Absolute Brooklyn 8.17.2011: "Brooklyn-Harlem Connection" Introducing Domi Vee

About Me

My photo
"Middle East" New York, Brooklyn, New York
Tall in stature, but short on words. Low on expectations, but high on optimism. I'm a son, brother, uncle, poet, activist, leader, student and a voice. But at the end of the day, I am simply ME.

Friday, February 26, 2010

Governer David Paterson will not run for Governor this year, leaving the hot seat up for grabs.

Paterson to Drop Out of Governor Race

New York Times 2/26/2010

Gov. David A. Paterson, his administration caught up in a whirlwind of allegations about its intervention in a domestic violence episode involving a top aide, is set to announce that he is suspending his election campaign and will not run in November, according to a person told about the plans.

Mr. Paterson is expected to make the announcement Friday afternoon. It would end his campaign less than a week after it officially began, with an angry speech at Hofstra University on Long Island.

As he prepared for the announcement, some newspaper editorial writers were demanding something more than an end to his campaign: they were calling for his resignation. That only added to the increasing sense that it would be nearly impossible for him to run the state and the campaign with the abuse case in the background.

Still, as recently as Thursday evening, Mr. Paterson — who was elected lieutenant governor in November 2006 and became governor in March 2008 after Eliot Spitzer resigned amid a prostitution scandal — had said he would stay in the race.

But he also said in a brief appearance on Thursday that he was consulting with other Democrats. And many had said publicly this week that Mr. Paterson’s chances had been damaged, perhaps irreparably, by the disclosures that the governor himself had stepped in on behalf of David W. Johnson, 37, a close confidant who rose from being a young intern to being Mr. Paterson’s driver and scheduler and, later, to a wider role in Mr. Paterson’s operation.

Last fall Mr. Johnson’s longtime companion accused him of brutally assaulting her, telling the police that he had choked her and thrown her against a dresser. She also said that Mr. Johnson had kept her from calling for help.

Twice, the woman was granted a temporary order of protection against Mr. Johnson. But she complained in court that the State Police had pressed her to drop the allegations.

Then, on Feb. 7, the day before a court hearing about a final protective order, Mr. Paterson spoke to her on the phone. She did not show up for the hearing the next day, and the judge dismissed the case.

Domestic-violence experts and advocates said it was inappropriate for the governor, the most powerful state official and a close friend of Mr. Johnson’s, to have any contact with the woman. At the same time, questions were emerging about the role of State Police officials, who had initially described their contact with the woman as an effort to offer her counseling and let her know of “her options.”

But on Thursday, two people who had been briefed on the matter said that the head of the governor’s security detail, Maj. Charles Day, had contacted her himself. Former and current state officials said that was a highly unusual move, given that the State Police had no jurisdiction in the case.

The administration’s handling of the case will now be investigated by the state’s attorney general, Andrew M. Cuomo, who is himself expected to join the race for governor this year. Some government-watchdog groups said that given Mr. Cuomo’s hopes for the future, an independent prosecutor should be appointed.

The political fallout appeared to be devastating. Even before his speech at Hofstra last week, Mr. Paterson had resisted pressure from within Democratic circles to stand down in favor of Mr. Cuomo, whom many Democrats believe would have a better chance of winning in November.

When Mr. Paterson announced that he was a candidate at Hofstra, where he had gone to law school, the man who has been the state’s top official for 23 months — and had been a state senator for more than 20 years before that — presented himself as something of an outsider tilting against special interests in Albany.But through the day on Thursday, allies had urged Mr. Paterson to rethink his bid for election. Some said his political standing could not be salvaged. Among those who said Mr. Paterson should stand down were senior Democratic members of New York’s Congressional delegation, top Democratic lawmakers in Albany and a number of black Democratic officials, including some from Harlem, Mr. Paterson’s home base.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, before learning that Mr. Paterson’s announcement was expected, expressed concern about the turmoil that the allegations had caused in Albany.

“I think the whole thing’s very sad,” the mayor said. “It’s not good for the state to have a state government that isn’t functioning as well as we need it to function in these very tough economic times.” Mr. Bloomberg said he believed that Mr. Paterson had been “right” to turn to Mr. Cuomo to investigate the way the Paterson administration had handled the domestic-abuse matter.

“How the attorney general is going to proceed — whether he going to do it himself or have somebody else — I don’t know,” Mr. Bloomberg said. “I haven’t talked to him about it, but you know, the governor’s got to make his own plans.”

Thursday, February 25, 2010

YUME Radio V. 5 (Delirious)

CONSIDER THIS THE FIRST AND FINAL WARNING TO ALL OF THE BUM ASS MC'S OUT THERE!!!


YUME Radio V. 5 (Delirious)

The "Shock 'N' Awe" Campaign has commenced.

"MAAAA! MAAAAAAAAAA!!! THE REAL MC'S ARE COMING!!!"

Friday, February 19, 2010

New Green Street single "Moonlight Groove"


A-Live & Ren of Green Street

Facebook message from A-Live (2/18/10)

Whats up world?

We are proud to release our first single, "Moonlight Groove", off the new Crossroads project.

Listen and download now at http://usershare.net/0kparpdk3u5i or http://greenstreetrecords.net.

Moonlight Groove is produced by Renaissance and features Soupa and Ken Ross.

Also, if you are in the Boston area this Fri (2/19), we will be performing at Caskn Flagon's so come through and support good music! More details at http://greenstreetrecords.net.

Crossroads coming soon. Thanks for all the support as always!

-The Green Street Team

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Former NYPD Comish gets 4 years in the slammer.


Kerik Is Sentenced to 4 Years in Prison in Corruption Case
By SAM DOLNICK

WHITE PLAINS — Bernard B. Kerik, a former New York police commissioner who rose to national prominence, was sentenced to four years in prison on Thursday after pleading guilty to eight felony charges, including tax fraud and lying to White House officials.

Under the terms of a plea agreement reached in November on the eve of his trial, the prosecution and the defense recommended that Judge Stephen C. Robinson sentence Mr. Kerik to 27 to 33 months in prison. But the judge departed from the sentencing recommendations, giving Mr. Kerik a longer sentence.

“I think it’s fair to say that with great power comes great responsibility and great consequences,” Judge Robinson said. “I think the damage caused by Mr. Kerik is in some ways immeasurable.”

The sentencing was the end of a legal saga in which federal prosecutors denounced Mr. Kerik, a former detective who rose to the upper echelons of power, as a corrupt official who sought to trade his authority for lavish benefits.

Mr. Kerik, looking thin and clean-shaven as he entered the courtroom in United States District Court here, spoke briefly.

“ I make no excuses,” he said. “I take full responsibility for the grave mistakes I’ve made. Believe me when I say I have learned from this and I have become and will continue to become a better person.

“I know I must be punished,” he continued. “I only ask that you allow me to return to my wife and two little girls as soon as possible.”

As the judge delivered the sentence, Mr. Kerik sat impassionately at the defense table, flanked by his lawyers. Behind him, his supporters — including Geraldo Rivera and Steven McDonald, a former New York City police officer who was paralyzed from the neck down in 1986 — filled the gallery.

Mr. Kerik will begin serving his sentence on May 17. Prosecutors had requested that Mr. Kerik be sent to prison immediately, but Judge Robinson allowed him to surrender later to get his affairs in order in light of the longer sentence. Mr. Kerik has awaited sentencing under strict house arrest at his home in Franklin Lakes, N.J.

The sentence follows a fall from a rarefied perch where he wielded power with a signature mix of brash confidence and tough-guy charm.

He was a close ally of former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, whom he served as a bodyguard and driver. Mr. Giuliani then tapped him for a senior position in the Correction Department, and he went on to become the agency’s commissioner. As testament to his clout, Mr. Kerik had a jail named after him in downtown Manhattan. (The name has since been changed.)

Mr. Kerik later served as police commissioner, and his performance during after 9/11 attacks turned him into a national figure, earning him the respect of President George W. Bush, who nominated him to lead the Department of Homeland Security. That bid quickly collapsed in scandal, marking the beginning of the end of Mr. Kerik’s career.

The case against Mr. Kerik centered on charges that a New Jersey construction company, the Interstate Industrial Corporation, which was suspected of ties to organized crime, had paid for renovations at Mr. Kerik’s home in the Riverdale section of the Bronx. Prosecutors said company officials had hoped Mr. Kerik would help them obtain a city license.

In addition to pleading guilty to two counts of tax fraud and one count of making a false statement on a loan application, Mr. Kerik also pleaded guilty to five counts of making false statements to the federal government while being vetted for senior posts.

Prosecutors had called for Judge Robinson to make an example out of Mr. Kerik, and to punish him for his “egotism and hubris.”

Mr. Kerik’s lawyer, Michael F. Bachner, had asked the judge for leniency, citing his years of public service, and the dozens of letters of support written by family members, former colleagues in the Police Department, and even strangers who said they admired Mr. Kerik’s bravery.

After the sentencing, Mr. Kerik paused outside the courthouse, where he read a statement before being driven off in a black sport utility vehicle.

“I’d like to apologize to the American people for the mistakes I’ve made and for which I have just accepted responsibility,” he said. “As history is written, I can only hope that I will be judged for the 30 years of service I have given to this country and the city of New York. It has not and will not diminish my love for this country.”

When asked if Mr. Kerik intended to appeal the sentence, his lawyer said, “No comment.”

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

It's Official Tissue!!! Artwork & Tracklisting from NEW Meth, Ghost & Rae Album!


Artwork is official; as is the title. The group’s name is Meth, Ghost & Rae (No Wu Gambinos? Chamber Musik? Supreme Clientele? Ice Water(s)? Tic-Tac-Tical?). Here is the tracklist...More info on this coming soon....

01. Criminology 2.5 f. Raekwon & Ghostface Killah
02. Mef vs. Chef
03. Ya Moms (Skit)
04. Smooth Sailing (rmx) f. Ghostface Killah, Method Man & Solomon Childs
05. Our Dreams
06. Gunshowers f. Method Man, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck & Cappadonna
07. Dangerous
08. Pimpin’ Chipp
09. How To Pay Rent (Skit) f. Tracy Morgan
10. Miranda
11. Youngtown Heist
12. Break Breaka (It’s That Wu Shit)
13. Made Men (Bonus)

Silent Intelligent

Check out East New York Farms!


Last week we launched a new website for East New York Farms! Check it out at:
www.eastnewyorkfarms.org

The new layout will allow us to update events, press, photographs, and
announcements, so check back regularly for news. At the bottom of the home
page you'll find upcoming events and a link to our calendar. You'll also find
useful links for gardeners and some recent press about East New York Farms!.

Many thanks to Erin Woodard, a star volunteer who made this all possible!

We hope to see you outside once this snow melts--open volunteer days begin in
April, and our workshop season starts late this month and will go into full
swing in late March. Keep an eye out for more volunteer opportunities in the
future.

--The East New York Farms! Team

******

Questions, comments, ideas?
Contact us!
East New York Farms!
United Community Centers
613 New Lots Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11207
(718)649-7979
www.eastnewyorkfarms.org

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Something for the lovers! YUME Radio V. 4 (My Love is Free.99!)


What's going on? Silent Intelligent here to drop off something for all the lovers out there! I'm gonna keep this short and sweet...So from the lover in me, to the lover in you, I present: YUME Radio V. 4 (My Love is Free.99!)


YUME Radio V. 4 (My Love is Free.99!)

Saturday, February 6, 2010

New York City Police Manipulated Crime Data, Retired City Officials Say (Mayor 'Gloomberg' & 'Fooliani' r mentioned!)

Source: New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/07/nyregion/07crime.html?src=tptw)

More than a hundred retired New York Police Department captains and higher-ranking officials said in a survey that the intense pressure to produce annual crime reductions led some supervisors and precinct commanders to manipulate crime statistics, according to two criminologists studying the department.
Skip to next paragraph
Enlarge This Image
James Estrin/The New York Times

Rudolph W. Giuliani in 1995 discussing the crime rate. At left is the police commissioner at the time, William J. Bratton.

The retired members of the force reported that they were aware of instances of “ethically inappropriate” changes to complaints of crimes in the seven categories measured by the department’s signature Compstat program, according to a summary of the results of the survey and interviews with the researchers who conducted it.

The totals for those seven so-called major index crimes are provided to the F.B.I., whose reports on crime trends have been used by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and his predecessor, Rudolph W. Giuliani, to favorably compare New York to other cities and to portray it as a profoundly safer place, an assessment that the summary does not contradict.

In interviews with the criminologists, other retired senior officials cited examples of what the researchers believe was a periodic practice among some precinct commanders and supervisors: Checking eBay, other Web sites, catalogs or other sources to find prices for items that had been reported stolen that were lower than the value provided by the crime victim. They would then use the lower values to reduce reported grand larcenies — felony thefts valued at more than $1,000, which are recorded as index crimes under Compstat — to misdemeanors, which are not, the researchers said.

Others also said that precinct commanders or aides they dispatched sometimes went to crime scenes to persuade victims not to file complaints or to urge them to change their accounts in ways that could sometimes result in the downgrading of offenses to lesser crimes, the researchers said.

“Those people in the Compstat era felt enormous pressure to downgrade index crime, which determines the crime rate, and at the same time they felt less pressure to maintain the integrity of the crime statistics,” said John A. Eterno, one of the researchers and a former New York City police captain.

His colleague, Eli B. Silverman, added, “As one person said, the system provides an incentive for pushing the envelope.”

The survey, which involved an anonymous questionnaire, was done in coordination with the union representing most of the senior officers in the department. The questionnaires were sent to 1,200 retired captains and more senior officers; 491 responded, including 323 who retired from the department after 1995, the first full year that the department, then under William J. Bratton, used the Compstat system. It is based on the scrupulous tracking of crime complaints and a mix of mapping crime trends, identifying trouble spots across the city and holding precinct commanders directly responsible for attacking those problems.

The survey has its limitations. It is unclear exactly when the retired senior officers left the department, making it impossible to say whether any alleged manipulations came early on or had developed over years and across more than one mayoral administration. The Compstat approach has been widely replicated across the country and has been credited with improving police work in many cities.

Also, the questionnaires did not set out to measure the frequency of any manipulation. None of the respondents were asked to identify specific acts of misconduct, and none admitted to having done it themselves. In addition, it is unclear from the survey whether the officials who said they were aware of unethical conduct had firsthand knowledge.

But the survey asked provocative questions and clearly elicited disturbing answers. The retired members of the force were asked whether they were aware of changes to crime reports. Of the 160 who indicated that they were, more than three-quarters said the changes were unethical.

The department’s chief spokesman, Paul J. Browne, who was provided a copy of the survey’s summary on Thursday, said that two other significant, independent and more comprehensive studies had been done in recent years analyzing the integrity of the city’s crime statistics — one in 2006 by a New York University professor and another by the state comptroller’s office — and that he had found them to be reliable and sound.

The professor’s report contained this assessment: “We conclude, as did the state comptroller five years ago, that the city and department officials, and the public can be reasonably assured that the N.Y.P.D. data are accurate, complete and reliable.”

The researchers in the new survey emphasized that the responses — the questionnaires were mailed in September 2008 and returned in early 2009 — showed that most of the senior officers believed that Compstat has been a valuable management innovation. And even few department critics would seriously dispute that the city is much safer than it was in the early 1990s, with murders cut by nearly 80 percent and with neighborhoods, from the notoriously violent to the largely affluent, transformed.

The Compstat system was put in place by Mr. Bratton, Mr. Giuliani’s first of three police commissioners. Versions of the system have been franchised to hundreds of police departments, and it has been exported to scores of countries. It was adopted, and in some cases modified, by Mr. Bratton’s successors under Mr. Giuliani, Howard Safir and Bernard B. Kerik, and by Mr. Bloomberg’s commissioner, Raymond W. Kelly.

But as the city annually reported reductions in crime, skepticism emerged in certain quarters — several police unions other than the one that assisted with this survey, elected officials, residents in certain neighborhoods — about whether the department’s books were being “cooked.”

Concerns over crime statistics are not unique to New York. Police departments have faced accusations of tampering with statistics in Atlanta, Baltimore, Dallas, New Orleans and Washington.

Mr. Kelly, for his part, has said for some time that he had instituted a rigorous auditing system to maintain the integrity of the crime reporting operation. And Mr. Browne said Friday that every precinct’s books were audited twice a year, “and where errors are discovered, they are corrected and reflected in revised crime statistics.” He added, “In cases where it is determined that the errors were the result of intentional manipulation, the personnel responsible are disciplined.”

Mr. Browne said that under Mr. Kelly there had been 11 instances in which precinct commanders were disciplined, including one in which the official was demoted and three others in which they lost their commands. Last week the department confirmed in an article in The Daily News that it was investigating whether the commanding officer in the 81st Precinct in Brooklyn downgraded crimes or refused to take complaints from complainants to artificially reduce serious-crime statistics.

Mr. Browne criticized numerous aspects of the survey, suggesting, for instance, that many of the respondents might simply have been repeating what they had heard or learned from news reports about the “relatively rare instances that gained notoriety.”

“The survey’s biggest flaw is that a hundred respondents may be recalling the same lone incident everyone was talking about when they said they knew of instances when crime reports were manipulated,” he said. “Further, anonymously supplied answers are problematic because it’s hard to assess whether they originate from retirees who felt they were unfairly denied promotion or have some other ax to grind.”

Mr. Browne said that only 37 of the 323 retired senior officers surveyed had served as precinct commanders, arguing that only they would have firsthand Compstat experience. But the researchers said the survey included responses from aides to precinct commanders and higher-ranking officials who oversaw the work of the commanders.

Professor Eterno said the suggestion that 100 former officials might be talking about the same incident was “ludicrous,” and Professor Silverman said the department’s criticism of the use of an anonymous survey indicated a limited understanding of social science methodology.

The seven-page summary of the survey certainly indicates that many of the retired officials believe the system has gone significantly wrong.

Indeed, the researchers said the responses supported longstanding concerns voiced by some critics about the potential problems inherent in Compstat. The former officials indicate that it was the intense pressure brought to bear on the commanders of the city’s 76 precincts in twice-weekly Compstat meetings — where they are grilled, and sometimes humiliated, before their peers and subordinates, and where careers and promotions could be made or lost — that drove some to make “unethical” and “highly unethical” alterations to crime reports.

“Compstat was a good idea in theory,” wrote one respondent. “However the process rules managerial decisions. We do not manage to serve people but to lower crime statistics any way we can because your career depends on it.”

The two researchers are writing a book scheduled for publication this summer based in part on the survey; it is tentatively titled “Unveiling Compstat: The Naked Truth.” They provided a copy of the summary and the survey questions to The New York Times. They declined, however, to provide a full report until the head of the union with which they worked had shared it with the Police Department.

When Professor Eterno was a police captain, he worked in the department’s crime analysis and program planning section in 2004, when he left the agency. He is now the director of graduate criminal justice studies at Molloy College on Long Island, which financed the study. Professor Silverman studied Compstat and wrote a book about it in 1999 before retiring from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in 2003.

Roy T. Richter, the president of the Captains Endowment Association, which represents the retired officials, said the challenges that his retired members had faced — and his active members still face — were significant, as crime continues to decline and precinct commanders must continue to beat their previous year’s performance despite a force with thousands fewer officers.

He called the survey results “troubling,” and said that while Compstat can be an effective tool, to the extent that it is “used as a sword to subject a commander to humiliation before his peers, I don’t think it’s an effective management tool.”

More than a year before the N.Y.U. professor published his study praising Compstat in 2006, a city commission created to monitor the Police Department’s effort to fight corruption sought to examine the integrity of the department’s statistics. But while the department cooperated with the professor, it refused to comply with the commission.

And despite the efforts of its chairman, Mark F. Pomerantz, a respected former federal prosecutor, the commission could not win subpoena power for the commission, and it was never able to examine allegations that crime complaints were downgraded.

The department had argued that those allegations, like accusations of overtime abuses and domestic violence by officers that the commission had also sought unsuccessfully to investigate, did not fall under the panel’s mandate because the matters did not constitute corruption.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

WRBG x YUME Radio V. 232 (The G.O.D. Issue)

Hotep family! Silent Intelligent here with an exclusive collaboration issue of WRBG Radio and YUME Radio. I decided to do a joint issue to commemorate the mental, physical and spiritual elevation that I have been experiencing and beginning to fully embrace over the years. I recorded back in the beginning of January, and I had no intention on releasing it anytime soon...But due to the message contained within the music, I feel that now would be the best time to present this to you. The previous year around this time, I released WRBG Radio V. 3 (Black OUR-Story Month) to show the educated side of Hip-Hop, something that is seldom seen nowadays in mainstream media. With this issue, I am making an attempt to expose to the world, the spiritual side of Hip-Hop, which is why I titled it "The G.O.D. Issue), and when I say G.O.D., I mean "Gaining One's Definition." With all the brouhaha going on amongst the world, where the main issue tends to be based on belief (if you really get down to the bottom of it...well that and money.), I personally feel that religion does more dividing than anything. Now don't get me wrong, I am not a $atan worshiper or anything of the sort, I do personally believe in God, and I feel that the essence of God is within all of us...but there are way too many people that search outside of themselves for something that is already there. So with this issue, I hope you enjoy listening and more importantly, I hope you learn from this...This may HIS-Story month, but it is up to you learn OUR-Story and witness the glorious truth for yourself.

Also, if you are familiar with Supreme mathematics, you will be able to see the connection between...ya'll know what it is.

2+3+2=7

Don't know what that means? GO READ A BOOK!



Download:WRBG x YUME Radio V. 232 (The G.O.D. Issue)

Monday, February 1, 2010

WRBG Radio V. 3 Re-Issue (Black OUR-Story Month!)


Hotep! ('Peace', in Egyptian (better known as Ancient Kemet) Silent Intelligent here with something I found while I was digging through the archives...and in my opinion couldn't have come at a better time. I found my first "Black 'OUR'-Story" issue of WRBG Radio. I had a blast doing this issue, although that may not come across in my tone (remember, this was 3 issues deep) and I am sure that you will enjoy listening to these carefully hand picked "rhythmic lectures." Here is the original blog from the original release.

What's going on people, SilentIntelligent here yet again, with another broadcast of WRBG Radio. This one is special to me, being that it is Black "HIS-Story" Month and whatnot, so I took initiative in compiling some of the best tracks from hip-hop to tell you OUR story through music. Come accompany me on this eclectic journey as we vibe out to the sounds of:

Brand Nubian
KRS-ONE
Shabazz The Disciple
Pete Rock & C.L.Smooth
X-Clan
Nas
Eric B. & Rakim
Lord Finesse
Jeru Da Damaga
Real Live
And Many, Many More!

Be sure to throw this one on the iPod, this is definitely something to talk at the water cooler about.

Let's celebrate our history everyday, not just to the designated month that has been so GRACIOUSLY SET ASIDE FOR US. And this goes for everyone, not just Afrian-Americans, this is addressed to all walks of life. Whatever your culture, celebrate and embrace your history everyday.

DOWNLOAD:
WRBG Radio V. 3


Peace.

PS: I AM NOT TAKING ANY SHOTS AT NICK JAMES ON THE NAS REMIX COMMENT. I JUST FELT THAT THE BEAT DID NOT GO WITH THE SONG, AND I GAVE MY OPINION! THATS ALL! Personally, I like the beat. (check the MT out for yourself. LINK BELOW) I DON'T WANT PEOPLE TURNING INTO SOME INTERNET BEEF, DEALT WITH IT BEFORE, AND HONESTLY...THAT IS WHACK, SO REFER BACK TO THE STATEMENT ABOVE, BEFORE YOU START SOMETHING OUT OF NOTHING!

Dictated, not read,
The Management.


Nick James Presents: The Nas Remixes