Archive for August, 2009

HSAN To Sponsor Financial Empowerment Conference

Thursday, August 27th, 2009

Today an announcement was made on the convening of a national Hip-Hop Summit that pertains to Financial Empowerment. Entitled, “Get Your Money Right,” this year's summits will feature the likes of Russell Simmons, Dr. Benjamin Chavis and Rocsi of BET's “106 & Park.”

In terms of big markets, the event will be hosted by the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network and Walmart.

The overall purpose of this event is to provide necessary and valuable and timely information that relates to keeping money in order with advice ranging from financial experts to celebrities to community leaders. Taking place on (more...)

GOP Is Seeking “Great White Hope” To Thwart Obama

Thursday, August 27th, 2009

Panic has digressed into primal fear within the Republican party and their conservative base as the true nature of their Cerberus-like beast is being revealed more with the passing of each day. Right-wing leaders such as Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly use their influence over their respective media outlets to spread the GOP's toxic ideology to the masses, with their words often falling on ignorant but willing ears, in the effort to undermine and publicly destroy a man that is nothing less than a grave threat to the causes they believe in.

That man is President Obama, the first Black President of the United States, and their goal seemingly is to halt the progressive movement current flowing within the nation and to bring back institutions of old that bring comfort to those whom pine for the “good ol' days.” Their method of choice, spreading lies by way of subversive methods, has been even more vicious with the addition of not-so subtle racial undertones, mirrored by those whom have been elected to work on behalf of the people. Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins is one such person, and though only an infant by political standards, she has shown a willingness to catch on quickly to the GOP's mantra of choice.

While speaking to a crowd of her constituents, the freshman congressional member from Kansas spoke on the plight facing the party of conservatism, outlining that the future looks bright for the begrudged party.

“Republicans are struggling right now to find the great white hope,” said Jenkins to an attentive audience at Fisher Community Center in Hiawatha, Kansas. “I suggest any of you who are concerned about that, who are Republican, there are some great young Republican minds in Washington. So don't, you know, lose faith if you are a conservative.”

Not knowing the kind of attention that would follow the use of her “great white hope” remark, Jenkins press team went into full defensive mode, attempting to quell the situation with an explanation that could only be described as lackluster at best. “There may be some misunderstanding there when she talked about the great white hope,” said Mary Geiger, press secretary for Jenkins. “What she meant by it is they [Republicans] have a bright future. They are bright lights within the party.”

The phrase “Great White Hope” arose from a time of social and racial intolerance, and while it may be a new century, its connotation is still rooted in bigotry. It was created by the racist, white press of the early 1900's as a term used to describe white America's search for a “savior” to rescue boxing's undisputed heavyweight championship from Jack Johnson, the first Black heavyweight boxing champion of the World.

Jim Jeffries, the man who answered the cry of a nation, spoke on his reasoning for accepting the title. “I am going into this fight for the sole purpose of proving that a white man is better than a Negro.” Jeffries lost to Johnson in the “Greatest Fight of the Century” as a ringside band played “All Coons Look Alike To Me.”

Professor Griff Takes Hip-Hop Fans to Class

Thursday, August 27th, 2009

Class is officially back in session. Public Enemy member Professor Griff recently addressed a crowd at a forum in Muskegon Heights to bluntly inform that for those that feel as though people like Jay-Z are the face of Hip-Hop, are idiots.

Held Saturday at the Muskego Heights Boxing Club in Michigan, the classroom had a turnout of more than 150 people. The actual event was sponsored by the local radio station 103.7 The Beat and is one of a series of workshops that will be hosted by the station this year with similar, culturally related topics.

"You're not going to agree with everything I'm going to say, I'm just going to tell you that from the beginning," said Griff. "Those people who are going to get angry and red-faced with me, that's fine too, because I have to move you out of your comfort zone."

In a lecture titled “Black Music: The Psycho Analytical Destruction of a Stolen Legacy,” Griff goes in to enlighten minds and break down the (more...)

McCain Faces Angry Crowd at Arizona Town Hall

Thursday, August 27th, 2009

Former Republican presidential candidate, Arizona Senator John McCain, had to quell the the spontaneous outrage that rang through a town-hall meeting, eventually telling a woman she had to leave.

Before Senator McCain could deliver his opening remarks at his central Pheonix church, an angry audience member continuously yelled over him.

"You're going to have to stop or you're going to have to lave," McCain said to the woman who continued to shout. When security guards escorted her out, McCain said to her, "Goodbye, see ya!"

According to the Associated Press, when McCain opened the the board for questions, one man, obviously angry, pointed and demanded to know why the senator deserves a better health plan than he.

"I'm trying to get it for you," McCain told him. "We'll do it for you. We'll make it affordable and available to you."

While McCain maintained he would he would continue to fight for reformation of the broken health care industry. However, he took the time to point out his conviction behind Obama's health care agenda which will eventually lead to the demise of private insurers who won't be able to compete with a government health care option.

On the other hand, Obama and most Democrats would argue that a government option would serve as a balance of power while private insurers have labeled the initiative a "government takeover."

During a Q&A session with reporters, an audience member yelled to McCain that he receives hundreds of thousands of dollars per year from insurance companies.

He quipped, "Really? I didn't know that."

"There's more interest and involvement in this issue than I've ever seen in many years on a domestic issue," McCain said afterward. "There's obviously strong feeling and emotions on this issue and I think the town-hall meetings are a very important way to get people's viewpoints and allow them to deal directly with their elected representative."

Democratic town-halls have also run into the issue of angry crowds and in some cases have turned violent. Throughout the month of August, angry opponents have shouted at lawmakers who are pushing for health care reform.

McCain has cancelled a Flagstaff town-hall meeting to attend the memorial service of his longtime friend Senator Edward Jennedy, who passed away Tuesday night.

Government Gives Out Stimulus Money To Inmates

Thursday, August 27th, 2009

Around 4,000 lucky inmates got a special gift this month after receiving stimulus checks from the federal government. According to The Associated Press, the money was only estimated to be around $250 a person but the incarcerated inmates would have no way to “stimulate” the economy with it. The checks came from President Obama's massive economic recovery package. The money was supposed to be for the 52 million people who receive Social Security checks along with railroad retirees and people receiving Supplemental Security Income.

Of course prison inmates are not usually eligible for federal benefits but 2,200 of the inmates will be allowed to keep their money. Spokesman Mark Lassiter for the Social Security Administration told The AP, “The law specified that any beneficiary eligible for a Social Security benefit during one of those months was eligible for the recovery payment.”According to Lassiter, the lucky 2,200 were not imprisoned during the three months prior to the recovery act being enacted.

Unfortunately for the rest of the inmates, their payment is being deemed a mistake and most of the wrongfully distributed checks have already been taken back. The Social Security Administration's Inspector General is performing an audit to get back the rest of the checks. The Inspector General will also make sure checks weren't sent out to fugitives, people living outside the U.S. or the deceased.

Mississippi Placing Civil Rights History in Curriculum

Thursday, August 27th, 2009

The state of Mississippi has extensive background and brutal history as it pertains to the days of the Civil Rights movement. From bombings to beating to the Ku Klux Klan, there has been a long rap sheet of occurrences. It is with this that ignited the idea as the state is preparing to test a program that will teach students of the history starting from kindergarten and stretching all the way to high school.

Such a program will immortalize Mississippi, in a sense, as it will be the first state to provide instruction and teachings of the Civil Rights history for students in grades K-12, according to the Education Commission of the States. As of now, the idea has struck the interest of four school systems as they have asked to be part of the effort. September will see the Mississippi Department of Education naming the systems that will be given approval for the test run of the program.

Backing will be provided by the likes of the William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation and Washington-based Teaching for Change who are in preparation to begin training teachers in the state to enlighten students of the hidden truth behind the struggle during the Civil Rights movement. As has been known with many schooling systems, the history seems to always be one-sided in the way it is portrayed within the pages of the history books and necessary factors are left out leaving students ignorant to parts of history during their educational upbringing.

The idea came from a law passed in 2006 by the Legislature and there are plans to have it implemented on a statewide level by the 2010-2011 school year. There was actually an effort to eliminate the plan this year, but it was unsuccessful.

The wave has spread somewhat across the nation as Alabama, Georgia and Arkansas have placed emphasis on ensuring that Civil Rights is taught. New Jersey has also played a role as it created an Amistad Commission that makes sure that the history of slavery is brought into the school system. Philadelphia has taken it one step further as it has become a requirement in the school district for students to complete an African-American history course before being considered for graduation.

Growing up, the educational system brought half-truths to hide the scars that America has brought upon its own country and people. All things come to light after a while and although this new program is not meant to create anger and tension between Black and white relations, it is a reminder of what has happened and will finally be able to clear away the fog of exactly what the United States has built itself upon.

West African Man Admits To Smuggling Girls Into Hair Salons

Thursday, August 27th, 2009

New Jersey braiding salon patrons should feel better knowing that a man who smuggled women into the country to braid hair is facing life in prison for his crime. Lassissi Afolabi plead guilty Wednesday to conspiring with his ex-wife and others to commit forced labor in Newark and East Orange, New Jersey.

According to The Associated Press, the man, who is a native of Togo, took at least 20 women from the country using fake Visas. The women were forced to work at the salons and give up all their earnings. Prosecutors for the trial report that Afolabi and his ex-wife forced the girls to work 14 to 20 hours seven days a week. The women also lived with the couple and were not allowed to make friends, learn English or travel alone. If any of the women disobeyed they were brutally beaten.

Afolabi has been held without bail since September 2007. His ex-wife denies his claims and reports that the girls were treated fairly and paid well. Her trial takes place next month.

Jay Rock: The Future Of The West Discusses 30-Day Assault

Thursday, August 27th, 2009

Watts finest Jay Rock has been on a roll this month with a 30-day assault of music to the Internet. While his Warner Bros. debut is still in the making, Jay Rock spoke to Hip-Hop Wired about the major flood of music and the hold up of his album after releasing the bang out single “All My Life (Ghetto)” with Weezy F. Baby over a year ago.

“Basically what I'm doing, I don't want to be one of those dudes that put out an album just for the sake of saying I have an album out and it don't do nothing. I feel like when I got the right support, I feel like when I got everybody behind me, and basically I got the world on my shoulders and everybody (more...)

Ayatollah Says U.S. and UK Aren't to Blame for Civil Unrest

Thursday, August 27th, 2009

According to Iran's state-run media, the nation's supreme leader said the U.S. and UK are not to blame for the post-election violence that took place after the election.

Ayatollah Khamenei told a group of University students "I don't accuse the leaders of the recent incidents of being affiliated with foreign countries, including the United States and Britain, since the issue has not been proven for me."

He added, "But there is no doubt that the events were planned, no matter whether their leaders knew it or not."

The current president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and other official leaders previously made claims that the United State and Britain were "meddling" in affairs that were not of their concern, for which Ahmadinejad threatened repercussive action.

According to CNN, Iran's intelligence minister Gholam-Hosein Mohseni Ejei accused Western powers for sparking protests. He believes the British Embassy in Tehran "played a heavy role in the recent disturbances" and the U.S. led the endeavor.

"The fact that Iran is stable, calm and secure, they're upset with this," Ejei told Iran's Press TV.

Thousands of Iranian citizens took to the streets for two weeks after what was believed to be a fraudulent or fixed election of Ahmadinejad, who declared he won by a landslide.

Over 1,000 protestors were arrested and at least 30 people died in the post-election protests that often turned violent.

The current president's opponent challenged the election results, but were unsuccessful in their attempts to acquire a re-vote. In early August, Ahmadinejad was sworn in for his second term.

Iranian officials have gone after a several protesters and have initiated mass trial for the individual demonstrators, including two French and British embassy employees and a French citizen.

According to Iranian officials, a groups of defendant have admitted to helping
the United States instigate the civil upheaval.

On Wednesday, Khamenei said Iran's prosecutors should not use "rumors" as grounds for criminal implication, but should try them on hard evidence.

The Dream Named New Executive Vice President Of Island Def Jam

Thursday, August 27th, 2009

The Dream announced his new position as Executive Vice President of Island Def Jam Records Wednesday through his Twitter page. The 27-year old singer, songwriter, and producer sent out a series of Tweets late that evening saying:

“I wanna Thank everyone at Island Records/DefJam for their faith in me and making me Executive Vice President of Island Records. Thank you to my team..my manager Mark Stewart & my attorney Aaron Rosenberg for getting this 1st step of a goal accomplished. Thanks to Judy. Thank you to my partner Tricky Stewart and the (more...)