Jay Z visit to Cuba, from rap to cuban cigars.

Questions were raised about Jay-Z and Beyonce visit to Cuba on their fifth wedding anniversary. Americans are banned from simply being tourist to travel to Cuba, but can get a license for academic, religious or cultural programs as stipulations to visit the country.

Answers came back that the Jay Z and Beyonce visit to Cuba was a legal licensed visit sanctioned by the United States Treasury Department.   But the department may not have know the visitors were the two well known celebrities.

Jay-Z decided to provide an answer in a rap that challenged the political frenzy to criminalize the visit as simply a political attack on his freedom served as a political buffet to the public.

The freedom to promote, advertise and market seems to be Jay-Z niche that is the problem.  The new product could be sound cloud and Havana cigars, if you follow Jay-z history according to his book Empire State of Mind,  an excerpt,

On a frigid February night, I’m waiting outside a ground-floor apartment in Harlem, beginning to wonder if I’ve got the wrong address. Suddenly, a voice calls my name. I turn around. Striding toward me amid a majestic cascade of dreadlocks is Branson B., the man credited with introducing champagne to hip-hop.
Branson gave rap legend Notorious B.I.G. his first taste of Cristal, the $500-a-bottle French bubbly that quickly joined Mercedes-Benz and Gucci as rap’s most frequently mentioned brands (he himself has been mentioned in over 60 songs). He greets me with a handshake and a chest bump and opens the door, then leads me into a room dominated by a full-sized bar.
Scattered before me are at least 20 bottles of wine and champagne in varying states of consump­tion; dozens more adorn the shelves behind the counter. My eyes fall on an empty gold bottle of Armand de Brignac, a trendy $300 champagne. “Respectfully, I didn’t care for it,” Branson pipes in, as if reading my mind. “I didn’t think it was worth the money.”
He gestures to a neighboring bottle. “This is a Nicolas Feuillatte Palmes d’Or Rosé,
1999,” he says. “I happened to go to a liquor store in New Jersey, and I was looking for something special for my birthday.”
”This,” he says, pointing back to the gilded Armand de Brignac, “is more the aesthetics, the pretty bottle—and everything that goes along with it.”
***
What goes along with Armand de Brignac is Jay-Z. The rap­per put the flashy bottle on the map when he featured it in his 2006 music video for “Show Me What You Got.” The video is typical of mainstream hip-hop, with one pos­sible exception: toward the end, a waiter presents Jay-Z with a bottle of Cristal champagne, and Jay-Z declines with a sweep of his hand. In its place, he accepts a gold bottle of then-unknown Armand de Brignac. Coming from some­one who’d been rapping Cristal’s praises for years—and once bragged that he was “popping that Cristal when all y’all thought it was beer”—this marked a major departure.
Jay-Z’s sudden change in attitude wasn’t without cause. In June 2006, a reporter from The Economist asked Fré­déric Rouzaud, manager of Louis Roederer, which produces Cristal, what he thought of rappers drinking his champagne. “That’s a good question,” Rouzaud replied. “But what can we do? We can’t forbid people from buying it. I’m sure Dom Pérignon or Krug would be delighted to have their business.”
As soon as Jay-Z caught wind of the comments, he publicly denounced Rouzaud and replaced Cristal with Krug and Dom Pérignon in his clubs, as Rouzaud had mockingly suggested. But the release of the “Show Me What You Got” video on October 10 immediately established Armand de Brignac as his favorite. By simply associating himself with the brand, Jay-Z was able to almost singlehandedly lift it from obscurity to the heights of celebrity chic; the gilded champagne sold out its initial production run (and all subsequent ones, according to representatives).
Some observers suspected that Armand de Brignac was Jay-Z’s latest business venture. Accordingly, two days after the gold bottle’s inclusion in the “Show Me What You Got” video, Armand de Bri­gnac attempted to dispel rumors of a financial connection. Representatives issued a press release explaining that the wine was simply an “ultra-luxury product in the high-end champagne category” that was “making its North American debut this year, after enjoying success as a pre­mium, high-end brand in France.”
Amid the aftermath of the divorce between Jay-Z and Cristal, Branson B. found himself in France, hand-selecting grapes for his own Branson B. Cuvée cham­pagne. During the three months he spent in the heart of wine country, he never heard a peep about Armand de Brignac or Ace of Spades. The notion that it had enjoyed “success as a premium, high-end brand in France” just wasn’t true. “Didn’t exist,” he told me.
***
Jay-Z may tout Armand de Brignac in his songs and videos, but to some champagne industry veterans, it’s at best a medi­ocre product masquerading as a high-end delicacy. “It tastes like shit,” says Lyle Fass, an independent wine buyer in New York. “At least Cristal tastes good.”
In response to such criticism, employees of Cattier, the French Champagne house that produces Armand de Brignac, like to tout their product’s accolades. In December 2009, for exam­ple, it was named the world’s best-tasting champagne by Fine Champagne magazine. Fass wasn’t impressed. “These wine tastings are garbage,” he says. “Everybody has a wine tasting … There’s a lot of stupid people in the world.”
Armand de Brignac tends to score in the low nineties on the industry-standard 100-point wine rating scale, which places it on par with wines that sell for $50 or less. Yet Armand de Brignac has sold 100 percent of every annual release. “Everybody should take a lesson who wants to sell wine that sucks,” Fass says. “Because it is probably the most bril­liant marketing in the history of wine.”
So why would Jay-Z get involved with a second-tier cham­pagne? Because of the immense profit potential. Fass estimates that Cattier’s pro­duction cost for each $300 bottle of Armand de Brignac is a mere 10 euros. Assuming Jay-Z is an investor, the connection could be through any number of outlets: Cat­tier itself, the brand Armand de Brignac, the importer, the exporter, or the distributor. All of these entities are registered with an array of state and national government agencies in the United States and France. Theoretically, the link could be established with a little bit of sleuth work.

My first call goes to the French offices of the Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne, the leading Champagne trade asso­ciation. A woman named Brigitte informs me that Cattier is 100-percent family owned, but that the brand Armand de Brignac might have a different structure. She suggests trying the French department of agriculture. Via e-mail, one Isabelle Ruault explains that the brand Armand de Brignac is regis­tered to an export company owned by J. J. Cattier. Ruault supposes the brand belongs entirely to the family, but the exact details are impossible to know.
Turning my attention stateside, I place a call to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explo­sives in Washington, D.C. A representative redirects me to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, which in turn points me to the New York State Liquor Authority in Harlem. There, a man named Kashif Thompson informs me that Armand de Brignac is distributed by Sovereign Brands, LLC, and imported by Southern Wines & Spirits. Southern is one of the largest liquor distributors in the country, and it’s known for having personal relationships with some of the biggest names in hip-hop. A call to the Florida Department of Business and Profes­sional Regulation turns up a list of Southern’s owners. Jay-Z is not listed among them.
The last link is Sovereign Brands, whose owner is listed as Brett Berish. Berish, I later learn, distributes and owns a line of spirits called 3 Vodka. The brand was launched in 2004 as a partnership with Atlanta-based hip-hop mogul Jermaine Dupri, who overlapped with Jay-Z as a member of Island Def Jam’s executive ranks. I also discover that shortly after Armand de Brignac’s 2006 launch, Berish issued a press release saying that “Armand de Brignac and Jay-Z have not entered into any agreement, sponsorship or otherwise.” However, he didn’t specify whether there was a financial agreement between Sovereign and Jay-Z. Besides Berish, the only other owner listed for Armand de Brignac is Shannon Bullinger, Sovereign’s operations manager. If Jay-Z has a Dupri-style partnership with Berish, it’s not on the books.
Next, I return to hip-hop’s sommelier. Standing behind the counter of his champagne speakeasy in Harlem, Branson gazes intently at an empty bottle of Armand de Brignac.
”The funny thing,” he says, “is I drank that before.”
He points across the bar to a bottle of another Cattier champagne, Antique Gold, strik­ingly similar to the empty Armand de Brignac sitting in front of us. “That bottle there, a friend of mine brought it back from Monaco,” he says. “It’s like 60 dollars, 70 dollars, 80 dollars in the store.”
I nod, realizing the magnitude of what Branson has just said. Antique Gold has been around for decades. Armand de Brignac looks nearly identical and costs four or five times as much. Both are made by Cattier. The only real difference seems to be the Ace of Spades label slapped on the more expensive bottle.
My visit to Branson didn’t yield a concrete paper trail between Jay-Z and Ace of Spades, and my calls to government agencies in the United States and France had yielded only circumstantial evidence, but there was one last chance: a transat­lantic trip to the birthplace of Armand de Brignac.
In the tiny village of Chigny-Les-Roses, France, a guide leads me down Rue Dom Pérignon, stopping in front of an unnumbered house with all its windows shuttered. She takes me into a garage whose floor is littered with dusty champagne bottles and elaborate metal contraptions used to insert corks. Then she flips on an electric lantern, and we descend a narrow spiral staircase some 90 feet into the ground. The tem­perature quickly drops from a dry, sunny 80 degrees to a brisk 45 degrees moistened by 90 percent humidity.
We arrive in a room glimmering with golden bottles of Armand de Brignac. They hang by the dozen in racks, slanted at a slight angle so that sediment col­lects in the necks and can be removed easily in the next step of the champagne-making process. The thousands of bottles sitting like gilded test tubes are impressive, but what really strikes me is that the bottles are completely blank. There are no labels, and nothing to distinguish a bottle of Armand de Brignac from, say, a bottle of Antique Gold, which Cattier stopped producing in 2006—the same year it started producing Armand de Bri­gnac.
I nod politely. When I ask Bienvenu for the name of the New York wine shop in which Jay-Z allegedly found his first bottle of Armand de Brignac, the affable Frenchman quickly becomes defensive.
After the tour is complete, my guide takes me back into the daylight and over to Cattier’s headquarters for a meeting with the company’s brass. First to greet me is Philippe Bien­venu, Armand de Brignac’s commercial director.
He introduces me to a few more Cattier employees, includ­ing the family’s kindly patriarch, Jean-Jacques Cattier, and his son Alexandre. As we walk the bright corridors of the Cattier headquarters, Bienvenu traces the origins of Armand de Brignac to Jean-Jacques Cattier’s mother, who first thought up the name in the early 1950s. Shortly after Armand de Brignac’s debut in 2006, Bien­venu claims, Jay-Z came across it purely by chance. “When we started to ship product to the U.S. and especially to New York, Jay discovered our champagne in a wine shop and bought a few bottles,” he says. “There has never been any partnership, any financial involvement, or something like this between Jay and us.”
As I press Bienvenu for more details, the cracks in the story begin to show.
”How,” I ask, “did the champagne find its way into Jay-Z’s ‘Show Me What You Got’ video?”
”He discovered our champagne by pure coincidence in a wine shop and a few months after came to Monaco to shoot a video,” Bienvenu replies. “On that occasion, he ordered a few cases that we shipped to his hotel there. We couldn’t imag­ine when we shipped those cases that the purpose of this was to include our champagne in the video.”
I nod politely. When I ask Bienvenu for the name of the New York wine shop in which Jay-Z allegedly found his first bottle of Armand de Brignac, the affable Frenchman quickly becomes defensive.
”I don’t know which wine shop,” he says. “I can’t tell you any more details because I don’t know.”
***
All of this makes for a great story: a family-owned champagne brand dreamed up by a little old French lady in the 1950s, dormant until resurrected half a century later, promptly discovered by the world’s most famous rapper, by sheer coincidence. But the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office confirms that the first bottles of Armand de Brignac weren’t shipped to the U.S. until the fall of 2006—months after Jay-Z’s video was filmed. Obviously, it would have been impossible for Jay-Z to stum­ble upon a bottle of champagne in a New York wine shop. When I later emailed one of Cattier’s publicists about this inconsistency, she backtracked. “There’s a misunder­standing regarding how Jay saw the bottle. It was in New York … but not in a store.”
In the weeks following my return from France, I realized that the answers had been here in the U.S. all along. I spoke with a number of sources close to the matter—including a prominent executive at a major record label, a wine distributor with ties to the entertain­ment industry, and the chief executive of a notable liquor company, to name a few. None of them would let me quote them by name for fear of damaging business relation­ships, and when I related everything I’d learned, all of them confirmed that Jay-Z receives millions of dollars per year for his association with Armand de Brignac. The connection wasn’t through the Cattier family, but through Sovereign Brands.
Jay-Z publicly denies any connection to Armand de Brignac because he wants to be seen as a connoisseur, a trendsetter with the sophistication to anoint a successor to Cristal. Or, as Bienvenu off­handedly explained to me: “He doesn’t want to be considered a brand ambassador or something like this.” More importantly, Jay-Z realizes that the revelation of a financial connection could endanger the authenticity of his endorsement—and jeopardize a lucrative arrangement.
The math looks extremely favorable for Jay-Z. The production cost per bottle of Armand de Brignac is about $13; the wholesale price is $225. The maximum output is 60,000 bottles per year. If Jay-Z splits the $212-per-bottle profit evenly with Cattier and Sovereign, a back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests his annual take would be a little over $4 million. One of my sources confirmed that number, and added that Jay-Z may have received equity in Sov­ereign Brands worth about $50 million. All for dropping a few lyrical references and featuring Armand de Brignac in a couple of videos.
For now, it looks like Jay-Z gets to have his champagne—and drink it, too.

Excerpted from EMPIRE STATE OF MIND: How Jay-Z Went from Street Corner to Corner Office by Zack O’Malley Greenburg by arrangement with Portfolio/Penguin, Copyright © Zack O’Malley Greenburg, 2011.

Bullet proof blankets or children body bags?

Someone must have put a lot of thought into this..but there has got to be a better way of protecting children from gun violence in the schools.  Pic from bag news.

Fort Wayne five minute action plan

There is a movement that require more than the same old talking heads uttering words and cliques. Action plan only requires a thought and a working solution..go get it. There are a few things that can be immediately implemented in reducing the number of shooting in the community of Fort Wayne. First, a survey can be conducted in the community and schools to determine the number of illegal guns floating in the community. A gun amnesty day to allow parents to turn in weapons found illegally in the home. Parents can have a conversation with their children, by asking them do they carry a weapon? The next component, would be implementing mini job fairs within the community with those who actually have job openings. Job skill assessment to support those who are seeking employment. Grants for training young people to create work without having to result to illegal employment. Redesign empty spaces into creative play areas that incorporate families. oGrants to individuals to train individuals in martial art or other types of self defense. Revamping community centers into play areas that incorporate child care during activities.

Résumé samples, tips and interview questions quiz

Filling out that application for a job, is sometimes not enough. You might have to dig deep and draft a stellar résumé to beat off the competition. Here's a website that may help with the task of writing a résumé or getting through an interview https://www.facebook.com/pages/Resumes/253179408125006

There has been 11 homicides or murders in Fort Wayne, during the first three months of the new year 2013. Some suggest folks get a hobby, while others point out it is a hobby..the murder trend. It is called a trend mindless killing..own a gun and shot is all that is required, does not matter whether the person lives or dies. The other thing that matters is that the street know you are packing and you mean busy. The mean streets of drugs and drug money mandates a hustler to be packing. But the latest murder was Jacqueline Bouvier Hardy, 49, of Fort Wayne. riding on a city bus was yanked out the bus with her co-rider and shot dead. The killer ran. The killer ran and that gives him his freedom to kill again. No immediate arrest no organized man hunt, the victim was female and an African-American on her way to school. The fact she lived on the southside perhaps is why folks are not outraged or giving up this dude..but it's time.

UPDATE: This is a listing from the facebook page of Woody Woods Show of those shot and those who died. Jan. 11: Ryan Turner died of gunshot wounds after going to a gas station on East Lewis Street for help. Jan 19: Jermaine Foster was shot and killed in a car in the 7900-block of Serenity Drive. Jan 27: Jeremy Crews was gunned down and died in the hospital. Feb. 11: Nathaniel Rainer was found dead from gunshot wounds in a vacant lot. Feb. 20: An armed robbery ended with Stephen Wattley II being shot by police. Feb. 23: A heated argument led to a shooting that left Antonio Galvan III dead. March 14: Demarcus Adams died in his mother arms after being shot. Adams had previously been the victim of a shooting on Feb. 15. March 15: Mark Young was shot and pushed out of a car after an argument. He was declared dead at the hospital. March 16: Jordan Williams was shot early in the morning after he answered a knock on his door. He was taken to the hospital in critical condition. March 19: Gerelle Borum, was shot dead walking down Rudisill Blvd Police have charged Josiah C. Thomas with murder. March 20: A woman was shot and killed after getting off a Citilink Bus at 7:50 am near Reed St. and Pettit Avenue.

Maryland's 2 joints and a fine--recreational pot smoking-

Two marijauna weighing 10 grams or less will be punished with a fine in the state of Maryland. No jailtime if busted seem to be the path to allowing individuals to puff the doobies.

The Maryland Senate voted 30 to 16 on Tuesday to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana, subjecting those caught smoking to only a civil fine of up to $100. Supporters of the bill said the move is consistent with a growing number of states that have sought in recent years to do away with jail time for minor offenders. But Maryland’s bill doesn’t go far as measures in Colorado and Washington that have legalized marijuana.

Other states have decriminalized pot with limitation clauses. Getting caught could earn a civil fine , drug education, or drug treatment instead of jail time. Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut,Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi,Nebraska,Nevada, New York, North Carolina,Ohio and Oregon. Indiana it seems would rather pay the bill for jails rather allow it's citizens to enjoy the recreational drug with civil fines..

My commitment to my blog posts every year are almost close cousin to my new year resolutions. Although, I rarely announce my resolutions, it is essence for my blog to have at least a posting. So after three weeks, I think I am ready to do this. Went to the public swearing in ceremony of President Barack Obama. I was able to get a little closer than the 2009 ceremony. Unfortunately I was unable to see the parade or get the "money" picture of POTUS and FlOTUS walking the route. But a great feeling to witness the second event. I spent a lot of time walking, so many streets blocked off. If you were able to get to the street of the parade, late one had to endure long lines. The tunnel where folks were stuck in 2009 was blocked off and was completely empty. However,vendors were aplenty. As you made your way, souvenir buttons, t-shirts,pictures and calendars were staples of the day. Fashion statements were made as women strolled the walk with their full length mink coats and hats. The walk was brutal for the overweight, but we marched as if we had been exercising for months or at least applying Ben-Gay for two days. uUpdate: Thomas made National news with him wearing the flag on his head.

Rodman meets Kim Jung Un Show

Former basketball player Dennis Rodman played guest to North Korea leader Kim Jong Un. This outraged elected officials who deemed North Korea as a hostile country. Rodman, the retired Hall of Fame basketball player had managed to gain full court with the North Korean leader. Instead of celebrating this new bromance between Rodman and the leader, Rodman was criticized for being out of his lane. A writer from Sports Illustrated wrote this about Rodman: "If you want to annoy a relentless publicity whore, dismiss his entire existence in a single sentence. Like this: Dennis Rodman is a desperate and pathetic character who will do anything to get noticed, probably to make up for the fact that his father had dozens of kids and ignored him, so Dennis has to stand out any way he can." In this attack he declared Rodman as simply a character because Rodman's dad was an whorish absentee father. Inspite of the slam, Rodman and Kim Jong Un had something in common--basketball. What Rodman did not understand was some folks wanted him to risk his life trying to play spy and gettingsome dirt on Kim Jong Un..clearly out of his lane. So he clearly stayed in his lane and a friendship was born not a war but a bromance. What Rodman should do, is get a group of his people and include Kim and began buying up property in improvised area, like Detroit. Rodman could use Kung Fe money to front this humanity project. If Rodman didn't know, another frowned upon relationship by the USA was controversial Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan and the late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. In that relationship funds were distributed to support the Nation of Islam..millions of dollars. All the church is exempt from taxation, I am pretty sure the other properties in the area taxes increased benefitting the USA.

Modern parenthood African American Opinions.

Among all adults, blacks (31%) are much more likely than whites (13%) to say that the ideal situation for young children is to have a mother who works full time. Only one-in-four blacks say it’s best for young children if their mother does not work at all outside the home; this compares with 36% of whites. The gap on this issue between black men and white men is particularly large. While 40% of white men say the ideal situation for a young child is to have a mother who stays home, only 21% of black men agree. http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2013/03/14/modern-parenthood-roles-of-moms-and-dads-converge-as-they-balance-work-and-family/2/

Ann Coulter..Unread..aiming for Obama

Ann Coulter has a new book called Mugged: Racial Demagoguery from the Seventies to Obama This book is Coulter's perspective on raced white record on voting for President Barack Obama and the unquestionable loyalty of African Americans based on race. Both raced white liberals and African-Americans are contributing to the contining to the downspiraling of African-Americans if they do not come to an understanding of the white liberal relationship with African-Americans. Coulter argues that raced white liberals have impeded the progress of African-Americans moreso than the Republican Party. The timing of book, penned in five months,let's you know three things about the book, it was directed at those young raced whites who will vote for President Barack Obama and to those raced whites who believe African-American can't think for themselves like Coulter. Coulter will profit from the book simply because it has her picure and Obama name on the cover.

Disclaimer, I have not read the book, if it shows up in my email box, will read, but will not fork out a penny to own my very own copy.

Google Refuses to take down Anti-Muslim video

Google is refusing a White House request to take down an anti-Muslim clip on YouTube, but is restricting access to it in certain countries. The White House said Friday that it had asked YouTube to review whether the video violated its terms of use. Google owns YouTube, the online video sharing site. YouTube said in a statement Friday that the video is widely available on the Web and is "clearly within our guidelines and so will stay on YouTube". The short film "Innocence of Muslims" denigrates Islam and the Prophet Muhammad. It played a role in igniting mob violence against US embassies across the Middle East. And it has been blamed for playing a role in violence in Libya, where the US ambassador and three others were killed though the exact cause of the attacks is under investigation. So Google is not supportive of troops and civilians overseas?

Sudan holding back the Marines

WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department on Saturday ordered the departure of all family members and non-essential U.S. government personnel from its embassies in Sudan and Tunisia and warned U.S. citizens against any travel to the two countries due to security concerns over rising anti-American violence. "Given the security situation in Tunis and Khartoum, the State Department has ordered the departure of all family members and non-emergency personnel from both posts, and issued parallel travel warnings to American citizens," said department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland. In Tunisia, the warning advised Americans that the international airport in Tunis is open and encouraged all U.S. citizens to depart on commercial flights. It said Americans who chose to remain in Tunisia should use extreme caution and avoid demonstrations. On Friday, protesters climbed the walls into the U.S. Embassy in Tunis, torching cars in the parking lot, trashing the entrance building and setting fire to a gym and a neighboring American school that is now unusable. In Sudan, the warning said that while the Sudanese government has taken steps to limit the activities of terrorist groups, some remain and have threatened to attack Western interests. The terrorist threat level remains "critical" throughout Sudan, the department said. It noted that U.S. officials are already required to travel in armored vehicles and to get permission to travel outside Khartoum, where crowds torched part of the German Embassy and tried to storm the U.S. Embassy on Friday. A U.S. official said on Saturday that Sudan's government is holding up the deployment of an elite Marine team that the U.S. planned to send to Khartoum to boost security at the embassy.

Insurgents in Afghanistan kills two marines

WASHINGTON (AP) — Coalition military authorities in Afghanistan say the insurgents who attacked a British airfield in southwestern Afghanistan on Friday, killing two U.S. Marines, wore U.S. Army uniforms and destroyed six Harrier fighter jets. They said in a statement Saturday that about 15 insurgents carried out the attack, describing the attack as well coordinated by insurgents who were "well equipped, trained and rehearsed." Fourteen of the 15 were killed. One was captured. They said attackers penetrated the base's perimeter and were armed with automatic rifles, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and suicide vests. Besides destroying six planes, they destroyed three refueling stations on the base and damaged six aircraft hangars. Coalition authorities have not yet identified the two Marines killed. Eight military members and one civilian contractor were also injured in the assault.

Vice President Hillary Clinton: AKA Secretary of State

Hmmm, we don't wont another war..

The United States is determined to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and has pursued a dual-track policy to do so. Yesterday, the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Board of Governors overwhelmingly adopted a resolution that clearly reflects the international community’s concerns regarding Iran’s nuclear program. Iran must take concrete steps to address those concerns. Iran must cooperate fully and immediately with the IAEA on all outstanding issues. We welcome the resolve of the international community to make clear the onus is on Iran to abide by its international obligations, honor its commitments to the IAEA, and prove that its intentions are peaceful. The international community is also determined to make significant cuts to Iranian oil revenue, which funds not only the nuclear program but Iran’s support for terror and destabilizing actions in the region and around the world. I am pleased to announce that Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and the United Kingdom have again qualified for an exception to sanctions outlined in Section 1245 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, as amended (NDAA), based on reductions in the volume of their crude oil purchases from Iran. As of July 1, the European Union implemented a full ban on Iranian crude oil and petroleum products, strengthening the comprehensive measures it has taken to hold Iran accountable for its failure to comply with its international nuclear obligations. Japan has also taken significant steps to reduce its crude oil purchases, which is especially notable considering the extraordinary energy challenges it has faced in the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster. As a result, I will report to the Congress that the exception to sanctions pursuant to Section 1245 of the NDAA will apply to the financial institutions based in these countries for a renewable period of 180 days. These renewed exceptions result from our extensive cooperation with the international community since the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, reducing Iran’s oil revenues and isolating its Central Bank from the international financial system. We have brought significant pressure to bear on the Iranian regime, and we will continue to work with our partners to ratchet up the pressure on Iran to meet its international obligations.

9/11 all over again-libya/Cairo

Condolences to the families of Ambassador Christopher Stevens, Sean Smith, and the others killed in Benghazi attack

9/11--America's Peace Conflict with the Muslim World

On the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in the United States, U.S. diplomatic missions in Libya and Egypt came under attack.

A Libyan security official reported an American was shot to death as protesters burned the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, and in Cairo, protesters scaled the walls of the U.S. embassy walls and replaced an American flag with an Islamic banner.

The attack was blamed on a movie released in the United States attacking the Prophet Muhammad. A trailer of the movie by Sam Bacile, an American citizen, was posted on social media Youtube on the release of the movie.

A 14-minute trailer of the movie that sparked the protests, posted on the website YouTube in an original English version and another dubbed into Egyptian Arabic, depicts Muhammad as a fraud, a womanizer and a madman in an overtly ridiculing way, showing him having sex and calling for massacres.

http://youtu.be/yL5OSV5jO5o Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has strongly condemned the behavior of the group responsible for the attack on the embassies. "Some have sought to justify this vicious behaviour as a response to inflammatory material posted on the internet," said a statement by Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, who also confirmed the death of the consulate employee. and here: Clinton said: "Some have sought to justify this vicious behavior as a response to inflammatory material posted on the Internet. The United States deplores any intentional effort to denigrate the religious beliefs of others. Our commitment to religious tolerance goes back to the very beginning of our nation. But let me be clear: There is never any justification for violent acts of this kind." The group has vowed to remain at the Embassy until the movie is removed. The United States must tread softly because they do not have enough troops on the ground and releasing drones into the area will only cause the Muslim community to mobilize. Update.Four Americans were killed.

Black Women's Roundtable Shifts the Focus to the Issues and Voting Power of Black Women at the Republican and Democratic Conventions

For Immediate Release Contact: Edrea Davis (818) 613-9521 edmedia@dogonvillage.com Makeda Smith (323) 596-1522 jazzmynepr@gmail.com www.jazzmynepr.com

Black women discuss the power of the sister voter during the DNC. Pictured (L-R) Glynda C. Carr, Higher Heights for America; Rev. Leah Daughtry (at podium), On These Things; Hazel Dukes, NAACP; Clayola Brown, A. Philip Randolph Institute; Melanie L. Campbell, NCBCP/Black Women's Roundtable; Dr. E Faye Williams, NCBW Washington, DC - In their continuing efforts to make Black women's issues a top priority and remind elected officials and candidates of the voting power of Black women, the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation's (NCBCP) Black Women's Roundtable co-hosted non-partisan round table discussions in conjunction with the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Tampa, FL, and this week at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Charlotte, NC. At the Charlotte Convention Center Black Women's Roundtable joined with Higher Heights for America to co-host, "Harnessing Black Women's Political Power: The Chisholm Effect 40 Years in the Making," a celebration and discussion about the power of the sister vote. Hazel Dukes, president of the NAACP New York State Conference, opened the session delivering an electrifying speech outlining the historic run of Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm and chiding leaders for, 40 years after Chisholm's run, not properly recognizing the power of the black women's vote. Reminding people of the Pew Research findings that the surge in black voter participation in 2008 was driven by increased participation among black women, Melanie L. Campbell, president and CEO of the NCBCP and convener, Black Women's Roundtable said, "We're celebrating the phenomenal power of the sister vote. Black women are getting their swagger back in 2012. They're not just getting themselves prepared to vote, they are making sure their family, friends and neighbors are prepared to cast a ballot that counts in this very important election."

National leaders join Florida leader of Black Women's Roundtable for a photo after a discussion of what's at stake for Black women during the Republican Convention in Florida. Pictured (L-R): Jessica Brown, Black Youth Vote; Dr. Yvonne Scruggs-Leftwich, Center for Community & Economic Justice; Barbara Arnwine Esq., Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law; Salandra Benton, Florida Coalition for Black Civic Participation; and Melanie Campbell, NCBCP. Campbell adds, "Black women are leaders in turning out our community; our issues should be a top priority for elected officials and we need to see Black women appointed to powerful positions." Other participants in the DNC conversation included: Rev. Leah Daughtry, President CEO of On These Thing, LLC and Former CEO of 2008 Democratic National Convention Committee; Clayola Brown, President of A. Philip Randolph Institute; Congresswoman Donna Edwards (D-MD; Dr. E Faye Williams, National Chair of the National Congress of Black Women; and Glynda C. Carr, Co-Founder of Higher Heights for America and co-host of the DNC round table. Over 30 Florida leaders joined national leaders for a more intimate discussion about the continuing economic crisis, criminal justice reform, and voter suppression tactics, during RNC round table held at St. Petersburg's Center for Community and Economic Justice. In addition to the conversation, Barbara Arnwine, executive director of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law, provided information and tools like the 866 OUR-VOTE hotline, to help the women educate their constituents, organizations and community members in countering the rampant black voter disenfranchisement in Florida. The lively discussion was co-convened by Salandra Benton, chair, Florida Coalition for Black Civic Participation; Dr. Yvonne Scruggs-Leftwich, president and CEO, Center for Community and Economic Justice; Gypsy Gallardo, publisher, Power Broker Magazine; and Dr. Elsie Scott, president and CEO, Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. Participants included: Jessica Brown, national field director, Black Youth Vote; Chloe Choney, district director for Congresswoman Kathy Castor; and Shahra Anderson, regional Director for Senator Bill Nelson. BWR is an intergenerational women's network of the NCBCP, a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to increasing civic engagement in Black and underserved communities and developing new leaders. For more information visit www.ncbcp.org.

Sure start program oversea

This is a letter I penned for my grandson, feel free to make changes or corrections and send to your Congressperson. TIA:

Thomas Theodore Johnson, age 4 failed to be admitted into the Signonella Sure Start program. Thomas is the son pf a military E-5' and a G-11 civilian veteran , neither are married and born are currently serving overseas. Thomas is sponsored by the G-11 civilian and not the military member. Because the sponsor is a G-11 , her earning has deemed Thomas ineligible for the Sure Start program. The sure start program is not a program based on economics but on certain life circumstances.

The Sure Start program was established as a resource available for E1 through E4. However, few of these members serving overseas have dependents. Somewhere along the way, military member upto G-9 and the civilian counterparts were deemed eligible for the program. However, this does not take into account civilian G-11 and on.

The military ranking has a no fraternizing policies with low ranks and officers which probably explains the cutoff at G-9 eligibility, however this policy does not apply to civilians. I would suggest that Thomas is being penalized because the military policy exclude civilians who are more limited in resources solely for the fact they are not military!

I would like someone to review this policy and understand, if any one deserve to be in this program it would be students like Thomas, coming from a single parent civilian home, whom other parent is serving elsewhere oversea. These children do not have the options of attending an English educational system off the military base.

Sincerely,

Jacqueline Dowdell

Meet Michelle Howard

NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- Vice Adm. Michelle Janine Howard has been a trail-blazer throughout her entire career. She was the first African-American woman to command a U.S. Navy warship, the first female graduate of the Naval Academy to achieve the rank of rear admiral, and the first African-American woman to command an Expeditionary Strike Group at sea.



http://themoderatevoice.com/157196/sailor-becomes-first-black-female-to-earn-three-star-rank/

Gabby Douglas Ponytail : Jasmine Waiters