Citizen Journalism News and Citizen Journalism Videos // Current

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7 days ago

A Target of Corporate Crime shares his story about Crime & Justice

My name is Gerard Ange', This is my story... about this nightmare I have been living for the last six years. At the time... more

gerardange
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Indonesia, Surf Aid International, and Billabong

Have you ever been to an impoverished island and seen how you were helping it change or grow? Well, I did. I entered a... more

vanessa33
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Life of Brian No Longer Illegal in Glasgow

After 30 years of being an illegal explicit piece of cinematography Monty Python’s “Life of Brian” can now... more

ellatalk
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UN backs ousted Honduran leader

Soldiers take cover as they battle with supporters of ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya after violence broke out near the... more

ras_menelik
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Thoughts on the depressed state of the revolution.

what do you think?

ras_menelik
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President Obama - Your Turn: Join the National Online Discussion on Health Care Reform

The President asks you to submit your questions on health care reform and take part in an ongoing online discussion. He will... more

ras_menelik
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Cannabinoid Christmas

Somebody should invent a TV show where everyone could put stuff on TV

hunzedog
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Iran cleric backs protester executions

Editors comment: Iranian authorities have barred journalists for international news organizations from reporting on the streets and ordered them to stay in their offices. This report is based on the accounts of witnesses reached in Iran and official statements carried on Iranian media.

TEHRAN - A senior cleric on Friday urged Iran’s protest leaders to be punished “without mercy” and said some should face execution — harsh calls that signal a nasty new turn in the regime’s crackdown on demonstrators two weeks after its disputed election.

Hard-liners have ordered long sentences and hangings before, and some fear those awaiting trial by a judiciary whose verdicts reflect the will of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei could face the most severe punishments the Islamic system can dish out.

“Anyone who takes up arms to fight with the people, they are worthy of execution,” Ayatollah Ahmed Khatami, a ranking cleric, said in a nationally broadcast sermon at Tehran University.

Khatami said those who disturbed the peace and destroyed public property were “at war with God” and should be “dealt with without mercy.”

His call for merciless retribution for those who stirred up Iran’s largest wave of dissent since the 1979 Islamic Revolution came as Mir Hossein Mousavi, the nation’s increasingly isolated opposition leader, has been under heavy pressure to give up his fight and slipped even further from view.

Mousavi said he would seek official permission for any future rallies, effectively ending his role in street protests organized by supporters who insist he — not hard-line incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad — won the June 12 election. And an aide said Mousavi’s Web site, his primary means of staying in touch with supporters, was taken down by unknown hackers.

Mousavi alleges he was robbed of victory through widespread and systematic fraud. The regime rejects the claim, refusing to consider new balloting, and on Friday, the Guardian Council — Iran’s top electoral body — proclaimed the vote the “healthiest” held since the revolution.

Since the election, opposition protesters repeatedly have clashed with security forces who arrested hundreds of people, including journalists, academics and university students. At least 17 people have been killed, in addition to eight members of the pro-government Basij militia, officials have said.Editors comment: Iranian authorities have barred journalists for international news organizations from reporting on the streets... more

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added
10 days ago

A Somber Night at the Apollo: A Celebration of Michael Jackson

It all started with a family: call them Joe and Kate plus — actually, don’t; because unlike people for whom a journalist needs to make a far-reaching comparison in order to create relevance to her audience’s lives, this international supernova needs no such thing. Today, hundreds of fans gathered at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York to celebrate the life of Michael Jackson.

“Michael!” “Jackson!” “Michael!” “Jackson! ”The crowd bellows back and forth. The lights from the legendary theater glean over the audience of hundreds, yet it’s only supplementary to the light the crowd emits as it gives its best rendition of the “Thriller” choreography. Men, women and kids from different backgrounds, neighborhoods and even countries have come to be a part of the festivities.

Jean Deler made his way to the theater around 10 P.M. Earlier, he had a feeling something big was going to happen today, but he didn’t know it would be this big, “I was in disbelief. I thought they were just joking around. I had the 9/11 disbelief,” said Deler.

For Antoinette Powell, her attendance was a family affair— dancing with her mother and her kids, all of them belting Jackson’s lyrics. “ I remember I was in elementary school and my babysitter took me to see where he was filming “Bad.” I saw him waving as he was going into his limo and I know he was waving at me; nobody could tell me any differently.” “No,” said her mother, Cassilda Powell, “What he was trying to tell you was, ‘Tell your Mama I’ll be there in a minute.’”

Crowds huddle around as a woman in a blue MTA uniform perched a boom box on top of her head “Beat It” starts blaring from its speakers and fans keep up the dancing. Off to the side, there’s another huddle around 13-year-old Soumaila Traore. After a couple pops, locks and a brief moonwalk he coyly backs off. “Why’d you stop?” said a man two decades his senior, “It’s up to y’all now, we can’t do that anymore.”

Merely looking at the crowd lends itself to the generational impact Jackson has had. Traore said he felt compelled to come out—past his bedtime— to represent and support Jackson’s legacy. Even though he was not even born when Jackson’s greatest hits debuted, and the fact that there is a sea of NeYos, Justin Timberlakes and Ushers, he simply says, “I’m a fan.”

Vikki Taylor felt the same way: “When you grow up with Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5 you know how great they are.” But it wasn’t until a turning moment when Taylor truly saw Jackson as a superstar in his own right. His performance at the Motown 25th anniversary cemented his status in her mind; his talent and sparkling glove blinded her: “It blew me away.”

Though the music blares, people sing, cameras click and candles burn, a certain heaviness settled on members of the crowd. “I celebrated my grandbaby’s graduation today; I didn’t expect my day to end like this,” said Cassilda. “I was crying so bad; I was on the phone and my friend said ‘Why you crying? You didn’t know him, he wouldn’t be crying at your funeral.’ But that’s not the point,” she said wiping the tears from her face as she relived the moments

Reina Allen, 24, could not hold her tears though her friend tried to help dance off the pain. She knew Jackson a little bit better than the rest. A close family member served as a body guard for Jackson, and Allen recalled a much different Michael than who was projected on TV screens, “He was such a decent person,” she said. Despite Jackson’s physical death, she echoes what so many have said: Jackson’s music has a life of its own and the man from Neverland has truly achieved immortality.It all started with a family: call them Joe and Kate plus — actually, don’t; because unlike people for whom a... more

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added
11 days ago

A Somber Night at the Apollo: A celebration of Michael Jackson

It all started with a family: call them Joe and Kate plus nine. Actually, don’t; because unlike people for whom a journalist needs to make a far-reaching comparison in order to create relevance to her audience’s lives, this international supernova needs no such thing. Today, hundreds of fans gathered at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York to celebrate the life of Michael Jackson. (See photos at http://tiny.cc/VP6lP)

“Michael!” “Jackson!” “Michael!” “Jackson!”The crowd bellows back and forth. The lights from the legendary theater glean over the audience of hundreds, yet it’s only supplementary to the light the crowd emits as it gives its best rendition to the “Thriller” choreography. Men, women and kids from different backgrounds, neighborhoods and even countries have come to be a part of the festivities.

Jean Deler made his way to the theater around 10 PM. Earlier, he had a feeling something big was going to happen today, but he didn’t know it would be this big, “I was in disbelief. I thought they were just joking around. I had the 9/11 disbelief,” said Deler.

For Antoinette Powell her attendance was a family affair— dancing with her mother and her kids, all of them belting Jackson’s lyrics. “ I remember I was in elementary school and my baby sitter took me to see where he was filming “Bad.” I saw him waving as he was going into his limo and I know he was waving at me and nobody could tell me any differently.” “No,” said her mother, Cassilda Powell, “What he was trying to tell you was, ‘Tell your Mama I’ll be there in a minute.’” (See photos at http://tiny.cc/VP6lP)

Crowds huddle around as a woman in a blue MTA uniform perched a boom box on top of her head “Beat It” starts blaring from its speakers and fans keep up the dancing. Off to the side, there’s another huddle around 13-year-old Soumaila Traore. After a couple pops, locks and a brief moonwalk he coyly backs off. “Why’d you stop?” said a man two decades his senior, “It’s up to y’all now, we can’t do that anymore.”

Merely looking at the crowd lends itself to the generational impact Jackson has had. Traore said he felt compelled to come out—past his bedtime— to represent and support Jackson’s legacy. Even though he was not even born when Jackson’s greatest hits debuted, and the fact that there is a sea of NeYos, Justin Timberlakes and Ushers, he simply says, “I’m a fan.”
Vikki Taylor felt the same way: “When you grow up with Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5 you know how great they are.” But it wasn’t until a turning moment when Taylor truly saw Jackson as a superstar in his own right. His performance at the Motown 25th anniversary cemented his status in her mind; his talent and sparkling glove blinded her: “It blew me away.” (See photos at http://tiny.cc/VP6lP)

Though the music blares, people sing , cameras click and candles burn, a certain heaviness settled on members of the crowd. “I celebrated my grandbaby’s graduation today; I didn’t expect my day to end like this,” said Cassilda. “I was crying so bad; I was on the phone and my friend said ‘Why you crying? You didn’t know him, he wouldn’t be crying at your funeral .’ But that’s not the point,” she said wiping the tears from her face as she relived the moments

Reina Allen, 24, could not hold her tears though her friend tried to help dance off the pain. She knew Jackson a little bit better than the rest. A close family member served as a body guard for Jackson, and Allen recalled a much different Michael than who was projected on TV screens, “He was such a decent person,” she said. Despite Jackson’s physical death, she echoes what so many have said: Jackson’s music has a life of its own and the man from Neverland has truly achieved immortality. (See photos at http://tiny.cc/VP6lP)It all started with a family: call them Joe and Kate plus nine. Actually, don’t; because unlike people for whom a journalist... more