*Here’s the jobs report from December. U.S. employers added 312,000 positions last month and in the process, extremely out paced Wall Street’s expectations of an increase of “only” 177,000 jobs. The low expectation came on the heels of a tumultuous month for the markets that saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 post their worst performance since the Great Depression.

The unemployment rate rose to 3.9 percent, while the labor force participation rate also rose slightly to 63.1 percent from 62.9 percent during the month. Average hourly earnings meanwhile rose by 11 cents to $27.48. Over the year, average hourly earnings have increased by a total of 84 cents, or about 3.2 percent.

Although experts categorized the gains as unsustainable, they also said it meant an economic recession may not occur as soon as once believed.

“The U.S. economy will eventually fall into recession, maybe as soon as next year, but the December employment report indicates that this isn’t going to happen anytime soon,” said David Berson, the chief economist at Nationwide.

*The name Solomon ‘RC’ Ali might seem obscure to you right now, but if you’re at the high end of technology and use your phone as a means to lock or unlock the door to your house, his name should ring a bell. Pun intended. You’ve seen the commercials: A FEDEX, UPS, or Amazon delivery person rings your doorbell. You’re not home, but your phone, and its camera, alerts you that someone is there. “May I help you?” you ask. “I have a delivery,” is the response. At this point you can unlock your door, allow them to place the package inside, and lock the door when they leave.

Thing is: you’re in Tahiti. Something they will never know!

What about this scenario: Porch pirates! Someone rolls up on a bike and decides to help themselves to the packages left on your porch. Having the right technology would at least allow you to see who the culprit was.

Revolutionary Concepts, one of Solomon Ali’s two companies, owns the intellectual property as well as the patents to this technology. In fact, Ali, who has been listed multiple times in Black Enterprise Magazine’s “Top 100 Black American Entrepreneurs” currently holds sixteen live and active patents that his company licenses out to retailers including Amazon, Livewatch Security LLC, Alarmforce NC Inc. and SkyBell.

…and that’s just to name a few.

FUNK LEGEND BOOTSY COLLINS REVEALS REASON WHY HE CAN NO LONGER PLAY LIVE CONCERTS

In a telephone interview with EURweb publisher, Lee Bailey, Mr. Ali talks about his journey and his desire to help African American entrepreneurs and business owners bring their ideas and concepts to fruition.

“Revolutionary Concepts is just a company that I manage…I’m the CEO. The Intellectual Properties that it holds is 2-way audio/video locking and unlocking of the doors. That’s the technology. We hold a bunch of different patents for that particular technology. We license that technology out to all types of companies… a bunch of different licensees (and) sub-licensees.”

So that’s one company.

Ali also heads the company Universal Bio Energy, an independent diversified energy company incorporated in August 2004. Reuters states the company’s primary business is the production, marketing, and sales of natural gas, propane, coal, petroleum, (Bonnie Light Crude Oil), liquefied natural gas (LNG), refined petroleum products, including jet fuel (JP-54 and Jet A-1), D2 Gas Oil/Diesel Fuel, and electricity. Through its subsidiary, NDR Energy Group LLC, it has contracts to sell natural gas to around 31 public utilities, electric power producers and local gas distribution companies that serve commercial, industrial, and residential customers throughout the United States.

“I raised and arranged lots of financing for that company to grow its business,” Ali tells Lee Bailey when speaking of UBE. “It’s a $60-70 million dollar energy company. That’s approximately what we did in sales last year.

…and check this:

A panel on the popular investment TV show, Shark Tank, had denied the video-doorbell when it was pitched to them in 2013. You know they are kicking themselves…still.

But I am getting ahead of myself here. Let’s backup a minute, shall we?

Sure Solomon Ali holds major degrees from esteemed universities. But from his conversation with Mr. Bailey, it’s easy to sense his most valuable and appreciated lessons came from The School of Hard Knocks; where one particular hard knock inspired him to make two drastic, personal changes. One: shed his birth name (Richard Carter) like a layer of old skin, and two: change his ways — from a self-titled “dictator” to a more peaceful and compassionate person.

He explains…“Well, I was running a fairly large business. We had just under 500 employees and we were doing quite a bit in revenue. All of a sudden, after many years of being in business, I had some regulatory issues which later they stated, ‘Well, we’re sorry. That was a mistake. And those mistakes are very costly to one in business because they don’t pay you for those mistakes. All they can say is ‘we’re sorry’ and turn around and tell you that you have the right to sue them. Well it’s kind of hard to sue a government agency and it takes a lot to sue one, and it also takes a lot of time….So the apology was enough, since I really didn’t have the resources to go after them.”

Ouch!

Mr. Ali believes the problems came about because, as he puts it, “some people wanted more money and a bigger stake in the company.”

ELLEN DEGENERES GETTING FIERCE BACKLASH AFTER DEFENDING KEVIN HART DURING INTERVIEW – VIDEO

Cut to the chase: He lost the business — a chain of successful nursing homes, with assets valued at $100M dollars, and subsequently spiraled into a spell of depression, which forced him to self-reflect. A man of deep Christian faith he started to entertain thoughts such as, when I was on top running my multi-million-dollar business, how did I treat my employees? What kind of boss was I?

 He wasn’t pleased with what he saw. In his eyes it didn’t reflect the Christian way. He realized these people have families. They have their own lives.

“After I lost that I turned around and walked on some barges. I didn’t want anything to do with business whatsoever. At all! Under no circumstances because I felt like, “Wow, I did everything right. I did everything I was supposed to do. I’d worked 7 days a week, 15, 16 hours a day for 8, 9 years only to have that to be the outcome through no fault of my own.”

Fortunately, and thanks to friends who had witnessed his business savvy up close, Ali didn’t have the “luxury” of remaining depressed. Business needed him! Friends started asking for his help to raise money for their ventures. They wanted him to share his expertise on how to go about taking their idea(s) to the monetizing stage.

After a bit of resistance, he agreed to negotiate with lenders on their behalf and share his expertise on building a presentable package, but made sure they knew that they would have to do the heavy lifting.

He tells Lee Bailey:

“So I guess what we’re talking about is how do I help other entrepreneurs or business owners take their idea from where it is and take it through the different stages to developing a true business that’s scalable. How do we take it to a business that they can live on, with employees, and have it benefit our society?”

“I think the best way to go into that is to state that when I look into a business or anything, I look at what service or problem have they solved? Take it from a biblical standpoint,” he adds.

Clearly, Solomon Ali’s vision going in is not only how the business will benefit a particular company, but what does it do to benefit society. This is how he assists minorities in particular and all business owners in general, in upgrading their business models. With his expertise businesses are now able to secure their intellectual properties, raise funding, form strategic alliances, bring their products to market and make them scalable.

At the end of the day, Solomon ‘RC’ Ali wants entrepreneurs and business owners out there to know this: “You would find me when you are looking to grow your business. How do you strategically grow your business within the marketplace? And then second, you would look for me to help you arrange financing through either banks or different investors. Bringing them to the table and sharing with them why they should invest and things of that nature.

Ali states further, something extremely important; and something this writer and many of you have cringe-watched on Shark Tank pitches time and again. “A lot of business owners have no idea of what they should give up. Whether they should do what’s called an Equity deal with investors, whether they should do a Debt deal with banks or investors? Some that think they may know, they realize they have no idea what they should give up.”

Ali lays out an all-too-familiar scenario…

“You go to a venture capital company and what do they do? They want to take controlling interest in everything because it’s their capital. So, I’m kind of that buffer,” he says. “One: You have to respect the money, because they bring great value to the table, and if you respect the money you’ll have access to more money down the road. And two, you have to understand what the money is looking to get in your deal, but also as their exit out of your deal. So, they are looking for a particular return on capital, they’re also looking for that return on investment. Things of that nature. So let’s break it down”: They are looking to the net present value…how long do they have to be ‘in’ before they see a return, and how do they get out? Is this a safe venture for them? How is their money protected?”

It is precisely this kind of expertise that Solomon ‘RC’ Ali uses to bridge the gap. With his assist, the entrepreneur is educated on how to build an all-around package that can be presented to a bank or investor with confidence.

For more information on Solomon ‘RC’ Ali, his companies Revolutionary Concepts and Universal Bio Energy, go to at https://www.solomonrcali.info/

About writer DeBorah B. Pryor:

Former personal assistant to funk legend, Sly Stone, DeBorah B. Pryor began her journalism career backstage at the Apollo in New York City 45 years ago. She has been a writer with the Electronic Urban Report (EURweb) since 2003. As a senior editor with the site, she has written hundreds of articles including theatre reviews, features, profiles and even served as editor of the publications’ blog site, EURThisNthat, writing daily news articles. In May 2018 her first nonfiction book, AREN’T YOU SCARED: Lessons from a Lady Rideshare Driver was published. Learn more about her at lessonsfromaladyridesharedriver.com or on social media sites Facebook: DeBorah B. Pryor, Instagram: deborah.b.pryor and Twitter: @pryor_deborah

Source Link: https://www.eurweb.com/2019/01/solomon-rc-ali-biz-wiz-helps-entrepreneurs-and-business-owners-get-a-seat-at-the-table/

*We know R. Kelly is straight up dog, but he ain’t got nothing on this POS. His name is Nicholas Deon Trash er, Thrash. Nicholas Deon Thrash. He reportedly got a 10-year old girl pregnant after molesting her multiple times. Yes, you read that right. He impregnated a 10-year-old girl  after molesting her numerous times!  The good news, which is how we choose to look at it, is that he’s been sentenced to over 100 years in prison. Thrash, 34, will live the rest of his life behind bars.

Thrash, who is from Marion, Indiana, was sentenced to 160 years with a minimum service of 132 years, as per the Grant County prosecutor. During his trial in late August, Thrash was found guilty on 10 counts of child molestation.

LA CIVIL RIGHTS LEADERS CALL FOR STEVIE WONDER’S KJLH/102.3FM TO BOYCOTT R. KELLY MUSIC!

Thrash initially told the jury that the victim lied and had other “sex cases,” but a paternity test proved that there was a 99.9999 percent probability that Thrash was the father of the baby the victim gave birth in September 2017 at the age of 11. Later on, he claimed that he never molested the girl and it was the girl’s mother, his girlfriend Jennifer Lynn Hand, who inseminated the girl using his sperm.

(What?! This creep actually thought someone was going to believe that?)

Meanwhile, the unidentified victim, testified that Thrash molested her at least 15 times over many months in 2016 and 2017. The jury believed her testimony.

That’s not all. Thrash’s girlfriend is also facing charges in connection with the case, which includes neglect, aiding in child molesting, and assisting a criminal. She allegedly knew that her daughter was pregnant when she was trying on dresses for school dance but she did not report it to the authorities and made false claims that it was a classmate who impregnated her.

Source Link: hhttps://www.eurweb.com/2019/01/nicholas-deon-thrash-sentenced-to-160-years-for-impregnating-10-yr-old-girl/

*Are white people capable of understanding the plight of the African-American community? This question usually revolves around in the mind of well-meaning white people,  but they never know what to do next. Naturally, this is a difficult stance given the 200 years of oppression the African-American community had to endure.

Well, any black person will advise white people to form an authentic connection or an understanding with them first. This could also mean empathizing with them to the extent that white people can see the world through the eyes of a black person.

That being said, it is also important to understand why so many among the white community are completely oblivious to the black experience. Imagine yourself in the place of a white person who has a black friend, coworker, or neighbor. These people will find no problem in sitting together and kicking back a few beers, but bringing out the piñata of multiculturism can be really awkward. They will never talk about how they can’t find a dermatologist who advertises his/her expertise in terms of brown skin. Nor will they ever mention their last experience of discrimination.

Talking about race issues makes everyone uncomfortable – not just well-meaning white people. Most will launch into political rants, some will bristle and some may simply nod along, while others will be stunned into silence or just change the subject. This is exactly why almost every individual in the black community has learned not to bring up race issues in a social circle. The typical message they receive upon doing so is that they should never do so again.

So we’re back to our very first point. How can a white person really understand what a black person goes through? Naturally, social distance isn’t an option as it clearly perpetuates withdrawal, suspicion, and a broken system of pain. The good news, however, is that white and black people can always learn to understand one another. It will take an amount of care, effort, and patience on both ends. It won’t be easy, but it will definitely be worth it.

What should a white person expect from such a relationship? What do black people really want? We want you to understand all the harm that is caused by discrimination. We want you to embrace all the cultural differences and simply tolerate them. We want you to celebrate our strengths and beauty. We want you to cry with us whenever hatred and racism wins.

We want to be able to connect with you as both – different and the same.

Source Link: https://www.eurweb.com/2019/01/can-a-white-person-understand-the-black-experience-watch/

*We hear constantly, that the age of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is upon us. It can often seem all around us: Siri, Alexa, Google Home, Alpha Go. And yes there’s a lot of hyperbole, noise, in the air. A close observer, however, is compelled to acknowledge that there is also a clear signal in the air and that signal is rapidly growing in intensity.

Let’s quickly cover some basics. There’s Machine Learning (ML) and then there’s Artificial Intelligence (AI). ML is often referred to as supervised learning, which requires significant human involvement. More of the former exist in the world today, than the latter. A ML agent, or algorithm, has to be fed hordes of data and not in any mish-mash way. It then essentially scours through the mountains in search of insightful patterns, and needles in the haystack. Cynics are quick to point out that ML doesn’t have the wit of a toddler, in figuring out nuances and unspoken rules.

The quest is not only for magnificent data crunchers, but also for ‘reasoners’ who can form knowledge synapses on their own. Who, with less data, can begin to see and understand more on their own. (The Latin root ‘intelligere’ does means to understand.) The ‘on their own’ part is serious business and unveils a state of existence never before known; only imagined.

Along The Way

Though we are not ‘there’, one would be wise to understand that where we are can itself be breathtaking. If we fully grasp our now, we realize the very fabric of society is being rewoven. Consider this example.

There is a reservoir of information, experience, processes that give foundation to the practice of medicine. Though it is a dynamic body of knowledge, it shifts slowly as it is moved from one generation of humans to the next. This fact defines both it’s strengths and limitations.

What if what is known by 105,000 physicians, who had treated hundreds of millions of patients, was to be distilled; that is copied from human gray matter into digital matter? Would less be known? Would the veracity of it be somehow diminished? The answers are no and

1. Moving further: would the helpfulness of the knowledge be as dependable and effective? Via digital matter, would it be more readily (and cost effectively) accessible? The answers are yes and yes.

The above scenario does indeed exists, as Dr. AI; created by Silicon Valley based HealthTap. The implications are clear, aren’t they? Humans are no longer the sole holders of knowledge. As the saying goes: “if you didn’t know, now you know.”

Many Minds, Along With Digital Minds, Are Better

It’s been a long held human notion, that many minds are better than one. Look at where that has actually brought us. 105,000 physician-minds are surely better than one. Imagine if, and when, that number doubles or triples. And yes, add in the eventual digital mind (AI) into the mix and we’ll be squarely within a new model of knowing and leveraging what is known.

Envision the above model being duplicated and pointed toward addressing cancer and initially more specifically cancer among African Americans.

Disease in general, and cancer in particular, can often be a ‘head in the sand’ phenomenon. Something that is more easily put to the back of the mind, or sidestepped with wishful thinking. For example, about not being one of the 198 persons each and every hour who are diagnosed with cancer in the U.S. alone.

One thing that is known though, is that individuals will-in the privacy of their own home or phone-seek “Dr. Google”. More than 10 billion symptom related searches are conducted each year via Google. So significant is this matter, that it has helped birth a new discipline (Information Epidemiology or Infodemiology). In a digital age, people will seek health insight through a keyboard, and increasingly an actual verbal query (think Alexa, Google Home, Siri). This is a multi-faceted public health opportunity. On one hand, what people are thinking, feeling and wanting to know in reference to cancer can be examined. On the other hand, qualitative, peer-reviewed, experience driven information can be made available to a searching public.

We Need You, Yes You

If you’re reading this 1,000 Word segment, most likely you’re a medical professional in the field of oncology, a cancer researcher or cancer public advocate. You can help us in our quest to build an Oncology Virtual Expert Resource (OVER) for the African American community. Every day, in the midst of what you do, you hear, see and learn about how cancer affects humans and their response to the same. That is knowledge that can help drive better public awareness, address understandable fears of alienation and being overwhelmed and help us bridge persons and families to solid, trustworthy information on cancer.

Building OVER isn’t the work of a small circle. It’s a call for many minds, bolstered by best of breed knowledge-technology. Think Wikipedia meets AI. We need mind-hands that will help us aggregate the following (with proper citations and/or attribution):

• the most frequently asked questions raised by those with cancer, or family members and friends with loved ones fighting cancer
• the most essential ‘should know’ facts / insights for African Am’s facing/fighting cancer
• insight nuggets from the field (i.e., research, treatment, therapies, public policy)
• support strategies for friends, families, co-workers, neighbors, service providers

This list is not definitive. We’re open to suggestions. What does the most robust, intelligent knowledge-base on African Americans and cancer look like? Your thoughts?

To get started, this is what we need you to know and to do:

<> We use What’s App as our primary communication channel. If you’re already on it, add 312-982-9779 (1000 Words) to your phone’s contact base and ping us w/ What’s App (Identify yourself, your profession and who referred you to this project.)

<> If you’re not on What’s App, please download / install it and follow the above instructions.

We look forward to your spirited involvement.

Respond to Rafiki Cai: rafikicai@gmail.com

Source Link: https://www.eurweb.com/2019/01/1000-words-melding-of-mind-and-machine-segment-2/

*January 15, 1929: In the Sweet Auburn community of Atlanta, GA, at 501 Auburn Ave, the second child of Rev. Martin L. King, Sr. and Alberta Williams King made his way into this life. The world would come to know him as Martin L. King, Jr, the Nobel Prize winning Drum Major for Peace.

It is well documented that MLK packed high achievements into his short 39 years. Even so, there is so much that is not known and appreciated about his mind, his work and his life. This lapse indeed represents a significant social loss. To know the deeper depths, and finer points, of King’s social philosophy and the challenges he faced is an education in and of itself. It is one that may go a long way, in helping to cultivate an ongoing public conversation about collective values and their inherent call to civic engagement and activism if necessary.

King In An Instagram World

One of the most difficult-yet critical- of all human endeavors, is the baton passing from one generation to the next; of beacons holding the greatest capacity for lighting the way forward. Part of this social. Part of this is technical. Each generation does not always see through the glass in the same way. Tastes can change. Sensitivities can shift. Virtues can be rewritten.

Atop of that, though it’s not always obvious, mediums and interfaces can change; limiting access to facts, accounts, lessons and insights. How much information is trapped in the tombs of crumpling paper, or microfilm, reel-to-reel tape or VHS? Unsearchable. Unknowable.

Though our age has put the fossil-medium conundrum behind, hurdles of our own still exist. We have an unified medium (the Internet), and it may produced zettabytes of data, but that in and of itself represents an accessible and unfathomable forest. One result is that varying demographic groups encamp in particular sub-divisions of this cyberverse. One population in Facebook. Another in Twitter. Yet another in Instagram. One in Drudge and Fox Land.

Another in Guardian and Viceville. Each with clear preferences and distinct methods for consuming information. When there is something of common importance to all of these, how does one go about reaching the whole? 120 characters? Photo or video clips? Live stream?

Expressed another way: how can we speak, substantively, of Martin L. King, Jr. to all?

Questions And Voice..

Achieving the complex can often require leveraging the simple.

Case in point: questions engage and hook the mind. Period. This is reflected in the age old popularity of trivia, in its various forms: Jeopardy, HQ Trivia, Trivia Night events. Questions create opportunities for learning. When that process is gamified, the learning all the better; driven by an opportunity compete, to shine, to win.

Next point: voice is the easiest interface. In times past, the primitive level of our computer technology framed how we interacted with them and the power they represent. Very few will remember punch cards, but in fact they were the method for expressing commands to computer systems. A big step forward was the arrival of simple command line entry. Then the wondrous mouse and Graphic User Interface (GUI): “click the icon on the screen”. The next plateau on the horizon is the Voice User Interface. No need to move a finger, just speak.

Yes, Alexa, Cortana, Google Home and Siri represent the first born of this era.

When you think about it, it makes sense. A voice web requires no screen and frees you up from having to focus on a keyboard. “Just speak.” Now let’s connect our two points together and we get Voice Trivia. An ability to hear questions spoken and speak your answers in return, a form of conversational learning if you will. So, interesting and compelling questions about the mind, work and life of MLK gamified, as a means to cultivating interest in his importance then and now. The latest in technology meets an age old human proclivity.

And The Hive

The arrival of the voice web does not remove the human mind from the heart of the trivia enterprise. (At least not yet.) Though it is now easier to create and play subject trivia, the heavy lift of creating the questions still rest on human shoulders. For now. The power of the collective homo sapien intellect, the Swarm, the Hive, yet reigns.

Which brings us finally to what we’re up to.

In honor of 90 years since Dr. King’s birth, we want to compile 90 of the most magnetic questions and answer sets about him. Points of engagement that will show us how little we may really know, about one of the most iconic lives of the 20th century and the movement that it helped to catalyze.

Here’s a quick sample (No cheating by looking on the web, or asking Google Home):

<> What was the first book Dr. King authored?

<> What was the last book that he authored?

<> How many books in total did he, himself pen?

Ah, you’ve caught a taste of it. Is your mind hooked? Do you not only want to know the answers (if you already didn’t), but did other questions rush to mind on their own?

We need you to in The Hive. That simply means you will:

1. research and craft (with proper citation- web URLs are fine) 1-3 question and answer sets on the mind, work and life of Dr. Martin L. King,
2. you will submit the question(s) to us via What’s App (1,000 Words: 312-982-9779)
3. you will recruit one to three other persons, to the same as you have done

As We Lift

The light of what is best among us shines, to the degree that we amplify it by lifting up. We can do this in creative and engaging ways, such as MLK Voice Trivia.

Respond to Rafiki Cai: rafikicai@gmail.com

Source Link: https://www.eurweb.com/2019/01/1000-words-mlk-jr-would-be-90-years-old-segment-3/

*During an appearance on the “Tonight Show” Tuesday, Michelle Obama spoke about going to marriage counseling to “fix” her husband, former President Barack Obama — but the experience turned out to be a personal eye-opener.

The forever first lady also noted the importance of her sharing the story in her new memoir “Becoming” because she wants “young people to know that marriage is work.”

Hear her explain it via the clip above.

*Meghan Markle reportedly held a secret “power meeting” with Michelle Obama to discuss  “shared” causes, including promoting girls education around the world.

The dynamic duo met Monday night in London, while the former First Lady was in town to promote her new memoir, “Becoming.”

Per the Standard:

A friend who was also at the event said Meghan “had a long private audience with Michelle. They spoke at length about the importance of supporting and empowering women across all cultures and communities. They also talked about shared experiences of pregnancy and raising children, plus shared causes including girls’ education.”

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This encounter comes fresh off the advice the forever FLOTUS publicly shared with the newest member of the Royal Family.

“Like me, Meghan probably never dreamt that she’d have a life like this, and the pressure you feel — from yourself and from others — can sometimes feel like a lot,” Obama said in Good Housekeeping’s January issue. “So my biggest piece of advice would be to take some time and don’t be in a hurry to do anything.”

Obama previously recalled the protocol that she was told to follow when she and Barack Obama made their last official visit to Windsor Castle in 2016. The couple was told they were going to land at the castle in Marine One and then be driven by the Queen, according to the British Press Association.

*Michelle Obama spoke about her style choices as first lady during a sold-out sit-down with “Sex and the City” star Sarah Jessica Parker as part of her “Becoming” book tour Wednesday night.

But it wasn’t what she said that’s got folks blowing up social media, it’s the $4,000 sequin Balenciaga thigh-high boots she slayed in to close out the tour at the Barclays Centre in Brooklyn.

“All other boots are cancelled,” Cosmopolitan magazine declared.

“Naturally, Michelle dressed up for the occasion, and when I say ‘dressed up’ I mean she rendered all other lewks irrelevant thanks to a pair of sparkly gold thigh-high boots worth almost $4,000,” wrote Mehera Bonner.

“RIP my shoe collection because all other boots are dead to me.”

Mrs. Obama paired the jaw-dropping over-the-knee boots with a striking yellow Balenciago dress. One Twitter user wrote: “Michelle Obama got my social media feeds ablaze with those fire ass thigh high boots. She inspires women on so many levels and I’m here for this kind.”

Another said: “When I die, please project these blessed images of Michelle Obama’s boots on my tombstone”

Michelle explained to SJP that, as first lady, she knew the clothes she wore would be discussed.

Leave it to the orange a-hole in the White House to screw up a child’s belief in Santa Claus. Yep, the words that came out of President Trump‘s mouth challenged a 7-year-old child who apparently dares to still believe in Santa Claus.

On Christmas Eve, Dump, er Trump and FLOTUS  Melania were on the phone taking NORAD (North American Air Defense Command) calls Trump asked the youngster if he still believed in Santa. It seems the kid said he did, and Trump responded, “At 7 it’s marginal, right?”

It was just the other day that Trump was sitting in the White House … alone after the government shut down over the budget crisis. He had planned to spend the holiday at Mar-a-Lago.

Oh waell. Guess who’s fault that is. No Christmas in Mar-A-Lago for you!

If you’re keeping track, this is the first time Trump has appeared in public since the shutdown (he ordered) began 3 days ago.

Meanwhile, onthe other side of the country, Sean Diddy Combs and his twin daughters posed for a sweet Christmas pic, showing the strength of their family bond in the wake of the terrible tragedy that befell them, reports TMZ.

Diddy and 12-year-old twins Jessie James and D’Lila Star mugged for the camera. Diddy’s words … “L O V E MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU AND YOURS.”

As you no doubt recall, the twins’ mom, 47-year-old Kim Porter, died last month at her L.A. home. She had been battling the flu, although cause of death is still pending.

Also last month, the family held an elaborate funeral in Columbus, Georgia, where hundreds of people showed up to mourn and support the family.

Source Link: https://www.eurweb.com/2018/12/trumps-response-to-child-saying-he-still-believes-in-santa-is-trumpian-watch/

*Kanye West has recently decided to bring his fashion to the world of controversial politics – even though no one really asked him to do so. He still went ahead and designed some t-shirts which were meant to urge African-Americans to go ahead and leave the Democratic Party by branding them with the words, “Blexit.”

As far as the brand name of this ‘campaign’ goes, it brings about something very horrible to our minds. The New York Post covered the launch of these shirts as they appeared at the Young Black Leadership Conference’s Turning Point that was held in Washington D.C. This is where the Communications Director at Turning Point was quoted as saying that he was blessed to be a part of Blexit and the renaissance that it brought forward.

The Director of Talking Point also came forward to say that Kanye West has taken some very bold steps to take America into a conversation that was much needed. That being said, the Blexit website has also notified its readers that it aims to impact all the freethinkers in the country so they could release themselves from all kinds of political orthodoxy.

Even though Blexit sounds more like the sounds a dying sheep may make, you may relate this word to a completely different type of renaissance – a more abominable one! As many users on the Breitbart website found, Blexit is apparently a national movement of sorts that wants people to awaken to the truth. It is a movement which is aimed at targeting those people who support leftist political parties and candidates. Now this movement asks them the question, “What does this allegiance have to show for it?”

Apparently the ‘explanation’ of the campaign was received well, but the designs were what really got people riled up. As some tweets suggested, people called the campaign designs horrendous, and that it portrayed something very wrong at first glance. But why were people confused?

The shirts in this ‘Yeezy’ special collection have the words ‘Blexit’ emblazoned across the chest. The campaign website says that Kanye is involved in the campaign directly, but Kanye refused to comment on these views complete. We supposed the cellular reception in his tree house may be a little weak, or maybe he’s just being his usual self.

*Americans have voted and the woman they most admire is former first lady Michelle Obama, according to a Gallup poll.

As reported by USA Today, this is the first time in 17 years a woman other than Hillary Clinton topped Gallup’s Most Admired Woman list.

Per Gallup.com:

Gallup’s annual survey, conducted Dec. 3-12 this year, asks Americans, in an open-ended question, to name the man and woman living anywhere in the world today whom they admire most. Gallup first asked the question in 1946 and has done so every year since, except 1976.

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About 15 percent of those surveyed this year named Michelle Obama as the woman the most admire while Oprah Winfrey came in second with 5 percent of the votes. Clinton tied for third place with first lady Melania Trump. They each received 4 percent. Also on the list: Queen Elizabeth, Angela Merkel, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Ellen DeGeneres.

Meanwhile, former President Barack Obama was the winner among men for the 11th consecutive year.

Here’s the full list of the most admired women, 2018:

Michelle Obama

Oprah Winfrey

Hillary Clinton

Melania Trump

Queen Elizabeth

Angela Merkel

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Ellen DeGeneres

Nikki Haley

Malala Yousafzai

Nancy Pelosi

The top 5 most admired men, 2018:

Barack Obama

Donald Trump

George W. Bush

Pope Francis

Bill Gates

To see the complete results of the Gallup poll, visit the website.

Source Link: https://www.eurweb.com/2018/12/gallup-poll-reveals-michelle-obama-is-most-admired-woman-in-america/

*Did you know that Michelle and Barack Obama have inked a contract with Netflix in what is probably a very lucrative production deal? Back when this deal had unknown entertainment value, the media was only aware of the fact that it will potentially be a docu-series. This deal was also reported to be worth $65 million because it involved the Obama couple’s respective memoirs.

The official press release of this deal, however, released that the name of the series would be The Fifth Risk, and it would help the world understand some of the inner workings of the government. The official press release also revealed that the series will follow all the mismanagement and chaos that has been seen in the departments of Commerce, Agriculture, and Energy after the hand-off of the Presidency from Barack Obama to Donald Trump.

A spokesperson of the production team said …

“Think of this as a funny, timeless civics lesson for adults. It’s not a political statement.”

This was said because people were of the opinion the project will be more of a political statement and less of an informative documentary. To the contrary, the goal of this series is to humorously portray the way in which these agencies improve our lives. The spokesperson continued to shed light on the theme of the series by saying:

”Michael Lewis has written a love letter to the often-nameless public servants who carry out core duties that most of us never think about.”

Even though the Obamas can be seen campaigning for the Democratic Party and shunning President Donald Trump nowadays, this series has apparently nothing to do with all the chaos. The spokesperson said that it doesn’t matter what a person’s political background is – they need to stop questioning government officials’ patriotism and vilifying them.

So what we know now is that the docu-series will educate people about the fact that whatever the beliefs of the government are – they shouldn’t be tagged as enemies of the people. Former President Obama said that even though people criticize the government a lot, they still tend to expect and be concerned about civility from those in charge.

We now know what the series is going to be about, but we’re also sure they can’t launch a whole series about the government without poking some fun at Donald Trump. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Source Link: https://www.eurweb.com/2018/12/obamas-to-adapt-book-for-netflix/

*In a new profile of Gayle King for the New York Times, the “CBS This Morning” co-host and her BFF Oprah Winfrey opened up to reporter Amy Chozick about how their close bond developed.

Oprah and Gayle met in their early 20s when they were both working for a TV station in Baltimore. It’s known that Oprah let Gayle crash at her house and borrow some clothes when King was unable to get home due to bad weather,  

According to the Times, they stayed up all night talking and learned they had vastly different upbringings; Gayle grew up with a housekeeper in Turkey (where her dad worked for the U.S. government), while Oprah’s teenage mom worked as a maid in rural Mississippi. But, as Winfrey told the publication:

“We were two black girls who loved being black, who loved the experience of growing up black girls in America, and we felt our value system was very much the same — our dreams were the same,” she said, adding, “Both of us grew up as black girls striving to do better in our lives.”

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Oprah went on to talk about how not having jealousy or animosity between them has helped their friendship endure. She also confirmed that her bestie wants her to run for president in 2020.

“It’s actually really surprised me,” Winfrey told the Times. “She is still talking about ‘the perfect ticket,’ and I said, ‘I don’t get it. I don’t get why you keep doing this? You of all people are supposed to care about my life.’”

“And she said, ‘The country is bigger than your life,’” Winfrey added.

But King told “CBS This Morning” in January, “I don’t think she’s actually considering it.”

She later added, “I do think she’s intrigued by the idea. I do think that.”

Winfrey has dismissed talk of a 2020 presidential campaign, saying in an interview with InStyle that she has no interested in the Oval Office.

Check out the full Times profile for more.

Source Link: https://www.eurweb.com/2018/12/oprah-on-her-friendship-with-gayle-king-and-rumors-of-a-2020-presidential-campaign/

*In case you had any doubts about Kanye West and the orange a-hole in the White House being buddies in 2019,  be advised that nothing’s changed.

No sire  buddy! Ye took to Twitter on New Years day to let the world that that he’s renewing his vows to continue loving Donald Trump‘s orange arse and there ain’t nothing you can do about it.

“Trump all day,” the rapper tweeted on Tuesday, adding, “Just so in 2019 you know where I stand.”

West also made sure to make his BS soaked (non)point about African-Americans being forced to support Democrats.

“They will not program me … Blacks are 90% Democrats That sounds like control to me

If you had stopped paying attention to Kanye, you might missed his statement back in October  about “distancing” himself from political issues.

“My eyes are now wide open and now realize I’ve been used to spread messages I don’t believe in,” bhe tweeted at the time.

Of course, if you’re talking about Kanye West and Donald Trump, who can forget the super bizaare scene of the the two of them in the Oval Office at  the White House last Summer. Also in 2018, Kanye wore a MAGA hat on Twitter and ranted about the White House occupant during his appearance on “Saturday Night Live.”

West first defended his support for Trump back in April of 2018.

“You don’t have to agree with trump but the mob can’t make me not love him. We are both dragon energy. He is my brother,” West wrote. “I love everyone. I don’t agree with everything anyone does. That’s what makes us individuals. And we have the right to independent thought.”

He added this:

“If your friend jumps off the bridge you don’t have to do the same. Ye being Ye is a fight for you to be you. For people In my life the idea of Trump is pretty much a 50 50 split but I don’t tell a Hillary supporter not to support Hillary. I love Hillary too.”

In related news, the Wests are having ANOTHER baby! Yep, Kim Kardashian and Kanye are expecting their fourth child, a boy, via surrogate, multiple sources confirm in the new issue of Us Weekly.

In August, Us reported that the couple, who used a surrogate for their third child, 11-month-old Chicago, had one embryo left, a male. Now he’s due to arrive “in very early May,” says an insider.

In addition to baby Chicago, the couple are also parents to North, 5, and Saint, 3, and another source reveals that 38-year-old Kardashian “always wanted four kids.”

For more on the reality star’s surrogacy journey, check out the video above.

Source Link: https://www.eurweb.com/2019/01/kanye-still-down-with-u-know-who-trump-all-day-he-kim-expecting-baby-4/

*Brazil’s recently elected president is of basically the same mindset as Donald Trump. On Tuesday (Jan 1, 2019), far-right President Jair Bolsonaro was installed in office and immediately issued executive orders targeting the country’s indigenous groups, descendants of slaves and the LGBT community in the first hours of his administration.

Bolsanaro’s actions come after a campaign in which the leader said he would radically overhaul many aspects of life in Latin America’s largest nation, according to a report via Aljazeera:

One of the orders issued late on Tuesday, hours after his inauguration, will likely make it all but impossible for new lands to be identified and demarcated for indigenous communities. Areas set aside for “Quilombolas”, as descendants of former slaves are known, are also affected by the decision.

In the move favourable to his allies in agribusiness, which have criticised giving large swaths of lands to native groups, Bolsonaro transferred the responsibilities for delineating indigenous territories from the Justice Ministry to the Agriculture Ministry. The new agriculture minister, Tereza Cristina, is part of the agribusiness caucus in Brazil’s lower house and has opposed requests from native communities.

The temporary decree, which will expire unless it is ratified within 120 days by Congress, strips power over land claim decisions from indigenous affairs agency FUNAI, previously under the Justice Ministry. FUNAI, which also oversees other initiatives for indigenous communities such as healthcare, housing and language preservation, will be moved into a new ministry for family, women and human rights.

Meantime, Marina Silva, who ran against Bolsanaro and lost in the October election, reacted with shock to the orders.

“Bolsonaro has begun his government in the worst possible way,” she wrote on Twitter.

Dinama Tuxa, a member of Brazil’s Association of Indigenous Peoples, said many isolated communities viewed Bolsonaro’s administration with fear.

“We are very afraid because Bolsonaro is attacking indigenous policies, rolling back environmental protections, authorizing the invasion of indigenous territories and endorsing violence against indigenous peoples,” Tuxa said.

You can read the rest of this story at Aljazeera.

Source Link: https://www.eurweb.com/2019/01/brazils-new-president-negatively-targets-slave-descendants-and-indigenous-people/

*Dammit! Democrats in the House are not thrilled with incoming freshman Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib of Michigan for her expletive-riddled statement about impeaching Donald Trump. Apparently she didn’t get the memo regarding their approach (carefully crafted rhetoric)  to take on the president.

As has been reported, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other top Democrats have long argued that impeachment is a last resort that would come at the end of exhaustive oversight and investigations. Unfortunately, today the media is spotlighting  the profane words of Rep. Tlaib who told a crowd of progressive activists Thursday night that “we’re gonna impeach the motherf**ker!”

It didn’t take long for her colleagues – rearing dam ge her comments could cause, spoke out against her. They pointed out that Republicans would hold it up as proof that Democrats were playing politics rather than pursuing genuine oversight of the president — even if the GOP never showed interest in investigating Trump scandals while they were in power.

“Mueller hasn’t even produced his report yet!” said Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wis.), referring to special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe. “People should cool their jets a little bit, let the prosecutors do their job and finish the investigation.”

“Inappropriate,” added Rep. Jim Costa (D-Calif.). “As elected officials I think we should be expected to set a high bar… It’s not helpful.”

Even California Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman, who introduced an impeachment resolution earlier this week, was shocked. His eyes bulged in disbelief when a reporter read him Tlaib’s comments and he was speechless for several seconds.

After he regained his composure, Sherman said that kind of language was detrimental to the cause: “That’s not language I would use…I think the office of the presidency should be treated with respect.”

Party elders also sought to calm talk of impeachment without criticizing Tlaib directly. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the new chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, called Talib’s comments “inappropriate” and said, “We need to be patient.”

“You can’t accomplish very much of anything unless you have civility and show respect for your colleagues,” Cummings said. “Those kind of comments do not take us in the right direction.”

Pelosi said while she didn’t agree with the language, she also didn’t think anyone “should make a big deal” about the expletive, noting the president is also known for having a foul mouth sometimes.

“I’m not in the censorship business. I don’t like that language, I wouldn’t use that language, but I wouldn’t establish language standards for my colleagues,” Pelosi said during an MSNBC town hall Friday morning.

Read/learn MORE at at Politico.

Source Link: https://www.eurweb.com/2019/01/rashida-tlaib-pisses-off-dems-after-she-vows-to-impeach-the-motherfker-watch/

*Former President Barack Obama has debuted on Billboard’s Hot R&B Songs chart at number 22 with his gospel-inspired remix of a song by Lin-Manuel Miranda that originally appeared in the hit Broadway musical “Hamilton.”

Obama’s “One Last Time (44 Remix)” dropped before Christmas as part of Miranda’s “Hamildrops” remixes and features cast member Christopher Jackson and gospel singer BeBe Winans.

Have a listen to the song via the player above.

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Proceeds from sales of the remixes, which features various celebrities including “Weird Al” Yankovic and Mobb Deep, will reportedly go to charity.

The “One Last Time” entry is called the “44 Remix” and has Obama reading a passage from George Washington’s farewell address.

The track was the final selection of the 2018 “Hamildrop” series in which Miranda, a former substitute teacher, released remixes of tracks from his hit musical every month throughout the year.

*There’s good news for Cyntoia Brown Earlier today, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam said he is commuting her sentence of life in prison to supervised parole.

If you’re not familiar with her story, Brown was convicted in 2006  of first-degree murder and aggravated robbery in the 2004 murder of Nashville real estate agent Johnny Allen after Brown (who was 16 at the time) was picked up by Allen and taken to his home. She claimed she was a sex trafficking victim.

Brown, now 30, was tried as an adult in 2006 and imprisoned in Tennessee following her trial and life sentence for the death of Johnny Mitchell Allen, who paid Brown for sex.

Brown’s horrifying and unreal original sentence was life in prison with the possibility of parole after serving a minimum of 51 years in prison, which means she would not have been eligible for parole until 2055 at the earliest.

“This decision comes after careful consideration of what is a tragic and complex case,” Haslam said.  “Cyntoia Brown committed, by her own admission, a horrific crime at the age of 16.  Yet, imposing a life sentence on a juvenile that would require her to serve at least 51 years before even being eligible for parole consideration is too harsh, especially in light of the extraordinary steps Ms. Brown has taken to rebuild her life.  Transformation should be accompanied by hope.  So, I am commuting Ms. Brown’s sentence, subject to certain conditions.”

Several dozen supporters of Brown attended a rally Saturday in Nashville, pleading for her clemency from Haslam, whose terms ends Jan. 19.

The bottom line is that Cyntoia Brown will be released from prison on August 7, 2019, but will remain on supervised parole for 10 years. Her parole conditions will require that she not violate any state or federal laws and she must meet certain other conditions including employment, education, counseling and community engagement.

Source Link: hhttps://www.eurweb.com/2019/01/cyntoia-brown-granted-clemency-by-tennessee-gov-haslam-release-set-for-august/

*The name Ed Buck may or may not ring a bell. For those who don’t know, he is wealthy Democratic donor who has contributed to politicians like Hillary Clinton and California Gov. Jerry Brown.

As we reported last year in July, Gemmel Moore, a 26-year-old gay black man died in Buck’s West Hollywood home. Now it’s happened again.

Yes, another young black man has been found dead in Buck’s West Hollywood home and as of this posting, no arrests have been made.

The Advocateis reporting that Buck has a “fetish for shooting drugs into black men he picks up off the street or on hookup sites.” The L.A. County Coroner’s office said Moore’s death on July 27, 2017, was due to an overdose of methamphetamine a/k/a crystal meth.

The Los Angeles Times reported that Moore wrote in a journal a few months before he died that he was using drugs and “Ed Buck is the one to thank. He gave me my first injection of chrystal [sic] meth.” On July 4, 23 days before Moore died, an escort reported Buck to authorities but nothing was done. After Moore died, Buck’s apartment was searched and allegedly “found the following items in Buck’s two-bedroom apartment: 24 syringes with brown residue, five glass pipes with white residue and burn marks, a plastic straw with possible white residue, clear plastic bags with white powdery residue and a clear plastic bag with a ‘piece of crystal-like substance.’”

For whatever reason, Buck was never charged with anything. Buck’s attorney at the time, Seymour Amster, said:

“I think it’s time to bring this tragedy to a conclusion. This was an accidental death. This was an unfortunate death … but that doesn’t mean we can make spurious accusations and spin something out of control.”

As far as activist Jasmyne Cannick is concerned, she is calling on the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department to arrest Buck and for District Attorney Jackie Lacey (who happens to be be black), to “prosecute him for murder after another young black gay man was found dead in his West Hollywood apartment of an apparent overdose.”

Source Link: https://www.eurweb.com/2019/01/2nd-black-gay-man-dies-in-west-hollywood-home-of-democratic-democratic-donor-ed-buck/