For-Profit Institutions of Higher Learning-What you need to know before you enroll

I have personally never been a fan of For-Profit Colleges such as Everett, University of Pheonex, and Keiser College. Their ads plague day time television convencing people that they can simply enroll, some even offer enrollment without a High School Diploma or GED. They tell you that once you graduate you will earn up to $25.00 per hour in nursing, or have a business degree, or working in so field that is gurenteed to be considered to be high paying. What they fail to mention is the cost of attendance. On adverage, For-Profit schools charge 3 time the tutition rate as a Private College, Community College or a reguar 4 year college.

Whats worse is that many of the students who attend these for-profit institutions either graduate with tens of thousands of dollars in debt or they don't finish yet still have the mounting debt from attending the schools. Please educate your self on the cost of these schools before enrolling. I know it may seem good to take classes online that work around your schedule however mostly all community colleges offer the same classes online and for a fraction of the cost. Something else to consider is the accreditation. Many of these schools are not fully accredited, meaning you cannot transfer their credits to another school such as a 4 year college (UF, UCF, FSU) or a 2 year college. This usually traps a lot of students into staying and completing their program at the school while continuing to have more and more student loans to cover the cost of attendance. 


Please take a moment to watch this video that Front Line did on For Profit Colleges.




College Inc.

The business of higher education is booming. It's a $400 billion industry fueled by taxpayer money. But what are students getting out of the deal? Critics say a worthless degree and a mountain of debt. Investors insist they're innovators, widening access to education

Congo- Africa's deadliest War that I bet you didn't even know about it...

It hurts me to read about the ongoing conflicts that transpire in Democratic Republic of Congo. To date Democratic Republic of Congo has been noted as being the place of the deadest conflict in world history behind World War II. Since 1998 a reported 5.4 million people have died in wars, conflicts, and disease and starvation. Although the war is technically over thousands continue to die daily due to the control of Congo’s vast mineral wealth. The media never talks about the Conflicts in Congo, this may be because of a few reason that myself and others have researched and came up with.

·         Reason #1-After record growth in the 1950s, a series of internationally orchestrated local conflicts have kept Africa right where the US can manage it without becoming threatened (Walters, 2008).  Moreover Between 1960 and 1974, there were nine coups and seven major conflicts in Africa, including Ghana, Uganda, Angola, and the Congo. According to Apocalypse Africa, all the coups between 1956 and today have involved the US in some capacity. The US has been known to supply weapons or money to both sides of the conflicts, in order to foster instability and dependence on American wealth (Walters, 2008).  Supposedly, the African bureau of the Department of State looked the other way as Uganda’s notorious despot Idi Amin led the murder of 300,000 of his citizens. John Stockwell, a former CIA chief and member of the Angola Task Force, explains “The CIA maintains prepackaged stocks of foreign-made weapons for instant shipment anywhere in the world.”  With those reserves, our government can influence conflicts without obvious culpability (Walters, 2008)

·         Reason 2 Congo currently holds the world’s largest reserves of Colton and cassiterite. In the coltan mining industry, Children are forced to work for pennies a day to produce Colton, a mineral used to make cell phones, video games, and laptops. DR Congo currently holds 80% of the world’s reserve of Coltan that sells over $400.00 per pound. Congo mineral war has led to the death of over 4 million people. Congo holds 80% of the worlds’ Coltan reserves, historically, the U.S. government identified sources of materials in Third World countries, and then encouraged U.S. corporations to invest in and facilitate their production. Dating back to the mid-1960s, the U.S. government literally installed the dictatorship of Mobutu Sese Seko, which gave U.S. corporations access to the Congo’s minerals for more than 30 years

·          Reason 3- In 1998, U.S. military-trained leaders of Rwanda and Uganda invaded the mineral-rich areas of the Congo. The invaders installed illegal colonial-style governments which continue to receive millions of dollars in arms and military training from the United States. Our government and a $5 million Citibank loan keeps the rebel presence in the Congo. Their control of mineral rich areas allows western corporations, such as American Mineral Fields, to illegally mine. Rwandan and Ugandan control over this area is beneficial for both governments and for the corporations that continue to exploit the Congo’s natural wealth (Ray).

·     Reason 4- The UN had a strong presence in DR Congo since the beginning of the civil wars that claimed the lives of over four million people. Unfortunately their intensions were not always the best. In 2004 a major scandal book out involving UN peacekeepers rapping young children and women in Congo. In 2005 a classified United Nations report prompted Secretary General Kofi Annan to admit that U.N. peacekeepers and staff have sexually abused or exploited war refugees in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The worst of the 150 or so allegations of misconduct--some of them captured on videotape--include pedophilia, rape, and prostitution. U.N. report found "widespread" evidence of sexual abuse of West African refugees (Loconte, 2005).  Allegations of sexual abuse or misconduct by U.N. staff stretch back at least a decade, to operations in Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea. A 2001 report, released by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Save the Children, found that sexual violence against refugees in West Africa was endemic (Loconte, 2005).  Most of the sexual abuse and exploitation, says the report, involves trading sex for money, food or jobs. However, some victims say they were raped, but later given food or money to make the incident appear to have been consensual – "rape disguised as prostitution” (Loconte, 2005).

             Walters, D. (Director). (2008). Apocalypse Africa: Made in America [Motion Picture].

Ray, E. (n.d.). American Companies Exploit the Congo. Retrieved 04 16, 2011, from Project Censored: http://www.projectcensored.org/top-stories/articles/19-american-companies-exploit-the-congo/

Loconte, J. (2005, 01 03). The U.N. Sex Scandal. Retrieved 04 17, 2011, from The Weekly Standard : http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/005/081zxelz.asp

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Land Grabbing in Africa-New wave of African Exploitation (taken from my senior thesis)

The Exploitation of Land in Africa is something that has happened for years but just recently there has been an explosion of wealthy countries either buying or renting land from impoverished third world countries within Africa making millions in agriculture and some paying as little as $1.00 per year, per 10000 square meters (Vidal, 2010). The exploitation of Land is often referred to as “Land Grabbing” and several countries are taking advantage of this phenomenon. In all there are about 20 or more African countries involved in this. The foreign companies are arriving in large numbers, depriving people of land they have used for centuries. There is no consultation with the indigenous population. The deals are done secretly. The only thing the local people see is people coming with lots of tractors to invade their lands (Vidal, 2010).

            Many of the western news organizations are swift to point out the fact that China offers aid with no strings attached, whereas western nations offer aid with conditions tied to human rights. While there is some truth to this, it is often overlooked that a lot of conditions by western countries are not about human rights, but about opening up African economies and it is these conditions that are often criticized (Shah, 2010).

            Inter Press Service (IPS) noted some problems with a massive deal between China and the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2008. The deal involved China pledging a $9 billion loan as well as building massive new copper and cobalt mines, 4,000 km of roads and railways, upgrading Congo’s beleaguered mining sector, as well as building schools, hospital, and clinics. In return, Beijing secured copper and cobalt concession that over 25 years would supply Chinese manufacturing with 6.8 million tons of copper and 620,000 tons of cobalt (Shah, 2010).

Together they are scouring Sudan, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Malawi, Ethiopia, Congo, Zambia, Uganda, Madagascar, Zimbabwe, Mali, Sierra Leone, Ghana and elsewhere. Ethiopia alone has approved 815 foreign-financed agricultural projects since 2007 (Vidal, 2010). Saudi Arabia, along with other Middle Eastern emirate states such as Qatar, Kuwait and Abu Dhabi, is thought to be the biggest buyer. China has signed a contract with the Democratic Republic of Congo to grow 2.8m hectares of palm oil for biofuels. Before it fell apart after riots, a proposed 1.2m hectares deal between Madagascar and the South Korean company Daewoo would have included nearly half of the country's arable land (Vidal, 2010). According to Land agent Tegenu Morke, "The land and labor is cheap and the climate is good here. Everyone – Saudis, Turks, Chinese, and Egyptians – is looking. The farmers do not like it because they get displaced, but they can find land elsewhere and, besides, they get compensation, equivalent to about 10 years' crop yield," (Vidal, 2010). The attitude conveyed by the land agent is the same as the countries who exploit the land from the people of Africa. This exploitation is just an example of modern day Neo-Colonialism. According to The African network for social progress there are estimates somewhere between 20 and 50 million hectares of African land is already part of this grab. To put it in perspective, 50 million hectares is twice the size of the United Kingdom. And it likely won’t stop there (Aziz, 2011).

In Zimbabwe land grabbing began over a century ago when the British came and claimed stake on acres and acres of land. Tobacco is the main money making crop in this country. President Mugabe wanted to take back 1/3 of all Zimbabwe’s productive farmland from white farmers and give it to the country’s peasants. In 1998 alone, a mere 4,500 wealthy whites owned a staggering 50% of Zimbabwe, and Mugabe says they had until August that year to give that land back (Films, 1998). The British are not the only people in Zimbabwe using the land for their own good.  China has been a dominate force though out Africa.  China is a major importer of illegal timber from forests in Cameroon, Congo, and Equatorial Guinea. Though accurate figures are hard to access, www.globaltimber.org.uk says that up to 50% of all timber imported to China in 2004 was illegal. Chinese businesses have also been implicated in ivory smuggling, notably in Sudan and Zimbabwe (Bond, 2006).

What happened to our Television shows ???

(Image credit Photo)

Long gone are the days we 70s, 80s and 90s babies enjoy a healthy dose of Good African American Television. I remember growing up watching a Different World, which made me want to attend an HBCU, watching Living single and wanting to be a powerful Attorney like Maxine Shaw, and even watching the Fresh Prince of Bell-air and wanting to be rich like the Banks. My kids can't enjoy the same joy I got from watching those classic shows because they have nearly become extinct and for what reason many of us really don't know. One key reason can be the excessive influx of reality television plaguing our stations such as Hip Hop Wives, Basketball wives, Football wives and so on. Its genius for the networks because they can pay a cast of reality show participants little to nothing and get major ratings and advertisement.  While well educated and experienced actors and actresses get thrown to the back of the bus.
Sadly this is what the future generation will continue to see on television.

Black Motivators Making a difference- Week 1- Dr. Innocent Odocha-Ife Mission

For most people making a difference in their community can mean many things, cleaning trash off the streets, volunteering at your local community center, or even participating in your neighborhood watch program. For Dr. Innocent Odocha, a Gainesville Family Medicine Physician, this means going back home nearly 6000 miles away to the tiny village of Ife in Nigeria West Africa and providing health care for thousands of people who don't have access to adequate health care.

Dr. Odocha was born in the village of Ife and moved to the United States to study medicine. After settling in Gainesville and marrying his college sweetheart Alexander Dr. Odocha wanted to do more for the village he calls home. He then started Ife Mission.

Ife Mission is an organization that is funded solely by Dr. Odocha and his wife. Each year he makes several flights to Nigeria, staying 1 to 2 weeks at a time, to see as many patients as he can in the clinic that he build for the village. Dr. Odocha’s belief is that with education and basic health-care, the community can be empowered to become a self-sustaining village. 

Dr. Odocha has done so much to improve the lives of the people of Ife but he needs your help.

    *DONATE generic medical supplies, medications, eye-glasses, shoes, school supplies
     or funds to help purchase items needed.

     *SPREAD the awareness to others.

     *HOST a fundraising event.

     *VOLUNTEER to help the mission.

Visit Ifemission.org for more details.

Mailing Address: Ife Mission
816 NW 13th Street
Gainesville, Florida 32601

e-mail: info@ifemission.org or ifemission@gmail.com

Follow Ife Mission on Twitter @ife_mission

or like on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Ife-Mission/164048640294655

Fox News- Fair and Balanced? I think Not...

I've never been a fan of Fox news because of their blatant disrespect for President Obama and the Democratic party, however I wanted to be unbias and see what the station has to offer. Well one of my Political Science Majors did an excellent Senior thesis on Fox news (Levy Green) and this movie gave in depth details on how racist, disrespectful and immoral the people are at Fox news. Don't believe me, check out the clip above, or the full movie below!

Can you be any ruder? This would never happen to any other administration. Just Disrespectful!

 

Outfoxed: The Full Video

Can President Obama Win the 2012 Election?

Election season is vastly approaching and many wonder if President Obama will be able to pull off a second term in office. I wanted to list a few things that President Obama has done right since being elected into office:

The killing of National Terrorist Leader Osama Bin Laden

• Nomination of the first Latino Supreme Court Justice, nomination of two women to the Supreme Court Justice
• Passed the Public Option Healthcare bill, proposed since FDR.
• Passed the bailout that created thousands of jobs and retained thousands.
• Stopped enforcing the Defense of Marriage Act
• Reformed Student Loan giving to eliminate predatory student loan companies for taking advantage of students
• Created Cash for Clunkers
• Gave tax credits for new homeowners

There are plenty of other things that the President has done right including inhearting the Bush Administration debt and wars.  If you like to read more of what President Obama has done right in his first year continue reading.

Obama had numerous accomplishments in his first year

Passing stimulus, generating jobs. On February 17, 2009, Obama signed the $787 billion stimulus bill into law. In December 2009, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office issued a report estimating that "in the third quarter of calendar year 2009, an additional 600,000 to 1.6 million people were employed in the United States" due to that legislation. According to the White House Council of Economic Advisers, CBO has increased its estimate to 800,000 to 2.4 million additional employed through the fourth quarter of that year. Moreover, a November 20, 2009, New York Times article reported that the "consensus" among "dispassionate analysts" is that "the stimulus package, messy as it is, is working," citing nonpartisan analyses of gross domestic product and total employment figures by several companies specializing in economic forecasting. Further, a January 25 USA Today article stated that, according to its "quarterly survey of 50 economists," "[u]nemployment would have hit 10.8% -- higher than December's 10% rate -- without Obama's $787 billion stimulus program," adding, "The difference would translate into another 1.2 million lost jobs."


Eliminating wasteful spending. Obama was able to achieve some significant cuts to wasteful spending -- most notably, the elimination of the F-22 fighter jet program after he successfully lobbied the Senate to vote to strip out financing for more jets from a defense funding authorization bill. The Washington Times reported on January 14 that Obama won "60 percent of his proposed cuts" and also managed "to get Congress to ax several programs that had bedeviled President George W. Bush for years."
Sotomayor nomination. On May 26, 2009, Obama nominated Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court to replace the retiring Justice David Souter. She was confirmed by the Senate on August 6, 2009, and sworn in August 8, making her the first Hispanic justice, and only the third woman, on the court.


Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. The first bill President Obama signed into law, on January 29, 2009, was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which expands the rights of workers to sue employers over wage discrimination claims.


SCHIP expansion. On February 5, 2009, Obama signed a bill expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to cover 4 million more lower-income children.


Public lands bill. On March 30, Obama signed an omnibus public lands bill, which The New York Times reported "allows for 2 million more acres to be declared wilderness... [with] more than 1,000 miles designated as scenic rivers, and adds land for national trails."


Credit card reform. On May 21, 2009, Obama signed into law a bill providing what USA Today called the "most sweeping changes to the credit card industry in 40 years," adding restrictions on interest rate increases and fees and restricting the marketing of credit cards to college students.


Transparency. The Washington Post reported that moves by the Obama administration to improve government transparency "included a ban on lobbyist gifts; restrictions on the hiring of lobbyists; publication of White House visitor logs and other records; and a move to bar lobbyists from serving on advisory boards." A report by Common Cause, Democracy 21, the League of Women Voters, and U.S. PIRG stated that: "The cumulative effect of the Administration's actions has been to adopt the strongest and most comprehensive lobbying, ethics and transparency rules and policies ever established by an Administration to govern its own activities."


Tobacco regulation. On June 22, 2009, Obama signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which, for the first time, gave the U.S. Food & Drug Administration the authority to regulate the manufacturing, marketing, and sale of tobacco.


National service. On April 21, 2009, Obama signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, which expands the scope of AmeriCorps and provides opportunities for young people and senior citizens to join in service programs.


Stem cell research. On May 9, 2009, Obama signed an executive order easing restrictions on the use of federal money for embryonic stem cell research.

What is Natural Beauty???

For years I've searched for the answer to this question, what is natural beauty? is it being natural? Chemical free? Make up free? Weave free? Free of everything fake? I have the slightest clue. I've had a complex for many years about my own personal appearance that has caused me to have some self-esteem issues. I had to sit and look at myself in the mirror, nude to understand my natural beauty.

A man can take so much from you, for me this was the case of my ex. I never felt beautiful with him, and thank God that in my current relationship my spouse tells me I am beautiful, he embraces my curves and he helps me overcome my insecurities.

Natural Beauty to me is what you see every morning when you wake up and take a look in the mirror, or whether you step out that shower and take a slight peek at yourself nude and free. I've learned that Natural Beauty is loving me, flaws and all and finally I'm embracing ME!