Report: Dallas Prosecutors Excluded Blacks

As recently as 2002, Dallas County prosecutors were excluding eligible blacks from juries at more than twice the rate they turned down whites, a newspaper reported Sunday.
The issue surfaced earlier this year when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the 1986 murder conviction of a black man accused of killing a white motel clerk, saying the Dallas County jury that convicted Thomas Miller-El was unfairly stacked with whites.
The Supreme Court cited a manual, written in 1969 and used until at least 1980, that instructed prosecutors on how to exclude minorities from Texas juries. Justice David Souter wrote that racial discrimination in the Miller-El case was unquestionable.
Bill Hill, who took over as district attorney in 1999, said his prosecutors don't exclude jurors on the basis of race.
"The statistics may show we strike more blacks, but it's not because they're black," Hill said. "It's because for one reason or another, they (prosecutors) don't think they are going to be fair and impartial."
Blacks still served on Dallas juries in proportion to their population, the newspaper's study found, because defense attorneys excluded white jurors at three times the rate they rejected blacks.
The Dallas Morning News examined jury selection in cases from 2002, reviewing more than 6,500 juror information cards, studying transcripts of juror questioning, and analyzing lawyers' strike patterns.

Black Mans Favorite Words? (video)

This is a video sent to me by a female visitor, she titled in Black Mans Favorite Words. Maybe someone can tell me if it's true. Is this racist? And what about the show? Is this jew exploitation and profit at its finest?

Hundreds clash during Belfast N Ireland riots

About 400 nationalists and loyalists have clashed during several hours of rioting in east Belfast.
The violence erupted in Cluan Place and Clandeboye Gardens at about 1800 BST on Saturday. The police said bottles and bricks were thrown. One man was hurt.

Up to five shots were heard during the rioting. Army technical officers made safe a suspect device found in Clandeboye Gardens at about 0130 BST.

As they left, bottles were thrown at police vehicles. One man was arrested.

Top general: Army preparing for 4 more years Troop level in Iraq would remain the same thru 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. Army is making plans to keep the current number of soldiers in Iraq -- well over 100,000 -- for four more years, the Army's top general said Saturday.

In an Associated Press interview, Gen. Peter Schoomaker said the Army is prepared for the "worst case" in terms of the required level of troops in Iraq. He said the number could be adjusted lower, if called for, by slowing troop rotation or by shortening tours for soldiers.

Even Republican Says Iraq is like Vietnam

A leading Republican senator and prospective presidential candidate said Sunday that the war in Iraq has destabilized the Middle East and is looking more like the Vietnam conflict from a generation ago.

Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel (news, bio, voting record), who received two Purple Hearts and other military honors for his service in Vietnam, reiterated his position that the United States needs to develop a strategy to leave Iraq.

Hagel scoffed at the idea that U.S. troops could be in Iraq four years from now at levels above 100,000, a contingency for which the Pentagon is preparing.

"We should start figuring out how we get out of there," Hagel said on "This Week" on ABC. "But with this understanding, we cannot leave a vacuum that further destabilizes the Middle East. I think our involvement there has destabilized the Middle East. And the longer we stay there, I think the further destabilization will occur."

Hagel said "stay the course" is not a policy. "By any standard, when you analyze 2 1/2 years in Iraq ... we're not winning," he said.

Four Star General Firing May Be Much More Than Meets The Eye (story here)

The Story that may have gotten this Blog Fragged by the Feds!