Other Music from a... Different Kitchen

Managers within the Federal Air Marshal Service reviewed the files of 161 applicants and found that some had financial, employment, and criminal problems in the past. Of the 161 cases, 62 had been accused of domestic violence or assault, drunk driving, or sexual harassment, and half of those were arrested at least twice in the past decade.

Others had filed for bankruptcy in the last seven years, misused government resources, been fired, suspended, or made to forfeit pay in previous jobs.

104 air marshals who had been granted security clearances had been involved in 155 cases of misconduct when they worked for the Bureau of Prisons previously. Offenses included falling asleep on duty, verbal abuse, breach of security, physical abuse of an inmate, and misuse of government property and credit cards.

Between February and October 2002, there were 753 documented reports of sleeping on duty, lying, testing positive for alcohol or illegal drugs while on the job, or losing weapons

We couldn't really see how they were gonna top the jam packed debut issue of Scratch but they came pretty damn close. This issue finds Kanye West on the cover breaking down his equipment and humble beginnings. Other producers interviewed include the Alchemist, Havoc, 45 King, Neptunes, 9th Wonder, Jazzy Pha, MIDI Mafia, Trackboyz and David Banner. DJ's Green Lantern, Clark Kent, A Trak, Shortkut, and Scratch all give incite to their craft. Lot's of gear gets reviewed, scratching techniques are discussed and the birth place of Crunk is revealed.

Call it liberation or occupation, a dominating American presence in Iraq was probably destined to be more difficult, and more costly in money and in blood, than administration officials claimed in the months leading up to the war. But it need not have been this difficult. Had the military been as meticulous in planning its strategy and tactics for the postwar as it was in planning its actions on the battlefield, the looting of Baghdad, with all its disastrous material and institutional and psychological consequences, might have been stopped before it got out of control. Had the collective knowledge embedded in the Future of Iraq Project been seized upon, rather than repudiated by, the Pentagon after it gained effective control of the war and postwar planning a few months before the war began, a genuine collaboration between the American authorities and Iraqis, both within the country and from the exiles, might have evolved. And had the lessons of nation-building -- its practice but also its inevitability in the wars of the 21st century -- been embraced by the Bush administration, rather than dismissed out of hand, then the opportunities that did exist in postwar Iraq would not have been squandered as, in fact, they were.

The real lesson of the postwar mess is that while occupying and reconstructing Iraq was bound to be difficult, the fact that it may be turning into a quagmire is not a result of fate, but rather (as quagmires usually are) a result of poor planning and wishful thinking. Both have been in evidence to a troubling degree in American policy almost from the moment the decision was made to overthrow Saddam Hussein's bestial dictatorship.

THE MARKSMEN

in conjunction with

Lima Chips Press, Lil Ricky & DJ AC

present


TURNTABLE vol. V

The Original Producers’ Beat Lounge

Two full hours of FRESH beats from some of NYC’s hottest producers spun on digital wax by DJ KAMRON of "The Jump Off Morning Show"/Power 105.1

PRODUCERS: hear new heat from you and your peers banging properly in a club system. Find out which of your joints really move the crowd

ARTISTS, MC’s & A&Rs: hear some of the hottest current as well as the illest emerging beat makers and snatch up some fresh joints for your album.

Music Lovers & Beat Enthusiasts: there is just no better way to get up on the illest new tracks fresh out the studio.

PRODUCERS’ BEATS ON THE SET THIS EVENT:
Needlz, Baby Grand, Mr. Khaliyl, headspinnsz, Cee L. Oh!, The BollyHOOD, Heavy Metal, Soulfingas, Lez Lemon, Jules The Black Rhino, The Ratt Pakk, The Blue Room, Angola Red, Olu, Rich Medina, Jneiro, Jarel & more...

“No one can deny that the ‘Diva’ sneaker and my ‘Phat Classic’ are better quality and technology than Nike’s Air Force 1’s. Those shoes have cheap old technology. Jay-Z and other rappers are doing these sneaker companies a favor by putting themselves with these sneakers. The real truth is we don’t need them [the sneaker companies].”

"I can't imagine the great agony of a mom or a dad having to make the decision about which child to pick up first on September the 11th...."

You know how it go, Fox and Gav
In a navy blue Rov, stuntin' in Halo
On the I-95, keepin it live
In the hood, in the 5, front of Kennedy Fried (Whooooo)....

-- Foxy Brown "Stylin'" (mp3 courtesy Sandbox)

- Maritza Correia (aka my future wife). This Guyanese-American athlete is the first black woman to make the US olympic swim team: WestIndianTimes.net story | Olympic team bio | USA Swimming bio | U. Georgia bio | NBC Olympics website bio

- Daiane dos Santos: the 2003 floor exercise world champion and Brazil's great black gymnastics hope. (The New York Times)

The opening ceremony will air tonight at 8:00pm on NBC.

Related:
- The British-born supermodel Naomi Campbell to carry the torch during its final approach to the Olympic stadium in Athens tonight, WTF? (EURWeb)