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 The Reading Room, Hallmark’s latest feel-good motion picture for television, has everything … except a strong, credible storyline.
 Thanks to the presence of James Earl Jones, Tim Reid and other actors, and the directorial work of Emmy-winner Georg Stanford Brown, the movie is saved from drowning in Randy Feldman’s lukewarm, sappy teleplay which struggles to “be real” … and relevant.
. Jones, an Academy Awards nominee, three-time Emmy Awards winner and  Golden Globe Award-winner stars as a recent widower William Campbell seeking to honor his wife Helen’s dying request that he open a reading room in a low-income neighborhood.  The wealthy businessman, who was born and raised in the same neighborhood, sets out to establish  and run the reading center in one of the buildings he owns. 
After three months, according to the death-bed wishes of his beloved wife, he can drop the program if he wants.  And, as with many films set in low income environs — translate: urban and ethnic, the overriding theme centers on overcoming-adversity-against-all-odds.
Unfortunately, in The Reading Room there is more concentration on Campbell’s internal struggle – which amounts to Campbell glancing at a calendar to mark time — than there is on the problems of struggling with reading, which reportedly affects 20% of the nation’s children.
The “do-gooder”  Campbell is challenged by characters straight out of 21st century blackploitation casting, including surly, burly tough guys, the “hater” who becomes a motivator, a baby daddy, a baby mama, the overpushy protective mom, the skeptical minister and more.  On the “kinder-gentler”  side of things, there’s the teacher, an at-first reluctant tutor, a long-suffering teen with hair challenges… all wanting to win something, on one level or another. 
And, speaking of scoring, on the tail end, there are the obligatory nonreaders who learn that reading is indeed fun.  By the end of the two hours, they will be “stars.”  Did we mention the next-door beauty shop?
That you don’t really see the soon-to-be reader  inching towards his goal; that you know there are parents in neighborhoods, inner and otherwise, across the nation, who would drag their kids to such a haven where tutelage is free;  that a minister would cop an attitude with a potential goldmine of a resource; that the distribution of flyers or glossy cards is the very first  – and for this businessman, cheap – step towards creating awareness in the ‘hood along with perhaps distributing free teeshirts – but free soda?
Cutting to the chase: living stories borne from real people and their good works abound in the very neighborhoods this film’s protagonist  sets out to reclaim and help build.  Except, unlike Campbell, these are real people. We don’t have to look far to name them.  In central Brooklyn alone, there’s Lemuel Mials and his staff at the Von King Park Cultural Arts Center; Tohma Faulkner, Brenda Fryson, and the Bed-Stuy Brownstoners’ core membership, Pamela Greene and Joan Maynard of Weeksville, Restoration’s “Rite Center”, the founders of the Malcolm X Library in Crown Heights and more.
In fact , Mr. Jones’ own story is primary material for a movie or book.  His enslaved great-great-grandmother taught his great-great-grandfather to read. “They did it in secret and at no small peril,” Mr. Jones said to a writer, adding, “and those who taught (the enslaved) to read, or who were discovered with books were punished because reading was acknowledged as freedom.” (Oh that those words could have gushed from Jones’ Campbell!)
Mr. Jones recently told a Congressional Subcommittee on Education Reform that 100 million Americans have “very low literacy skills”, with some not able to read above sixth grade level.
Several million viewers would learn a lot if Jones’ Campbell even mentioned that bit of information.
They might also learn a lot more if they play word games like Scrabble on Saturday, November 26, 9pm -11pm (check local listings) than visit “The Reading Room.”

by  Stanley Kinard
For the past week The Daily News has reported on unrest between teachers and the administration at Brooklyn Technical High School. The principal of Brooklyn Tech is Dr. Lee McCaskill, a black man, who for 13 years has led this elite school with distinction. Brooklyn Technical High School is one of 3 New York City’s specialized high schools. It is larger than both Stuyvesant High School and Bronx High School of Science with a population of four thousand five hundred students. While only eighteen percent of Brooklyn Tech’s population is black, there are more black students there, than at Bronx Science or Stuyvesant. Last year, Brooklyn Technical High School turned out the highest number of black students passing the Advance Placement Biology and Calculus exams in the nation. With Dr. McCaskill at its helm, the school has maintained it’s standing as an elite school with thousands of applicants being turned away each year.
Despite Dr. McCaskill’s strong leadership and accomplishments, there have been recent complaints about his ability to run Brooklyn Tech. The complaints against Dr. McCaskill center around three things: his alleged failure to reprimand his assistant principal for her treatment of teachers, the closing of the student newspaper and his failure to get the school radio station up and running. Dr. McCaskill has also been criticized for not utilizing computers in his school.
As a result of these complaints, The United Federation of Teachers recently held a demonstration at the school on Open School Night. It was a selfish, divisive, and irresponsible demonstration to do on a night dedicated to parent/teacher conferences, fortunately only a handful of teachers actually showed up. The teachers have used their newspaper, Pens and Letters, to question Dr. McCaskill’s qualifications to lead Brooklyn Tech. They have referred to him as Mbutu, the former corrupt and brutal president of Zaire, and have accused the Muslim assistant principal of committing academic terrorism.  This use of code words and references trigger thoughts of racism and tend to polarize people.  It is particularly irresponsible when coming from educators. Despite Dr. McCaskill’s qualifications as a licensed math teacher with a Doctorate in education, some teachers have even commented that he would be more suited to run a Music High School.
In the midst of this controversy, Dr. McCaskill has enjoyed support from various constituencies. Principal Emeritus Frank Mickens states; “Dr. Lee McCaskill is a superior educator for all kids. If they can attack his intellect, work ethic, and accomplishments then every Black and Latino educator should watch his or her back.” The Department of Education has also stood firmly behind Dr. McCaskill and his leadership of Brooklyn Tech.
This recent attack on Dr. McCaskill is part of an ongoing witch-hunt to discredit him and force him to step down. He has been subjected to personal attacks and unprecedented pressures as an educator. Furthermore, the racial overtones involved in this controversy cannot be ignored. We as a community cannot afford to sit on the sidelines and be silent in the face of such behavior from educators at Brooklyn Tech.
While teachers legitmate concerns should be addressed, the nature of the attacks against Dr. McCaskill, read as personal dislikes mixed with issues of race more so than a commentary on his competency.
There is no doubt in my mind that some of the issues that have been raised by the faculty can be resolved in a rational manner by the Tech community and the Department of Education. I support a student newspaper, and total utilization of all the computers, and would love to see the NYSE radio station operable. However, given the viciousness and racial undertones of the attacks upon Dr. McCaskill and his staff, a Support Committee comprised of Black educators, ministers, parents, alumni, and elected officials should be formed to support Dr. McCaskill. It may be Halloween but Dr. Lee McCaskill will not be subjected to a witch-hunt.

By Akosua Kathryn Albritton
Popeye’s Goes Cyber
Popeye’s Chicken and Biscuits is introducing new things on the menu and on the floor to enhance the dining experience.  Visit   Popeye’s at the corner of Fulton Street and Flatbush Extension.  There is an eight-seat cyber lounge.  Pay four dollars at the payomatic and a customer has one hour in front of a Web-enabled PC.  That is enough time to check stock prices, transfer funds between bank accounts, check for e-mail or just watch a WebTV channel.
This Popeye’s location has an ATM located near the service counter and a self-serve line.  How the self-serve works is a customer inputs an order into a machine and pays for the meal using a credit/debit card.  The food is packed and given to the customer by a Popeye’s employee.
  Popeye’s top brass conceived a comprehensive dining experience for QSR-quick service restaurants.  From a visit to the Popeye’s Chicken and Biscuits web site (www.popeyes.com), one will learn the enterprise’s roots are in New Orleans.  The founder, Al Copeland, opened his first restaurant in 1972 under another name.  Copeland worked out franchise deals with other people who wanted to follow his business strategy and recipe.  Today, Popeye’s Chicken and Biscuits is a division of AFC.  Two executives that were key to enhancing the dining experience are Bob Melberth, Vice President of Field Service and Chief Development Officer Jim Lyons.  Brooklyn has about ten Popeye’s restaurants.  Does the Popeye’s near you have a cyber lounge?  If it doesn’t, request that one be installed.  That Popeye’s franchiser understands the power of service demand.
Failure = US President?
If you type “failure” or “miserable failure” into Google search engine’s keyword bar and then click “I’m Feeling Lucky”, the top result will be US President George W. Bush’s Webpage (www.whitehouse.gov/president/gwbbio.html).  People are so fascinated by this result that there is a flurry of e-mail about it.  What does Google mean by this?  Is Google getting political?
Marisa Mayer, Google’s Director of Consumer Web Products, explained on September 16, 2005 in Google Blog (www.googleblog.blogspot.com) that the search result is not indicative of Google’s political bias and it is not an attack on the US President.  Rather, it is the result of the practice of “googlebombing.”  Googlebombing is the concerted effort of several Webmasters to raise the rank of a Web site or page in Web search results.  The Web masters connect a phrase or word to a particular Web page through hyper linking.  Google uses an algorithm that matches and prioritizes a word or phrase to a webpage.  Mayer says, “Because several webmasters used the words “failure” or “miserable failure” in the pages’ text and hyperlinked the words to President Bush’s Web page, the result is the US President’s Web page being the top result associated with those words.  Mayer is apologetic about the situation.  She sees that it’s unfortunate for the president “but Google is reluctant to alter [the] results by hand in order to prevent such items from showing up.”  As of October 25, 2005, the same result occurs when using “failure” as the keyword.
Broadband Over Power Lines Revisited
The COMTek and Manassas success that was reported in the October 15, 2005 column is part of an overall effort to democratize broadband and Wi-Fi (wireless Internet access).  Though the Bush Administration promises universal affordable access to broadband technology by 2007, his Republican colleagues in the legislature vocally favor private ownership over public ownership.
There is a grassroots movement to “free” broadband and Wi-Fi.  Some groups actively lobby Capitol Hill and others teach folks how to build free Wi-Fi networks (a.k.a. “hot spots”).  Major players in the free broadband movement include Free Press, Community Broadband Coalition and Anchor Free Wireless.  Manassas, VA’s feat is a “shot in the arm” for municipal broadband.  The other nine towns slated for BPL allays concern over blocking local governments from providing the networks.
To learn more about democratized broadband and Wi-Fi, visit www.freepress.net, //releases.usnewswrie.com/GetRelease.asp?id=49342, www.baller.com/comm_broadband.html or www.anchorfree.com.
Q & A
Q:  I’m trying to get into this Internet thing but all the abbreviations and slang give me a head freeze.  I was thumbing through a magazine and saw “Ethernet”, “NIC” and “IEEE 802.3.”  What do they mean?
A:  You have to accept that each business has its insider’s lingo.  After a while, the insider’s lingo becomes part of everyday language.  This is similar to Mexican-Americans saying, “La Raza” to indicate solidarity or Americans asking,   “Is it the real McCoy” because of a locomotive part invented by a black man named McCoy.
All three expressions in question relate to a Local Area Network or LAN.  The LAN connects many PCs that may be in the same building or town.  The LAN is telephone cable-bound.  Ethernet (ether network) is a standard communication protocol embedded in software and hardware devices intended to build a LAN.  NIC is short for Network Interface Card.  It’s one of the trays inserted in a port in the back of a PC.  An Ethernet cable is hooked into the NIC of all PCs that are part of the LAN.  IEEE 802.3 is short for Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 1982, 2nd month, 3rd subcommittee.  IEEE 802.3 is the set of standards in Ethernet protocols (the required steps) for a LAN.  What do you want from engineers-something easy?  Fughettaboutit?
Have a story about a virus, Web site or need a question answered?  Contact me at Akosua@plans4success.com.

By Eric Adams
On October 6th, at the very heart of rush hour and just 2 hours away from a mayoral debate, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly announced a terrorism alert. Citing the most specific threat against the city since September 11, 2001, the mayor chose this most unusual time to send an entire city into widescale panic. Mayor Bloomberg indicated that the announcement timing was due to either his concern about the information being released by an overzealous press or because he was concerned about jeopardizing the Department of Homeland Security’s ongoing investigation into the validity of the threat. Along with a strong denial of political manipulation, the mayor and the police commissioner stated that this was a public safety decision.
What the Mayor and the Police Commissioner won’t answer is if they deemed the threat credible then why a press conference instead of a mass mobilization of the NYPD. The fact is that there was no mass mobilization of the NYPD until Friday, October 7th. If, as both Mayor Bloomberg and Commissioner Kelly indicated, they had the information on the possible threat days before, why was there not a strategic plan in place before the terror announcement? Mass mobilization of the NYPD and its anti-terrorism resources requires no public announcement and is a common-sense step if they firmly believed that the threat was credible enough to terrify an entire city at the most hectic hour. Their overly cautious and deliberate wording in regards to their decisions is cause for a more in depth analysis of the motivation for a late-day press conference that just happened to be mere hours away from a mayoral debate in the Village of Harlem that the mayor refused to attend. Perhaps it is coincidental that Mayor Bloomberg had been receiving severe criticism for this political strategy and snub of the Black constituency and along comes the one thing that will always draw media coverage and public attention.a terror alert. Perhaps the mayor and the police commissioner are playing 3-card monte with public safety without even the courtesy of flashing the cards. Without a doubt and considering the lack of an appropriate local law-enforcement response to such an alleged “specific threat”, it appears that the current administration is placing public relations ahead of public safety.
In spite of the mayor and police commissioner’s rosy picture, NYPD manpower is at the crisis point. A logical question should be, how can the NYPD provide all of the expanded services required in this age of terrorism? More to the point, how many officers are assigned to the Transit Bureau, which seems to be the focus of the terrorism patrols? The deployment of manpower by the NYPD should be critically analyzed and deployed consistent with the level of threat. The random bag-search policy is an illogical gimmick that is providing an emotionally abused public a false sense of security while utilizing police officers as human magnetometers and WMD inspectors. The response to a possible explosives or WMD threat is to have a professional police officer stick his face at the opening of a knapsack to verify its contents. This ill- conceived policy is all flash and little substance. A recently recovered Al-Qaeda manual came up with a well-thought-out plan to avoid this low-tech terrorism prevention strategy. It simply instructed its members to avoid subway stations where the bag searches are being conducted. Perhaps the current administration could adopt a similar common-sense approach to combating terrorism. As long as the citizens fail to demand answers and accountability they will receive neither. Someone needs to report to the masses that “the King has no clothes”.
   Former NYPD Detective Mark Claxton coauthored this article.