The IIIrd World

The IIIrd World is MOVING

2010-01-24T20:04:00.000-05:00

truth about coco......

2010-01-23T15:33:00.001-05:00

some new Kanye for ya >>----->

2010-01-23T13:02:00.002-05:00

The "What It Is" Demo just got leaked... pretty dope song, prolly still being worked out, doesn't sound like a final yet. needs more snare!!! big ups to 2dopeboz, as always... happy weekend errrbody.

Kanye West - What It Is (demo)
Download Here

Wale x Tabi x Raheem DeVaughn x Phil Ade x X.O. Haiti Benefit

2010-01-20T15:44:00.003-05:00

Untitled from Jaime Aquino on Vimeo.

Great concert. Write-up and IIIrd World photos to follow.........

Climate Change Building

2010-01-20T12:12:00.003-05:00

From Diplomacy.edu

WORLD BANK: Treasury Department issues coal lending guidelines

2010-01-20T10:58:00.002-05:00

Here is some great progress for the Treasury Department. We made these recommendations to Treasury a few months back, and it's great to see them put our recommendations into effect.

If you haven't read it yet, please check out the report we wrote on public international finance of coal-fired power plants, "Foreclosing the Future: Coal, Climate and International Public Finance."

From E&E News:

For the first time ever, the U.S. Treasury Department is preparing guidelines aimed at discouraging the World Bank from lending money to build coal-fired power plants.

In a blueprint that quietly appeared on the agency's Web site last month while world leaders met in Denmark to craft a new climate change plan, the Treasury Department calls on multilateral development banks to "remove barriers to and build demand for no or low carbon resources" that meet the power needs for developing countries.

It recommends supporting fossil fuel plants only if the banks are unable "after substantial effort" to help secure additional funding to pay for the lower-carbon alternative.

"The guidelines were developed in response to increased concern about climate change, a desire to strike the right balance between the goals of poverty alleviation and the global environment, and the need to be transparent," Treasury Department spokeswoman Natalie Wyeth said in an e-mailed statement.

Experts said the guidelines are essentially an internal Treasury Department policy paper that does not affect World Bank decisions. But it comes at a critical time as the bank tries to position itself as the main channel for billions of dollars in climate financing, and several sources said the guidelines are likely to cause consternation within the World Bank and among developing countries.

World Bank officials were not available for comment yesterday, and Treasury officials declined to discuss the guidelines in person.

Public funding for coal-fired power plants remains one of the most divisive issues for the World Bank. The institution has developed a new framework that calls for boosting renewable energy lending and screening new coal projects for climate impacts and cleaner alternatives. But despite a steady drumbeat of criticism, it has steadfastly refused to rule out lending for coal altogether.

The World Bank notes that it is primarily concerned with alleviating poverty. Dirty infrastructure projects, it and developing countries often argue, are sometimes the only way to bring energy quickly and cheaply to millions still living without power.

Environmental activists, meanwhile, praised the Treasury Department for developing the recommendations but pointed to loopholes in the language and questioned whether the political will exists to implement it.

"They're the first to issue this set of guidelines," said Athena Ballesteros, a senior associate at the World Resources Institute. "Doing that sends a very strong political signal that the U.S. is serious about helping support low-carbon development in developing countries."

But Ballesteros as well as advocates from the Bank Information Center, the Sierra Club and others told the Treasury Department in a series of written responses that the World Bank needs to account for the greenhouse gas emissions associated with its energy investments. The practice known as "carbon accounting" is the best way to integrate the cost of climate change into proposed projects, many said.

Bruce Rich, a senior adviser to the Sierra Club, said he questions the agency's definition of "low carbon," and noted that a World Bank loan last year for the rehabilitation of a coal plant in India was announced on the bank's climate Web page because the fixes were aimed at making the plant more efficient and emit less carbon dioxide.

"Of course, the lifetime emissions of the modernized plants would get an extension of over 20 years, a huge net increase of CO2, as opposed to letting the plants shut down as planned and channeling the money into true low-carbon alternatives," he said.

Agreed the Bank Information Center (BIC) watchdog group, "the implication of these policy loopholes is the potential justification for the financing of projects that would otherwise be phased out due to their obsolete generation technologies."

Yong Chen, a sustainable energy expert at BIC, called the guidelines "a positive step." But he added and others said the guidelines might have gone further in actively encouraging the World Bank to find and fund low-carbon energy projects.

"They are trying to push the bar higher without having too much trouble with the multilateral banks in how they're going to adopt them," Chen said. "It's not that useful, except for sending a signal."

The guidelines did not appear in the Federal Register, presumably because they do not affect U.S. government policy. Environmental groups said they met informally with U.S. Treasury officials late last year to discuss the development of the recommendations, and have been asked to submit comments.

Agency officials did not say whether they expect to revise the guidelines, but Wyeth wrote that the Treasury Department will work with other World Bank shareholders and staff "with the goal of operationalizing this guidance, recognizing we are but one shareholder."

Go Green?

2010-01-19T14:25:00.010-05:00

"Dream Reborn: My President is Green" is a powerful statement on its own. It also provides an opportunity to find and lift up more stories like it. In conjunction with the video, Green For All is launching a month-long multimedia competition to showcase the best video, song and visual art of the movement for an inclusive green economy. The competition will be decided by user submitted votes, and the grand prize will be $1,000 and a chance to have a professionally shot video to tell your story.

Here is an article about this movement and the organization from Grist:

America is struggling.

Families strive to make ends meet while facing an uncertain economic future. The deterioration of our environment - rather than slowing - continues to gain speed. At a moment when we need every opportunity possible, climate change threatens the lives and livelihoods of vulnerable people at home and around the world.   

We are all impacted by these hard times, but it is the historically disadvantaged - people of color and low-income communities - who find themselves at the point of the spear.

This challenge is the Civil Rights Movement’s unfinished business.

As we seek solutions and look for strength, it is fitting to turn to Dr. King and the movement he represented, a struggle for equality and justice.  

The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s shifted the hearts, minds, and laws of our nation. The solutions to today’s challenge must be no less sweeping, and our movement no less powerful, righteous, or relentless.

For all of his strength and grace, Dr. King was also the face of a movement of tens of thousands of people who struggled daily for a better existence. Their work was not glamorous; their courage didn’t make the evening news. But these ordinary people, their ordinary battles, are what comprised the Civil Rights Movement - and what changed our nation.

We are not without heroes today, heroes whose leadership is often as moving as Dr. King’s. President Obama is an inspiration to a grassroots movement - people who do what they can to improve their communities and to help America live up to its promise. But as we honor President Obama for his leadership as we look towards the anniversary of his inauguration, we must look beyond the hero to the energy and solutions that power his inspiration.  

Today, I want to tell you about another, less-acclaimed leader: Markese Bryant. Markese was born and raised in East Oakland. At the age of six, he lost his mother to the streets and his father to the prison system. Markese nearly met the same fate after being caught selling crack cocaine – but, given the opportunity, he enrolled in community college. There, he was inspired – learning from the Civil Rights Movement to build, not destroy. He learned the role he could play in his community.

Markese’s inspiration turned into action upon discovering the movement for a new, green economy. He learned about those bringing good jobs in the clean-energy economy to communities thirsting for opportunity. He read about solar power, urban gardening, and about energy-efficiency retrofits. He learned that these practical, almost mundane innovations have all of the glamour of riding the bus – but that these simple actions, like those of Rosa Parks, can shake the core of our society.

Markese is now organizing his campus and his community as a Green For All College Ambassador, talking about the opportunities presented by an inclusive green economy and, in doing so, helping to build a movement.

Markese, also a rapper, tells his story through his music. Today, he is releasing a video, in partnership with Green For All, that tells much better than I can the story of the people-powered movement for green-collar jobs - and how it builds on the legacy of Dr. King and the inspiration of President Obama.

Dr. King’s legacy is thriving, as evidenced by Markese’s creativity. Yes, the solutions to our problems look a little different now. Dr. King did not know green-collar jobs or the clean-energy economy. But the principles of equality, justice and opportunity remain the same.

This movement – the movement started by Dr. King, reignited by President Obama and exemplified by Markese – is strong, and growing.

The Coal Report: Coal Comfort

2010-01-19T12:09:00.001-05:00

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Coal Comfort - Margaret Palmer

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor

Economy

Gil Scott-Heron - Me And The Devil MP3 Download

2010-01-19T11:50:00.004-05:00

I NEEDED to have this song, so I found the MP3. Keep an eye out for the album next month.

Gil Scott Heron - Me and the Devil by treylord

Gil Scott-Heron - Me And The Devil

2010-01-19T10:11:00.003-05:00

On February 9th, the timeless Gil-Scott Heron (you may remember him from "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised") will be releasing his first new album in 15 years (40 years since his first solo album), I'm New Here. Here is a video from the LP for, "Me and The Devil." Video directed by Coodie & Chike and Michael Sterling Eaton.

Not only is the song smooth, soulful, bluesy, and spiritual, but the video is a dark and haunting vision of how we are all ghostly. His poem at the end is pretty deep.

Wyclef's Personal Statement on the accusations against Yele Haiti

2010-01-17T19:14:00.005-05:00

We haven't posted anything on the accusations about Wyclef's foundation because we didn't want to dignify the rumors, but here is his response.

You can still save lives in Haiti. Information about how to help (INCLUDING DONATING TO YELE) by clicking:

HERE

For the record, the writers of the IIIrd World have given to Yele, and we are proud to have done so. We would encourage everyone to do the same, just as we would encourage you to donate to the Red Cross, World Food Program, and many other great organizations helping with the cause.

presenting... The Half

2010-01-16T10:27:00.023-05:00

Dirt Dogg & JB are...

THE HALF

The Exclusive IIIrd World Interview and Album Download >>-------->

the Self-Titled Album:

1/2

1. the Daily
2. the Watchout
3. the Classics
4. the Process
5. the Dream
6. the Fountain of Youth

7. the Rotation
8. the Man
9. the Story of My Life
10. the Bar Stool Blues
11. the Push Back
12. the Blaze
13. the Undefeated
14. the Ride

THE HALF - 1/2
DOWNLOAD HERE

-- January 16th, 2010 --

The IIIrd World Crew sits down with the HALF for a short interview and chillings session to discuss their self titled debut project...

the iiird world: where are you guys coming from, physically that is?

DD: "The heart of Madison, Wisconsin."

JB: "Madtown, Wisco, Midwest."

the iiird world: where are you coming from as far as your rapping/beats stylin'?

DD: "As far as beats go, it's all about my Mpc2000xl and some dirty ass vinyl. Honestly, I've just been making it up as I go. I'm not really musically trained or anything like that, but I know what sounds tight. I think that's part of the reason people like our sound, you know the basic means, where it's comin' from. It's based on feeling and movement more than anything else. When it comes to rhyming, it's pretty much the same idea. I'm an on the spot type of writer. I think in both aspects you can see our progression on this album. From "the Fountain of Youth" where I was strictly gonna produce for JB, to "the Undefeated" where I feel like we were really dialed in. You'll see a lot more of that on our second project called "Pushin'", which is coming out sometime soon in 2010."

JB: "Dirt is the man when it comes to beats, he's always bringing something different and funky, shit that I love. My rapping style is lyrical word play combined with a story telling aspect. Right now the story I am trying to tell is the one of us getting started and us getting our name and product out there to the world...but it's basically just some funky party music that people can dance to and have a good time."

the iiird world: what might make you guys different?

DD: "I think it's the fact that on a lot of shit that comes out these days, cats are trying so hard to sound like someone, probably someone they're not. We make straight up hip-hop from the soul. We just make music, plain and simple. That, and our shit is funky, everyone loves funky shit even if they don't know it."

JB: "We stay true to ourselves and don't try to be something we aren't. We like good hip hop that makes you dance, makes you laugh, and makes you think. We don't take ourselves too serious, we just wanna make good music people like."

the iiird world: what other artists would you like to work with?

DD: "Mos Def."

JB: "In Madison: The Crest & Profound, both went to our high school, Profound is a good friend from back in the day. As far as anyone in the World, hmmm Talib, Nas, Common. Basically, cats who we could see lending their ears as well as vibing with us."

the iiird world: who are your top five MC's of all time? this is a tough one (other than Dylon Dylon Dylon Dylon and Dylon, I spit hot fire).

DD: "In no particular order, Ghostface, Rakim, Phonte, KRS-ONE, Big L. Did I say Elzhi? That is a tough one, damn son."

JB: "In order? Damn; Pac, Nas, Hov, Wayne, Talib."

DD: "Pac! Yeah, Pac shoulda been on mine. Somewhere."

the iiird world: favorite producers?

DD: "I'll say Dre, RZA, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, ANT, 9th Wonder. But, lately Black Milk has been on my radar."

JB: "DJ Premier, 9th, Hi-tek, Dre, Dirt."

the iiird world: anything else to say for now???

DD: "Can we smoke in here?"

JB: "This first album is pretty raw in production, hopefully this gets us some exposure so we can make the second with a studio tech dude who has worked with hip hop. Give Madison some love, we have a good hip hop scene and are just waiting for someone to get noticed so others can follow..........why not the One Slash Two???"

For more: The Half's MySpace music page (click here)

more to come, stay tuned here at the iiird world...

(The Half, live at the Annex Nightclub, 12/16/09. photo by K. Amato)

DMV Helps Haiti Benefit Concert at 9:30 Club Jan 18th

2010-01-15T14:57:00.003-05:00

D.C. artists are coming together Monday, January 18th at the 9:30 Club to raise much-needed financial support for earthquake-ravaged Haiti. Wale, coming off of two sold-out shows at the 9:30 Club earlier this month, will headline. He’ll be supported by other D.C. area artists including D.C. Don Juan, Tabi Bonney, Phil Ade, XO, Kingpen Slim, K-Beta, Que (formerly of Day26) – and special surprise guests will take the stage as well. The benefit concert will be hosted by Chris Cole of BET’s College Hill South Beach. Organized by DMV Helps Haiti, all ticket sales will be donated to the Partners in Health Organization and Yéle Haiti, founded by Wyclef Jean. The artists are donating their performances, the 9:30 Club has donated the use of the venue, club employees are donating their wages and the advance ticket sales service charge also will be donated.

Buy Tickets HERE

Twista - 911 (Freestyle for Haiti) & Kida - Prayer for Haiti

2010-01-14T13:08:00.003-05:00

911 (A Freestyle For Haiti) by treylord

Prayer For Haiti by treylord

INFORMATION ON HOW TO HELP IN HAITI

?uestlove & Ringo Starr Drum Off!

2010-01-13T21:26:00.002-05:00

Last night Ringo Starr was the guest on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. In a web exclusive that should have percussion fans and fans of good music in general salivating, Ringo and ?uestlove drummed together as The Roots continued to play after the closing credits. It's only a minute long, but clearly a drum-off for the ages.

What You Can Do to Help in Haiti

2010-01-13T19:16:00.004-05:00

Mercy Corps: Mercy Corps is deploying an emergency response team to the island nation. Donate here, build your own Mercy Corps fundraising page or add a Mercy Corps Haiti banner to your Web site.

Clinton Foundation: Helping to provide immediate relief and long-term support to earthquake survivors. Donate here. Text “HAITI” to "20222" and $10 will be given to the Clinton Foundation's Haiti Relief Fund, charged to your cell phone bill.

MADRE: MADRE is bringing emergency medical assistance and supplies, including bandages, broad-spectrum antibiotics, and water tablets to prevent cholera outbreaks, to areas in Haiti that have been hardest hit by the earthquake. Donate here.

Red Cross: Donate to the international response fund here. You can also call 1-800-REDCROSS or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish) or text "HAITI" to "90999" to donate $10.

Yéle Haiti: Wyclef Jean's foundation will also be on the ground. Donate here or text "Yele" to 501501 and $5 will be charged to your phone bill and given to relief projects through the organization.

UNICEF: Children are among the most vulnerable following any natural disaster, and the United Nations mission to Haiti was destroyed in the earthquake. Donate here.

Water.org: They work to provide sustainable sources of clean, safe water to under-served populations, and will be helping facilitate the repair and construction of new sources of water in Haiti. Donate here.

Partners in Health: The community-based organization is funding relief efforts. Donate here.

Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres: The organization is airlifting emergency medical providers into Haiti to treat victims of the earthquake. Donate here.

CARE: They are deploying emergency teams to Haiti. Donate here.

Oxfam America: They are rushing folks into Haiti from nearby areas; the organization has years of experience on the island. Donate here.

Save the Children: The organization is working to support families and children in need. Donate here.

International Medical Corps: This L.A. non-profit provides medical care in some of the world's most dangerous regions. They're on their way to Haiti. Donate here.

World Food Programme: WFP is already on the ground and has" launched its emergency procedures, which involve distributing high energy biscuits and other emergency food assistance to those affected." Donate here.

World Vision: The organization is sending relief supplies to be distributed in Haiti. Donate here .

B.o.B "The Biz"

2010-01-13T14:16:00.005-05:00

Here is a new joint from B.o.B going over the "Shook Ones pt.II" beat entitled "The Biz," which will be on his upcoming mixtape, May 25th, dropping in February.

May 25th is supposed to be the release date for his LP. Yes, it's confusing.

B.o.B - The Biz by treylord

Download B.o.B "The Biz"

NNeka - The Uncomfortable Truth

2010-01-13T14:11:00.002-05:00

The next Lauryn Hill? Love the Nigerian strongstress. The Uncomfortable Truth EP out now!

Her mixtape with J. Period is available HERE

Earthquake in Haiti. Please give support you can.

2010-01-13T11:12:00.005-05:00

This is important IIIrd Worlders.

Wyclef Jean shares some very important News for Haitians on Earthquake. Important news on how to, and where to help the people of Haiti who are suffering from a recent earthquake January 2010.

$5 to Yele Haiti, txt YELE to 501501

$10 to Red Cross, txt HAITI to 90999

Partners in Health at pih.org

World Food Program at www.wfp.org/donate/haiti

Sick! : )))------>

2010-01-12T21:54:00.004-05:00

DJ AM & DJ Premier NIKES

From KicksOnFire.com ------> "Since DJ AM passing, we have mentioned his Nike Dunk Hi x DJ AM on several occasions. Likewise, we have previewed the DJ Premier x AF1 collaboration. This time we are letting you know about a special edition two-pack release. Although both shoes will be available worldwide on January 9, 2009, Nike Sportswear at 21 Mercer and the Nike Sportswear at The Montalban will have a special event commemorating the launch on January 7 and January 9, respectively. At these events, the AM and Premier footwear will be enclosed in a custom two-pack box, paired with Serrato vinyl that hooks back to the colors of each DJ’s shoe. 100% of the proceeds from these launches will benefit the DJ AM Memorial Fund."

From Nike Sports Wear:

"Representing the EAST: DJ Premier

When it comes to the East Coast and legendary hip hop producers, DJ Premier will be named their turntable king. Adopting Brooklyn as his home, DJ Premier chose this icon of East Coast culture to represent his presence in the design challenge that was placed before him. Signature East Coast style, the Air Force 1 has been revered on the streets as not only a staple, but also as a name of respect in the city boroughs. Nike Sportswear Design Director Jesse Leyva worked with Premier on this shoe and he mentioned that, “Premo wanted to put his name somewhere on the shoe, but not in a loud way.” This was accomplished with a subtle laser on the back heels. Using the palette of NYC as his inspiration, DJ Premier colored up his AF1 in black, forest green, and white to represent the current styles of his city

Representing the WEST: DJ AM

It is no secret that DJ AM, aka Adam Goldstein, was not only obsessed with sneaker culture, but was also infatuated with one of the most celebrated of Nike Sportswear icons, the Nike Dunk. Coupled with his love of the brand and his affection for the Dunk, DJ AM rendered a classic in the most traditional form. Leyva said, “It’s crazy to think we hadn’t yet worked with DJ AM.” Taking inspiration from old school Air Jordan colorways and his massive collection of sneakers, DJ AM brings you the Dunk rendered in red, black, and gray. DJ AM’s passion for deejaying would only result in a shoe that has numerous references to his craft. Dot detailing on the back heel of the shoe represents the flashing lights only a DJ can see reflecting from spinning turntables. The black and grey colorway is a hint to the materials he used to ignite a dance floor. With the color red as the base, his DJ AM logo is embossed on the tongue tab of the shoe as the final detail."

new hot Drake song: "zones"

2010-01-12T20:09:00.004-05:00

Drake - "Zones" (produced by J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League)

(DOWNLOAD HERE)

I don't know why, but it's a purp day, ain't that right Drizzy...

Brother Ali - Good Lord

2010-01-10T16:45:00.000-05:00

Economist: Let my people stay - Why the World Cup’s Somali singalong rapper is proud of his kinsmen

2010-01-10T14:43:00.002-05:00

Economist:

THE latest African voice to resonate across the world belongs to a 31-year-old Somali singer known simply as K’naan. His hip-hop number, “Waivin’ Flag,” is poised to bring him global stardom, because it has been chosen by Coca-Cola, a sponsor of the coming football World Cup in South Africa, as the tournament’s anthem. It will be released in 150 countries and some predict it will even outsell Luciano Pavarotti’s rendition of “Nessun Dorma”, the cup’s theme tune when it was held in Italy in 1990.

Born Keynaan Warsame in Somalia’s seaside capital, Mogadishu, he is now a citizen of Canada. But he cherishes his Somali roots. Several tracks on his new album, “Troubadour”, have Somali lyrics. “Waivin’ Flag” refers to Somalia’s banner, a five-pointed white star on a bright blue background.

K’naan’s appeal is wide. He has been singing alongside the football trophy on its journey through 15 African countries. At last year’s South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, known as SXSW, he entranced a huge crowd from the cowboy state. “I figured I’d like it,” says an American radio presenter. “I just didn’t expect to see people crying.” His latest album was recorded at the house of the late Bob Marley, the reggae king, in Jamaica.

The Somali rapper says he suffers “something like survivor guilt”, thinking of the people he grew up with. Several of his boyhood friends were shot dead in front of him. He handled a machinegun and exploded a hand-grenade accidentally but says he never killed anyone. His family was intellectual and well-connected. His Aunt Magool was a famous singer. But as Somalia collapsed, he fled abroad aged only 13.

More recently he has stirred controversy by partially excusing the activities of Somalia’s pirates. He blames Western companies for illegally hoovering up tuna fish off Somalia’s coast and says that European criminal gangs have dumped toxic waste along it. Piracy, he says, is an understandable response. He told an American radio station that the pirates had at least had the effect of “cleaning up the environment”: on that score, he has a point.

In any event, K’naan says he wants to help unite Somalis. Fighting between the clans has been a cause of the country’s breakdown. For that reason he refuses to say which clan he hails from.

Were he to return home, that might not help him. The Shabab fighters who control swathes of the country have banned music. Some Shabab commanders have publicly whipped musicians. “They don’t like me very much,” says K’naan. A suicide-bomber might even target him.

For all that, he and his music are defiantly hopeful. Despite their warrior reputation, Somalis love poetry and music. K’naan thinks the Shabab’s austere version of Islam will fail. The country’s vibrant culture, he insists, will win the day.

WP Op-Ed by DREW BREES: Saints' quarterback Drew Brees weighs in on NFL's Supreme Court case

2010-01-10T11:08:00.002-05:00

I'm pretty impressed actually. Here is a thoughtful and articulate op-ed by Pro Bowl QB Drew Brees in the Washington Post:

As the starting quarterback for the New Orleans Saints, I am used to competing on the football field, not in a courtroom, and I rarely offer a public opinion on complex legal debates. But in a few days, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in American Needle v. NFL, a case that could have a profound impact not only on my sport but on all of American professional athletics. So even as the playoffs are beginning, I feel compelled to venture beyond the gridiron to share my thoughts on what is at stake.

The case involves a multimillion-dollar deal struck in 2000 between the National Football League and Reebok that grants Reebok the exclusive rights to make hats, sweatshirts and other gear with NFL team logos. What does that deal have to do with the ability of my teammates and me to perform our jobs and entertain football fans around the country? Potentially, quite a bit: The gains we fought for and won as players over the years could be lost, while the competition that runs through all aspects of the sport could be undermined.

American Needle is a small manufacturer of hats located in Buffalo Grove, Ill. As a result of the NFL's deal with Reebok, American Needle was excluded from the NFL-branded hat market, so it sued the league and Reebok. American Needle argued that the licensing deal violated antitrust laws because it restricted competition between businesses. The nation's antitrust laws constitute a fundamental part of our economic system and have protected consumers for more than 100 years, providing us with lower prices and fostering innovation.

The NFL originally won the case because the lower courts decided that, when it comes to marketing hats and gear, the 32 teams in the league act like one big company, a "single entity," and such an entity can't illegally conspire with itself to restrain trade. The NFL-Reebok deal is worth a lot of money, and fans pay for it: If you want to show support for your team by buying an official hat, it now costs $10 more than before the exclusive arrangement.

Amazingly, after the NFL won the case, it asked the Supreme Court to dramatically expand the ruling and determine that the teams act as a single entity not only for marketing hats and gear, but for pretty much everything the league does. It was an odd request -- as if I asked an official to review an 80-yard pass of mine that had already been ruled a touchdown. The notion that the teams function as a single entity is absurd; the 32 organizations composing the NFL and the business people who run them compete with unrelenting intensity for players, coaches and, most of all, the loyalty of fans.

I know of this competition because, along with hundreds of other professional football players, I live it every week of the season. I also know about it because in 2006, after five years with the San Diego Chargers, I became a free agent and witnessed firsthand the robust competition among teams for players. Thanks to free agency, I had the opportunity to sign a six-year contract with the New Orleans Saints, and for the past 3 1/2 years, my wife, Brittany, and I have been honored to live in and contribute to the amazingly resilient and welcoming community of New Orleans. We've been privileged to journey with our neighbors on the long road to recovery from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

I could choose to sign a contract with the Saints because of a crucial player-led antitrust lawsuit in 1993 that secured players' rights to sell our services as free agents. Until that case, team owners had acted together to control players and keep salaries low, while the popularity of the game and teams' revenues grew exponentially. Today, if the Supreme Court agrees with the NFL's argument that the teams act as a single entity rather than as 32 separate, vigorously competitive and extremely profitable entities, the absence of antitrust scrutiny would enable the owners to exert total control over this multibillion-dollar business.

What might the owners do? They could agree to end or severely restrict free agency, continue to enter into exclusive agreements that will further raise prices on merchandise, lock coaches into salary scales that don't reward them when they're promoted and set higher ticket prices (including preventing teams from competing through ticket discounts). These and other concerns prompted the NFL Players Association -- along with the players associations of Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League -- to file an amicus brief with the Supreme Court last fall, arguing against the notion of the NFL as a single entity.

At the moment, the NFL Players Association and team owners are negotiating over a new collective bargaining agreement, and the threat of a lockout looms over the 2011 season. Historically, players have made significant gains, such as free agency, by challenging the NFL on antitrust grounds. If the Supreme Court rules that the league's 32 organizations constitute a single entity that is exempt from antitrust laws, players will lose this important leverage.

In this postseason, my fellow players and I are encouraged and humbled to see that professional football is thriving in our country, even during the most dire recession in decades. Fans continue to express their passion for their teams by spending their limited resources to show their support. Every week during the season, players compete fiercely on the gridiron, and throughout the year, team owners compete to sign the best players and attract fans' loyalty and dollars.

I hope that the justices of the Supreme Court recognize and ensure the continuance of the intense competition inherent in this game, and in the business behind the game. As readers of The Washington Post know well, NFL teams such as the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Redskins are by no means a single entity -- just ask Dan Snyder or Jerry Jones.

Musings: Black Thought Dominates

2010-01-09T16:45:00.004-05:00

Have you guys checked out that Roots Mixtape trey put up? I've been listening to that a bit and one thing is clear: Black Thought is a beast. He's straight up eating people alive on their own songs. I was listening to the Clipse "Grindin", feeling it because it's what played at every frat party I went to freshman year, and then it happened...Black Thought started rapping. I thought to myself "he's not on this song, what's going on here?" What was going on was he was bringing the HEAT. I think even the Clipse were kind of pumped with how much he was rippin it. Watch it again and peep their faces: they love it.

I was never that into roots until the last few years, but i'm making up for lost time. Good music.

Giggs Ft B.O.B - Dont Go There

2010-01-09T10:31:00.002-05:00

Newest and the truest from UK rapper Giggs, featuring the ATL star B.o.B aka Bobby Ray.

Well people gon’ be people, ain’t nobody gon’ change. But we can keep it peaceful if we leave it the same. If you don’t go there, don’t go there, don’t go there, no, don’t go there…

Musings: A New IIIrd World Feature

2010-01-08T12:34:00.004-05:00

Sup readers,

My name is Tom and I will be joining IIIrd World to add some sick ass insight and hilarity. It looks like trigga trey and MTAk47 are more than holding their own when it comes to finding beastly mixtapes and thought provoking environmental content, so what's an additional blogger to do? Well I spent some time thinking about it and I decided I'm gonna hop on this train and serve some occassional and (hopefully) entertaining analysis of all things IIIrd World. So look forward to me discussing hip hop, the environment, well...mostly hip hop.

And if ya don't know, now ya know!

Late Night w/ The Roots (Mixtape)

2010-01-08T07:49:00.003-05:00

Christmas comes early and often. I’ve been wanting something like this for quite some time. A nice little collection of performance clips from Late Night w/ Jimmy Fallon compiled by DJ Heat. Ludacris, Clipse, Wale, Q-Tip, 50 Cent, Raekwon, Goodie Mob, Black Star, Public Enemy and more rocking with the legendary Roots crew!

While it would be dope if The Roots released something official with the soundboard recordings (ala the Sandwiches EP); this will definitely do.

01 The Roots – How I Got Over (Live)
02 Ludacris – I Do It For Hip Hop / Last Of A Dying Breed (Live)
03 Mos Def – Casa Bey (Live)
04 Beastie Boys – So Whatcha Want (Live)
05 Black Star – History (Live)
06 Snoop Dogg – I Wanna Rock (Live)
07 Ghostface – Baby f. Raheem DeVauaghn (Live)
08 Wale – Pretty Girls (Live)
09 Raekwon – Catalina (Live)
10 50 Cent – Baby By Me / Do You Think About Me (Live)
11 Clipse – Popular Demand f. Black Thought (Live)
12 Clipse – Grindin’ f. Black Thought (Live)
13 Q-Tip – Barely In Love (Live)
14 Goodie Mob – Soul Food (Live)
15 Public Enemy – Bring the Noise (Live)

Download Late Night w/ The Roots (Mixtape)

Check out the Legendary's most recent guest, The Clipse, performing that classic GRINDIN'.

Would it be wrong to call the show "Late Night with the Roots"?

Economist: Somalia's pirates - A long war of the waters

2010-01-08T00:08:00.002-05:00

We at the IIIrd World have been covering the issue of Somali piracy since it first became a major international issue last year. Here are some of the latest developments on the international efforts to control and understand them.

Economist:

TWO years ago Somalia’s weak transitional government agreed to let foreign navies chase pirates into its territorial waters. Since then, the sea off Somalia’s coast has seen an increasing number of warships mainly from rich countries trying—with partial success—to fend off pirates from the poorest. Ships steaming along maritime corridors in convoys are safer than they were. So the pirates are being forced to venture ever farther out into the Indian Ocean to seize their booty. This means that the remoter reaches are still very dangerous.

Many of the world’s most powerful navies are involved. The French and American ones have killed Somali pirates while freeing their own citizens. For the past year the European Union has deployed its first-ever joint naval force, named Operation Atalanta, to protect ships passing in and out of the Red Sea on their way from or to the Suez canal. Russia has an active anti-piracy mission, helping, among other things, to revive its rusting navy. China has asked if it could set up a naval base in Kenya or elsewhere in the region to support its anti-piracy patrols. The Japanese and South Koreans have sent warships to protect ships carrying their cars. India, Malaysia, Indonesia and South Africa have also joined the anti-piracy fray.

Yet the pirates are still hijacking ships and receiving ransoms with apparent impunity. In the past fortnight they have captured four more big ships. Two of them, the Singaporean-flagged Pramoni and the British-flagged St James Park, both tankers carrying chemicals, were nabbed under the nose of the foreign navies patrolling the Gulf of Aden.

The pirates’ methods remain rudimentary. They use hijacked tuna-fishing boats or local dhows as the mother ship, then launch attacks from skiffs, usually at dawn or dusk. They hold the crews hostage with machine-guns and semi-automatic pistols, then force the captain to anchor off the northern part of Somalia’s coast for several weeks until a ransom is paid.

The patrolling navies say they have begun to do better. Yet the number of recorded hijackings rose from 32 in 2008 to 42 in 2009. The average ransom paid by shippers also rose, from $1m to $2m. If unpublicised pay-offs are included, some by Spain’s government, the pirates probably earned around $100m last year. That must be shared with their financial backers, especially in Lebanon, Somalia and the United Arab Emirates. Well-organised criminal gangs in Yemen also help.

To avoid the patrols, the pirates’ geographical range has increased sharply (see map). Shippers must pay extra insurance premiums, even if they ply a course far from Somalia’s waters. A Greek-owned freighter, Navios Apollon, was captured by Somalis on December 28th, fully 370km (200 nautical miles) east of the Seychelles, which is more than 1,300km from Somalia.

Plainly there is no purely naval way to stop the pirates. Somalia’s coast is more than 3,000km long. They seem unafraid of the warships. If accosted, the pirates usually dump their guns and grapple-hooks in the sea. The patrolling navies are reluctant to arrest them because of the legal complexities. On the rare occasions when pirates are taken aboard, they are usually given medicine, water and enough fuel to go back to Somalia. Within days they will set off again to seek their prey.

The EU has signed a deal with Kenya to imprison captured pirates. But there are concerns that Kenya is asking for too many favours in return for embarking on what is bound to be a messy legal process. If the EU and other concerned countries could get the governments of Tanzania, the Seychelles and other countries in the region to agree to prosecute pirates in their own courts, the legal deterrent against them would be stronger.

The pirates’ main advantage is the lawlessness of Somalia which has long been enmeshed in a civil war. Western governments fear that if they were to send their security forces to attack towns such as Haradheere, a pirate haven, the Islamist fighters of the Shabab militia, which controls much of south and central Somalia and is linked to al-Qaeda, might be strengthened.

Besides, the pirates could yet prove to be odd allies in stopping the Islamists from spreading their jihadist net. The Shabab considers piracy for profit unIslamic. The militants violently disapprove of the pirates’ boozing and whoring. The pirates and the Shabab could yet fight each other, which might benefit everyone else. So far, however, the pirates’ wealth protects them at home. Somalia is one of the world’s poorest countries, yet a low-ranking pirate can probably earn at least $20,000 a year.

The EU says its naval force’s main mission is to protect freighters carrying the food aid on which Somalis have depended for the past five years, and has thus staved off a full-blown famine. Its next priority is to “deter and disrupt” piracy in general. The warships may also deter illegal fishing in Somali waters and the dumping of toxic waste. But they are a small force in a big sea. At last count, there were seven patrolling vessels from six EU countries.

In any event, some shipping people privately say that the effects of piracy have been exaggerated. It may still be cheaper and more convenient to pay higher insurance fees and risk being attacked by pirates than to incur the extra cost of diverting vessels around the Cape of Good Hope.

The International Maritime Bureau in London says that last year 22,000 ships passed safely through waters in range of Somali pirates, whereas actual attacks were in the low hundreds. The bureau also reckons that, as ships take more precautions, the pirates’ success rate will drop.

Most ships now steam along narrow corridors at night and at full speed. In the Gulf of Aden they are usually in a convoy. Many raise the height of the freeboard (between the waterline and the deck) to make it harder for pirates to haul themselves up the side. Others are poised to use sirens and fire hoses. Some American-flagged vessels now have security guards, though it is generally agreed that they should remain unarmed, otherwise the violence and deaths would probably increase.

Plainly, the problem is far from solved. As ransoms go up and get paid, pirates will think it worth taking the risk. Above all, they are sure to persist as long as most of Somalia, including its ports along the coast, remains an ungovernable hell.

DJ CHONG WIZARD: The ECLECTIC RELAXATION Mixtape (+American Ironman BONUS)

2010-01-07T19:48:00.007-05:00

A Proper tribute to A Tribe Called Quest
(everyone's favorite group)

DJ Chong Wizard does it again...

His 2008 release of Jay-Z + Ghostface, American Ironman (download here), is a classic. 01. Jay-Z - American Ironman
02. Jay-Z - Black Super Hero Music
03. Ghostface Killah - Hero or Villain
04. Ghostface Killah - Broad Day 'Em
05. Jay-Z - Comic book Dreamin
06. Jay-Z - Is this what success all about
07. Jay-Z - Pray For Camay
08. Ghostface Killah - Success @ The Apollo
09. Jay-Z ft. Beanie Sigel - Ignorant After The Smoke
10. Jay-Z - Blue Marvel
11. Ghostface Killah - Haunted
12. Ghostface Killah - Say Hello To The High Guy
13. Jay-Z - Sweet Controller
14. Jay-Z & Ghostface - No Hook, No Weep
15. Ironman's Theme

Now he teams up to bring Tribe lovers an amazing tribute.

(2dopeboyz.com) - "DJ Chong Wizard hooks up with Thick Magazine & KevinNottingham.com to present Eclectic Relaxation: A Tribute to A Tribe Called Quest. This mixtape has been a work in progress since last summer when a beat contest was hosted on KN for producers to recreate their favorite ATCQ tracks. Hundreds of entries were submitted and the best made the cut. Featuring emcees such as Del The Funky Homosapien, El Da Sensei, The Lessondary (Jermiside, Tanya Morgan, etc), Frank Nitti (of Frank N Dank), Moka Only, Bootie Brown and many more, Eclectic Relaxation is sure to give Tribe fans exactly what they’ve been waiting for… a proper tribute."

1. DJ Chong Wizard - Check The Classic (prod. by Complexxx)

2. El Da Sensei - Can I Kick It (prod. by LoKeyNote)

3. Del The Funky Homosapien - To Go (prod. by Bidimridim)

4. The Lessondary [Jermiside

5. A.B.N.G

6. Tanya Morgan & Elucid] - Check The Rhime (prod. by Bidimridim)

7. Muneshine Roshin & DJ Sonik - Steve Biko (Stir It Up) (prod. by Muneshine)

8. M.I.C. [MeccaGodZilla Junclassic & Monsta X] - Award Tour (prod. by Zup)

9. Frank Nitti [Frank n Dank] - Eclectic Relaxation (prod. by G.C.)

10. Jovi Rockwell - Gotta Get Out {Bonita Applebum} (prod. by Ro-Data)

11. Dre Biggity - Find A Way (prod. by Damar Davis & Fonkee1)

12. Moka Only - Push It Along (prod. by Moka Only)

13. Jeff Spec & Moka Only - Butter (prod. by K-Murdock)

14. Phoenix Jones & Big Norf Da God - Verses From The Black E.T.z (prod. by DJ Chong Wizard)
15. Phoenix Jones & Jis The Future - Jazz (prod. by Has-Lo)

16. The Googlenaires [Moka Only & Bootie Brown] - Skypager (prod. by Moka Only)

17. Donny Arcade - Scenario (prod. by Don Joe)

18. Dutchmassive - The Love (prod. by Remot)

19. St. Mic & Tomorrow's Yesterday - Pad and Pen (prod. by St. Mic)

20. Wax & EOM - A Date Called Quest (prod. by EOM)

21. The Movement Fam - Oh My God (prod. by Bidimridim)

DOWNLOAD HERE

ILLRoots + Okayplayer present: THE REMIX PROJECT mixtape

2010-01-07T13:26:00.004-05:00

ILLRoots + Okayplayer doing it again, dropping some funky instrumental covers of famous hip-hop songs. Track list and download below!

1. Tribe Called Quest- Electric Relaxation 01:47

2.	Snoop Dogg- Drop It Like It's Hot 01:12	info	download
3.	Scarface- On My Block 01:30	info	download
4.	Nore- Nothin 02:15	info	download
5.	Jay Z- I Just Wanna Luv U 01:02	info	download
6.	Punjabi MC- Beware of the Boys 03:26	info	download
7.	Soho- Hot Music 02:29	info	download
8.	Ol' Dirty Bastard- Got your Money 01:39	info	download
9.	Talib Kweli- Get By 01:59	info	download
10.	Outkast- Spottieottiedopalicious 02:20	info	download
11.	Big Boi- The Way You Move 01:29	info	download
12.	Ol Dirty Bastard- Shimmy Shimmy Ya 01:00	info	download
13.	Black Sheep- Choice is Yours 01:05	info	download
14.	Digable Planets- Rebirth of Slick 01:05	info	download
15.	The Foreign Exchange- Sincere 03:48	info	download
16.	Destiny's Child- Girl 01:53	info	download
17.	Elton John- Benny and the Jets 02:42	info	download
18.	Outkast- Prototype 02:29	info	download
19.	Missy Elliot- Get your Freak On 03:46	info	download
20.	Missy Elliot- Work it 02:26	info	download
21.	Amerie- One Thing 01:50	info	download
22.	Beyonce- Crazy in Love 02:24

DOWNLOAD HERE!!!

Best of 2009 Mixtapes

2010-01-06T11:58:00.011-05:00

The IIIrd World Blog Presents: Best of 2009 Mixtapes

2009 was a great year for hip-hop and the mixtape circuit...

We saw the emergence of many great new MCs; Kid Cudi, B.O.B., Drake, J. Cole and Wale, to name a few. We saw some young groups like The Cool Kids continue to shine in their early careers. Michael Jackson died (RIP), which sprung a series of pretty good tribute mixtapes by artists such as DJ Jazzy Jeff and Cookin' Soul, making for some interesting listening in the '09 summer. Of course, Jay-Z released the Blueprint III in September, putting some of the above mentioned newcomer MCs on display, furthering their rise. This showed that Jay still has a great ear for talented rappers and his willingness to pass the torch and acknowledge that he won't be able to rap forever (or at least probably not). This year gave us Kanye's mini-downfall (not a big downfall like Tiger) -- he needed a vacation but he's going to come back hard and I am greatly anticipating work from Ye in 2010. Eminem came back strong, as did Mos Def, Rakim, and no doubt Raekwon.

Below is our list of the top 11 mixtapes of 2009. Please let us know your picks and if you think something should be up there that isn't. Big ups to all of our readers, we started in 2009 too!

Peace.

Mark & Trey

P.S. - One of the illest MCs wraps 2009 up oh so well: Skillz – 2009 Rap Up | Mediafire

Our Best Mixtapes of 2009 list...

Gotta start with the honorable mention (apologies Wale):

Wale & 9th Wonder - "Back to the Feature" (download here)
Cookin' Soul - A Tribute to the King of Pop" (download here)
Lupe Fiasco - "Enemy of the State" (download here)
Mike Posner & The Brain Trust “A Matter of Time” (download here)
PacDiv - “Church League Champions” (download here)
Elzhi - "Leftovers" (download here)
J. Period & K'Naan - "The Messengers" (download here)
F. Stokes and the Dirty Disco Kidz - "F.I.L.M.: Forever I Love Madison" (download here)

#11) Chiddy Bang - The Swelly Express

- My mans'n'dem, Tommy Costello has reminded me that this mixtape was bumping all summer here in the district. It definitely deserves a spot in our top 11 list. Big ups Costello!

download here: Chiddy Bang - Swelly Express

#10) Okayplayer presents Kevin Casey's "Live from New York: 1994-2001"

- A very ill compilation of some of our all time favorites from a very solid era of hip-hop, big ups to Okayplayer and Kevin Casey!

download here: Live From New York: 1994-2001 (Mixtape)

#9) Cookin' Soul & Don Cannon Present: The Red Album

- Cookin' Soul teams up with the mixtape master Don Cannon, blending The Game and Jay-Z songs over some of the illest beats of the year. A great late 2009 release.

download here: Cookin’ Soul Presents: Game & Jay-Z – The RED Album

#8) A Duck Down Joint: Download the Right Thing

- Duck Down gives out this mixtape which is a collection of music from various Duck Down MC's; KRS-ONE & BUCKSHOT, Sean Price, Kidz In The Hall, Blue Scholars, DJ Revolution, Skyzoo, Naledge, Smif N Wessun and many more... a straight up sick underground hip-hop mix, very solid.

download here: Duck Down - Download The Right Thing

#7) B.O.B. versus Bobby Ray

- B.o.B vs. Bobby Ray, which has him facing off with... himself. Features on this project include Bun B, Kanye West, Asher Roth, Playboy Tre, Killer Mike, T.I., Mickey Factz and more. The first half of the tape is all B.o.B, with Bobby Ray handling the latter half. Sickness...

download here: B.o.B vs. Bobby Ray [Mixtape]

#6) J.Period and Q-Tip - "The [Abstract] Best"

- Amazing remixes and Tribe classics, laced with words straight from the Abstract himself. Great for any Tribe fan, they are my favorite group of all time and Q-Tip is a hip-hop legend. A must have, got me thru the summer...

download here: J.Period - The [Abstract] Best (Mixtape)

#5) Lil' Wayne - No Ceilings

- I don't have to say much about this one other than; if you don't have it and you are a Weezy fan, you aren't really a Weezy fan. "Wasted" might just be my favorite song of 2009, excellent classic Wayne.

download here: Lil' Wayne - No Ceilings

#4) Don Cannon Presents: The Cool Kids - Gone Fishing

- This mixtape shows off the many talents of the amazing Cool Kids, MCs Mikey Rocks and Chuck Inglish. The Cool Kids are a super fresh group and better yet, a more refreshing group to hit the hip-hop world in quite sometime. Their album is hot, their mixtapes are hot, I hope these guys are going to be around for a long time. 2010 should be big for them. Also, check out their Black Cab Sessions in London, hilarious. When fish ride bicycles...

download here: The Cool Kids - Gone Fishing

#3) Kid Cudi - Dat Kid from Cleveland

- 2009 was a huge year for Cudi. His album, "Man on the Moon", was a smash success, might be have been the album of the year. This mixtape came out in the springtime and served as an amazing intro to the summer months of partying, chillings and backyard grill-outs. I can't speak enough about Cudi, he's up there as one of my favorites. Wouldn't it be amazing if Kid Cudi, Lupe, Drake and J. Cole put some sort of group together??? Just a thought. Continue.

download here: KiD CuDi - Dat Kid from Cleveland

#2) Drake - So Far Gone

- It's very hard for me to rank these top 5 mixtapes of 2009. Drake came up in the rap world so hard in 2009, he proved himself as one of the most consistent chorus makers and straight rhymers of today. Drake is going to be around for years and "So Far Gone" solidified his spot as someone that is deserving of the spotlight status.

download here: Drake - So Far Gone

#1) J. Cole - The Warm Up

- A star is born... J. Cole lights it up with his complex and intricate flows over some amazing beats. This is a straight fire mixtape. If you haven't gotten into Cole, this will make you become an instant fan. There is no doubt why Jay-Z had him on the Blueprint3 and signed him onto his label, this guy is extremely talented. Enough said. "The Warm Up" and "The Come Up" were both amazing mixtapes from J. Cole this year, but "The Warm Up" has my vote as #1. If you don't have it, get it immediately and turn it up, you'll constantly be rewinding his lines.

download here: J. Cole - The Warm Up

Big ups to all of these artists and to Trey for getting The IIIrd World up and running. We'll be continuing the action in 2010, stay tuned...

Reflection Eternal... The Re:Union

2010-01-05T12:29:00.003-05:00

Reflection Eternal...

The Re:Union Mixtape

A solid mixtape to start off the new year... Reflection Eternal is starting promotion for their upcoming studio album. The mixtape is put together by Statik Selektah. Featuring new music from the pair as well as some of the classic Reflection Eternal cuts and some unreleased tracks. With featuring spots from Styles P, J.Cole, Mos Def, Busta Rhymes, Kanye West, Nas and more. A must download...

01 Intro
02 Reflection Eternal – Revolutions Per Minute
03 Reflection Eternal – In This World
04 Reflection Eternal – Hip Hop
05 Reflection Eternal – Back Again
06 Talib Kweli – Wishing On A Black Star
07 Reflection Eternal – Just Begun f. Jay Electronica, J. Cole & Mos Def
08 Statik Selektah – Come Around f. Termanology & Royce Da 5′9″
09 Reflection Eternal – Internet Connection
10 Reflection Eternal – Let It Go f. Dion
11 Styles P – Testify f. Talib Kweli (prod. Hi-Tek)
12 Reflection Eternal – Time f. Dion
13 Statik Selektah – The Thrill is Gone f. Talib Kweli & Styles P
14 Reflection Eternal – Can We Go Back
15 Reflection Eternal – Fortified Live f. Mos Def
16 Reflection Eternal – Chaos f. Bahamadia
17 Reflection Eternal – Express
18 Black Star – Respiration f. Mos Def & Common
19 Black Star – Definition f. Mos Def
20 Black Star – RE:Definition f. Mos Def
21 Reflection Eternal – Move Something
22 Reflection Eternal – Ghetto Afterlife f. Kool G Rap
23 Reflection Eternal – The Blast (rmx) f. Erykah Badu
24 Talib Kweli – Good To You
25 Talib Kweli – Get By (rmx) f. Mos Def, Jay-Z, Kanye West & Busta Rhymes
26 Talib Kweli – Back Up Offa Me
27 Hi-Tek – Piano f. Ghostface Killah
28 Hi-Tek – Music For Life f. Nas
29 Reflection Eternal – Hang Ups
30 Outro

Download Mixtape Here

Jay-Z "On To The Next One" feat. Swizz Beatz

2010-01-03T15:11:00.000-05:00

Holy shit this video is hott.

Jay Electronica – Exhibit C+ (Hasan Insane Remix) f. Nas

2009-12-29T14:36:00.000-05:00

from 2dopeboyz ::>

Considering the original is already epic, I would never see the reason to redo it. But Hasan Insane took the time out to flip the same sample Blaze used for something fresh. Blending a Nas verse in at perfect timing. Some folks will enjoy this (like myself), while others will talk shit til their fingers bleed. Either way, it gives me another chance to demand suggest ya’ll support Exhibit C on iTunes.

DOWNLOAD: Jay Electronica – Exhibit C+ (Hasan Insane Remix) f. Nas | Mediafire

Cookin’ Soul Presents: Game & Jay-Z – The RED Album (Mixtape)

2009-12-26T20:42:00.003-05:00

Here goes the latest blend/mash-up tape from the Cookin’ Soul trio. Hosted by Don Cannon.

DOWNLOAD: Cookin’ Soul Presents: Game & Jay-Z – The RED Album

The Apple Juice Kid x Battalion Armour - Beautiful Warriors 2: Louis Armstrong Remixed

2009-12-19T11:19:00.004-05:00

The Apple Juice Kid tackles another legend with Beautiful Warriors 2: Louis Armstrong Remixed. The project is a collaboration between AJK and Battalion Armour. Battalion Armour put together a series of six holiday videos featuring six women from six ethnic backgrounds posing to Louis Armstrong, remixed by Apple Juice Kid. The vids are semi-nude and a little racy (check them here). Says Battalion Armour of the project: "I chose Louis Armstrong to provide the soundtrack to the Beautiful Warriors for the whimsical nature of his music and its ability to bridge cultural boundaries with expressions of love. It takes a special type of sound to create the right mood for this ethnically diverse cast of women. The only producer who could give Louis’ music a new twist while respecting the perfection was Apple Juice Kid, who I first met while creating a video for his critically acclaimed Miles Davis Remix album." For AJK's jazz meets hip-hop soundtrack in full, follow me after the jump.

The Apple Juice Kid x Battalion Armour - Beautiful Warriors 2: Louis Armstrong Remixed - Sunshine by treylord

Joell Ortiz & Frequency - Road Kill [Mixtape]

2009-12-16T16:17:00.001-05:00

Good week for mixtapes. Helps, cuz I lost about 5 GB of my music when my old macbook failed, but luckily got a new one.

Joell Ortiz fed the internets with a few freestyles while on the road touring with Slaughterhouse and Tech N9ne. He was killing it with vicious song after song. Here is the culmination of all that, this mixtape entitled Road Kill. Joell's mixtape with Novel, Defying The Predictable, will be out in two weeks. Joell will also be releasing Pre Agent in January and his album, Free Agent, in February. As you can see the boy's going hard for 2010.

>>>Download: Road Kill

01. Ortiz In This Bitch (Produced by Frequency)
02. Soldier
03. Taking My Ball
04. Snake Charmer (Produced by Frequency)
05. I Go Off
06. Popular Demand
07. Run This Town
08. Make It Without You
09. Stalker
10. Vinnie Vega (Produced by DJ Green Lantern & 88fingaz)
11. On Tour
12. Big Money
13. 50 For The People (Produced by Frequency)
14. Crime Wave
15. Election Day
16. Happy Birthday Pun
17. Hello Brooklyn
18. Outro

Daily Throwback: Palin Rap

2009-12-16T12:52:00.003-05:00

This doesn't get old. It's actually funnier now.

"How's it go eskimos?" "Ice Cold!"

Stephen Colbert and Speed Skating

2009-12-16T12:20:00.003-05:00

Nneka x J.Period - The Madness (Onye-Ala) [Mixtape]

2009-12-16T09:31:00.003-05:00

The wait is finally over, as the Nneka x J.Period mixtape, The Madness (Onye-Ala), is finally here! Enjoy 26 tracks of the Nigerian sensation who is sure to sweep the nation with this incredible music. Features on the tape include M-1 (Dead Prez), Jay Electronica, Zumbi (Zion I), Rakaa (Dilated Peoples), Aceyalone (Freestyle Fellowship), General Steele (Boot Camp Clik) & Talib Kweli. Nneka's first US album, Concrete Jungle, will be in stores February 2nd via Yo Mama/Decon/Epic Records.

Download: Nneka x J.Period - The Madness (Onye-Ala) [Mixtape]

1. Can You Hear? (Intro)
2. Let the Madness Begin (J.Period Exclusive)
3. Wake Up World (Interlude)
4. Wake Up Africa (J.Period Remix)
5. The Uncomfortable Truth
6. Untainted Love feat. Damian Marley (Interlude)
7. Spread Love (Brooklyn to Zion) (J.Period Remix)
8. Human Rights (Interlude)
9. Changes (J.Period Remix) feat. M-1 & General Steele
10. Conscious Lyrics (Interlude)
11. Gypsy/Infamous (J.Period Exclusive)
12. Hip Hop Comes From Africa (Interlude)
13. Walking (J.Period Remix) feat. Jay Electronica
14. In Transit (Interlude)
15. Show Love (J.Period Remix) f. Rakaa (Dilated Peoples) & Aceyalone
16. For the Good of Humanity (Interlude)
17. God of Mercy (J.Period Remix) f. Zumbi (Zion I)
18. Suffri (Nigerian in Berlin Remix) feat. Fela Kuti
19. Perseverance is Character (Interlude)
20. Strength/Kangpe (J.Period Dubplate) f. Big Boi (Outkast)
21. Heartbeat (J.Period Remix) feat. Talib Kweli
22. In the Heart of Man (J.Period Exclusive)
23. Symptoms of My Madness (Outtro)

[ Bonus Mix: J.Period Dubplates ]
24. Mind vs. Heart (J.Period Dubplate) f. 2Pac
25. Changes 2 (J.Period Dubplate) feat. Lauryn Hill & John Forte
26. Walking 2 (J.Period Dubplate) feat. Nas

Nneka - Walking (J.Period Remix) f. Jay Electronica by treylord

The Roots – Late Night With Jimmy Fallon Sandwhiches EP

2009-12-15T21:32:00.004-05:00

Check this out. When The Roots enter and leave a commercial break on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, they perform small sets called “sandwiches”. And since joining the show in March, the crew have composed 1,000 of ‘em. This past weekend, drummer ?uestlove compiled 22 of them into a free EP. Can’t beat that.

Here is the tracklist.

01. Once In A Lifetime
02. Sizuuuuuuuurpin
03. Head Slicer
04. Spain (ft. Chick Corea)
05. The Juice of Chicago
06. Baatin
07. Woman
08. Choir Fire
09. Teen Town
10. Cant Keep Headphones on Head
11. Red Toe Nail Bashing
12. Blinded By The Light (No Douche Here)
13. Caveman for Dennis Quaid
14. Wan Cook Soup
15. Someone Is Late To Dentist Appointment
16. I Get Lifted
17. Werewolf Barmitzvah
18. Like This Anna Torv
19. Breezin (ft. George Benson)
20. EvenzarahlikesTHISone
21. The Suits
22. Usher In That Choir

DOWNLOAD: The Roots – Late Night With Jimmy Fallon Sandwhiches EP

Shaun Boothe "Poor Boy"

2009-12-14T15:02:00.004-05:00

Here's a brand new video from Shaun Boothe, the dude who brought you those exceptional unauthorized biographies of Jimi Hendrix, MLK, Obama, Ali, and more. Shaun just dropped his vid for "Poor Boy," off his upcoming album, Hip-Hop in 3D. I'm surprised there haven't been more Queen covers. I can only think of this one and Ice Ice Baby. Video directed by Chris G.

Download Shaun Boothe "Poor Boy"

Awesome video: Mike Posner – Drug Dealer Girl

2009-12-14T10:13:00.001-05:00

"Drug Dealer Girl" OFFICIAL VIDEO

Mike Posner | MySpace Music Videos

download remix with Wale here

Best D-O-double G-P-S ever...

2009-12-14T09:39:00.002-05:00

Snoop Dogg has voiced a new VoiceSkin for TomTom GPS driving navigation systems. The rapper can be heard giving directions and driving instructions on the application, which is available to download from Voiceskins now. Snoop Dogg has added his own witticisms to the instructions, which include him saying “Keep left ahead, and you’ll be bona fide” and “turn around when possible and keep it ‘G’, ya d-i-g?” As well as providing directions, Snoop Dogg has also recorded a ‘Points Of Interest’ file for the TomTom, containing the locations of places of special significance for the rapper, plus his favourite Los Angeles haunts.

FAIL: The Copenhagen Climate Change Conference

2009-12-14T09:11:00.005-05:00

Come on people, can't we all just get along; Copenhagen Climate talks come to a halt as African delegation accuses UN of trying to kill Kyoto...

by John Vidal and Suzanne Goldenberg in Copenhagen, guardian.co.uk,

UN and Danish hosts rush to repair rift as G77 delegate claims scrapping Kyoto would mean 'killing of Africa'

A delegate looks at a giant globe which displays the warming of the world's ocean in the US pavilion at the UN Climate summit in Copenhagen. Photograph: Anja Niedringhaus/AP

One of the two negotiating tracks at the UN climate talks in Copenhagen broke up in drama and confusion today when the Africa group of countries followed by other developing countries accused the chair of the conference of trying to "kill" the Kyoto protocol. They were also objecting to what they characterized as efforts to sideline the poorest countries.

The crisis was then exacerbated after Australia said that rich countries should suspend talks about emission cuts.

The UN and the chair of the conference, Denmark, tried hurriedly to repair the rifts as ministers began to arrive in Copenhagen for the high level political section of the talks. But after the talks were suspended for two hours, observers said that it looked increasingly unlikely that an ambitious deal would now be negotiated by Friday.

Earlier today, it was confirmed that the prime minister, Gordon Brown, will fly to Copenhagen tomorrow, two days earlier than planned.

Brown's spokesman denied the change was due to concerns that the negotiations lacked momentum. "The prime minister has re-prioritized his diary this week to ensure that he can put the time that is required into shaping the next few days," said the spokesman. "He is not seeking to push himself forward but he has taken a personal view that it is important that, if world leaders can, they should get there early."

In the next two days he will meet other leaders who have brought forward their arrival at Copenhagen, including prime ministers Kevin Rudd of Australia, Jens Stoltenberg of Norway, Sheikh Hasina Wajed of Bangladesh and Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia.

The confrontation in Copenhagen began when the Africa group called a press conference in the Bella centre. Seven countries, led by Algeria and including South Africa and Nigeria, said that rich countries were trying to collapse the Kyoto protocol.

This followed moves by Japan, Australia and other rich countries at the weekend who argued that a new single treaty had to be presented to heads of state to be signed.

Developing countries fear that rich nations will ensure that a new treaty will not place strict and legally binding commitments on the developed countries to cut their emissions, unlike the Kyoto protocol.

Victor Fodeke, head of the Nigerian special climate change unit, said any attempt to remove the Kyoto track would be disastrous for the talks. "Africa is on death row. It has been sidelined by some countries. If there is any attempt to remove one of the tracks of negotiations, then it's obvious the train will crash."

The African delegation is unhappy over moves by the Danish government

"This is of paramount importance. We cannot, we can never accept the killing of the Kyoto protocol. It will mean the killing of Africa," said another spokesman for the group.

"Right now we are going to lose everything. In one or two days they will tell us that we don't have the time to deal with Kyoto protocol issues." said Maria Mbengashe, adviser to the South African minister of the environment.

The extreme sensitivity of the Kyoto issue had been raised earlier by the UK climate change minister, Ed Miliband, who said today, "I am sympathetic to developing countries that they do not want the Kyoto track to be ended before new instruments are in place."

Later, in a fast moving series of meetings between Connie Hedegaard, the Danish climate minister, the G77 and other countries, provisional agreement was reached to continue the talks on two tracks.

"The developing countries have won this round," Lumumba Di-Aping, chief negotiator of the G77 (a group of 130 developing nations) told the Guardian. "Two texts will be presented to heads of state to sign. We won because Africa and other countries stood up."

Yvo de Boer, the executive secretary of the UN talks, said that countries would now go into an open-ended "conversation". "If we try to end the Kyoto protocol now or in the next year, then we face the risk of no second commitment period for 35% of the emissions," he said.

FAIL: the Copenhagen Conference's Carbon Footprint

2009-12-14T09:07:00.002-05:00

Tallying Copenhagen’s Carbon Footprint

By LEORA BROYDO VESTEL, New York Times

Johan Spanner for The New York Times The food court at the Bella Center in Copenhagen.

As the world focuses on the effects of climate change in Copenhagen, some observers are focusing on the impacts of the conference itself.

Despite efforts by organizers to green the conference – by using limos fueled by plant waste, serving organic food and tap water (instead of bottled), and offering the free use of 200 bicycles – the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change estimates that the conference will generate about 40,500 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. (By way of comparison, Denmark, the conference host, emitted 72 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2006.)

Most of this is the result of travel to and from Copenhagen by the 15,000 or so participants (not including thousands of journalists), but it also includes emissions that result from energy use at the Bella Center (which has nearly 80,000 square meters of conference space and enough telecommunications infrastructure to handle 80,000 simultaneous phone calls), hotel stays and local transportation.

Martin Nesirky, a spokesman for the U.N. secretary general, said in a news briefing on Tuesday that action is be taken to ensure pollution generated by the conference is canceled out – via an emissions-reduction project in Bangladesh.

“The Danish government says it is offsetting the emissions through a project in Bangladesh that reduces emissions in a brick manufacturing plant,” Mr. Nesirky said. “And the offset more than covers all the travel and emissions related to the conference.”

According to the Danish Ministry of Climate and Energy, the million-dollar project, made possible through an agreement between Denmark, the World Bank and Bangladesh, will involve replacing heavily polluting brick kilns with 20 new energy efficient ones. The kiln swap, the ministry notes, will cut more than 100,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year and “improve air quality in one of the world’s most polluted cities.”

Still, groups like Greenpeace say organizers didn’t go far enough in addressing the event’s carbon footprint. Tarjei Haaland, a climate and energy campaigner for Greenpeace, told the Copenhagen post that claims of being “carbon neutral” were effectively meaningless.

Live from the District of Columbia: new Tabi Bonney - "Duhhhhh"

2009-12-12T08:56:00.000-05:00

FRIDAY THROW BACK: Up Jumps the Boogie

2009-12-11T16:08:00.001-05:00

Here's to another good week and a dope song for Trey's house party 2Nite...

Google: Google unveils breakthrough technology to monitor deforestation

2009-12-11T09:01:00.002-05:00

New REDD monitoring system out of Google.

Guardian:

Tracking the destruction of the world's forests is to become much easier for scientists and forest managers, thanks to a software tool unveiled by search-engine giant Google's philanthropic arm today.

The software, which uses Google's computing resources to extract scientific information from decades of satellite images of forests, was demonstrated at the UN climate conference in Copenhagen. "We hope this technology will help stop the destruction of the world's rapidly disappearing forests," said a statement on the Google.org blog.

"Emissions from tropical deforestation are comparable to the emissions of all of the EU, and are greater than those of all cars, trucks, planes, ships and trains worldwide. According to the Stern Review – the report prepared for the British government in 2006 on the economics of climate change by Lord Nicholas Stern – protecting the world's standing forests is a highly cost-effective way to cut carbon emissions and mitigate climate change."

The UN mechanism to reduce deforestation is called Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (Redd), a system whereby richer countries would provide financial incentives to protect forests in poorer nations. For Redd to be successful, however, countries need ways to accurately monitor and report on the state of their forests.

In Google.org's prototype software, environmental authorities or NGOs interested in monitoring forests start with satellite images of their area and track how the size and shape of the tree cover has changed over time. The software can processes the images to extract useful scientific and tracking information about how much the forests have changed.

For the analysis, the Google.org team worked with Greg Asner of Carnegie Institution for Science and Carlos Souza of Imazon. Technology developed by Asner and Souza is used in Latin America to track changes in forest cover – but mainstream use of the models has been slow due to lack of access to high-quality satellite images and the computer power needed to carry out the analysis.

Google.org's solution is to enhance the Asner and Souza models using its own computing power. "What if we could gather together all of the earth's raw satellite imagery data – petabytes of historical, present and future data – and make it easily available on this platform? We decided to find out, by working with Greg and Carlos to re-implement their software online, on top of a prototype platform we've built that gives them easy access to terabytes of satellite imagery and thousands of computers in our data centres," it wrote.

Colby Loucks, deputy director of the conservation science program at WWF-US said: "A cost-effective and transparent approach for monitoring deforestation is needed to help pave the way for a global Redd program. If Google's system can be expanded to cover forests globally and access near real-time imagery, it can potentially be a powerful tool that helps tropical countries monitor forest loss."

Prince Ea "I Make Smart Cool"

2009-12-10T11:48:00.001-05:00

SMART = Sophisticating Millions And Revolutionizing Thought

http://www.makesmartcool.com/

Lupe Fiasco – Solar Midnite

2009-12-10T11:44:00.001-05:00

First sign of the apocalypse: Lupe on the New Moon soundtrack. Hot song though.

Mos Def "Supermagic"

2009-12-10T00:59:00.000-05:00

Long overdue, but we've got some more visuals from Mos Def's now grammy-nominated LP, The Ecstatic. Mos shines dolo in this new video for "Supermagic." Video directed by Dribblez & Weirdcore. If you haven't picked up The Ecstatic yet, I don't know what you're waiting for.

FP: Why is the World Bank subsidizing one of the planet's dirtiest fuels?

2009-12-09T16:59:00.004-05:00

It's been a while since I've mentioned the report I helped to write about public international financing of coal-fired power plants which can be see HERE. The findings are referenced in this Foreign Policy article:

With the U.N. climate change conference in Copenhagen getting under way this week, the pressure's on for world leaders to come up with some sort of climate agreement. Despite the appearance of a unified plea for action, however, not everyone is playing ball. And one of the shirkers is especially surprising: Even as governments are weighing tough choices to bring down emissions and cope with rising temperatures, the World Bank is financing -- and plans to continue financing -- coal projects to the detriment of renewable energy. In effect, the World Bank is sending the message that coal is not just an acceptable fuel, but also a resource that should be developed with international funding. It's a betrayal of everything the World Bank's member countries are supposed to be working for.

The bank's recently released draft Energy Strategy, which will guide its energy lending and influence partner institutions for the next seven to 10 years and announces its investment in coal, is very, very bad news. Although the proportion of coal to renewable energy is falling, the shift is too little too late. Back in 2004, the World Bank's Extractive Industries Review recommended that the bank "phase-out support for oil by 2008, and formalize its moratorium on lending for coal projects immediately." That was five years ago. Today, the World Bank strategy notes that "In some countries, electricity from coal is significantly cheaper" and the bank "could use its traditional financing instruments to support client countries to develop new coal power projects under certain conditions." Indeed, the Bank Information Center finds that bank funding for coal has increased almost 200 percent between 2007 and 2009.

But even if it saves costs in the short term, each newly constructed coal plant has a life of about 50 years, during which it will emit carbon; rehabilitation extends the life of the plant by an additional 20. So even as World Bank donor countries are fighting political battles to cut emissions, their dollars are funding new World Bank coal projects that will cancel out any hard-won gains.

It's hard to understand why "coal" isn't a dirty word in the halls of the World Bank -- an institution whose mandate is built on the idea of sustainable development. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, coal is the most carbon-intensive of the fossil fuels and is the fastest growing carbon-emitting energy source. Coal's share of world carbon dioxide emissions is projected to increase to 45 percent in 2030, meaning that nearly half of all new pollutants can be traced back to coal. Perhaps most outrageous of all is that climate change driven by such investments will disproportionately affect the poor, those who've had the smallest role in producing emissions.

Mining the stuff also wreaks havoc on the environment. Open pit, strip, and underground mines all cause severe erosion, leach toxic chemicals into nearby streams and aquifers, and push animals and plants out of their habitats. Coal is particularly harmful for public health. A 2009 Environmental Defense Fund study estimated that between 6,000 and 10,700 annual deaths can be attributed to the 88 coal-fired power plants and companies receiving public international financing, including from the World Bank.

Yet even knowing coal's blemished track record, the bank is not only subsidizing coal projects but doing so to an increasing degree. During the 2008 fiscal year, the World Bank and International Finance Corporation (IFC) increased funding for fossil fuels by 102 percent compared with only 11 percent for what it categorizes as new renewable energy such as solar, wind, biomass, geothermal energy and hydropower projects under 10 megawatts. On average, fossil fuel financing by the bank still accounts for twice as much as all new renewable energy and energy efficiency projects do, combined. Bloomberg News reported that thanks to World Bank financing, India's Tata "ultra mega" power plant will have the dubious distinction of being one of the world's 50 largest greenhouse gas emitters once it begins operation in 2012. At this very moment, the bank is considering a loan for the South African electricity company Eskom that would commit $3.75 billion for the 4,800-megawatt Medupi coal-fired power station, currently under construction. According to Reuters, if approved, this will represent the single largest World Bank loan awarded to post-apartheid South Africa -- and yes, it's for a coal plant.

Of course, the bank does know and admit that cutting emissions is a goal it should strive for. But its rhetoric and actions on the topic are mismatched. Whereas the institution claims in its Energy Strategy that it "support[s] countries in their efforts to shift to a low-GHG-intensity path," the hard data on bank support for coal paints another picture. For each thoughtful, renewable project that the bank supports, such as its $20 million investment in the Yemeni Al-Mokha wind farm, there is another coal-fired power plant or emissions-intensive hydropower project on the horizon.

What does this mean in the context of Copenhagen? World Bank-financed projects are a significant source of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, and they're set to grow. When the fossil fuels involved in the World Bank and IFC lending projects for the 2008 fiscal year are combusted, the projected lifetime CO2 emissions from this one year of financing will amount to approximately 7 percent of the world's annual CO2 emissions from the energy sector. That's twice the amount of Africa's annual energy-sector emissions.

What's even worse is that sustainable alternatives to coal exist. The World Bank could use its sizable energy investment portfolio (more than $7 billion) to promote low-carbon development that helps (rather than hurts) emissions targets. It could push the political consensus to do the same. But it's not doing either -- a failure of great magnitude for an institution that's supposed to lead by example, not follow the path of least resistance.

NYtimes: No Slowdown of Global Warming, Agency Says

2009-12-08T15:19:00.004-05:00

Here is a shocker: Global warming is real, and an acceleration of our emissions is resulting in an acceleration of the warming. Dinosaurs also predate mankind, and the H1N1 vaccine doesn't kill you.

NYtimes:

COPENHAGEN — Despite recent fluctuations in global temperature year to year, which fueled claims of global cooling, a sustained global warming trend shows no signs of ending, according to new analysis by the World Meteorological Organization made public on Tuesday.

The decade of the 2000s is very likely the warmest decade in the modern record, dating back 150 years, according to a provisional summary of climate conditions near the end of 2009, the organization said.

The period from 2000 through 2009 has been “warmer than the 1990s, which were warmer than the 1980s and so on,” said Michel Jarraud, the secretary general of the international weather agency, speaking at a news conference at the climate talks in Copenhagen.

The international assessment largely meshes with an interim analysis by the National Climatic Data Center and NASA in the United States, both of which independently estimate global and regional temperature and other weather trends.

Mr. Jarraud also said that 2009, with some uncertainty because several weeks remain, appears to be the fifth warmest year on record.

Addressing questions about the reliability of climate data after the unauthorized release of e-mail messages and files from a British climate research unit that provides data to the global weather group, he said there was no evidence that the various independent estimates showing a warming world were in doubt.

The news conference early Tuesday came after the European Commission reacted to a decision by the United States Environmental Protection Agency to pave the way for federal limits on emissions of carbon dioxide, saying it should give further weight to negotiations under way here aimed at crafting a new global agreement to curb greenhouse gases.

The so-called endangerment finding by the E.P.A. was “an important signal by the Obama administration that they are serious about tackling climate change and are demonstrating leadership,” a spokesman from the European Commission said. The finding “gives new momentum following their announcement of cuts,” he said.

Political leaders in Copenhagen welcomed the ruling, but they were quick to press the Obama administration to do more now to sweeten its offer.

Andreas Carlgren, the environment minister of Sweden, the country that currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, said in an e-mail message on Tuesday morning that the ruling “shows that the United States can do more than they have put on the table.”

Connie Hedegaard, the Danish politician who was elected on Monday as president of the conference, said in an e-mail message on Tuesday morning that the ruling in the United States “is a helpful step, as it could provide a larger degree of flexibility in the negotiations.” So far President Obama has signaled a cut emissions by about 17 percent by 2020 compared with 2005 levels. The White House also has indicated that the United States would contribute to a fund to tackle climate change.

The gathering of more than 190 nations in Copenhagen opened on Monday with appeals for urgent action from the United Nations and from officials of countries endangered by warmer temperatures, rising sea levels and other damage such as melting glaciers.

As the climate meeting got under way on Tuesday morning, inside the vast blocks that make up the conference center, environmental groups already were chanting in favor of preservation of forests and handing out symbolic cardboard cutouts labeled as carbon dioxide in the central area.

Representatives from governments said there would be further ceremonial events before the hard negotiating begins, later on Tuesday.

A major reason that hopes have risen in recent weeks is the expectation that Mr. Obama — who plans to attend closing days of the conference next week — will formally commit the United States to making cuts in greenhouse gases. The United States declined to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, a previous agreement on curbing greenhouse gases, because of strong opposition in the Senate and from the Bush administration.

The refusal to ratify the Kyoto protocol has left a lingering mistrust of the United States in other parts of the world. The finding by the E.P.A. is expected to allow President Obama to tell delegates in Copenhagen that the United States is moving aggressively to address the problem even while Congress remains stalled on broader legislation to curb global warming legislation.

Senator Barbara Boxer, Democrat of California and chairwoman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said that in light of the ruling, “the president’s appearance in Copenhagen will carry even more weight, because it shows that America is taking this issue very seriously and is moving forward.”

Over the next two weeks, the nations gathered in Copenhagen will try to reach what has so far been elusive common ground on the issue of climate change.

Delegates will try to hammer out some of the most vexing details attending the pursuit of a global climate deal. These include broad cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, particularly from big polluters like the United States and China, and a commitment from wealthy nations to deliver what could ultimately be hundreds of billions of dollars in financing to poor countries, which argue that they are ill equipped to deal with a problem they did little to create.

Several countries announced new emissions goals in the days leading to the meeting here, including China, Brazil, the United States and more recently India and South Africa. But many conference participants have noted that these commitments remain far too low to keep rising temperatures in check over coming decades.

The pledges so far are “not going to get us as far we need to go, to really stay within the two-degree limit,” Koko Warner, an observer with the United Nations University in Bonn, Germany, said Monday, referring to scientists’ recommendations that temperature increases be capped at two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels.

“We don’t want to admit it, because the consequences are so bad,” she said.

Timeline of Global Warming

The Guardian: Copenhagen climate summit in disarray after 'Danish text' leak

2009-12-08T11:20:00.003-05:00

Other than the news that global warming is actually happening (who knew?) this is the biggest news out of Copenhagen so far. It's not good. Seriously, this is fucked up.

Guardian:

The UN Copenhagen climate talks are in disarray today after developing countries reacted furiously to leaked documents that show world leaders will next week be asked to sign an agreement that hands more power to rich countries and sidelines the UN's role in all future climate change negotiations.

The document is also being interpreted by developing countries as setting unequal limits on per capita carbon emissions for developed and developing countries in 2050; meaning that people in rich countries would be permitted to emit nearly twice as much under the proposals.

The so-called Danish text, a secret draft agreement worked on by a group of individuals known as "the circle of commitment" – but understood to include the UK, US and Denmark – has only been shown to a handful of countries since it was finalised this week.

The agreement, leaked to the Guardian, is a departure from the Kyoto protocol's principle that rich nations, which have emitted the bulk of the CO2, should take on firm and binding commitments to reduce greenhouse gases, while poorer nations were not compelled to act. The draft hands effective control of climate change finance to the World Bank; would abandon the Kyoto protocol – the only legally binding treaty that the world has on emissions reductions; and would make any money to help poor countries adapt to climate change dependent on them taking a range of actions.

The document was described last night by one senior diplomat as "a very dangerous document for developing countries. It is a fundamental reworking of the UN balance of obligations. It is to be superimposed without discussion on the talks".

A confidential analysis of the text by developing countries also seen by the Guardian shows deep unease over details of the text. In particular, it is understood to:

• Force developing countries to agree to specific emission cuts and measures that were not part of the original UN agreement;

• Divide poor countries further by creating a new category of developing countries called "the most vulnerable";

• Weaken the UN's role in handling climate finance;

• Not allow poor countries to emit more than 1.44 tonnes of carbon per person by 2050, while allowing rich countries to emit 2.67 tonnes.

Developing countries that have seen the text are understood to be furious that it is being promoted by rich countries without their knowledge and without discussion in the negotiations.

"It is being done in secret. Clearly the intention is to get [Barack] Obama and the leaders of other rich countries to muscle it through when they arrive next week. It effectively is the end of the UN process," said one diplomat, who asked to remain nameless.

Antonio Hill, climate policy adviser for Oxfam International, said: "This is only a draft but it highlights the risk that when the big countries come together, the small ones get hurting. On every count the emission cuts need to be scaled up. It allows too many loopholes and does not suggest anything like the 40% cuts that science is saying is needed."

Hill continued: "It proposes a green fund to be run by a board but the big risk is that it will run by the World Bank and the Global Environment Facility [a partnership of 10 agencies including the World Bank and the UN Environment Programme] and not the UN. That would be a step backwards, and it tries to put constraints in developing countries when none were negotiated in earlier UN climate talks."

The text was intended by Denmark and rich countries to be a working framework, which would be adapted by countries over the next week. It is particularly inflammatory because it sidelines the UN negotiating process and suggests that rich countries are desperate for world leaders to have a text to work from when they arrive next week.

Few numbers or figures are included in the text because these would be filled in later by world leaders. However, it seeks to hold temperature rises to 2C and mentions the sum of $10bn a year to help poor countries adapt to climate change from 2012-15.

• For news and analysis of the UN climate talks in Copenhagen sign up for the Guardian's environment email newsletter Green light

VIEW THE LEAKED TEXT HERE

KiD CuDi - Pursuit of Happiness (feat. MGMT & Ratatat)

2009-12-08T11:19:00.000-05:00

The official music video for "Pursuit of Happiness" featuring MGMT & Ratatat by KiD CuDi, from his debut album MAN on the MOON: the END of DAY, in stores now!

Directed by Brody Baker.

WHERE THE F HAS THE NYT BEEN!!!???: Beyond Nostalgia, Vinyl Albums and Turntables Are Returning

2009-12-06T22:07:00.006-05:00

Beyond Nostalgia, Vinyl Albums and Turntables Are Returning
Andrea Mohin/The New York Times

From left, Adam Dean, Donahue Lovelace and Eddy Delahoz, all of whom attend the Institute of Audio Research, at the Best Buy in Union Square.

Article Tools Sponsored By
By PATRICK McGEEHAN
Published: December 6, 2009

At a glance, the far corner of the main floor of J&R Music looks familiar to anybody old enough to have scratched a record by accident. There are cardboard boxes filled with albums by the likes of Miles Davis and the Beach Boys that could be stacked in any musty attic in America.

But this is no music morgue; it is more like a life-support unit for an entertainment medium that has managed to avoid extinction, despite numerous predictions to the contrary. The bins above the boxes hold new records — freshly pressed albums of classic rock as well as vinyl versions of the latest releases from hip-hop icons like 50 Cent and Diddy and new pop stars like Norah Jones and Lady Gaga.

And with the curious resurgence of vinyl, a parallel revival has emerged: The turntable, once thought to have taken up obsolescence with reel-to-reel and eight-track tape players, has been reborn.

J&R Music, at 23 Park Row southeast of City Hall Park, now carries 21 different turntables at prices ranging from $85 to $875. Some are traditional analog record players; others are designed to connect to computers for converting music to digital files.

Rachelle Friedman, the co-owner of J&R, said the store is selling more vinyl and turntables than it has in at least a decade, fueled largely by growing demand from members of the iPod generation.

“It’s all these kids that are really ramping up their vinyl collections,” Ms. Friedman said. “New customers are discovering the quality of the sound. They’re discovering liner notes and graphics.” In many instances, the vinyl album of today is thicker and sounds better than those during vinyl’s heyday in the 1960s and 1970s.

Sales of vinyl albums have been climbing steadily for several years, tromping on the notion that the rebound was just a fad. Through late November, more than 2.1 million vinyl records had been sold in 2009, an increase of more than 35 percent in a year, according to Nielsen Soundscan. That total, though it represents less than 1 percent of all album sales, including CDs and digital downloads, is the highest for vinyl records in any year since Nielsen began tracking them in 1991.

Sales of CDs, meanwhile, have been falling fast, displaced by the downloading of digital files of songs from services like iTunes. Sales of albums on CD, which generally cost half as much as their vinyl counterparts, have dropped almost 20 percent this year, according to Nielsen.

With overall sales down, numerous big music-store chains like Tower Records, Virgin Megastore and HMV have pulled out of Manhattan, leaving music sales largely to online merchants and the few small, die-hard record shops scattered about Greenwich Village and Brooklyn.

One exception has been Best Buy, a national electronics chain that recently opened its sixth store in Manhattan. A year ago, the chain started stocking vinyl albums in about 50 of its stores, including one on the Upper East Side. Their presence, with their alluring cover art, still has the power to stun.

“Some individuals come into our store and they stop in their tracks,” said Andre Sam, a sales representative at Best Buy’s store on East 86th Street. “They don’t expect to see this. You can see them reminiscing as they start looking at the album covers.”

Last week, that store and a new Best Buy on Union Square installed departments, dubbed Club Beats, where customers can test out turntables and other equipment that DJs use to mix music. “They can spin, they can mix, they can scratch, whatever they want to do,” Mr. Sam said.

He suggested that video games deserved some credit for the resurgence of interest in vinyl albums and turntables. Popular games like Guitar Hero and Rockband have introduced young customers to classic rock and pop artists like the Beatles and Metallica, while DJ Hero has inspired some to try their hands at mixing music for real.

Not all of the turntables in these stores are designed to do anything so old-school as spinning actual records. A few models are still made for that purpose, many of them with cables that connect to computers so that the music can be transferred to portable devices. But others simply allow their users to simulate the manipulation of records while the songs they are mixing are being fed from iPods.

Interest from younger listeners is what convinced music industry executives that vinyl had staying power this time around. As more record labels added vinyl versions of new releases, the industry had to scramble to find places to press discs, said Mike Jbara, president and chief executive of the sales and distribution division of Warner Music Group.

“It is absolutely easy to say vinyl doesn’t make sense when you look at convenience, portability, all those things,” Mr. Jbara said. “But all the really great stuff in our lives comes from a root of passion or love.”

RE: What the article doesn't mention is the new digital wave of dj'ing, "vinyl emulation software", that most use for mixing and scratching now. I myself use TORQ, most dj's at bars and clubs use a similar program, usually SCRATCH-LIVE. For me it was a long time coming, the day I no longer had to lug around my cases and bags of vinyl records. Instead, all I need to bring is my computer, a little converter box and two pieces of "blank" vinyl. I can play any MP3 or audio sample that is on my computer, thru the converter box and on to vinyl records that spin on my Numark TTX turntables. This has transformed my, and other dj's ability to have a absolutely huge library of tunes to rock a party with. I don't know the science of it all, but it's insanely amazing and will blow you away IF you've never heard of it before. PEACE

Common - Misunderstood

2009-12-03T09:24:00.002-05:00

It's been out for a while, but flew under the radar for most. Really feeling this song. Love that Nina Simone.

There isn't an official video, but here is the full song:

Grist: Annie Leonard misses the mark in her new video, “The Story of Cap-and-Trade”

2009-12-02T11:28:00.003-05:00

The Story of Cap & Trade from Story of Stuff Project on Vimeo.

I posted this video the other day about Cap and Trade, and said that it oversimplified the issues.

Here is a more complete explanation of what's wrong with this video from Grist:

The greenosphere is all abuzz about a new video from Annie Leonard, creator of semi-famous anti-consumerism video/book The Story of Stuff. It’s being billed as a definitive debunking of cap-and-trade, but it’s more like a perfect representation of all the confusion and misplaced focus that plagues the green left right now.

Now, I suppose I’m generally viewed among greens as a defender of cap-and-trade—or, in the less charitable version, a defender of the “party line,” a shill for the administration, a sell-out “insider,” whatever. A “pro” in the “pro vs. anti cap-and-trade” argument. But that’s not how I see it. It’s more that I think it’s the wrong argument. Activists like Leonard are just mis-identifying the barriers to effective climate action. I’ll have lots more to say on that subject soon, but for now, let’s focus on the video.

The Story of Cap & Trade

The video contains four basic arguments against cap-and-trade:

1. Allowance giveaways are bad. This is true. It would be better to auction 100% of the pollution allowances and use the revenue to invest in clean energy and protect consumers. The bill in Congress gives away too many allowances (Leonard elides the fact that the bulk of them are devoted to consumer protection, though it’s open to debate whether they’ll be used that way, and some Senators are pushing for more giveaways).

The most obvious solution to this is to give away fewer allowances. Yet Leonard and crew imply that allowance giveaways are inherent to cap-and-trade and the only solution is to ditch it. They imply that other “real” solutions would somehow be immune to polluters seeking loopholes and special favors, but never explain why.

The allowance giveaways in the climate bill reflect the power of the fossil fuel lobby. Switching policies would not diminish that power. Reduce that power and any climate policy gets better. The policy isn’t the problem; the power of the fossil fuel lobby is.

2. Offsets are bad. Leonard’s “argument” against offsets, if it can be called that, is fairly typical for this genre. She highlights a few ridiculous-sounding projects from the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), implicitly conflates those projects and the CDM with offsets generally, and then concludes, based on the anecdotes, that offsets are bad and they make cap-and-trade toothless.

The reality is far more complex. The quality of offset projects varies widely, as do enforcement mechanisms. The bill in Congress actually contains some fairly stringent measures for policing offsets. Many people close to international policy negotiations believe that high-quality offsets are a vital measure enabling a stronger international treaty. (See Glenn Hurowitz.) Many think that emissions reductions will prove cheap enough that offsets won’t be extensively utilized in early years. Others think that moving emission reductions overseas short-sells the clean energy revolution needed here in the U.S.

These are complex topics, and they’re not well-served by the simplistic, hand-waving dismissal of offsets in Leonard’s video. Regardless, if you think offsets are a problem, the obvious solution is to reduce the number of offsets. But again, Leonard and crew pretend that offsets are inherent to cap-and-trade and the only solution is to ditch it. Again, they pretend that “real” solutions would be immune to similar loopholes and giveaways.

One more time, from the top: The number of offsets in the climate bill reflects the power of the fossil fuel lobby (and the common impression that reducing emissions will be costly). Switching policies would not diminish that power (or that impression). The policy isn’t the problem; the power of the fossil fuel lobby is.

3. Carbon markets are bad. I hesitate to call this an “argument” in the video, since it mainly consists of using the words “Enron,” “bubble,”“Wall Street,” and “scam” suggestively, without saying anything at all specific about why this commodity market—which would be one of any number of commodity markets, most of which work perfectly well, including the carbon market in Europe—would be uniquely evil. I’m with Kevin Drum: there’s no meat here. I’ve never seen anything to this argument but the kind of suggestive handwaving that’s in the video. I don’t know why the green left has decided that markets are bad, in and of themselves, but it seems both politically unwise and substantively thin.

It’s certainly true that certain financial instruments should be eliminated or regulated more heavily; this is true for financial markets in general. There’s some fairly strong language in the bill about regulating carbon markets; that language will likely be folded into the larger financial market reforms that the Senate will address soon. But no one, outside this narrow topic, is suggesting that markets should be abolished!

Remember, trading of allowances is the feature of cap-and-trade that makes it more flexible than a flat tax that applies to all entities equally. This was always the argument for C&T over a tax. Instead of rebutting that argument, Leonard et al. seem instead to have decided that “market Goldman Sachs derivatives bugga bugga!” suffices.

4. Cap-and-trade is a “distraction” from “real solutions.” Of all the arguments, this is, forgive my bluntness, the silliest. The idea is that cap-and-trade has (for reasons never explained) magically come to dominate the policy conversation and made people forget about other options. “Cap-and-trade makes citizens think everything will be OK if we just drive a little less, change our light bulbs, and let These Guys do the rest.” Whaaat? It does? Any empirical evidence for this? Polls? Surveys? Anything? Honestly, it’s a depressing hallmark of liberalism to view progress—or the impression of progress—as a deflating force. Over on the other side of the aisle, they’re constantly declaring victory. Why do we think they do that? Does it seem to be de-motivating the conservative base?

First of all, there are reasons cap-and-trade has garnered the most support, but C&T bashers are so busy attacking a caricature they can’t see them. Second of all, what is the sociopsychological theory here supposed to be? If we just stopped talking about cap-and-trade, everyone would wake, as though from mysterious trance, and start talking about “real” solutions? The only reason the world hasn’t come together around tough measures that would financially damage fossil fuel companies is that the world’s citizens are, like kittens, distracted by the shiny cap-and-trade bauble?

This is the worst feature of the C&T bashers (and carbon tax advocates): their utter political naivete and Romanticism. There’s no plausible story about power here, and no real effort to tell one. It’s just: “Once everyone hears our clever arguments, the world will unite around Real Solutions!” It’s irresponsible.

The video concludes by saying, “the next time somebody tells you cap-and-trade is the best we’re going to get, don’t believe them.” But why not? Literally nothing in the video even addresses that point! It’s a fundamentally political point that the video just wishes away. At this point the green left desperately needs less Mead and more Machiavelli. Unless greens get serious about identifying the loci of political and financial power, identifying ways to block or leverage that power, and building power of their own, they’re going to lose. Policy arguments are more-or-less orthogonal to that important undertaking, not a substitute for it.

———

There are also some straight-up errors in the video. Europe’s trading system is working, despite relentless hype to the contrary. Any program that caps and reduces CO2 would help those hurt by climate change, even if the money was distributed inequitably. The Clean Air Act does not enable EPA to “cap” carbon the same way cap-and-trade does, and would not serve as an equally effective substitute for a cap. Etc etc.

But my larger critique is that the video, and the bashing of cap-and-trade generally, just misses the point. I’ve got longer posts on this coming up, but here’s a capsule summary: it’s clear that politics as currently constituted, particularly in the U.S., will not tolerate a high price on carbon. So we’re going to end up with a fairly low price, hopefully with mechanisms to automatically raise it over time. A different carbon pricing mechanism won’t solve that problem.

The smart response would be to secure the low-and-rising carbon price and then start pushing other emission reduction policies, namely sector-specific regulations, industrial policies focused on capacity building, and large-scale investments in RD&D. If all the C&T bashers would turn their energy in that direction, we’d be having a much more productive conversation. Instead they’re echoing arguments from Exxon and Don Blankenship, vaguely hoping that if cap-and-trade is politically destroyed, a herd of ponies will thunder in to replace it. Once and for all: there are no ponies.

Emilio Rojas - The Natural [Mixtape]

2009-12-01T20:29:00.004-05:00

So I was listening to my "Recently Added" playlist on my Ipod today, and every other song sounded like a new Talib Kweli album that I didn't remember downloading. I checked it out, and it was Emilio Rojas, a mixtape I had downloaded last week to check out. I'm gonna vouch for this guy. It is damn good. Learn is name, and download this mixtape.

The Natural, presented by DJ Green Lantern, has arrived. Mixtape is used loosely here, because this one plays like an LP. Production on the tape is handled by Keelay & Zaire, DJ Green Lantern, Sean C & LV, BOI-1DA, M-Phazes, Nottz, and more.

Download: Emilio Rojas - The Natural

The Story of Cap & Trade - Think It's Not a Financial Racket, Think Again

2009-12-01T11:13:00.002-05:00

The Story of Cap & Trade from Story of Stuff Project on Vimeo.

While she's right about the problems, compromising to get the caps in place is the only solution that is negotiable, and will help the developing world with trading REDD credits.

BBC: Iran issues warning over UK yacht crew

2009-12-01T11:00:00.004-05:00

BBC:

An Iranian official has said "serious" measures will be taken against a UK yacht crew if it is proved they had "evil intentions".

The five Britons are being detained by the Iranian navy after the Volvo 60 yacht was stopped on 25 November.

The Foreign Office said Luke Porter, Oliver Smith, David Bloomer, Oliver Young and Sam Usher may have "strayed inadvertently into Iranian waters".

The Team Pindar-backed yacht was sailing from Bahrain to Dubai.

Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaie, President Ahmadinejad's head of staff, told Iran's Fars news agency: "Judiciary will decide about the five... naturally our measures will be hard and serious if we find out they had evil intentions."

Foreign Secretary David Miliband said he was expecting the Iranians to make a statement later on Tuesday.

He also said he hoped the matter would be resolved "soon" and that there was "no confrontation or argument".

Mr Miliband said: "This is a human story of five young yachtsmen. It's got nothing to do with politics, it's got nothing to do with nuclear enrichment programmes... it has no relationship to any of the other, bigger issues."

He added: "They were going about their sport and it seems they may have strayed inadvertently into Iranian waters."

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) says it believes the five sailors are being held on the island of Sirri. It said it was seeking confirmation of this from the Iranian authorities. The sailors are understood to be safe and well.

The Iranian Ambassador is due to come to the Foreign Office later to meet with the FCO's top civil servant and permanent under secretary, Peter Ricketts.

Dubai-Muscat Offshore Race organisers said the crew of the Kingdom of Bahrain yacht, who were preparing for a race, may have been "drifting" after experiencing propeller problems.

Louay Habib, from the Dubai Offshore Sailing Club, told the BBC the shore crew for the boat had said "there was no wind at the time, and they told us that they were organising for a tow to come and get them".

He added: "It's purely speculation but they would have probably been drifting... in 10 hours they could well have strayed into Iranian waters."

David Young, said his 21-year-old son, Oliver, was a "fanatical yachtsman" with a great deal of experience and that he was certain his son would be able to "cope with this very well".

But Charles Porter, of Weston-super-Mare, who is the father of 21-year-old Luke, said he and his wife Beverley were concerned.

He said: "We are holding things together as a family at the moment. I haven't spoken to him since yesterday. He was as good as can be expected."

The fiancee of Sam Usher, 26, Nicola Drayton, said: "It's difficult but you just get on, you have no choice."

Of the remaining two captives, Mr Smith, 31, is an engineer from Southampton and his teammate Mr Bloomer is said to work as a sports broadcaster in Bahrain.

The FCO said the men had been on their way to take part in the Dubai-Muscat race.

The British Embassy in Tehran is demanding the immediate release of the five but has so far only had indirect contact with the crew members.

It is thought the Eid holiday could have delayed proceedings in Iran.

FCO officials have spoken with Iran's ministry of foreign affairs and the Iranian embassy in the UK, while Mr Miliband has asked for a phone conversation with his opposite number in Tehran.

The BBC's diplomatic correspondent Bridget Kendall said the FCO had wanted to keep the matter "private" in order to increase the chance of a resolution.

But after five days the details emerged and they had no option but to confirm the story.

Our correspondent said the timing was awkward, coming after the UK condemned Iran's plan to extend its nuclear programme.

The government feared Iran might see the detention as an opportunity for "extra leverage" in relation to the nuclear dispute, she added.

The 360-nautical mile Dubai-Muscat Offshore Sailing Race began on 26 November and ended two days later in the Omani capital's Bandar Al-Rawdah marina.

The Kingdom of Bahrain yacht is owned by the Sail Bahrain project, which aims to promote the island as a yachting destination and was recently launched by Team Pindar.

Team Pindar is owned by G A Pindar & Son Ltd, a family-owned print and publishing business based in Scarborough, North Yorkshire.

In a statement, Team Pindar confirmed Kingdom of Bahrain was stopped by Iranian navy vessels, as it headed to the start of the race.

It is not the first time British sailors have been detained after being accused of straying into Iranian waters.

In March 2007 there was a prolonged stand-off between the UK and Iran after a 15-strong Royal Navy crew was detained by Iran's Revolutionary Guard.

And in 2004, eight British servicemen were held in Iran after being seized in the Shatt al-Arab waterway, where they were training the Iraqi river patrol service.

In both instances, the crews were paraded on television by the Iranian authorities and Bridget Kendall said British diplomats are worried it might happen again in the latest case.

IRAN'S MARITIME CLAIMS
# In 1993 Iran informed the UN of its claims over a territorial sea, a contiguous zone and an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) extending to the continental shelf. Territorial sea: Iran claims sovereignty over a belt of sea, measured 12 nautical miles from its baseline. This extends to the air space above it as well as to its bed and subsoil
# Contiguous zone: An area adjacent to the territorial sea with an outer limit of 24 nautical miles from the baseline. The Iranian government claims the right to take steps to prevent the infringement of laws and regulations
# EEZ and the continental shelf boundary: Within the EEZ, which extends out to the continental shelf line, Iran claims exclusive rights to all natural resources, research and the building of structures. Source: Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, US Department of State

Friday The 13th: A Night with The Cool Kids & Mos Def

2009-11-30T20:30:00.001-05:00

FRIDAY THE 13th: A NIGHT WITH THE COOL KIDS and MOS DEF from Creative Control on Vimeo.

Last Friday, Creative Control.Tv launched (along with the BlakRoc album). Already there's some pretty interesting ish over there. One being this trailer for, Friday The 13th: A Night with The Cool Kids & Mos Def. Watch as The Cool Kids run the streets of NYC, hang out at the DD172 space, chill with Mos Def, craft some beats, and perform at Webster Hall. This is taken from an upcoming film by Michael Sterling Eaton.

Snoop Dogg - I Wanna Rock

2009-11-30T16:13:00.000-05:00

Malice n Wonderland, due in stores December 8th 2009!

Directed by Erick Peyton.

Chip Tha Ripper – Fat Raps (feat. Curren$y & Big Sean) (prod by Chuck Inglish)

2009-11-30T16:07:00.004-05:00

Here goes something new from Cleveland’s own Chip Tha Ripper called “Fat Raps″, and it features Curren$y the Hoy Spitta and Big Sean with production by The Cool Kids own Chuck Inglish. You can definitely feel his vibe on the track. This record will be on Chip’s The Cleveland Show, due out December 1st.

Chip Tha Ripper – Fat Raps (feat. Curren$y & Big Sean) (prod by Chuck Inglish) by treylord

Download Chip Tha Ripper – Fat Raps (feat. Curren$y & Big Sean) (prod by Chuck Inglish)

The Best of Susie Greene

2009-11-30T16:05:00.001-05:00

The Best of Susie Greene - watch more funny videos

Common ft. John Legend "Strange Fruit" (prod. by Kanye West)

2009-11-30T13:30:00.006-05:00

Here is a previously unreleased Common joint. The song is called "Strange Fruit" and features John Legend, with Kanye West on the production. Apparently this song was meant for Com's album, Finding Forever, but Cassidy got to the beat first. I like the soulful feel, mellow rhymes.

Thoughts?

Common - Strange Fruit (Feat. John Legend) by treylord

Download Common ft. John Legend "Strange Fruit" (prod. by Kanye West)

NYtimes: The Road to Copenhagen - Tree Harvester Offers to Save Indonesian Forest

2009-11-30T11:19:00.004-05:00

Ok, so I admittedly have been slacking on posting updates from the whole "Road to Copenhagen" process but frankly there is just too much happening to really make sense of it and there are daily BREAKING NEWS that aren't that interesting, such as Obama setting emissions targets, the African delegation walking out of talks, the Chinese fucking around, etc.

Anyway, I'm gonna try to post more interesting snippets and MAJOR things happening in Copenhagen over the next few weeks. Hopefully we'll get a robust internationally binding treating, but it's a long shot. Till then, check out some of the international efforts to help mitigate climate change.

This article should highlight some of the difficulties of the climate negotiations, and accounting for what should be eligible and ineligible for carbon credits.

NYtimes:

TELUK MERANTI, Indonesia — From the air, the Kampar Peninsula in Indonesia stretches for mile after mile in dense scrub and trees. One of the world’s largest peat swamp forests, it is also one of its biggest vaults of carbon dioxide, a source of potentially lucrative currency as world governments struggle to hammer out a global climate treaty. The vault, though, is leaking.

Canals — used legally and illegally — extend from surrounding rivers nearly into the peninsula’s impenetrable core. By slowly draining and drying the peat land, they are releasing carbon dioxide, contributing to making Indonesia the world’s third biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, after China and the United States.

The leaks were evident to a family of fishermen from this village, just south of the peninsula, as they paddled up a creek in a dugout canoe.

“I can tell the peat land’s leaking because the water here is getting browner and more acidic,” said Amiruddin, 31, who like many Indonesians uses only one name, as his wife, Delima, 29, scooped up the creek’s coffee-colored water to drink.

Forests like the one on the Kampar Peninsula are at the center of a growing battle over the shape of a new climate treaty and efforts to curb the destruction and degradation of forests. Though countries are expected to reach only a broad agreement at next month’s summit meeting in Copenhagen, governments, scientists, businesses and environmentalists are already arguing over what kinds of forests should qualify as carbon reducers and what kinds of projects should be rewarded financially.

The arguments over the Kampar have become particularly heated, not just because of its ecological importance, but because, so far, the most detailed plan to stop the leaks from the peat land comes from an unlikely source: a giant paper and pulp company that, according to its critics, has been one of the driving forces of deforestation in Indonesia. The company, Asia Pacific Resources International Limited, or April, says it wants to create a ring of industrial tree plantations around the peninsula’s core to preserve it.

What is more, it hopes to receive carbon credits for doing so under a United Nations program to reward nations for conserving forests and reforesting degraded ones. The program, Reducing Emissions From Deforestation and Forest Degradation, or REDD, is expected to be part of a new climate treaty. Unlike the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, a new treaty is expected to tackle deforestation, which alone accounts for 20 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Halting deforestation in tropical forest nations like Indonesia and Brazil, the world’s fourth biggest emitter, is considered crucial to reining in global warming.

Developing nations that preserve forests would be paid with carbon credits that they could sell to industrialized nations seeking to meet emissions reduction targets. Though the program’s specifics will probably take months or years to be worked out, more than a dozen projects of the United Nations program are already under way in Indonesia, backed by such diverse entities as conservation groups, the Australian government and Merrill Lynch, in addition to paper and pulp companies.

Environmental groups say the paper and pulp companies, after years of despoiling Indonesia, should not be rewarded under the program.

“They are the ones that did the damage,” said Michael Stuewe, an expert on Indonesia at the World Wildlife Fund. “Now they’re saying: ‘We were bad boys. Now we’re good. So give us the money.’ ”

The companies argue that the United Nations program could provide them with the financial incentives to preserve forests even as they expand their operations, a goal supported by the Indonesian government, which sees the paper and pulp industry as a mainstay of the country’s economic development.

“We could perhaps reduce the annual Indonesian emissions by 5 percent with this one project,” said Jouko Virta, April’s president of global fiber supply, referring to the company’s plan to ring the peninsula’s core. “It’s so significant. One project.”

Everyone agrees, at least, on the importance of saving the Kampar Peninsula, a nearly one-million-acre peat bog on the equator inhabited by Sumatran tigers, bears, monkeys, crocodiles and other wildlife.

Most of the peninsula remains free of humans, though small fishing camps can be found up its creeks. More significantly, illegal loggers can be seen operating in bases set up along some canals and creeks. And east of here, near a village called Pulau Muda, more than a dozen houses flank a long canal jutting into the peninsula, in what appears to be the biggest human settlement on the Kampar.

Made up of decomposed trees and plants, sometimes as deep as 50 feet, the waterlogged land stores billions of tons of carbon dioxide. But once drained or cleared, the peat land releases many times more carbon dioxide than the deforestation of rain forests. Most experts believe that, as with rain forests, the protection of peat swamp forests will be eligible for carbon credits under the United Nations program.

The Kampar Peninsula is one of the last tracts of green left in central Sumatra, where forests have been cleared to make way for palm oil plantations and industrial tree plantations, especially those belonging to April and its chief rival, Asia Pulp and Paper, both owned by Indonesian conglomerates. According to the World Wildlife Fund, here in Riau, the province where the two companies have their main mills and plantations, two-thirds of the area’s forests have disappeared in the past quarter century.

Illegal loggers have also clear-cut vast chunks of forest. Migrants often slash and burn land for farming, sometimes inside national parks; like people elsewhere in Indonesia, they are often encouraged by local governments seeking to populate areas for economic or political reasons, in defiance of officials from the understaffed Forestry Ministry.

April, which, with its partners, has government-issued concessions across a third of Kampar, says its ring of acacia plantations around the core will block off any such encroachment, though it says it needs to acquire more land to complete the circle. On plantations already in operation, the company uses a sophisticated network of canals and dams that minimizes leakage from the peat land, environmental groups acknowledge.

If April acquired control over the core, it could be paid for protecting it. The company says it believes that it can be, at the very least, rewarded for the ring, about half of which would be turned into acacia plantations and half left as natural forests or what it calls “conservation areas.”

“The carbon we are storing in the conservation areas could be financed through REDD,” Mr. Virta said in an interview at April’s 4,300-acre mill, about two hours west of here by car.

Agus Purnomo, who leads the government’s National Council on Climate Change, said it would take months or years of negotiations after next month’s climate conference to determine whether April’s ring would be entitled to carbon credits.

Much will depend on whether an agreement includes stipulations against the conversion of natural forests into industrial tree plantations. Indonesia, like other countries with paper and pulp industries, counts industrial tree plantations as forests.

Environmental groups caution against any project of the United Nations program involving the conversion of natural forests into industrial tree plantations. Bill Barclay, policy director at the Rainforest Action Network, said the priority in Indonesia should be to “halt further conversion of natural forests” and “further draining of peat lands.”

But that kind of argument finds little traction in a nation with an economy that is still developing.

Mr. Purnomo, of the country’s climate change council, said government officials were worried that Indonesia’s ranking as the world’s third biggest emitter of greenhouse gases would increase pressure to reduce emissions.

“Are we going to remain underdeveloped because of that?” he asked.

Since starting operations on a new concession near here in September, April has brought jobs to Teluk Meranti. As part of its community outreach, it has brought a new generator to increase the supply of electricity and construction material to renovate two mosques. Still, Teluk Meranti had yet to buy April’s vision of the future. Villagers remained overwhelmingly opposed to the company’s presence here, opponents and supporters of the company said.

“We don’t know what we’ll get,” said Firdaus, a 39-year-old man operating a makeshift convenience store. “What rights do we have?”

He was unaware of April’s ring project. But, yes, he had heard of the importance of peat from environmental groups. “We were told,” he said, “to protect the peat for the climate.”

Okayplayer Kevin Casey mixtape: LIVE FROM New York: 1994-2001

2009-11-27T12:32:00.007-05:00

HOTNESS:

New from OKAYPLAYER! A dope NYC compilation for your enjoyment...

46 tracks featuring Deep Cover 98, Flamboyant, Eye For An Eye, John Blaze, Banned From T.V., 10 Crack Commandments, T.O.N.Y. and many more.

DOWNLOAD: Live From New York: 1994-2001 (Mixtape)

Lupe Fiasco “Enemy Of The State: A Love Story” Mixtape

2009-11-26T14:36:00.003-05:00

As promised, here is the Thanksgiving mixtape from Lupe Fiasco.

Download it HERE.

1. Intro
2. The National Anthem
3. All The Way Turnt Up
4. Fireman
5. Interlude
6. Angels
7. So Ghetto
8. Say Something
9. Thank You
10. The One
11. Popular Demand
12. Summit On The Summit (HP TV Commercial)

Real World DC Trailer

2009-11-25T14:00:00.001-05:00

Real World XXIII: Washington DC - MTV Shows

So glad these fuckers are gone.

Mick Boogie & Terry Urban Presents Le Da Soul (20 Years of De La Soul)

2009-11-25T11:44:00.001-05:00

It’s finally time to unleash the latest mixtape from Mick Boogie & Terry Urban. Dedicated to my favorite hip hop trio of all time. Featuring the likes of Homeboy Sandman, Asheru, Tanya Morgan, Camp Lo, CurT@!n$, Big Pooh, Talib Kweli, ESSO and many more. With production from 6th Sense, The Kickdrums, Apple Juice Kid, Remot, Christian Rich, J. Rawls, etc.

DOWNLOAD: Le Da Soul (20 Years of De La Soul)

Ski "Taxi" feat. Mos Def and the launch of CreativeControl.tv

2009-11-24T16:00:00.002-05:00

Ski feat. Mos Def-Taxi from Creative Control on Vimeo.

Creative Control just unleashed some more in the form of this video that shows us a snippet of a song called "Taxi" by Ski Beatz featuring Mos Def. The song will appear on an upcoming full-length project by Ski. All of these vids are build up for the November 27th launch of CreativeControl.tv, the network founded by Chike Ozah, Coodie Simmons and Damon Dash.

R Kelly - Real Talk

2009-11-24T13:24:00.002-05:00

R Kelly - Real Talk,
Uploaded by LilQ. - Explore more music videos.

R Kelly is one special kind of guy.

Thanks to Preetha for the heads up.

And next up, a hip hopera staring R. Kelly called "Trapped in the Closet"

Lupe's Mixtape due out Thanksgiving

2009-11-23T16:50:00.000-05:00

As I've posted in the past, Lupe was inspired by the snub on the MTV's hottest MCs in the game list, and now is out to prove he's better than everybody. "If it takes three more albums to do it, then so be it. That's what I got left with Atlantic. Three more after Lasers. I'm already done with two. The mixtape is coming Thanksgiving" says Lupe from the red carpet of Diddy's b-day party. A highly motivated Lupe continues: "I'm finnin' to house every single mode and arena I can get into," Fiasco promised. "If y'all had somewhere where it's live performances, I'm finnin to have the best live performances. If it's mixtapes, I'm finnin' to have the best mixtapes. If it's albums again, it's gonna be the best verse. If it's the best dressed, I'm going hard as well." Lupe also mentions that this Thanksgiving day mixtape is untitled as of now and will feature him going in over other MCs' beats.

Timbaland – Morning After Dark f. SoShy

2009-11-22T22:16:00.002-05:00

First single of Timbo's next album Shock Value 2. It's a pretty classic Timbaland hit, solid beats, and will likely be a club hit. Not familiar with SoShy, but I'm starting to like her.

Wale, Drake, and Kid Cudi in GQ's Man of the Year issue

2009-11-19T14:19:00.003-05:00

AdrianHopkins: My First Grad School Mixtape, Because Sharing is Caring

2009-11-19T10:34:00.006-05:00

My boy Adrian Hopkins' first mixtape. I can vouche that he's in a league of his own on music, design, literature, etc. You may remember him from a post a while back with him rapping about his quarter-life crisis. I'll repost that vid after the jump. Check out his website though.

I've listened to the mixtape, and it's a ride.

From AdrianHopkins.com:

Earlier this week, I chronicled a bit of the musical selections that provided the soundtrack to my paper-writing adventure. Since sharing is caring, I decided to put those songs into a mix just for you!

I played each of these songs on repeat at least 15 times (Francis & The Lights' cover of Kanye's "Can't Tell Me Nothing" was the undisiputed champion with 164 plays) as I wrote about the influence of Edward Bernays' 1928 book, Propaganda, on the last 80+ years of American mass manipulation and media scholars' discussion thereof.

The tracklisting is below. Click here or on the album cover to download. Enjoy!

1. In My Dreams (Cudder Anthem) - KiD CuDi - 2009
2. The Bells (feat. Patti Labelle & The Bluebelles) - Laura Nyro - 1973
3. Can't Tell Me Nothing - Francis & The Lights - 2008
4. Everybody Touch - J*Davey - 2006
5. Eclipse - Ahmad Jamal - 1974
6. RobertaFlack - Flying Lotus - 2008
7. Paper Chase - Do Or Die - 1996
8. The Rotten Apple - Prodigy (of Mobb Deep) - 2007
9. I Wanna Know - The Foreign Exchange - 2008
10. Baby (You Know I'm Gonna Miss You) - The Montclairs - 1972
11. (Love) Lock Down - Rashid Hadee - 2009

Lil Wayne Carter Documentary

2009-11-18T11:54:00.001-05:00

Friedman in NYtimes: What They Really Believe

2009-11-18T10:25:00.001-05:00

Friedman in NYtimes:

If you follow the debate around the energy/climate bills working through Congress you will notice that the drill-baby-drill opponents of this legislation are now making two claims. One is that the globe has been cooling lately, not warming, and the other is that America simply can’t afford any kind of cap-and-trade/carbon tax.

But here is what they also surely believe, but are not saying: They believe the world is going to face a mass plague, like the Black Death, that will wipe out 2.5 billion people sometime between now and 2050. They believe it is much better for America that the world be dependent on oil for energy — a commodity largely controlled by countries that hate us and can only go up in price as demand increases — rather than on clean power technologies that are controlled by us and only go down in price as demand increases. And, finally, they believe that people in the developing world are very happy being poor — just give them a little running water and electricity and they’ll be fine. They’ll never want to live like us.

Yes, the opponents of any tax on carbon to stimulate alternatives to oil must believe all these things because that is the only way their arguments make any sense. Let me explain why by first explaining how I look at this issue.

I am a clean-energy hawk. Green for me is not just about recycling garbage but about renewing America. That is why I have been saying “green is the new red, white and blue.”

My argument is simple: I think climate change is real. You don’t? That’s your business. But there are two other huge trends barreling down on us with energy implications that you simply can’t deny. And the way to renew America is for us to take the lead and invent the technologies to address these problems.

The first is that the world is getting crowded. According to the 2006 U.N. population report, “The world population will likely increase by 2.5 billion ... passing from the current 6.7 billion to 9.2 billion in 2050. This increase is equivalent to the total size of the world population in 1950, and it will be absorbed mostly by the less developed regions, whose population is projected to rise from 5.4 billion in 2007 to 7.9 billion in 2050.”

The energy, climate, water and pollution implications of adding another 2.5 billion mouths to feed, clothe, house and transport will be staggering. And this is coming, unless, as the deniers apparently believe, a global pandemic or a mass outbreak of abstinence will freeze world population — forever.

Now, add one more thing. The world keeps getting flatter — more and more people can now see how we live, aspire to our lifestyle and even take our jobs so they can live how we live. So not only are we adding 2.5 billion people by 2050, but many more will live like “Americans” — with American-size homes, American-size cars, eating American-size Big Macs.

“What happens when developing nations with soaring vehicle populations get tens of millions of petroleum-powered cars at the same time as the global economy recovers and there’s no large global oil supply overhang?” asks Felix Kramer, the electric car expert who advocates electrifying the U.S. auto fleet and increasingly powering it with renewable energy sources. What happens, of course, is that the price of oil goes through the roof — unless we develop alternatives. The petro-dictators in Iran, Venezuela and Russia hope we don’t. They would only get richer.

So either the opponents of a serious energy/climate bill with a price on carbon don’t care about our being addicted to oil and dependent on petro-dictators forever or they really believe that we will not be adding 2.5 billion more people who want to live like us, so the price of oil won’t go up very far and, therefore, we shouldn’t raise taxes to stimulate clean, renewable alternatives and energy efficiency.

Green hawks believe otherwise. We believe that in a world getting warmer and more crowded with more “Americans,” the next great global industry is going to be E.T., or energy technology based on clean power and energy efficiency. It has to be. And we believe that the country that invents and deploys the most E.T. will enjoy the most economic security, energy security, national security, innovative companies and global respect. And we believe that country must be America. If not, our children will never enjoy the standard of living we did. And we believe the best way to launch E.T. is to set a fixed, long-term price on carbon — combine it with the Obama team’s impressive stimulus for green-tech — and then let the free market and innovation do the rest.

So, as I said, you don’t believe in global warming? You’re wrong, but I’ll let you enjoy it until your beach house gets washed away. But if you also don’t believe the world is getting more crowded with more aspiring Americans — and that ignoring that will play to the strength of our worst enemies, while responding to it with clean energy will play to the strength of our best technologies — then you’re willfully blind, and you’re hurting America’s future to boot.

k-os "I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman" featuring Saukrates

2009-11-17T11:38:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow is the U.S. release date for k-os's new album, Yes!. Here's his latest video, "I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman," featuring Saukrates. The two Northeners team up to make this dope Western style vid.

Not entirely sure where the Natalie Portman reference comes from, but it's finally made use of that song from the ill fated OC.

B.o.B aka Bobby Ray - No Mans Land

2009-11-17T10:07:00.001-05:00

This cut is off of his B.o.B vs Bobby Ray mixtape, done by the Motion Family.

Love this joint. Dude is not only a rapper, but a talented guitarist.

B.o.B Presents The Features (Mixtape)

2009-11-16T12:41:00.003-05:00

My dude B.o.B (a.k.a. Bobby Ray) is back at it again with the help of the cats at 2dopeboyz. B.o.B's label, Atlantic, has a full out campaign set for The Adventures of Bobby Ray (which is scheduled for an April release). I’ve said it countless times and will continue to do so, this man is one of the most talented artists doing it right now. And I’m glad to inform ya’ll that there is a huge record on the horizon and a single dropping sometime this month.

This mixtape is a compilation of his best tunes so far, made by 2dopeboyz.

Download: B.o.B Presents the Features

WP: Supreme Court refuses to hear Redskins' naming case

2009-11-16T11:44:00.002-05:00

Big win for the team, but big loss of my respect. They need to take it on themselves to change the name.

WP:

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to revive a lawsuit on behalf of Native American activists who claimed that the Washington Redskins' team name is so offensive that it does not deserve trademark protection.

The court without comment refused to get involved in the long-running dispute. The decision essentially lets stand a lower court ruling that the activists waited too long to bring the challenge.

The team has been known as the Redskins since 1933, when the name was changed from the Boston Braves. It became the Washington Redskins in 1937, when the team moved south.

The lawsuit was filed in 1992, when seven activists challenged a Redskins trademark issued in 1967. They won seven years later in a decision by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, which said the name could be interpreted as offensive to Native Americans. The case is Harjo v. Pro-Football, Inc.

Trademark law prohibits registration of a name that "may disparage . . . persons, living or dead, . . . or bring them into contempt, or disrepute."

The team appealed to federal court.

Judges at the district and circuit levels said the activists' trademark cancellation claim was barred by the doctrine of laches, which serves as a defense against claims that should have been made long ago.

The activists argued that disparaging trademarks can be challenged at any time, citing a decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit. The decision was written by then-judgeSamuel A. Alito Jr., who now sits on the Supreme Court.

But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit said that was merely a "suggestion" of how to interpret the law.

The federal district judge who heard the lawsuit also said the activists had not proven that the name was disparaging.

The Supreme Court considered only the question of whether the suit was barred because of the passage of too much time.

Clipse feat Pharrell - I'm Good

2009-11-15T11:28:00.001-05:00

Clipse feat Pharrell - I'm Good from Malice of the Clipse on Vimeo.

More from the Clipse. This isn't new, but I don't think I put it up yet.

Clipse – Doorman

2009-11-15T11:23:00.002-05:00

Clipse - Doorman Music Video - Til The Casket Drops Dec 8 from Malice of the Clipse on Vimeo.

The flaunting gets old and the video is pedestrian, but can't beat the beats. New Clipse, produced by Pharrell.

F. Stokes & Dirty Disco Kidz Present: FILM

2009-11-13T16:58:00.003-05:00

“I got a west-coast accent, with a no-coast style, using Midwest slang, don’t get it mixed up now…”

When you first hear of this mixtape (prolly right now) - you're like who are these dudez??? Madison Wisconsin??? Well, just give it a listen, try 'em out... For those of you who don’t know, this midwest shit is ill, shit is illlllll.

After hearing the intro, which is a combination of audio samples from the lead voice, MC F. Stokes, as well as some real tight scratches by Mr. Vinnie Toma, you'll want to hear more. They build the momentum up, pushing you into a hip-hop funk that you will dig.

The opening track, "Sparse Parts Remix", hits you like a ton of bricks, I started bobbing my head instantaneously as the first bar dropped. That ol' Run DMC Peter Piper bell riff plus some ill strings, this beat bangs hard. The body of the album is very solid, with tracks that vary in beats, rhymes and in character. It’s hard for me to pick favorites – so I’ll break into a double – for beat I have to pick “Sparse Parts Remix” and for lyrics I have to go with the “Blessings Remix”.

My boy Mr. Physix, and the Dirty Disco Kids, produced the album. The most interesting aspects of the project are that the sounds are so original and the beats and lyrics really show how versatile their whole crew is. This is a very tight underground mixtape album, I suggest you download it now. You will be sure to find some tracks that you will put on your Friday afternoon cruisin’ playlist.

Big ups to Madison, big ups to Legendary Jackson, big ups to the Dirty Disco Kids. Big ups to the Midwest, more coming soon, stay tuned… FILM!

DOWNLOAD it here - Mediafire

more about F. Stokes

The Cool Kids "Knocked Down"

2009-11-12T11:40:00.002-05:00

The Cool Kids - New Music - More Music Videos

Here's The Cool Kids with "Knocked Down" off of their mixtape with Don Cannon, Gone Fishing.

WP: Wale opens a panderer's box

2009-11-11T15:46:00.002-05:00

Wale Ovechkin is still new to some people. Here is the Post's review of his new album, Attention Deficit. I'm thinking that I need to write a review, but I've been playing these songs for months now, so listening to a concise group of them is difficult.

WP:

Hip-hop isn't dead -- it's just going through a monumental identity crisis.

Jay-Z clings to his credibility while Miley Cyrus gives him a shout-out on her latest single. Kanye West follows an awards show outburst with a blog apology that feels both petulant and contrite. Lil Wayne tells Katie Couric he's a gangster, then takes her bowling.

If hip-hop -- once our most radical, rebellious popform -- is finally congealing into the snoozy status quo, how can today's rappers feel anything but conflicted?

The genre's latest ball of contradictions comes bouncing out of Washington, D.C. His name is Wale, and after a two-year slog through the record industry's broken-down hype machine, his major-label debut "Attention Deficit," finally arrives Tuesday. It's a stellar offering from a wildly gifted rapper, but almost predictably, Wale's feelings are mixed.

"I won't rest till I'm given my respect," he proclaims on "Triumph," as if fame is something he deserves.

"Am I doing this for them or me?" he second-guesses on "Contemplate," as if fame is something he dreads.

And back and forth it goes, with the rapper's sticky, dexterous flow holding the proceedings together like so much rubber cement.

For proof of Wale's lyrical acrobatics, look no further than "Pretty Girls," where the rapper's best pickup line involves two bottles of champagne, a football joke and a healthy credit rating: "What you sippin' on? It's no problem/Black and gold bottles like I'm pro-New Orleans/But shorty, I'm far from a Saint/But I got two AmExes that look the same way."

This is some masterful wordplay -- with an emphasis on play -- and it makes for the album's most dazzling cut. The song's thundering, go-go-inflected track helps, too. Production duo Best Kept Secret built it around a sample from local stalwarts Backyard Band and it sounds like a house party crumbling in an earthquake. How it will fare on national radio is anyone's guess, but for locals fluent in go-go, "Pretty Girls" is a thriller.

Wale has a fantastic ear for beats, though you wouldn't know it after hearing "Attention Deficit" in its entirety. There's some real dreck from producers Mark Ronson ("90210") and the Neptunes ("Let It Loose"). Wale is either adopting the please-all-audiences model West popularized, or his label's invisible hand is fussing with the dials. (In a delicious stroke of irony, Interscope reportedly zapped a song from the track list titled "Artistic Integrity.")

Sometimes pandering to the masses isn't such a bad idea. The album's lead single "Chillin," is a club-friendly romper with a chorus co-hosted by ascendant weirdo Lady Gaga. Purists balked at the collaboration when it hit the blogosphere last spring, dismissing it as too left field. Had M.I.A. or Rihanna belted that same exact hook, this tune would still be taking hourly victory laps across the airwaves. And there's a precedent here, too. Does anyone remember back in 1985, when local go-go icons E.U. crossed paths with pop-eccentric-turned-gay-culture-icon Grace Jones?

By the end of his 14-track, big-league debut, Wale sounds nothing less than harried, hustling to please the gods of Billboard, radio, MTV, the blogosphere and his home town. But with "Mirrors" he tries to brush those extraneous pressures off his shoulders with his most poignant line: "What the fans can't see, that mirror gonna notice."

What a concept: a rapper who answers to an audience of one.

Wale x The Roots "Pretty Girls" Live on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

2009-11-11T15:43:00.000-05:00

To bring in the release of his new album, Attention Deficit, Wale was a guest on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon yesterday. Wale performs his song "Pretty Girls" with The Roots backing him up, and Black Thought handling the second verse. Attention Deficit is in stores now.

Veterans Day

2009-11-11T11:48:00.001-05:00

Plants need more CO2, not less

2009-11-10T13:15:00.003-05:00

People like this prove that we need a Hobbesian plague. Seriously, there is no hope for humanity if people like this are allowed to remain part of our society.

Please feel free to go and post your replies HERE.

Here is an editorial in The Hill by PlantsneedC02.org Chairman H. Leighton Steward:

Congress and federal regulators are poised to make a misguided and reckless decision that will stifle our economy recovery and spur long-term damage to plant and animal life on earth.

In the coming months, the Environmental Protection Agency will hold hearings to justify the movement to brand carbon dioxide (CO2) as a pollutant. Congress will also consider cap-and-trade legislation that, if enacted, could also regulate CO2 as pollution. Why is it such a catastrophic decision? Because there is not a single piece of evidence that CO2 is a pollutant. In fact, lower levels of carbon dioxide actually inhibit plant growth and food production. What we see happening in Washington right now is the replacement of politics for science in conversations about CO2.

For plants, CO2 is the greatest, naturally occurring air-borne fertilizer that exists. Even schoolchildren learn in elementary science class that plants need carbon dioxide to grow. During photosynthesis, plants use this CO2 fertilizer as their food and they “breathe out” oxygen into the air so humans can inhale it, and in turn exhale CO2. This mutually beneficial and reinforcing cycle is one of the most basic elements of life on earth.

An article appeared recently in the Environment and Energy Daily that claimed a “modeled” nitrogen deficiency will occur as CO2 rises. Well, CO2 has already risen over 37%, 105 parts per million, and where is the real world nitrogen deficiency? Why are Earth’s forests lush if the added growth that has already occurred, due to big bursts of CO2, has depleted the nitrogen supply? The nitrogen supply of pristine ecosystems has been resupplied through natural processes for eons. Computer models, manipulated to produce desired results, can generate catastrophic, front page, forecasts. We encourage our government’s scientists to step back from their models and observe what is and what has happened in the real world as well as in actual plant experiments. Doesn’t anyone recognize the good news that is staring them in the face?

It simply defies imagination, let alone science, that the United Nations has now backed an arbitrary limit on atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. The chairman of the politically charged Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said he supports efforts to reduce carbon dioxide to 10% below current levels. In the context of today’s political conversations, this recommendation may sound like an acceptable position to save the environment. But the scientific reality of such a step is quite the opposite. Lowering carbon dioxide in our atmosphere will have catastrophic affects on our food supply. Higher concentrations of carbon dioxide support plant life and helps plants thrive. If our food supply is reduced, the hunger crisis in many parts of the world will worsen. Not only would lowering CO2 levels be wrong, one can make the argument that even higher levels would be desirable. Greenhouse operators routinely increase CO2 to about three times the current level in earth’s atmosphere in order to encourage plant growth.

We know CO2 is vital for plants, but what about the argument that it is a dominant contributor to the greenhouse effect? Again, science does not support this argument either. CO2 is not even close to being the most important of the greenhouse gases. Most of the greenhouse effect is due to water vapor, which is more than 30 times as abundant in the atmosphere as CO2.

As further evidence, we find that as the post war industry boom began to put significant volumes of CO2 into the atmosphere, global temperatures did not rise. Since 1945, there have been about 40 years of cooling trend and only 20 plus years of warming. While the warming is significant, it followed an unusually high period of solar activity.

Temperature did rise steeply in the 1920’s and in the 1930’s in the USA, and 1934 was the warmest year of the 20th century. The rate of warming then was also higher than in the 1980’s and 1990’s, even though CO2 levels were lower.

Many in the scientific community reject reducing atmospheric CO2 to 350 parts per million, as Dr. Pachauri of the U.N. wishes. Thousands of peer-reviewed experiments have demonstrated CO2’ s ability to “green” the earth dramatically. Nonetheless, Dr. Pachauri and those who prefer to debate science with politics are sticking to their old story and clinging to their inadequate climate models and their headline-grabbing catastrophic forces.

Do Americans want to see their government spend trillions of dollars removing CO2 that will not lower the Earth’s temperature but absolutely will risk harming ecologies, economies and mankind itself?

UCB "Pat Your Weave" feat. Wale

2009-11-09T14:55:00.001-05:00

More love from the DMV.
Wale's debut album, Attention Deficit, is in stores tomorrow.

Phil Ade "Hollywood"

2009-11-04T12:17:00.001-05:00

Phil Ade "Hollywood" from Okayplayer on Vimeo.

Here is DMV (DC-Maryland-Virginia) emcee, Phil Ade's, new video, "Hollywood." For more of that heat, download Phil's tape, Starting on JV. I've been impressed with what I've heard thus far from dude, so be on the lookout for more Phil Ade content to come. Video directed by Tabi Bonney.

Download Starting on JV

DailyMail UK: Judge rules that green views are the 'same as religious beliefs' as sacked environmentalist wins legal battle

2009-11-03T15:24:00.000-05:00

DailyMail UK:

An environmentalist who claims he was fired for his views has won a landmark legal battle after a judge ruled being green was just as worthy of protection at work as religion.

'Green martyr' Tim Nicholson, 42, claims he was dismissed after his bosses at showed contempt for his philosophical belief the earth faces 'catastrophic climate change'.

He said he lost his job for criticising senior management at Grainger plc - including chief executive Rupert Dickinson who allegedly flew an employee to Ireland and back just to fetch a mislaid Blackberry mobile phone.

Mr Nicholson also found fault with managers for driving 'the most polluting cars on the road' to client meetings at which they would explain their green policies.

Grainger contended his views were political and a 'lifestyle choice'.

But a judge ruled employers should no more discriminate against workers for being green than for their religious or philosophical beliefs.

Today's ruling by Mr Justice Burton now paves the way for Mr Nicholson to claim unfair dismissal at an employment tribunal.

The judgement is likely to be criticised by Christian groups who feel that the decision glorifies environmentalism at the expense of religion.

Mr Nicholson, a married father of one was formerly head of sustainability at Grainger, the UK's biggest residential landlord which manages 27,000 properties worth £3billion in Britain and Germany.

In a witness statement he said he had 'a strongly-held philosophical belief about climate change and the environment.

'I believe we must urgently cut carbon emissions to avoid catastrophic climate change.

'This affects how I live my life... I encourage others to cut their carbon emissions and I fear for the future of the human race.'

Mr Nicholson said his beliefs affected his 'choice of home, how I travel, what I buy, what I eat and drink, what I do with my waste and my hopes and my fears'.

'For example, I no longer travel by airplane. I have eco-renovated my home. I try to buy local produce. I have reduced my consumption of meat. I compost my food waste.

'I encourage others to reduce their carbon emissions and I fear very much for the future of the human race, given the failure to reduce carbon emissions on a global scale.'

Commenting on the ruling by employment Appeal Court judge Sir Michael Burton, Grainger corporate affairs director Dave Butler said: 'Grainger absolutely maintains, as it has done from the very outset of these proceedings, that Mr Nicholson's redundancy was driven solely by the operational needs of the company during a period of extraordinary market turbulence, which also required other structural changes to be made within the company.

'Grainger rejects outright any suggestion that there was any other motivation relating to Mr Nicholson's beliefs or otherwise.

'We are looking forward to addressing the issues at tribunal level and demonstrating that there was no causal link between Mr Nicholson's beliefs and his redundancy.'

Mr Qureshi, head of employment law at Bindmans LLP, representing Mr Nicholson, said: 'Vast numbers of people are now living their lives in accordance with their views on climate change and the environment.

'These are often deeply held views based on the premise that without change humanity will suffer.

'Tim Nicholson believes that people should be able to express such views without fear of retribution or discrimination.'

Mr Nicholson added: 'I am grateful that Mr Justice Burton understood that deeply and genuinely held views about catastrophic climate change and the need to change our ways to protect the human race are philosophical views that are worthy of protection. Such views are more and more relevant to our planet's survival.'

new WIZ KHALIFA mixtape

2009-11-03T14:08:00.002-05:00

DJ Ill Will & DJ Rockstar Presents...

Wiz Khalifa – Burn After Rolling Mixtape

November 2, 2009

Dope new mixtape from Wiz Khalifa, Burn After Rolling, with DJ Ill Will and DJ Rockstar. Probably one of the best mixtape-covers i've seen in a while. kinda funny.
01. B.A.R.
02. Gettin’ Up
03. Take Yo Bitch (feat. NeakO & Young Jerz)
04. The Thrill
05. One Way
06. Miles
07. If I Were A Lame
08. Meet New People
09. Weekend (feat. NeakO)
10. Young Khalifa
11. Knock U Down
12. On Tha Pill
13. When U Find
14. Mafia Music (Remix)
15. Say U Will
16. Timeless
17. Won’t Land
18. Ode To Naked Pop Stars
19. All My Life Freestyle
20. Great To Be There (Outro)

DOWNLOAD: DJ Ill Will & DJ Rockstar Presents Wiz Khalifa – Burn After Rolling

The Kickdrums - There Might Be Blood [EP]

2009-11-03T12:30:00.001-05:00

A couple days late, but here's The Kickdrums new Halloween themed EP, There Might Be Blood. The Cleveland duo give you 7 free tracks with this project, but if you want to support you can purchase it on iTunes as well. Plenty of more new content from the Kickdrums is on the way.

Download: There Might Be Blood

01. Revelation In Slow Motion
02. Walking Dream
03. Robot Rage
04. Watch For White Noise
05. Killing Yourself To Live
06. Merry Go Round
07. Somewhere A Mountain Is Moving

Chiddy Bang ft. Yelle Ch "Fresh Like Us"

2009-11-03T12:22:00.005-05:00

These cats are the coolest thing since the Cool Kids.

Chiddy Bang W/ Black Thought, The Swelly Express Mixtape

2009-11-03T11:03:00.004-05:00

Straight out of the Illadelph emerges the duo Chiddy Bang, who were discovered by Black Thought who bumped into them at a train station. Says Thought, who is Executive Producing their forthcoming album, "I saw potential in the youthfully expressive wit of Chidera's (lead MC) rhyme-style, and I was feeling their live performance." In case you missed them open for The Roots earlier this year at the Highline for The Roots Jam Session, or at The Roots Picnic, here's their latest offering in the form of a mixtape. Self-described, "The Swelly Express is the true story of two college kids (Chidera Anamege and Xaphoon Jones) from Philly who rocked some parties at Drexel and quickly gained the attention of "the industry." The music and lyrics were inspired by many boring trips on the Chinatown bus (they have wifi now!) on the way to meet "big wigs" in NYC. After a bunch of nice dinners and some free drinks for these 2 underage kids, Chiddy Bang decided to make a mixtape. Enjoy!" The mixtape is presented by Black Thought, Anthony Martini, and Crush Management. Listen to "Slow Down," featuring Black Thought and Eldee The Don, then download the full mix below. Trust me, these cats will blow up quick.

Download Chiddy Bang's The Swelly Express

The Swelly Express tracklisting:

1. I Get Up In The Morning
2. Never
3. Danger Zone
4. Fresh Like Us
5. Now U Know feat. Jordan Brown
6. Welcome To Major Label Inc Skit
7. Truth feat. Passion Pit
8. Meet Mike Hoffman
9. Pro Freestyle
10. Awesome Skit
11. Dream Chasin
12. Silver Screen
13. Slow Down feat. Black Thought and Eldee The Don
14. Decline
15. Call Skit
16. The Opposite of Adults
17. Voicemail Skit
18. All Things Go

Credits to OkayPlayer.com