1st October, 2008
Jay-Z Gives Free Shows in Support of Barack
I usually feel funny about musicians using their influence in politics but since this is directly related to Barack's campaign, I'll cosign just this once...
Hip-Hop star Jay-Z will lend support to Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and encourage young people to vote by giving two free concerts this weekend, AllHipHop.com has learned.
Jay-Z, born Shawn Carter, will perform a free show in Detroit on Saturday (October 4) followed by another free performance in Miami on Saturday (October 5). Tickets for the free concerts will be distributed at Obama’s local campaign offices, AllHipHop.com has confirmed.
Obama, who admitted a fondness for Jay-Z and Kanye West, expressed his support for Hip-Hop during an interview with MTV Host/Hip-Hop personality Sway, following a presidential rally in Greensboro, North Carolina.
He also praised the entrepreneurial mind state that rappers often possess.
“In the past, musicians oftentimes were commodities.” Obama told MTV News. “They were just shuffled around…they did well, but they didn't have the vision to say, 'I'm going to build a business. I'm going to build my own studio. I'm going to create my own production operations.' I think they're a lot more sophisticated than in the past, and that is a wonderful thing."
In related news, Obama will debate Republican presidential nominee Senator John McCain two more times: once in Tennessee on October 7 and again in New York on October 15. (From Allhiphop.com)
Posted at 9:08 am | Comment (0)
22nd September, 2008
A CHANGE IS COMING
Barack Obama is on the cover of the October 2008 issue of MEN’S VOGUE magazine. Snapped by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz, Barack talked about his life since that keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention to his present lifestyle.
Posted at 12:29 am | Comment (0)
20th September, 2008
Celebrities sue politicians for taking away spotlight
A group of celebrities is suing Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin for taking a significant amount of attention away from them. Obama and Palin have been turning up on the covers of Hollywood star magazines such as People, OK! and The National Enquirer. The celebrities filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court seeking an unspecified amount of money for the damage suffered over the last few weeks.
Tags: barack, hollywood, jamie lynn spears, lesbian, lindsay lohan, married, nominee, obama, photos, pregnant, samantha ronson, sarah palin, style"They are not celebrities, and they should not be on these covers," said a frustrated Lindsay Lohan. "I was caught on camera holding hands again with Samantha Ronson further speculating lesbian rumors, but I did not get the cover."
"I was caught with crystal meth, and no cover for me either," said Ryan O'Neal. "I mean, what do I have to do to get on the cover? Kill a tranny hooker? I don't know any trannies, but hypothetically, if I did, is that what I would have to do?"
"It's bad enough they get all of the attention on 'Meet the Press,' do they have take away our covers of OK magazine? I mean, just because Sarah Palin's daughter is pregnant and still a teenager and unmarried, doesn't mean she should get all of the attention," said Jamie Lynn Spears.
Posted at 9:18 pm | Comment (0)
17th September, 2008
Talib Kweli and Solange "Rock the Vote"
Poor Talib, if I had $1 every time he did a free show I'd be a fucking millionaire! And I'm not even talking about charitable ventures like this one. I mean, in general, I've seen this dude about 10 times in the past 3 years of my life for FREE.
Talib Kweli, Solange and Nikki Jean will be performing at Thursday’s (September 18) “Rock the Vote” concert in Philadelphia.
Aiming to encourage more young people to take the initiative and register to vote for the upcoming presidential election, the national campaign’s next stop will be at Community College of Philadelphia.
Organized as “The Road Trip ’08,” audience members will be able to use the free event’s interactive computer kiosks to register to vote, request absentee ballots and learn about the latest poll data, important local issues plus the make-up of each candidate’s platform. Attendees will also be able to register for text message updates as the election draws closer.
The free event will take place on Thursday at 3 p.m. EST. The non-profit movement has benefited from active artists including Lenny Kravitz, Diddy, N.E.R.D. and the Black Eyed Peas who have all voiced the importance of youth voting in this year’s historic election.
The 2008 presidential showdown will be between Democrat Senator Barack Obama and Republican Senator John McCain on November 4th. If elected, Obama will serve as, the first-ever African-American president in the United State’s history.
The first televised debate will be Friday, September 26 at the University of Mississippi. (From Sohh.com)
Posted at 9:59 am | Comment (0)
15th September, 2008
Two More Large Banks in Crisis
I feel bad for all the people whose jobs are hanging in the balance :( I know too many young adults who graduate from a reputable business school and enter the finance field banking on its monetary stability.
When Wall Street woke up Monday morning, two more of its storied firms had fallen. Lehman Brothers, burdened by billion in soured real-estate holdings, said it is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after attempts to rescue the 158-year-old firm failed. Its businesses in Britain were already placed in administration, said the administrator, accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, and employees carrying boxes and bags were walking out of Lehman's London offices.
Bank of America Corp. said it is snapping up Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. in a billion all-stock transaction.
The demise of the independent Wall Street institutions came as shock waves from the 14-month-old credit crisis roiled the U.S. financial system six months after the collapse of Bear Stearns. The world's largest insurance company, American International Group Inc., also was forced into a restructuring. And a global consortium of banks, working with government officials in New York, announced a billion pool of funds to lend to troubled financial companies.The aim, according to participants who spoke to The Associated Press, was to prevent a worldwide panic on stock and other financial exchanges.
Ten banks - Bank of America, Barclays, Citibank, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and UBS - each agreed to provide US billion "to help enhance liquidity and mitigate the unprecedented volatility and other challenges affecting global equity and debt markets."
The Federal Reserve also chipped in with more largesse in its emergency lending program for investment banks. The central bank announced late Sunday that it was broadening the types of collateral that financial institutions can use to obtain loans from the Fed.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the discussions had been aimed at identifying "potential market vulnerabilities in the wake of an unwinding of a major financial institution and to consider appropriate official sector and private sector responses."
The European Central Bank, the Bank of England, and the Swiss central bank also made more short-term credit available to banks. European stocks fell sharply, with the FTSE 100 Index off 3.42 percent in London, the CAC-40 down 4.27 percent in Paris, and Germany's blue-chip DAX 30 falling 3.38 percent. Asian stock markets also tumbled, with India's Sensex sinking more than 5 percent. Japan and Hong Kong were closed for holidays.
Financial stocks were hard hit and the dollar fell against the pound and the euro.
Futures pegged to the Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 250 points in electronic trading Sunday evening, pointing to a sharply lower open for the blue chip index Monday morning. Asian stock markets also tumbled, with India's Sensex sinking more than 5 percent. Japan and Hong Kong were closed for holidays.
The stunning weekend developments took place as voters, who rank the economy as their top concern, prepare to elect a new president in seven weeks. It likely will spur a much greater focus by presidential candidates - Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama - and members of Congress on the need for stricter financial regulation. Samuel Hayes, finance professor emeritus at Harvard Business School, said the Bush administration may get a lot of blame for the situation, which could benefit Obama.
"Just the psychological impact of this kind of failure is going to be significant," he said. "It will color people's feelings about their well-being and the integrity of the financial system."
Lehman Brothers' announcement that it is filing for bankruptcy came after all potential buyers walked away. Potential suitors were spooked by the U.S. Treasury's refusal to provide any takeover aid, as it had done six months ago when Bear Stearns faltered and earlier this month when it seized Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Employees emerging from Lehman's headquarters near the heart of Times Square Sunday night carried boxes, tote bags and duffel bags, rolling suitcases, framed artwork and spare umbrellas. Many were emblazoned with the Lehman Brothers name. TV trucks lined Seventh Avenue opposite the building, while barricades at the building's main entrance attempted to keep workers and onlookers from gumming up the steady flow of pedestrians flowing in and out of Times Square. Some workers had moist eyes while a few others wept and shared hugs. Most who left the building quietly declined interviews. People snapped pictures with cameras and their phones. Observers pressed up against a police barricade drew the ire of one man who emerged from the building and shouted: "Are you enjoying watching this? You think this is funny?"
For more on this story, read here.(From AP, AOL Money)
Posted at 9:42 am | Comment (0)
20th August, 2008
BARACK THE VOTE
Barack Obama is covering the September Juice issue of VIBE Magazine.Posted at 7:19 am | Comment (0)