Watercooler Sensation

Read once for instant popularity

30% of Black CEOs Just Quit

• It’s been a tough few months in the world of business. Time Warner Inc. Dick Parsons’ announcement Monday that he will retire at the end of the year. And last week, Merrill Lynch’s head honcho Stan O’Neal staged an abrupt departure. [AP]
• What the headlines on Wall Street fail to mention: O’Neal and Parsons represent 30% of African-American CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. That leaves Aylwin Lewis at Sears Holding Corp., Kenneth Chenault at American Express, Ronald Williams at Aetna Inc. and Clarence Otis at Darden Restaurants Inc. as the only black chief executives among this list of the nation’s largest companies.
• So is this to say the boardroom is still an Old Boy’s club tinged with racism? Sort of. Still, it’s better than where we were a decade ago. While the numbers now may be dispiriting, “10 or 15 years ago, we couldn’t have had this conversation, because there was no one to talk about,” says Alfred Edmond Jr., editor-in-chief of Black Enterprise magazine.
• Regardless, the reasons for the white-washing of corporate America are complicated and tangled, according to experts. A study conducted by the University of California, Berkeley’s Center for Labor Research and Education found that more than half of black workers were in jobs that don’t pay well, don’t offer retirement and health benefits and don’t show avenues to move up the ladder.
• And then there’s corporate culture, where — in many cases — Gordon Gecko still rules. A survey of 19,000 people conducted by The Level Playing Field Institute found that people of color are more than twice as likely as heterosexual white men to have left a job because of “unfairness.” (Think: Being neglected for a promotion, being stereotyped, or being the butt of offensive jokes.)

Now that we think about it, the cast of The Office looks remarkably...well...white.

Blonde Jokes Are No Laughing Matter

• Yeah, yeah, we’ve heard them all. But they may be more harmful than fun. [Live Science]
• We don’t mean to seem humorless, but a new study by Thomas Ford of Western Carolina University shows that sexist jokes “can promote discrimination against women.”
• Obvious? Well, maybe. But check this out:
• Participants in the study were shown either “sexist jokes, comparable non-humorous sexist statements or neutral (non-sexist) jokes.” They were then asked how much money they’d be willing to donate to a women’s organization.
• The result? “We found that men with a high level of sexism were less likely to donate to the women’s organization after reading sexist jokes, but not after reading either sexist statements or neutral jokes,” Ford said.
• In other words, sexist jokes could somehow normalize or activate sexist impulses that overtly sexist statements do not.
• Says Ford: “We believe this shows that humorous disparagement creates the perception of a shared standard of tolerance of discrimination that may guide behavior when people believe others feel the same way.”

Try Polish jokes instead.

Cabaroke: Your Trip Home Has Never Been This Fun.

• Tired of the same old taxi rides home from the bar? Wish you could make your commute as exciting as your night out? If you’re in Kansas City, you’re in luck. Cabaroke, anyone?
• Cabaroke: Special taxicabs outfitted with video screens, microphones, and 300 songs for you to belt out while you ride. [The Pitch] [Cabaroke]
• If you want to keep the party rolling, there’s also a video camera, so you can upload your cab concert onto YouTube.
• Cost? Same as a regular fare.
• Founded by a guy known simply as “Papa Bear,” the concept is a huge hit with passengers.
• The technology is easy to use for both drivers and singing riders; Papa Bear says he’s hoping to spread the Cabaroke Love in major cities across the United States. Simply hang the machine over the back of the driver’s seat and you’re ready to ride and sing!
• And there’s an added bonus for taxi drivers: The karaoke cameras also double as a security device for drivers.

Who knew being responsible could be so much fun! Bon Jovi, anyone?

Lindsay Lohan’s Submarines

• Good news for Ms. Lohan and Co....baaaaaaaaad news for the war on drugs: South American drug traffickers are turning to advanced, stealth submarines to pony their narcotics up to northern markets. [Los Angeles Times]
• Over the last two years, Colombian authorities and the U.S. Coast Guard and Navy have seized 13 submarine-like vessels outfitted for drug running. The subs that were caught by American authorities were en route to Mexico and Central America. Each one was carrying 3 to 5 tons of cocaine.
• And take it from the authorities: We’re not talking about make-shift boats that are half-sinking as they make their way up the coast. The drug-smuggling subs are “self-propelled vessels with ballast systems and communications equipment that leave no wake or radar profile as they glide just below the ocean surface.”
• Colombia supplies about 90% of the cocaine consumed in the United States. Crackdowns from local and American authorities have caused traffickers to turn to more ingenious methods — like the subs — to transport the goods.
• Proponents of the war on drugs say that the fact that smugglers are having to turn to more complex methods is, in a twisted sense, a good thing. After all, they cite a 24% increase in cocaine street prices this year as reported by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.
• But critics aren’t so sure. Critics of the war on drugs warn that the price increase, as in past instances, may prove only temporary. John Walsh of the Washington Office on Latin America, a watchdog organization, said a 45% price increase in early 2002 was quickly reversed as suppliers adjusted.

Finally, if coke-touting subs doesn’t keep you up at night, maybe this will: Security experts are saying the subs could be used by another scary group of bad guys: Terrorists.

TV Viewers Turn To The Left — MSNBC Follows

• Hey, television producer! Want huge ratings and a big paycheck? Then Go Left, young man. Go Left. [NY Times]
• According to the New York Times, that’s exactly what powerhouse MSNBC plans to do. Viewers adore the progressive-leaning Keith Olbermann (and his frequent White House criticisms) so much that the network wants to expand its liberal line-up.
• And we quote: “MSNBC already presents a three-hour block of nighttime talk — Chris Matthews’s “Hardball” at 7, Mr. Olbermann at 8, and “Live With Dan Abrams” at 9 — in which the White House takes a regular beating. The one early-evening program on MSNBC that is often most sympathetic to the administration, “Tucker” with Tucker Carlson at 6 p.m., is in real danger of being canceled.”
• The network stresses it didn’t set out to be the leftie counterpart to the right-wing Fox News. It was more a case of “if you build it, they will come”; the more their anchors pushed back against the Bush Administration, the more viewers ate it up.
• Keith Olbermann led the way with his no-holds-barred criticisms of White House policy. (Remember when he called on President Bush to resign last July?) In just the last year, his ratings have skyrocketed by 33 percent. Today he brings in 773,000 viewers a night.
• Even the network’s morning show, former GOP Rep. Joe Scarborough, sounds disgusted with the way the right is handling things these days: “I think the difference is the Republican Party leaders, a lot of them, have run a bloated government, have been corrupt, and have gone a very, very long way from what we were trying to do in 1994. Also, the Republican Party has just been incompetent.”
• Joe added: “While I don’t agree with a lot of the things those guys say night in and night out, I think it’s very important that those disaffected voices have a place to go when they think somebody out there needs to be speaking truth to power.”

And coming soon, will the network give a prime-time news show to Rosie? Stay Tuned!

By the Numbers

Your Fourth Grader’s Wasted.

And here we thought we were naughty for sneaking a snip of mom’s martini when we were 9th graders. Turns out, we were saints (comparatively speaking, naturally). Nowadays, kids are sneaking booze at younger and younger ages. So when your 8-year-old seems a little wobbly during a round of hop-scotch, we’d suggest breaking out the breathalizer. Take a look. [USA Today]

7%

7% of fourth-graders said they’ve had an alcoholic drink in the past year.

8.6%

8.6% of fifth-graders said they’ve had an alcoholic drink in the past year.

12.9%

12.9% of sixth-graders said they’ve had an alcoholic drink in the past year.

Between fifth and sixth grade

The largest jump in underage alcohol use happens between fifth and sixth grade, when many children begin middle school.

37

The number of states that offer drug and alcohol education programs in their schools.

Celebrities: Unfiltered

“Here’s how I would explain it: If you’re a teamster, you get paid to drive a truck. But if someone invents a new kind of truck, and you’re still driving it, you should still get paid.”

— Writer/Director Judd Aptow ("Knocked Up,” “Superbad"), explaining the Hollywood writers’ strike, and why writers are mad they’re left out when movies and shows are downloaded online. Got it, Judd! [IGN Entertainment]

Speed Round

GET THIS MAN A HOBBY

This Texas man has a snake in his trousers. 87 of them, to be exact. [AP]

A BUN IN THE OVEN

Celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis is pregnant with a baby girl. [AP]

OOPS

“Malaysian hospital flushes fingertip” [AP]

TORTURE

A California teenager gets 9 months in jail for torturing a tortoise. Attorney General nominee Mike Mukasey still has no comment. [ABC News]

ENVIRO

What do old sneakers, last-year’s iPod and that mattress you’ve had since college have in common? They’re all things you probably never knew you could recycle. [MSNBC]

COOL BIO STUFF

So if breast feeding raises your baby’s IQ so much, why are there still so many idiots out there? (And what about all us bottle-fed kids who still turned out okay?) Answer: Whether or not breast feeding improves your kid’s brain depends on their particular DNA. [Newsweek]

KIDS TODAY

The top kids’ toy in Australia is recalled after experts realize it’s filled with a substance that turns into the date-raper’s drug of choice, GHB, when ingested. [Consumerist]

YOU ALL SHOULD BE ASHAMED

Turns out, most people paid a whopping ZERO dollars for the new Radio Head album. Honestly, people. Honestly. [AP]

PLAY BALL! WAIT, PLAY IT AGAIN! ONE MORE TIME!

Baseball general managers for the first time say they’re into letting umpires use instant replays to figure out if a ball is fair or foul. [USA Today]

WHAT WOULDN’T JESUS DO?

“Nebraska School District Bans Christian Group After Bobbing for Live Goldfish” [FOX]

7 AND COUNTING

The number of shows that the writers’ strike is now effecting. [AP]

CELEBRIDIRT

Russell Crowe plans to be baptized, promises to stop beating up random people. [AP]

IT’S RAINING COWS

At least, that’s what this family thought after a 600-pound bovine fell off a cliff and on to their minivan. [AP]

PSA

We don’t condone drug use, but if you are going to smoke weed, may we suggest you refrain from doing it in a police station? [AP]

HEADLINE OF THE DAY

“Chainsaw-wielding mayor enrages museum board” [Globe And Mail]