The unflattering presence of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Charles Burnett’s latest film, Namibia: The Struggle for Liberation, starring veteran actor/activist DANNY GLOVER and Carl Lumbly, has possibly threatened the director’s chances of acquiring theatrical distribution for the film in the U.S. “The movie is about liberation in Africa and there are some parts in it involving the CIA which doesn't make the Americans look good,” said Burnett, the critically acclaimed director of such films as Killer of Sheep, To Sleep with Anger and the Oprah Winfrey produced The Wedding, to POLI-SIGH!'s DUKE WILLIAMS, in response to why his film completed in 2007 has yet to receive distribution in the U.S. Namibia had its New York premiere on Opening Night of the 15th annual New York African Film Festival, hosted by the Film Society of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Masterfully shot and solely produced within Namibia with the full financial backing and support of the government, the movie tells the story of Namibia’s fight to liberate itself from the oppressive colonial style presence of the neighboring South African government. What becomes evident in the film is that one of the elements hindering Namibia’s liberation is the cloaked involvement of the CIA.
Ironically, this isn’t the first political controversial film project Danny Glover has been attached to. In 2007, Glover received a disproving eye from Washington and outcry of opposition from the press and bloggers for accepting an estimated $20M from President Hugo Chavez and the Venezuelan government to finance two films to be produced by Glover. One of the films is the story of Toussaint Louverture and his fight to abolish slavery and liberate Haiti during the late 1700s. The second film is the story of Simon Bolivar, who triumphed over the Spanish Monarchy to liberate much of the Hispanic Americas during the early 1800s. Lately, there has been much speculation and doubt as to whether Danny Glover has to return the $20M to the Venezuelan government due to pressure from the U.S. and the media. During a Q&A, Glover erased all doubt by answering definitely that the first of the two movies will go into production on schedule in 2008. He is also currently in talks to play the president in the epic disaster project 2012 with John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Thandie Newton on board.
Back in the day, music icon GEORGE CLINTON talked about painting The White House black. POLI-SIGH!'s VICTOR BAINS MARSHALL asked the P-Funk leader if America is ready for Obama? "America's ready for Obama. They ain't even thinking about color now. The message is coming through and he ain't got much to do with it. He got the right flow for everybody. He's going to try and people are willing to try with him. Now I'm a [Hillary] Clinton man. I like her. We did Bill Clinton's inauguration!" Would you do Obama's? "I'm definitely going to do his. We're getting ready to do One Nation Under A Groove with Sly Stone; System of a Down; Mark Bass of the Bass Brothers, who did Eminem; and Wu-Tang. We're all getting ready to get together and just try to do a change thing: One Nation Under Obama. He's it now. Oprah dug it from the get go. But you wait. Can you imagine Sly? We just did a couple of songs together. For whatever reason, he's ready as hell. When he did If You Want Me To Stay he had a private joke. He meant that shit. I don't know what made him come back but he's here." For more from Clinton on his new doo wop and funk projects and his feelings about today's gospel music, visit Tasty Clips here.
Even drugs which have been used safely for years in Europe or elsewhere cannot be sold in the United States without the approval of the Food and Drug Administration-- which can take years, while people suffer and die from a lack of that drug. Why not allow such drugs to be sold with a bright red label that says: "THIS DRUG IS NOT APPROVED BY THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION. NOR IS IT DISAPPROVED"? - THOMAS SOWELL
South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu likes music, and he even gets in a good dance now and then. What’s his favorite? "I like Beethoven, loud," he told Fox 411. The occasion was the launch of a fledgling Web site that may change the whole world of downloading. Canadian Steven Nowack presented his SOS Records to the international press. He has a unique idea: free downloading supported by ad revenue. The first artists on his Web site include R&B star Mario Winans, Billboard magazine-anointed hot singer Naomi Striemer and Senegalese sensation Idrissa Diop, a protégé of Carlos Santana. Striemer and Diop gave walloping live performances at the press conference, with Diop doing a song about Nelson Mandela called Nobel Prize. Tutu got into the groove and danced along. Meanwhile, Zindzi Mandela, daughter of Nelson and Winnie Mandela, is developing a musical about the South African struggle for freedom from apartheid based in part on a forthcoming memoir. The show is slated for a 2010 opening on Broadway. VH1 will be streaming and taping The 46664 Concert Honoring Nelson Mandela at 90 from London on June 27 featuring Amy Winehouse, Leona Lewis, Queen, Annie Lennox and Dame Shirley Bassey.
Ugly Betty's America Ferrera was reserved when she talked with POLI-SIGH! while stumping for Hillary Clinton in South Carolina (click here for the story). So imagine our surprise to find out she is acting as celeb editor and spokesperson for the just-announced book from HarperCollins Publishers and the Declare Yourself movement called Declare Yourself: Speak. Connect. Vote. 50 Celebrated Americans Tell You Why — a book to inspire, educate, entertain, and engage teens in the political process. Included will be original essays and personal pieces about the importance of civil action. Among the confirmed contributors: Nick Cannon, Adrian Grenier, Sean Kingston, Maroon 5, Hayden Panettiere, Aisha Tyler and Wilmer Valderrama.
Will Smith has confirmed to Omelete that Steven Spielberg has approached him to do Chicago 7. Actually, according to Smith, Spielberg asked him to leave some free space in his schedule - when the script is ready, Smith will receive it. He tells the Brazillian outlet that he's been asked to leave some free space in his schedule and is now awaiting the script - "When Steve is ready he will send it. I don't know specifics, story, anything, but he told me the filming dates, so I can be free to do it. It's not a 100% sure thing yet, but I'm confident." Smith is up for the role of Black Panther Bobby Seale who was put on trial on federal conspiracy charges for the anti-war riots that engulfed the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago. - Dark Horizons
When his donation was returned by Barack Obama's campaign, lawyer and corporate lobbyist Thurgood Marshall Jr. wasn't surprised. The presidential hopeful had barred contributions from lobbyists. (He sent in $500 before he knew of the ban.) But what the son of the late Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall couldn't figure out was why the campaign returned more than he gave. Turns out Marshall, who served in the Clinton administration, shelled out $30 for campaign hats and T-shirts before his son, Will, began his internship in Obama's Senate office last summer. And that qualified as a donation. "So, basically," Marshall chuckles, "I got the things for free." For the record, Marshall, who hasn't endorsed anyone, has given to many Democrats—including Hillary Clinton. Note: She hasn't returned the donation. - US News & World Report
How's this for a political plot: Good-looking congressman in his mid-40s, married with two young children, known for his inspirational speeches, comes from far behind to clinch the Democratic nomination and face an older, more experienced centrist Republican. If he wins, he's America's first non-Caucasian president. It's a drama that plays out each day in the papers and through nonstop cable-TV coverage. But some are beginning to notice that it's a rerun. The whole thing was broadcast a few years back on NBC's The West Wing.
As one who believes Aaron Sorkin's program belongs on a short list of television's finest dramas, I've been fascinated by similarities between the show's Democratic candidate, Matthew Santos, and the party's apparent real-life counterpart, Barack Obama. With Obama's nomination becoming more certain, West Wing references have intensified among bloggers and in the British press. Apparently even Obama's staff is taking note of the degree to which life is imitating art. (They especially like the ending in which Santos, played by Jimmy Smits, narrowly defeats Alan Alda's character, Arnold Vinick, who bears more than a little resemblance to John McCain.)
How is this happening? Is politics so predictable, even in what some call the most unpredictable campaign ever? Or were the writers of The West Wing just that insightful? Turns out, it's a little of both.
The Santos character was created by Eli Attie, currently co-executive producer of Fox's House M.D., who spent four years as head speechwriter for Al Gore during the Clinton administration. Gore's 2000 concession speech was Attie's final task before seeking a career in television. He joined the West Wing writing staff during the third season. As Attie explained it to me, the Santos-Vinick campaign was invented in mid-2004, about the time Barack Obama gave his acclaimed speech at the Democratic convention. David Axelrod, Attie's friend and now Obama's chief strategist, suggested that Obama was a "rock star" politician whose profile was perfect for Attie's needs. Since NBC had already signed Smits to play the part, the character became Hispanic. - an excerpt from PETER FUNT's A Race Straight Out of a 'West Wing' Rerun
"The Clintons, man, they would lie on a stack of Bibles. Snipers? That's not misspeaking; that's some pure bull[bleep]. I voted for Clinton twice, but that's over with. Barack told me the first date he took Michelle to was Do the Right Thing. Thank God I made it. Otherwise [he] would have taken her to Soul Man. Michelle would have been like, 'What's wrong with this brother?' " - SPIKE LEE to New York magazine
After delivering a speech on Foreign policy before an audience heavily populated with Cuban exiles still dreaming about retaking the Island and reversing the gains the revolution brought to the masses of poor Cubans, which also means reestablishing the racial caste system that flourishes everywhere else in Latin America, Senator JOHN McCAIN was hailed as a visionary hero by Senator Mel Martinez of Florida. Well, Mel has to pass off any sort of foolish drivel as the pronouncements of wise men when the question is aggression toward Cuba, diplomatic or military. But, lest we forget, this is the same guy who mistook the Shiites for the Sunni Muslims on four different occasions when making foreign policy announcements on a recent tour of the war torn Middle East. Since it was an attempt to “look presidential” on McCain’s part, he was certainly trying to put his best foot forward. Well, if that was his best shot what are we to make of the elderly Arizona Senator? Is Senator McCain simply ignorant of the facts? Is he a shameless charlatan willfully deceiving the untutored mob that make up the Republican base? And I shudder to think that he might be senile – considering the fact that his finger would be on the nuclear trigger were he elected President. - an excerpt from PLAYTHELL BENJAMIN's Is this guy an Ignoramus, a Charlatan, or just Senile?
Haitian Hip-Hop star Wyclef Jean has announced the launch of Together for Haiti (Kombit Pou Ayiti), a new partnership that will provide food and jobs in response to the current food crisis, AllHipHop.com reports. The Grammy Award winning rapper’s Together for Haiti is a collaborative effort between Jean’s Yéle Haiti, the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF). Together for Haiti will also work with a number of non-governmental organizations and community groups to address the food crisis in Haiti, which is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. According to figures from the U.N., the cost of food has climbed 53% in April, compared to the same time last year.
While Hillary Clinton was making her run for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination, many observers wondered about the attractive exotic woman on her heels. It turned out to be HUMA ABEDIN, the senator's closest aide. This young woman of Middle Eastern descent, who has posed for Vogue, is thought to be as cool as a cucumber. “I think she has special powers,” said public-radio broadcaster Katia Dunn, who recently crossed paths with Ms. Abedin and Mrs. Clinton at a café on Capitol Hill. Ms. Dunn explained that she had heard about the “cult of Huma,” but had never met her. “All of a sudden, I turn around and there was this woman I now know to be Huma. And it wasn’t just that she was gorgeous—she did just sort of have this presence. She stopped me in my tracks for a second.” “It’s not like she’s incredibly coiffed,” Ms. Dunn continued. “She just looked very composed and confident in her natural beauty. She momentarily arrested our progress. What’s amazing is that she didn’t even yell at us or anything—she didn’t have to.” For more on Huma, click here.
Patriotism in song usually emanates from country & western singers, but it is seldom verbalized by African-Americans. Established Las Vegas crooner Daniel Lowery hopes to change all that with I’m An American, an emotive and timely new ode to our troops. "I want this song to be an anthem," says Lowery, who co-wrote the song with Miami producer/songwriter Hal S. Batt and Nashville songwriter Jennifer Constantine. "I want to send the message that we need to come together as a country and be as one and change the way things are going here."
Self-taught singer/songwriter UNÉ (pronounced “you nay”) has a new Obama inspired single rising the charts. Change Is Come (available in both English and Spanish) is a moving and inspiring song that reflects issues facing our nation in this Presidential election year. The Detroit native, who started singing in local churches is guided by Ernest Thomas (Raj of TV's classic sitcom What's Happening).
“America doesn’t have an easy time dealing with race. What I would like understood as a black American is that black Americans loved and had faith in this country even when this country didn’t love and have faith in them — and that’s our legacy.” - CONDOLEEZZA RICE
POLI-SIGH!-TINGS with FRANKLYN AJAYE: I've been politically aware since 1968, and every four years we go through our "vaunted presidential selection process," with a newscaster like Tim Russert intoning, "It's the economy,... it's the war,...it's the children,...it's about everything we hold to be important," and what have America's voters chosen? A crook (Nixon); a incompetent humanitarian (Carter); an amiable, right-wing dunce (Reagan); a mediocre patrician centrist (Bush 41); a brilliant, spineless, philanderer (Clinton); and the trifecta--an amiable, spineless, crooked, right-wing dunce (Dubya). Presidential lottery winners rejoice!!!
I'm glad that Barack Obama is the Democratic nominee because I'd like to see if it's possible for politics to be conducted on a higher level like he advocates, and I'd like a little inspiration with my politics again. Plus I like his suits. Even without the flag lapel pins, he's clean just as Joe Biden said. However, I'm not emotionally invested because all politicians are merely mortal, and the bureaucracy in Washington seems intractably entrenched with respect to self, and special interests. Every candidate that I've seen the last 40 years, has run on the campaign pillars of "hope, change, and unity." Bill Clinton was the change candidate who was "the Man from Hope." [George W.] Bush was "a uniter not of divider," and both created the most politically polarizing administrations we've ever had.
There are a lot of Hillary Clinton haters out there. The vitriol towards her is amazing, almost pathological. I have absolutely no problems with Hillary. Personally I admire her brains and toughness. Course if Hillary looked like Cindy McCain despite her lies and tough tactics, I'm sure she could've closed the charisma deficit with Obama cause more male voters would want to sleep with her. Trust me, older guys are checking Cindy out. Like JFK, Obama's charisma/sex appeal cannot be discounted, and he knows it and plays it. You can't be treated like a rock star without it. Young women dig him, and most importantly, he's making it possible for smart guys to get fine women again--reversing the deeply disturbing "only thugs, jackasses, and gangstas get the hotties" trend our nation's been in the last fifteen years. Irregardless of economic policies, the more smart men who can attract pretty women, the better this country will be. It'll give them incentive to study.
To me the Democratic nominee campaign has been like seeing a film in which the elegant, reserved Virgil Tibbs of In the Heat of the Night squares off against the indomitable Margo Channing of All About Eve. Like Sidney Poitier's Mr. Tibbs, Obama has had to unfairly tamp down his deserved anger, and rise above it in order to succeed, while Clinton like Bette Davis' Channing has had to spit, claw, and scrap--with no apologies. Not a pretty sight, but undeniably fascinating. Poitier versus Davis--and the winner is Poitier.
Of course, there was absolutely no way that Obama was going to run seriously for president without at some point having to deal seriously with race, and I'm sure he knew that. The unfortunate Obama/Reverend Jeremiah Wright situation was the result of the outgrowth of religion taking on a more influential place in American politics over the last forty years. What ever happened to separation of church and state in America?
I lived in Melbourne, Australia for seven years where the religious beliefs of political figures are off limits to the press and public. The Aussie public considers one's religion a personal matter not relevant to politics/government. I've seen politicians over there on television actually say "none of your business, mate" when asked about their religious beliefs by the media, with no repercussions or public outcry. Agnostics, and atheists, along with true believers hold high office--which is as it should be. That can never happen here. No matter how kind, decent, moral, or compassionate you are, you'd never get serious consideration here for president without publicly declaring your faith or "personal relationship with God."
This church/state paradigm shift with respect to national politics in our society is the major reason Senator Obama found himself in the predicament, and forced to ultimately give Wright the Mr.Tibbs slap--albeit low key. Race (on both the Black and White side) is the dragon that guards the White House in Obama's stirring quest. Can he slay it?
“As I grow older — and especially being an African-American man — I really have learned how important it is to utilize what voice I have. Make sure people understand things like voter registration. Even if you don’t go out and vote for Barack Obama — which I hope people do — please, you know, don’t squander your voice. Your vote. You know, we can make history people. We can make a change for the better.” - USHER to the
AJC
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