Hello 2012 !!

 

Thank God that 2011 is in the past.  It was a horrible year with all the turmoil that I dealt with such as financial hardship, social failures and departure of a dear friend from this planet.  I couldn’t wait to see 2011 gone and embracing 2012, which will be a very important year in my life and in this world as well.

I wish you, readers of this blog, a very happy and healthy new year where positivity, perseverance, vision and action will be key to success.

Expect a lot of posts on this blog in 2012, regardless of the subject.

CHEERS !!

RIP Heavy D (1967-2011)

Heavy D

I can’t believe that one of my favorite Hip-hop artists is gone way too soon.   According to the website TMZ.com, Heavy D, born  Dwight Arrington Myers, has died an hour after being rushed in a Los Angeles hospital for an apparent heart attack although the cause of death is unknown pending on the L.A. County coroner’s autopsy results.  He was 44.

Under his group Heavy D and the Boyz, he was one of the most popular artists in the urban scene with hits such as “We Got Out Own Thang”, “Somebody for Me”, “Gyrlz, They Love Me” and ”Now That We Found Love”, along being the voice behind the theme song of Fox’s hit show In Living Color and on the hit song “Jam” from the late Michael Jackson’s very underrated album Dangerous.

Damn, this news is definitely a wakeup call because life on this planet is short and very treacherous and we don’t how far we will go.

RIP Heavy D.  You will be missed among real Hip-hop fans.

Smokin’ Joe Frazier (1944-2011)

Boxing has just lost a true legend.  Smokin’ Joe Frazier, perhaps Muhammad Ali’s greatest nemesis, lost his battle with liver cancer on Monday.  He was 67.

The former World Heavyweight champion will be long remembered for his three fights with Ali, including  The Fight of the Century and the Thrilla in Manilla, and his two fights with George Foreman.

Rest in peace, Legend.  Your legacy will live on !!!

Joe Frazier

Magic Johnson: 20 years later and still standing.

I was a 15-year old teenager freshly starting high school when I saw, on this day 20 years ago, the press conference given by Earvin Magic Johnson telling the whole world the shocking news that he contacted the dreaded HIV virus, putting an effective end to a Hall of Fame career in a Lakers uniform at age 32 .

-Magic Johnson has HIV???

-Really???

-Say ain’t so, Magic !!

Shocked and disbelieved, I left wondering how come all of this happen to the all-time assist leader and certainly one of the greatest to ever play the game?   On many subsequent interviews, Johnson went on admitting that he did have many encounters with women during his playing days prior to his marriage that probably led to contact with the virus that can cause AIDS.  Thankfully, her wife, pregnant at that time, was not affected.  He did however play on a couple of occasions the following year.  First at the NBA All-Star game in Orlando, where he put up a hell of show in front a sellout crowd leading the West to a 153-113 victory against the East. Then, along with his fellow teammates from the first edition of the Dream Team, he dazzled the whole planet all the way to win the 1992 Olympic tournament in Barcelona.  Yes, he did make a comeback in 1996 but it didn’t last  long.

20 years later, it is refreshing to see Magic still doing his things despite having the virus.   I guess a healthy lifestyle is definitely keeping him from slowing down in spite of popular wisdom saying that an HIV positive has less than 5 years to live.

Here a clip of the press conference that shook the world on November 7, 1991.

Muhammar Gadhafi‘s death: Is it really a win for Libyans?

Courtesy AP

It has been confirmed reports by the Libyan Transitional Council that former leader of Libya Col. Muhammar Gadhafi has died during the bombing of his hometown of Syrte by NATO-led rebel forces.

courtesy AP

True that Gadhafi has been in power for too long and power did corrupt him, and yes, he was defying western powers for many years since he took control of Libya’s destiny after a political coup that toppled King Idris, subsequently abolishing the monarchy in 1969. Yes, he did oppress too many dissidents of his policies.  It was obvious that sooner or later, his days at the helm will be numbered once the dissidents have asked helped from Western powers through NATO to depose him.   But, seriously, do you really believe Libya will be better now that Gadhafi is dead?

Hope I’m wrong but I think Libyans dissidents are in for a brutal awakening when International bankers, greedy corporations and NATO will take advantage of that so-called revolution by controlling all key natural resources existing in Libya.  I won’t even be surprise that those who took power through NATO’s “benevolent intervention” are nothing more than corporate stooges serving their western masters’ interests.  It’s funny that, during Gadhafi‘s last years, he was trying to get more international recognition as a way to repent himself.  I guess that wasn’t enough in western leaders’ eyes.

Good luck, Libya.  You will need it.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011

I’m taking this blog to wish you all a verry happy 2011 and all the best in your quest for success and respectability in this world devoid of justice and peace.

The 2010-11 NBA season preview

Perhaps the most anticipated season in NBA history kicks off Tuesday night in Boston, when the new look Miami Heat visits the defending Eastern Conference champions Boston Celtics in an expected playoff atmosphere at the TD Bankworth Garden.

There is no denying that the Heat became the league’s most hated team since Lebron James acrimoniously left the Cleveland Cavaliers through free agency to join forces with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh.  Even some pundits have predicted them to dominate and winning the NBA Finals over the Los Angeles Lakers.  Well, in all honesty, I’m pretty skeptical about it due to chemistry issues.  Yes, chemistry issues because most of us still don’t know who will be the main go-to-guy scorer?  Lebron or D-Wade?  Who will carry the load if one or all of them goes down with a critical injury?

With the addition of Shaquille O’Neal, the Celtics are aiming to complete the job that they missed with 6 minutes remaining in the decisive game 7 against the LA Lakers.  The lost have surely haunted Paul Pierce and the gang during the summer, but with Shaq likely to play a sixth-man role, the C’s are determined to prove their critics that they still got it despite being perhaps the oldest team in the NBA.  If the Celtics want to win the whole thing come June, it is clear that Rajon Rondo will have to increase his influence on the court like he did last year at the Eastern Conference finals against Orlando.

Speaking about Orlando, this season is, in my mind, their moment of truth after the ass-kicking they have endured at the hand of the Celtics.  No doubt that Dwight Howard and company are looking forward to avenge this miscue and to complete their mission as NBA champions.  With most players from last season’s squad coming back and a very promising preseason, I expect the Magic to have one of the best seasons in league history.  However, they will need Dwight Howard to establishing himself as a dominant force on both sides of the floor and the role of Carter, Lewis, Nelson and Reddick among others will be crucial to Orlando’s chance to greatness and to silence their critics.

Of course, we can’t deny other contenders in the East such as the Chicago Bulls, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Atlanta Hawks that can present challenges to the favorites, as well as possible playoffs teams such as the Charlotte Bobcats and perhaps the New York Knicks with Amare Stoudamire.

As for the defending NBA champions Los Angeles Lakers, they have a great chance to complete a three-peat since the Western Conference is less competitive than previous years.  Kobe Bryant could join Michael Jordan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with a sixth NBA ring.  However, their quest could be derailed by issues such as Andrew Bynum’s ability to play 82 games full strength, Derek Fisher’s effectiveness and the relevance of new players for instance Matt Barnes and Steve Blake in Phil Jackson’s philosophy.  Nevertheless, they are still the outright favorite to represent the West at the Finals.  The only team that can prevent them to complete their quest is the Oklahoma City Thunder and their MVP candidate Kevin Durant.

Fresh from an outstanding performance at the 2010 Worlds in Turkey, where he led Team USA to victory against the host nation, Durant has established himself as the NBA’s next true superstar and strong candidate for league MVP.  While most of us fantasize with a Kobe-Lebron showdown, a Kobe-Durant matchup will fun to watch.

So, people, enjoy the fun of the 2010-11 NBA season.  It’s going to be a thrilling experience.

Making Haiti Whole

I had no idea who’s behind this New York Times editorial, but there is so much valuable points to be taken on the eve of the so-called International conference on Haiti’s reconstruction in New York City.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/28/opinion/28sun1.html?pagewanted=print

March 28, 2010
Editorial
Making Haiti Whole

A donors’ conference at the United Nations this Wednesday is meant to be the beginning of the long, slow birth of a new Haiti. Representatives of the Haitian government, the United States and other nations and aid organizations will be discussing large, ambitious, farsighted plans. Participants will be asked for lots of money: $11.5 billion to start, $34.4 billion over 10 years.

That is a large investment for a small country, but it is not all Haiti needs. For this to succeed, the commitments made this week will need to be sustained for many years, and the rebuilding will need to clear away more than just rubble.

It will need to sweep out the old, bad ways of doing things, not only those of the infamously corrupt and hapless government, but also of aid and development agencies, whose nurturing of Haiti has been a manifest failure for more than half a century.

The good news is that even before the Jan. 12 earthquake, international donors had largely reached a consensus on what they had done wrong, and how to get Haiti right. Their conclusions are reflected in the plans to be presented this week, with ideas like these:

TRANSPARENCY, ACCOUNTABILITY, EFFECTIVENESS No donor wants to pour more cash down a Haiti sinkhole, or to fritter it away in small-bore projects that do not accomplish much. The plan envisions a multidonor trust fund managed by the World Bank that pools money for big projects and avoids wasteful redundancy.

The Haitian Development Authority would approve the projects; outside auditors would oversee the spending. There also is a parallel idea, in which certain donors choose just one area to focus all their efforts — reconstructing government buildings, say, or fixing the power grid. That promises to be an effective way to eliminate the curse of inefficiency.

HAITIAN INVOLVEMENT Haiti is Haiti’s problem, for Haitians to solve with the help of the rest of the world. The rebuilding must involve genuine, not token, engagement by the Haitian government and civil society.

Previous efforts by aid organizations to entirely avoid the control — and corruption — of the government were an understandable impulse, but had the unwanted effect of undermining the effectiveness and credibility of the Haitian state.

The new plan proposes an interim recovery commission of Haitians and non-Haitians, which would eventually evolve into a Haitian Development Authority that answers to the prime minister.

If it works, Haiti might no longer have to rely on freelance charities roaming the country, doing scattershot good works that cannot be sustained. Relief agencies have also recently been hiring thousands of Haitians to clear rubble. The country needs much more of that strategy, in other areas like reforestation and reconstruction, to boost not just employment but also the skills of the work force.

SELF-SUFFICIENCY Haitians need seeds and fertilizer more than bags of charity groceries. President Bill Clinton recently confessed that United States trade policies in his tenure did more to help rice farmers in Arkansas than those in Haiti.

Haiti now enjoys generous access to the American market, which should be continued and expanded. As many experts have pointed out, modest investments in the garment industry, and trade preferences for it, could swiftly employ many thousands of Haitians and accelerate foreign investment.

TAPPING THE DIASPORA Haiti does have a large, successful professional class — entrepreneurs, doctors, lawyers, teachers and administrators. It just happens to live in Brooklyn, Miami, Boston, Canada and other places. Many of its members are eager to go back to Haiti to help.

They could do so far more easily if their governments subsidized their salaries when they moved. Such paid furloughs would quickly supply Haiti with people of great expertise, language skills and deep commitment to the rebuilding.

DECENTRALIZATION There are too many people in Port-au-Prince. Haiti needs new population centers, less congested and more vibrant. The failure to build safe housing for earthquake survivors is a continuing tragedy; the time to start fixing it is now, far from the capital.

•

The paradox being confronted on Wednesday is how to rebuild a country that was never properly built in the first place. Haiti may yet escape the crushing legacy of its tragic history, propelled by the opportunity that this latest tragedy creates. The government of President René Préval has not inspired confidence in its handling of the relief effort, but it has a chance to shake off its inertia and show it wants to get the rebuilding right, beginning this week.

Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company

Whitey on the moon: Moon landing 40 years later

It was on this day; 40 years ago that the Apollo 11 mission would propel Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin into history books as they became the first men to have stepped into the ground of the moon on July 20, 1969.  Through M. Armstrong’s iconic words, “A small step for a man, a giant leap for mankind”, the mission has opened the door to numerous space exploration opportunities for NASA and other organization of its kind worldwide such as the construction of International Space Station and a possible human mission to planet Mars.  It’s obvious that the goal is to find life in a new planet besides planet Earth.

Is this anniversary important at the moment?  The answer is no.  In these hard times, how can we celebrate this event when our planet is getting mess up everyday thanks to our carefree way of life?  It is shameful that governments are using billions of our taxes to finance ludicrous space project while having complete disregard for us, the people of planet Earth.

This is why the poem Whitey on the Moon by Gil Scott-Heron is so relevant because of its criticism on the US government for spending billions on the space program while ignoring social issues. I hope that President Obama concentrates on social issues than working on financing more wasteful NASA mission.

Here a clip of Gil Scott-Heron’s insightful poem.

Michael Jackson (1958-2009): The day that music has died.

A part of my childhood has died. The iconic Michael Jackson has died from cardiac arrest in a Los Angeles hospital around 5:30 pm ET, this afternoon. The news of his passing comes in a brutal way hours after the death of another iconic figure in show business, Farrah Fawcett.

I didn’t see it coming, like many of you to be honest, and I’m in total shock and disbelief. As a kid, I used to be a big Michael Jackson fan, with the leather pant, the jheri curl and the glove. He had made a mark in my childhood. Now he’s gone.

The awful shame is that he will be remembered more for his problems than his immense contribution to pop culture. I say let remember him as the King of Pop, not as a child molester.

THE KING OF POP HAS DIED. LONG LIVE THE KING!!!

Thank you Michael and may your soul rests in peace.