Lela Uncensored

Hours before Trump's first State of the Union, let's remember how we got here! In her concession speech, popular vote winner secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton apologized. She said sorry. And her apology broke my heart. As a woman who once contemplated a career in politics, I experimented firsthand the deeply rooted yet widely denied sexism and bigotry in politics. Former colleagues and former fellow activists are definitely rolling their eyes now, shocked by my misrepresentation of the truth. Nothing is going to convince them of their sexism and bigotry. Why, you would ask. Because what is internationally defined as sexism and bigotry is how they understand respect. Anyhow, feminism isn’t why I wanted Hillary to win. I know she’s not a widely loved figure, she’s definitely not the most charismatic candidate in the world, but she is a politician. And presidential elections aren’t about how much the candidate can physically “impress” a bunch of fat rich old white m

Meet Ivana Marie Trump, the now infamous Ivanka, Donald Trump’s only child, except for, and yet somehow including her four siblings. Meet the heir presumptive of daddy’s empire and legacy, the poster girl of political nepotism and the reigning queen of conservative feminism. First things first: how did we even come to care about Ivanka, the socialite who didn’t star in a sex tape, whose father was best known for being a game show host and bankruptcy addict? Well, said game show host, who also happens to be a sexist, racist, misogynistic, philandering pathological liar became president of the United States of America thanks to gerrymandering’s older sibling, the Electoral College.  Trump, the president mind you, has no policies. As he defends himself when asked about his failure to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, he’s sitting in the Oval Office, pen in hand, waiting for Congress to send him a bill to sign. All the president knows is that he has the biggest, gre

A social media influencer was refused free accommodation in return of positively reviewing some hotel. Instead of sucking it up, she took to YouTube to attack the hotel owner, accusing him of nothing less than exposing her – even though he never disclosed her name – and shaming every person who doesn’t support her chosen lifestyle. An entitled child throwing a hissy fit shouldn’t be news worthy – unless said child is the President of the United States – but this story sheds the light on the industry of influencers. The hotel owner dubbed the whole controversy bloggergate . Personally I would have called it influencer gate . The distinction isn’t without a difference for it isn’t simply a question of semantics. A line should be drawn between bloggers and self-proclaimed influencers who don’t seem to have a real grasp of their irrelevance. Being a social media influencer is predominantly about flaunting designers’ items, reviewing accessories and cafés, sharing meanin

Review of The Post  This chronicle of the Washington Post breakthrough on the American national scene and the publication of the infamous Pentagon Papers by both the New York Times and the Washington Post during Nixon’s first term could have also been told under the Post’s current slogan Democracy Dies in Darkness . The movie tackles five main themes The contents of the Pentagon Papers The classified documents show that the American decision making process when it came to the war was flawed and that numerous US administration knew for a fact that the Vietnam war can’t be won, meaning administrations kept sending young American to an absurd and unnecessary death. [The US administrations] violated the Geneva Convention, they lied to Congress, they lied to the public. They knew we couldn’t win and still sent boys to die. Seventy percent of those boys [died] just to avoid [the US] being humiliated . The mission of the press The publication of the Papers

Disclaimer: I support the abolition of all monarchies and hope to live to the day all countries will become republics First, there was Wallis Simpson, the infamous two-times divorcée American socialite who robbed the British Monarchy of Edward VIII. In 1953, Elizabeth Alexandra Mary became Elizabeth, Queen of England, succeeding her father, Edward’s brother. Four years later, one of Hitchcock’s famous blondes, Grace Kelly, gave up her Hollywood career to marry Monaco’s prince, becoming a real life princess. Then came along Diana: aristocratic, young, peachy cheeks, pink pretty, virginal, silent, obedient, Diana, the eighteen-year-old child bride of Charles, Prince of Wales. Diana was never supposed to become a media sensation. She was a princess of Wales, the wife of the heir apparent of the British throne. All she had to do was deliver an heir and its spare, stand a step away from her husband, wave graciously to the crowds, nod or smile when proper, speak when spoken t

Exactly one week tonight (I wrote it on the one week anniversary of the loss), Lebanon got kicked out of the FIBA Asia Cup by none other than Iran! As if losing the quarter finals despite home court advantage and a stadium filled with Lebanese fans wasn’t enough, it had to be against the Islamic Republic of Iran.    While the Lebanese team’s overall performance and the lack of fighting spirit raise some suspicious questions, I will rise above the conspiracy theories and stick to proven facts. It’s true that the Lebanese selection had the home court advantage but the Iranian one had the advantage of being purely Iranian. Indeed, all of the players and their coach are Iranians who wanted a victory for their nation. On the other hand, one of the main players of the Lebanese team is actually a 24-year-old naturalized Antiguan (and American) who spent the championship proving that you don’t have to be relevant to retain a place among the starting five. This leads us to the rec

The concept of role model is credited to Robert K Merton who came up with the expression in 1947. The Webster’s dictionary defines role model as a person whose behavior in a particular role is imitated by others . Dictionary.com defines it as a person whose behavior, example, or success is or can be emulated by others, especially by younger people . The Collins English Dictionary gives a similar definition, going for a person regarded by others, especially younger people, as a good example to follow . The American Heritage Stedman’s Medical Dictionary gives a rather scientific definition. A role model is a person who serves as a model in a particular behavioral or social role for another person to emulate . Finally, our last resource, The American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy opts for a longer definition illustrated with examples: a role model is a person who serves as an example of the values, attitudes, and behaviors associated with a role.

In the epilogue of his book Jeffrey Toobin summarizes the civil trial (1997) at the end of which Orenthal James Simpson was found liable for the deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. And while one would think OJ Simpson would silently disappear in the land of criminals who got away with murder, the verdict was the beginning of another trial starring the unapologetic ex American football player. Ordered to pay nearly 35 million dollars to the families of his two victims, OJ claimed bankruptcy. Today, he owes them as much as 58 millions. Among the possessions Simpson gave away to avoid them being seized by the Goldman's lawyers were the trove of items OJ will stand trial in 2008 for stealing at gunpoint. At the end of this third trial, OJ was sentenced to 33 years in jail with eligibility of parole in nine year. Shockingly or not so shockingly enough, he was granted parole and becomes eligible for release as early as October first,2017.  In his remarks during t