When I started this blog, I had the intention of focusing on issues dealing with the African diaspora. This was because I felt issues from the continent were not getting enough coverage by the main stream media. I also wanted to use the blog as a platform to share some of the positive efforts coming out of the African American community. Again, a subject that isnt covered by the media very often. Obviously this venture failed. I found it very hard to find any news directly from the continent of Africa. I also had extreme difficulty making contacts that cound verify information that I was reading. When questioning anyone in Africa it seemed that all they wanted to talk about was the AIDS epidemic on the continent. This was a problem because as large a problem as the disease is, the continent has other issues that need to be addressed as well. Secondly, these people were not able to suggest any solutions to the problem, only acknowledge that there was a problem. I just didnt think that I could maintain a blog with the small amount of information that I had access to.
All of that was to say that I am changing the focus of this blog. Instead of focusing on African and African American issues I will simply be posting my personal rants on everything from news to entertainment.
I will not be taking myself too seriously, but I will be giving an honest opinion. And I hope that the one or two people that stumble across this blog will enjoy what they are reading.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Where has the time gone!?!?!?!?!
Wow!!! I am just noticing that my last post on my world famous blog was March of 2007. So what you may ask have I been doing for the last two and half years. Well, since you asked I guess I might as well share. For about two of the last two and half years I have been doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!! In September of 2007 I was laid off of my job in the student loan industry and since then I have worked a total of approximately 4 months. In fact, other than the one that made it possible for me to work for 4 months, I have not even been granted an interview since September of 2007.
It is now exactly 2 years later. And with plenty of time to reflect, I can honestly say that I am truly blessed. I still have a roof over my head, I have food in the fridge, and most importantly I have my health. The New York State unemployment office has gone out of their way to make this difficult time as painless as they possibly can by streamlining their unemployment claims process. And I for one can say that I am truly grateful for that.
I am grateful that I did not get suckered into signing up to go back to school. Now that student loans are much harder to come by, I probably would have been stuck half way thru my studies not able to complete the required credits due to lack of funds. (Much more on that subject coming, trust me)
Oh! and did I mention, I have a girlfriend!! And I met her after I was laid off.
So, can I complain, sure I could. Will I complain, maybe. But in between the complaints I will always stop and take the time to acknowledge the blessings God continues to send my way.
Things like, finally being given the opportunity to travel. Since being laid off I have traveled to Costa Rica, Hong Kong, and Thailand. Places I would have never travelled if I was still working.
Due to the physical requirments of some law enforcement positions I have applied for, I have actually lost 40 pounds. I am able to run longer than I have ever been able to run in my life.
And for the most part i have been able to keep my self intact both mentally and emotionally.
So I make the conscious effort to think positive. Focus on the things that have gone right in the last 2 years. And know that whoever takes a chance on this applicant is going to be getting one hell of an employee.
It is now exactly 2 years later. And with plenty of time to reflect, I can honestly say that I am truly blessed. I still have a roof over my head, I have food in the fridge, and most importantly I have my health. The New York State unemployment office has gone out of their way to make this difficult time as painless as they possibly can by streamlining their unemployment claims process. And I for one can say that I am truly grateful for that.
I am grateful that I did not get suckered into signing up to go back to school. Now that student loans are much harder to come by, I probably would have been stuck half way thru my studies not able to complete the required credits due to lack of funds. (Much more on that subject coming, trust me)
Oh! and did I mention, I have a girlfriend!! And I met her after I was laid off.
So, can I complain, sure I could. Will I complain, maybe. But in between the complaints I will always stop and take the time to acknowledge the blessings God continues to send my way.
Things like, finally being given the opportunity to travel. Since being laid off I have traveled to Costa Rica, Hong Kong, and Thailand. Places I would have never travelled if I was still working.
Due to the physical requirments of some law enforcement positions I have applied for, I have actually lost 40 pounds. I am able to run longer than I have ever been able to run in my life.
And for the most part i have been able to keep my self intact both mentally and emotionally.
So I make the conscious effort to think positive. Focus on the things that have gone right in the last 2 years. And know that whoever takes a chance on this applicant is going to be getting one hell of an employee.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
I Love My Slum!!!!
What is the attraction to slum dwelling? In Mumbai, India the government has offered to relocate dwellers to brand new apartments across town, so that the land they are on can be used to construct residential and commercial properties. But residents of the Dharavi slum do not want to leave.
What is interesting is that this is a common response around the world, even in America. My personal experience of this happened in St. Petersburg, Florida. When city and federal officials wanted to tear down half of the buildings in the largest low income housing projects in the region. They offered to relocate the affected residents to brand new apartments. This was done due to the rampant violence and drug trafficking that was taking place in the area. It was determined that the area was overpopulated and too difficult for police officers to patrol. In response, some residents took up a petition and attempted to get the housing projects listed as a historic site, thus protecting it from being destroyed.
I was shocked that people would work so hard to maintain an obviously dysfunctional neighborhood that was riddled with crime. This is especially the case being that no one living there had any ownership rights there. They are all renters. So what is the attachment? Some of them have had their families there for generations. But is that really something to be proud of? That your family has been living off of government assistance programs for generations?
In India, there are more realistic concerns. Many of the residents run businesses out of their homes and the apartments that are being offered are too small to continue this practice. The second thing that is very troubling is that only residents that have lived in the slum since 1995 are eligible for the new apartments. That leaves 10 years of new residents homeless. Where are all of these people supposed to go? I guess they will be relocated to another slum sitting on less valuable land.
You can read more about the slum relocation issues here.
All-Female Unit
Came across an article in the Christian Science Monitor about and an all female U.N. peace keeping unit that is active in Liberia. It is an interesting read addressing the recent rape allegations that have been brought up agaisnt members of U.N. forces. The hope is that this female unit will raise the respect of women in countries that often see women as second class citiizens. They also hope to inspire some women to apply to become police officers in their communities. It was interesting to read that having a higher education was a requirement to be a police officer in Liberia. This puts women at a disadvantage because it is custom is some areas that a family's money is spent on sending young boys to school not girls. It is also great to hear that Liberia has implemented an accelerated education program for women who missed out on an education as children. This is definitely a program that should be duplicated for both men and women across Africa. The full article is available by clicking here.
Monday, March 19, 2007
Illegal Guns Burned
A report out of Kenya stated that the government burnt 8,000 illegal guns that were confiscated. I think this is a great practice that all countries need to develop. I have supported this idea since it was reported that thousands of guns that were confiscated by the Miami-Dade police department (in Miami, FL USA) had found their way down to South America and were being used by guerrilla forces. So the police department was unintentionally supporting armed conflict in other countries.
I came to the conclusion at that time that when guns were confiscated by the police after processing has been completed, these guns should be destroyed. This would prevent the possibility for them to ever be used illegally again. What would be even better is if the gun metal could be recycled and for something useful. There currently seems to be a revolving door of guns, where some police departments collect guns and then auction them off to gun dealers. These gun dealers just turn around and put these guns right back on the street, or even worse, send guns to countries that are suffering from civil war, terrorism or other armed conflict.
For those who think that this idea is anti-gun rights, I would do have an argument. By taking illegal guns off the street it actually benefits gun manufacturers. When people can't buy illegal guns, they are forced to buy the new guns that are currently coming off the assembly line. So both the citizens and the gun manufacturers benefit from this process.
It is possible that this is already taken place somewhere, and I am just not aware of it. But there definitely needs to be an international effort to take illegal guns off of the market permanently. Congratulations to Kenya for taking a huge step in the right direction. You can read the article here.
I came to the conclusion at that time that when guns were confiscated by the police after processing has been completed, these guns should be destroyed. This would prevent the possibility for them to ever be used illegally again. What would be even better is if the gun metal could be recycled and for something useful. There currently seems to be a revolving door of guns, where some police departments collect guns and then auction them off to gun dealers. These gun dealers just turn around and put these guns right back on the street, or even worse, send guns to countries that are suffering from civil war, terrorism or other armed conflict.
For those who think that this idea is anti-gun rights, I would do have an argument. By taking illegal guns off the street it actually benefits gun manufacturers. When people can't buy illegal guns, they are forced to buy the new guns that are currently coming off the assembly line. So both the citizens and the gun manufacturers benefit from this process.
It is possible that this is already taken place somewhere, and I am just not aware of it. But there definitely needs to be an international effort to take illegal guns off of the market permanently. Congratulations to Kenya for taking a huge step in the right direction. You can read the article here.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
"Bling'd" A Great Documentary
I just watched a great documentary last night. "Bling'd: Blood, Diamonds, & Hip Hop"
This film featured some hip hop artist taking a trip to Sierra Leone to see first hand the results of civil wars that have been funded by the selling of "blood diamonds." Included in the trip were Raekwon of the Wu Tang Clan, Paul Wall, and Tego Calderon. Other artist contributed commentary on why diamonds seem to be so important to the hip hop community.
The artist travel to Freetown to visit diamond mines and see the conditions miners are forced to work in. They also travel to an amputee camp to visit the victims of the long civil war. The film is very disturbing and you can tell that the artist had a hard time dealing with what they were witnessing. Raekwon had to be talked into getting off the bus and spending time with the amputees.
There were so many issues that were touched in this documentary you could probably dedicate 10 blogs to address each one full time. But I will try to address a few of them here.
It is incredible that with all of the diamonds available in the country that none of the miners had any idea how to polish or cut a diamond. In fact, they looked amazed when they saw the jewelry of the rap artist. It seemed like they had never seen the end product of their hard labor. My immediate response was saying to myself, that is the key. These Africans need to be trained how to cut and polish their own diamonds so they can get more money for the stones that they find. Basically cutting out the middle man. Of course this isn't in the best interest of many people in the diamond industry so it will take a lot to make this happen. Reminds you of slavery in the Americas when the slave master didn't want the slaves to learn how to read. Now, they don't want them to learn how to cut and polish stones.
The second issue that came up was the hip hip mogul Russel Simmons. A few of months ago Russel Simmons did a media tour repeatedly stating that the diamond industry is fair. Posting his trip to Africa on youtube.com ( I will post a clip Soon),he often shared how diamond manufacturers were investing their profits back into Africa. But he never visited Sierra Leone or even addressed the issues face there. He was happy to stay in South Africa and Botswana. Even stating that he was considering opening his own diamond company whose profits would go into economic development. After watching this documentary, it really makes you to start to question his motives at the time. When he first made these statements on how good the diamonds industry was, many detractors stated that he was being used as a pawn to distract people form the uproar that would be caused by the movie "Blood Diamonds" that was being released. At the time, I gave him the benefit of the doubt that his intentions were pure. Now, the only question is was Mr. Simmons a willing participant in this media manipulation, or was he simply ignorant to the realities of the situation.
When visiting the VH1 page regarding this film they suggest you support the people of Sierra Leone by donating to the Bombai Bling Foundation. If you click on the link, you are taken to a page that is under construction that isn't scheduled to be completed until May 2007. No information is given of what this foundation does, but I will be following it and be posting updates. There is so much more that can be written and I most likely will in the near future. I would definitely recommend you see this film. It is a real eye opener.
This film featured some hip hop artist taking a trip to Sierra Leone to see first hand the results of civil wars that have been funded by the selling of "blood diamonds." Included in the trip were Raekwon of the Wu Tang Clan, Paul Wall, and Tego Calderon. Other artist contributed commentary on why diamonds seem to be so important to the hip hop community.
The artist travel to Freetown to visit diamond mines and see the conditions miners are forced to work in. They also travel to an amputee camp to visit the victims of the long civil war. The film is very disturbing and you can tell that the artist had a hard time dealing with what they were witnessing. Raekwon had to be talked into getting off the bus and spending time with the amputees.
There were so many issues that were touched in this documentary you could probably dedicate 10 blogs to address each one full time. But I will try to address a few of them here.
It is incredible that with all of the diamonds available in the country that none of the miners had any idea how to polish or cut a diamond. In fact, they looked amazed when they saw the jewelry of the rap artist. It seemed like they had never seen the end product of their hard labor. My immediate response was saying to myself, that is the key. These Africans need to be trained how to cut and polish their own diamonds so they can get more money for the stones that they find. Basically cutting out the middle man. Of course this isn't in the best interest of many people in the diamond industry so it will take a lot to make this happen. Reminds you of slavery in the Americas when the slave master didn't want the slaves to learn how to read. Now, they don't want them to learn how to cut and polish stones.
The second issue that came up was the hip hip mogul Russel Simmons. A few of months ago Russel Simmons did a media tour repeatedly stating that the diamond industry is fair. Posting his trip to Africa on youtube.com ( I will post a clip Soon),he often shared how diamond manufacturers were investing their profits back into Africa. But he never visited Sierra Leone or even addressed the issues face there. He was happy to stay in South Africa and Botswana. Even stating that he was considering opening his own diamond company whose profits would go into economic development. After watching this documentary, it really makes you to start to question his motives at the time. When he first made these statements on how good the diamonds industry was, many detractors stated that he was being used as a pawn to distract people form the uproar that would be caused by the movie "Blood Diamonds" that was being released. At the time, I gave him the benefit of the doubt that his intentions were pure. Now, the only question is was Mr. Simmons a willing participant in this media manipulation, or was he simply ignorant to the realities of the situation.
When visiting the VH1 page regarding this film they suggest you support the people of Sierra Leone by donating to the Bombai Bling Foundation. If you click on the link, you are taken to a page that is under construction that isn't scheduled to be completed until May 2007. No information is given of what this foundation does, but I will be following it and be posting updates. There is so much more that can be written and I most likely will in the near future. I would definitely recommend you see this film. It is a real eye opener.
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Dog for Dinner!
Senan Murray has writen an article expressing the high damand for dog meat in certain parts of Nigeria. He sprinkles the article with many superstitions that surround the eating of dog meat that exist in the country. Some believe that eating dog meat can cure malaria, for example. Most agree that it is a great tasting dish.
This is interesting becuase I have often wondered why more domesticated animals have not been used for sources of food in certain regions of the world. Dog meat is a common dish in China, but these Nigerians are written about as if the idea is completely absurd. With pet populations out of control in certain parts of the world, wouldn't using these animals as a source of food be a wise choice? This is especially the case when you look at the alternatives. Right now, the United States of America puts thousands of stray dogs and cats to sleep because there is no one to take care of them. In Australia, organized kill offs are scheduled to keep wild animal populations in check. In these cases the animal bodies are simply buried. This is the case when there are millions of malnourished people across the world that dream of the day when they will be able to taste meat.
I also recently read an article that told the story of North Korean officials who bought several giant rabbits from a breeder. This was done so they could research the possiblities of turning them into a new food source.
It is easy for citizens of the west to turn their noses up at the idea of eating dog meat. But for those regions who dont have many options for meat, I really think this is a great option.
Just some food for thought!!!
You can read the article by clicking here.
This is interesting becuase I have often wondered why more domesticated animals have not been used for sources of food in certain regions of the world. Dog meat is a common dish in China, but these Nigerians are written about as if the idea is completely absurd. With pet populations out of control in certain parts of the world, wouldn't using these animals as a source of food be a wise choice? This is especially the case when you look at the alternatives. Right now, the United States of America puts thousands of stray dogs and cats to sleep because there is no one to take care of them. In Australia, organized kill offs are scheduled to keep wild animal populations in check. In these cases the animal bodies are simply buried. This is the case when there are millions of malnourished people across the world that dream of the day when they will be able to taste meat.
I also recently read an article that told the story of North Korean officials who bought several giant rabbits from a breeder. This was done so they could research the possiblities of turning them into a new food source.
It is easy for citizens of the west to turn their noses up at the idea of eating dog meat. But for those regions who dont have many options for meat, I really think this is a great option.
Just some food for thought!!!
You can read the article by clicking here.
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