MySpace seems close to announcing massive layoffs. This is sad for a number of reasons. But amid the discouraging news, I hope Rupert Murdoch has considered an intriguing opportunity to save the flailing social network: a new media platform for Chris Brown and Raz B to continue their online beef.
Please. Get them out of my Twitter feed.
And if that doesn’t work, I hope they decide to settle things with a proper Dougie-off:
MySpace. The Dougie. C Breezy. The Wizards. These are all things we probably won’t be giving much thought in 2011.
Anyway, on to a New Year of randomness:
1. First things first, shout out to Jamelle and Shani, who are guest blogging at TNC’s spot. Jamelle has got a good post up about race and economic mobility. (Nicole)
2. For the first time in almost 8 months, President Obama’s job approval sits at about 50 percent. Jamelle: “Obama may seem weak, but he’s still the most popular politician in the country, and as the economy improves, so should his approval ratings. If the Clinton years are any indication, Obama wins, easily, in a public stand-off with the Republican Party.” (Avon)
3. Rep. Darrell Issa, new Chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, plans to investigate the Pigford II settlement, likening it to that good ol’ conservative trope, the New Black Panther Party. Speaking of which, Adam Serwer completely demolishes (again) the “case” against NBPP. (Nicole)
4. Since taking over for Janet Napolitano as governor of Arizona, Jan Brewer has signed SB 1070, the state’s draconian immigration measure, into law, and kicked low-income Arizonans off of Medicaid. Are you ready for four more years? (Avon)
5. Kathryn Baer wonders whether it’s worth it, as some argue, for anti-poverty advocates to concentrate on winnable local causes instead of broad, national issues that require too much compromise for too little gain. (Monica)
6. If parents are looking for a safe place to raise children, Carla Saulter advises them to consider cities. (Blackink)
7. Jamilah King tells us that the Scott sisters have finally been set free in Mississippi. The two were given life in prison for armed robbery in 1994, and many have long argued the sentences were too tough. (Monica)
8. Sixty years after admitting its first black student, the University of Texas – the nation’s fifth-largest university – welcomes its first majority minority freshman class. (Blackink)
9. “Comfort women,” the Korean woman kept as sexual slaves by the Japanese military during World War II are slowly dying out, along with their hopes for compensation. If you have the time, Radio Free Netherlands‘ “The State We’re In” did a great podcast about this back in October. (Nicole)
10. From Haiti, Mac McClelland reports that displacement camps have become “hornet’s nest of sexual violence.” (Blackink)
11. A map of the many, many accents and dialects in the U.S. If you click on them, you’ll be linked to video clips of some notable person from that region speaking. (Avon)
12. Hank Stuever reviews Oprah’s new cable network and concludes: “There will be Oprah churches all over the world. OWN is just one step in a process that will more fully (and valiantly, it turns out) spread the Oprah worldview.” (Blackink)
13. That new Justin Timberlake song? Fake. (Nicole)
14. Colorlines has a great piece on the “white world of sports journalism.” (Nicole)
15. As part of its continuing efforts to globalize the game of hoops, the NBA is turning its focus on India. (Blackink)
