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Susan
Mangatal - susan@ariousentertainment.us
Greetings
On-Line Family:
Happy
Labor Day 
&
 Happy
46th Anniversary of the Independence of Trinidad and
Tobago 
The women I admire the most...oh
how I appreciate having the opportunity to examine two of them
this week, and I must say what I have learned is incredible!
They are extremely passionate, brilliant, fantastic leaders,
powerful and most importantly strong. Who else could I be
talking about but Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton. Both
are so very admirable and absolutely splendid
women!!!
Michelle Obama, the wife of the nominated Democratic
Presidential Candidate got me all “teary eyed” on Monday
night as she spoke to the world at the Democratic National
Convention in Denver. For me, it was not so much her
speech, but it was the image of this unique and beautiful
African-American woman addressing the nation, and the
exceptional position and mission she has been chosen to fulfill along with her
husband. She was the image of magnificence, a loving mother and
wife and was clearly her husband's friend and partner...she was
indeed exceptionally inspiring.
The different emotions I experienced as she stood on the stage
of the Convention while passionately delivering her speech to the nation,
were overwhelming. However, pride was mainly what I felt.
I imagined how proud her mother was feeling at that moment and
all the American's particularly the older generation who never
thought they would ever see the day in their lifetime when an African-American
woman could potentially become the First Lady. As the camera focused
on Michelle's mother I did see the pride on her face, and most
importantly I witnessed her eyes full of tears, but it was tears
of joy. What a night that was for many Americans...the
night the potential First lady made us all cry (all races), with her
moving speech of her family, her upbringing, her life, her love and
support of her children and her husband.
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Michelle
Obama's moving speech at the Democratic National
Convention on August 25, 2008
Click the
picture below to launch and view (21:05)
Courtesy of
MSNBC
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HILL-A-RY!!! What an excellent speech she delivered on Tuesday,
August 26th at the Democratic National Convention. I have
come to respect this woman so
much for her accomplishments in life and during the primaries;
most importantly I admire and respect her for her persistence
and "never giving up
attitude", she is certainly strong and a
fighter. However, I have new-found respect for her
because of her speech.
She completely captured me on Tuesday night 8/26/08 especially when she pointed out it was not about
her.
Her statement was as follows: "I want you to ask
yourselves: Were you in this campaign just for me? Or were
you in it for the young Marine and others like him? Were
you in it for that mom struggling with cancer while raising her
kids? Were you in it for the boy and his mom surviving on
the minimum wage? Were you in it for all the people in
this country who feel invisible?" Additionally, she
"blew me away" on Wednesday 8/27/08 when on the floor
of the Convention as they were going through the process of
the "Roll Call" Votes and as they got to the
state she is Senator of (New York), this exceptional Senator placed
a motion on the
floor stating: "Madam Secretary I move that the Convention
suspend the procedural rules and suspend the further conduct of
the Roll Call vote - all votes cast by delegates will be
counted, and that I move Senator Barack Obama of Illinois be
selected by this Convention by acclamation of the Nominee of the
Democratic Party for President of the United States."
See the
video clip powered by YouTube by clicking here! Of
course the motion was voted on and passed!!!
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Hillary
Clinton's Speech at the Democratic National Convention
on August 26, 2008
To view click
the picture below to launch video (26.28)!
Courtesy
of PoliticsTV.com and Powered by YouTube
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Hillary
Clinton as she puts a motion on the floor to
suspend the "Roll Call Voting" process at the
DNC Convention
Click Picture
below to launch and view!
Powered by
You Tube!
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I am, and
was so moved as I followed the Democratic National Convention
live on C-Span over this past week. (I must commend C-Span
on their non-interrupted full - live coverage of the
Convention.) So many positive speeches, and what was most
rewarding was seeing the smiles from the happy faces of the
different races - of these United States. So very motivating
and gratifying!!!
Every night
for some reason or another during the speeches and just
glimpsing the expressions on the faces of the crowds of people
in attendance, I honestly couldn't help but shed a tear (as many
others in the crowds, and probably many who were in their homes
as they followed the convention activities on TV. ) I know I
must sound silly and week, but this obviously means a lot to
me. I simply cannot find the words to express my
feelings. You know...the thought of
the civil rights struggle - the marches for justice and
equality, the segregation, the beatings, the killings, the
assassination of Martin Luther King, and the many other wrongs the African-American people have
endured. I know the older generation is experiencing
profound joy because of this historic time in American history,
and is thankful for being blessed to have been able to witness
(in their lifetime) this milestone.
"It is with profound gratitude and great humility I
accept your nomination for the Presidency of the United States."
says Barack Obama on August 28th, 2008 after a long series of
applauds from the approximately 84,000+ jubilant, chanting
supporters who attended the Democratic National Convention at
the Invesco Field, Mile High Stadium in Denver
Colorado! 
BARACK OBAMA IS INDEED THE DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE.
Major history has been made this day: Thursday, August 28, 2008
- the First African-American nominated by a major political
party as their Presidential Candidate. Lord knows I never
thought I would see this day come in my lifetime. The
speech Mr. Obama delivered as he accepted the Democratic
Presidential Nomination on this 45th Anniversary of Dr. Martin
Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech, was
remarkable. This brilliant man Mr. Obama dealt with
a lot of important issues: the economy, taxes, health care,
energy, national security, foreign policy and many other factors
that many of us are concerned about, and stated "this
election was not about me, it was about you" (the
American people). Most importantly he basically expressed
to his opponent Senator McCain that "IT'S ON".
This is indeed one of the most defining
moments of our nation, and this nomination is an absolute
validation of Dr. King's dreams. This is truly phenomenal!!!!
In a future e-mail I will share with you this exceptional
speech.
This Friday, August 29th
marks the 3rd Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. As you
know Hurricane Katrina - a category 3 storm was one of the most devastating
storms in the history of the United States. The most
destruction and deaths mounted from the storm surges that
destroyed the levees which resulted in massive flooding
throughout the city of New Orleans, and many surrounding
cities. So many lives were lost, so many families were separated
and so many homes were ruined. New Orleans had lost 1/3 of
its population - approximately 1,500-1,800+ deaths, and the the
city was completely devastated (approximately 81 billion in
property damage! For all of America the most sickening and
worrisome thing that took place was the slow response for help
from the Government. I will never get out of my mind the images
I saw on the news/media, which was overwhelming, and which I
never thought I would see happen on American soil. The
hauling of people into the Superdome as if they were not human
beings, but were cattle; the dead that was laying in the
streets, and the tears of grief stricken children, mothers,
sons, fathers, daughters and entire families begging for help.
You
must know up until last year (2 years after the storm) we all
were disheartened that the city was still struggling, and the
citizens of the city were still suffering tremendously. I
remember wondering and expressed my feelings to you my
on-line family and ask why? "Why was it that an
American city was still struggling. Why is it that the
residents are still practically homeless and continues enduring
so much pain from their loss? Why is it taking so long to
recover and rebuild this city?" Some of the
problems that the citizens were enduring last year (the 2nd
anniversary) are as follows: (1) a high number of
homelessness; (2) approx. 42,250 families living in formaldehyde
contaminated trailers provided as emergency housing by the
government; (3) the failure of federal funding; (4) very little
government aid; (5) none or very little rebuilding especially in
the predominantly black Lower 9th Ward; (6) Crime being
extremely rampant; (7) Insurance costs escalating and the
companies were wheedling their way out of paying for insured
losses; (8) taxes going up (property); (9) The city services
were low
and not of good quality; (10) Mental health problems
"skyrocketing"; (11) difficulties finding jobs, and
finding decent housing (which the Federal Government had
threatened to cut off assistance to folks), and (12) a high
number of suicides.
On
this 3rd Anniversary I learned that recovery progress is still
very slow. Additionally, I learned that: (1) 6 in 10
Katrina survivors the lives are in the most part back to normal
and see recovery moving in the right direction; (2) 4 in 10 say
their lives are still disrupted; and (3) 7 in 10 say they
see very little or no progress in making housing affordable or
in controlling crime. Many others feel there are little or
no progress in making medical services available, strengthening
public schools, and attracting jobs or rebuilding
neighborhoods. Actually, many residents are dissatisfied
with or angry about the lack of progress. I learned that
at the end of May the FEMA trailer park "Renaissance
Village" that housed the formaldehyde contaminated trailers
in which hundreds of families lived, was closed. This left
many to move into hotels.
I
also learned earlier this month Federal investigators raided the
downtown offices of a city chartered nonprofit agency accused of
abusing a federally financed program that was crated to clean up
houses damaged by Katrina. This agency was hired by the
city to run the 3.6 million program, which was intended to help
elderly and poor residents gut and board up their storm-damaged
houses and to mow their lawns. Instead it was discovered
money appeared to be gone to politically connected contractors
who did little or no work on the houses.
From
all what I have learned through my research of the progress of
the rebuilding of New Orleans, I am lead to believe that not
much have been done in this year (the 3rd Anniversary,) and most
importantly not much have been done for the people of New
Orleans. Of course some have rebuilt and is recovering,
but many others are still living in trailers and hotels, and
really not much have been done to help them return to their
normal life. Clearly, 3 years later progress must have been slow and I
am sickened by it. I am more upset to learn that Hurricane
Gustov may strike New Orleans in a few days from now...how
awful!!!
I
say to you my on-line family please do everything in your power
to help those who are suffering in New Orleans, talk to your
Congressman and Senators and even the Presidential
front-runners. I'm not sure if it will work, but we can
all try, maybe with all our voices being heard something will be
done to fix this problem that continues in New Orleans.
For up-to-date news on Katrina click the following link: http://www.hurricanekatrinanews.org/
This
week in History - August 28th-September
4th: This week in history was an important
one. Knowledge is power!!! I have listed several
important facts and historic issues that took place during
this week. Please take the time to read and
become educated, because education is the key to pretty
much everything in life, and surly what is needed to fulfill
your purpose. Remember knowledge is power!!! Click on to the titles
(underlined) listed below to learn
everything about these important issues and check out the
additional information on each issue.
1920 - August
26th: The
19th Amendment to the Constitution is ratified giving all women
the right to vote! The 88th Anniversary is
celebrated this year 2008. Keep in mind
African-American Women and African-American Men were denied
the right to vote in most Southern States. CLICK
HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT THIS - Actually an article written on
the 75th Anniversary of the ratification of the 19th
Amendment. (Courtesy of the National Achieves and Records
Administration
1955
- August 28th: Emmitt
Till murdered in Mississipi. A 14 year Chicago
resident Emmett Till is lynched/murdered in Money,
Mississippi. . CLICK
HERE TO READ!
1963 - August
28th: Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. "I have a dream" speech
delivered to crowds of people in Washington DC!
The Honorable Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivers his famous
"I Have A Dream" speech from the steps of the
Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for Jobs and
Freedom. http://www.usconstitution.net/dream.html.
Click the following picture to launch the video, which is
powered by YouTube. 
1979
- September: Hazel W. Johnson becomes the first
African-American Woman General. Hazel
W. Johnson becomes the first African-American woman General in
the United States Army. http://history.amedd.army.mil/ANCWebsite/superintendents/16_Johnson.html;
http://culturebus.com/site/?page=profile&url_id=107&n=Johnson,_Hazel_W.
2005
- August 29th: Hurricane Katrina slams into New Orleans,
Louisiana. On August 29th, 2005,
Hurricane Katrina hit the southern coast of the United States
with devastating effect. Details are above, and for up
to date news on Katrina click the following link: http://www.hurricanekatrinanews.org/
 
 Before I close,
let me once again congratulate Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago
for the medals they received last Saturday (8/23/08) as they
competed in the 4x100m relay race at the XXIX Summer Olympics in
Beijing China. Jamaica won the gold in record time 37:10
(breaking the current record) and Trinidad and Tobago won the
silver. Awesome and electrifying is what these athletics
are!!! I congratulate them on all their
winnings.
I
received a poll conducted by ESPN from one of my on-line family
member over the past weekend which compared the strength of
Track Star/Sprinter Usain Bolt and Record breaking Swimmer
Michael Phelps, regarding who is more dominant in his
sport. Unfortunately, it's too late to vote now, but you
can see the results by CLICKING
HERE TO LOG ON TO ESPN's SITE.
Click the picture below to launch the video of the relay
race, if you have not seen it.
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Video
Courtesy of NBCOlympics.com (3:16)
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For
all the results CLICK
HERE to log on and launch the Beijing 2008 Official Olympic Games
Website.
* The
General Elections are just a few months away - approximately 68 days
from today, so to make sure
your voice is heard and to be a part of the nations most
exciting elections, you must register to vote NOW. Log
on HERE to see the voter registration date deadline for each
state, and proceed
with registering to vote by logging on HERE, and filling out the registration
form at "Rock The Vote.com". (To
access the form, click the "Register To Vote" Button
from the menu at the top of the page)
*
As of August 21,
2008 (according to CNN) The causalities count in the Iraq war is
4,464 coalition deaths (4,150
Americans, two Australians, one Anzerbaijani, 176 Britians, 13
Bulgarians, one Czech, seven Danes, two Dutch, two Estonians,
one Fijian, five Georgians, one Hungarian, 33 Italians, one
Kazakh, one Korean, three Latvians, 22 Poles, three Romanians,
five Salvadoran, four Slovaks, 11 Spaniards, two Thai and 18
Ukrainians); and in the Afghanistan
war on terror the # of causalities are: 926
coalition deaths (574
Americans, six Australians, 116 Britons, 90 Canadians, three
Czech, 15 Danes, 16 Dutch, three Estonians, one Finn, 22 French,
22 Germans, two Hungarians, 11 Italians, one Lithuanian, one
NATO/ISAF, three Norwegians, five Poles, two Portuguese, seven
Romanians, one South Korean, 23 Spaniards, two Swedes.)
 Thanks
to the many who have sent me e-mails in
response to my past E-Newsletters and lots of important
information to use for our future E-Newsletters. Most importantly, I thank you for your
encouraging words! So until next week... please enjoy, and
be safe on this Labor Day Weekend and the upcoming week!!
 
     
Also
to all of you, thanks for reading, sharing your thoughts
and comments with us, and for always supporting
us. As you know without you there would be no us, so thanks very much for your support and One Love!
For All Events
Go To
Our "Events"
Page
Check out our
"Featured Events" listed below.
Also, there are
several events taking place this weekend, next weekend and beyond, so to view all the Events please log on
to our "Events" Page above!
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August
31, 2008
Washington,
DC
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media
contact:
Niama
Sandy
(202)
446-7160
niamasandy@gmail.com
CPU
TO HOST "WINE FOR YOUR
LIFE," A PARTY FOR PROGRESS
Caribbean-Americans
Band Together to Celebrate
Culture, Democracy and Barack
Obama!
On
August 31, 2008, Caribbean
Promoters United (CPU) will
present "Wine for Your
Life," a large-scale
fundraiser concert at Floyd
Bennett Field in Brooklyn, New
York. The event will feature not
only seasoned and renowned artists
from the Caribbean but also major
U.S. artists. The event will serve
to raise awareness on the power of
the vote, as well as a substantive
contribution to Sen. Barack
Obama's election campaign.
Caribbean
culture celebrates reveling for
carnival, and many of life's other
pleasures, but it's time that a
stand is taken on an important
issue: the political process.
"Wine for Your Life" was
designed with that purpose at
heart, and is the first event of
its kind in the Caribbean
community.
Desma
Bidjou-Adams, a founding member of
CPU said, "The project was
inspired by a growing concern that
I had regarding the perception of
Caribbean Americans within my age
group. Although many of us are
heavily involved in the
preservation of our culture and
participate by promoting events,
attending carnivals and the like,
we have greater concerns which are
overshadowed by our fun-loving
nature. Which results in the
perception that we
(Caribbean-Americans) 'ent'
serious, and frankly, that is just
not the case. With "Wine for
Your Life," we are showing
staunch support for Sen. Obama in
his presidential bid and
underscoring the importance of
having the voice of our people
heard in the upcoming elections.
Not only can we fete for fun, but
we can fete for freedom to vote
and the issues that matter
most."
The
members of Caribbean Promoters
United have come together to
combat the prevailing stereotypes
of apathy and wanton
thrill-seeking in the Caribbean
community. With this event, CPU
seeks to start a change in the
public face of the
Caribbean-American.
About
Caribbean Promoters United
Caribbean
Promoters United (CPU) is a
non-profit organization consisting
of a team of eight established and
highly-motivated Caribbean event
promotion groups based in New York
City: CMA Promotion, Focus on
Divas, In & Out Promotions,
Marcus Crew, OPP Crew, PMJ
Promotion, THC Entertainment and
Wide Shut Entertainment. The
organization was created to
empower young people to aspire to
political office and raise the
standard of living within the
Caribbean American community.
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August
29 - September 1, 2008
New
York
The
West Indian-American Day Carnival
The
West Indian-American Day Carnival
Association
Celebrates
its 4 1st
Anniversary
of
New York Carnival 200 8
August
29th
- September 1, 2008
The
Parade takes place on Monday,
September 1st, 2008
For
all the festivities and details
log on to www.wiadca.org
or www.wiadca.com.
WIADCA’s
Address
323-325
Rogers Avenue
(between Sullivan Pl &
Montgomery St)
Brooklyn
,
NY
11225
718-467-1797
info@wiadca.com
WIADCA
is a member of NYC&CO
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September
6-28, 2008
Washington
DC
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or Click
Here
