Archive for the ‘Social Upheaval’ Category

Develop, Don’t Destroy, Brooklyn…

Wednesday, December 5th, 2007

227 duffield stret

A few years ago you couldn’t find a more vocal opponent to the proposed construction over the Atlantic Avenue railyards than I was. Sure, the railyards is a patch of blight in a community that has been resurgent, but at what price to the existing community must we accept redevelopment?

New York City on the whole is squeezing the middle class like so much ripened citrus we are almost wrung free of our nectar. What makes this city such a wonderment in the first place are all the people making a living here despite our various ethnic, religious, politic and economic backgrounds. The city is becoming as segregated as a state in the antebellum south. The separations aren’t just racial, but more pronounced along economic lines.

How the fuck does the Bronx end up as the poorest urban county in America? Simply by Manhattan owning the inverse proportion of wealthy residents. LM sent me an online article from CNN/Money featuring some of New York City’s wealthiest families. Peep this shit…

All In The Families

What they all have in common is that their fortunes are tied directly to the land. Forget the stock market, or even broadcasting. New York City wealth is all about the ground that you walk on and who has claim to it. This is why I had such a great concern for the development slated for Brooklyn. This boro has the largest population of minorities and new immigrants who will be the last people to be recognized and protected when the big money is on the line. That big money is in the form of the development company led by real estate mogul BRUCE RATNER.

The ambitious project in downtown Brooklyn called MetroTech is spreading outwards to the west in the high gloss DUMBO arts community. It is spreading northward by capturing Fort Greene and Clinton Hill in its wake and it has its eyes firmly set on the east where the Atlantic Avenue railyards are. But with all of the noise for change and all of the young, new-monied folks moving into Brooklyn (read: w… you already know), there is still a voice that must be heard.

JOY CHATEL owns a venerable building on the downtrodden Duffield Street. Her building was formerly a stopover on the Underground Railroad. This was one railroad that she was not about to let RATNER demolish for his shiny new retail playground Brooklyn. She rallied for her rights to keep her home. She mobilized media not just around her home, but for the cause that we can not just push poor people out into the ocean. The courts listened to her arguments and this week she was victorious in her efforts.

By embracing new media Mrs. CHATEL has shown that activism has many forms and formats. You can stand up for your rights by sitting down for a few moments to blog to some of your best friends and let them know what is important to you. It wasn’t enough for the city to rename Duffield Street into Abolitionist Place. Mrs. CHATEL and her friends made the city follow through with action that preserves our American heritage.

227 duffield stret

SEARCHING 4 RICK RUBIN…

Tuesday, December 4th, 2007

game rebellion

I’ve been following GAME Rebellion for so many years I can tell you that seven years ago the band’s name was just GAME. Three high school friends formed the band that was part Public Enemy, part Bad Brains, part Wu-Tang, part The Clash, and all funky fresh.

GAME Rebellion is on the cusp of finally achieving overnight celebrity status. Nevermind that it has been seven long years of practicing and playing and getting their motherfucking headbanger on.

When I get on this blog and I talk about music as an art and not just disposable commerce I am talking about this band and their approach to music. I’ve featured their songs here from time to time and today I am going to relay you to their new website where their mixtape album ‘Searching 4 Rick Rubin’ is available for download.

GAME REBELLION dot com

You can download the album for absolutely free, or you can support this band and their approach to creating art by giving them a $5 spot via PayPal or credit card. I sincerely hope that my supporters will show the same consideration to these young brothers.

Either way, make sure you give these dudes a listen and buckle your seatbelts for the future. These boys are coming for the head of Ceasar.

game rebellion<

“Bitch, You Got Some Bomb Ass Pussy!”

Monday, December 3rd, 2007

hillary

Or, when does a suicide bomber become a terrorist? Hip-HopDX’s the Ambassador goes in on the recent hostage drama at the HILLARY RODHAM-CLINTON campaign offices.

I have finally realized exactly who that line was directed to – Hillary Clinton. Not in the sense that Mrs. Clinton is a bitch, and not even in the sense that I think that she throws down like that between the sheets. Fuck all of that. That line was made for Hillary because some random guy seemed like he wanted to bomb(or as of recent reports, road flare?) her pussy(and his own ass in the process) to bits. I guess this is what happens when you get poon running for Prez.

Perhaps while Bill was getting blown by Ms. Lewinskeet back in the good ol’ days, Hillary was out getting some carnal revenge of her own on her husband. Could it be that this was a past flame of Hillary’s who was pissed that she didn’t leave her husband for him because she indeed possesses a bomb ass pussy?

Ha! OK, for serious now – let me stop. That’s unfair of me. Speculating that sort of nonsense ain’t a good look. But if it comes out that it was true…don’t forget who said it first.

Real talk though, there was a fact that emerged in this hostage drama situation, that although left unsaid by most, has been running rampant through my mind. I have not heard one media outlet refer to the hostage situation caused by the aforementioned guy with the shit strapped to his chest (who was identified as Leeland Eisenberg), as an instance of terrorism. It pains me to have to admit this, but it feels like the American media is at the point that to report something as being an act of terrorism, a person hailing from the Middle East (or at least that has a name that sounds like it was picked out by the local Imam) has to have been behind the act in question.

I began to wonder if perhaps my definition of “terrorism” was just skewed. This is where online dictionaries come in handy, and not just because I’m too lazy to walk across the room and pick up one of those heavy, bulky-type dictionaries. Even though I really am that lazy sometimes… Anyway, type the word “terrorism” in at dictionary.com, and this is the first definition you will be presented with:

“ter-ror-ism. [ter-*uh*-riz-*uh* m]. –noun. 1. the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, esp. for political purposes.”

Let’s review this a little bit. Eisenberg strapped a bomb-like device to his chest with duct tape. That’s pretty intimidating, if you’re going to go storming into places and showing it to people while taking them hostage. Furthermore, he was using that intimidation to coerce people (to allow him to talk to Hillary personally). Was he violent? Well, I’m not sure of details as to how he detained the hostages, but walking around with devices capable of igniting in some way, shape, or form, would imply that you intend to be violent. That leaves the last part of the definition to be dealt with – “for political purposes”. Well, this was a candidate’s campaign office, and he wanted to speak with a political figure for whatever reason. That seems like a pretty damn political purpose to me. He fucked up politics for the day in the process anyway; what with the Democraps’ most notoriously dysfunctional couple cancelling all of their public appearances, and causing two other democratic campaign offices to be evacuated as well. So…how is this not terrorism?

Oh, right. Eisenberg was just that. An Eisenberg. Not a Bin Laden or an Al-Mohammed-Ibrahim-Khaled-Ali-Baba-Abdul-Raheem, or some direct Al-Qaeda affiliate.

What is the difference between what Eisenberg did, and what a suicide bomber in Israel does?

Device to cause some damage? Check.

Duct tape to secure the device to yourself, ensuring a successful suicide? Check.

People nearby to blow up along with yourself? Check.

A goal in mind through all of it, even if it’s not necessarily going to make sense to anybody else but yourself? Check.

The only difference is that Eisenberg didn’t actually end up blowing himself up into a cloud of pink mist. He gave up and let the SWAT team have at him. But really? He scared the shit out of a good number of people, and the definition of “terrorism” said nothing about having to actually kill yourself or some other people.

Maybe this is just one of those fuck-ups of the English language that I just never understood. Kind of like how in the hell you get “colonel” to sound like “kernel”. Maybe I just don’t understand the concept of terrorism – I must have slept through the class periods in my government related studies when my professors talked about it. Although…maybe it’s not that simple. Or perhaps this observation is just a figment of my insomnia-induced imagination, and I’m just being an overly sensitive bitch who should stop complaining about the media (seeing as how my journalistic aspirations would benefit from having them on my side anyway…). I’ll leave that up to you to decide.

ambassador The Ambassador says…
“You say terrorism, I say terrific. Let’s call the whole thing off.”

POLITRICKS 2008: Sex And The City’s Money…

Saturday, December 1st, 2007

judiani

This latest scandal might be the death knell for RUDOLPH GIULIANI’s political career. I won’t start my celebration until I see the body lying in state. There have been so many times during GIULIANI’s mayoralty where I thought the people with the big bucks that make the decisions would have buried his ass. Still he rises. Forget for a moment if you can September 11th, 2001. GIULIANI wants you to think of that moment overall because his final act as the mayor of New York City was the cruel and callous treatment that he subjected his family to.

GIULIANI wasn’t about to sacrifice his own pleasure out of respect for his family’s privacy or mental well-being. No wonder GIULIANI’s own daughter campaigns for OBAAMA. At least BARACK has the decency to keep his families private issues in the closet[ll]. When GIULIANI finally went public with the relationship he and his mistress had been having the city’s public coffers were short a half a million. This was just from the documented expenses that had been incurred providing services to the mayor’s head-mistress (puns always intended at DP Dot Com).

Rudy Giuliani Hid His Travel Expenses While Courting Judi

The mayor enjoyed a ridiculous level of privilege and entitlement that he used to splurge on those in his favorable inner circle. Between the unchecked power that he gave to Police Commissioner BERNARD KERIK and the cosmic credit card that he bestowed upon JUDITH NATHAN I’m not surprised now that the city didn’t have money to offer its police, fire and technical worker’s unions. Can you imagine the amount of debt America will assume with JUDIANI as the president?

What surprises me most is how come the vast majority of right wing voters that buy the GIULIANI 9-11 myth can still mitigate his obvious lack of family values. Add to that list now his subsequent lack of fiscal values. GIULIANI is poised to make the BUSH-CHENEY administration look downright honest by comparison. That fact should be a problem for all Americans. No matter what your political affiliation might be. I’ve waited for a long time for the wheels to fall off GIULIANI’s taxpayer leased limousine, but like I said in the opening sentence on this drop I won’t be happy until I finally know this tyrant is put down.

SNEAKER FIENDS UNITE!

Thursday, November 29th, 2007

nike

First things first, let me get my thank you’s in order…

  • Shouts to Nike who e-mailed me the invite to their holiday party.
  • Shouts to my peoples at ThinkTank Marketing just because they my peoples.
  • Shouts to my homey SEAN WILLIAMS, CHAD and the sneakerheads over at Obsessive Sneaker Disorder.
  • True story, funny story about the sneakers pictured below. I bought these Dunks tonight because they are part of the Nike charity collection where the proceeds go to the DOERNBECHER Children’s Hospital of Portland(OR). You know I’m for the children so any move for a children’s charity is a good feel for me. I was especially amped to copp these because the card says that they were designed by RICKY RUDD. Well shiver my timbers! RICKY RUDD is the official DP Dot Com Nascar driver(as soon as DP Dot Com starts following Nascar).

    Funny story is the RICKY RUDD in question is not the racecar driver but some retahd kid in the hospital getting chemotherapy for some shit.

    doernbecher dunks

    Next week Thursday 12/06 at NIKETOWN NYC there will be a free holiday party. The booze and beverages are free. The sneakers… Not so much. But if you NEVER go to a NIKETOWN retail installation why not go in and get yourself a free pomegranate vodka cocktail.

    F.Y.I. You can go to this in-store event in whatever city has a NIKETOWN store
    11/29 – Atlanta, Phipps Plaza
    11/29 – Boston
    11/29 – Chicago
    11/29 – Los Angeles
    11/29 – Palm Beach
    11/29 – San Francisco
    11/30 – Beverly Hills
    12/2 – Santa Clara
    12/5 – Denver
    12/6 – Eugene

    Just submit your RSVP here.

    Afterwards come with me downtown to PIANO’s on Ludlow Street for the Stand Up! rap music showcase with DONNY GOINES, HIRED GUN, CAUSE, NY OIL and SEAN PRICE.