M.I.A. Is The Fabulous Sri-Lankan Artist Who Has Been Nominated For An Oscar & A Grammy! Plus, She's Pregnant!

Here's M.I.A. on Thursday's addition of Tavis Smiley talking about the "systematic genocide" of her people,the Tamil,that's going on in Sri Lanka.She is a very introspective person who makes music that has a social message,not to mention it's great to dance to.She is pregnant & her baby is due on the day of the Grammys.Too bad she's gotta miss it because she was nominated for both an Oscar & an Grammy for the controversial song,"Paper Planes"!Some folks claim that she's a terrorist but M.I.A. says she is not.There is so much speculation about the meaning of "Paper Planes" because of her background. Here's more on that from The Wall Street Journal:

"Hip-hop artist M.I.A. recently rocketed from the experimental underground to the pinnacle of the entertainment world. "O Saya," her collaboration with Indian composer A.R. Rahman from the "Slumdog Millionaire" soundtrack, is one of three nominees for the best-song Oscar. And her track "Paper Planes" is in contention at this year's Grammy Awards for record of the year -- the Recording Academy's top honor.

Born Mathangi Arulpragasam in Britain, the future singer returned with her family to her parents' native Sri Lanka when she was 6 months old. The family, who are members of Sri Lanka's ethnic-Tamil minority, moved to Jaffna, in the island nation's north. Not long afterward, the country erupted into civil war between the Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan government, and violence consumed Jaffna.

As a child, Ms. Arulpragasam rarely saw her father, Arul Pragasam, who was involved in the Tamil-separatist movement -- though she says he was part of a more political faction than the violent and better-known Tigers.

At age 10 she fled with her mother, elder sister and younger brother first to India and then back to London, where her mother now works as a seamstress and M.I.A. attended art college.
Ms. Arulpragasam says her harrowing life has informed both the lyrics and sound of her songs. After her song "Paper Planes" was included last year in a trailer for the stoner comedy "Pineapple Express," it became M.I.A.'s first hit -- and an unlikely one at that. The song's signature element, gunshot sounds that are part of its rhythm bed, generated controversy. The song's refrain is the seemingly aggressive chant: "All I wanna do is" -- Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow! -- "and take your money." But M.I.A. calls the song an ironic comment on the way Westerners perceive Third World immigrants.

Ms. Arulpragasam now lives in Los Angeles, where she is starting a family of her own under far gentler circumstances than the ones in which she was raised. She and fiancé Benjamin Brewer are expecting her first child as soon as this weekend."(END OF EXCERPT)Go here to read the rest of the article:http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123327207710830899.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

I really dig this chick's approach to life & music.Here's the video for the song "Boyz".The dance moves are off the chain!

Unfortunately, Rush Limbaugh Is Still An Issue!

This guy has been around for over 20 years,but Rush Limbaugh is still sparking controversy.He is a very divisive figure that wants to ascertain that he will still be able to play that role in this time of "change".I wonder how Michael Steele will deal with having this guy as the voice of the Republican party!Here's more on this jerk from The AP:

"When Rep. Phil Gingrey, a Georgia Republican, tried to praise his House leadership this week by saying it's easy for talk-show hosts to stand back and throw bricks, the headline on the Politico Web site read: "House GOP member to Rush: Back off." Gingrey was so bothered by the phone calls of complaints that he visited four conservative talk-show hosts, including Limbaugh, the next day to apologize.

Limbaugh, he said, was a conservative giant and one of the "voices of the conservative movement's conscience."

Can it get any better for a personality whose business is built on buzz?

"Rush Limbaugh is first and foremost a radio performer," said Michael Harrison, publisher of the trade journal Talkers magazine, which notes that Limbaugh has been the most listened-to talk-show host since at least the mid-1990s. "He's not a political leader. He doesn't make more money by turning elections. He only exists to gather large audiences and raise more advertising revenue and he does it terrifically."

(Limbaugh is heard on some 600 radio stations across the country, and more than 14 million people listen to him at least once a week.)

Yet count columnist Michael Wolff, writing in a newser.com column picked up by the Huffington Post, as one who believes Limbaugh is "being played."

He could prove valuable to the president, who has sought bipartisan support for many of his plans and romanced Republicans in his first week in office. Being able to point to an opponent like Limbaugh could help him with the millions of Americans for whom the message of ending partisan bickering rang true on Election Day.

Obama even cited Limbaugh in seeking support for his economic plans.

"You can't just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done," he said. "There are big things that unify Republicans and Democrats. We shouldn't let partisan politics derail what are very important things that need to get done."

A liberal advocacy group, Americans United for Change, said Friday it was using Limbaugh's words in radio ads it was launching against three Republican senators: Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, George Voinovich of Ohio and John Ensign of Nevada. The ads, supporting Obama's economic plan, urges voters in those states to call their senator and "tell him he represents you, not Rush Limbaugh."

Wolff wrote that he believed the dinner Obama had with conservative columnists before his inauguration was a pointed snub to Limbaugh.

"He's tried to make it out to be a political point ever since," he wrote, "but mostly he sounds like a guy who's hurt he didn't get invited to the hot party."

Asked about Wolff's comments, Limbaugh said, "Who?"

Another conservative talk-show host, William Bennett, said on CNN that Limbaugh's statement wasn't a good idea.

"The locution — `I want him to fail' — is not what you say the first week the man's been inaugurated," he said.(END OF EXCERPT)Read the rest here:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i_Br0ECzQVRoiyTtr0J-aRM1t6pgD961LQFO0

Watch this video compilation of Rush Limbaugh & other radio personalities making racist & sexist remarks & then tell me that these people are not bigoted.For those of us that are still in a state of euphoria because we have Obama as our president,this type of shit brings us out of the fog & into reality!

Michael Steele Has Become The First Black RNC Chairman!

Will Michael Steele becoming the first black Republican National Committee Chairman really change the party? As we all know,it is currently known as the party of older,white men.It hasn't been a diverse party,but I hope that changes under Michael Steele.I can't help but wonder if Barack Obama is what led the RNC to pick a black man to lead their party.Is it a case of tokenism or will the party finally diversify & become a part of the 21st century? Only time will tell.