Better On The Other Side!

As I just got off my job, I gotten word that my grandma Gladis had passed away today.

She lived a great life and the family will miss her. It's hard and I'm soaking with emotional distress.

And even though, I can't shed tears like my mom and sister, I do show my sorrows tonight for the passing of my grandma.

Like it hits close to home when you lose a family member. Yes, it does hurt alot.

But we'll be alright. We all know that she cared for us and loved us dearly.

Let's hope we can live to see the days pass by.

RIP TO MAMA.....

Jazze Pha Producing Straight Out The Closet! [NSFW]

Atlanta producer Jazze Pha got gay shamed by a transsexual who claims he "kept her warm."

This coming straight out of Atlanta. Another hip-hop figure is either gay or bisexual. And the partner the figure slept with has "proof" that it happened.

The gay shame happens when a scorned gay partner wants to expose their straight sexual partner to the general public. In turn, it becomes a gay panic and then turns into a dangerous situation for the person.

A gay panic involves the person who exposed the "straight" partner getting either assaulted or killed by that person. In the Black community, the straight partner will risk their freedom to protect their cred among their fellow peers.

Why they invented the down-low?

Because men who don't acknowledge themselves a "gay or bisexual" have these affairs with women and men outside of their relationships. Some men look at it as "I can have my cake and eat too" theory.

Because they can't hide their passions. All men love sex. Men enjoy the pleasure of being involved in sex with a partner. Regardless of the partner being a man or a woman, the alpha male will satisfy his needs with that person.

Transsexual blackmailed rap producer.

In turn they create the possibility of spreading HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis in the Black community. Most of the times, they refuse to wear condoms and end up having unwanted children or an incurable disease.

They end up having Jerry Springer/Maury Povich/Ricki Lake moments.

Most celebrities in the Black community typically hip-hop and action movies go forth with the masculinity and a sense of having the baddest bitches at their side.

Don't get me wrong, what people do in the bedrooms is solely their business.

Shayla Stacks is posting her outings with entertainers. Jazze Pha is one of her "tricks".

I have no problem with the LGBT community. They're entitled to live their lives in peace and harmony. They deserve the right to marry. They're not bothering me. So let them celebrate their love in union.

Well the photos are out and rapper/producer Jazze Pha is having a relationship with a transgender woman (POST-OP Transsexual).

More power to him on his love life. He can be at least comfortable with who he is.

Shayla Stacks love to take a whole bunch of selfies and NSFW stuff.







The rap producer has came out on the social networks denying that he's ever met the person, but unfortunately the news isn't new when you're living in the GAYEST area for Black people.

Jazze Pha has a reputation around ATL circles for entertaining an alternative lifestyle, so this picture didn't come as a surprise to many in the community. Still, Pha took to Twitter to respond to the photograph, refraining from denying that it was indeed him in the image, and instead getting all religious on us.

“Even when the Devil is working hard Just know that GOD is working HARDER!!” He then posted an image on Instagram with the words: “There is a sad disposition in our fallen nature as a people to listen to the retailers petty scandal.”

Stacks is also the transsexual that claimed back in the day that rapper DMX tried to holler at her.

Phalon Anton Alexander (born April 25, 1974), also known as is an American record producer and songwriter from Atlanta, Georgia. He is the founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Sho'nuff Records, which American R&B/pop singer-songwriter Ciara was signed to.

Pha is known for announcing "Ladies and gentlemen" or "This is a Jazze Phizzle production!", both at the beginning and, occasionally, at the end of songs on which he is featured.

He helped produced Ludacris' single "Area Codes", Tela's "Sho Nuff (Hoes In The Club)", Field Mob "Sick Of Being Lonely", Nappy Roots "Aww Naww", and T.I.'s "Let's Get Away".

You Still Can't Fix Stupid [NSFW]!

Did the worker realize that a blunt in the burger would become a viral hit on the social networks? 

The service industry is a beast. You got people who believe they're entitled to have the best service no matter what! I agree. It's a part of the economic food chain. Let's say if I had horrible service from a worker at a business. I would post my concerns on the internet or share it on the micro blog Redit. Once it goes viral, it makes it into the junk food media. And believe me, the company that I've scorned online doesn't want bad publicity. So they'll do anything if not everything to remedy the problem.

I understand that for I work at two jobs in the service industry. It's rough.

You're overworked and underpaid. You make less than $30,000 a year working in the service industry.

Wendy's International is one of the country's most popular fast food joints. It's known for the square hamburger patty and Frosty chocolate shakes. It was founded by Dave Thomas, an American businessman and philanthropist.

The company based out of the Columbus, Ohio suburb of Dublin. There are 6,000 restaurants worldwide.

Also the restaurant company has stakes in its namesake Wendy's Old Fashion Hamburgers, Cafe Express, coffee giant Tim Hortons and Baja Fresh.

Nearly ten years ago, this dumb broad from California almost destroyed the company. She would create this stupid story about the fast food giant's homestyle chili having a finger in it.

The woman Anna Ayala claimed she found that missing digit in a San Jose area Wendy's.

That controversy really put a major dent in Wendy's bottom line. In fact, it cost them over $4 million in loss revenue.

When the story didn't match up to the accusations, the woman confessed and later would blame her husband for the story. The woman and her husband got some time in the iron college. They would also have a worldwide ban from all Wendy's Restaurants.

Quality is our recipe.

Now Wendy's has cleaned up its image and now go by the new slogan "Now, That's Better!" with actress Morgan Smith Goodwin (aka the Wendy's girl). They want no negative publicity when it comes to its workers or its products.

Wendy's isn't taking kind to an Atlanta woman leaving her buds in the buns.

Maybe she should have taken the day off like the thousands of low wage workers who went on "strike" at this and many other national restaurants yesterday.

The Wendy's employee who dropped a partially smoked blunt in a customer's cheeseburger has been fired and charged with marijuana possession.

The Associated Press reports that the woman's reckless decision may end up putting her in the county lockup for a few months.

Police in the city of Lovejoy, Ga., about 25 miles south of downtown Atlanta, said a customer drove home with her food on Nov. 1, took a bite out of the burger and noticed a strange smell wafting from it.

The woman pulled the bun off and saw a partially smoked blunt inside, police said. A blunt is marijuana rolled into a hollowed-out cigar.

The woman called the restaurant's manager and met there with police soon afterward.

In an incident report released Thursday, authorities said 32-year-old Amy Elizabeth Seiber admitted that the marijuana belonged to her as soon as she saw police standing in the restaurant with her manager.

Where's the bud? - Amy Seiber. 

Seiber told Officer Randall Rowland that it wouldn't make any sense to lie about the marijuana, since she and the restaurant's manager were the only ones working when the customer placed her drive-thru order, Rowland wrote in the report.

Seiber apologized, saying she had misplaced the marijuana, Rowland wrote.

Wendy's officials said they're deeply sorry for what happened.

"Obviously the employee broke the rules and did not follow proper food handling steps," said Wendy's spokesman Denny Lynch. He added that the corporation contacted the restaurant's owner and officials were told that she had been fired.

"They have apologized to the customer and have offered to pay the medical bills," Lynch said. "Furthermore, the franchisee is working on a satisfactory resolution with the customer."

Clayton County court officials were unsure if Seiber had an attorney. A telephone number listed for her was out of service.

A call to the customer who found the drug in her sandwich was not immediately returned.

Gucci Mane Got Fired From His Own Label!

Gucci Mane's manager Debra Antney (aka Ms. Mizay). The rapper is suing her and rapper Waka Flocka Flame over royalties. The rapper is also facing federal charges for being a felon with a firearm.

1017 Brick Squad was created by Atlanta rapper Gucci Mane. The label helped him gain mainstream attraction. He brought OJ Da Juiceman, Waka Flocka Flame, Young Thug, and Young Scooter into the fold of his label. And now it seems like the label will move on with or without him..

The trap music phenomenon is something that Gucci Mane, Waka Floka, Future, T.I., Young Jeezy, Lil' Wayne, 2 Chainz, Rich Homie Quan, and Rick Ross take pride in. The success has provided them with hit singles and major stans. Also it draws the controversy of drug use and illegal activities.

Radric Davis (Gucci Mane) is a perennial of the iron college. And while he's serving his time, he usually drops a mixtape before he goes in.

His manager decided that the time has come for him to relinquish his hold of the label.

His manager is Waka Flocka Flame (Juaquin Malphurs)'s mom.

Debra Antney has managed Gucci Mane and Waka Flocka's early careers. She also has managed, or is currently managing, the careers of Nicki Minaj, OJ Da Juiceman, French Montana, and Lex Luger, among many other high-profile acts. She is also a certified acupuncturist and social worker.

Waka Flocka Flame is the founder of Brick Squad Monopoly and co-CEO of 1017 Brick Squad.

It was revealed Gucci Mane had filed a lawsuit against Waka Flocka Flame, Antney, OJ Da Juiceman, rapper Khia Stone and producer Zaytoven. The lawsuit accuses the parties, of fraud, racketeering, and breach of contract. According to Gucci Mane, Antney took control of his 1017 Brick Squad Records, LLC., without permission, and used it to create three separate offshoot labels. "Gucci is also accusing the parties in the lawsuit of withholding royalties and inflating the cost of label expenditures" and claimed that Antney seized his assets and stole a ring and a necklace.

In his lawsuit, Gucci Mane says that Antney took more than the typical 20 percent management fee. Gucci Mane also alleges that Antney's actions led to his having money and tax problems.

1017 Brick Squad : Young Thug, Young Scooter, OJ da Juiceman, Young Dolph, Waka Flocka and Gucci Mane. 

Antney responded saying, "I'm so speechless. It's so crazy. Waka wasn't even rapping in 2006. Drugs, greed, and women ruined him [Gucci Mane]. That's it. Don't blame that shit on me.

Yeah, I have to agree with Antney.

Gucci Mane is known to be a cocaine addict. He has been arrested for drug charges that include possession of marijuana and ecstasy (MOLLY). When he binges on drugs he acts a fool. He was recently arrested for firearm possession as a felon. That's basically having weapons under disability.

Federal time out for Gucci Mane if he is found guilty of carrying firearms while under disability.

Now CNN reports that the Atlanta rapper's career may be over. He may get 20 years in federal time out if he is found guilty.

Each charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal time out and a fine of up to $250,000.

What's your thoughts of this feud between Gucci Mane and Waka Flocka Flame?

Season Greetings!

Job approval is lower.

President Barack Obama's job approval is in the 40s. Pretty dangerous territory for the party in power. It's obvious that the Democrats have a tough road ahead if they can retake the House and hold the Senate.

With the unemployment numbers out for this November, it seems like the president's promise to create jobs is being fulfilled.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its jobs report and it shows that 203,000 jobs were added.

The unemployment number is 7%.

November must have been really good for the service industry. Hell, I even got a job that month.

Also the service industry needs the added help for the holiday rush. And believe me, the extra money is good when you want to give your friends and family something great.

The Associated Press reports a fourth straight month of solid hiring cut the U.S. unemployment rate in November to a five-year low of 7 percent. The gains in the job market could spur greater economic growth.

The Labor Department said Friday that employers added 203,000 jobs, nearly matching October's revised gain of 200,000. The job gains helped lower the unemployment rate from 7.3 percent in October.

The strengthening job market is likely to fuel speculation that the Federal Reserve may scale back its bond purchases when it meets later this month.

The economy has now generated an average of 204,000 jobs from August through November. That's up from 159,000 a month from April through July.

Now Hiring.

Many of the November job gains were in higher-paying industries. Manufacturers added 27,000 positions, the most since March 2012. Construction firms gained 17,000. The two industries have created a combined 113,000 jobs in the past four months.

Another month of robust hiring follows other positive economic news. The economy expanded at an annual rate of 3.6 percent in the July-September quarter, the fastest growth since early 2012, the government said Wednesday.

Of course the conservatives will complain regardless of the job numbers. It's a pathetic excuse to get at the president because he promise that during his first term unemployment will be lower than 6%.

Conservative Outrage Over Obama's Uncle!

Onyango Okech Obama gets a stay in the U.S. and it pisses off the outrage pimps of the racist right.

Outrage pimping made easy.

If you wonder why Blacks detest the Republican Party and its conservative allies, you see the continuous outrage from them over the most trivial things.

With very important issues being squandered away, we talk about this stuff. Some family member who has no close ties to the president. But since he's an Obama, it's obviously about the president.

President Barack Obama does have a big family. Besides his sister Maya Soetoro-Ng, there's dozens of family members that are related to the president.

The birthers (obviously the racist right/conservative) folks are so focused over then law graduate Barack Obama staying with his uncle, an undocumented worker.

The president acknowledged that he stayed with his uncle, Onyango Okech Obama stirring the pot of conspiracy theorists everywhere.

CNN reports that President Obama's uncle, was granted permission Tuesday by a federal immigration judge to stay in the United States, where he has lived illegally for the past five decades. In his testimony before the judge, Obama's uncle mentioned that then-student Obama had stayed with him for three weeks after he was accepted into law school.

The White House was asked about their relationship in 2011 at which time the administration said there was no record of the President and Onyango Okech Obama having ever met. Carney retracted that information Thursday saying that the President himself had never been consulted about their relationship.

"Back when this arose, folks looked at the record, including the President's book, and there was no evidence that they had met. And that was what was conveyed. Nobody spoke to the President," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters.

"When Omar Obama said the other day and there were reports that he had said the other day that President Obama, back when he was a law school student, had stayed with him in Cambridge, I thought it was the right thing to do to go ask him."

Carney continued: "Nobody had asked him in the past, and the President said that he in fact had met Omar Obama when he moved to Cambridge for law school and that he stayed with him for a brief period of time until his, the President's, apartment was ready."

Carney said after that period, Obama and his uncle "saw each other once every few months while the President was in Cambridge" but eventually "fell out of touch."

The White House said they had no record that the President had met his relative after his uncle was arrested for drunk driving in 2011. The driving violation brought to light Onyango Okech Obama's illegal status, and he was then ordered to regularly check in with immigration.

"The President has not seen Omar Obama in 20 years, and has not spoken with him in roughly 10 years," Carney said, adding that Obama had "absolutely zero" involvement in his relative's deportation case.

Giving the racist right another bone to null on!

Onyango Okech Obama isn't the first of the President's relatives to have issues with immigration status.

Onyango Okech Obama's sister, Zeituni Onyango, was granted permission to stay in the United States in 2010 after a six-year-plus legal battle over her status.

While the immigration court was considering Zeituni Onyango's case in 2009, then-White House spokesman Ben Labolt said Obama would stay out of his aunt's immigration case and "the president believes that the case should run its ordinary course."

It seems that Onyango Okech Obama's appearance and mention of his nephew's stay before law school in immigration court earlier this week was what prompted the White House to take measures to correct the record.

The administration's initial denial that the President had met his uncle and subsequent reversal of the record raises speculation that Onyango Okech Obama's court appearances and immigration status first led the White House to distance the President from the controversy and deliver misleading information.

The President is already facing questions about his credibility after technological issues and reports of canceled insurance plans plagued the recent rollout of parts of Obamacare, the sweeping healthcare reform law passed in his first term. A CNN/ORC International survey released last month indicates that 53% of Americans now believe that Obama is not honest and trustworthy, the first time that a clear majority in CNN polling has felt that way.

The reversal over details of Obama's relationship with his uncle could prove to be another detriment to Obama's credibility with the public.

Obama attended Harvard Law School beginning in 1988 when he was 28 after serving as a community organizer in Chicago.

Again, this is an example of the junk food media at its best. Who cares about Obama's uncle?

Obviously CNN and the racist right would rather bother covering this type of stuff.

Sad.

Charlotte fast-food workers stage protest- by Creative Loafing Charlotte

It begins in N.C., where Republican hypocrites are ruining the populace with their draconian laws favoring the small elite.  These working class people of Charlotte are protesting against low wages and benefits.  It's no wonder Moral Monday is very necessary to counteract myriad injustices throughout the state and, eventually, the country.

Black Republicans: Obama Ain't Done Nothing For "YOU BLACK FOLK!"

Condescending Black Republicans bemoan about "us Black folk" who refuse to join the party that embraces racism. I mean we have the first Black president and all of sudden, we see more and more extremism coming from every element of society since President Barack Obama took oath in 2009.

Rest in peace, Nelson Mandela. You helped end apartheid

President Barack Obama addressed the nation about the loss of such a great leader.

Over and over again, the racist right would bemoan the Black community about how life has became so terrible since Barack Obama became president in 2009. They seem to have a selective memory when it comes to who does nothing for the Black community.

One breathe Black Republicans say that Blacks lives are terrible because of unemployment, "gubmint" assistance, drugs, out-of-wedlock children, and gun violence.

In the second breathe the Black Republicans say that racial profiling helps "us Black folk". They believe the gun control (for Whites) is an infringement of the Second Amendment rights. Those Black Republicans say that the "knockout game" was a creation of Obama and Trayvon Martin.

Black Republicans want "us Black folk" to bow down to the Republicans. They believe they're the only ones who could do better for the Black community.

I understand that the Republicans are so pissed that over 90% of the African American vote went strictly to Barack Obama during his 2008 and 2012 runs, respectively. They feel that its "racist" for Blacks to vote for the candidate who can appeal to their needs.

I mean those White Democrats who won the presidency (Roosevelt, Truman, Kennedy, Johnson, Carter, and Clinton) won over 90% of the Black vote. So what?

But those Black Republicans who grumble about their voices not being heard and "US PLANTATION NIGGERS" think of these guys as "HOUSE NIGGERS".

Of course, we give "you Black folk" attention. Don't you appear on CNN, Obama News and Loserville?

Don't you have the freedom of speech to [promote] your condescending rhetoric? How many times have you complained about how unemployment under Obama is way too high?

So high, I could see the water levels after the levees broke during Hurricane Katrina.

Don't you have the right to not support public schools because they indoctrinate children to be Obamabots?

The Black Republicans believe "slavery" exists in modern day society.

This week they have a member of the Republican National Committee post an "cringe-worthy" tweet based off the famous Civil Rights icon who refused to give up her seat.



Tell me in the last 70 years since we had 13 presidents, what have they've done for the Black community?

One president managed to integrate the military. One managed to create the New Deal, which helped the United States bounce out of a horrible depression. On top of that Blacks shifted in the 1940s to the Democrats because of this president's policies. I think that was Franklin D. Roosevelt.

One president's executive order forced the ending of segregation of government workers. I think that was Harry Truman.

One president ordered the Arkansas National Guard to help nine Black students go to Little Rock Central High School after the Supreme Court ordered desegregation of public schools. I think that was Dwight Eisenhower.

One president championed for the ending of Jim Crow in the South. He also maintain contact with that rabble rouser who would later become the voice of the Civil Rights Movement. He would champion for the integration of the public universities. One Black man had armed guards escort him to the University of Mississippi. He didn't make it through a full term to get the Civil Rights Act passed. I think that was John F. Kennedy.

I can tell you during the 1960s since Kennedy was killed, his successor Lyndon B. Johnson was there to finish up the work. During the "long hot summer", he advocated for passage of the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act. He nominated Thurgood Marshall as the first Black Supreme Court justice.

I can say that Richard Nixon wasn't much of supporter of Civil Rights. Gerald Ford didn't get much time in office. Jimmy Carter did much for the Black community and it cost him the election. Despite high gas prices and Iran holding Americans hostage, Carter did something to help Black folks.

I can remember that growing up in the Ronald Reagan era where Blacks were getting lockup for drugs.

George Bush and son George W. really screwed up during their time in the White House. From the LA Riots to Hurricane Katrina, there's not much successes from these two. I mean they've put a lot of Black folk in government positions, but they weren't there for the whole ordeal. I mean Black Republican Colin Powell went and endorse Barack Obama twice.

I can say that Bill Clinton and Barack Obama are the only two presidents who managed to succeed despite a Republican opposition that spends its course of time complaining about how Blacks lives not being better.

Nelson Mandela Tributes Continue! (Yeah, The Racist Comments Too)!

The world mourns the passing of Nelson Mandela.

The world lost a great leader. We just learned that former South African president and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Nelson Mandela passed away at the age 95.

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (Xhosa pronunciation: [xoˈliːɬaɬa manˈdeːla]) (July 18, 1918 – December 5, 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary and politician who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999.

He was the first black South African to hold the office, and the first elected in a fully representative, multiracial election. His government focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid through tackling institutionalized racism, poverty and inequality, and fostering racial reconciliation. Politically an African nationalist and democratic socialist, he served as the President of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1991 to 1997.

Internationally, Mandela was the Secretary General of the Non-Aligned Movement from 1998 to 1999.

A Xhosa born to the Thembu royal family, Mandela attended the Fort Hare University and the University of Witwatersrand, where he studied law. Living in Johannesburg, he became involved in anti-colonial politics, joining the ANC and becoming a founding member of its Youth League. After the Afrikaner nationalists of the National Party came to power in 1948 and began implementing the policy of apartheid, he rose to prominence in the ANC's 1952 Defiance Campaign, was elected President of the Transvaal ANC Branch and oversaw the 1955 Congress of the People.

Working as a lawyer, he was repeatedly arrested for seditious activities and, with the ANC leadership, was prosecuted in the Treason Trial from 1956 to 1961 but was found not guilty. Although initially committed to non-violent protest, in association with the South African Communist Party he co-founded the militant Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) in 1961, leading a bombing campaign against government targets. In 1962 he was arrested, convicted of sabotage and conspiracy to overthrow the government, and sentenced to life imprisonment in the Rivonia Trial.

Mandela served 27 years in prison, first on Robben Island, and later in Pollsmoor Prison and Victor Verster Prison.

An international campaign lobbied for his release, which was granted in 1990 amid escalating civil strife. Becoming ANC President, Mandela published his autobiography and led negotiations with President F.W. de Klerk to abolish apartheid and establish multiracial elections in 1994, in which he led the ANC to victory. He was elected President and formed a Government of National Unity in an attempt to defuse ethnic tensions. As President, he promulgated a new constitution and initiated the Truth and Reconciliation

Commission to investigate past human rights abuses. Continuing the former government's liberal economic policy, his administration introduced measures to encourage land reform, combat poverty, and expand healthcare services.

Internationally, he acted as mediator between Libya and the United Kingdom in the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial, and oversaw military intervention in Lesotho. He declined to run for a second term, and was succeeded by his deputy, Thabo Mbeki. Mandela subsequently became an elder statesman, focusing on charitable work in combating poverty and HIV/AIDS through the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

Mandela was a controversial figure for much of his life. The racist right denounced him as a terrorist and communist sympathizer.

He nevertheless gained international acclaim for his anti-colonial and anti-apartheid stance, having received more than 250 honors, including the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize, the US Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Soviet Order of Lenin. He is held in deep respect within South Africa, where he is often referred to by his Xhosa clan name, Madiba, or as Tata ("Father"); he is often described as "the father of the nation".

Mandela died following a long illness at his home in Johannesburg.

Leaders around the world expressed their condolences in the wake of the announcement, reminding the world of the strength and the compassion that characterized South Africa's remarkable leader.

South African President Jacob Zuma announced the death of Mandela. "Our nation has lost its greatest son. Our people have lost a father," Zuma said, according to CNN. "He is now resting, he is now at peace," Zuma added.

Speaking from the White House, U.S. President Barack Obama said "Mandela has achieved more than could be expected of any man, he lives for the ages." Obama added:

A great leader.

We've lost one of the most influential, courageous and profoundly good human beings that any of us will share time with. He no longer belongs to us, he belongs to the ages... His commitment to transfer power and reconcile with those who jailed him set an example that all humanity should aspire to.

British Prime Minister David Cameron was one of the first to express his grief on Twitter, calling Mandela "a hero of our time."

In the wake of his death, the world is reminded of the incredible impact Nelson Mandela had, not only on South Africa but in countries far from his own. The anti-apartheid icon was a champion for peace and equality, spreading a message of hope and reciprocity all over the world.

From his historic inaugural address, when he became the country's first black president, to his acceptance of the Congressional Gold Medal, Nelson Mandela's words will resonate through the ages carrying on his incredible legacy.

Of course, expect the racist right ignore it. Already Loserville, and the conservative agitators are pretty much saying they're glad that "NIGGER" is gone.

Some of the most vilest comments also came from the social networks of the racist right websites.

Thanks Bob Cesa of The Daily Banter.







 



, 

Nelson Mandela, RIP

RIP Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela, RIP

The following news is from the Chicago Tribune staff and wire services regarding the passing of Nelson Mandela.

Tribune staff and wire services

4:51 p.m. CST, December 5, 2013

Nelson Mandela has died at age 95, South African President Jacob Zuma announced Thursday.

Mandela guided South Africa from the shackles of apartheid to multi-racial democracy, as an icon of peace and reconciliation who came to embody the struggle for justice around the world.

Imprisoned for nearly three decades for his fight against white minority rule, Mandela emerged determined to use his prestige and charisma to bring down apartheid while avoiding a civil war.

"The time for the healing of the wounds has come. The moment to bridge the chasms that divide us has come," Mandela said in his acceptance speech on becoming South Africa's first black president in 1994.

"We have, at last, achieved our political emancipation."

In 1993, Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, an honour he shared with F.W. de Klerk, the white Afrikaner leader who freed him from prison three years earlier and negotiated the end of apartheid.

Mandela went on to play a prominent role on the world stage as an advocate of human dignity in the face of challenges ranging from political repression to AIDS.

Read more about Nelson Mandela's passing at:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-nelson-mandela-dead-20131205,0,6266118.story

More about South Africa's former president and human rights activist Nelson Mandela at:

http://www.nelsonmandela.org/p90/index.html

Rest in peace, Nelson Mandela!

Update

To all,

I'm sorry for the broken link on my latest post, Bob Dumas and Richard Cohen: Two of a Kind.  When you click the above article, it should contain my post and not the link to ABC affiliate in Raleigh. 

Thank you.

S.B.

Diff'rent Strokes!

Landry Thompson with her dance instructors. The instructors were her legal guardians and the Houston Police didn't buy their story. Now a controversy is brewing over racial profiling.

Landry Thompson, a White teenage girl living in Oklahoma didn't expect this to happen. The aspiring dancer was with her trainers were stopped by the Houston CPD.

The police questioned why is a young White girl hanging around with Black men?

They said they're her Black legal guardians. The police didn't buy that. So they were arrested.

KHOU (Houston) reports that the dancers were pretty shaken and upset over the whole ordeal.

“It definitely is life to me,” said Emmanuel Hurd.  “It means the world.  It’s everything to me.”

That’s why the trio from Oklahoma traveled to Houston in the first place.  To spend the weekend dancing and training with some of the industry’s best.

But that dream of a visit took an ugly turn shortly after leaving the studio Saturday night, when the group, exhausted from their work, stopped off at nearby gas station.

“We were on the GPS trying to figure out where the hotel was. And we sat there and we dozed off.”

They said before they knew it, the police showed up and surrounded the car.

“And so I was kind of freaked out and surprised by it,” said Landry.

“They just pulled us out of the car and put our hands behind our backs like we were criminals,” added Hurd.

“The officer asked me 'who’s the girl?' and I said 'she’s my student,'” said Hurd.

“I told him I had a notarized letter from her parents stating that we have full guardianship over her while we’re here.”

All three dancers said say they pleaded with the police repeatedly telling them their story, but that in the end, none of that seemed to matter.”

“They still put handcuffs on me and it really scared me,” said Landry.  “And they put me in the back of a cop car and I was terrified.”

Landry was taken to Child Protective Services.  Her mom couldn't believe it when she found out.

“I was horrified,” said Destiny Thompson. “She was with the people I wanted her to be with.  She was with people I trusted.  And now she was taken away from those people and in a shelter with people I didn’t know.”

Thompson claimed she was told she’d have to fly to Houston to get her daughter out.  But 11 hours later, following repeated phone calls to officials,  Landry was released back into the custody of her instructors.

“I would love an apology,” said Destiny.

Police officials still aren't commenting about what happened.

The group of dancers plans to return to Oklahoma Monday afternoon.

I guess the Houston Police believed that professional Black dancers are criminals!

This isn't Diff'rent Strokes. This was a reality show with real life drama.

In the synopsis of Diff'rent Strokes, Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges as Arnold and Willis Jackson were two African American boys from Harlem who are taken in by a rich white Park Avenue businessman named Phillip Drummond (Conrad Bain) and his daughter Kimberly (Dana Plato), for whom their deceased mother previously worked.

The series made stars out of child actors Gary Coleman, Todd Bridges, and Dana Plato, and became known for the "very special episodes" in which serious issues such as racism, illegal drug use, and child sexual abuse were dramatically explored.

After the show had ended, the lives of these stars were later plagued by legal troubles and drug addiction, as the stardom and success they achieved while on the show eluded them after the series was cancelled, with both Plato (1999) and Coleman (2010)  having early deaths. Bain died in 2013.

Todd Bridges is the only surviving member of the cast.