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July 27, 2009 Thirty-five years after The Rumble In The Jungle—the Muhammad Ali-George Foreman Heavyweight title fight in Kinshasa , Zaire , Africa —many have forgotten about the concert held during the fight’s postponement. (Foreman had suffered a cut while training.) The gathering including the Spinners, B.B. King, Miriam Makeba, Bill Withers, Lloyd Price, Celia Cruz (The Queen of Salsa) and various Zairean performers. But the star of the show, was the Godfather of Soul, Hames Brown. While excerpts were included in the documentary When We Were Kinds, it centered on the comba6tants and some political commentary from Ali, Foreman, Don King and the Godfather himself. A new film, however, seeks to rectify this. * * * * Jeffrey Levy-Hinte’s Soul Power is a 93-minute film that brings the essence of the 12-hours of concert footage to life, and also includes commentary from Ali, for without him neither advent would have taken place. It also brings us the details of what life was like in Zaire and hoiw the concert was brought together. The film is currently playing in theaters around the country. A study led by Cornell University Ecology professor Gary Evans, shows a causal relationship between poverty, chronic stress and brain development. University of Pennsylvania Director of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience adds, “Experiential factors can include things like having fewer trips to museums, having fewer toys, having parents who don’t have as much time or energy to engage with them intellectually, to read to them or talk to them.” To view the abstract, go to the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. http://www.pnas.org/gca?allch=&gca=pnas%3B106%2F16%2F6545 * * * * Talk about a drama queen. There are reports that George W. Bush and his boss Dick Cheney, considered sending in military troops to capture the homegrown terrorists known as The Lackawanna Six. Finally cooler heads prevailed—namely Condi, National Securityt Council lawyer John B. Bellinger III, FBI Director Robert S. Mueller and Michael Chertoff, who was head of the Justice Department's criminal division. Where was Tom Ridge , then head of the Department of Homeland Security? * * * * \Black motorists passing through Tenaha, Texas, are seeing racial profiling taken to an absurd level, as they are stopped, incarcerated and then are forced to either sign over their possessions, or face money laundering charges or other trumped-up charges. All of these draconian measures inflicted under the misguided assumption that their driving nice cars and carrying large sums of cash fit the profile of drug couriers and their ilk. Many surrender their belongings without being charged, tried or convicted of a crime. Over a two-year period, more than 200 motorists were stopped and had their assets taken—everything from cash, jewelry, cell phones and automobiles—and in fifty of the cases were charges ever filed. In n 147 of the cases where assets were seized, no contraband was found. Town officials say it is fair and legal use of the state’s asset forfeiture law. The town’s Mayor, George Bowers, claims that the arrests and seizures are not a money grab and would not comment further. But State Senator John Whitmire begs to differ and claims many cities across Texas are doing it in light of budgetary woes. He called the action “Theft.” A class action suit has been filed in federal court. One of the attorneys working on the case, David Guillory, contacted forty such victims and all but one were black. Officers cite the fact that these persons were carrying large sums of money, but Guillory noted that all could account for where the money came from. * * * * Tom Ridge advised his Republican cohorts to be “less judgmental,” as the party membership launches an all-out war against gay marriage and abortion, issues not likely to be prominent in the 2012 campaign. Furthermore, their attacks on Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor were nothing more than the mewling of pissed off white men who fear their role in American society is diminishing. Her comments about the hope that the experiences of a Latino woman would reach a better decision than a white man—was taken out of context and was one made more than ten years earlier. Rush Limbaugh was typical, comparing Ms. Sotomayor to David Duke. Flamethrowers like that will drive young Hisp[anics away from the GOP for decades. Moreover, as long as media blowhard Rush Limbaugh continues to be the fat face of the party, the GOP will remain divided, as younger members play a more vocal role in their parties 2012 nominee. (My preseason prognostication—Romney.) Young Latinos and blacks see the GOP as a racist, old boys’ network and shun the party accordingly, even though blacks as a whole tend to be as socially conservative—if not moreso—as they are. * * * * Let me say right now, that I think President Obama’s health care plan, no matter what it looks like in its final form, will not pass—and thank God. I think it is much too costly, will force Congress to raise taxes, and despite the vehemence by which supporters say otherwise, it will do nothing to lower or control medical costs. * * * * I believe the key issue in 2012 will not be the wars abroad, nor homeland security, but the economy. If Obama doesn’t turn things around, he will be ousted after one term. If he manages to right the ship—unemployment falls below 6.5% or thereabouts, the stock market goes up, and the housing market bounces back—then anyone running against him in 2012 is on a suicide mission. By the way, the stock market is back at 9,000. On the day Obama was elected, it stood at 7,949.09. Foreclosures are on the rise, but in California housing prices are enjoying a slight upswing. Unemployment, however, seems to be Obama’s Achille’s heel, and if he can’t tame it—especially in Ohio , Michigan and Pennsylvania —he’s in trouble. * * * * Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face: If Lamar Odom, who made $14 million last year, refuses to take a $5 million a year pay cut to remain with the World Champion Los Angeles Lakers, and instead signs for $6 million dollars a year to play for the up and coming Miami Heat, then he needs his head examined. Unless the Heat re-signs Dwyane Wade next year and another heavy-hitter—in other words, LeBron James, Amare Stoudemire or Joe Johnson—they won’t be contenders for another ten years. ------------ About the author: Timothy N. Stelly is a poet, essayist, novelist and screenwriter from northern California. His novel, HUMAN TRIAL, is the first part of a sci-fi trilogy and is available from Amazon.com, allthingsthatmatterpress.com and in e-book format at mobipocket.com. website: http://stellbreadO@tripod.com Email: stellbread@yahoo.com 
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