Category Archives: Viva!

Thousands attend ′pro-democracy′ demonstrations in Poland | News | DW.COM | 19.12.2015

Tens of thousands of Poles have rallied across the country to protest the country’s new right-wing government and its tightening grip on power. The central rally in Warsaw was interrupted early due to a bomb threat.

Politicians and artists, as well as former anti-communist dissidents, joined the protests held in around 20 Polish cities on Saturday.

Locals protested the government’s bid to install five of its alleged supporters in the 15-member Constitutional Tribunal.

“The ruling party is going to destroy the Constitutional Tribunal,” said blogger and activist Marcin Skubiszewski, protesting at the central rally in Warsaw.

Source: Thousands attend ′pro-democracy′ demonstrations in Poland | News | DW.COM | 19.12.2015

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Description: Deborah Harry of Blondie – “Debbie Harry is a really great singer. She had a very different style from what was emerging there at that time. She was not shy, but she was very aloof: you can see that in the picture, hiding half her face behind her hair. It wasn’t something she needed, because she was very pretty, she was the front woman. But it gave her safety.”
By Ned Hamson
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Found on: http://bitly.com/1Yo1ODD

The Rise and Rise of Misty Copeland – The New York Times

Cherry Peace stood, feet firmly planted, at the stage door of the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center in October. She was waiting for Misty Copeland, who had just wrapped up a matinee performance of Paul Taylor’s “Company B” at the American Ballet Theater, to kick off her toe shoes and exit.

There was no sign of Ms. Copeland, but Ms. Peace, 52, a writer who had traveled from Reno, Nev., expressly to see her, stayed rooted to the spot, hoping, if not for an autograph, at least for a glimpse of her idol.“When you get older,” she said, “there are certain things you want to do. Seeing Misty Copeland was on my bucket list.”

Source: The Rise and Rise of Misty Copeland – The New York Times

QUICK HIT: MEET MISS JAMAICA, THE FIRST EVER MISS WORLD PAGEANT CONTESTANT WITH LOCS

Black hair politics can get messy. Not even little Black girls are granted immunity from the scrutiny of classist expectations about the way their hair should look. At school our hair can get us in trouble. And as an adult, our hair can get us fired from our jobs. Even the United States army has a say so in which Black styles are appropriate. Within a system that has standardized whiteness by way of devaluing and erasing Black aesthetics, locs (a shortened and less derogatory form of the word ‘dreadlocks’) are on the “no” list of hairstyles, for the army and beyond. Locs are often branded as unprofessional, dirty, criminal, and unattractive, especially for women.The feminine beauty standards that dominate the pageant world also reflect a bias towards whiteness, especially in regards to hair. So it’s a big deal to know that Dr. Sanneta Myrie, Miss Jamaica, is the first ever competitor to don locs for this 64 year old competition. She says “I lock my hair because I identify with it. I am very much rooted in that Afro-centric nature, where we as Jamaicans are rooted. It’s my expression.” Read more about Miss Jamaica World and her platforms below!

Source: QUICK HIT: MEET MISS JAMAICA, THE FIRST EVER MISS WORLD PAGEANT CONTESTANT WITH LOCS