♦Magic Johnson: Now is The Time to Invest in Black Communities
NBA Hall of Famer Earvin "Magic" Johnson is still dishing out assists, even if he's not in command of the Los Angeles Lakers' "Showtime" offense. Johnson, whose Magic Brand has a presence in more than 80 U.S. cities, is trying to get more jobs in urban areas where he says African-Americans need work most. In a conversation with theGrio, Johnson called the African-American unemployment rate "devastating." [The Grio]

♦Colored Gift Buying Made Easy
The New York Times needs a time out for this. Apparently, they thought it would be helpful to have a brownish people section for gift purchasing. As Mediaite's Glynnis MacNicol points out, this is fail-worthy. [The Root]

♦Facebook's New Privacy Settings: 5 Things You Should Know
Facebook has begun rolling out its new privacy settings to all of its 350 million users. If you haven't seen it already, you will soon have to go through a wizard that will guide you through the process of confirming your privacy settings. [Yahoo News]

♦Bernie Madoff, the $19 Billion Con, Makes New Friends Behind Bars
The 71-year-old Mr. Madoff also is salvaging something that disappeared in the outside world the moment his fraud was exposed: respect. "To every con artist, he is the godfather, the don," says an inmate interviewed earlier this week. [The Wall Street Journal]

♦House Passes Financial Regulatory Reform Bill
A year after Wall Street failures plunged the nation into recession, the House on Friday passed the most ambitious restructuring of financial regulation since the New Deal. [Washington Business Journal]

♦15 Whimsical, Recession-Proof Holiday Gift Ideas
Last year, The Huffington Post ran a recession-friendly list of holiday gift suggestions. Without further ado, they present the 2009 edition. As usual, it is long on whimsy and easy on the pocketbook. [Huffington Post]

♦A Collection of Older, Cheaper Gadgets That Still Make Great Gifts
Slate.com has picked out a bunch of gadgets that work fantastically well yet have been largely forgotten on account of the latest and greatest tech tools. Rather than buy what's hot today, take a shot at these oldies but goodies-your friends and your pocketbook will thank you. [Slate]