Posts Tagged ‘Harry Belafonte’

Hollywoodland

Belafonte on Obama: He Doesn’t Deserve a Second Term, Lacks ‘Moral Compass’

by Hollywoodland

If Matt Damon is disillusioned with The One, Harry Belafonte is downright dismayed with President Barack Obama’s first term.

The Calypso crooner didn’t hold back during a recent radio chat on “Smiley & West,” co-hosted by Tavis Smiley and Cornel West, even if a rebroadcast of the program snipped out Belafonte’s most punishing comments, according to The Radio Equalizer.

Harry-Belafonte

“My question is, what legacy will he leave, having the opportunity to serve under such hugely dramatic circumstances and had such a huge impact on the universal state of things … how could he have had such a splendid opportunity to do more than most presidents would have ever been able to do, and he let that opportunity slip away from him.

I’m very cautious of the fact that those who think he has some second agenda and only if he could be given a second term for us to see the new light, new things will be revealed, new efforts will be made to take us to a place other than where we’ve been and where we languish. I just don’t trust that. I don’t believe that’s a safe way and accurate way to look at this scenario. If there was the kind of moral compass serving Barack Obama the way we hoped, the moral force would have helped him make choices, the absence of that force in his equations, that barometer to guide him when he has to make these decisions that are hugely complicated, he should have come to the table with the things that would have helped us in this moment of crisis.”

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John Nolte

Herman Cain Responds to Harry Belafonte: ‘I Left the Democrat Plantation a Long Time Ago’

by John Nolte

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What you’re seeing through the use of celebrities like George Lopez, Janeane Garofalo, and now Harry Belafonte–all of whom have attacked Cain’s “blackness,” is more than just dumb, cruel Leftists spouting off.  This is a coordinated attack that, with the help of Obama’s MSM Palace Guards, is determined to undermine Cain’s ability to attract the black vote.

Cain isn’t just a threat to Barack Obama; he’s an existential threat to both the left and the corrupt media. If just 15% to 20% of Black Americans start voting Republican, the Democrats are done as a party. And with each passing day, as conservatives openly embrace Mr. Cain, the MSM’s immoral and cynical use of  the Race Card becomes less and less effective.

Those who remember how Caucasian liberals in the Senate and the MSM attempted to destroy Clarence Thomas also know things are going to get much uglier for Cain if he continues his political ascent. What we’ve seen so far are just scouting parties in preparation for what will surely be a ruthless ground assault on Mr. Cain’s identity.

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Hollywoodland

Belafonte on Herman Cain: ‘Totally False’ and ‘A Bad Apple’

by Hollywoodland

Aging crooner Harry Belafonte wants us to know Herman Cain is one “bad apple,” someone for whom prayers weren’t created.

Belafonte, hitting the talk show circuit to promote his new memoir ‘Sing Your Song,’ blasted the Republican presidential candidate on ‘The Joy Behar Show.’

Here’s Belafonte responding to Cain’s recent comments about how racism isn’t holding black people back “in a big way [today].”

“It’s very hard to comment on someone who is so denied intelligence,” Belafonte said, “someone who has denied such a view of history.”

“Because he happened to have good fortune hit him, he had a moment where he broke through … does not make him the authority of the plight of people with color.”

But Belafonte was just getting started.

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Jeffrey Jena

WE Are The World, You Will Be Forgotten…

by Jeffrey Jena

Back in 1985 a group of really wealthy show-business types got together to make a video and record a song for charity. The song, we all remember, was “We Are the World” and it has sold over 20 million copies, raised $63 million and raised worldwide awareness for… anybody?  What horrible tragedy did these superstars bring to the forefront of our collective consciousness? Seriously, don’t Google it, does anyone remember what the charity was? I got to be honest, neither did I. Now, can you name any of the superstars involved? Of course you can…

we_are_the_world

USA for Africa was formed by singer/actor Harry Belafonte and agent/manager Ken Kragen to aid starving children in Africa. A noble idea if ever there was one!  So they got Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, yes he was a big star before he was just Nicole’s daddy, and they got a bunch of their friends and fellow big shots to record a song for charity.

I don’t know how much of the $63 million raised was actually turned into food on the plate for a kid in Africa but let’s say it was 100%. That’s a little less than Michael Jackson spent on lawyer fees and llama feed over the same period of time. My point is that if the forty-plus millionaires had really wanted to do something selfless they could have each kicked in a million or two into an endowment and at an average return of 6.5% on an fund of 50 million they could have donated more money to poor nations and still have the fifty million sitting there working for the starving kids. (more…)

Jason Killian Meath

Martin Luther King, Jr. Had a Dream… Hollywood Was There

by Jason Killian Meath

Martin Luther King, Jr. was a clergyman, tireless activist, civil rights leader… mountain mover.  He even became the youngest-ever recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (back when they gave Peace Prizes for real, hard-fought accomplishments).  And wherever he traveled he generated big crowds.  Nothing could compare to the crowd assembled at the National Mall in 1963 for the March on Washington.  King would deliver his famous speech and four words would ring in history forever:  ”I Have a Dream.”

BRANDO[1]

My book Hollywood on the Potomac, chronicles many historic moments when Hollywood took a stand on the biggest political issues of the day — from World War 2 to Iraq, International Relief to Civil Rights.  In 1963, it was stars such as Marlon Brando, Paul Newman and Harry Belafonte at the Lincoln Memorial with Dr. King.

Actor Marlon Brando at the Civil Rights ‘March on Washington’ (to his right are playwright James Baldwin and actor Charlton Heston).  Brando also participated in the ‘freedom rides,’ protests that publicly tested segregation court decisions in the South.  After the death of Martin Luther King Jr., Brando scrapped his upcoming movie telling The Joey Bishop Show, ”I felt I’d better go find out… what it is to be black in this country; what this rage is all about.” (more…)

Larry O'Connor

I Am Stage Right

by Larry O'Connor

It has been almost one year since I began writing here at the Big Blogs of Breitbart.com.  When it all began, I was motivated by the events that brought down Sacramento Music Theatre executive Scott Eckern.  Ironically, his story, which inspired this new avocation also served as a real-life lesson in the new political world we inhabit.  You see, Mr. Eckern was forced to resign his position because it was discovered that he donated money to the anti-same sex marriage Prop. 8 campaign.  Knowing that, I would have been a fool to put my name on the things I’ve written here.  So, “Stage Right” was born.

Since then, I have been fortunate enough to have free-reign on all things theatre at Big Hollywood (gently guided by the collective wisdom of Andrew Breitbart and John Nolte) and I’ve had a fantastic time writing about the industry, about the non-profit world… even about my favorite shows.  But now, things have changed just a bit.

It started with Patrick Courrielche’s now famous expose’ on the NEA Conference Call.  Just like the Scott Eckern story, what bothered me most at the time was the media and especially the left-leaning theatre writers’ attack on Patrick.   Instead of showing any level of skepticism over the appropriateness of staff members of the NEA and the White House coordinating discussions with artists about how they can help move the President’s agenda by creating works of art in favor of specific issues, Patrick was attacked and libeled for the sin of telling the truth and bringing the subject to light.

Next came the media’s reaction to James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles’ blockbuster series of videos exposing the corruption at ACORN offices from sea to shining sea.  Again, the venom and outrage is directed at the messenger while the message gets rationalized and obfuscated.  This story raised my ire to such a degree that I began posting at Big Government. (more…)

John T. Simpson

The Stoning Of Team Hollywood

by John T. Simpson

The crime is complete. Judgment has been passed. The killing stones are in hand. As per the harsh stoning penal code of Iran’s Islamist thugocracy (for however long that lasts) where the crime took place, my stones are not so big as to kill right away, not so small you can’t call them stones. And I’m winding up like Nolan Ryan. Feel free to pick up a stone of your own. But wait for it!

And let me make this perfectly clear, even if they do say Jehovah!

Sentence must be read before being carried out. And unlike Soraya M., the board members of the Asylum of Motion Picture Airheads and Stooges will deserve every rock that’s thrown their way. I also believe that, in light of events in Iran today, the following commentary will stand out in much starker prominence than it did when I first started reporting on them in early March, when Team Oscar first set off for the Unfriendly Skies of Islamist Iran. (more…)

John T. Simpson

Adventures in the Scream Trade, Take One

by John T. Simpson

If you’re wondering if I was about to opine on the craft of gut-twisting horror stories, you’d only be half right. I’m actually talking about real life here. As many of you may know from my earlier posts, I first flame-throwered onto the scene here at Big Hollywood about a month ago, on the occasion of Team Oscar’s could-not-be-more-ill-advised taking off for the unfriendly skies of Islamist Iran.

I knew they were going to get punked! They were going to Punkedville! In fact, I was so sure of it, I was the one who broke the story in the US off the French wires to Drudge and Nikki Finke.  One Hollywood Jihadi PR roadside bomb detonated. War Is Hell.

Look at their trip from my POV. I remember the whole balls-to-the-wall anti-Apartheid campaign from the mid-eighties. ‘I Ain’t Gonna Play Sun City,’ remember? By the way, wasn’t Little Stevie great in that video? Love him! Point being, if the racist South African apartheid regime was unworthy of cultural exchange, why was the gay-hanging, women-stoning, child-executing, blogger-killing, hostage-taking fascist regime in Iran worthy of a gold-plated Academy PR kiss? (more…)