Russia has expanded the conflict with air strikes against targets in Georgia

Georgia says its forces have withdrawn from the separatist enclave of South Ossetia, and that Russian troops are now in control of the regional capital.

An interior ministry spokesman told the BBC it was not a military defeat but a necessary step to protect civilians from a "humanitarian catastrophe".

Georgia says Russia has brought an additional 10,000 soldiers across its frontiers, readying for a raid.

Earlier, Russian jets bombed a military airfield close to the Georgian capital.

Tommy shows off Pam pictures

Nothing to hide about Sania: Shahid

Crude oil fell sharply on Thursday following two days of declines, dragged down further by a massive sell-off of natural gas.
The slide accelerated amid growing concerns about the weakening U.S. economy.
Light,sweet crude for August delivery was down $4.08 at $130.52 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices have fallen about $14 in just the past three days.
"This market is acting much different than it has during this entire bull run," said James Cordier, president of Tampa, Florida-based trading firms Liberty Trading Group and OptionSellers.com. "I think it's because the fundamentals are finally turning from extremely bullish to slightly bearish. But slightly bearish is enough to tip the market."
Natural gas futures for August delivery fell as much as 8.2 percent in the day, the biggest one-day drop in nearly a year. Natural gas fell 13.8 percent on Aug. 20, 2007, according to Nathan Golz, researcher at Wachovia Securities in St. Louis.
Prices for the key heating, cooking and power generation fuel have tumbled more than 20 percent since their peak before the Fourth of July, and are now trading at their lowest point since April.
The Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that natural gas inventories held in underground storage in the lower 48 states rose by 104 billion cubic feet to more 2.31 trillion cubic feet for the week ending July 11. That is despite the fact that supplies are 2.1 percent below the five-year average for this time of year.
Oil prices fell more than $10 over the previous two days on growing concerns that inflation and other economic concerns could reduce demand for crude. A surprisingly large gain in oil and refined fuel inventories in the U.S. prolonged the sell-off, because it suggested more supplies were heading into storage rather than consumers' fuel tanks.
The price for a barrel of oil briefly dipped below $130.
Reports of a pre-dawn explosion that damaged an oil pipeline in Nigeria's restive south — the sort of threat to supply that has helped fuel crude's recent rally — did little to prop up prices on Thursday.
A Nigerian military official said the blast on a pipeline owned by Agip, a subsidiary of the Italian energy giant Eni SpA, "affected output," although he did not say by how much.
Col. Chris Musa, head of the Bayelsa State military, also did not say how severe the damage was, and declined to comment on what might have caused the explosion or whether it had resulted in any casualties.
The company said a sudden drop in pressure led it to halt production on pipelines carrying 47,000 gallons of oil a day.
Attacks on oil industry infrastructure in the past two years have slashed oil output by almost a quarter in Nigeria, Africa's top crude producer.
In other Nymex trading, heating oil fell 6.62 cents to $3.7748 a gallon, while gasoline futures slipped fell 9.92 cents to $3.1802.

There were 5m recorded crimes last year

Police-recorded crime in England and Wales fell 9% in the 12 months to March, latest figures suggest.

The first reliable figures for knife crime showed there were 22,000 offences last year.

The statistics also show that while the risk of being a victim is at its lowest ever level, people still think that the rate is going up.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said she was "extremely pleased" with the overall reduction.

The annual crime report for 2007-2008 reveals the longest recorded period of falling crime - down 48% from 1995.

It shows there were five million recorded crimes. All the main categories were down, including violent crime and sex offences, but drug offences were up 18%, gun crime was up 2% and murder was up 3%.

Scotland compiles its statistics separately and its annual crime report is due to be published in September.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland published its 2007-2008 crime report in May.

It showed a 10.5% drop from the previous year, making it the lowest level of crime recorded since 1998.

Home Office experts say the latest figures show that offences are concentrated in hotspots - some of which have experienced localised increases in crime - and are not evenly spread around England and Wales.

They also say the figures mirror trends in falling crime seen throughout the developed world.

The annual report combines police-recorded crime and statistics from the British Crime Survey (BCS), a victimisation survey which asked 47,000 adults about their experience of crimes.

For the types it covers, the BCS can provide a better reflection of the true extent of crime because it includes ones that are not reported to the police and crimes which are not recorded by them.

The BCS showed the risk of being a victim of crime has fallen from 24 to 22%, the lowest level recorded since the survey began in 1981.

However, 65% of people said they thought rates had gone up nationally. But the same proportion again thought crime had fallen locally.

The overall picture from the survey was that crime was down 10% to 10.1 million crimes. It also showed that 947,000 violent offences were caused by alcohol.

Home Office Minister Tony McNulty said local communities and police should be "very encouraged" that their efforts to cut crime were paying off.

The home secretary, meanwhile, said the government had exceeded its reduction target, but was committed to doing more "so that everyone feels improvement".

She acknowledged that "knives are still being used in the most serious violent incidents" and said the Youth Crime Action plan published this week was part of a wider package of measures aimed at tackling the problem.

Serious violent crimes involving a blade have previously been bundled with other attacks, but since April last year officers have recorded them separately in light of growing public concern.

Police recorded 22,151 offences involving knives last year in England and Wales, including grievous bodily harm, attempted murder, woundings and robbery but not murder.

It amounts to an average of 60 knife offences every day.

The statistics include a force-by-force breakdown of knife crime, with the highest number of offences - 7,409 - recorded in London.

Gordon Brown said he wanted to make carrying a blade as "unacceptable" as having a gun on the streets.

"It is because we have identified the problem of knife crime, and particularly in some hotspots of the country, that we have stepped up our action dramatically," he said.

"We will do everything in our power to prevent people having knives."

McCain in black education pledge Republican US presidential hopeful John McCain calls for improvements to the schools in black districts.

McCain in black education pledge Republican US presidential hopeful John McCain calls for improvements to the schools in black districts.

India vs Sri Lanka: More than just a contest
Thursday, July 17, 2008

Sparkling delight: Fireworks explode over the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, during a rehearsal for the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

Where'd Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie get those baby names?

Unusual celebrity baby names are in the news again with this weekend's birth of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's twins.

Not Isla Marcheline and Amelie Jane, as had been initially and erroneously reported a few weeks ago.

Instead, Angelina and Brad named their new son and daughter Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline.

Some readers have been wondering where they got those names. According to "The Baby Name Bible" author Linda Rosenkrantz, interviewed at People.com:

1. Shaking the Family Tree: Knox is a Scottish-English-Irish surname and the middle name of Brad's grandfather, Hal Knox Hillhouse. Léon is the name of Angelina's great-great grandfather.

2. The X-Factor: The Jolie-Pitts' two other sons, Maddox and Pax, have an x in their first names.

3. Mother Complex: Vivienne is the French form of Vivian, which may reflect her birthplace or heritage. Or it could be a name in Pitt's family, because their baby boy is named for people from both parents' families. Marcheline is the French name of Angelina Jolie's late mother, who was of French-Canadian and Native American ancestry.

Bipasha is hot and that is certainly not news to anyone! However, director Siddharth Anand has a different story to tell!

"Bachna Ae Haseeno has three girls in it along with Ranbir - Deepika, Minissha and Bipasha. Deepika is a close friend, Minissha is a pal, Ranbir is a childhood friend and all are practically newcomers. When Bipasha came to picture, since I was directing her for the first time, I got awed by her presence! She is also comparatively senior to all the other actors and she looks scorching hot all the time", confessed Siddharth!

He further added, "Bipasha plays a modern girl-next-door girl of Mumbai who is not fashion conscious but is extremely well dressed giving the impression of being a model in the film. Besides, Bipasha is a kind of girl who cannot look clumsy! She is always stylish and making her do my scenes was a pleasure."

Music director Vishal Dadlani casually added, "Bipasha does a song called 'Lucky Boy' in the film where she dances on a stage and the moment I saw her doing that song I couldn't resist myself! I went running downstairs to the studio where she was rehearing and told her how hot she looked! She said, 'thank you' in a tone which felt like 'I know tell me something new"!

Is John listening? We'd love to know if Bips leaves John in awe of her too!

LONDON: Welcome to Surya -- self-styled "world's first ecological nightclub" where cyclists and walkers get free admission to a club with dance floor so high-tech that it generates its own electricity when people move on it. The brainchild of 35-year-old property developer Andrew Charalambous, aka Dr. Earth, Surya has its own wind turbine and solar energy system, with the plan to donate any surplus electricity to local residents. When clubbers need a rest from strutting their stuff on the dance floor they can relieve themselves at the latest air flush, waterless urinals and low flush toilets as well as taking the opportunity to freshen up with the club's automatic taps. If Princes Harry and William and their aristocratic friends, who are frequently spotted at Boujis or Mahiki, want to attend Surya they will have to sign a pledge to work towards curbing climate change like all patrons attending the club in north London. "Unless we stop preaching to people and use an inclusive philosophy we're never going to create the revolution to combat climate change," Charalambous said, explaining why he has invested one million pounds in the club. "It's also about creating avenues of thought. Imagine what you could achieve if big corporations adopted this kind of initiative." At the age of 23, Charalambous stood as a Conservative parliamentary candidate against the late Labour MP Bernie Grant and backed Boris Johnson's successful campaign to become London mayor. A qualified barrister, now worth in excess of 100 million pounds, his latest business venture will recycle glass, metal, plastic and paper products used in its bar, with Charalambous promising to donate part of the club's profits to charity. The dance floor uses the concept of piezoelectricity, where crystals and ceramics create a charge to generate electricity. "We estimate that if you had loads of clubbers dancing vigorously it would provide 60 per cent of the club's energy needs," said Charalambous. "With the wind turbines and solar power we aim to provide the energy needs of 14 to 20 local residents. We are the first free energy-donating business in the world." However, Charalambous' claim that his club is the "world's first ecological nightclub" has raised the hackles of the Sustainable Dance Club (SDC) in the Netherlands. "They are not sustainable in our rules," SDC spokesman Vera Verkooijenat said, ahead of the September launch of Wvatt, which has been dubbed the "world's first sustainable dance club". "It's not only the nightclub, it's the whole organisation that should be sustainable." But Charalambous dismissed the criticisms, arguing the SDC's complaints were typical of the attitude of some holier-than-thou environmental activists, as he defended the idea behind Surya, the Sanskrit term for the Sun God. "They've been talking about it for a while, but they haven't done it," said Charalambous. "They want to preach to people and that's the wrong way go about it." The club, in Pentonville Road, Islington, opens later on Thursday.

A US magazine cover depicts Barack Obama as a Muslim and his wife Michelle as a terrorist (AFP Photo) WASHINGTON: Barack Obama's campaign says a satirical New Yorker magazine cover showing the Democratic presidential candidate dressed as a Muslim and his wife as a terrorist is "tasteless and offensive". The illustration on the issue that hits newsstands on Monday, titled "The Politics of Fear" and drawn by Barry Blitt, depicts Barack Obama wearing what is commonly construed by Western media as traditional Muslim garb - sandals, robe and turban - and his wife, Michelle - dressed in camouflage, combat boots and an assault rifle strapped over her shoulder - standing in the Oval Office. The couple is doing a fist tap in front of a fireplace in which an American flag is burning. Over the mantel hangs a portrait of Osama bin Laden. "The New Yorker may think, as one of their staff explained to us, that their cover is a satirical lampoon of the caricature Senator Obama's right-wing critics have tried to create," said Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton. "But most readers will see it as tasteless and offensive. And we agree." In a statement on Monday, the magazine said the cover "combines a number of fantastical images about the Obama and shows them for the obvious distortions they are." "The burning flag, the nationalist-radical and Islamic outfits, the fist-bump, the portrait on the wall? All of them echo one attack or another. Satire is part of what we do, and it is meant to bring things out into the open, to hold up a mirror to prejudice, the hateful, and the absurd. The statement also pointed to the two articles on Obama contained inside the magazine, calling them "very serious." Republican John McCain's campaign spokesman, Tucker Bonds, agreed that the cover was "tasteless and offensive." Already the cover was generating controversy on the Internet. The Huffington Post , a left-leaning blog, said: "Anyone who's tried to paint Obama as a Muslim, anyone who's tried to portray Michelle as angry or a secret revolutionary out to get Whitey, anyone who has questioned their patriotism - well, here's your image."

China fake tickets case: India steps in

86 indicted for coup bid in Turkey

B'desh incorporating 'no' vote option

Russian laser show blinds revellers

Australia: 'World's oldest blogger' dies

Indian students stranded in China

'No Mideast peace without Syria'

Reform talk: Obama woos Hispanics

Scores of US kids in Pak madrassas

Public email documents disappear Laws in all but a handful of states give the public acces government email. But what if that email was intentionally deleted or routinely purged?

Malaria cure in its sticky secret Malaria kills up to three million people every year, mostly in tropical parts of the world. The disease is spread by mosquitoes that inject victims with microscopic parasites that infect healthy red blood cells.

'Fear' cells in brain identified Scientists in the United States have identified brain cells linked to fear, paving the way for a more effective treatment of post-traumatic stress and other anxiety disorders.

Smoking can boost memory Nicotine has long been known to have a stimulating effect on the brain.Scientists have suggested that smoking can help boost memory and concentration.

Asthma linked to thunderstorms Researchers have explored the link between thunderstorms and asthma attacks in the first-ever exhaustive study that has significant bearing on public health.

Is music key to happiness? Humming tunes is known as a good stress buster. Now, a new research suggests that people who sing regularly are happier than their non-singing counterparts.

Transforming carbon emissions The 'green carbon' technology takes this normally exhaustive process and simplifies it, thus producing a useful, benign material while transforming carbon emissions instead of simply sequestering it.

Half the world will be obese by 2030 With waistlines increasing rapidly around the world, a group of researchers predict that by 2030, almost 58% of the world's population will be overweight or obese.

If you are fat, the weather must be bad A team of scientists at Aberdeen University has found that Scotland's dismal weather makes it more difficult for people to shed those extra pounds.

Date	Teams and Match	Venue
Wed, 02	India vs Pakistan, 10th Match, Super Four Pakistan beat India by 8 wickets	National Stadium, Karachi
Thu, 03	Sri Lanka vs India, 11th Match, Super Four India beat Sri Lanka by 6 wickets	National Stadium, Karachi
Fri, 04	Bangladesh vs Pakistan, 12th Match, Super Four Pakistan beat Bangladesh by 10 wickets	National Stadium, Karachi
SUN,05	Sri Lanka vs India, Final Match Sri Lanka beat India by 100 runs	National Stadium, Karachi
Thu, 10 - Mon, 14	England vs South Africa, 1st Test	Lord's, London
Fri, 18 - Tue, 22	England vs South Africa, 2nd Test	Headingley, Leeds
Wed, 23 - Sun, 27	Sri Lanka vs India, 1st Test	Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo
Wed, 30 - Sun, 03	England vs South Africa, 3rd Test	Edgbaston, Birmingham
Thu, 31 - Mon, 04	Sri Lanka vs India, 2nd Test	Galle International Stadium, Galle

	BCCI issues legal notice to Pan Parag The BCCI issued a legal notice to Kothari Products Limited for "unauthorised" use of photographs and footage featuring Indian cricketers in their advertisement.
	Female bodyguards for Dhoni The Jharkhand Police have deployed these special guards in view of the hysterical reactions with which female fans have greeted Dhoni in recent months.
	CA worried about Champions Trophy security The reluctance of players like Andrew Symonds to tour Pakistan for the Champions Trophy is not an immediate concern for Cricket Australia.

Krishna and Rajesh Talwar, accused in Aarushi murder case, being taken to jail after being produced at CBI court in Ghaziabad on July 11, 2008		. Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Prakash Karat, in a media briefing in New Delhi, on Tuesday, July 8, 2008. Communist allies on Tuesday withdrew support to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's four-year-old coalition government.

Movies

It's Rakhi's honesty that made 'Zoom' zero in on her as the host of its new spicy Bollywood-based programme called The Rakhi Sawant Shows.		Macho man: Zayed Khan married to Malaika Parekh Khan who is half Persian and half Indian.

Celebs

Spice Girl Melanie Brown poses at the 48th Monte Carlo Television Festival in Monaco on June 12, 2008.		Mariah Carey performs at the ABC Good Morning America Summer Concert series at Times Square in New York.

Sports

Meena Lee of South Korea hits her tee shot on the 9th hole during the second round of the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic at Highland Meadows Golf Club on July 11, 2008.		Cricketer Sourav Ganguly with 'Best Asian Cricketer of the year' and 'Best Asian Batsman' awards in Kolkata on July 10, 2008.

Miss India Simran Kaur Mundi competes in the swimwear and footwear segment of the 2008 Miss Universe Presentation Show at the Crown Convention Center in Nha Trang on July 8, 2008

Financials Lead Tumultuous Selloff on Wall Street

Despite a late-day comeback effort, Wall Street ended the week deeply in the red as the cloud of uncertainty hovering over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loomed larger and oil prices jumped over $147 a barrel.

The Energy Wars

At a town hall meeting in Dayton, Ohio, Barack Obama focused his remarks on energy - something the two candidates have been sparring over for weeks. Obama has called McCain’s gas tax holiday a gimmick and says off shore drilling won’t have an impact for years. Neither fix, Obama has said, addresses the larger need.

McCain the lady’s man?

HUDSON, WI — Sen. McCain cast himself as the best choice for American women today during a town hall at J&L Steel Erectors, a female-owned business based in the Badger State. “Women in America not only take care of the children, manage the household budgets and balance the pressures of work and family.

Multi-tasking during a McCain town hall

OAKDALE, MN — While he was hammering away at the ill-effects of sugar subsidies on the American economy during a conference call with moderate and “independent-minded” Virginia voters this evening, Sen. McCain stopped for a moment when he heard what sounded like a faucet running on the other end of the phone.

McCain throws Gramm under the bus

BELLEVILLE, MI — Former Texas Senator Phil Gramm was once talked about as a potential McCain Treasury Secretary but today may be unqualified for Ambassador to Belarus. The presumptive GOP nominee had stern words for one of his senior economic advisers and close friends Thursday after Gramm told the Washington Times that America is going through tough situation

Tony Snow, the former White House press secretary and conservative pundit who bedeviled the press corps and charmed millions ,died Saturday after a long bout with cancer. He was 53.

A syndicated columnist, editor, TV anchor, radio show host and musician, Snow worked in nearly every medium in a career that spanned more than 30 years.

"Laura and I are deeply saddened by the death of our dear friend Tony Snow," President Bush said in a written statement. "The Snow family has lost a beloved husband and father. And America has lost a devoted public servant and a man of character."

Snow died at 2 a.m. Saturday at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C.

Snow joined FOX in 1996 as the original anchor of "FOX News Sunday" and hosted "Weekend Live" and a radio program, "The Tony Snow Show," before departing in 2006.

THE UPSIDE OF ANGER TONIGHT AT 8 ON MY21 TV

Starring Kevin Costner And Joan Allen

Terry Wolfmeyer (Joan Allen) is a suburban wife and mother whose life takes an unusual turn when her husband unexpectedly disappears. Struggling to deal with his sudden absence, Terry finds herself increasingly at odds with her four headstrong daughters and regularly drowning her anger in alcohol, until she develops an offbeat relationship with her next-door neighbor, Denny (Kevin Costner). A once-great baseball star turned radio DJ, Denny becomes a drinking buddy for Terry and slowly evolves into her source of strength, as well as an ad-hoc father to her daughters. However, things get complicated as Terry's daughters grow accustomed to having Denny around while attempting to juggle not only their mothers romantic dilemmas, but their own. (Presented in HD)

Two Canadian Press writers revisit 'Grand Theft Auto IV' after months of play

8 hours ago

When Rockstar Games released "Grand Theft Auto IV" on April 29, it was met with near-universal critical acclaim. Reviewers praised the story and the game's stunning level of detail. But once you get past the initial wow factor, is the game really good enough to justify the hype?

Canadian Press reporters Nick Patch and Curtis Withers talk about their experiences with "GTA IV," and whether the game is still worth playing more than two months after release.

CURTIS: I have to admit, I haven't finished "Grand Theft Auto IV" yet, even though I waited outside my local game retailer at midnight to get a copy the day it was released. It's not because I'm a horrible player (I don't care if my friends on Xbox Live say otherwise), but because "GTA IV" offers so many different ways to procrastinate.

Sure, Niko Bellic is on a personal quest for bloody revenge, but I like to make sure he has ample time to drink and play pool with friends, surf the Internet, enter street races, watch TV or even just explore Liberty City, a believable representation of New York City in so many ways.

While the narrative of the single-player campaign is compelling, the amount of available diversions helps greatly when the story gets bogged down with a boring or difficult mission.

There were a few instances where I would fail a certain mission several times in a row and get frustrated with having to continually start over from scratch. But instead of shutting down my Xbox in a huff, I would do some deliveries for my friend Little Jacob, or start an assassin mission or just cause general mayhem. The result was often satisfying and kept my interest in the game high.

In one particular instance, I was about to call it a day after failing a mission for the fifth time. Instead, I saw an unsuspecting bus coming down the road, and I decided to steal it and park it across a busy industrial street. Sitting on the roof of the bus enjoying the traffic jam I created, I saw three guys emerge from their cars and fight with baseball bats while another tried to solicit a passing prostitute from the comfort of his car. The random scene made me appreciate all the little things that went into the making of this game.

I'm sure my desire to putter around Liberty City for kicks will be somewhat diminished once I finish the game. That's where I hope the multiplayer game kicks in. I've done a few of the races and deathmatch scenarios with some friends and they've been a blast. But I think the most fun I had in multiplayer is in the free-roaming mode, when a friend and I casually drove around Liberty City causing trouble while he told me about his plans to take his Gran out for high tea on her 80th birthday.

Ultimately, the reason I'm still playing "GTA IV" this long after release is that the game combines a strong single-player game with many opportunities to have some mindless fun for a few minutes at a time. There have been other open-ended sandbox-style games that allowed the player to goof off for 15 minutes or so and then put the controller down, but they have often been plagued with a weak overall campaign. "GTA IV" is enjoyable whether you want to power through the story missions or take time to enjoy all that Liberty City has to offer.

NICK: Perhaps the way you play "Grand Theft Auto IV" says as much about you as it does about the game.

Unlike Curtis, I took the "goal-oriented" approach.

To put it less kindly, I was like a bingeing addict. I clumsily sped through the missions like a Banshee careening through mailboxes in Algonquin. I took cabs everywhere to save time, usually skipping the ride itself to save even more time, and kept replaying trickier missions until I had them licked.

All told, I beat the game in under 30 hours and looked forward to being able to really explore the nooks and crannies of Liberty City - the off-brand New York I found so mesmerizing.

And yet, in the three weeks since I beat the game, I haven't picked it up again.

One reason is that the optional missions that are dotted throughout the city aren't particularly challenging or engaging. They feel like errands, and aside from the snippets of entertaining dialogue shared between the characters, tend to be a bit tedious.

And, unlike Curtis, I didn't feel like spending any more time with my needy in-game friends, whose persistent phone calls I dreaded. I felt bad enough ignoring my real-life friends buzzing my actual cellphone while I played - I didn't need to deal with passive-aggressive answering machine messages from the infinitely clingy Brucie and my other pixilated buddies.

But the main reason I haven't been back to Liberty City may be the disappointing ending. Without spoiling anything, I was left cold by the way Rockstar put a period on the game - I was still free to muck around in the city, but it felt like Niko's story had effectively ended, and with little fanfare.

Maybe Curtis had the right idea in staggering to the finish line, taking in all the sights of the game's sparkling metropolis.

Because ultimately, Niko Bellic's journey of guns, money and the American dream goes out without much of a bang.

Weather history made 72 years ago

Jackson’s Comments on Obama Bare Intraracial Divide

What stoked Jackson’s ire specifically was Obama’s Father’s Day address in Chicago, where the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee talked about the obligations of fatherhood in the black community.

“Any fool can have a child. That doesn’t make you a father,” Obama said in June. “It’s the courage to raise a child that makes you a father.”

Comedian Bill Cosby famously weighed in with a call for black self-sufficiency similar to Obama’s, before the Illinois senator even hit the campaign trail.

“You can blame anybody you want but it is a simple feat to claim your child,” Cosby said in August 2006. “You could recognize the fact that it is your child, and you walked out on your child and you left a young human being to try to figure out what it ever did to a mysterious person; and where is that person and what does he look like and why hasn’t he called and talked?”

The two perspectives in the black community offer starkly different prescriptions for the same troubling set of symptoms.

Roughly seven in 10 black children are born out of wedlock, according to government statistics. About 35 percent of blacks under 18 years old live below the poverty line, and 24 percent of blacks over 65 die below the poverty line.

The question of why such conditions have persisted through decades of social spending is the subject of vast academic research and is the veritable third rail of social debate.

It is what the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, in 1965, termed a “tangle of pathologies.”

John McWhorter, a Manhattan Institute senior fellow and author of “All About the Beat: Why Hip Hop Can’t Save Black America,” believes most black audiences connect with the message of figures like Obama and Cosby.

McWhorter, who is among those prominent black leaders who emphasize individual responsibility, told FOX News that the era when racism drove debate in black communities is over.

“Mainstream black thought no longer listens to something like Obama’s Father’s Day speech and cringes. … The criticisms now are from the sidelines,” he said.

“Any culture has its problems. The ones that are in black culture, just like the ones that are in any other culture, are not necessarily due to what white people are doing, or what society is doing,” he said. “Sometimes we just need to talk among ourselves about some bad habits that we, like all human beings in the world, may have fallen into.”

But a different emphasis comes from those with experience dating back to the civil rights movement, when activists sought parity by pressuring the federal government to take belated action against the South’s discriminatory Jim Crow laws.

Jackson said Sunday, during what he thought was a private conversation between him and a fellow FOX News guest, that “Barack … he’s talking down to black people.” He also crudely threatened to castrate Obama.

Jackson apologized, and Obama’s campaign said the apology was accepted.

But Jackson explained — in a written statement, a press conference and several media appearances — that while he is devoted to Obama’s candidacy the Illinois senator’s moral message should also “deal with the collective moral responsibility of government and the public policy.”

“If you still have double unemployment, if you still have problems in terms of education equity and health care equity, and the disparity by race, you still have to close that gap,” Sharpton said.