Kelly Rowland ft Eve - Like this

HipHopRepublican artist if the months is Kelly Rowland.
Since leaving Destiny's Child Kelly has spread her wings and
let the world know she can do it all by herself.



Kelly Rowland (born Kelendria Trene Rowland on February 11, 1981) is a Grammy Award-winning American R&B singer, songwriter, dancer, and occasional actress, who rose to fame as one of the founding members of the successful R&B girl group Destiny's Child, the world's best-selling female group of all time selling over 100 million records worldwide.

After a series of commercially successful releases with the group and a worldwide number-one success with rapper Nelly and their Grammy-winning single "Dilemma," Rowland released her debut solo album Simply Deep in 2002. The album became a commercial success, eventually selling more than 2.5 million copies woldwide. Rowland's often-delayed second album, Ms. Kelly was released on June 25, 2007 in Europe and July 3, 2007 in the United States. So far, the album has spawned the top 5 single "Like This," a collaboration with rapper Eve, and yet-to-be-released follow-ups "Comeback" and "Work."

While maintaining a recording career Rowland has also gained fame for starring in several film and television productions, including a starring role in the 2004 romantic comedy The Seat Filler, a supporting role in the 2003 slasher film Freddy vs. Jason, and several guest appearances on TV series such as The Hughleys and Girlfriends.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelly_Rowland

"A Short History of the Do-Rag"

By Richard

Is it me or are young men wearing do-rags allot more these days?
In asking this question I am not saying that there is something wrong
with wearing a do- rag itself especialy given that in my formative day's I use
to don one. But my criticism is that these days do-rags have become a fad
of the new hip hop generation.

And as such maybe looked at as an example of authentic black culture!
While do- rags have there place as far as hygiene and appearance is
concerned I fell today the do-rag is being worn for purely rebellious
reasons.

When I was young I use to wear the do -rag only before bed as a way
to create a wave pattern in my hair.I do not recall me ever leaving the
house with it and walking around the neighborhood. The first time I can
recall a do-rag worn openly is on BET when they began adding hard core
rap to there segments in the late 80's.

Back then I noticed that most young black boys like myself wanted to look
good for the ladies and waves were in. The boy group New Edition sported
the bestwearing wave pattens to date and we wanted that. If waves is what
the ladies liked then waves it would be.But the only way to get waves or as
southernwomen would say "good hair"was to put a do-rag on for hours and
hope an pray that the wave pattern kicked in before morning.


If the pattern had not come by morning I would throw some grease
in my hair put the do-rag away grab my books and head for the bus
stop. I would never wear the do -rag to school because to do so would
be tacky and I would probably be kicked out of school for the day.


Today there is not the same social stigmatization to wearing do-rags
in public so I guess this is why I see more of it.I think this may void
of social stigmatization is why many of our children feel like "pulling
down there pants is a style and do -rags is keeping it real"


The truth is that today the do rag has become a symbol of it's tackiness
and as a young black man it is somewhat embarrassing to see other
young black men with there paints hanging literally to ones knees.
Today'sdo-rag is being worn not for wave pattern but because the
do -rag itself is a symbol and badge of urban life.

Below is a "A Short History of the Do-Rag" from Wikipedia.

A do-rag, also spelled doo-rag, du-rag, durag, 'wave cap or watchu-rag is a piece of cloth used to cover the head.

The do-rag was popular throughout many different eras. In the 1930s women wore bandanna like fabric to fasten their hairstyles in place while they set. In the 1940s the style among women shifted into the workplace where they were taking over factory jobs and needed a safe way to keep their hair out of the machinery. Rosie the Riveter is famously featured wearing the blue-collar woman's do-rag.

From the 1930s to the 1960s, they were used by African-American men to hold chemically processed hair-dos in place while they slept. Originally they were made from pieces of handkerchief, bandanas, or women's stockings; now they are made from polyester. Do-rags resurged as a fashion trend among urban youth in the 1970s and 2000s. Do-rags are worn in a variety of colors, with black being the most common. Do-rags are regularly used to create and maintain waves. They are also used for cornrowed hairstyles. It usually has ling ties on either side which are wrapped around the head to secure the do-rag and tied at the back.
Hip hop artists such as Chamillionaire, LL Cool J, Sheek Louch, Mike Jones, Petey Pablo, 50 Cent and Cam'ron have helped popularize do-rags among mainstream audiences by incorporating them in their dress.

Do-rags are also popular among motorcycle riders. The do-rag is worn by a rider as a way to keep hair from blowing into the face and eyes while riding (a benefit to both the rider and to any passenger they may have riding on their bike behind them), as a way of keeping bugs out of the hair, and as a way to absorb sweat. Generally, riders who use a do-rag for these purposes do not also wear a motorcycle helmet. Though the majority of motorcyclists prefer the original bandana.

Some gang members may wear do-rags representing their gang colors.

Barack Obama and those Damn Jews

By Richard

The other day I was reading another ridiculous article from Ali Abunimah who is the co-founder of the The Electronic Intifada and author of One Country: In his most recent diatribe Ali attacks Illinois Sen. Barack Obama for his supposed support of the state of Israel which he so elequenlty termed "How Barack Obama learned to love Israel". In the article Ali seems to whine about why the Sen.Barack Obama has failed to never seem to attack Isreal for what he views as Human Righst abuses.

He writes "Obama offered not a single word of criticism of Israel, of its relentless settlement and wall construction, of the closures that make life unlivable for millions of Palestinians.

Ali fails to mention that this barrier is a responce to Palestinian terrorism, including suicide bombing attacks, that increased significantly during the al-Aqsa Intifada; it has helped to significantly reduce incidents of terrorism from 2002 to 2005;Once the Palestinians reign in there thugs the wall can come down, but until then it remains.

Imagine someone kept breaking in my house and then I put up a barrier and some protection and the guys breaking in and attacking me demanded to the police (The UN) I take it down for the sake of peace. Such and argument would That sound ridiculous, yet this i the kind of rationile people like Ali use.

He then continues to dribble about his past experinces with Barack as a student when Obama gave a speech at his Univeristy. What Ali fails to understand is that in Democracies people have the right (unlike in the Middle East) to change there mind. Obama with all do respect changed his mind not because of the "Jews" but because he came into contact with different perspectives on this conflict. Different views sharpen you not make you a tool of anyone person in time as with Sen. Obama logic won the day.

Ali and his elk need to put down the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" and reach out to those who share a different views of the conflict than he does; not so as to consider why ideas not money can change a person's perspective. Blaming the Senator's change of heart on making a buck and the Jew connections only go to show the depth of anti semtism within the mindset of many in the Palestian American movement. Lets not forget the real history behind this conflict.

Israel declared its independence in 1948 after the United Nations approved the partition of the British Mandate of Palestine into two states, Jewish and Arab, in November 1947. The Arab countries rejected the plan and attacked the State of Israel the moment it was created.

And what of the Mizrahi Jews (Arab Jews) kicked out of Arab lands? The combined population of Jewish communities in the Greater Middle East(excluding Israel) was reduced from about 900, 000 in 1948 to less than 8, 000 today. Some of these communities were more than 2, 500 years old.Unlike many Arab states took in Israel her refugees the Arab states hung there's
what later became known as (Palestinan's) to dry.

Mr Ali needs to consider that there are many views to this conflict not just his.Perhaps Obama got his advice from a fellow African American human rights activist Dr.Martin Luther King who said of the conflict

"Peace for Israel means security, and we must stand with all our might to protect its right to exist, its territorial integrity. I see Israel as one of the great outposts of democracy in the world, and a marvelous example of what can be done, how desert land can be transformed into an oasis of brotherhood and democracy. Peace for Israel means security and that security must be a reality."

Richard is the founder and editor of HipHopRepublican.com

"The Bronx is burning."

By LARRY McSHANE, Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK - It was the summer of Reggie, the summer of Sam, the summer when the lights went dark and the Bronx burned bright.

Thirty years ago, as the temperatures soared and its morale plunged, New York City endured a scathing summer custom-made for tabloid headlines:

A crippling July blackout, complete with arson and looting ("24 HOURS OF TERROR"); a media-savvy serial killer dubbed the Son of Sam ("NO ONE IS SAFE"); and a dysfunctional, sensational New York Yankees team ("THE BRONX ZOO").

There was more: A bitterly contested mayoral race, the lingering threat of fiscal disaster, the perception that crime was turning New York City into Dodge City (albeit with a splashier skyline). The nation's largest city was becoming a punchline, but those who resisted the urge to flee the five boroughs weren't laughing.

"There were three things that were bad for the city: First was the blackout and the looting," recalled Ed Koch, who was running to unseat incumbent Mayor Abe Beame. "Second was the fear in the city with the Son of Sam. And third was Howard Cosell's comment that the Bronx was burning."

The air of desperation eventually led to inspiration: ESPN is revisiting 1977 with its eight-part serialization of the Jonathan Mahler book "Ladies and Gentlemen, The Bronx Is Burning," while Spike Lee directed the slice of '77 life "Summer of Sam" back in 1999.

But it's not an era that inspires nostalgia.

"You had looting, you had a homicidal maniac, you had the city in dire straits fiscally," said Mitchell Moss, a professor at the New York University Urban Research Center. "There was a genuine breakdown in the city's self-confidence."

___

It was 9:34 p.m. on July 13, 1977, when the lights went out. All of 'em, in all five boroughs, when a lightning bolt knocked out electricity to about 8 million people.

When the power returned 25 hours later, it illuminated a city in chaos. Widespread looting and arson had raged, with Beame lamenting "a night of terror." The mayor's quote, in large type, became newspaper shorthand for the destruction: more than 1,700 stores looted, more than $150 million in property damage, more than 3,000 people arrested.

Daily News columnist Jimmy Breslin remembered walking along Brooklyn's Atlantic Avenue around 6 a.m. on July 14, watching a woman and a small boy lugging a dining room table.

"The boy is struggling," Breslin said. "Out of the goodness of my heart, I hold up the back end of the table. I took four steps, and the thought occurs to me: I'm a looter. I told the kid, `Sorry, you'll have to do it yourself.'"

For Koch, Beame's failure to maintain order provided a huge campaign boost. Koch was a law-and-order candidate in a city where anarchy had ruled for a day.

"The blackout probably meant the difference between my winning and losing," Koch now says. "I was then, and am now, for the death penalty.

"Although not for looters."

___

Even when the power disappeared, this was the summer when Reggie Jackson owned the spotlight.

The power-hitting right fielder arrived in New York with a huge contract and an ego to match, announcing — at the expense of team captain Thurman Munson — that he was "the straw that stirs the drink."

His big bat and bigger mouth kept the Yankees on the back page of the tabloids, even as the city's bigger stories dominated page one. By season's end, Reggie would become front-page news, too.

A month before the blackout, Jackson and combative Yankees manager Billy Martin nearly came to blows in the dugout after Martin pulled the future Hall of Famer mid-game for a perceived lack of effort in Fenway Park.

"Was this the straw that broke the camel's back?" asked Daily News sportswriter Phil Pepe after the June 18, 1977, near-brawl.

The Yankees had recently been bought by George Steinbrenner, rounding out the troika that transfixed fans into the fall. The once-storied franchise, moribund for most of the previous decade, was back as the new owner and the old-school manager struggled to find harmony with their superstar slugger.

___

It was around 2:30 a.m. on July 31 when the Son of Sam struck for the last time.

His real name was David Berkowitz. He lived north of the city, in Yonkers, and claimed to take his homicidal marching orders from a neighbor's dog. His weapon of choice was a Charter Arms Bulldog .44-caliber revolver.

He killed six New Yorkers and wounded seven more. Terrified women across the city, noting the gunman targeted long-haired brunettes, opted for a shorter, blonder look. The shootings began in July 1976, shortly after the nation's bicentennial. The last attack, one year later on a Brooklyn lovers' lane, killed 20-year-old Stacy Moskowitz.

It took eight months after the first murder for police to link the shootings. Once they did, a sense of dread consumed the city.

"It was all looking for freaking Berkowitz," said Breslin. "I didn't know if the Yankees were playing baseball or not. The political campaign, I hardly looked at. ... It was the same, all the time."

In taunting letters to police and Breslin, the killer proclaimed himself the Son of Sam.

"I had to go in and talk with the police," Breslin remembered. "This inspector said, `I'm hoping you're the one that can bring him in.' I said, `What am I supposed to do? Get killed?'"

Instead, Breslin wrote a column urging Son of Sam to surrender.

"GIVE UP!" the headline screamed. "IT'S ONLY WAY OUT."

It was in October, during the World Series between the Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers, when Howard Cosell told a national television audience, "Ladies and gentlemen, the Bronx is burning."

A building near Yankee Stadium was indeed ablaze, although Cosell's crack created a negative image that lasted long after the flames were extinguished.

Cosell spoke as the mayor's race reached its final weeks. Koch would win and spend the next 12 years in City Hall.

"The most important thing, aside from balancing the budget, was upgrading the spirits of New Yorkers, making them feel we could overcome and prevail," Koch said.
Berkowitz was already behind bars, arrested Aug. 10 after a Brooklyn parking ticket led police to his door. "How come it took you so long?" he asked the arresting detectives.

The Yankees won their first World Series in 15 years, led by Jackson, who drilled three homers on three pitches in the deciding game. "YANKEES ARE CHAMPS!" read page one of the Daily News.

Thirty years later, "Mr. October" returned to the Bronx for the annual Yankees' old timers' day festivities. His long-ago season was inevitably brought up, and Jackson acknowledged that it lingers to this day.

"I can forgive," he said of that year's assorted pinstriped contretemps, "but I can't forget."

Few can when it comes to the summer of '77.

http://democracyandhiphop.blogspot.com/2007/07/bronx-is-burning.html