M.I.A. Was Right! She Had A Baby Boy! Did You Know That She Once Wanted To Collaborate With The Oscar-Winning Three Six Mafia?

One of my favorite artists has delivered more than great music this time.M.I.A. has reportedly given birth to a son! Congratulations to her!Since this girl performed at the Grammys on her due date,I'm sure she's doing everything in her power to get herself ready to grace the stage at the Oscars!Speaking of the Oscars,Three Six Mafia was supposed to work with M.I.A. at the time that they won their Oscar!Listen to her talk about how that didn't work out in this interview!


Here's more from People on the birth of her baby:

"One of the great mysteries surrounding this awards season – at which ceremony would Grammy and Oscar-nominated singer M.I.A. deliver her imminent baby – has been solved: she's done it between shows, thank you very much.

The London-born Sri Lankan singer, 31, gave birth to a boy in Los Angeles on Wednesday, PEOPLE has confirmed.

On her MySpace Celebrity Blog, M.I.A. writes (in all capital letters) that on Sunday night, after the Grammys, "MY EARLY STAGE LABOUR KICKED IN AROUND 2 AM … MY BABY WAS BORN WEDNESDAY, HE IS HEALTHY, FINE, BEAUTIFUL AND THE MOST AMZING THING EVER ON THIS PLANET, OF COURSE IM HIS MUM!!!"
This is the first child for M.I.A., whose given name in Mathangi Arulpragasam, and her fiancé, Benjamin Brewer, lead singer and guitarist of The Exit. The pregnancy was announced last October."(END OF EXCERPT)Read the rest here.

Did You Eat Slave-Free Chocolate This Valentine's Day?

Even in these modern times,slavery remains an issue.You may be an unwitting contributor to this horrific institution if you bought or received Valentine's Day chocolates!All chocolate-lovers should really find out which companies sell slave-free chocolate.The International Labor Rights Forum tells you how you can acquire it:

"Cocoa Campaign


People around the world share a love of chocolate, one of the most delicious and pleasurable foods on earth. Thousands of children in West Africa are forced to labor in the production of cocoa, chocolate’s primary ingredient. The West African nation of Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) is the leading supplier of cocoa, accounting for more than 40% of global production. Low cocoa prices and thus the need for lower labor costs drive farmers to employ children as a means to survive. The US Department of State estimates that more than 109,000 children in Cote d’Ivoire’s cocoa industry work under “the worst forms of child labor,” and that some 10,000 are victims of human trafficking or enslavement.

These child workers labor for long, punishing hours, using dangerous tools and facing frequent exposure to dangerous pesticides as they travel great distances in the grueling heat. Those who labor as slaves must also suffer frequent beatings and other cruel treatment. Cote d’Ivoire’s child laborers are robbed not only of their freedom but of the right to a basic education. In a country where more than half the population is illiterate, basic education of “cocoa children” takes on an even more critical significance for Cote d’Ivoire’s future. Increased access to education must be a key component in any effective strategy to reduce poverty and exploitative child labor.

In 2001, in an attempt to avoid government regulation and intense media scrutiny, major cocoa companies made a voluntary commitment (the Cocoa Industry Protocol) to certify their cocoa “child labor-free” by July 2005, but that deadline passed with little fanfare. The deadline was then extended to certify 50% of farms “child-labor free” by July 2008. The cocoa companies trumpeted a few pilot programs, but continue to purchase and reap profits from child labor cocoa. The major cocoa importers need to use their vast influence on the cocoa market to bring about the kind of systemic changes necessary to eliminate child slavery once and for all.

The International Labor Rights Forum is committed to combating the scourge of forced child labor in the cocoa industry through public education and corporate campaigns."(END OF EXCERPT)Go here for a plethora of information on how you can stop child labor.

At The V-Day Luncheon Today,Rihanna's Situation Was Discussed!

V-Day is an organization that works to stop violence against women around the world.So,this was the perfect place to discuss what happened to Rihanna.As we all know,her case has shed more light on violence against women.Here's more on this much needed organization from Yahoo News:

"The topic of Friday's star-studded V-Day luncheon was the organization's work with women in the Congo. But Jessica Alba, Kerry Washington and other supporters of V-Day, which has raised more than $60 million to stop violence against women and girls worldwide, were also talking about Rihanna.

"When things happen publicly, it just makes it a more universal problem that more people can relate to," said Alba, an annual participant in the V-Day luncheon.

Rihanna was reportedly involved in a domestic dispute with boyfriend Chris Brown last week that resulted in his arrest and booking on charges of making criminal threats. A police statement said the woman who reported the incident was injured, and identified Brown as her attacker. Charges have not yet been filed, and neither Brown nor Rihanna has come forth to comment on the incident.

On Friday, Alba read a poem inspired by the experience of a Congolese woman raped so severely and repeatedly by soldiers that she needed surgery. Washington, who serves on the V-Day board, called violence against women "a social illness that does not discriminate."

"This is a problem that spreads from the Congo to Hollywood," she said. "When it happens to someone famous, it's a tragedy that it happened, but what I hope is that people become less and less afraid to talk about how truly devastating this social illness is."

Rosario Dawson, also a board member, mentioned Rihanna and Jennifer Hudson in her plea to guests to support the V-Day cause."(END OF EXCERPT)Read more here.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY & SUPPORT V-DAY!