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Susan
Mangatal - susan@ariousentertainment.us
Greetings
On-Line Family:
On-line
family - as I most lovingly call you, I received all your
responses regarding my commentary on CNN's "Black in
America" Documentary, and I must say they were astute.
Enthusiastic as I was hearing from so many of you, I was a bit
taken back by some On-Line family members who simply didn't want to
hear my thoughts about this issue, but proceeded to share some
interesting facts with me and even some history on their
past. Thank you so much for sharing and
commenting. I honestly learn so much from you, and I
must let you know that I sincerely appreciate you sharing your
thoughts immensely.
As
I told several of you via my e-mail response (to each and every
one who took the time to write me) the commentaries I/we write
allows us to talk and helps us to discuss and "vent"
about the many issues plaguing our communities. Talking is
one way of healing, and as controversial or even personal as the
commentaries I write may be (at times), it helps us to talk,
discuss, debate, and even come up with solutions. I close
out my comment on this issue with the following statement that
was written and sent to me some time ago by a very dedicated On-Line family member, which I have taken to heart and is
subsequently ensuing: "Our information must be
more than entertainment. In this critical time, we have a
serious responsibility to educate and inform our people.
If we who are in a position too, don't - then who will!"
 
 The
Summer Olympics begins this Friday, August 8th in
Beijing-China, and will continue through August 24, 2008 (despite the hardship China has endured in these past few
months.) You must recall China suffered an enormous
earthquake some months ago (April) and is far from
recovering. Lives in the 100 thousands were lost and there were injuries in
the 100 thousands as well. The place is still in disarray,
and is disrupted
with pollution (which is a major concern for the Olympic
games.) Not to mention the violence that has taken place a few
days ago, which is being called the "deadliest attacks against
Chinese security forces in recent memory. It has
been reported that 16 policemen were killed and 16 others were injured when attackers ambushed a police station
in Kashgar (2100 miles away
from Beijing) with knives and even drove a truck into the
station while throwing grenades. Of
course, Beijing has been transformed into a "giant
fortress" with Surface-to-air missiles aimed above the
Olympic Stadiums, Surveillance cameras on light poles scanning
side-walks, Police Officers searching thousands of cars and
trucks entering the city and even civilians/citizens have been
asked to watch out for suspicious activities (per a report in
the New York times). However, these Olympic Games will still go on
despite these crisis...Chinese leaders stated with strong
conviction "it will be safe," and warned that
terrorism is a constant treat.
The
issue with protesters is under control as well, officials have
proclaimed that protesters will be able to demonstrate at
designated locations around the city. It seems lots of changes have
also been made
for the locals, so that things would run smoothly.
According to reporter George Vecsey of the New York Times "May the algae
vanish. May the hot Gobi Sands desist. May
the noxious air take a holiday. May peace settle over
Beijing" while these Olympic games takes place.
I understand 3 Jamaican track stars
will be taking part in the Olympics: Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell
and Veronica Campbell Brown, so we wish them all the best with
their races. CLICK HERE TO READ
about the national honors that has been bestowed on these 3
track stars by the Jamaican Government on Wednesday, August 6,
2008.
CLICK
HERE to log on and launch the Beijing 2008 Official Olympic Games
Website, you will find lots of information there, as well as the
schedules.
Earlier this
week we learned about a special program sponsored by Jay Cameron
of Urban Change and actor/author Hill Harper called "10,000
Back-To-School Book Bag Giveaways". I discovered this
program recognizes every year, thousands of children start a new
school year without the proper tools for success. At-Rick
children of all races and ethnic backgrounds face a variety of
challenges that are often ignored and misunderstood.
Therefore, this program helps these kids by giving back in an
extraordinary way, they are giving out 10,000 book bags to school
kids. Join them on Saturday August 16, 2008, in the
Washington and Maryland areas at "Life Day" (a
community outreach event sponsored by Urban Change) as they
distribute these book bags. "Life Day" is an
event full of activities and performances for the kids with special
guest celebrities. The location of "Life Day"
is
5610 Linda Lane in Camp Springs, Maryland at the Life Center Church.
The event will last all day - from 10:00 a. m to 4:00
pm. Another located that is set up for distribution of the
book bags on the same day is at the DC Armory, 200 East Capital
Street, Washington DC from 12:00 Noon to 4:00 p.m. To
learn more about this program and to see the list of things
that is being asked for donation to place in these book bags,
log onto www.10000bookbags.com
For some
time I have been receiving e-mails from another organization out
of Washington DC called "DC Voice", which seems to be doing
some good things in the community for Education. This
organization consist of District Community Voices Organized and
Informed for Change in Education. It is a growing
city-wide collaborative of teachers, principals,
parents/guardians, youth, schools and school system personnel,
community-based organizations, policy-makers and power-brokers
committed to strengthened the public voice in public
education. From reading their bio, their aim is to build a
spirit of hope, opportunity and community among students and
their families and the many activists throughout the city who
want to help raise academic achievement. Log on to DC
Voice.org to learn more, and to find out how you can help.
CLICK THE FOLLOWING Link www.dcvoice.org.
Read Across
Jamaica Literacy Project has informed us they will be accepting
donations of Children's books and school supplies at an event
being held at The Mayorga Coffee Factory in Silver Spring
Maryland on Friday, August 15th,
2008, entitled "A Tribute to the Honorable Marcus Garvey".
Kindly bring your books and school supplies between the hours of 6:00 pm and 9:00 pm
to Mayorga Coffee Factory. Please note: the dress is
business casual, and you are allowed to bring your kids along
for this educational and uplifting event. "There is
culture and knowledge everywhere". Click onto the below flyer to find other
Drop-Off Locations in the Washington and Maryland areas, as well
as at an upcoming event in Philadelphia. For more details
log on to the Read Across Jamaica Foundation, Inc at www.readacrossja.com.
I believe this event has a small entrance fee, but double check
with Read Across Jamaica for all the details.
On the 6th of August, 2008, Jamaica celebrated its 46th
Anniversary of Independence.
We
would like to say congratulations
to the Jamaican Embassy here in Washington DC on planning and
executing a host of
events in celebration of Jamaica's 46th Anniversary of Independence!
This past weekend was full of great performances by Jamaican artists,
wonderful parties, galas, and special events. A full day
of fun, food, drinks and music was held at the Organization of
States huge back porch/yard last Sunday. As usual we were
late (purposely this year), so we
didn't make it on time to catch the full day of performances, but when
we arrived what we experienced was excellent, with an
exciting performance by Ritchie Stevens who closed out the weekend
celebrations. Look out for this exciting event again in 2009, I know it will be just as wonderful!!!!
This
week in History - August 7th-August 13th, I have listed several interesting
facts and historic issues that took place during
this week during the period of the 1800s through the 1900s. 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.
1868
- August 11th: Thaddeus
Stevens, Radical Republican leader in Congress and Father of
Reconstruction Dies. Stevens was an
Abolitionist, Civil Rights Activist, attorney, teacher,
Businessman, US Representative and PA State
Representative. For
Mr. Stevens Biography CLICK HERE! For more on Thaddeus
Stevens regarding Reparations CLICK HERE!
1906
- August 13th-14th: The Soldiers Riot or The Brownsville
Affair/Raid. (Courtesy of Handbook of Texas Online )
The Brownsville Affair was a racial incident that grew
out of tensions between whites in Brownsville, Texas and black
infantrymen stationed at nearby Fort Brown. These
infantrymen had been subjected to racial discrimination.
CLICK
HERE FOR MORE DETAILS (Courtesy of PBS). For
more on this Brownsville
Raid CLICK HERE!
1965
- August 11th-16th: The Watts Uprising/Rebellion or referred
to as The Watts Riots. (Courtesy of Black Past.org
Remembered and Reclaimed). A Five-day
disturbance in the South Central section of Los Angeles was
the first of several eruptions in American cities in the
1960s. The conflict was between local police and an
African-American motorist that escalated from an altercation
involving police reinforcements and members of the black
community. The day was fueled by anger at police abuses,
frustration and disgust with discrimination and
poverty. Approx. 10,000 took to the streets, and
property damage were in the millions. Approx. 34 people
were killed, 1000 injured and 4000 arrested. There
is a very detailed piece on the riots for it's 40th
Anniversary in 2005 - CLICK HERE TO READ! (Courtesy
of The Socialism and Liberation Magazine)
1989
- August 10th: General Colin Powell Nominated as Chairman of
The Joint Chiefs of Staff by President George Bush and was
awarded this position. The highest military officer in
the U.S. Armed Forces. (Courtesy of CBN.com
Black History). The youngest person, and
first African-American to hold this post. He was the
12th General to hold this post and his term began on October
1, 1989 and ended on September 30, 1993. The chairman's
responsibilities have included overseeing the prioritization
of Pentagon spending and keeping the channels of communication
open between the military and the White House. CLICK
HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT COLIN POWELL via an interview by
Students on Scholastic.com
*
In addition to the "flip flopping"
on policies presented by the two (2) Presidential Candidates,
the bickering has heated up tremendously. As you know,
last week I mentioned the negative ads Senator John McCain launched against Senator Barack Obama by claiming he is an
"out of touch celebrity" and compared him to Paris
Hilton and Britney Spears. Late last week, Senator Obama at
one of his town hall meetings responded by making the following
Statement.
| "So Nobody really thinks that Bush
or McCain have a
real answer to the challenges we face. So what they're going to
try to do is make you scared of me. You know, 'he's not
patriotic enough, he's got a funny name, you know, he doesn't
look like all those other presidents on the dollar bills, you
know. He's risky... |
Tell, me isn't
this statement (above) true? I see nothing wrong with it...he is
speaking the truth...is he not? Not to Senator McCain, his
camp and his critics, they claim Senator Obama is now using the
race card by making the above statement. Their comment
from late last week made by McCain's campaign Manager Rick Davis
is as follows: "Barack Obama has played the race card,
and he played it from the bottom of the deck.", which
Senator McCain later agreed with and further commented that
"It's divisive, negative, shameful and wrong"
I hope one of you would be so kind enough to explain to me how
is this playing the race card.
By the way, on
Sunday Paris Hilton's mom "Kathy Hilton" who is a
donor to the McCain campaign spoke out about her disapproval of John McCain
comparing Obama to her daughter. She indicated she doesn't
share McCain's sense of humor. She stated "It is a
complete waste of the country's time and attention at the very
moment when millions of people are losing their homes and their
jobs...and it is a completely frivolous way to choose the next
president of the United States" See the article
courtesy Washington Post.com by clicking onto the following
picture of The Washington post 
As the saga
continues, a few days ago Paris Hilton responded to
Senator McCain's ad comparing her to Senator Obama by releasing
her own ad "Paris Hilton for President". After
viewing it I think her energy plan sounds "kinda" good. View it by clicking on the picture below,
courtesy of Funny or Die.com). Note: Please bear with the very slight
profanity.
*
Keep in mind
that the National Democratic Convention begins on August 25th
and ends on August 28th, 2008. This is when the Democratic
Party officially nominates its candidates for President and Vice
President of the United States. Senator Obama (who is the
winner of the primary elections and of the delegates and super delegates) will officially accept the Democratic Nomination
for President of the United States. This year though, the
traditional acceptance will be broken, and what normally takes
place at the convention, will be done differently. Senator
Obama will accept and address the American people at Denver's
INVESCO Field at Mile High in Denver Colorado (a field that can
accommodate more than 75,000 people.)
The # this week of the lost of life/causalities of our young men
and women - Soldiers in Iraq is now 4134.
* The
General Elections are just a few months away - approximately 96 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)
 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 this
Weekend and the upcoming week!!
 
   
To all of you
our on-line family, 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
9, 2008
Baltimore
Maryland
Soccer
Extravaganza 2008
29th
ANNUAL TRINIDAD & TOBAGO ROUND
ROBIN SOCCER TOURNAMENT
CELEBRATING
T&T SOCA WARRIORS
@
HERRING
RUN PARK
HARFORD
ROAD & CHESTER FIELD AVENUE
BALTIMORE
MD
8AM
TO 8PM
FOR
INFORMATION CALL
MARK
KENDAL 410-866-0250 OR
410-245-0200
westindiannat@aol.com
FREE
ADMISSION
Teams
from the United States, Canada and
Trinidad & Tobago are invited
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August
9, 2008
Washington
DC
See
This Extraordinary Film:
"Random Acts of
Kindness, A Documentary
on Giving"
This
Saturday - 8/9/08 @ 2:00
pm
@
801
K Street, N.W. at Mount
Vernon Square.
Note:
RSVP to: Historical
Society of Washington
Contact: rsvp@historydc.org
or call 202-383-1828
The
inspiring documentary
chronicles the
experiences of
Washingtonian Juanita
Britton after a
life-changing
dream. Compelled
to embark on a two-week
mission of random acts
of kindness to women and
children in rural areas,
the film follows Britton
and her companions as
the travel to South
Africa, Swaziland and
Senegal.
Ages
12 to adult
FREE
FREE FREE
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August
9, 2008
Baltimore,
Maryland
Soccer
Extravaganza 2008 - 29th
ANNUAL TRINIDAD &
TOBAGO ROUND ROBIN
SOCCER TOURNAMENT
After
Party
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August
10, 2008
Atlanta,
Georgia
Jamaicans
in Atlanta, Georgia, in
the United States, have
planned events to
celebrate the country's
46th anniversary of
independence.
Activities
will end on Sunday,
August 10 with the
staging of a Jamaica Day
at Exchange Park "A
Family Affair"
(Summer Concert &
Family Fun Activities,
Live Performances.
The activities are being
co-ordinated by the
Union of Jamaican
Organizations in
Atlanta, chaired by Vin
Martin, Jamaica's
Honorary Consul in
Atlanta.
For
more details contact:
404-297-7696.
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or Click
Here
