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This video by YoutTuber rebeccabelin1 was created at ACote restaurant in Oakland on College Avenue New Year's Eve. It's just people -- hey, no one of color? -- saying some funny things. The camera holder says she looks like a Transvestite. A man says that the Flip Video camera she is using -- I use one -- looks like a cream sickle. I must agree. The only misgiving I have about this fun time is that all of the people in the video are, well, White. And I wonder what goes on where some folks in Oakland don't have racially diverse friendship bases. Undoubtely the person would say they have friends of color, but are they more acquaintances than friends? Friends are people you invite to join you at events like that one. They're the people you make a call to, not just see on the street. I hope the folks in the video make a concerted effort to have a friendship base that's racially diverse in the future. That's the real strength of Oakland, or at least it was.

This is another great "JibJab" video, this one on our California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. As JibJab put it: "This funny video has Arnold Schwarzenegger going after the governor's office, and he won't take no for an answer. Part political satire, part action movie block buster, all hilarious. Hasta La Vista, Davis!" It's a funny retrospective as we head toward the 2010 race for California Governor, one that's paced by California Attorney General Jerry Brown and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom.

This is shocking and hurtful news.  Diane was a force in the Oakland business community, not just for Blacks, but for Oaklanders.  Her Black Business.  The Globe Newspaper reports: Renowned throughout the Bay Area for her steadfast commitment to the African American community, Howell used Black Business Listings, Black Expo and SEEDS as her platform on which to advocate on behalf of African American businesses. A social and political powerbroker in her own right, Howell used her multifaceted enterprise to promote issues of economic empowerment, education access and political and social activism in every way conceivable. A native of Chicago, Howell was born on July 20, 1950, to Doris Howell and the late William Howell. She was baptized at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., and was confirmed at St. Edmond’s Episcopal Church in Chicago. Ever active in her faith community, Howell was a longstanding member of the Oakland-based East Bay Church of Religious Science, under the l

More at the Tribune From Tribune: ANTIOCH, Calif.—As more and more black renters began moving into this mostly white San Francisco Bay Area suburb a few years ago, neighbors started complaining about loud parties, mean pit bulls, blaring car radios, prostitution, drug dealing and muggings of schoolchildren. In 2006, as the influx reached its peak, the police department formed a special crime-fighting unit to deal with the complaints, and authorities began cracking down on tenants in federally subsidized housing. Now that police unit is the focus of lawsuits by black families who allege the city of 100,000 is orchestrating a campaign to drive them out. "A lot of people are moving out here looking for a better place to live," said Karen Coleman, a mother of three who came here five years ago from a blighted neighborhood in nearby Pittsburgh. "We are trying to raise our kids like everyone else. But they don't want us here." -- Antioch has been known for a kind of c

This really entertaining video brings attention to the work of a group called "The Lost Kids" who hold fundraisers locally in Oakland. This workshop raised $900 for Children's Hospital. For more information, visit http://www.myspace.com/thel0stkids

More at Inside Bay Area and at Piedmont USD : “Three 12-year-old Piedmont boys are waiting to learn their punishment for spray-painting the "N" word across a Havens Elementary School wall. Police are calling it a hate crime targeting teacher Marjorie Lawson, since it was scrawled outside her office. Lawson is one of two African-American educators in the Piedmont Unified School District. It's still not clear why the young suspects came forward on Dec. 4, but Piedmont Police Department Capt. John Hunt said the boys voluntarily gave statements to both school officials and a detective about the crime. "We then contacted the victim (Lawson) again, to let her know what we learned," he said. "She already had some information from Havens, but we wanted her to know we notified the juvenile probation department and it's up to them how they proceed legally," explained Hunt, who couldn't give too many details since the suspects are underage. "I can te

By The Blue Screen - NY Daily News : “The Giants have won 22 games in two seasons, and followed up a Super Bowl championship by earning the No. 1 seed in the NFC. So really it’s no wonder that other NFL teams would be interested in raiding their coaching staff. And apparently defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo isn’t the only one drawing interest. The Oakland Raiders are reportedly going to contact the Giants about speaking to offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride, too. Gilbride, who was the Giants’ quarterbacks coach from 2004-2006 before stepping up to offensive coordinator last season, was instrumental in the development of Eli Manning and helped turn the Giants into one of the most powerful and diverse offenses in the NFL.He also has head coaching experience, with the San Diego Chargers in 1997-98.” -- For some reason I'm not excited about Gilbride and that's because I view his offenses as static and inflexible. I also don't think he has the right temperment to coach