In My Name - Will.i.am, celebrites, dignitaries, and you around the world

I realize that over the last couple of weeks the main issue facing the nation has been the bailout of the financial markets, and the mortgage crisis that spurred it. But that is hardly the only thing that has been happening in the world, or this nation.

While the major news media has been forecasting bail out deal after bailout deal, which keeps getting denied by various Senators and Representatives, and predicting what might or might not happen if the deal does or does not get done they have forgotten to cover celebrities, entertainers, and dignitaries that are reminding the world of the promises made to end poverty and combat disease.

In 2000 world leaders came together in the United Nations to create the Millennium Development Goals. The promise was to end poverty in the world, reduce those afflicted by pr the potential of diseases like Malaria and AIDS, increase access to healthcare, and improve the opportunity and quality of education by 2015. We are now halfway to that date, and far too many nations have forgotten about the promise they made. But concerned people have not.

Will.i.am has been in the forefront of multiple celebrities, entertainers, and world dignitaries and Youtube in generating attention to the promise made by our leaders. For 2 days he and Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Scarlett Johansson, Annie Lennox, John Legend, Wyclef Jean, Fergie, Angelique Kidjo, Kristin Davis, Elle Macpherson and many others, not to mention organizations including GCAP, Oxfam International, Save the Children and Comic Relief, have joined together to create the new channel on Youtube called “in my name”.

On this channel you the public and citizenry of the world have the opportunity to introduce yourself, your nation, and your message to the leaders of the world and your country to live up to the promises they made in 2000. Youtube will be accepting your videos, or video pettion if you prefer, until November 1st. At that point Will.i.am will be taking the best videos and mashing-up to form a single video set to the new song In My Name (dedicated to this cause) that will be presented to the entire United Nations.

We can only hope that world leaders will be moved by this expression of international care and attention. We must demand that moved or not, world leaders act as they have promised us they will. I am reminded of a line from a great movie you may have seen (and if you didn’t go see it) called V for Vendetta

“People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people.”

The fear in this case is that we, the people have not forgotten what was promised on our behalf, nor those that are in need. That we hold the true power our Governments use, and determine how that power should be used.

The major media may not care that so many across the world remember the promises made, but I like many others do. And I believe that me must be held to our words. Because the world is not a varying number of individual countries but in the end just a collection of people, and none deserve to live in poverty or with sickness or in hunger.

Who the Oscar Awards didn't honor - 2.26.2008.1

So the Oscar Awards are over, and most of America neither cared nor knew the films that won. I was going to mention how irrelevant the Oscars were this year. That there is often no connection between what is nominated or wins and what the world actually thinks is a good film. But something far more important has come up.

Yes there was Daniel Day Lewis winning best actor in a film you didn’t see, Javier Bardem (a guy you don’t know) won best supporting actor in a film you didn’t see. Marion Cotillard (don’t know her either) won in a film you probably didn’t know existed, and Tilda Swinton won in Michael Clayton – which you probably know because George Clooney was in it, but few actually saw. And No Country For Old Men won best picture.

Now it’s important to realize that between these films that have no commercial importance and the fact that the Writer’s Guild strike lowered expectations, that there were things that slipped through the fingers of the Awards show. A major mistake, that I feel was a deliberate and obvious slap in the face. And this has been completely glossed over by the major media.

Whoopi Goldberg was slapped by the Oscar Awards. And Hollywood counted on the fact no one was watching to do it.

In a montage highlighting the Oscar Award hosts every host was shown, except Whoopi Goldberg and Steve Martin. What makes it so much worse, in regard to Whoopi Goldberg, is the fact that besides being the second Black woman to win an Oscar since Haddie McDaniels (back in 1939), she is one of 10 people to have ever won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award. Whoopi Goldberg has been in 150 films, was the highest paid actress in the 1990’s, is a founding member of Comic Relief that raised money for the homeless, and was host of the Oscar Awards 4 times.

Now you might wonder how I learned this. Well it’s not from YouTube. You won’t find anything on it there. It wasn’t the major cable news media, they were busy discussing how Gary Busey gave a hug that surprised an actress who last starred in a film as Elektra – a box office bomb. Luckily it showed up on yahoo, and after a good deal of searching I found 2 sites that have the news of this slap in the face. One is an Asian site, the other in English. Here is the video clip.



So why did Hollywood make an obvious and intentional affront of one of the most famous, talented, successful, and respected Black female actress and comedienne? I don’t know why exactly, but I am sure they thought no one would notice because no one was watching.

But now that you know, what do you think?