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If you have even a passing interest in the legal world, David Boies is a name you should already know. He’s possibly the most famous litigator alive. So when he walked in with the union on Monday, you knew the news was bad enough to jeopardize the season.
The union has abandoned its right to negotiate on behalf of the players in order to sue the NBA in antitrust court for massive damages within the next 48 hours, according to its revamped legal team. The players in attendance said the decision was unanimous — that the league had backed them into a corner with ultimatum after ultimatum, even after the players gave back the equivalent of nearly $3 billion over a 10-year deal by lowering their locked-in share of the league’s revenue.
“Collective bargaining has totally failed the players,” said Jeffrey Kessler, the union’s outside counsel and commissioner David Stern’s designated villain.
“We put all our proposals out there, and they were rejected,” union vice president Maurice Evans told SI.com. “There was nothing else to evaluate.”
The move will shift the process from the bargaining room to the court system, jeopardizing the season and infuriating Stern, who said on ESPN minutes after the union’s announcement that players had “been badly misled.” Stern dismissed the union’s move as a negotiating ploy that had been in the works since at least February 2010, when Kessler, in Stern’s telling, informed the commissioner the union would go this route if talks broke down. “We were very, very close,” Stern said, “and the players decided to blow it up.”
So Stern has his public relations victory — the players did it! — and a league on the verge of suffering the most disastrous labor relations outcome (apologies to the NHL) in major professional sports history. Let’s be clear about one thing: Nobody knows what happens now. The season is not lost, despite the doomsday rhetoric, some of which agents on Monday characterized as part of Stern’s plot to scare the players into taking the deal on the table. The union and the league could settle their lawsuit in days, and that settlement would include the guts of the next collective bargaining agreement.
And the court process itself is uncertain, despite the common refrain that the NFL players failed in going down this exact path. Labor experts say the appellate ruling that reinstated the NFL’s lockout, after a lower court halted it, is a tricky opinion that did not provide the complete victory the NFL sought. Legal precedent for this kind of case is thin; the NBA believes it gave itself an advantage by filing a pre-emptive lawsuit over the summer declaring any future dissolution of the union would be a sham, but nothing is certain now.
Global stocks and the euro fell on Friday as new doubts about Europe’s bailout package and worries over the outcome of a key vote in Greece overshadowed signs of improvement in the U.S. labor market.
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou faces a vote of confidence, with the fate of the nation’s deal on a euro zone debt bailout and the global economy in the balance.
Analysts declared the outcome too tight to forecast, but had a hunch Papandreou might survive the vote, which is expected as late as midnight in Athens (2200 GMT).
The bid for safe-haven assets rose, with government debt on both sides of the Atlantic gaining after German Chancellor Angela Merkel said few countries in the Group of 20 leading economies had committed to providing more resources for a euro zone rescue fund.
Merkel’s comment eclipsed relief over the decision by Greece on Thursday to ditch controversial plans to hold a referendum on its bailout, a development that initially had calmed fears of an imminent sovereign debt default.
Merkel’s comment highlighted the fragility of the deal reached to rescue Greece. At the heart of the deal is a plan to increase the euro zone’s rescue fund to give it firepower of 1.0 trillion euros.
Signs of some improvement in the U.S. labor market failed to lift the market. Labor Department data showed U.S. hiring slowed in October, but the unemployment rate hit a six-month low and job gains in the prior two months were stronger than previously thought, pointing to some improvement in the still-weak labor market.
Trading has been volatile on quickly changing news from Europe. The U.S. S&P 500 has registered daily swings of more than 1.5 percent this week. The benchmark index, which posted its best month in 20 years in October, was on track to post its first down week in five.
“There’s too much uncertainty going on. What Greece has taught us this week is that just when you think things are certain, they’re actually not,” said Camilla Sutton, chief currency strategist, at Scotia Capital in Toronto.
World stocks measured by the MSCI all-country world index pared losses to trade near break-even on strength in emerging markets. EPFR Global reported $3.5 billion flowed into emerging market equity funds in the week ended Wednesday, the second-largest inflow this year.
In Europe, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top regional shares slid 1.0 percent to 980.01, erasing early gains. The index posted its first weekly loss in six weeks.
Italian banks UniCredit and Intesa SanPaolo, heavily exposed to Italy’s sovereign debt, fell 6.6 and 4.8 percent, respectively.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who is facing pressure to step down, turned down an offer of funding from the International Monetary Fund, which has placed the country under supervision as it struggles with its debt mountain.
So much of our history is lost to us because we often don’t write the history books, don’t film the documentaries, or don’t pass the accounts down from generation to generation.
One documentary now touring the film festival circuit, telling us to “Always Remember” is “Black Survivors of the Holocaust” (1997). Outside the U.S.., the film is entitled “Hitler’s Forgotten Victims” (Afro-Wisdom Productions). It codifies another dimension to the “Never Forget ” Holocaust story–our dimension.
Did you know that in the 1920′s, there were 24,000 Blacks living in Germany ? Neither did I. Here’s how it happened, and how many of them were eventually caught unaware by the events of the Holocaust. Like most West European nations, Germany established colonies in Africa in the late 1800′s in what later became Togo, Cameroon, Namibia, and Tanzania.
German genetic experiments began there, most notably involving prisoners taken from the 1904 Heroro Massacre that left 60,000 Africans dead, following a 4-year revolt against German colonization. After the shellacking Germany received in World War I,it was stripped of its African colonies in 1918.
As a spoil of war, the French were allowed to occupy Germany in the Rhineland -a bitter piece of real estate that has gone back and forth between the two nations for centuries. The French willfully deployed their own colonized African soldiers as the occupying force. Germans viewed this as the final insult of World War I, and, soon thereafter, 92% of them voted in the Nazi party.
Hundreds of the African Rhineland-based soldiers intermarried with German women and raised their children as Black Germans. In Mein Kampf, Hitler wrote about his plans for these “Rhineland Bastards”. When he came to power, one of his first directives was aimed at these mixed-race children. Underscoring Hitler’s obsession with racial purity, by 1937, every identified mixed-race child in the Rhineland had been forcibly sterilized, in order to prevent further “race polluting”, as Hitler termed it.
Hans Hauck, a Black Holocaust survivor and a victim of Hitler’s mandatory sterilization program, explained in the film “Hitler’s Forgotten Victims” that, when he was forced to undergo sterilization as a teenager, he was given no anesthetic. Once he received his sterilization certificate, he was “free to go”, so long as he agreed to have no sexual relations whatsoever with Germans.
Although most Black Germans attempted to escape their fatherland, heading for France where people like Josephine Baker were steadily aiding and supporting the French Underground, many still encountered problems elsewhere. Nations shut their doors to Germans, including the Black ones.
Some Black Germans were able to eke out a living during Hitler’s reign of terror by performing in Vaudeville shows, but many Blacks, steadfast in their belief that they were German first, Black second, opted to remain in Germany. Some fought with the Nazis (a few even became Lut waffe pilots)! Unfortunately, many Black Germans were arrested, charged with treason, and shipped in cattle cars to concentration camps. Often these trains were so packed with people and (equipped with no bathroom facilities or food), that, after the four-day journey, box car doors were opened to piles of the dead and dying.
Once inside the concentration camps, Blacks were given the worst jobs conceivable. Some Black American soldiers, who were captured and held as prisoners of war, recounted that, while they were being starved and forced into dangerous labor (violating the Geneva Convention), they were still better off than Black German concentration camp detainees, who were forced to do the unthinkable–man the crematoriums and work in labs where genetic experiments were being conducted. As a final sacrifice, these Blacks were killed every three months so that they would never be able to reveal the inner workings of the “Final Solution”.
In every story of Black oppression, no matter how we were enslaved, shackled, or beaten, we always found a way to survive and to rescue others. As a case in point, consider Johnny Voste, a Belgian resistance fighter who was arrested in 1942 for alleged sabotage and then shipped to Dachau . One of his jobs was stacking vitamin crates. Risking his own life, he distributed hundreds of vitamins to camp detainees, which saved the lives of many who were starving, weak, and ill–conditions exacerbated by extreme vitamin deficiencies. His motto was “No, you can’t have my life; I will fight for it.”
According to Essex University ‘s Delroy Constantine-Simms, there were Black Germans who resisted Nazi Germany, such as Lari Gilges, who founded the Northwest Rann–an organization of entertainers that fought the Nazis in his home town of Dusseldorf –and who was murdered by the SS in 1933, the year that Hitler came into power.
Little information remains about the numbers of Black Germans held in the camps or killed under the Nazi regime. Some victims of the Nazi sterilization project and Black survivors of the Holocaust are still alive and telling their story in films such as “Black Survivors of the Nazi Holocaust”, but they must also speak out for justice, not just history.
Unlike Jews (in Israel and in Germany ), Black Germans receive no war reparations because their German citizenship was revoked (even though they were German-born). The only pension they get is from those of us who are willing to tell the world their stories and continue their battle for recognition and compensation.
After the war, scores of Blacks who had somehow managed to survive the Nazi regime, were rounded up and tried as war criminals. Talk about the final insult! There are thousands of Black Holocaust stories, from the triangle trade, to slavery in America , to the gas ovens in Germany .
We often shy away from hearing about our historical past because so much of it is painful; however, we are in this struggle together for rights, dignity, and, yes, reparations for wrongs done to us through the centuries. We need to always remember so that we can take steps to ensure that these atrocities never happen again.
For further information, read: Destined to Witness: Growing Up Black in Nazi Germany, by Hans J. Massaquoi.
Dr. Conrad Murray is on trial for involuntary manslaughter for the death of The King Of Pop Michael Jackson. The details that have come out so far are mind blowing. There’s a recording of Jackson talking on Dr. Murray’s phone. Jackson’s voice is almost unrecognizable as he spoke in a low, slurred tone about going on with the This Is It concerts. Dr. Murray’s lawyers are challenging the prosecution. They say, for example, that Dr. Arnold Klein addicted Jackson to Demerol without Murray’s knowledge. Dr. Klein was Jackson’s dermatologist and was also rumored to have been the actual biological father of Jackson’s children. Jackson’s staff have testified that his young children were right outside of his room as he lay dying. Dr. Murray even cried in court as his lawyers presented opening arguments. The big question will be why Dr. Murray continued to treat Jackson when his health appeared to be deteriorating so quickly. Prosecutors say not only did Dr. Murray give Michael Jackson the fatal dose of propofol, but the doctor was negligent in his earlier treatment of the singer. Murray’s lawyers maintain Jackson administered additional propofol to himself and that caused the singer’s death.
*It was just a few years ago that media outlets had a field day when shocking photos of a man dressed in drag–allegedly boxing great Oscar De La Hoya—ignited international headlines.
The photos depicted a man in a hotel room sparring in a fishnet body suit, women’s panties, high heels and a brunette wig. At the time, De La Hoya vehemently denied that it was him in the photos.
But in a recent interview with Spanish-language Univision television, De La Hoya—nicknamed “The Golden Boy” who reportedly generated more money than any other boxer in the history of the sport, an estimated $696 million–admitted that he did actually pose for the photos.
The photos caused a sensation in 2007, when De La Hoya’s lawyers did damage control by arguing that it was not the boxing great but a “bad Photoshop job.”
“His head is too small and it doesn’t even look like his body,” his handlers argued.
But during the Univision interview, De La Hoya said, “Let me tell you, it was me. I’m tired of lying, lying to people, lying to myself.”
De La Hoya said he was snorting cocaine and guzzling booze when the revealing photos were snapped.
At the time, the very married De La Hoya was having an affair with stripper Milana Dravnel, who sold the photos to the press. De La Hoya’s lawyers claimed that Dravnel was “out for money”.
Dravnel filed a federal lawsuit against De La Hoya, claiming that De La Hoya’s handlers coerced her into agreeing that the photos were manipulated. The lawsuit was settled out of court, but courthouse sources revealed that De La Hoya shelled out a whopping $20 million to make Dravnel “go away.”
De La Hoya allegedly also ordered Dravnel to return the heels, fishnet and lingerie he had posed in during the infamous photo shoot.
During the Univision interview, an emotional De La Hoya revealed that he had been battling alcohol and drugs for years. “My drug of choice was cocaine and alcohol. Cocaine was recent. I depended more on the alcohol than the cocaine.”
He also admitted that he had “cheated” on his wife of 10 years.
“We are obviously not talking Tiger Woods here, but I was unfaithful,” he admitted.
The boxer said he had contemplated suicide after hitting rock bottom with alcohol and drugs.
The boxing champ, who admitted said he had started drinking at the age of 9, revealed that he was deeply affected when his mom, Cecelia, passed away from breast cancer in 1990. He added that drugs and alcohol helped him escape the pain of his mother’s death. “It (drugs and alcohol) took me to a place where I felt safe, it took me to a place where I felt as if nobody can say anything to me, it took me to a place where I can just reach out and grab my mom,” he told the Mail Online.
Hall of Famer, Deion Sanders denied claims of divorceon his Twitter account after reports began to circulate that he was getting rid of his wife after 11 years of marriage.
He says he never filed divorce papers, however several sources are sticking to the story saying that it’s already been set to motion because he didn’t want his wife Pilar to become a reality TV star.
“Ladies and gentlemen I never address Ignorance but I must at this point. I’ve never filed 4 divorce and hadn’t made a statement to Any media,” he tweeted.
The two have actually had a reality show “Deion and Pilar: Prime Time Love” since 2008. And his wife has made appearances on several shows and other televised productions.
On the couple’s show, fans and viewers take part in the every day activities of the family of seven, which lives in the small town of Prosper, Tx.
The former NFL star is also a football analyst.
One by one, our NBA stars are finding other means of employment as the NBA lockout forges on.
The Washington Post reports that Delonte West, who made a little more than $1 million last year with the Boston Celtics, has taken a warehouse job with the Regency Furniture store in Brandywine, Md.
During his seven-year NBA career, West, 28, has been paid about $14 million, according to the Post. But West tweeted this week that he needed a second job “to stay afloat during the lockout.”
As previously reported, Kobe Bryant is reportedly signing with a team in Italy. But an overseas move is not allowed for West. During the summer, a judge rejected his request to be allowed to work abroad, because he’s on probation stemming from a weapons case.
After that decision came down, West, currently a free agent, tweeted that it was time to put his pride aside, and that he had applied for work at Home Depot. Apparently, that gig never came through.
The International Monetary Fund has warned there is a one in six chance that the UK could be heading towards a double-dip recession.
The IMF’s twice yearly World Economic Outlook report also said the world economy has “weakened significantly” and in a rebuke to politicians, claimed “policy indecision… has added to financial strains”.
It also said the UK economy will grow at a slower pace than it had previously predicted.
Its UK growth forecast for 2011 has been revised downwards from 1.5% to 1.1% and the IMF said there is a 17% chance the UK could be moving into another recession.
If the UK’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) shrinks for two consecutive quarters, the country officially re-enters recession.
For 2012, the IMF has reduced its estimate of economic growth from 2.3% to 1.6%.
The Government’s official forecast for 2011 growth remains at 1.7% although the Chancellor has acknowledged this will be reduced when it is next reviewed.
The UK’s economy was last in recession between September 2008 and December 2009, but growth has been sluggish since, increasing by just 0.2% in the most recent set of figures in July.
The suggestion from the IMF, based on share price movements, is that there is a chance the economy could shrink again – although its main forecast is still for growth.
According to the IMF report, growth in the United States is forecast to slow to 1.5% in 2011 and 1.8% in 2012.
Christine Lagarde, the fund’s recently appointed chief, has made repeated warnings that excessive austerity measures could cause another recession and urged European and US leaders to act to prevent a further deterioration in growth.
The former president of Afghanistan Burhanuddin Rabbani has been assassinated in a suicide attack on his home. Afghan and Western leaders have pledged the killing will not deter the country from its current path.
Police confirmed on Tuesday that Afghanistan’s former President Burhanuddin Rabbani had been killed in a suicide attack on his home, not far from the US embassy in a supposedly secure diplomatic zone in the capital Kabul.
“Mr Rabbani has been martyred in the blast,” said Kabul police chief, Mohammad Zahir. “A suicide bomber disguised as a visitor detonated his vest and
killed him.”
Rabbani had been tasked with leading peace efforts in the war-torn country as head of President Hamid Karzai’s High Peace Council. So far it had not succeeded in negotiating with the Taliban.
“Rabbani was supposed to meet two Taliban members in his house today. They might have killed him,” said Arsala Rahmai, a member of the Council.
No diversion from freedom
Karzai cut short talks with US President Barack Obama after receiving news of the attack. He pledged the killing “would not deter us” from continuing the quest for peace, adding that Rabbani was an “Afghan patriot who sacrificed his life.”
The assassination raised new questions about the ability of fledgling Afghan security forces to protect even the most prominent politicians as US-led forces begin a transition to Afghan security control.
“We both believe that despite this incident, we will not be deterred from creating a path whereby Afghans can live in freedom, safety and security and prosperity,” Obama said at the meeting with Karzai, the first since the pullout was announced.
“It is going to be important to continue the efforts to bring all of the elements in Afghanistan society together to end the senseless cycle of violence.”
Do you hear me? the Coast Guard officer shouted as the captain of the grounded. Costa Concordia sat safe in a life raft and frantic passengers struggled to escape after the ship rammed into a reef off the Tuscan coast. The dramatic recording made public Tuesday shows Capt. Francesco Schettino resisted orders to return to his ship to direct the evacuation, saying it was too dark and the ship was tipping perilously. The exchange came to light as the death toll nearly doubled to 11 after divers pulled the bodies of four men and a woman, all wearing life vests, from the wreckage. The Costa Concordia had more than 4,200 passengers and crew on board when it slammed into the reef Friday off the tiny island of Giglio after Schettino made an unauthorized maneuver from the ship’s programmed course — apparently to show off the luxury liner to the island’s residents. [...] the recording of his conversation with Italian Coast Guard Capt. Gregorio De Falco makes clear he fled before all passengers were off — and then defied De Falco’s repeated orders to go back. The audio, first made available on the website of the Corriere della Sera newspaper and authenticated by the Coast Guard, was broadcast throughout the day on Italian television to a stunned nation. The five bodies discovered Tuesday were adults in their 50s or 60s, each wearing the orange vests that passengers use, indicating they were not crew members, said a Coast Guard spokesman, Cmdr. Filippo Marini. Navy spokesman Alessandro Busonero told Sky TV 24 the holes would help divers enter the wreck more easily. Mediterranean waters in the area were relatively calm Tuesday with waves just a foot high, but they were expected to reach nearly 6 feet (1.8 meters) Wednesday, according to meteorological forecasts. The safe removal of the fuel has become a priority second only to finding the missing, as the wreckage site lies in a maritime sanctuary for dolphins, porpoises and whales. Smit’s operations manager, Kees van Essen, said the company was confident the fuel could safely be extracted using pumps and valves to vacuum the oil out to waiting tanks.
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