Less Crime: No Reason to Shut Prisons

SOURCE:  http://realcostofprisons.org/
April 12, 2008
About New York
By JIM DWYER

For nearly a decade, one of New York City’s major exports — criminals — has been in decline, a result of less crime. In the alternative universe of state government, this is the textbook definition of catastrophe. A steady supply of criminals is the foundation of the economy of large swaths of New York State, which has 70 prisons that employ about 20,000 people as correction officers.

The prisons are also a source of political power to upstate Republicans because the inmates are counted as permanent residents when legislative districts are drawn — even though they cannot vote and their actual homes may be hundreds of miles away...MORE

Know Your Rights 2008 | WALL OF EVENTS

Know Your Rights 2008 | WALL OF EVENTS

Dear Family,
Join the campaign to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights throughout 2008.


To see what others are doing visit the KnowYourRights2008 website.

To claim our rights we have to know them.
http://www.KnowYourRights2008.org

Freedom's flowering | Philadelphia Inquirer |

SOURCE:  http://www.philly.com/inquirer/

Freedom's Flowering
Africans taken to America resisted slavery from the very first, a struggle traced in a Library Company exhibition.

By Stephan Salisbury
Inquirer Culture Writer
Posted on Thu, Apr. 10, 2008

Virtually from the moment the first enslaved African was brought to American shores, black resistance to slavery began.
Sporadic rebellions broke out north and south in the 18th century. Individual slaves sought to flee their captivity.
Some managed to buy their own freedom - and then help those remaining in bondage to escape...MORE

3,417 people convicted of crack cocaine have their sentences reduced

SOURCE:  http://realcostofprisons.org/

3,417 people convicted of crack cocaine have their sentences reduced
By Alexandra Marks | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

As many crack convicts are freed early, will crime rise?
Of the 19,500 drug offenders eligible over the next 30 years to apply for early release, 3,417 have had their sentences reduced as of Monday...MORE

Safe Pits: Smells Right.

http://diy.netscape.com/story/2008/04/08/make-your-own-antiperspirant-its-no-sweat

You can smell lovely, remain relatively sweat-free, and make your own harmless deodorant recipe in a matter of minutes!

Here are some recipes:

Powder:

½ cup cornstarch

½ cup baking soda

5 drops of organic peppermint essential oil

5 drops of organic lavender essential oil

You can also add any organic essential oil you please, such as cinnamon oil, rosemary oil, cedarwood oil, sandalwood oil, patchouli oil, tea tree oil etc, vanilla oil. Have fun with it!

Add ingredients in a glass jar with a screw-on lid. Apply daily with a liberal amount on a powder puff or cosmetic brush.

Takes 5 minutes to make. Lasts 6 months or so.

Liquid:

1/8 cup 80 proof vodka

1/4 cup distilled water

3 tablespoons of witch hazel

5 drops of organic essential oil as used in the powder deodorant.

You may use any couple of oils you desire. Have fun with it!

Add ingredients in a spray bottle. Apply daily with a liberal amount of spray beneath the arms!

Takes 5 minutes to make. Lasts 6 months or so.

Rising bank fees are costing you-big time

SOURCE:  http://www.wisebread.com/home

Credit and debit card fees are also increasing. When you draw money out of another bank’s ATM, the fees for this are now often half-again as much as they were even a few years ago, both from the bank being drawn on and the bank of the ATM machine. Cash advance fees from credit cards are also increasing, both in dollar amount and percentage wise. Other miscellaneous services, such as balance-transfer fees, foreign exchange fees and even account research fees also cost more than they used to. If you need a copy of a check or past statement, a fee of $5 or even $10 can be assessed to you...MORE

BBC NEWS | Africa | 'Ex-slave' takes Niger to court

SOURCE:  http://news.bbc.co.uk/
'Ex-slave' takes Niger to court
Slaves come from the poor communities in the north

A former slave is suing Niger's government, accusing it of failing to implement laws against slavery introduced in 2003...MORE

RELATED ARTICLES:  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4321699.stm

                                            http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3972669.stm

                                            http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3334099.stm

                                            http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/country_profiles/1054396.stm

                                            http://www.antislavery.org/

It’s The Culture, Stupid

SOURCE:  http://www.pickthebrain.com/

It's The Culture, Stupid
April 6th, 2008
by Dave Logan

After a 10-year study of over 24,000 employees across multinational corporations, our team came to a startling conclusion about leadership: the more you develop yourself as a leader, the less of a leader you are...MORE

Supermax lockups adjust to decreasing demand

SOURCE:  http://realcostofprisons.org/

Supermax
by JULIE CARR SMYTH AP Statehouse Correspondent
Published on Saturday Apr 05, 2008

Kunta Kenyatta struggles to describe the 33 months he spent in the tight four walls of a super-maximum security cell at the Ohio State Penitentiary.
"It's extreme isolation, sensory deprivation. It's hard to explain really," said Kenyatta, 39, out since 2001.
Supermax prisons _ where inmates spend roughly 23 hours a day locked in soundproofed cells _ were trendy when Ohio
cut the ribbon on its angular, steel-bedecked penitentiary April 9, 1998.

A decade later, the winds favoring ultrasecure incarceration have shifted...MORE