 in August after declining by 10,000 in July.

Obama’s Syria Rhetoric Exacerbates Global Tensions By Dr. Wilmer J. Leon, II

Sept. 9, 2013

NEWS ANALYSIS

Obama’s Syria Rhetoric Exacerbates Global Tensions
By Dr. Wilmer J. Leon, III

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President Barack Obama meets with Members of Congress to discuss Syria in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Sept. 3. PHOTO: Pete Souza/The White House

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - “We have been very clear to the Assad regime, but also to other players on the ground, that a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized…That would change my calculus. That would change my equation.” - President Obama August 20, 2012.

It is now generally accepted as fact that on August 21, 2013 a nerve agent, probably sarin gas, was used on the Syrian civilian population. According to Dr. Bart Janssens, from Doctors Without Borders,  “[The] reported symptoms of the patients, in addition to the epidemiological pattern of the events – characterized by the massive influx of patients in a short period of time, the origin of the patients, and the contamination of medical and first aid workers – strongly indicate mass exposure to a neurotoxic agent…convulsions, excess saliva, pinpoint pupils, blurred vision and respiratory distress…”

What is not known is who is responsible for the chemical attack.  The United States has placed the blame on the Assad regime.  President Obama stated, “…the United States (has) presented a powerful case that the Syrian government was responsible for this attack on its own people. Our intelligence shows the Assad regime and its forces preparing to use chemical weapons, launching rockets in the highly populated suburbs of Damascus, and acknowledging that a chemical weapons attack took place.”

Other credible sources believe that the case against the Assad regime is not as former CIA director George Tenet said about WMD’s in Iraq, a “slam dunk”.  According to the Times of Israel, “The intelligence linking Syrian President Bashar Assad or his inner circle to an alleged chemical weapons attack that killed at least 100 people is no “slam dunk,” with questions remaining about who actually controls some of Syria’s chemical weapons stores and doubts about whether Assad himself ordered the strike, US intelligence officials say.”

There are conflicting perceptions of reality and requisite action or response.  President Obama claims that chemical weapons have been used; the US claims that it has evidence that the Assad regime used them; ergo military intervention (airstrikes) must be the response by the “International Community.”  Other countries such as Germany, Russia, China, and Britain agree that chemical weapons have been used but don’t agree that the US “evidence” that Assad used them is as conclusive as the US claims.  Also, other countries don’t agree that even if Assad used chemical weapons a military response is the best response.  A military response could actually exacerbate the situation not make it better.

President Obama has stated a number of times that the “world” is aghast at the use of chemical weapons. He called the Syrian attack a "challenge to the world". He is also claiming that he did not set the “red-line.” In Sweden he stated, ‘‘I didn’t set a red line, the world set a red line…The world set a red line when governments representing 98 percent of world population said the use of chemical weapons are abhorrent.’’

First question, when did the American government, when did President Obama become the spokesperson for the world?  Second question, if the world is so aghast at this attack why is most of the “world” against American intervention into the Syrian Civil War?  Is it possible that the “world” does not equate their interests with American interests?

It is important to understand that the Syrian “rebels” are not a monolith.  There are a number of factors, some political, religious, and cultural that are motivating different groups to engage in war.  Also, within those factors are various actors that have different if not conflicting motivations.  It is possible that defectors from the Assad regime have given access to chemical stockpiles to certain rebel forces.  It is possible that al Qaeda affiliated forces have used chemical weapons with the hope of drawing the US into the conflict.  With US intervention in the conflict it becomes an easier recruiting tool for al Qaeda affiliated forces.  These are just a few examples of why the “world” is not so quick to cast their lots with US action.

One of the factors driving President Obama is the fact that he has backed himself into a corner with his own irresponsible rhetoric.  He never should have used the term “red line” to begin with.  Just as the adage is “Don’t pull a gun on a person unless you are prepared to use it” there is also an adage in diplomatic circles, “Don’t draw a line in the sand unless you are prepared to take action if it is crossed.”

Now that President Obama has injected the “red-line” into the Syrian Civil War; if he fails to act; what does that say about his “red-line” with Iran?  The Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, has laid this out very clearly, “A president cannot commit his nation to a red line if he is also committed to securing congressional approval before responding to the crossing of that red line. What if Congress denies approval? Must the president still keep his red line commitment? If he does not, what does this say about other red line commitments, such as that made regarding Iran’s efforts to secure nuclear weapons?”

It was also irresponsible for President Obama to say, “I have decided that the United States should take military action against Syrian regime targets… But having made my decision as Commander-in-Chief based on what I am convinced is our national security interests… I've made a second decision:  I will seek authorization for the use of force from the American people's representatives in Congress.”  That’s not a “decision” that’s inconsistent muttering and doublespeak.

The Syrian Civil War is a perilous situation.  This is not the time for inconsistent and dangerous rhetoric.  President Obama continues to talk in the “world” context but the longer this plays out the more it looks like he’s going to have to go it alone.  He has indicated that he is prepared to do that. The problem is he will go it alone at our expense.

Dr. Wilmer Leon is the Producer/ Host of the Sirius/XM Satellite radio channel 110 call-in talk radio program “Inside the Issues with Leon” Go to www.wilmerleon.com or email:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. www.twitter.com/drwleon and Dr. Leon’s Prescription at Facebook.com 

Eight Years Later, Pains of Hurricane Katrina Still Disparately Suffered By Blacks By Bill Quigley

Eight Years Later, Pains of Hurricane Katrina Still Disparately Suffered By Blacks
By Bill Quigley

SPECIAL REPORT

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This Black-owned business was destroyed by flooding from Hurricane Katrina. The percentage of minority-owned businesses grew after Katrina. But, they continue to receive a below average 2 percent of all receipts.

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Eight years after Hurricane Katrina, nearly 100,000 people never got back to New Orleans, the city remains incredibly poor, jobs and income vary dramatically by race, rents are up, public transportation is down, traditional public housing is gone, life expectancy differs dramatically by race and place, and most public education has been converted into charter schools.

Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005.  The storm and the impact of the government responses are etched across New Orleans.  A million people were displaced.   Over a thousand died.  Now, thanks to the Greater New Orleans Community Data Center (GNOCDC) and others, it is possible to illustrate the current situation in New Orleans.  While some elected officials and chambers of commerce tout the positive aspects of the city post-Katrina, widespread pain and injustice remain.

New Orleans has lost about 86,000 people since Katrina, according to the U. S. Census. The official population is now 369,250 residents. When Katrina hit it was 455,000.

Nearly half of the African-American men in the city are not working according to the GNOCDC. Since 2004, the city’s job base has declined 29 percent. Fifty three percent of African-American men in the New Orleans area are employed now.  African-American households in the metro New Orleans area earned 50 percent less than White households, compared to the national percentage of 40 percent.

Jobs continue to shift out from New Orleans to suburbs.  In 2004, New Orleans provided 42 percent of metro or 247,000 jobs, now that number has dropped to 173,000 and the percentage has dropped to 34 percent.

Low paid tourism jobs, averaging a low $32,000 a year, continue to be the largest sector of work in New Orleans.   But even this low average can be misleading as the hourly average for food preparation and serving jobs in the area is just over $10.00 an hour, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Median earnings for full-time male African-American New Orleans workers are going down and are now at $31,018; for White male workers they are going up and are now at $60,075.  Whites have experienced an 8 percent increase in middle and upper income households while African-Americans have suffered a 4 percent decline.  Only 5 percent of Black households were in the top income class (over $102,000) while 29 percent of White households were.

While the percentage of minority-owned businesses grew, these businesses continue to receive a below average 2 percent of all receipts.

Rents in New Orleans have risen.  According to GNOCDC, 54 percent of renters in New Orleans are now paying unaffordable rent amounts, up from 43 percent before Katrina.

Homelessness is down to 2,400 people per night since it soared after Katrina to nearly 11,000. But it is still higher than pre-Katrina.

The last of the five big traditional public housing complexes was ordered demolished in May.   About a third of the 5,000-plus displaced residents have found other public housing according to National Public Radio.

Public transportation is still down from pre-Katrina levels.  Pre-Katrina about 13 percent of workers used public transportation, now 7.8 percent.

Public education has been completely changed since Katrina with almost 80 percent of students attending charters, far and away the highest percentage in the country, reports the Tulane Cowen Institute.

The poverty rate in New Orleans is 29 percent, nearly double the national rate of 16 percent.  However, GONCDC reports the majority of the poor people in the metro area now reside in the suburban parishes outside New Orleans.

One third of households in New Orleans earn less than $20,000 annually.   This lowest income group makes up 44 percent of the African-Americans in the city and 18 percent of the White population.

Life expectancy varies as much as 25 years inside of New Orleans, according to analysis by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.  Life expectancy in zip code 70124 -Lakeview and Lakeshore, which is 93 percent White – is at a high of 80 years. Life expectancy in 70112 - Tulane, Gravier, Iberville, Treme, which is 87 percent Black - is at 54.5 years and has six times the poverty of 70124. Social and economic factors deeply impact health.  Overall, life expectancy in New Orleans area parishes is one to six years lower than the rest of the United States.

Jail incarceration rates in New Orleans are four times higher than the national average at 912 per 100,000 reports the GNOCDC.  The national rate is 236 per 100,000.  This rate fluctuated up and down since Katrina and is now just about where it was when Katrina hit.

About 84 percent of those incarcerated in New Orleans are African-Americans. The average length of time spent waiting for trial is 69 days for African-Americans and 38 days for Whites.  Crime in New Orleans and in the metro area surrounding the city is down from pre-Katrina levels but still remains significantly higher than national rates.

In a bewildering development, a recent poll of Republicans in Louisiana revealed that 28 percent thought George W. Bush was more responsible for the poor response to Hurricane Katrina and 29 percent thought Barack Obama was more responsible, even though he did not take office until over three years after Katrina!

Bill Quigley teaches law at Loyola University New Orleans. You can email Bill at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

President Obama Challenges America: ‘Keep Marching’ By Hazel Trice Edney

Sept. 2, 2013

President Obama Challenges America:  ‘Keep Marching’
By Hazel Trice Edney

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White House Photo

(TriceEdneyWire.com) – Standing in the very spot where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood 50 years before, President Barack Obama – America’s first Black President, challenged the nation to take a lesson from the past and keep marching.

“Because they kept marching, America changed.  Because they marched, a Civil Rights law was passed.  Because they marched, a Voting Rights law was signed.  Because they marched, doors of opportunity and education swung open so their daughters and sons could finally imagine a life for themselves beyond washing somebody else’s laundry or shining somebody else’s shoes. Because they marched, city councils changed and state legislatures changed, and Congress changed, and, yes, eventually, the White House changed,” he said to enthusiastic applause.

It was the “Let Freedom Ring” Ceremony, commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The drizzly Aug. 28 day did not deter thousands from coming to witness the event. The crowd of people lined the mall from the Lincoln Memorial, where King spoke in 1963, around the Tidal Basin and almost back to the Washington Monument.  In fact, hundreds left the event after standing in line for hours due to a bottleneck at security gates for the event that was billed as “free and open” to the public.

But for the thousands that remained, chanting and cheering from what seemed like miles away, President Obama exhorted them to march in a new way.

“That tireless teacher who gets to class early and stays late and dips into her own pocket to buy supplies because she believes that every child is her charge  - she’s marching. That successful businessman who doesn't have to but pays his workers a fair wage and then offers a shot to a man, maybe an ex-con who is down on his luck - he’s marching.   

“The mother who pours her love into her daughter so that she grows up with the confidence to walk through the same door as anybody’s son - she’s marching.   The father who realizes the most important job he’ll ever have is raising his boy right, even if he didn't have a father - especially if he didn't have a father at home - he’s marching.  The battle-scarred veterans who devote themselves not only to helping their fellow warriors stand again, and walk again, and run again, but to keep serving their country when they come home - they are marching,” he said to applause.  

Facing new inequities in America, President Obama did not shy away from the realities of the moment.

“Inequality has steadily risen over the decades.  Upward mobility has become harder.  In too many communities across this country, in cities and suburbs and rural hamlets, the shadow of poverty casts a pall over our youth, their lives a fortress of substandard schools and diminished prospects, inadequate health care and perennial violence,” he said.

“Yes, there have been examples of success within Black America that would have been unimaginable a half century ago…But, as has already been noted, Black unemployment has remained almost twice as high as White unemployment, Latino unemployment close behind.  The gap in wealth between races has not lessened, it's grown.  And as President Clinton indicated, the position of all working Americans, regardless of color, has eroded, making the dream Dr. King described even more elusive.”

Three presidents – Obama, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter – addressed the crowd, in addition to luminaries that included Oprah Winfrey, Martin Luther King III, the Rev. Bernice King and Congressman John Lewis.

With the Trayvon Martin case still heavy on the minds of justice-seekers, Clinton stressed that Dr. King, “urged the victims of racial violence to meet White Americans with an outstretched hand; not a clinched fist. And in so doing, proved the redeeming power of unearned suffering.”

President Carter drew applause from the crowd when he pointed to the inequities of the criminal justice system. “There are more than 835,000 African-American men in prison, five times as many as when I left office. And with one third of all African-American males being destined to be in prison in our lifetime, there is a tremendous agenda ahead of us,” Carter said.

Rev. Bernice King, with the intense cadence of her father, delivered a fiery speech, also outlining the gross injustices of 2013.

“We come once again to let freedom ring. Because if freedom stops ringing, then the sound will disappear and the atmosphere will be charged with something else,” she said. “We are still crippled by practices and policies steeped in racial pride, hatred and hostility, some of which have us standing our ground rather than finding common ground. We are still chained by economic disparity, income and class inequality and conditions of poverty for many of God’s children around this nation and the world. We are still bound by civil unrest and apparent social biases in a world that often times degenerates into violence and destruction; especially against women and children. We are at this landing, and now we must break the cycle,” she said. “The Profit King spoke the vision. He made it plain. And we must run with it in this generation.”

The chiming of a bell at exactly 3 p.m. was intended to mark the moment that Dr. King proclaimed the words, "Let Freedom Ring!...From Every Mountain Side, Let Freedom Ring!"

President Obama, the final speaker, encouraged the nation that if they continue to march – not just in the streets, but in the ways he outlined – change will be inevitable.

“America, I know the road will be long, but I know we can get there.  Yes, we will stumble, but I know we’ll get back up.  That’s how a movement happens.  That’s how history bends.  That's how when somebody is faint of heart, somebody else brings them along and says, come on, we’re marching,” he said. “We might not face the same dangers of 1963, but the fierce urgency of now remains. We may never duplicate the swelling crowds and dazzling procession of that day so long ago - no one can match King’s brilliance - but the same flame that lit the heart of all who are willing to take a first step for justice, I know that flame remains.”

 

Mandela Resting at Home

Mandela Resting at Home

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(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Iconic former South Africa President Nelson Mandela is out of the hospital this week. Reports say his health is slowly recovering but he remains critical and is sometimes unstable.

He was discharged from the Pretoria hospital on Sunday, according to the Associated Press, and taken to his Johannesburg home by ambulance. Officials say he will continue to receive the same level of care at home that he had in the hospital.

Hospitalized  since June 8 for a recurring lung infection, the world celebrated his 95th birthday on July 18.

AP released the following statement from South Africa President Jacob Zuma: "His home has been reconfigured to allow him to receive intensive care there," the statement said. "The health care personnel providing care at his home are the very same who provided care to him in hospital. If there are health conditions that warrant another admission to hospital in future, this will be done."

Mandela became South Africa’s first democratically elected president in 1994, marking the end of the apartheid. He spent 27 years in prison under White minority rule. This included 18 years at the notorious Robben Island penal colony, where he contracted the lung infection while working in a limestone quarry.

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