Zimbabwe leaders resume power-sharing talks. On Monday, Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai resumed their power-sharing talks, mediated by South African President Thabo Mbeki, reports The Associated Press. The talks, which follow June’s disputed run-off election, have been at a standstill. The main point they can’t seem to agree on is how much power Mugabe should give up. Tsvangirai (who believes he fairly won the first round of elections in March, and says he dropped out of June’s race because of government-sponsored violence against his supporters) wants Mugabe to be only a ceremonial president while he holds most of the power. If that doesn’t happen, he wants “elections under international supervision and see who will carry the day,” he said at a Movement for Democratic Change party rally Sunday.  Mugabe, the country’s longtime leader, is opposed to relinquishing power and recently threatened to go ahead and appoint a Cabinet without help from Tsvangirai. But the opposition leader made it clear he’s not budging. “We should not be pushed into a deal. We would rather have no deal than get a bad deal,” he said at the rally. He has also been vocal about the South African president’s effectiveness as a mediator, saying that President Mbeki is biased toward Mugabe and should be relieved of his duties, reports the news service. “The biggest problem we have is there are people who are putting pressure on the MDC, not (on) Mugabe,” Tsvangirai said at the rally.

Swaziland king catches heat for flossin’ at his party. Last weekend’s party in Swaziland , celebrating both King Mswati III’s 40^th birthday and the African nation’s 40^th independence day, left many up in arms. The lavish event, which could have cost anywhere between $2.5 million and $12.5 million, have many people wondering why so much money would be spent on a single shindig while most of the nation is struggling. Swaziland has the highest AIDS rate in the world and, ironically, only 25 percent of citizens reach the age of 40. Hit hard by the AIDS epidemic, life expectancy in the nation is less than 31 years, reports CNN. Despite those depressing stats, King Mswati III was driven around a stadium in a BMW in front of thousands of cheering people during the celebration. Before the event, people protested against its high cost. “I’m aware that many in the world might be wondering why we are so excited about the celebrations of our 40^th anniversary. The answer is simple. We are celebrating our nationhood,” King Mswati told the audience. That was the closest he came to acknowledging his citizen’s general discontent, adding that citizens should do more to fight AIDS and appealing to tourists. “We are telling a world full of prejudices that we are a happy nation in spite of the challenges that face us,” he said. Zimbabwe leader Robert Mugabe made an appearance as well and was greeted by cheers from the crowd. A controversial and unpopular figure in the international community, many in the region like Mugabe for his stance against the West. The king and his 13 wives have been criticized for their expensive lifestyle. Adding fuel to those concerns, eight of his wives hopped a plane and flew to Dubai ahead of the party to buy birthday outfits.

He’s walking in the steps of LBJ and MLK, both champions of the poor

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, taking a cue from such anti-poverty crusaders as President Lyndon B. Johnson and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., says it’s time to launch a full-frontal assault on poverty. “We need to re-invest in America,” the 66-year-old civil rights leader told a crowd of nearly 300 people in Chicago during a fund-raiser for Covenant United Methodist Church. The speech attracted Democrats and Republicans, and it did not address either political party. That’s because it’s not all about politics or presidential campaigns, said Jackson, who is pushing voter registration and education. “Change has to come from the bottom up, not just the top down,” Jackson said at a news conference prior to his speech.

The youngest son of Martin Luther King Jr. fights back

Two children of Martin Luther King Jr. have been sued by the institution their mother founded, under allegations by their brother that they have used The King Center for Nonviolent Change for personal gain. Dexter King, the center’s chairman, filed the lawsuit Monday against his brother and sister, Martin Luther King III and Bernice King, in a countersuit to the one his siblings filed against him earlier this year. Dexter says his siblings have established foundations in direct competition with The King Center for Nonviolent Change, according to The Associated Press. Dexter King also says in the lawsuit that his brother used the center without permission to meet with then-presidential candidate John Edwards in January 2008. In July, Bernice and Martin Luther King III sued their brother to force him to open the books of their father’s estate.

Worked with Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin

The man who helped make Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin and Wilson Pickett soul music legends has died at age 91. Wexler, who helped produce hits including Franklin’s “Respect” and many other notable tunes by seminal Black recording artists, passed away last week at his Florida home. Richard Schiff portrays Wexler in the 2004 feature film Ray, starring Jamie Foxx.

Disney wants Spike Lee to shut up

Execs backing a forthcoming Spike Lee flick agree with Clint Eastwood that Lee should “shut his mouth.” Lee recently called out Eastwood for the lack of Black actors in two of Eastwood’s war movies, in an obvious attempt to draw attention to Lee’s forthcoming Miracle at St. Anna, a film about Black soldiers in Europe during World War II. Eastwood dissed Lee in return, before Lee called him “an angry old man.” But Disney’s afraid that Miracle at St. Anna, starring actor Michael Ealy, could possibly lose recognition, Lee tells Entertainment Weekly. “I get the thing, ‘Well Mr. Eastwood is so well-beloved,’ and this may have ramifications at Academy time,’” Lee says. “But it’s over. I said what I had to say. He believes what he believes. And that’s that.”

Diddy drops two new fragrances. After succeeding with Unforgivable – aided by the controversy over a sexually suggestive commercial – Diddy’s back with more in the fragrance department. The I Am King cologne has been announced as Sean John’s next product. I Am Queen will follow as the fragrance for women – or for men who want to smell, well…different. Macy’s will begin selling the new cologne in December, just in time for Christmas. New reality show, new colognes and new money – what a combination.

The 49-year-old New Yorker was ignored for more than an hour.
A shocking in-house video shows that a psychiatric patient at a troubled New York hospital fell out of her chair and was left to die on the emergency room floor as hospital staff walked past but refused to react for almost an hour. Read the article; watch the video here; and comment.

The project is less than $5 million from its $100 million goal
The seemingly insurmountable mound of money needed to complete the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial is just a hair off the mark now, and construction for the historic landmark featuring an African-American leader is expected to kick off soon, according to the foundation responsible for overseeing the project. After an intense feud over the design of the memorial – particularly disagreement over the statue of the slain civil rights leader – the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts is reportedly close to approving a new concept, and construction is slated to be complete within two years. In recent weeks, the Commission’s secretary blasted the proposal for the centerpiece statue, to be sculpted by Lei Yixin of China, saying that King looked angry and “confrontational.” The design shows King, with his arms crossed, rising from two large blocks, which represent the Mountain of Despair and the Stone of Hope. The statue is the centerpiece of the memorial, which will reside on the Tidal Basin near the Jefferson, Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt memorials. In a statement issued at a fundraiser last week, Harry Johnson, president and CEO of the memorial foundation, said, “The memorial foundation has had an ongoing and productive dialogue with the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, and we are proud that our collective hard work has led us to a design solution that will honor the ideals of democracy, justice, hope and love for which Dr. King stood.”

Man pleads guilty of threatening NAACP members
An elderly White man from Maine pleaded guilty Tuesday of threatening to shoot NAACP members if they showed up for meetings. Kendrick Sawyer, 75, of Brewer, Maine, admitted terrorizing and threatening to kill. He was arrested in November after somebody reported Sawyer’s hostility after he told medical professionals that he planned on killing. Taking into account Sawyer’s mental state, District Attorney Evert Fowler, the NAACP’s president and attorney agreed that Sawyer should be placed on adminstrative release for a year. When that is over, NAACP members will get together with Fowle and let him know if they are satisfied with Sawyer’s “progress, sincerity and compliance with the conditions,” WCHS TV reports. “If they are satisfied, Sawyer may withdraw his guilty plea. If they are not, Sawyer will face another year of administrative release and cannot withdraw the plea.” Following Sawyer’s threats in December, the Bangor Chapter of the NAACP cancelled its Kawanzaa event, moving its meetings to Unitarian Universalist Church in Bangor.

Native American heads largest Protestant denomination
The Rev. Johnny Hunt, a Native American pastor of a 7,000-member church in Georgia, was elected Tuesday as president of the Southern Baptist Convention, the nation’s largest Protestant denomination. Hunt, a member of the North Carolina-based Lumbee Indian tribe, will face some daunting challenges as perhaps the denomination’s first Native American leader. Not only has the Southern Baptist Convention seen a hemorrhage of members in recent years, but fewer people are seeking baptisms, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Hunt, 55, beat out five other candidates for the unpaid job that transforms him into the public face of the denomination for the next year. His election, at the SBC’s annual meeting in Indianapolis, is seen as a victory for the more fundamentalist wing of the denomination, which led the conservative resurgence that began in the late 1970s and takes a hard line on the inerrancy of Scripture. It is seen as a rejection of young reformers, who have questioned the SBC leadership’s reluctance to consider a wider range of issues such as its bans on alcohol consumption and female pastors. “This signals that the establishment conservatives are definitely in charge,” said Greg Warner, executive editor of the Associated Baptist Press, an independent news service.

Rodney King to be on TV … again.
Rodney King, the man whose videotaped beating by Los Angeles Police in 1991 triggered violent uprisings, will now appear on television willingly. He will appear in the next installment of VH1’s “Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew,” a reality TV show that features celebrities who are fighting drug and alcohol addiction with the help of specialist Dr. Drew Pinsky. After the police who beat King were acquitted, Los Angeles erupted in several days of rioting. King is remembered for his famous plea: “Can’t we just all get along?” Joining him on the show will be actor Jeff Conaway, former Guns ‘N Roses drummer Steven Adler, singer Rod Stewart’s son, Sean, and actress Tawny Kitaen. The new show will air in October.