The wide, smiling face of Sheikh Mohammed – the absolute ruler of Dubai – beams down on his creation. His image is displayed on every other building, sandwiched between the more familiar corporate rictuses of Ronald McDonald and Colonel Sanders. This man has sold Dubai to the world as the city of One Thousand and One Arabian Lights, a Shangri-La in the Middle East insulated from the dust-storms blasting across the region. He dominates the Manhattan-manqué skyline, beaming out from row after row of glass pyramids and hotels smelted into the shape of piles of golden coins. And there he stands on the tallest building in the world – a skinny spike, jabbing farther into the sky than any other human construction in history.
But something has flickered in Sheikh Mohammed’s smile. The ubiquitous cranes have paused on the skyline, as if stuck in time. There are countless buildings half-finished, seemingly abandoned. In the swankiest new constructions – like the vast Atlantis hotel, a giant pink castle built in 1,000 days for $1.5bn on its own artificial island – where rainwater is leaking from the ceilings and the tiles are falling off the roof. This Neverland was built on the Never-Never – and now the cracks are beginning to show. Suddenly it looks less like Manhattan in the sun than Iceland in the desert.
Once the manic burst of building has stopped and the whirlwind has slowed, the secrets of Dubai are slowly seeping out. This is a city built from nothing in just a few wild decades on credit and ecocide, suppression and slavery. Dubai is a living metal metaphor for the neo-liberal globalised world that may be crashing – at last – into history. Read more…
In a stunning defense of President George W. Bush’s warrantless wiretapping program, President Barack Obama has broadened the government’s legal argument for immunizing his Administration and government agencies from lawsuits surrounding the National Security Agency’s eavesdropping efforts.
In fact, a close read of a government filing last Friday reveals that the Obama Administration has gone beyond any previous legal claims put forth by former President Bush.
Responding to a lawsuit filed by a civil liberties group, the Justice Department argued that the government was protected by “sovereign immunity” from lawsuits because of a little-noticed clause in the Patriot Act. The government’s legal filing can be read here (PDF). Read more…
A-Pod is an ant inspired hexapod robot with a 2 DOF abdomen (tail), a 3 DOF head with large mandibles. 6 legs with 3 DOF each. Total 25 servos. This video demonstrates body movement and mandible control. I still have to do some mechanical improvements to the legs (therefore little walking). The robot are remotely controlled with a custom 2,4 GHz RC transmitter.
Sorry to bust the bubble, but this made absolutely no sense. No character development, no plot, just a bunch of black men killing each other. How original. Maybe with some type of reason as to how this relates to Ross’s album would have done some justice to the rich texture used by my fellow director Rik Cordero. (To be totally honest boys and girls the kid would have had to go). I don’t think this right here pushes any more units of Deeper Than Rap for the executives at Def Jam, when the real sensation has been 50′s Pimpin Curly and Saturday Morning Cartoons. Epic (Def Jam Three/21 Media) Fail.
Rocker TRENT REZNOR is urging all musicians to follow in his footsteps and ditch their record labels.
Reznor’s band Nine Inch Nails broke away from their deal with Universal in 2007, after a tempestuous relationship with the music giant.
The singer describes the experience as “liberating” – insisting big labels make too much money from musicians and are completely out of touch with the industry.
Reznor says, “Anyone who’s an executive at a record label does not understand what the internet is, how it works, how people use it, how fans and consumers interact – no idea. I’m surprised they know how to use email. They have built a business around selling plastic discs, and nobody wants plastic discs any more. They’re in such a state of denial it’s impossible for them to understand what’s happening.
“One of the biggest wake-up calls of my career was when I saw a record contract. I said, ‘Wait – you sell it for $18.98 and I make 80 cents? And I have to pay you back the money you lent me to make it and then you own it? Who the f**k made that rule? Oh! The record labels made it because artists are dumb and they’ll sign anything’ – like I did. When we found out we’d been released (from their recording contract) it was like, ‘Thank God!’. But 20 minutes later it was, ‘Uh-oh, now what are we going to do?’ It was incredibly liberating, and it was terrifying.”
And Reznor adds that musicians should be exploring other ways to sell their own music, rather than relying on labels: “As an artist, you are now the marketer.”
Jones was driving his 2007 black Bentley when a Teaneck police officer noticed he was missing a front license plate, said police Capt.Keith Richter. After police stopped Jones around 12:10 a.m., they found the rapper had an outstanding warrant out of Paterson and arrested him. Richter confirmed Jones, who provided a Newark home address, paid $120 and was released. Paterson Police Lt. Donald Giaquinto said the warrant was for unpaid motor vehicle tickets. (North Jersey)
“I decide to drive by myself let’s see how this plays out,” he wrote unmodified prior to the arrest. “Misses officer let me go the funny part was watching them have to count all the money in my pocket lol I must say they were very cool…And it was a punk ass warrant from 2005 for 120 dollars…Make sure you pay old tickets.” (Jim Jones’ Twitter) Read more…
The First Lady’s wax figure was unveiled Tuesday, alongside the replica of President Barack Obama!
Michelle Obama‘s life-like figure is on display at Madame Tussauds in Washington D.C.
The First Lady’s replica is dressed in Michelle Obama’s classic, elegant style — donning a cherry-red, knee-length belted dress and cardigan.
President Obama’s figure has him smiling wide, showing off his pearly whites in a sleek and classic suit. The two figures are on display in front of a White House backdrop.
Ha! One of his own calls him out for his failed strategies during the last campaign. My question is that none of these talking heads we see on TV, have given it to Rush with such truth and conviction. Michael Steele should be eating his heart out right now. Bravo.
When Eminem burst onto the scene, he enraptured the nation with his gift for saying exactly what the rest of us were already thinking but were too afraid to say out loud.
But a lot has changed since the acclaimed satirist’s last album — “Encore” — came out in 2004, both in politics and in pop culture. An entire industry has been built on celebrity bashing. Which is why Eminem’s new video feels so flat.
With the steady current of sniggering, and downright damaging, remarks about famous people populating the public consciousness today, Eminem’s new song, “We Made You,” feels at best irrelevant. And at worst, truly mean.
In light of recent attacks on Jessica Simpson for her weight gain — and her well-publicized battle with her figure — segments of the video that feature a bloated, Jessica Simpson look-alike chowing down on burgers just feel stale and tacky. And also, about a month too late.
Here’s hoping the rest of Eminem’s new album, “Relapse,” gets away from the celebrity culture and features some of the beautiful, honest and self-reflective poetry we have come to expect from this amazing artist, who was — and hopefully will remain — the voice of our generation.
How’s this for hope and change: U.S. officials flying to Cuba, not to interrogate prisoners at Guantanamo Bay but to meet with the Castro brothers in order to ease the 50-year tensions between the two nations.
The aging, ailing, cigar-smoking icon Fidel Castro had three members of Congress visit with him today in Havana, which resulted in the bearded one asking, “How can we help President Obama?” In an effort to improve the relationship between Cuba and the U.S., Reps. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland), Bobby L. Rush (D-Ill.) and Emanuel CleaverII (D-Mo.) were the first U.S. officials to meet with the 82-year-old former dictator since his intestinal surgery in July 2006.
Greg Adams of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana confirmed that the three members of the Congressional Black Caucus met with Castro, who handed the communist torch to his brother Raul in early 2007. Cuban state television is expected to release more details of the meeting tonight, Adams said. Read more…
Three/21 Films and Disturbing The Peace are launching an online search to cast the roles of a 9 year old version of Ludacris, Nas & Jay-Z for the “I Do It For Hip-Hop” Music Video directed by Rik Cordero.
Submission Rules
Candidates must look at least 9-13 years old with a legal guardian at least 18 years old. All submissions must include a YouTube link of the candidate performing each respective artist’s verse from the song “I Do It For Hip-Hop” which you can listen tohere. Email all submissions to submissions@three21media.com. Good luck!
LMAO at Tip telling Sway that this is the end of him explaining his miracle deal. He gives the politically correct answer to the questions lingering about his sweetheart deal. I wonder if the pulpit is in his future, you know Atlanta is a hotbed for celebrity pastors.
Alright, so KING bodied their last cover, so it seems. I sure do hope Buddens has some sort of insurance policy on his girl cuz her stocks are about to shoot through the roof. She gonna sell more issues on the first day than his album has scanned to this day, guarenteed. Damn, I miss KING already, what a shame.
I f*cks with this, son is on his grown man, Can’t always leave the keys of the game to the kids, these real times call for real dialogue. Real talk, and WTF can a tween teach you anyway?
Y’all know the drill, the Rookie of the Year sits down with ImFlashy.com to discuss the details leading up to his smash debut album, South Central State of Mind.
A press release went out today about Nas and Damian Marley’s upcoming collaborative album, Distant Relatives, due out June 23rd. It looks like Esco is going to channel his character in Belly and take it back to Africa. This might actually turn out pretty great.
The important portion of the press release is after the jump.
The album features the signature instrumentation and musicianship of Marley with the hard hitting beats and lyrics of Nas. Throughout the course of their musical careers, the duo has taught each other and always admired each other’s style. Since first meeting in 1996 the two artists have shared a mutual respect and camaraderie that was most recently showcased on “Road to Zion,” a standout track from Damian’s critically acclaimed album, Welcome to Jamrock. After having such a positive experience working together, they have now joined forces again for Distant Relatives.
The album title refers not only to the bond of Nas and Damian, but the bond to their African ancestry, which inspired the album both musically and lyrically. “Africa is the backbone of the world and the foundation of everything and Africans are in a situation where they need help more than anywhere else,” notes Damian Marley. “We know there are dire situations here in America but when you look at America—with public libraries and free education—these are not opportunities most Africans have. It’s a completely different scale of trying to help people. As humans beings, we’re part of a human family.” Read more…
Saw this commercial aptly titled “Lifestyles Skyn” and was surprised that they got away with this on cable television. And while posting this I ran across the fairy edition of this commercial. Classic.
After the Wolverine debacle a couple of days ago, which I secretly think was done on purpose to stir up some controversy, lo and behold these pics leak from the set of the most anticipated sequel since The Dark Knight(Transformers aside).
With Terrance Howard out and Don Cheadle in, our collective mouths can now water a year ahead of the release date and the now customary practice of the promotion of a movie starting before it is even completed. The guys over at Latino Review scooped the scoop for your viewing pleasure:
Shooting has begun on Iron Man 2, and besides the brief updates from Jon Favreau on Twitter, it didn’t take long for pictures to pop up on the second day of shooting.
Spoiler TV has some shots of Robert Downey Jr. carrying his little box (I guess he keeps his vitamins, cigarettes and other stuff in there), along with shots of Gwyneth Paltrow sitting in a car and Don Cheadle trying to show off his Blackberry.
I like how the trailer says Tony Stark and doesn’t say Robert Downey Jr. I think Robert should just legally change his name to Tony Stark since most will now associate his career with Iron Man instead of past efforts like the fantastic Chaplin.
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) – Barack Obama, making his first visit to a Muslim nation as president, declared Monday the United States “is not and will never be at war with Islam.”
Urging a greater partnership with the Islamic world in an address to the Turkish parliament, Obama called the country an important U.S. ally in many areas, including the fight against terrorism. He devoted much of his speech to urging a greater bond between Americans and Muslims, portraying terrorist groups such as al Qaida as extremists who do not represent the vast majority of Muslims.
“Let me say this as clearly as I can,” Obama said. “The United States is not and never will be at war with Islam. In fact, our partnership with the Muslim world is critical … in rolling back a fringe ideology that people of all faiths reject.”
The U.S. president is trying to mend fences with a Muslim world that felt it had been blamed by America for the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Read more…
Wu-Tang Clan‘s Method Man and Ne-Yo have been chosen to star in the upcoming George Lucas film Red Tail centering on the first African-American aerial combat unit during World World II.
The two artists will be sharing credits with award-winning actors who will be featured in the forthcoming film.
Lucasfilm said that the movie, about the all-black crew, would star Terrence Howard, Cuba Gooding Jr., Nate Parker and Bryan Cranston. Other cast members include Tristan Wilds, Cliff Smith (better known as Method Man) and Ne-Yo. The film is to be directed by Anthony Hemingway and written by John Ridley. (New York Times)
“I’ve been wanting to do Red Tails for 20 years, and we’ve finally got the means to showcase the skill of the Tuskegee pilots,” Lucas said in a press release. “We’re working on techniques which will give us the first true look at the aerial dogfighting of the era. And our top-notch cast will really make this story special.” (MTV Movie Blog)
The film will take place around the height of World War II. Read more…
King Magazine: Brook Bailey Photoshoot. This is the one from that show Candy Girls with the nice knockers.
Editor’s Note: This has to be from the KING archives because it features the now defunct editor Sean Malcolm. Either way shouts to Brooke who is friend to the STREET KNOWLEDGE team
Fresh off his album release party last night, Jadakiss is on rare form on morning TV, doing the rounds to promote his latest, The Last Kiss. LMAO at his gangsta grill face!
via TMZ
Let’s pray Chyna is not working on a gangsta rap album and Dre just wants advice on how to get his muscles even more jacked.
UPDATE: In the interest of Dr. Dre not kicking our ass…the woman pictured is NOT Chyna Doll. She’s Dre’s wife Nicole. Did we mention how much we love “The Chronic”?
After seeing the segway fail to fully make its transition into everyday life, are really we gonna see this new machine zipping up and down the street? Seems that this on the road is just a tad bit more dangerous than the segway.
The Project P.U.M.A. (Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility) prototype is shown in Brooklyn April 4. GM and Segway say the vehicle could allow people to travel around cities more quickly, safely, quietly and cleanly, and at a lower total cost.
via WSJ
General Motors Corp. is teaming with Segway Inc., maker of the upright, self-balancing scooters, to build a new type of two-wheeled vehicle designed to move easily through congested urban streets.
The machine, which GM says it aims to develop by 2012, would run on batteries and use wireless technology to avoid traffic backups and navigate cities.
The struggling auto maker, surviving on a government lifeline, is looking to generate enthusiasm for its increasingly uncertain future ahead of the New York auto show this week.
GM has slashed product-development programs, advertising and spending on auto-show events. But it will take to the streets of Manhattan on Tuesday to show off a prototype of the vehicle, called PUMA, for Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility.
I heard about this a couple of days ago while I was on the road (LAX Tour) and after reading about Chris’s not guilty plea today, decided to post it . This is from some group called Jumpers Smokers.
Will Smith x Men in Black. After the rousing success of Fast & Furious this past weekend (over $70 million at the box office this weekend) you can expect a flury of sequels to be greenlit by Hollywood studios in the coming months. And soon enough, there are talks at Sony Pictures that a Men In Black 3 is already in development with the original producers.
These talks were confirmed when Sony Pictures’ President confirmed they were reigniting the franchise and targeting a 2011 release date. That’s all good for Will but let’s just hope this doesn’t mean a Hancock sequel as well…or even worse…a Seven Pounds sequel.
After being replaced by Terry Crews in Sylvester Stallone’s forthcoming action flick, The Expendables, 50 Cent has signed on for another role on the big screen.
Variety reports that the G-Unit leader will star in Twelve, a new film by director Joel Schumacher (Batman and Robin). The movie, which is an adaptation of Nick McDonell’s novel of the same name, follows a rich, high school dropout turned drug dealer as deals with the murder of his cousin, allegedly by the hands of his best friend.
Fif is set to share screen with Kiefer Sullivan (24), Ellen Barkin (She Hate Me), Rory Culkin (Igby Goes Down) and and Chace Crawford (Gossip Girl).
Scheduled to begin production on April 20 in the Big Apple, Twelve is expected to hit theaters in the winter of 2010. Ironlically, 50 has another movie, 13, is also slated for release that year.
This morning, the National Consumers League released a statement claiming that 90-percent of PC-owning, U.S. consumers want the ability to save DVDs, as they would CDs, on their computers. The study was conducted by the Opinion Research Corporation, and drawn from a survey of 1,000 consumers of varying ages.
This should come as no surprise to those who have witnessed the gradual digitalization (moving away from physical products and towards computer files) of music, songs and albums. Just as many music fans now use their computers as their primary sound systems, 69-percent of those surveyed attested to watching DVDs on their computers. Is it any surprise, then, that they’d want the ability to save the disc on their video player of choice? It shouldn’t be, particularly when you consider that nearly 40-percent of the respondents claimed to have, at some point, repurchased a DVD due to loss or damage.
For the most part, folks in the “biz” aren’t too fond of this trend, since importing media onto a computer renders computer files that are more easily pirated than are physical discs. That being said, with the economy in such dire straits, and folks’ once disposable income becoming increasingly indispensable, DVD sales have suffered (55-percent are purchasing fewer DVDs than they were last year). That being said, 40-percent of the respondents said that the ability to import DVDs onto their computers would stimulate their purchasing of the discs. Read more…
Traveling with the president in Europe, First Lady Michelle Obama caused a stir with remarks she made about her upbringing on Chicago’s south side. Mrs. Obama, who was virtually removed from the public spotlight during the presidential campaign after making several comments that got then Senator Obama into hot water, was speaking to an all-girls school in London last week about her current position. In the course of her speech, the First Lady made remarks that are reminiscent of comments that President Obama lambasted Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin for during the campaign.
“For nothing in my life ever would have predicted that I would be standing here as the first African-American First Lady. I was not raised with wealth or resources or any social standing to speak of. I was raised on the South Side of Chicago – that’s the real part of Chicago.”
Gov. Palin was forced to clarify similar remarks she made during the campaign, telling an audience that the rural parts of the country comprise the “real America.” Vice President Joe Biden responded to Palin’s remarks, saying in part, “It doesn’t matter where you live, we all love this country.” Senator George Allen was also taken to task by Democrats during the 2006 campaign for remarks he made that echoed the First Lady’s sentiment. Allen directed his comments toward a campaign worker for his Democratic opponent, Jim Webb, saying, “Welcome to America and the real world of Virginia!” Allen went on to lose his Senate seat. The White House has not seen fit to clarify the First Lady’s remarks, yet.
PRAGUE (April 5) – Declaring the future of mankind at stake, President Barack Obama on Sunday said all nations must strive to rid the world of nuclear arms and that the U.S. had a “moral responsibility” to lead because no other country has used one. A North Korean rocket launch upstaged Obama’s idealistic call to action, delivered in the capital of the Czech Republic, a former satellite of the Soviet Union.
But Obama dismissed those who say the spread of nuclear weapons, “the most dangerous legacy of the Cold War,” cannot be checked.This goal will not be reached quickly — perhaps not in my lifetime,” he told a cheering crowd of more than 20,000 in the historic square outside the Prague Castle gates. We “must ignore the voices who tell us that the world cannot change. We have to insist, ‘Yes, we can.’”
Few experts think it’s possible to completely eradicate nuclear weapons, and many say it wouldn’t be a good idea even if it could be done. Even backward nations such as North Korea have shown they can develop bombs, given enough time.But a program to drastically cut the world atomic arsenal carries support from scientists and lions of the foreign policy world. Obama embraced that step as his first goal and chose as the venue for his address a nation that peacefully threw off communism and helped topple the Soviet Union, despite its nuclear power. Read more…
streetknowledge
missdanijackson
Recent Comments