Wyclef Jean will announce his bid for the President of Haiti, a source has confirmed with AllHipHop.com exclusively. Sources close to Wyclef confirmed that the rapper will announce his bid for the country’s highest office next Thursday, on August 5th. The 37-year-old was born in Haiti, but immigrated to the United States at the age of 9-years-old, when he landed in Brooklyn, before settling in South Orange, New Jersey.
As a member of The Fugees and as a solo artist, Wyclef has sold millions of records, in addition to collaborating with artists like Paul Simon, Gloria Estefen, Destiny’s Child, Carlos Santana and others. According to sources, the rapper will make his official announcement just two days prior to the country’s August 7th deadline to submit his plan for running for President. Analysts are predicting that Wyclef Jean will easily win the race with his financial connections, influence among the Haitian youth and his political connections around the world.
A key part of Arizona’s immigration law was temporarily blocked by a federal judge Wednesday. For now, police won’t be able to question people about their immigration status. For many businesses, the damage from the controversy is already done. Reduced spending in restaurants, grocery and retail stores has triggered a domino effect among businesses in the metro Phoenix business community and throughout Arizona.
Anecdotal evidence from business owners, real estate agents and community leaders indicates the mere specter of the bill has created a culture of fear among Hispanics in Arizona that’s slowly paralyzing sectors of the economy.
In addition, economic boycotts adopted by other states and cities have hit Arizona’s meeting and convention business. Since groups nationwide began announcing boycotts of the state because of SB 1070, at least 40 meetings have been canceled, which resulted in the loss of $12 million in lodging alone, according to Kristen Jarnagin, spokeswoman for the Arizona Hotel & Lodging Association.
Parents from the Wonderland Avenue Elementary School PTA in Los Angeles enlisted the help of actors Megan Fox, Brian Austin Green, and Geoff Stults for a video aimed at blocking the nearly $2.5 billion in proposed education cuts from the California state budget, which is due for a vote at the end of April.
Set in an overcrowded classroom, “Hot For Teachers,” directed by Eric Appel (Crank Yankers, Human Giant), features ninety fifth graders, many of whom lament over the budget cuts and teacher lay-offs to Fox and Green, who star as themselves. Fox and Green confront Geoff Stults (She’s Out of My League, Wedding Crashers) who plays a representative from Governor Schwarzenegger’s office, hilariously tone-deaf to the dire needs of students. Continue reading “Megan Fox Says No To Budget Cuts” »
While we’re all excited about the news of Healthcare Reform that came in last week, many folks are not sure what to expect. It will take about 4 years for health reform to be fully implemented, there are several benefits you can expect to see this year. Learn about them in just 3 minutes.
Over the last decade natural disasters have left parts of India, Samoa, the United States, and nearly the entire island of Haiti in ruins; while civil wars, wars on terrorism, and the ancient battle of the religions are only adding to the global body count. As a privileged (in comparison to non-American societies) American adult, the first event to hit home was 911, but as I divulge myself deeper into my profession I find myself inadvertently affected by travesties around the world.
With the national attention Haiti is receiving, I am compelled to enlighten Americans on the disturbing conditions of one of the poorest countries in the world Liberia. Unbeknown to many (based on my research); Liberia is a former United States colony, founded by African-American former American slaves. Continue reading “The Vice Guide to Liberia” »
After just climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, Lupe Fiasco returns and quickly keeps his good deeds in play. Fiasco could help determine who sits in the controversial vacant Senate seat left by President Obama. The rapper will perform at a fundraiser for Chicago Urban League Chief Cheryle Jackson, who is one of five democratic hopefuls running for the seat in the February 2 primary. The seat was held by ousted Governor Rod. Blagojevich, who was impeached and removed from office twice for trying to sell Obama’s seat. Cheryle Jackson, who was Blagojevich’s press secretary during his initial inauguration, left the governor’s office to head up the Chicago Urban League. Lupe will perform at the Shrine Chicago in support of Jackson on January 28.
It’s already big news: The House of Representatives passed their version of health care reform in Washington DC last weekend, clearing the bill’s first hurdle to become law. The final count just barely cleared the required number of votes needed for passage, a surprisingly close count given the easy majority of Democrats in the House, post-Obama. 39 Democrats opposed the bill, and yet one lone Republican cast his vote for reform.
Representative Ahn “Joseph” Cao is a freshman rep covering Louisiana’s second congressional district, including New Orleans, and has taken a brave leap into muddy waters by supporting health care reform when even 39 Democrats couldn’t do it. However, he has also supported the anti-abortion language in the bill that Democrats hope to slip out of the text before final passage by the Senate. His vote alone suggests that more Republicans (and hopefully, Democrats) are on the fence about this bill than we’ve seen thus far, and perhaps may be emboldened by Cao’s vote to do the same in the Senate. He is certainly one brave politician.
BY THE PEOPLE: The Election of Barack Obama offers viewers an all-access pass to campaign life on the road to the White House and the unprecedented grass roots effort that supported him. The film follows the former Senator’s path from the excitement of the first victory in Iowa, to the struggles of a long and grueling primary campaign, and finally to his historic inauguration as the first African American president of the United States. Told through exclusive footage of Obama and his staff, the HBO Documentary Film is produced by Edward Norton’s Class 5 Films and directed by Amy Rice and Alicia Sams. The film debuts exclusively on HBO on November 3, at 9:00 pm ET/PT 2009.
A new sound bite on health insurance reform, via NPR: Apparently the self-appointed “Gang of Six” senators (who might as well be called the gang-of-only-people-willing-to-do-anything-ballsy-at-this-point) are closing in on a deal. Unofficially led by Max Baucus (D-Montana), the group is trying to produce a bone fide bipartisan bill that could then be voted on in the Senate, then the House, with relative public popularity and for which Republicans could support without hanging up their political careers out to dry. Continue reading “First unruly shouts, now gangs in U.S. Congress” »
When I first was offered the assignment of reviewing the new 5-part Docu-Series “Brick City” I was intrigued. The documentary series is executive produced by Academy Award winning actor Forest Whitaker and filmmakers Marc Levin and Mark Benjamin. Being from Jersey and growing up close by Newark, I have my own history with the city known on the streets as Brick City and I wanted to see how the filmmakers would tackle a town that has become known more for its political turmoil, violence and poverty issues. Newark is a town whose history includes being named the most dangerous city in the Nation in 1996 by TIME magazine, the 22nd most dangerous city in the United States in a 2007 survey by Morgan Quitno Press, having five of the last seven Mayors of Newark have been indicted on criminal charges and of course the infamous 1967 Race Riots that nearly destroyed the city of Newark. Continue reading “‘Brick City’ Review” »
