Saturday, December 18, 2010

Who is Maxine Moore Carr?

Who is Maxine Moore Carr? The political world knows her as Maxine Waters. Waters is a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1991, representing California's 35th congressional district (map). She resides in the Hancock Park area of Los Angeles, which is approximately six miles west of downtown. She is the most senior of the 12 African American women currently serving in the United States Congress. She is currently under investigation for ethics violations and awaits charges from the House Ethics Committee.
Her husband, Sidney Williams played professional football in the NFL and is a former U.S. Ambassador to the Bahamas.


Background

One of thirteen children, Waters was born ; August 15, 1938 in St. Louis, Missouri, to Remus and Velma Lee Carr Moore. She graduated from Vashon High School in St. Louis, and moved with her family to Los Angeles, California, in 1961. She worked in a garment factory and as a telephone operator before being hired as an assistant teacher with the Head Start program at Watts in 1966.
She later enrolled at Los Angeles State College (now California State University, Los Angeles), and graduated with a sociology degree in 1970. In 1973, she went to work as chief deputy to newly-elected City Councilman David S. Cunningham, Jr..

Political career

Waters entered the California State Assembly in 1976. While in the assembly she worked for divestment of state pension funds from any businesses active in South Africa, a country then operating under the policy of apartheid. Waters ultimately helped frame successful legislation within the guidelines of the divestment campaign's Sullivan Principles. Waters eventually ascended to the position of Democratic Caucus Chair for the Assembly.
Upon the retirement of Augustus F. Hawkins in 1990, Waters was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives for California's 29th congressional district with over 79% of the popular vote; she has been re-elected each time (now in the California's 35th congressional district), with at least 70% of the popular vote. (Significant parts of the pre-1990 29th California Congressional District were folded into the newly defined 35th California Congressional District after California gained seven additional seats in the House following the 1990 United States Census.)
Following a 1996 San Jose Mercury article alleging the complicity of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in the Los Angeles crack epidemic of the 1980s, Waters called for an investigation into the matter. In her request, Waters asked whether "U.S.-government paid or organized operatives smuggled, transported and sold it to American citizens." The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced it had failed to find any evidence to support the original story. The Los Angeles Times also concluded after its own extensive investigation that the allegations were not supported by evidence. The author of the original story was eventually transferred to a different beat and removed from investigative reporting. Following these post-publication investigations, Waters read into the Congressional Record a memorandum of understanding in which former President Ronald Reagan's CIA director rejected any duty by the CIA to report illegal narcotics trafficking to the Department of Justice.
As a Democratic representative in Congress, Waters was a superdelegate to the 2008 Democratic National Convention. She endorsed Democratic Senator Hillary Clinton for the party's nomination in late January 2008, granting the New York Senator nationally-recognized support that some suggested would "make big waves." Subsequently, however, Waters switched her endorsement to Sen. Barack Obama, by then insurmountably ahead in the pledged delegate count, on the final day of primary voting.

Policy positions

 Iraq War

Waters voted against the Iraq War Resolution, the 2002 resolution that funded and granted Congressional approval to possible military action against the regime of Saddam Hussein.  She has remained a consistent critic of the subsequent war and has supported an immediate troop withdrawal from Iraq. Waters asserted in 2007 that President George W. Bush was trying to "set [Congress] up" by continually requesting funds for an "occupation" that is "draining" the country of capital, soldier's lives, and other resources. In particular, she argued that the very economic resources being "wasted" in Iraq were those that might provide universal health care or fully fund President Bush's own "No Child Left Behind" education bill. Additionally, Waters, representing a congressional district whose median income falls far below the national average, argued that patriotism alone had not been the sole driving force for those U.S. service personnel serving in Iraq. Rather, "many of them needed jobs, they needed resources, they needed money, so they're there." In a subsequent floor speech, Waters told her colleagues that Congress, lacking the votes to override the "inevitable Bush veto on any Iraq-related legislation," needed to "better [challenge] the administration's false rhetoric about the Iraq war" and "educate our constituents [about] the connection between the problems in Pakistan, Turkey, and Iran with the problems we have created in Iraq." A few months prior to these speeches Waters became a cosponsor of the House resolution to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney for making allegedly "false statements" about the war.

 Nationalizing the United States' petroleum industry

In May 2008, Waters told Shell Oil Company president John Hofmeister at the House Judiciary Committee's Task Force on Competition Policy and Antitrust law that if he did not guarantee reduced gasoline prices in exchange for reduction by Congress of oil drilling restrictions, she would favor nationalization of the American petroleum industry. She misspoke in a widely reported gaffe: "And guess what this liberal will be all about? This liberal will be all about socializing, uh, um...would be about, basically, taking over and the government running all of your companies."

The Stop VULTURE Funds Act

In August 2008, Waters introduced HR 6796, or the "Stop Very Unscrupulous Loan Transfers from Underprivileged countries from Rich Exploitive Funds Act," also known as the Stop VULTURE Funds Act. This would limit the ability of investors in sovereign debt to use U.S. courts to enforce those instruments against a defaulting country. The bill, which died in committee, was evidently inspired by litigation in the late 1990s and early years of the new century brought by Elliot Associates against the Republic of Peru.

 Hot debates

 CREW "Most Corrupt" list

In its 2009 report, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) named Waters one of the 15 most corrupt members of Congress. She was also included in their 2005 and 2006 reports.

 Presentation of the Mace

On July 29, 1994 Waters was challenged for making inappropriate remarks during a one-minute speech. She then ignored the Chair’s request to suspend speaking until the point of order was settled. Rep. Robert Walker (R-PA) rose and called out "get the Mace," to restore order. The Chair kept pounding the gavel and finally stated, "the Chair is about to direct the Sgt-at-Arms to present the Mace!" Waters then suspended, and the Chair was able to rule on the point of order without having to resort to the Mace.

 Opposed KTLA license renewal

After the Los Angeles Times published allegations of nepotism against her and an expose of the King Drew Medical Center, Waters asked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to deny a waiver of the crossownership ban, and hence license renewal, for KTLA-TV, a station the newspaper owned. Claiming that "The Los Angeles Times has had an inordinate effect on public opinion and has used it to harm the local community in specific instances," Waters requested that the FCC force the paper to either sell its station or risk losing that station's broadcast rights. Such challenges, according to Broadcasting & Cable, "raise the specter of costly legal battles to defend station holdings.... At a minimum, defending against one would cost tens of thousands of dollars in lawyers' fees and probably delay license renewal about three months." Waters' petition was ultimately unsuccessful; the station's license next expires in 2014.

 Los Angeles riots of 1992

During the Los Angeles riots of 1992, Waters said "If you call it a riot it sounds like it was just a bunch of crazy people who went out and did bad things for no reason. I maintain it was somewhat understandable, if not acceptable. So I call it a rebellion."

 Relatives' business interests

In December 2004 Los Angeles Times showed that Maxine Water's relatives had made more than $1 million during the preceding eight years by doing business with companies, candidates and causes that Waters had helped. Her reply was: "They do their business and I do mine."

 Involvement with OneUnited Bank

Waters' husband is a stockholder and former director of OneUnited Bank, and the bank's executives were major contributors to her campaigns. In September 2008, Waters arranged meetings between U.S. Treasury Department officials and OneUnited Bank, so that the bank could plead for federal cash. It had been heavily invested in Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, and its capital was "all but wiped out" after the U.S. government took them over. The bank did secure $12 million in Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) money. The matter is currently being investigated by the House Ethics Committee

 Confrontation with Dave Obey

On June 25, 2009, Waters got into a fight on the House floor with fellow Democratic Congressman and Appropriations Committee Chairman Dave Obey of Wisconsin. After the House floor had largely cleared following a series of votes, Waters and Obey split apart from a heated conversation about an earmark requested by Waters for a public school employment training center in Los Angeles that was named after herself. Obey rejected the earmark as violating policies against so-called "monuments to me." Waters revised her request to go to the school district's whole adult employment training program, so the district could decide whether the money would go to the school named after herself. Nonetheless, Obey let it be known that the earmark would be denied. She approached him and complained, shouting, "You’re out of line!" while walking down toward the well in the House chambers. Obey shouted back, "You’re out of line!" before turning and walking away, but stopped, turned back toward Waters, and shouted, "I'm not going to approve that earmark!" He again turned away while Waters huddled with members of the Congressional Black Caucus and was overheard saying, "He touched me first." before being escorted into the cloakroom. Obey went to talk with House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer when Waters briefly returned again, telling her colleagues, "He touched me." before returning to the cloakroom. An aide to Waters said that Obey had pushed her while Obey's spokesperson, Ellis Brachman, placed the blame on Waters for escalating the situation.

   Alleged gaffes

On February 24, 2010, in congressional hearings with Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, Waters, despite serving on the Financial Services Committee, revealed she is completely unaware of the difference between the Federal Reserve 'discount rate' and 'federal funds rate'.

 Earmarks

Citizens Against Government Waste named her the June 2009 Porker of the Month due to her intention to obtain an earmark for the Maxine Waters Employment Preparation Center.

     Committee assignments

      Caucus memberships

      Other accomplishments

  • Maxine Waters Preparation Center in Watts, California – named after her while she was a member of the California Assembly
  • Co-founder of Black Women’s Forum
  • Founder of Project Build
  • Received the Bruce F. Vento Award from the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty for her work on behalf of homeless persons.

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Who is Juaquin Malphurs?

Who is Juaquin Malphurs? The Rap world knows him as Waka Flocka Flame,[1] is an American rapper signed to 1017 Brick Squad and Warner Bros. He is best known for his heavy crunk, gangsta sound and single "No Hands" along with his debut album Flockaveli. To see more Waka Flocka Videos click here

Biography

Early life and career

Juaquin Malphurs was born May 31, 1986 in Queens, New York City in 1986. His family eventually settled in Riverdale, Georgia.[2] He is the son of Debra Antney, Gucci Mane's former manager and CEO of So Icey/Mizay Entertainment.[3] The name "Waka" was given to him by his cousin, after the Muppets character Fozzie Bear's catch phrase, "Waka Waka". The name "Flocka Flame" was given to him by rapper Gucci Mane.[4]

2009-present: Flockaveli

Waka Flocka Flame came to fame with his breakthrough single "O Let's Do It" in 2009. Waka Flocka Flame is a member of the 1017 Brick Squad with Gucci Mane, OJ Da Juiceman, Frenchie, and Wooh Da Kid.[5] On January 19, 2010, Malphurs was shot and robbed at a car wash in Atlanta. The bullet went through his right arm.[6][7] He is currently preparing his debut album and multiple mixtapes with Brick Squad.[8] His debut single is called "O Let's Do It",[9] which peaked at #62 on the Billboard Hot 100. His debut album, Flockaveli was released on October 5, 2010. He was featured on Lil Jon's album Crunk Rock on the track "Throw It Up, Pt. 2 (Remix)". The album debuted at #5 on the Billboard 200. He was named the eighth hottest MC of 2010 by MTV[10]. Waka started a rap super-group named Desperados which features Nipsey Hussle, Maino, Wiz Khalifa, Uncle Murda and Ra Diggs.[11]
Gucci Mane fired Debra Antney as his manager. Despite rumors, there is no animosity between the two rappers due to this event. In a MTV interview, both Gucci Mane and Waka Flocka Flame affirmed that their relationship is in good standing even though they no longer speak.[12] In early September however, Gucci Mane was shown at Flocka's Flockaveli listening party supporting his artist.[13]

Discography

Studio Albums

Year Title Peak chart positions
U.S.[14] U.S. R&B[14] U.S. Rap[14]
2010 Flockaveli
6 2 2

Singles

Year Song Chart positions Album
U.S. U.S. R&B U.S. Rap
2009 "O Let's Do It" 62 12 7 Flockaveli
2010 "Hard in Da Paint" 111 28 20
"No Hands" (featuring Roscoe Dash & Wale) 16 2 1

Featured Singles

Year Song Chart positions Album
U.S. R&B
2010 "Bingo" (Gucci Mane featuring Soulja Boy Tell 'Em & Waka Flocka Flame) 75 The State vs. Radric Davis

Mixtapes

  • 2009: Lebron Flocka James (with DJ Teknikz)
  • 2009: Shootin The Breeze Cookin That Fire (with DJ Cannon, DJ Banyon, & DJ Dyce)
  • 2009: Salute Me Or Shoot Me (with Trap-A-Holics & DJ Ace)
  • 2009: Salute Me Or Shoot Me 2 (with Trap-A-Holics & DJ Ace)
  • 2009: Salute Me Or Shoot Me 2.5 (with Trap-A-Holics & DJ Ace)
  • 2010: Lebron Flocka James 2 (with Trap-A-Holics)
  • 2010: Shootin The Breeze Cookin That Fire 2 (with DJ Cannon, DJ Banyon, DJ Effect, DJ Dyce, & Memph 10)


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Thursday, December 16, 2010

Who is Tremaine Aldon Neverson?


Who isTremaine Aldon Neverson? , The music and entertainment world know him by his stage name Trey Songz. Songz is an American recording artist, producer and actor. His debut album, I Gotta Make It,, was released in 2005, while his second album, Trey Day, was released in 2007. His third album,Ready, was released in 2009 while his fourth studio album, Passion, Pain & Pleasure, was released on September 14, 2010.


1984–2004: Early life
Life and career

Songz was born November 28, 1984 in Petersburg, Virginia.[1]Raised a military brat, Songz did not have aspirations to have a musical career as a child due to his shyness, saying "Singing wasn't a reality for me, until other people started noticing I sounded good."[2] He recognized his vocal abilities at the age of 14 in 1998.[2] Reluctant to sing, he began performing with encouragement by friends and family in high school. Record producerTroy Taylor discovered Songz during a talent show in 2000, which led him to signing a recording contract with Atlantic Records in 2002.[2] After graduating from high school in 2002, Songz moved to New Jersey to begin recording his debut album, though recording didn't actually begin until 2003.[1]

2004–2006: I Gotta Make It

While recording his debut album in 2004, Songz released multiple mixtapes under the alias Prince of Virginia.[1] One of the mixtapes featured an "answer track" to R. Kelly's "Trapped in the Closet", entitled "Open the Closet". The song gave Trey some notoriety.[3]
His debut album, I Gotta Make It was released on July 26, 2005.[4] It debuted at #20 on the Billboard 200, selling 40,000 copies in its first week of sales.[5] It has sold 300,000 records in the US, but was never certified by the RIAA.
Songz's debut single, Gotta Make It, featuring Twista, was released in March of 2005 and reached #87 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #21 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. It garnered success in the R&B/urban community but failed to make a mark in mainstream music. The album's second and final single, Gotta Go, was released in July of 2005 and reached #67 on the Hot 100 and #11 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, becoming even more successful than his debut single in the R&B/urban community and in the mainstream community. After promotion for his debut concluded, he was featured on the lead single from Twista's fifth album, The Day After. The single, "Girl Tonite",
Twista - Girl Tonite [Featuring Trey Songz] [Video]
Uploaded by AtlanticRecords. - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.reached #14 on the Hot 100 and #3 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, becoming a huge hit.

2007–2008: Trey Day

In mid-2006, Songz began work on a follow-up album to his debut with longtime collaborator Troy Taylor and also employed hitmakers Bryan-Michael CoxDanjaStargate (production team) and R. Kelly to help create the album. Trey aimed for the album to be more mainstream-oriented than his debut album.
His second studio album, Trey Day, was released on October 2, 2007. The album reached #11 on theBillboard 200,[6] selling 73,000 copies in its first week. It has since sold 400,000 records in the US, becoming his second album not to be certified by the RIAA. The album was going to be released on May 8, 2007, but was continually delayed in order for a successful single to precede the album, as the lead single failed to impact charts.
His sophomore album was preceded by the lead single, "Wonder Woman",

which was released in February of 2007. It reached #54 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but failed to impact the Hot 100. Because of the single's failure, his second album was delayed from May 2007 to October 2007. The album's second single, "Can't Help but Wait",




was released in August of 2007 and was released to promote his second album and the film Step Up 2 the Streets soundtrack as a single for it. The single reached #14 on the Hot 100, and #2 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. It became Songz's first Top 20 hit on the Hot 100, and helped to boost his second album's sales. The single was also nominated for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance at the 2008 50th Grammy Awards.
The third single from the album, "Last Time",
Trey Songz - Last Time
Uploaded by AtlanticRecords. - See the latest featured music videos.was released in January of 2008 and reached #69 on the Hot 100, and #9 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The fourth and final single from the album, "Missin' You", was released in May of 2008, but failed to chart completely. In mid-2008, Songz was nominated for a BET Award for Best Male R&B Artist but didn't win the award.[7]

2009–2010: Ready

In late 2008, Trey began work on his third studio album with Bryan-Michael CoxSean GarrettStargate and Troy Taylor and aimed for the record to be more mature than his first two. Before releasing his third album, Songz released a mixtape titled Anticipation in June of 2009 through his blog, which featured songs from his third album.[8] Another mixtape from Trey was released in the summer of 2009, calledGenesisGenesis was a collection of Trey Songz's first recordings when he was fifteen years old and was released to show his fans the dedication that he had to making a record when he was young.[9]
Trey released his third studio album, Ready, on August 31, 2009. The album reached #3 on the Billboard 200, selling 131,000 copies in its first week.[10] These are his best first week sales to date and the album was his first to reach the Top 10 on the Billboard 200. The album has since sold over 800,000 records in the US, earning a Gold certification from the RIAA in February of 2010, becoming his first album to be certified by the RIAA.
The lead single from the album, "I Need a Girl",

was released in April of 2009 and reached #5 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop songs chart and #59 on the Hot 100, becoming an R&B/urban hit but not a mainstream hit. A promotional single, "Successful",

featuring rapper Drake, was released in June of 2009 and reached #17 on the Hot 100, becoming Songz's third Top 20 hit. The single also served as the second and final single from Drake's EPSo Far Gone.

The second official single from his third 
album, "LOL Smiley Face",

featuring Soulja Boy Tell 'Em and Gucci Mane, was released in August of 2009 and reached #51 on the Hot 100 and #12 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The third single from the album, "I Invented Sex",

featuring Drake, was released in October of 2009 and reached #42 on the Hot 100 but #1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, becoming his first single to top that chart. Like the first two singles from the album, it achieved success in the R&B/urban community but only some mainstream success. charted within the Billboard Hot 100, and topped the R&B chart. The fourth single from the album, "Say Aah", featuring rapper Fabolous, was released in January of 2010 and reached #9 on the Hot 100 and #3 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The single has become Trey's highest charting single on the Hot 100 and one of his most successful singles on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The fifth and final single from the album, "Neighbors Know My Name", was released in February of 2010 and reached #43 on the Hot 100 and #4 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. A sixth single, "Yo Side of the Bed",
Trey Songz - Yo Side Of The Bed (HD) 2010
Uploaded by IDILIYA. - Explore more music videos.was going to be released in June of 2010, but its release was canceled due to unknown reasons. A music video, featuring singer Keri Hilson, was filmed and released, however.
Songz was also the opening act for Jay-Z on his Jay-Z Fall Tour in late 2009. The album was nominated for Best Contemporary R&B Albumat the 52nd Grammy Awards in 2010, but lost to Beyoncé's I Am... Sasha Fierce. On April 1, 2010, he recorded an episode of MTV Unplugged, which aired on April 26, 2010.[11] A documentary-series about Trey, Trey Songz: My Moment, began in June of 2010 to positive reviews and high ratings. The 10-part series will end in August of 2010 and follows Trey during his time as opening act on Jay-Z's Jay-Z Fall Tour in late 2009.

2010–present: Passion, Pain & Pleasure

Trey's fourth studio album, Passion, Pain & Pleasure, was released on September 14, 2010.[12] Trey began work on the album in early 2010 with Sean GarrettTroy Taylor and Stargate and has stated that the album will be his most personal to date. The album was completed in July of 2010. The album's lead single, "Bottoms Up",

featuring female rapper Nicki Minaj, was released on July 27, 2010 and has reached number twenty-four on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and was shared enough on Facebook to appear as a trending video onItsTrending. Its video was filmed on July 31, 2010 and is pending release.[13] Trey also filmed the video for the album's second single, "Can't Be Friends", on August 1, 2010.[14] "Can't Be Friends" was released as the album's second single in August 2010.[15]




 




Trey embarked on the Passion, Pain & Pleasure Tour on August 6, 2010 with singer Monica. The tour is his first headlining tour to date and consists of shows in venues that seat 3,000 to 5,000 people.
Trey also contributed the song "Already Taken"

You’re watching Already Taken. See the Web's top videos on AOL Video

to the Step Up 3D soundtrack, which was released on July 27, 2010. He filmed a video for the song, which was released in July of 2010. The leading lady in the video is former girlfriend and professional dancer Helen Gedlu.
Trey Songz appeared at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards on September 12, 2010.[16]

Discography

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
2008Queen of MediaDJ I.V.film
2009Lincoln HeightsHimselfEpisode: "Relative Unknown"
2010Preacher's Kid (film)small role
2010When I Was 17HimselfInterview-like show, about what he did when he was 17
2010Trey Songz: My MomentHimselfInterview-Documentary show, following him around on tour with Jay-Z.

Awards and nominations

YearAwardResult
2008BET Award for Best Male R&B Artist[7]Nominated
Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for "Can't Help but Wait"[17]Nominated
Ozone Award for Best R&B Artist[18]Nominated
2009Soul Train Awards for Best Collaboration "Successful"Nominated
2010Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album for "Ready"Nominated
BET Award for Best Male R&B ArtistWon
BET Award for Best Collaboration for "Say Ahh" w/ FabolousNominated
BET Award for Best Collaboration for "Successful" w/ DrakeNominated
BET Award for Viewer's Choice for "Say Ahh" w/ FabolousNominated

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Who is Luigi "Geno" Auriemma?

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