In My Opinion

Just a little shin-dig I created about my thoughts on hip hop and global politics and anything between and beyond. And yes I do hail from the lovely nation-state of Kenya!

Tuesday, May 25, 2004

Iran manipulated US and Britain

It seems the "Greatest Nation on Earth" has been duped by the Iranian government! Mr. Chalabi, who the US got most of its intelligence info from, was in fact acting as a double spy for Iran and giving them secret US intelligence...ahh hahahaha!.....ahem...excuse me. What this means of course is best summed up in this quote:


Larry Johnson, a former senior counter-terrorist official at the state department, said: "When the story ultimately comes out we'll see that Iran has run one of the most masterful intelligence operations in history. They persuaded the US and Britain to dispose of its greatest enemy."

Basquiat

Everyone should see this film, made in 1996 about the life of Haitian/Puerto Rican, Jean-Michel Basquiat. He was "the first black" artist to gain real "recognition" in the uppity world of Fine Art. basically he started off with the graffiti movement in the early 80's but wanted to pursue painting exclusively. He was constantly "typecast" as a tragic inner city youth from the ghetto who was expressing his inner primal anger through art, but all he wanted was to be recognized as an artist...no labels, no categorizing...but of course Black people always have to be "The first Black so and so....but I digress, he was really exploited by white dealers and fine art collectors
and was friends with the famous artisit Andy Worhal. He died of a heroin overdose in 1987.

Here's a snipet about him
"The only thing the market liked better than a hot young artist was a dead hot young artist, and it got one in Jean-Michel Basquiat, whose working life of about nine years was truncated by a heroin overdose at the age of twenty-seven. His career, both actual and posthumous, appealed to a cluster of toxic vulgarities. First, the racist idea of the black as naif or rhythmic innocent, and of the black artist as "instinctual," someone outside "mainstream" culture and therefore not to be rated in its terms: a wild pet for the recently cultivated collector. Second, a fetish about the freshness of youth, blooming among the discos of the East Side scene. Third, guilt and political correctness, which made curators and collectors nervous about judging the work of any black artist who could be presented as a "victim." Fourth, art-investment mania. And last, the audience's goggling appetite for self-destructive talent: Pollock, Montgomery Clift. All this gunk rolled into a sticky ball around Basquiat's tiny talent and produced a reputation.
~Artchive.com

Sunday, May 23, 2004

NICE....

Website about Africa by scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr.

African Wonders

Commercialism at its finest

New shoes by Dada Supreme feature, replicas of the ubiquitous 20-inch spinners...full story..

SOD, Donald Rummy caught on tape!

well its not as salacious as it sounds...but still quite scandalous!

and Secretary Colin Powell...overides he's Aide's attempt to abruptly and rudely cut him off, mid-interview with Tim Russet on meet the press

Wednesday, May 19, 2004


President Jean Jacques finally going to Haiti, a former French Colony

Whew..

Had to take a little break from my blog to finish my Midterm Exams...but we won't go into that. So apparently, France has just wrapped up a visit to Haiti...the first in 200 years!. Wow talk about being abandonded by your colonial "masters", 200 years? This is why the French and especially the US, can't claim "moral highground" (which seems to be the word of the month since the Iraqi abuse photos). Some countries in Europe would have us believe that just because they are more liberal now, they have escaped responsiblity (insert USA here). Here's the rest of that story from the ever-informative Africana.com and The Detocqueville Connection

Monday, May 17, 2004

A little more about me

Yesterday while searching for my former residence in London, I found my old primary school that I went to! Bowes Primary in New Southgate.

Sunday, May 16, 2004

good artists

Some artists with long awaited new albums

Teena Marie

Teena Marie">
Teena Marie


Dead Prez

Dead Prez


Prince!!!!!!!!

Prince

Saturday, May 15, 2004

South Africa Wins Bid to Host 2010 World Cup!


"Former South African President Nelson Mandela, right, holding the World Cup trophy, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, left, and other members of the South Afri
Former South African President Nelson Mandela, right, holding the World Cup trophy, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, left, and other members of the South African delegation celebrate in a Saturday, May 15, 2004, photo provided by the World Football Association FIFA, after it was announced that South Africa will host the 2010 soccer World Cup. FIFA's executive committee on Saturday picked South Africa ahead of Morocco and Egypt for the first World Cup to be staged in Africa". SOURCE:(AP Photo/FIFA via Keystone)
 Posted by Hello
World Cup of Football

Pictures!

I figured out how to post pictures...let the fun begin!


Democracy Posted by Hello

Friday, May 14, 2004

What I have been reading...

Origins of HIV Virus

Bush Speaks.com

Thursday, May 13, 2004

Same Abuse Going On in Haiti

According to Black Commentator,
www.blackcommentator.com

The same abuse that Iraqi prisoners were subject to in Iraq is also being implemented in Haiti! Are we surprised???...No...why? Because the NGO's International Red Cross, and Human Rights Watch have already proclaimed that these kind of abuses are SYSTEMIC and widespread.

And another thing...

Commentary in response to doomsday attitude surrounding Africa
As an African, I admit things are really hard in Africa, they have been for a few decades...but the word DESTROY is sooooo harsh. The media thinks it can stick any ol' adjective in front of Africa...gosh...the way this is worded its like daily life does not exist, that people don't LAUGH or have WEDDINGS or SING...I hate the way Africa is always portrayed as one big sulking, depraved COUNTRY (its a continent with over 50 countires, and enourmous diversity you can't even begin to generalize) Do you see how we are socialized to believe that there is no worthy life on the continent of Africa? The infamous "they" are trying to precondition us to except and be dulled to the hardship being endured by Africans everyday.

Wednesday, May 12, 2004

Here's a jem...

So they finally did it eh?? They kicked Latoya, the best singer on American Idol off..
I see America has a problem with seeing black people succeed consistantly...too much haterism!

Bushism of the day: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A57791-2004Apr30.html ""There's a lot of people in the world who don't believe that people whose skin color may not be the same as ours can be free and self-govern," Bush said.

"I reject that. I reject that strongly. I believe that people who practice the Muslim faith can self-govern. I believe that people whose skins aren't necessarily -- are a different color than white can self-govern."


...it seems that Mr. Sean "P Diddy" Combs has landed himself on the Worst Song List by Blender Magazine. Puffy is LOOOONG overdue of such...eh...recognition...truth is he's just plain wack. But I guess he's a good businessman like everyone says...even still, we all know he's rhymes are wack, production is so-so, he had that stint with J-lo (hey that could have been a puffy rhyme!) Interestingly enough, the song that made it on there was "Missing You" which I don't think is the worst Puffy song..but Anyway, all I have to add to this is Congratulations Sir! Well deserved. (www.sohh.com)

In other news...
A Congressional team selected to view the remaining unreleased photos of abused Iraqi prisoners said that the these pictures were "worse then before". One congressman, Colorado Republican Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, had the nerve to declare, "I don't know how the hell these people got into our army," said after viewing what he called a fraction of the images. Hhmmmmmm....well, I can tell you how they got into the army....you recruited them! Not only that, YOU, Rep. Campbell, signed the declartion allowing the United States to embark on this imperialistic, colonial, oil-motivated, occupation, now known as "the situation in Iraq".

Congress should not be surprised or outraged, because they basically gave the Dept. of Defense and the Executive Branch, free reign over the war including hundreds of billions of funds, that went to private contractors who do not care about human rights and don't even know what the Geneva Convention is. Feigning ignorance and alarm is soooo like the elite. Even though this country has a history of brutalization and violence, like sending postcards of lynched African Americans still hanging on a tree to family and friends...(crazy huh? read about it in Ida B. Wells "On Lynching").

These people who ordered and carried out these abuses are merely the descendents of those who brutalized citizens of this country generation after generation. One last point, God Bless Nicholas Berg and peace be upon his soul, for the manner in which he died was horrific; however, in all objectivity, those who beheaded him believe that they are defending their territory (Iraq) from being a permanent Colony of the U.S... While that's not justifiable, its understandable.

Day one...dum-dum-DUNNNN

Yaay!!! Mine-very-own-blog! Yippie!!

Well lets start with a publishing, of sorts, of my random quotes and thoughts that I had to save on microsoft word before this blog came along and saved my life. Great. So here goes...

Here is a quote from an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer about President Bush's trip to Africa a year ago Africa....
"Bush said he will carry a message of compassion when he leaves Monday for Senegal, South Africa, Botswana, Uganda and Nigeria. 'We care deeply about the plight of the African citizen,' Bush said. 'When this nation sees suffering we will not turn away. There is tremendous suffering on the continent of Africa. ... When we see starvation, we don't turn our back, we act.'''

ummm.. yeah righ!! anyway, the rest of the article was found here, but I dont think the link works anymore, but for the purposes of non-plagerism, it stands...
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/politics/6222399.htm

I read a lot of articles and will often quote or cite them on this blog.