Lift Every Voice And Sing [Video]

Great song! How many faces do you recognize? Did your parents, school, church, etc. make you learn the words? If yes, do you still remember them? I attended an HBCU and we would sing this song faithfully. I still remember it and our school alma mater pretty well. Although, I get kind of "iffy" in the middle.

Christina Aguilera - At Last [Etta James Funeral]

Couple Finally Reveals Child's Gender, Five Years After Birth

Couple Finally Reveals Child's Gender, Five Years After Birth
By Piper Weiss, Shine Staff | Parenting

It's a boy! And he's five. Beck Laxton, 46, and partner Kieran Cooper, 44, have spent half the decade concealing the gender of their son, Sasha.

"I wanted to avoid all that stereotyping," Laxton said in an interview with the Cambridge News. "Stereotypes seem fundamentally stupid. Why would you want to slot people into boxes?"

Laxton, a UK-based web editor, and her partner, Cooper, decided to keep Sasha's sex a secret when he was still in the womb. The birth announcement stated the gender-neutral name of their child, but skipped the big reveal. Up until recently, the couple only told a few close friends and family members that Sasha was a boy and managed to keep the rest of the world in the dark. But now that he's starting school the secret's out.

For years, Becks has been referring to her child, the youngest of three, as "the infant" on her personal blog. But guarding the public from her son's gender was only part of her quest to let her kid just be a kid.

http://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/couple-finally-reveals-childs-gender-five-years-birth-180300388.html

President Barack Obama is the smartest President!

I really do believe that President Barack H. Obama is the smartest president this country has had in years. I haven't agreed with all of his decisions. Sometimes I don't share his perspective, but I think we should count ourselves quite fortunate that he has been our president for the last 3 years.

I was a fan of Clinton, but goodness knows he couldn't even manage to keep his own pants up. I think this President is finally one that we can be proud of. To my mind, it should really be a good feeling to know that we can send him back for four more years. I think we should feel enthusiastic about it.

I think his 2nd term will offer even more advantages. He will not have to worry about re-election, etc. To a certain degree, he will be thinking about his legacy. I mean...when you think about it. I'm not really a fan of the healthcare bill...BUT, heck, Clinton couldn't even get one passed. It took President Obama to get it done.

As for the Occupy Movement, I think if you support this movement, you should also support this president. It's been his battle cry for quite some time now about the 1% getting everything and the 99% getting little to nothing.

President Clinton gave us Don't Ask, Don't Tell ... President Obama got rid of it.

George Bush looked for Osama for years...and couldn't find him down the street from a military complex in Pakistan. It took President Obama and the Navy Seals to finally get him.

To my mind, we should be more than happy to vote for him, than we were when he was first elected, because then he was talking about hope and change and what he could "possibly" do. Now, he's actually done some of it.

Sometimes DU seems so depressed about having President Obama as our candidate, I have to wonder if we're living in two different worlds. As I have said, I can be critical...and I often am when I disagree with something the President has done or appointed, etc. But, I'm not crazy. We have a good President!

The next 4 years are going to be better for us if we can keep him.

Go Obama 2012!

Anastassia Michaeli, Israel Knesset Member, Throws Water In Face Of Colleague (VIDEO)

(AP) JERUSALEM — Israeli politicians often pour cold water on each other's ideas, but rarely on each other.

Anastassia Michaeli, a hawkish Israeli lawmaker, got so angry during a routine parliamentary debate Monday that she took a glass of water, tossed it at Labor Party backbencher Raleb Majadele and said "shame on you" before storming out.

It's unclear exactly what provoked the outburst. Michaeli says Majadele insulted her and that she expects "a man to be respectful toward a woman." She was unrepentant afterward, saying she hoped Majadele would "cool off" from the water.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/09/anastassia-michaeli-knesset-water_n_1193843.html

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The video is at the link. She throws water on him toward the end of the movie. I don't have a clue as to what they were saying, but it must have been intense.

Occupy DC's LIVE talk radio show! (8:00 PM Central Time)

Occupy DC's LIVE talk radio show!
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/occupydclive/2012/01/02/voices-of-the-99
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Occupy DC's LIVE talk radio show! Tonight we hear from a man who has spent well over half a century speaking truth to power and getting away with it. Join us for a conversation with Dick Gregory as he offers up his unique brand of wit, wisdom and advice for young radicals! Tune in!
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It's not my show. But, it sounds like it will be really interesting.

African-American Mayors Meet With Global Leaders for Historic Summit

African-American Mayors Meet With Global Leaders for Historic Summit
Posted: 12/20/11 09:49 PM ET

African-American mayors from across the United States left their tight-knit communities, some with as few as 855 citizens, and traveled across the Atlantic Ocean for a historic dialogue in Dakar, Senegal. The 2011 World Summit of Mayors Leadership Conference was held just days before Christmas and also featured mayors and ambassadors from across Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean along with scholars and a number of other activists.

The goal: to build alliances with local leaders from across the planet and exchange a world of ideas and information that they hope will impact communities both on a local, national and international level. "All politics really is local..." insists Omar Neal who is mayor of Tuskegee, Alabama -- a notable city that boasts a population of about 11,000. And that was the general consensus of the delegation which convened in the glitzy Hotel Meridien President Conference Hall faintly resembles the United Nations, save for its rich wooden structures and distinct architecture which pays homage to the African continent.

The goal: to build alliances with local leaders from across the planet and exchange a world of ideas and information that they hope will impact communities both on a local, national and international level. "All politics really is local..." insists Omar Neal who is mayor of Tuskegee, Alabama -- a notable city that boasts a population of about 11,000. And that was the general consensus of the delegation which convened in the glitzy Hotel Meridien President Conference Hall faintly resembles the United Nations, save for its rich wooden structures and distinct architecture which pays homage to the African continent.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cheryl-wills/african-american-mayors-m_b_1161860.html

Study: Christianity grows exponentially in Africa

Study: Christianity grows exponentially in Africa
By G. Jeffrey MacDonald, Religion News Service

With 2.18 billion adherents, Christianity has become a truly global religion over the past century as rapid growth in developing nations offset declines in Christianity's traditional strongholds, according to a report released Monday.

Billed as the most comprehensive and reliable study to date, the Pew Research Center's "Global Christianity" reports on self-identified Christian populations based on more than 2,400 sources of information, especially census and survey data.

Findings illustrate major shifts since 1910, when two-thirds of the world's Christians lived in Europe. Now only one in four Christians live in Europe. Most of the rest are distributed across the Americas (37 %), sub-Saharan Africa (24 %) and the Asia-Pacific region (13 %).

"In two out of three countries in the world, the majority of the population identifies as Christian," said Conrad Hackett, lead researcher on the "Global Christianity" report. "I had no idea about that. … I was surprised."

http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/story/2011-12-20/christianity-growth-africa-europe/52125920/1

3 Classy Tips For Interracial Couples

3 Classy Tips For Interracial Couples
December 7, 2011 by TianaB

Loving someone is hard enough without having your relationship examined under the magnifying glass of society. Although we live in the 21st century, prejudice barriers can hinder so many relationships from reaching their fullest potential, with one of these said barriers being of a racial matter. No classy lady wants to be told whom she should love! If you find yourself falling for someone of an opposite race than yourself, keep these three tips in mind when you’re finding it difficult to face inevitable challenges head on.

Be Brave – Your friends and even family may find it difficult to accept your relationship for their own personal reasons. However, allowing the opinions of others to seep into your relationship is the last thing you should do. Just remember that the ones who love you most will always support you, no matter how “socially unacceptable” your decisions may be. You’ve already taken a huge step by deciding to be in an interracial relationship, so why turn back now?

http://collegelifestyles.org/2011/12/3-classy-tips-for-interracial-couples/

Hey! Check out the article and provide more tips if you have them OR share your opinion about the tips offered by TianaB.