Estate of Michael Jackson's Music Publishing Company is #1 in the world - still owns the Beatles catalog

Sony/ATV Music Publishing is the largest music publishing company in the world and is co-owned by Sony Corporation and the Estate of Michael Jackson (photo left by AP).

The company was originally founded as Associated Television(ATV) in 1955 by Lew Grade.

In 1985, ATV Music Publishing was sold to Michael Jackson for $47.5 million, which included the publishing rights to most of The Beatles' songs.

In December 1995, Michael Jackson agreed to merge ATV Music Publishing with Sony Music Publishing, a division of Sony Corporation, to form Sony/ATV Music Publishing.

In 2012 an investor consortium led by Sony/ATV Music Publishing acquired EMI Music Publishing for approximately $2.2 billion.

Sony/ATV Music Publishing and EMI Music Publishing now operate as one company, with the former entity administering the catalog of the latter under a complex business structure.


Sony/ATV Music Publishing is now the largest music publishing company in the world with over 2 million songs under management.


History

Founding

Sony/ATV was originally founded as a subsidiary of the UK's Associated Television (ATV). ATV operated a commercial television company, broadcasting from 1955 in London (until 1968) and the English Midlands as part of the Independent Television (ITV) network.

Business tycoon Louis Benjamin was involved with Lew Grade as part of one of the three major record companies in the UK at the time. The company was Pye Records which, along with EMI and (the British) Decca Records, accounted for the vast majority of music records sold in the UK. In 1959, ATV acquired 50% of Pye Records. Between them, Grade and Benjamin held most of the shares. ATV Music Publishing was created to exploit the catalogue of songs written by artists on the Pye Record label, and for the themes to ITC and ATV television programmes. The UK rights to some of the rock 'n' roll music from the US were also bought by ATV. Grade established ATV's headquarters alongside those of Pye Records; off Edgware Road, beside the Marble Arch in central London.

Early history

The 1950s/1960s was a good period for Grade and his brothers, Bernard Delfont and Leslie Grade, and their companies. Pye Records had major artists of the period under contract. The Searchers, The Kinks, Donovan, The Moody Blues, Mungo Jerry, and Petula Clark were some of the artists that recorded for Pye Records. Pye also had contracts with several US companies, allowing them to manufacture and distribute records in the UK. Chess Records was among those, and counted Chuck Berry as one of its top artists.

ATV Music acquired the rights to the Lennon–McCartney song catalog, Northern Songs, in 1968.[9] The catalog featured every song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney until The Beatles' legal split in 1971. Northern Songs had been co-owned and administered by Brian Epstein and Dick James. Following Epstein's death in 1967, James put the company up for sale. Lennon and McCartney, upset that the songs they had written were not theirs legally, attempted to gain ownership of the publishing rights.[9] Their bid to gain control, part of a long and acrimonious fight, failed. The financial clout of Grade, their adversary in the bidding war, ensured that the music written by the two Beatles passed into the control of ATV.

ATV Music Publishing remained a successful organization in the music industry throughout the 1970s. Len Beadle, the company's chief executive, signed up many songwriters and bought numerous song catalogs. The catalog acquisitions, along with the continuing royalties from Lennon and McCartney, ensured that large amounts of money were frequently coming in for ATV Music Publishing. Despite the success of the music publishing organization, other ventures formed by Grade were not performing as well. Pye Records, which continued to distribute music from artists such as Carl Douglas and Barry White, was failing to bring in large amounts of money. The main television arm of ATV lost its government-granted license and their English Midlands franchise was awarded to Central Television.

Acquisition

By the mid-1980s, ATV Music Publishing and Pye Records were both up for sale. The companies were bought relatively cheaply by Australian businessman Robert Holmes à Court, who acquired Associated Communications Corporation (the parent company) in 1982, asset-stripped the subsidiaries, and sacked many long serving employees before selling the companies on again. During this time, American singer Michael Jackson was recording "Say Say Say" for Paul McCartney's Pipes of Peace album. Jackson stayed at the home of McCartney and his wife Linda during the recording sessions, becoming friendly with both. One evening while at the dining table, McCartney brought out a thick, bound notebook displaying all the songs to which he owned the publishing rights. Jackson grew more excited as he examined the pages. He inquired about how to buy songs and what the songs were used for. McCartney explained that music publishing was a way to make big money. Jackson replied by telling McCartney that he would buy The Beatles' songs one day. McCartney laughed, saying "Great. Good joke."

Jackson was first informed that the ATV catalog was up for sale in Sept. 1984 by his attorney, John Branca, who had put together Jackson's earlier catalog acquisitions. Warned of the competition he would face in buying such popular songs, Jackson remained resolute in his decision to purchase them. Branca approached McCartney's attorney to query whether the Beatle was planning to bid. The attorney stated he wasn't; it was "too pricey." According to Bert Reuter, who negotiated the sale of ATV Music for Holmes à Court, "We had given Paul McCartney first right of refusal but Paul didn't want it at that time." Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono had been contacted as well but also did not enter bidding.

McCartney had previously attempted to purchase the catalog alongside Ono in 1981. He was offered the catalog for £20 million ($40 million USD) and proposed the pair would each pay £10 million. Ono refused as she thought it was too high a price. McCartney spoke about the offer at a press conference in April, 1990, explaining that Ono "actually said 'I think we can get it for 5.' So I said, 'Well ok, you know, let's see what we can do.' And we couldn't." Not wanting to buy the songs himself and potentially be seen as being "grabby" for "owning John Lennon's bit of the songs," McCartney let the offer fall through.

The competitors in the 1984 sale of ATV Music included Charles Koppelman and Marty Bandier’s New York-based The Entertainment Co., Virgin Records, New York real estate tycoon Samuel J. LeFrak, and financier Charles Knapp. On Nov. 20, 1984, Jackson sent a bid of $46 million to Holmes à Court. Branca suggested the amount of the bid after having spent time evaluating the earnings of the catalog and learning of another bid for $39 million. Jackson was only interested in the music copyrights, but the package also included buildings, a recording studio, some studio equipment and life insurance policies on Beatles members (presumably Lennon's was collected in 1980). The two sides signed a non-binding memorandum of mutual interest in Dec. 1984 and Jackson's team began a four-month process of verifying ATV Music's legal documents, financial reports, and every significant composition in the nearly 4000-song catalog.

The two sides began drafting contracts in Jan. 1985 and follow-through meetings began on Mar. 16. Jackson's team described the negotiations as frustrating, with frequent shifts of position by the other side. One Holmes à Court rep described the negotiations as a "game of poker." Jackson's team thought they had reached a deal several times, but new bidders would enter the picture or they would encounter new areas of debate. The prospective deal went through eight drafts. In May 1985, Jackson's team walked away from negotiations after having spent hundreds of hours and over $1 million. In June 1985, they learned Koppelman/Bandier had made a tentative agreement with Holmes à Court to buy the catalog for $50 million.

But in early Aug., Holmes à Court contacted Jackson and talks resumed. Jackson only raised his bid to $47.5 million, but he had the advantage of being able to close the deal faster, having completed due diligence of ATV Music prior to any formal agreement. He also agreed visit Australia as a guest of Holmes à Court and appear on the Channel Seven Perth Telethon. Holmes à Court included some more assets and agreed to established a scholarship in Jackson's name at a U.S. university. Branca closed the deal and purchased ATV Music on Jackson's behalf for $47.5 million on Aug. 10. 1985. In Oct. 1985, Jackson fulfilled his contract provision to visit Perth, Western Australia and appear on the telethon, where he spoke briefly and met with two children.

In an analysis of the acquisition, the Los Angeles Times noted that if "Yesterday" were to earn $100,000 a year in royalties, the Lennon estate and McCartney would divide 50% of the income; $25,000 each. The publisher, Jackson, would receive the other 50%; $50,000. It was mentioned that "Yesterday" probably earns more than $100,000 a year. The publisher would also control the use of the song in films, commercials and stage productions. Jackson went on to use the Beatles' songs in numerous commercials, feeling that it would enable a new generation of fans to enjoy the music. McCartney, who had himself used the Buddy Holly song catalogue in commercials, felt saddened. Privately, Jackson was reported to have expressed exasperation at McCartney's attitude; he felt that the musician should have paid for the songs he had written. At the time, McCartney was one of the richest entertainers in the world, with a net worth of $560 million and a royalty income of $41 million. Jackson stated, "If he didn't want to invest $47.5 million in his own songs, then he shouldn't come crying to me now".

Appearing on the Late Show with David Letterman (video above) shortly after Jackson died in 2009, McCartney spoke about Jackson's acquisition of the Beatles songs and the impact of it on their relationship:

And which was, you know, that was cool, somebody had to get it, I suppose. What happened actually was then I started to ring him up. I thought, OK, here's the guy historically placed to give Lennon–McCartney a good deal at last. Cuz we got signed when we were 21 or something in a back alley in Liverpool. And the deal, it's remained the same, even though we made this company the most famous…hugely successful. So I kept thinking, it was time for a raise. Well you would, you know. [David Letterman: Yes, I think so.] And so it was great. But I did talk to him about it. But he kind of blanked me on it. He kept saying, "That's just business Paul." You know. So, "yeah it is," and waited for a reply. But we never kind of got to it. And I thought, mmm…So we kind of drifted apart. It was no big bust up. We kind of drifted apart after that. But he was a lovely man, massively talented, and we miss him.

Ono was pleased that Jackson had acquired Northern Songs and called it a "blessing." Speaking in November, 1990, Ono stated, "Businessmen who aren't artists themselves wouldn't have the consideration Michael has. He loves the songs. He's very caring." She added that if she and McCartney were to own the songs, there would certainly be arguments. Ono explained that neither she or McCartney needed that. "If Paul got the songs, people would have said, 'Paul finally got John.' And if I got them, they'd say, 'Oh, the dragon lady strikes again.'"

Merger

After Jackson's acquisition of ATV Music Publishing, his record label's owner, CBS, was negotiating the sale of its record division in an unrelated deal. The record company was renamed Sony Music Entertainment in 1991. Following hurriedly arranged meetings and disagreements over the selling price, a deal was sealed by Jackson during a concert in Tokyo. Upon seeing the success of this sale, Japanese corporation Sony sought to break away from its core business of hardware manufacturing and diversify into music, films and games. Looking for further opportunities, the company aimed to expand its music publishing interests. The Japanese corporation, since it wanted to diversify in the media, offered Jackson $90 million for a 50% stake in the ATV catalog via a merger with Sony Music. Through the agreement, Jackson would become one of the most important shareholders in Sony. Jackson gladly accepted; he had essentially acquired half ownership of the Beatles' songs for a large profit. Jackson's own songs were not included in the deal. Sony and ATV having merged, the new company was named Sony/ATV Music Publishing and became the second largest music publisher in the world. Michael P. Schulhof, President and CEO of Sony Corporation of America, welcomed the merger and praised Jackson for his efforts in the venture. "Michael Jackson is not only the most successful entertainer in history; he is also an astute businessman. Michael understands the importance of copyrights and the role they play in the introduction to new technologies." He added that Jackson recognizes Sony's "leadership in developing and realizing new technologies that serve to expand the creative horizon of artists such as himself". Administrative expertise was provided by Sony, who installed Paul Russell as chairman. Jackson was a company director and attended board meetings regularly. As each party in the arrangement held the power of veto, both sides would have to agree on a decision before it could be made. If neither party agreed on a decisions, they would not be implemented.

In May 2001, Jackson denied rumours that he was planning to sell the Beatles' song catalogue. Rumours had circulated that the singer was to sell them in order to finance the upkeep of Neverland Ranch and to cover legal bill expenses. The singer announced in a statement, "I want to clarify a silly rumor – The Beatles catalog is not for sale, has not been for sale and will never be for sale." Sony/ATV Music Publishing continued to acquire song catalogues in the 21st century. In November 2001, the company signed country singer Tony Martin to an exclusive songwriting and co-publishing deal. Through the deal, they acquired Martin's Baby Mae Music catalog of 600 songs, which includes Joe Diffie's "Third Rock from the Sun" and Jeff Carson's "Not on Your Love". In July 2002, Sony/ATV Music Publishing bought veteran country music publisher Acuff-Rose for $157 million. The venture included music publishing rights to 55,000 country music songs, including the music of Hank Williams, The Everly Brothers and Roy Orbison, as well as the master recordings of the defunct label Hickory Records. Sony/ATV revived Hickory Records as the in-house record label imprint in 2007, with distribution handled by Sony Music's RED Distribution. Sony/ATV also owns the masters of Dial Records, Four Star Records and Challenge Records.

In 2006, Sony gained operational control of Sony/ATV and obtained an option to buy half of Jackson's stake in the company at any time for a fixed price of $250 million. Sony has not exercised the option.

Digital sheet music provider Musicnotes.com announced in June 2006 that it had signed a long-term distribution agreement with Sony/ATV Music Publishing. Musicnotes.com would produce and sell digital sheet music and guitar tablature for songs from Sony/ATV's extensive catalog. "As a music publisher, we are always looking for new and innovative ways to promote our songs and songwriters," Sony/ATV chairman and chief executive David Hockman announced in a statement. Another company acquisition was made in 2007, when Sony/ATV purchased Famous Music, a music publishing business with song catalogue of more than 125,000 songs including "Moon River" and "Footloose." The deal, sought by Viacom, included the assumption of around $30 million of debt. The company purchased the business for $370 million. The song catalogue also includes the hits of Eminem, Akon, Linda Perry, Björk, Shakira and Beck.[34][35] With this acquisition, Sony/ATV acquired the rights to publish music from films released by Viacom's Paramount Pictures subsidiary, which had founded Famous Music in 1928 to publish music from its films. This also included films released by DreamWorks, which Viacom acquired in 2006.

Following Jackson's death in June 2009, it was revealed that Sony/ATV Music Publishing would keep control of the Beatles' songs. Upon his death, Jackson's entertainment attorney, Joel Katz, commented on the singer's work as a businessman. "Michael Jackson was a perfectionist and his business affairs are worldwide. Many of them are quite ongoing and will be dealt with appropriately." Ivan Thornton, a private-wealth adviser who worked with Jackson and his family, also commended the business side of the musician. "His business mind was fascinating. We’d go to meetings with bankers and Wall Street people and once I explained the language to him, he totally got it. There was no formal education there, but his natural knack was off the charts."

In November 2011, Citigroup announced a tentative deal to sell EMI, with the recorded music arm going to Vivendi's Universal Music Group for $1.9 billion and the publishing business going to a Sony/ATV-led consortium for around $2.2 billion. Other members of the Sony consortium include Blackstone and Abu Dhabi-owned investment fund Mubadala. In March 2012, concessions were offered to the European Union to help win approval of the consortium's purchase. The deal won European Union approval on April 19, 2012. As part of the deal, Sony/EMI divested the publishing rights for Famous Music UK and Virgin Music. These catalogs were acquired by BMG Rights Management in December 2012 for $150 million.

Value

The value of Sony/ATV Music Publishing has varied in reports. In 2002, Forbes magazine estimated Jackson's 50% stake in the company, along with other music publishing ventures, to be worth $450 million. The organization was valued at $700 million in 2003. Industry experts valued the catalogue at between $600 million and $1 billion in 2004, based on the sales of rival catalogs. Charles Koppelman, a veteran music industry executive, stated that $1 billion was more reflective of Sony/ATV Music Publishing's worth. "Buyers would be lining up around the block if it were ever put up for sale," he said. "And I'd be in the front of the line."The value of the company was further estimated by Ryan Schinman, chief of Platinum Rye, to be $1.5 billion.

In 2005, Jackson's defense attorney, Thomas Mesereau, claimed that the song catalog had been valued at between $4 billion and $5 billion. Jackson's own financial documents stated that his 50% share of the catalog was worth $390.6 million as of 2007,which would have made the entire catalog worth $781.2 million.

In November 2011 a consortium led by Sony/ATV Music Publishing agreed to acquire EMI Music Publishing from Citigroup, the owners of the EMI Group, for US$2.2 billion. The acquisition was approved by the European Commission in April 2012, conditional upon the divestiture of the worldwide publishing rights to four catalogues - Famous Music UK, Virgin Europe, Virgin Music Publishing UK and Virgin US - and the musical works of 12 contemporary authors, including Gary Barlow, Ben Harper, the Kooks, Lenny Kravitz, Ozzy Osbourne, Placebo and Robbie Williams. The acquisition was completed in June 2012 following receipt of necessary approvals from anti-trust regulators in the United States.

EMI Music Publishing administers the publishing rights of over 1.3 million songs; controlling the libraries of artists including Jay-Z, Beyonce, deadmau5, Timo Maas, Dragon (band), The Prodigy, Megadeth, The Black Eyed Peas, Bloc Party, My Chemical Romance, Avicii, Cannibal Corpse, The Crystal Method, Quarashi, Avenged Sevenfold, Slipknot, MSTRKRFT, and Sean Paul.

When Sony/ATV led the consortium that acquired EMI Music Publishing in 2012 (with Sony/ATV becoming administrator and 38% shareholder), it became the largest publishing company in the world, with more than 2 million songs and estimated revenues of over 1.25 billion dollars per year.

As of 2012, Sony/ATV administers Jackson's other publishing firm, Mijac, which includes songs written by Jackson himself (amongst others), and which used to be administered by competitor Warner/Chappell Music.

Timeline of Sony/ATV Music Publishing
1955 Associated Television (ATV) is established by Lew Grade.
1957 ATV Music Publishing is created to exploit the songs owned by ATV
1959 ATV acquires a half-share in Pye Records.
1968 ATV Music and Lew Grade acquire the rights to the Lennon–McCartney song catalogue, Northern Songs.
1982 ATV Music Publishing and Pye Records are put up for sale. They are bought Robert Holmes à Court.
1985 ATV Music Publishing and its assets, Pye Records and Northern Songs, are again put up for sale. Singer Michael Jackson acquires them for $47.5 million.

1989 Sony-owned CBS Records (now Sony Music) buys Tree International Publishing, Sony's first music publishing venture outside Japan.[22]
1995 Jackson merges ATV Music Publishing with Sony. He earns $90 million in the venture.

May 2001 Jackson declares that The Beatles' songs "will never be for sale."
November 2001 Sony/ATV Music Publishing acquires Tony Martin's Baby Mae Music catalogue of 600 songs.
July 2002 Sony/ATV Music Publishing buys country music publisher Acuff-Rose for $157 million. The venture includes publishing rights to 55,000 songs.

2007 Sony/ATV Music Publishing acquires the Leiber and Stoller catalogue, which includes the Elvis Presley hits "Hound Dog" and "Jailhouse Rock," and Famous Music, a music publishing business with a song catalogue of more than 125,000 songs.

2012 Sony/ATV leads a consortium that acquires EMI Music Publishing, the world's largest catalog with over 1,300,000 rights to songs, making Sony/ATV the world's largest music publishing corporation with over 2,000,000 songs and about 1.26 billion dollars in revenue per year.

Source: Wikipedia

NBA Constitution

NBA Constitution and by Laws

Culture Clash - Removing Sterling will not fix the systemic racism that gave birth to his attitudes

Commentary by ESPN's Jason Whitlock

In our zeal to appear righteous or courageous or free of bigotry, a ratings-pleasing mob hell-bent on revenge turned Donald T. Sterling -- a victim of privacy invasion and white supremacy -- from villain to martyr.

In a society filled with impurities, the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers committed the crime of speaking impure thoughts in the privacy of a duplex he apparently provided for his mistress. And now an angry, agenda-fueled mob provoked NBA commissioner Adam Silver into handing Sterling a basketball death sentence.

On Tuesday, just 72 hours after the release of Sterling's Pillow Talk Tapes by TMZ, a rookie commissioner imposed a lifetime ban on a flawed man whose rights were violated.

Mob rule is dangerous. Well-intentioned, TV-baited mobs are the most dangerous. They do not consider the consequences of their actions, and they're prone to take a simple-minded, instant-gratification approach to justice rather than a strategic one.

Removing Donald Sterling from the NBA solves nothing. It sets a precedent that will likely boomerang and harm the black players and coaches who are shocked and outraged that an 80-year-old man with a documented history of bigoted actions also has bigoted private thoughts.

Let's be careful here. From the owner's box to the locker room, professional sports are overrun with wealthy men in complicated, volatile sexual relationships. If TMZ plans to make "pillow talk" public and the standard is set that "pillow talk" is actionable, it won't be long before a parade of athletes joins Sterling on Ignorance Island.

A right to privacy is at the very foundation of American freedoms. It's a core value. It's a mistake to undermine a core value because we don't like the way a billionaire exercises it. What happens when a disgruntled lover gives TMZ a tape of a millionaire athlete expressing a homophobic or anti-Semitic or anti-white perspective?

Warriors coach Mark Jackson, who called for Clippers fans to boycott Game 5, seems quite vulnerable to mob rule. Jackson is super-religious. He's previously been extorted by a stripper he kept as a mistress. And some of the LGBT community views Jackson as homophobic.

The conversation revolving around Donald Sterling is unsophisticated, and so was the heavy-handed punishment. They're driven by emotion rather than logic. It does not serve the greater good of the offended black community. Sterling is a scapegoat. He is an easy target, a decoy so that we do not address the elephant he walked into his mistress' bedroom.

"We don't evaluate what's right and wrong," Sterling is heard telling his black-and-Latina mistress when she asked if it was right to treat black as less than white. "We live in a society. We live in a culture. We have to live within that culture."

Sterling adheres to a pervasive culture, the hierarchy established by global white supremacy.

"I don't want to change the culture because I can't," Sterling says. "It's too big."

This was Sterling's one moment of clarity. The culture of white supremacy created Donald Sterling. He did not create the culture.

Much of what Sterling said on the tape is a rambling mess that can be interpreted many ways by sophisticated, mature and objective ears. To my ears, he doesn't care that his mistress has black friends. He doesn't care if she has sexual relationships with black men. He's married. They're not in a monogamous relationship. He simply does not want her extracurricular activities, particularly when they might involve black men, flaunted at his basketball games or all over Instagram.

This conversation, while grotesque and abhorrent, is not remotely unique or limited to old white men. My father was hood-rich, good-looking and a playa who enjoyed the company of a younger, kept woman. Many of his friends had similar tastes. Their private conversations about dating could sound every bit as abhorrent and grotesque as Sterling's. I've heard young black men and women engage in equally grotesque and abhorrent private conversations, particularly when their feelings are hurt or they feel betrayed.

No. The substantive meat of Sterling's Sex, Lies and Audiotape is his point about the culture that created his worldview. He is adhering to the standards of his peer group. He is adhering to the standards of the world he lives in. It's a world inhabited by all of us. It's a culture that shapes everyone's worldview on some level. It fuels the black self-hatred at the core of commercialized hip-hop culture, and is at the root of the NAACP's initial plan to twice honor an unrepentant bigot with a lifetime achievement award.

White-supremacy culture is created, maintained and run by rich white men, Sterling's peers. He is the longest-tenured owner in the NBA. Former commissioner David Stern had multiple opportunities to run Sterling out of the league for his bigoted actions. Sterling's peers have always protected him ... until he had the audacity and stupidity to be caught on tape explaining the culture they maintain.

It's comical to watch the well-intentioned mob circle around Sterling as if his unintended transparency says nothing about his peer group. It's equally comical seeing this issue framed as a "black issue," with black people running to suggest ways to clean up Sterling's mess.

White people should be wearing black socks, turning their T-shirts inside out, protesting outside the Staples Center. This is their culture, their Frankenstein. Or maybe they agree with Donald T. Sterling.

"I don't want to change the culture because I can't. It's too big."

It's also too beneficial. It's too comfortable.

Well-intentioned white people should be holding nationally televised panel discussions focusing on ways to lessen the damaging impact of white-supremacy culture. Well-intentioned white people who work within or support the NBA should be demanding that the NBA power structure cede some of its governing power to men and women who look like the overwhelming majority of the league's players.

Instead, the mainstream fanned the flames, enraging the angry black mob looking for a quick solution, a sacrificial lamb -- and now, by the end of the week, we'll be back to business as usual, pretending the stoning of Sterling harmed the culture that created him.

Magic Johnson optimistic that the NBA owners' will do the right thing

Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling was banned from the NBA for life for racial remarks, and fined $2.5 million by the league. Earvin "Magic" Johnson is optimistic stating on twitter ‏@MagicJohnson:

"Former and current NBA players are very happy and satisfied with Commissioner Silver's ruling. Now let's hope that the other 29 owners do the right thing."

The NBA Players Association await the timetable for the NBA owners' vote.

Al Sharpton Applauds NBA’s Life Ban Decision On Donald Sterling

Story by NewsOne
Written by DL Chandler

At the news of the NBA deciding to ban Donald Sterling for life, after he admitted to making the statements that recently aired, the Rev. Al Sharpton (pictured left) released the following statement:

“The lifetime banning of Donald Sterling is a bold and appropriate action in this matter. This is a huge victory for those of us that stood against this ugly display of racism. We must continue to make unequivocal stands against bigotry and racism. I look forward to speaking to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and beginning the dialogue with other civil rights leaders right away to discuss putting in measures to make sure this never happens again.”

Sharpton wasted little time in responding to the allegations that Sterling told his girlfriend, who is of Black and Mexican descent, to not bring Black people to his team’s games. The host of Reach Media News-Talk Radio Network's “Keeping it Real with Al Sharpton” was out front when he appeared this past Sunday on NBC’s “Meet The Press” Sunday morning and spoke frankly with host David Gregory about the plans of action if Sterling was not dealt with properly.

From “Meet The Press“:

REV. AL SHARPTON: Well, I think that clearly the National Basketball Association must suspend him, or must say that, “We’re going to remove any kind of imprimatur we have on this team if he’s the owner.” You cannot have someone own an NBA team in this country and have these kind of attitudes. You must remember, he settled multi-million dollar discrimination lawsuits in the past, so he has a background. ...the NBA ought to move right away. Let’s not play games here...

DAVID GREGORY: Right.

REV. AL SHARPTON: He needs to state unequivocally, “That’s not me on the tape.” If it is him on the tape, they need to move today, or we’re going after advertisers, saying, “How can you advertise with a team owned by a man with this kind of attitude.”

In subsequent days, on-site and broadcast several advertisers suspended their advertising commitments from the Clippers organization.

Following the NBA commissioners' announcement yesterday, players' union representative Roger Mason expressed that "if the punishment was not severe enough, playoff teams were not going to play." Silver's action met to the satisfaction of the players, however a timetable for the owners' vote was demanded.

Kirk Tanter contributed to report.

NBA's Los Angeles Clippers Owner Donald Sterling receives lifetime ban due to inapproriate comments

As part of his lifetime ban, Donald Sterling can't attend NBA games or practices, be present at any Clippers facility, or participate in any business or player personnel decisions involving the team.

Story by ESPN
Video by NBA

Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling has been banned for life by the NBA in response to racist comments the league says he made in a recorded conversation.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced the discipline Tuesday, saying that Sterling has been fined $2.5 million and that the league will attempt to force a sale of the Clippers.

Silver also stated that Sterling cannot attend any NBA games or practices, be present at any Clippers office or facility, or participate in business or player personnel decisions.

"We stand together in condemning Mr. Sterling's views," Silver said. "They simply have no place in the NBA.

"This league is far bigger than any one owner, any one coach and any one player."

The fine will be donated to organizations dedicated to anti-discrimination and tolerance efforts that will be jointly selected by the NBA and the Players Association, Silver said.

Silver's announcement came three days after the revelation of an audio recording in which Sterling made racist comments to a woman believed to be his girlfriend. Silver confirmed that the voice on the recording was Sterling's.

"The views expressed by Mr. Sterling are deeply offensive and harmful," Silver said.

The woman on the recording cooperated with the NBA, as did a third person who was in the room when the tape was made, a source told ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne. The woman verified to the league that it was her and Sterling on the tapes, according to the source.

The recordings that have been released were made last September, the source said.

ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

NBA Press Conference 2pm Live

Link to 2pm NBA's Press Conference concerning LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling: http://www.nba.com/live1/

Former NBA player and LA Clipper Baron Davis says Sterling cursed at him During Games

Video from the Bleacher Report

Keith Olbermann: "What Clippers players must do"

ESPN's Keith Olbermann's Commentary: "What the Clippers players must do." Video by ESPN

NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Welcome to the Finger-Wagging Olympics

Story by Time
Commentary by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

It's time to look at ourselves — and our collective moral outrage — in the mirror, says former NBA player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Moral outrage is exhausting. And dangerous. The whole country has gotten a severe case of carpal tunnel syndrome from the newest popular sport of Extreme Finger Wagging. Not to mention the neck strain from Olympic tryouts for Morally Superior Head Shaking. All over the latest in a long line of rich white celebrities to come out of the racist closet. (Was it only a couple days ago that Cliven Bundy said blacks would be better off picking cotton as slaves? And only last June Paula Deen admitted using the “N” word?)

Yes, I’m angry, too, but not just about the sins of Donald Sterling. I’ve got a list. But let’s start with Sterling. I used to work for him, back in 2000 when I coached for the Clippers for three months. He was congenial, even inviting me to his daughter’s wedding. Nothing happened or was said to indicate he suffered from IPMS (Irritable Plantation Master Syndrome). Since then, a lot has been revealed about Sterling’s business practices:

*2006: U.S. Dept. of Justice sued Sterling for housing discrimination. Allegedly, he said, “Black tenants smell and attract vermin.”
*2009: He reportedly paid $2.73 million in a Justice Dept. suit alleging he discriminated against blacks, Hispanics, and families with children in his rentals. (He also had to pay an additional nearly $5 million in attorneys fees and costs due to his counsel’s “sometimes outrageous conduct.”)
*2009: Clippers executive (and one of the greatest NBA players in history) sued for employment discrimination based on age and race.

And now the poor guy’s girlfriend (undoubtedly ex-girlfriend now) is on tape cajoling him into revealing his racism. Man, what a winding road she led him down to get all of that out. She was like a sexy nanny playing “pin the fried chicken on the Sambo.” She blindfolded him and spun him around until he was just blathering all sorts of incoherent racist sound bites that had the news media peeing themselves with glee.

They caught big game on a slow news day, so they put his head on a pike, dubbed him Lord of the Flies, and danced around him whooping.

I don’t blame them. I’m doing some whooping right now. Racists deserve to be paraded around the modern town square of the television screen so that the rest of us who believe in the American ideals of equality can be reminded that racism is still a disease that we haven’t yet licked.

What bothers me about this whole Donald Sterling affair isn’t just his racism. I’m bothered that everyone acts as if it’s a huge surprise. Now there’s all this dramatic and very public rending of clothing about whether they should keep their expensive Clippers season tickets. Really? All this other stuff I listed above has been going on for years and this ridiculous conversation with his girlfriend is what puts you over the edge? That’s the smoking gun?

He was discriminating against black and Hispanic families for years, preventing them from getting housing. It was public record. We did nothing. Suddenly he says he doesn’t want his girlfriend posing with Magic Johnson on Instagram and we bring out the torches and rope. Shouldn’t we have all called for his resignation back then?

Shouldn’t we be equally angered by the fact that his private, intimate conversation was taped and then leaked to the media? Didn’t we just call to task the NSA for intruding into American citizen’s privacy in such an un-American way? Although the impact is similar to Mitt Romney’s comments that were secretly taped, the difference is that Romney was giving a public speech. The making and release of this tape is so sleazy that just listening to it makes me feel like an accomplice to the crime. We didn’t steal the cake but we’re all gorging ourselves on it.

Make no mistake: Donald Sterling is the villain of this story. But he’s just a handmaiden to the bigger evil. In our quest for social justice, we shouldn’t lose sight that racism is the true enemy. He’s just another jerk with more money than brains.

So, if we’re all going to be outraged, let’s be outraged that we weren’t more outraged when his racism was first evident. Let’s be outraged that private conversations between people in an intimate relationship are recorded and publicly played. Let’s be outraged that whoever did the betraying will probably get a book deal, a sitcom, trade recipes with Hoda and Kathie Lee, and soon appear on Celebrity Apprentice and Dancing with the Stars.

The big question is “What should be done next?” I hope Sterling loses his franchise. I hope whoever made this illegal tape is sent to prison. I hope the Clippers continue to be unconditionally supported by their fans. I hope the Clippers realize that the ramblings of an 80-year-old man jealous of his young girlfriend don’t define who they are as individual players or as a team. They aren’t playing for Sterling—they’re playing for themselves, for the fans, for showing the world that neither basketball, nor our American ideals, are defined by a few pathetic men or women.

Let’s use this tawdry incident to remind ourselves of the old saying: “Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom.” Instead of being content to punish Sterling and go back to sleep, we need to be inspired to vigilantly seek out, expose, and eliminate racism at its first signs.

NBA's Los Angeles Clippers' owner Donald Sterling with girlfriend discussing that she not show up in Public with Black People, including NBA Hall of Famer Earvin "Magic" Johnson. Video by TMZ.


Magic Johnson speaks on being upset with Donald Sterling's comments about him. Video by ESPN.

NBA Hall of Famers Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan weigh in on Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling's racial comments

Story by ESPN

Basketball legends Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan both voiced harsh criticism in response to racist comments purportedly made by Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling.

Johnson, speaking Sunday on ABC's playoff pregame show, said he wants NBA commissioner Adam Silver to "come down hard" on Sterling.

The comments that purportedly came from Sterling were made on an audio recording obtained and released by TMZ. In those remarks, the man believed to be Sterling referred to Johnson.

"He shouldn't own a team anymore," said Johnson, who also said Sterling was one of the first people he met after moving to Los Angeles, where he was a Lakers star for many years.

"I had a friendship with him. So for him to then make these comments, or alleged comments, about myself as well as other African-Americans and minorities, there's no place in our society for it. There's no place in our league, because we all get along. We all play with different races of people when you're in sports. That's what makes sports so beautiful."

Michael Jordan, a five-time NBA MVP as a player and the current owner of the Charlotte Bobcats, released a statement Sunday saying he is outraged and disgusted by the comments.

Jordan said he has two different perspectives on the racist comments -- one as an owner and the other as a former player.

"As an owner, I'm obviously disgusted that a fellow team owner could hold such sickening and offensive views," Jordan said. "I'm confident that Adam Silver will make a full investigation and take appropriate action quickly. As a former player, I'm completely outraged.

"There is no room in the NBA -- or anywhere else -- for the kind of racism and hatred that Mr. Sterling allegedly expressed. I am appalled that this type of ignorance still exists within our country and at the highest levels of our sport. In a league where the majority of players are African-American, we cannot and must not tolerate discrimination at any level."

Read more: http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/story/_/id/10848070/michael-jordan-magic-johnson-lash-donald-sterling-purported-comments

The NBA and Donald Sterling's Plantation Mentality

Donald Sterling and V. Stiviano having a silent moment (photo by Getty Images)

Story by Bloomberg
Written by Kavitha A. Davidson

Another great day in NBA playoff action has become an afterthought thanks to the gossip website TMZ, which released a record of incredibly racist statements that it says were made by Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling to his girlfriend, V. Stiviano. According to TMZ, Sterling was reacting to an Instagram photo Stiviano posted of her posing with NBA legend Magic Johnson. Here’s a partial transcript:

Male voice: Why are you broadcasting? … And why are you taking pictures with minorities? Why?
Female voice: What’s wrong with minorities?
Male: Nothing. Nothing ...
Female: People call you and tell you that I have black people on my Instagram and it bothers you.
Male: Yeah, it bothers me a lot that you want to promo … broadcast that you’re associating with black people. Do you have to?
Female: You associate with black people.
Male: I’m not you and you’re not me. You’re supposed to be a delicate white or a delicate Latina girl.
Female: I’m a mixed girl. And you’re in love with me. And I’m black and Mexican, whether you like it or not. … You want me to have hate towards black people?
Male: I don’t want you to have hate. … I want you to love them -- privately. In your whole life you can be with them, every single day of your life.
Female: But not in public?
Male: But why publicize it on the Instagram and why bring it to my games?
Female: Why bring the black people to the games. I ...
Male: Don't put [Magic] on an Instagram for the world to have to see so they have to call me. And don't bring him to my games.

As if all that isn’t racist enough, at one point in the conversation, he chides her for being “a born fighter.” “You have the worst mouth,” he says, yet another play on the stereotype of the hotheaded Spicy Latina.

Clippers players reportedly held a closed-door team meeting last night after the tape went public. Many fans, writers and public figures have called for the team to hold a symbolic protest and refuse to take the court in tomorrow’s playoff game against the Golden State Warriors. Indeed, the incident, combined with the history of racist comments attributed to Sterling, begs the question of how one can reconcile bigotry with a business built largely upon the work and talents of black players. The plantation analogy is an easy one to make. “From picking cotton balls under insulting leadership to picking basketballs is not very much progress,” the Rev. Jesse Jackson said.

The onus is now on the NBA and new commissioner Adam Silver to act quickly and prove that the league’s strict ethical conduct policy doesn’t just apply to Marc Cuban criticizing referees and players smoking pot. The league has initiated an investigation. If the tape is confirmed, Sterling must be suspended, and the commission should look into the legality of having his ownership stripped. (Cuban's treatment of Stern's fines as a badge of honor shows that no multi-millionaire owner is going to change his behavior because of a few monetary slaps on the wrist.) Obviously, taking the team away from Sterling is unlikely, but there is absolutely precedent for sports leagues suspending owners for overt racism. In 1993, Major League Baseball banned Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott for one year after she likened black people to “gorillas” and called Jews “sneaky bastards.”

Sterling’s punishment should be even harsher. Remember, another black NBA legend, Elgin Baylor, sued Sterling for unlawful termination due to age discrimination, and said the Clippers owner spoke of wanting to fill his team with “poor black boys from the South” led by a white coach. Baylor lost that case, but Sterling did agree to pay a record $2.725 million to settle a suit that claimed he discriminated against minorities in an apartment building he owned in Los Angeles.

This is Silver’s first major test as commissioner. Starting with his televised remarks this evening, he has to set the tone for handling racial issues better than his predecessor. Former commissioner David Stern received and deserved much criticism for attacking the NBA’s “street culture” by implementing a dress code that was decidedly tinged with racial implications. A league that is 78 percent black simply can’t continue to condone an owner who, as Jemele Hill wrote, “makes Rush Limbaugh look like Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.”

Quotes on alleged recording of Donald Sterling

NBA player David West tweets - "Sterling basically articulated Plantation Politics...Make money off the Bucks/Lay with the Women/No Association in Public good or bad"
________________________________
Quotes below by Associated Press
________________________________

Reaction Saturday on the audio recording of a man identified as Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling telling his girlfriend not to bring black people to games:

Rev Al Sharpton - "The NBA must investigate L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling's recent racial comments that were caught on tape and discipline him. No one should be allowed to own a team if they have in fact engaged in this kind of racial language. We are prepared at National Action Network to rally in front of the NBA headquarters if this matter is not immediately dealt with."

NBA Hall of Famer and Businessman Magic Johnson - "(Wife Cookie) and I will never go to a Clippers game again as long as Donald Sterling is the owner."

NBA Player LeBron James - "There is no room for Donald Sterling in our league. There is no room for him."

NBA Hall of Famer / NBA Broadcast Analyst Charles Barkley - "This is the first test for Adam Silver (new NBA Commissioner), because you can't have this guy making statements like that ... (if it's Sterling on the recording), he has to suspend and fine him immediately."

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcette - "These statements are offensive and despicable and have no place in Los Angeles. I urge the NBA to act swiftly. L.A. fans deserve and demand better."

Former Los Angeles Clipper Shaun Livingston - "I would say it's probably disappointing to a lot of people, you know what I mean? But you look at what's kind of gone on in the past, it's very unfortunate, but I think it kind of tells the same story as what's been told if you pull up the record."

Los Angeles Clipper Coach Doc Rivers comments on Clipper owner Donald Sterling's conversation with girlfriend

Interview by ESPN

Coach of the Los Angeles Clippers Doc Rivers on Donald Sterling comments

"I don't know if I'm surprised or not, I didn't like the comments, obviously. We had a great team meeting this morning about it. A lot of guys voiced their opinions. None of them were happy about it. This is a situation where we're trying to go after something very important for us. Something that we've all dreamed about all our childhoods. Donald or anyone else had nothing to do with that dream and we're not going to let anything get in the way of those dreams."

"I thought we needed to talk about it because everyone else is and so we needed to talk about it and all things came up," Rivers said. "We've heard all the stuff, the boycotts and all the stuff and all those things are things you could do but we choose to play and we're going to play tomorrow. ... It was brought up because I'm sure 20,000 people have suggested it but honestly I'm completely against that and they were, too.

"Why should we let someone's comments stop us from what we're trying to do? We're trying to do something here and we don't want that getting in the way of what we're trying to do."

"The best way I know is to get them together and unite them together to play well. It is a distraction, there's no question about that."

"They're young men," Rivers said. "It shouldn't be African American men. We have two white guys. It's about being human. We're not going to get into what race we are because we represent each other and this is our team and that's the way we're going to keep it. No one was happy about it. J.J. Redick was just as pissed as Chris Paul and that's the way it should be.

"Having said that, our goal is to win the NBA title and we're not going to let anything stand in the way of that. That's adversity that we didn't want but we have it and we have to deal with it and we'll deal with it internally but we're not going to share it with anybody else."

Rivers on speaking to his employer Donald Sterling

"We have not and we have not tried honestly. This is something that Donald and his family and everyone else has to figure that part out. We don't need a talk. We don't need that. ... Not right now. I want to deal with my team. This is a distraction and for me, I'm going focus on my guys. I came here for them and they came here because of each other. Our goals have not changed. It's like one of the players said today, 'When I was a little kid and I had a goal to win a world championship, it was to do that. It wasn't to win a world championship for someone.' That's our thoughts."

Rivers on the audio tape

"I heard it all," Rivers said. "I wasn't happy. I don't like racism. It's something I don't want to deal with but it is real life stuff that comes into play and this is one of them and we're going to deal with it as a group together and that's all we can do."

Rivers on his team's opinion of the audio tape

"It upsets all of us. There's not one guy that's happy with this situation. Do you think I want to be talking about this instead of trying to stop Steph Curry? I don't. I don't like all the phone calls I've been getting and all that stuff. We try to keep clutter away from our team and it's been brought to our team and it upsets me and it upsets our team. Having said that, we have something that we're playing for right now and we're going to deal with that and the other stuff, we'll deal with later."

"It's disturbing, it's disturbing if you hear it from anyone. It doesn't matter if he works with us or for us. It's a disturbing comment but we have to be above it right now. There will be a time and a place for us to have a reaction but this is not the time or the place.

"We're trying to win a title and we're not going to allow something to get in the way. The league is going to handle this. The player's association will handle this as well. The biggest statement we can make as men, not as black men, but as men, is to stick together and show how strong we are as a group, not splinter, not walk. It's easy to protest. The protest will be in our play."

President Obama's Weekly Address: Congress Needs to Act on Minimum Wage

In this week’s address, the President highlights small business owners across the country acting to raise wages for their workers, and calls on Congress to give America a raise so more hard-working Americans have the opportunity to get ahead.

NBA Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson thinks Carmelo Anthony should leave the Knicks and join the Rockets

Story by Yahoo Sports
Photo by Getty
Written by Dan Devine

If Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson found himself in Carmelo Anthony's position — staring down the prospect of a summertime decision whether to return to the New York Knicks or seek greener pastures in free agency — his choice would be simple: "I would leave today."

The legendary former Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks guard, a 12-time All-Star who famously averaged a triple-double during the 1961-62 NBA season and won a title in Milwaukee in 1971, offered that advice to the Knicks forward during an interview with Robertson that will be broadcast on filmmaker/Knicks superfan Spike Lee's SiriusXM NBA radio show on Thursday. He went on to explain his reasoning:

“Wherever that kid’s gone, when he was at Denver, they had a team that fooled around with the ball, fooled around with the ball, then all of the sudden when they needed a basket, threw it to Carmelo,” Robertson said of Anthony’s time with the Nuggets. “Then, when he shot the ball, they said he shot too much. Then, when he didn’t shoot, they said he didn’t shoot enough. No matter what he does in New York, they’re going to criticize him, the people are going to criticize him, because you got guys on [the Knicks] that just cannot play.”

When Spike insisted things would change for the Knicks with the hiring of Phil Jackson, Robertson replied, “Let me ask you: When was the last time Phil Jackson played?”

“I think Phil is great to have gotten $12 million out of [Knicks owner Jim Dolan]. Super job. Take the money and run,” Robertson said. “If I were Carmelo, I would say, ‘Listen, I’m not gonna stay here and take all this gruff and all this criticism. You got other guys on the team making $12, $15, $16 million and doing nothing, and here I am averaging 28, 29 points per game.’”

So if not New York, what landing spot did Robertson see fit for ‘Melo?

“If he goes to Houston, they’re gonna win everything,” Robertson said. “You look at LeBron, LeBron’s got a great game, Durant’s got a great game — they can’t out-shoot Carmelo.”

A few thoughts:

• Technically, the earliest 'Melo could leave the Knicks would be July 1, after opting out of the final year of his existing contract and hitting the market following the opening of unrestricted free agency. But I get what Mr. Robertson's saying.

• I bet Kevin Durant and LeBron James could outshoot Carmelo Anthony. I mean, I'm not saying they'd beat 'Melo every single time they went shot-for-shot, but if they had shooting competitions a bunch of times, I'd have a hard time imagining KD and LeBron being unable to ever do a better job of shooting than 'Melo. They're really good at shooting, too.

• Robertson is absolutely right that some people in New York will criticize Anthony for anything short of winning an NBA championship. There are a lot of people who get mad at players for not being perfect champions in just about every city, but there are a lot of them in New York, with quite a number of them seeming to believe that the Knicks should be awesome because they believe New York to be better than other cities, which A) might be true but B) doesn't mean your basketball team just automatically gets to be great. As a result, 'Melo can be mostly awesome as part of the best Knicks team in more than a dozen years and catch flack for not leading it to a championship, as was the case last season, and he can be even better and catch flack for not leading it to something better than a 37-45 mark, as has been the case this year. On this score, the Big O is 100 percent correct.

• The last time Phil Jackson played in an NBA game was March 30, 1980. I'm not sure when the last time he played pick-up was, though. I wonder if his hook shot is still cash money.

• The last time Robertson played in the NBA was May 12, 1974.

• I'm not sure what either of those two facts has to do with anything.

• I'm sure the Houston Rockets wouldn't mind having 'Melo on-side right about now, especially with James Harden struggling so mightily on the offensive end. Then again, I'm skeptical 'Melo would be able to do much in the way of helping Houston handle LaMarcus Aldridge, which seems like the Rockets' main problem at the moment.

As some have noted, Robertson's opinion — while certainly nice to hear, since it's always nice to hear from the greats who helped make our favorite game what it is today — isn't likely to have very much bearing on anything relating to Anthony's impending opt-out, free-agent decision or ... well, anything at all, really. Robertson's suggestion that leaving New York would give 'Melo a better shot at winning a championship probably doesn't represent a grand revelation to the player in question; I'd wager that 'Melo had already conjured up that thought on his own.

As I wrote earlier this week, if Anthony truly wants to be on a contender immediately, the Knicks' present assets — in terms of players on hand, salary cap structure, future draft pick availability, etc. — make them seem like a losing bet, suggesting he may well be gone this summer. As our Kelly Dwyer wrote yesterday, there's not really a ready-made title contending fit out there for Anthony — the Rockets and Chicago Bulls come closest, but the fit could still be awkward and there's some salary-cap finagling to be done to make it work — unless he's comfortable with taking a more significant pay cut than just "playing for a smaller maximum contract." (The collective bargaining agreement allows the Knicks to offer Anthony up to five years and just over $129 million, while other clubs can offer at most four years and just under $96 million.)

Jackson's job will be to convince Anthony to both take that pay cut and that he'll be able to reconstruct a competitive roster (with very little flexibility in procuring upgrades) quickly enough to make it worth his while to stick around Manhattan. And if he can't, it'll be his job to convince Knicks fans that they're still "fortunate" and moving in a positive direction. These seem like two very difficult jobs. It's a good thing Jackson is very well compensated.

As Jackson goes about doing his job and Anthony weighs his options, Oscar Robertson will probably not have any role or impact in the proceedings. But now we know what he thinks, which is nice and, in conjunction with $2.50, will get you on the subway. Whether Anthony's of a similar mind is the much larger, and more significant, question.

KKK neighborhood watch in Fairview, Pennsylvania

Story and Video by Time

'It’s just like any neighborhood watch program. It’s not targeting any specific ethnicity,' says the Fairview Township chapter president. The group has distributed flyers around the neighborhood that read: 'You can sleep tonight knowing the Klan is awake'
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A local chapter of one of the country’s most infamous white supremacist groups has launched a neighborhood watch in a Pennsylvania town.

Frank Ancona, the “imperial wizard” and president of the Traditionalist American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, said leaders of the local chapter in Fairview Township, Penn. got approval from the national organization to form the watch, PennLive reports.

Ancona said the watch group was formed in response to a series of break-ins. “It’s just like any neighborhood watch program. It’s not targeting any specific ethnicity. We would report anything we see to law enforcement,” he said. “We don’t hate people. We are an organization that looks out for our race. We believe in racial separation. God created each species after its kind and saw that it was good.”

The group has distributed flyers around the neighborhood that read: “Neighborhood Watch. You can sleep tonight knowing the Klan is awake.”

The controversial move by the organization comes as white supremacist groups face renewed scrutiny. Frazier Glenn Cross, the founder of the Carolina Knights of the Klu Klux Klan, was charged last week for the shooting murders of three people at Jewish community centers near Kansas City. As the Klan’s membership has dwindled from a high of nearly 4 million members nearly a century ago, many splinter chapters such as the Fairview Township group have been working to increase membership, through efforts ranging from a new radio station sponsored by an Arkansas chapter to flyers distributed in several Southern states that read “The KKK Wants You!”

Fairview Township police are aware of the Traditionalist American Knights’ actions but can’t prevent them from forming a neighborhood watch. “There’s not a whole lot we can do about it,” Lt. Jason Loper told the York Dispatch. “It’s a freedom of speech issue and, while vast majority of most residents don’t agree with their philosophy, we can’t discriminate against them…or we’ll open ourselves to a lawsuit.”

Judge Sonia Sotomayor's 58-PAGE dissent to US Supreme Court Michigan Affirmative Action decision

Excerpts of Judge Sotomayor 58-PAGE dissent (link to full dissent below):

"A recent study confirms that §26 has decreased minority degree attainment in Michigan. The University of Michigan’s graduating class of 2012, the first admitted after §26 took effect, is quite different from previous classes. The proportion of black students among those attaining bachelor’s degrees was 4.4 percent, the lowest since 1991; the proportion of black students among those attaining master’s degrees was 5.1 percent, the lowest since 1989; the proportion of black students among those attaining doctoral degrees was 3.9 percent, the lowest since 1993; and the proportion of black students among those attaining professional school degrees was 3.5 percent, the lowest since the mid-1970’s.

The President and Chancellors of the University of California (which has 10 campuses, not 17) inform us that“ [t]he abandonment of race-conscious admissions policies resulted in an immediate and precipitous decline in the rates at which underrepresented-minority students applied to, were admitted to, and enrolled at” the University.

At the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), for example, admission rates for underrepresented minorities plummeted from 52.4 percent in 1995 (before California’s ban took effect) to 24 percent in 1998.

As a result, the percentage of underrepresented minorities fell by more than half: from 30.1 percent of the entering class in 1995 to 14.3 percent
in 1998.

The admissions rate for underrepresented minorities at UCLA reached a new low of 13.6 percent in 2012.

The elimination of race-sensitive admissions policies in California has been especially harmful to black students.

In 2006, for example, there were fewer than 100 black students in UCLA’s incoming class of roughly 5,000, the
lowest number since at least 1973.

The University of California also saw declines in minor ity representation at its graduate programs and profes sional schools. In 2005, underrepresented minorities made up 17 percent of the university’s new medical students, which is actually a lower rate than the 17.4 percent reported in 1975, three years before Bakke.

The numbers at the law schools are even more alarming. In 2005, underrepresented minorities made up 12 percent of entering law students, well below the 20.1 percent in 1975.

As in Michigan, the declines in minority representation at the University of California have come even as the minority population in California has increased. At UCLA, for example, the proportion of Hispanic freshmen among those enrolled declined from 23 percent in 1995 to
17 percent in 2011, even though the proportion of Hispanic college-aged persons in California increased from 41 per cent to 49 percent during that same period.

And the proportion of Black freshmen among those enrolled at UCLA declined from 8 percent in 1995 to 3 percent in 2011, even though the proportion of Black College-aged persons in California increased from 8 percent to 9 percent during that same period.

While the minority admissions rates at UCLA and Berkeley have decreased, the number of minorities en rolled at colleges across the county has increased. See Phillips, Colleges Straining to Restore Diversity: Bans on Race-Conscious Admissions Upend Racial Makeup at
California Schools, Wall Street Journal, Mar. 7, 2014,p.A3........."
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Link to Read Justice Sotomayor's Dissent, page 51 - 108: http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/13pdf/12-682_j4ek.pdf
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"......Colleges and Universities must be free to prioritize the goal of diversity. They must be free to immerse their students in a multiracial environment that fosters frequent and meaningful interactions with students of other races, and thereby pushes such students to transcend any assumptions they may hold on the basis of skin color.Without race-sensitive admissions policies, this might well be impossible. The statistics I have described make that fact glaringly obvious. We should not turn a blind eye to something we cannot help but see.

To be clear, I do not mean to suggest that the virtues of adopting race-sensitive admissions policies should inform the legal question before the Court today regarding the constitutionality of §26.

But I cannot ignore the unfortunate outcome of today’s decision: Short of amending the State Constitution, a Herculean task, racial minorities in Michigan are deprived of even an opportunity to convince Michigan’s public Colleges and Universities to consider race in their admissions plans when other attempts to achieve racial diversity have proved unworkable, and those institutions are unnecessarily hobbled in their pursuit of a diverse student body.

The Constitution does not protect racial minorities from political defeat. But neither does it give the majority free rein to erect selective barriers against racial minorities.

The political-process doctrine polices the channels of change to ensure that the majority, when it wins, does so without rigging the rules of the game to ensure its success.

Today, the Court discards that doctrine without good reason.

In doing so, it permits the decision of a majority of the voters in Michigan to strip Michigan’s elected university boards of their authority to make decisions with respect to constitutionally permissible race-sensitive admissions policies, while preserving the boards’ plenary authority to make all other educational decisions. “In a most direct sense, this implicates the judiciary’s special role in safe-guarding the interests of those groups that are relegated to such a position of political powerlessness as to command extraordinary protection from the majoritarian political process.”

The Court abdicates that role,permitting the majority to use its numerical advantage to change the rules mid-contest and forever stack the deck against racial minorities in Michigan. The result is that Michigan’s public Colleges and Universities are less equipped to do their part in ensuring that students of all races are “better prepare[d] . . . for an increasingly diverse workforce and society”

Today’s decision eviscerates an important strand of our equal protection jurisprudence. For members of historically marginalized groups, which rely on the federal courts to protect their constitutional rights, the decision can hardly bolster hope for a vision of democracy that preserves for all the right to participate meaningfully and equally in self-government.

I respectfully dissent."
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Link to Read Justice Sotomayor's Dissent, page 51 - 108: http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/13pdf/12-682_j4ek.pdf
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Statement by Rev Al Sharpton on the Supreme Court Decision in Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action

–FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE–

April 22, 2014 (New York, NY)–

“The Supreme Court decision upholding the state of Michigan’s ban of using race as a factor in affirmative action is a devastating blow to the civil rights community. The ramifications of this will be far reaching and could tie us up in endless battles. We must mobilize immediately for state referendums to counter this decision to protect the ongoing battle to redress the historic needed repairs to racial discrimination.”

-Rev. Al Sharpton, President of NAN

National Action Network is disappointed in the outcome in Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action. The decision to uphold a Michigan voter initiative prohibiting the use of race in admissions to the State’s public universities further heightens barriers of inequality for Minority enrollment at Colleges and Universities.

States that have banned Affirmative Action in College and University Admissions have tended to enroll fewer Black and Hispanic freshmen. With this decision, the number of underrepresented Minority students admitted to Universities would fall significantly.

The concept of Equal Opportunity Policies ensure that no person is disadvantaged or treated unfairly when applying for College, Employment, or other application processes because of their race, ethnicity or gender.

National Action Network will work to mobilize our members to the polls to vote in local and State elections to combat discriminatory laws that further stifle the advancement of People in our communities.

Michigan Affirmative Action Ban Upheld by U.S. High Court

Story by Bloomberg
Written by Greg Stohr and Sophia Pearson

The U.S. Supreme Court dealt a blow to affirmative action, upholding a voter-approved ban on racial preferences in admissions at Michigan's state-run universities in a decision that provides a blueprint for other states wishing to enact similar bars.

The justices, voting 6-2, today said racial preferences were a legitimate subject to be put before the state's voters. A federal appeals court had said Michigan unconstitutionally stripped racial minorities of their rights.

"Democracy does not presume that some subjects are either too divisive or too profound for public debate," Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in the court's lead opinion.

The ruling has both symbolic and substantive significance. A decade ago, the University of Michigan won a Supreme Court decision that let institutions across the country continue to use race as an admissions factor. The survival of the voter-approved initiative means that ruling is nullified for the university that secured it.

Black enrollment is down about 30 percent at the undergraduate and law schools since the measure took effect, according to the university's figures. Michigan is one of 10 states where race-conscious admissions are barred at public institutions, by ballot initiative or other government action.

Proponents of affirmative action said the ruling today, while not focused on the merits of the practice, is a setback for racial equality.

‘Nail in Coffin'

Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg dissented from the ruling. Sotomayor, who took the unusual step of reading a summary of her dissent from the bench, wrote that the court was "permitting the majority to use its numerical advantage to change the rules mid-contest and forever stack the deck against racial minorities in Michigan."

Chief Justice John Roberts has sought to steer the court toward a color-blind approach to the Constitution. Sotomayor wrote that Roberts's approach was "out of touch with reality."

Roberts responded that "it is not ‘out of touch with reality'" to conclude that racial preferences may "do more harm than good" by sowing doubt among beneficiaries about their own qualifications.

"This is another nail in the coffin of affirmative action," said Richard Kahlenberg, a senior fellow at the Century Foundation, a Washington-based public policy research organization, and a proponent of affirmative action based on income rather than race. "This moves us further in the direction of finding alternatives to racial preferences to promote diversity."

He added, "I think this was the right decision."

Socioeconomic Status

About a quarter of the U.S. population lives in states where racial preferences have been banned in public school admissions, including California, Washington, Nebraska and Arizona, Kahlenberg said. Many universities in these states are turning to students' socioeconomic status as a way of promoting diversity, he said.

Dennis Van Roekel, president of the National Education Association, which represents public school teachers and other employees, countered that the decision will make it harder to advocate for equal educational opportunity.

"Having spent 23 years in the classroom, I saw first-hand the important role diversity played in the classroom and how learning from people with different backgrounds and perspectives can benefit all students, our workforce and our country as a whole," Van Roekel said in a statement.

Political Restriction

Kennedy wrote for himself, Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito. His opinion distinguished, without overruling, decades-old Supreme Court decisions barring government actions that restructure the political process along racial lines. In a 1982 case, the court invalidated a Washington ballot initiative that had prohibited busing for purposes of desegregating schools.

"Those cases were ones in which the political restriction in question was designed to be used, or was likely to be used, to encourage infliction of injury by reason of race," Kennedy wrote. He said that wasn't the case with the Michigan initiative.

Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas wrote separately to say they would have gone further and overturned the political-restructuring rulings. Another member of the majority, Justice Stephen Breyer, wrote a separate opinion to say he would have ruled more narrowly than Kennedy.

Justice Kagan

Justice Elena Kagan didn't take part in the case. Although she didn't specify a reason, she was President Barack Obama's solicitor general when the administration had a chance to get involved in the litigation.

The justices in their last nine-month term overturned a core part of the Voting Rights Act, the law designed to protect minorities at the polls. The court also issued a compromise ruling that ordered tougher judicial scrutiny of university affirmative action programs.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said the Obama administration was reviewing today's ruling.

While Obama "opposes quotas," there are times when "considering race, along with other factors, can be appropriate in certain circumstances," Carney said.

Today's ruling involved different legal issues from those in past affirmative action disputes. Rather than deciding whether universities violate the rights of white students by using affirmative action programs, the court considered whether state bans on racial preferences amount to discrimination against minorities.

Unique Disadvantage

A federal appeals court said the Michigan measure put racial minorities at a unique disadvantage. The 8-7 decision said minorities are barred from asking universities for special preferences -- something athletes, band members and children of alumni could still do.

Proposal 2, as the initiative was known, bars preferences on the basis of gender or race in public education, contracting and employment. The university admissions aspect of the law was the only part before the Supreme Court.

Proposal 2 was spearheaded by Jennifer Gratz, whose reverse-discrimination lawsuit against Michigan became one of the two 2003 Supreme Court cases. Michigan voters approved Proposal 2, a constitutional amendment, 58 percent to 42 percent.

The University of Michigan's policies already are consistent with Proposal 2, Rick Fitzgerald, a spokesman for the school in Ann Arbor, said in an e-mail.

Academically Excellent

"We remain committed to the goal of a diverse, academically excellent student body, and will continue to seek to achieve that goal in ways that comply with the law," he said.

The Supreme Court has grown more skeptical of affirmative action since upholding it in 2003. That's largely because of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's 2006 retirement and the appointment of Alito to fill her seat.

Jon Greenbaum, chief counsel for the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a Washington-based nonprofit group, said Kennedy "is generally skeptical toward affirmative action but he hasn't gone as far as probably some of the other justices would like."

The ruling is a "step backward for racial inclusion," and although limited in its initial effect, may encourage other states to attempt similar ballot initiatives, Greenbaum said. "For now, it only applies in those states that have passed these types of referendums."

The case is Schuette v. Coalition to Defend, 12-682.

High court upholds Michigan affirmative action ban - Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, 12-682

Story by AP
Written by Mark Sherman

The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld Michigan's ban on using race as a factor in college admissions despite one justice's impassioned dissent that accused the court of wanting to wish away racial inequality.

The justices said in a 6-2 ruling that Michigan voters had the right to change their State Constitution in 2006 to prohibit Public Colleges and Universities from taking account of race in admissions decisions. The justices said that a lower federal court was wrong to set aside the change as discriminatory.

The decision bolstered similar voter-approved initiatives banning affirmative action in education in California and Washington State. A few other States have adopted laws or issued executive orders to bar race-conscious admissions policies.

Justice Anthony Kennedy said voters chose to eliminate racial preferences, presumably because such a system could give rise to race-based resentment. Kennedy said nothing in the Constitution or the court's prior cases gives judges the authority to undermine the election results.

"This case is not about how the debate about racial preferences should be resolved. It is about who may resolve it," Kennedy said.

In dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said the decision tramples on the rights of Minorities, even though the amendment was adopted democratically.

"But without checks, democratically approved legislation can oppress Minority groups," said Sotomayor, who read her dissent aloud in the courtroom Tuesday. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg sided with Sotomayor in dissent.

Judges "ought not sit back and wish away, rather than confront, the racial inequality that exists in our society," Sotomayor said. She is one of two justices, along with Clarence Thomas, who have acknowledged that affirmative action was a factor in their admission to Princeton University and Yale University, respectively. They both attended Law School at Yale. Thomas is a staunch opponent of racial preferences.

At 58 pages, Sotomayor's dissent was longer than the combined length of the four opinions in support of the outcome.

Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Stephen Breyer, Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia and Thomas agreed with Kennedy.

Responding to Sotomayor, Roberts said it "does more harm than good to question the openness and candor of those on either side of the debate."

Justice Elena Kagan did not take part in the case, presumably because she worked on it at an earlier stage while serving in the Justice Department.

In 2003, the Supreme Court upheld the consideration of race among many factors in college admissions in a case from Michigan.

Three years later, Affirmative Action opponents persuaded Michigan voters to change the State Constitution to outlaw any consideration of race.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the issue was not Affirmative Action, but the way in which its opponents went about trying to bar it.

In its 8-7 decision, the Appeals Court said the provision ran afoul of the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment because it presents an extraordinary burden to Affirmative Action supporters who would have to mount their own long, expensive campaign to repeal the constitutional provision.

Black and Latino enrollment at the University of Michigan has dropped since the ban took effect. At California's top public universities, African-Americans are a smaller share of incoming freshmen, while Latino enrollment is up slightly, but far below the State's growth in the percentage of Latino high school graduates.

The case was the court's second involving Affirmative Action in as many years. In June, the justices ordered lower courts to take another look at the University of Texas admissions plan in a ruling that could make it harder for public colleges to justify any use of race in admissions.

The case is Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, 12-682.

Song: Gin and Juice - cover by Brian Williams

Video from the Tonight Show

Ukraine Accord Nears Collapse as Biden Meets Kiev Leaders

Story by Bloomberg
Written by Julianna Goldman, Henry Meyer and Daryna Krasnolutska

Masked pro-Russian gunmen guard an entrance of the Ukrainian regional office of the Security Service in Luhansk, Ukraine, on April 21, 2014.Photographer: Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo

An agreement to ease tensions in Ukraine showed signs of crumbling as the U.S. and Russia traded blame as Vice President Joe Biden meets government leaders in the Black Sea country.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov yesterday “there will be consequences” if Russia fails to act “over the next pivotal days” to restrain pro-Russian militants in eastern Ukraine, spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in Washington. In Moscow, Lavrov called on the U.S. to hold Ukraine’s government accountable for curbing what Russia portrays as right-wing militias.

Pro-Russian forces who seized buildings in at least 10 eastern Ukrainian cities have said they are not bound by the deal reached by Ukraine, the European Union, the U.S. and Russia in Geneva on April 17. The government in Kiev accuses Russian President Vladimir Putin of stirring the unrest and exploiting the situation to prepare a potential invasion.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-22/ukraine-accord-nears-collapse-as-biden-makes-stop-in-kiev.html

My Pet Shark

Joey Polk tries to be inconspicuous while filling up with a giant mako shark in his truck; photo by West Calhoun

10 Degrees: Cuban trafficking grows into MLB's ugly secret

Story by Yahoo Sports
Written by Jeff Passan
Video by CBS4

Baseball's ugliest secret is now out in the open, and it is even worse than imagined. Not only does the sport find itself in the middle of a human-trafficking scheme in which men and women have allegedly been kidnapped, held hostage, forced to sign binding documents at gun- and knifepoint, threatened with mutilation and terrorized by those from some of the world's most murderous gangs, top officials from Major League Baseball and the players' union have shown little inclination to remedy even the smallest of problems in the web of chaos involving Cuban defectors.

More than two decades of misguided policy have left the league in an untenable situation, surrounded by sociopolitical mines. While the past is irreversible, MLB and the union's present misplacement of priorities – of not spending time, energy and resources to better understand what it can do to untie the knot it cinched – is egregious and must soon be remedied. Just because no clear solutions exist does not excuse the sport from shoving the Cuban paradox under the carpet as it has for years, particularly considering the latest news that a gang might want to kill one of its biggest stars.

Los Angeles Magazine and ESPN this past week recounted the story of Yasiel Puig's tortuous path to the United States, which included the bullet-riddled corpse of a smuggler, the involvement of the dangerous Mexican crime syndicate Los Zetas and a knock on Puig's door at Dodgers spring training from a heavy who wanted money – or else. Take that threat, and the alleged kidnapping of Rangers center fielder Leonys Martin and his family, and smugglers warning they would break Yuniesky Betancourt's legs in 2005 when he defected, and story after story of out-and-out mistreatment of Cuban players trying to leave their country and play baseball, and the silence from the league and the union, the two parties charged with protecting the sport's sanctity and the players' health, is deafening.

Baseball's version of human trafficking doesn't resemble the typical atrocities across the world, in which people, particularly women, are sold and traded, often into sexual slavery. Hundreds of thousands of Cubans have left the country to escape Fidel Castro's regime, traversing perilous waters in search of freedom. The price for a typical escape today: $10,000 per person. Baseball players are different, prized by smugglers as diamonds to be sold on the secondary market. Simply because the sport's victims often leave of their own volition and ultimately come into millions of dollars does not lessen the crimes committed by those looking to leverage themselves into a cut of the riches.

The problem is very real and very difficult, and the United States' embargo on Cuba only complicates the situation. Still, in no way does it justify baseball spending man-hours fining players for wearing untucked jerseys or the union launching an investigation into which executives might have talked publicly about Kendrys Morales' and Stephen Drew's depressed free-agent values when a system the league endorses invites criminals to play middleman.

Read more: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/10-degrees--cuban-trafficking-grows-into-mlb-s-ugly-secret-034704407.html

U.S. Stocks Advance a Fifth Day Amid Corporate Earnings

Story by Bloomberg
Written by Cecile Vannucci and Joseph Ciolli

U.S. stocks rose a fifth day, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (SPX) poised for its longest streak since October, amid signs of improving corporate earnings.

Newmont Mining Corp. advanced 6.2 percent as it discussed a possible merger with Barrick Gold Corp., people with the knowledge of the matter said. Halliburton Co. climbed 2.8 percent after forecasting profit growth for the second quarter. Athenahealth Inc. fell 5.3 percent after reporting quarterly earnings that missed projections.

The S&P 500 rose 0.2 percent to 1,867.75 at 12:35 p.m. in New York today. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 22.99 points, or 0.1 percent, to 16,431.53. Trading in S&P 500 stocks was 27 percent below the 30-day average at this time of day.

“The few earnings that we’ve had so far have been coming in pretty well,” John Fox, director of research at Fenimore Asset Management in Cobleskill, New York, said in a phone interview. “All the fundamentals still line up that stock prices can go higher. Interest rates are still low, the economy’s getting better. All of that is still a good environment for equities.”

The S&P 500 jumped 2.7 percent last week, the most since July to rebound from the previous week’s technology-led selloff, as corporate earnings from Morgan Stanley to Citigroup Inc. and Yahoo! Inc. surpassed estimates and Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen reiterated the bank’s commitment to supporting the economy.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-21/u-s-index-futures-are-little-changed-after-s-p-500-jump.html

South Korean President: Actions of sunken ferry captain 'akin to murder

Story by CNN
Written by Jethro Mullen, Kyung Lah and Will Ripley
Video link: http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/21/world/asia/south-korea-ship-sinking/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

Jindo, South Korea -- South Korean President Park Geun-hye on Monday likened the actions of the captain and some crew members of the sunken ferry Sewol to murder, as police made more four arrests and divers continued searching the submerged vessel.

The captain of the South Korean ship, Lee Joon-seok, is already facing a series of criminal charges for his role in last week's sinking, in which at least 65 people have died and 237 others remain missing. Many of them are students and teachers on a field trip from a high school near Seoul.

"The actions of the captain and some of the crew are absolutely unacceptable, unforgivable actions that are akin to murder," Park said Monday in comments released by her office. She said she and other South Koreans were filled with "rage and horror."

Read More: http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/21/world/asia/south-korea-ship-sinking/index.html?hpt=hp_t1