Creator of Matrix & Terminator Wins $2.5 Billion In Lawsuit

After a six year dispute, prolific writer and profound spiritualist, Sophia Stewart has received justice for copyright infringement and racketeering and will finally recover damages from the films, The Matrix I, II and III, as well as The Terminator and its sequels. Yes, you heard that correctly – the entire Matrix & Terminator franchises, and her suspected pay off is expected to be the highest in history – an estimated 2.5 billion.

Her case is a true landmark, and far too uncommon as countless creatives are exploited by the snake-like dealings of the movie industry. Here’s a recap of her triumphant journey by way of George2.0:

“Stewart filed her case in 1999, after viewing the Matrix, which she felt had been based on her manuscript, ‘The Third Eye,’ copyrighted in 1981. In the mid-eighties Stewart had submitted her manuscript to an ad placed by the Wachowski Brothers, requesting new sci-fi works.

According to court documentation, an FBI investigation discovered that more than thirty minutes had been edited from the original film, in an attempt to avoid penalties for copyright infringement. The investigation also stated that ‘credible witnesses employed at Warner Brothers came forward, claiming that the executives and lawyers had full knowledge that the work in question did not belong to the Wachowski Brothers.’ These witnesses claimed to have seen Stewart’s original work and that it had been ‘often used during preparation of the motion pictures.’ The defendants tried, on several occasions, to have Stewart’s case dismissed, without success.

Stewart has confronted skepticism on all sides, much of which comes from Matrix fans, who are strangely loyal to the Wachowski Brothers. One on-line forum, entitled Matrix Explained has an entire section devoted to Stewart. Some who have researched her history and writings are open to her story.”

Although it’s long overdue, and buried in large part by the media machine, Stewart has finally received official credit (and hopefully financial settlement by 2009) for her prodigious contributions to both Hollywood, and the world for her ground breaking sagas, both the Matrix & Terminator franchises. Let us hope that this landmark ruling provides a measure of hope for other ripped off screenwriters seeking justice even if only by way of public recognition.

To echo her 2004 victorious press release:

‘The Matrix & Terminator movie franchises have made world history and have ultimately changed the way people view movies and how Hollywood does business, yet the real truth about the creator and creation of these films continue to elude the masses because the hidden secret of the matter is that these films were created and written by a Black woman…a Black woman named Sophia Stewart. But Hollywood does not want you to know this fact simply because it would change history. Also it would encourage our Black children to realize a dream and that is…nothing is impossible for them to achieve!’

We’d like to believe that the justice she received was not in name only, and she is able to reap the benefits of her enormous creative contributions.

Busta Rhymes - Arab Money

BIG FIELD AWAITS....

First Lady Invites Common To White House to Read Poetry,Sparks Outrage.

You’d think conservatives would be somewhere rejoicing over Osama but now they’ve found something else to bitch about!
Socio-conscious rapper Common was recently invited to the White House for a star-studded poetry event hosted by President Obama and Michelle Obama and when conservatives caught wave of the news, they made sure they’re opposition was well known, with Fox News going so far as to call him a “vile rapper.”

New Hampshire Journal: “Some of Common’s poetry could … raise some eyebrows among those who might find cop-killing and racially-tinged or misogynist language beneath the Office of the Presidency.”

Though Fox News has joined forces with the New Hampshire Journal, the Daily Caller and even Sarah Palin to speak out against having Common appear for the poetry event, they were singing a different tune 7 months ago when they interviewed him. They referred to him as a “rap legend,” and even Fox News reporter Jason Robinson asked Common during that interview:

Fox News: “Your music is very positive. And you’re known as the conscious rapper. How important is that to you, and how important do you think that is to our kids?”

Common: “[It's a] significant role. I just try to show who we are as well-rounded people and I’m happy to be known as the conscious artist.”

People familiar with Common’s music have found the conservatives claims to be outrageous with Jason Linkins from The Huffington Post saying:

“[Common is] not what I consider to be a ‘gangsta rapper’ or particularly prone to any of hip-hop’s legendary excesses. In fact, it was these excesses – ‘poppin glocks servin rocks and hittin switches’ — that Common famously criticized in perhaps his most famous song, ‘I Used To Love H.E.R.’”

Meanwhile, The American Prospect gave their opinion on why such an invite would gain national attention:

“Rappers are often conflated with the content of their material in a way other artists aren’t because the narratives almost always take place in first person as part of an emcees’ effort to create a literary persona. That’s part of why William Shakespeare has never been accused of endorsing rape or domestic violence. Mix that with a black president whose spent the last few years facing accusations of covert black militancy from Republicans, and you’ve got yourself a faux-scandal.”

I’m placing bets that they somehow stumbled across this video of Common from years ago as he performed the powerful piece “Letter To The Law” on Def Poetry Jam

Common Performs Poetry at the White House

Besouro - Theatrical trailer

AND YOU THOUGHT MARTIAL ARTS STARTED IN CHINA?
Watch the english version of the official trailer from Besouro, movie about the brazilian capoeira legend Besouro Mangangá. Produced by Mixer and Globo Films, distributed by Miravista, the film is directed by João Daniel Tikhomiroff. Release estimated for November, 2009.

Death of reggae singer ignites protest

Death of reggae singer ignites protest

Bill Cosby Rips Black Christians About Crime

On a night where President Obama addressed the 20th National Action Network conference, Bill Cosby nevertheless stole the commander in chief‘s thunder when he ripped off an impassioned, unapologetic speech about intergenerational dysfunction and criminality in the black community.

The legendary actor, activist and comedian incited loud and prolonged choruses of “ooohs,” “ahhhs” and applause when he tore into black Christians about their so-called adherence to their faith — all while living in drug-infested, crime-ridden neighborhoods with dilapidated educational facilities and other deplorable conditions.

“You cannot go to the black Muslim neighborhoods and sell drugs. They shut down drug dealers,” Cosby said, comparing Christian and black Muslin neighborhoods. He was inferring to black Muslims being subjected to nationwide vilification despite cleaning up their communities. “They don’t carry guns. That’s a myth. They just walk up with their sunglasses and bean pies and say, ‘Brother you can’t do that here,’ and the drug dealers, even with their guns and rap music, the Muslims run him out of town [and] to the emergency ward.”

Cosby, one of America’s most celebrated comedians ever, then caused the black-tie room full of dignitaries, celebrities and athletes to recoil — some out of shock, others out of appreciation — when he tore off a piece of black Christian hide for doing little to nothing as iniquity and criminality rages around them and swallows up black children.

“There are too many preachers [but] not enough service,“ Cosby began after the roar of shock and applause died down. “Tell me where Jesus would allow drug dealing on the corner? Tell me where Jesus would allow people to shoot guns for no reason, missing and then hitting a child who is paralyzed for life? And we don’t do anything but have a funeral. But let a cop shoot [a black man], and you set his car on fire and burn up the police stations. Contradictions.

“The black Muslims take time to explain who they are, so that by the time the children are 12 years old, male or female, they are proud of who and what they happen to be,” he said.

And, normally, what a man or woman thinks of themselves internally is reflected externally, including the neighborhoods where they live. So look around at yourselves: what do the people in your neighborhood think of themselves?

Nato strike 'kills Gaddafi's youngest son' - Africa - Al Jazeera English

Nato strike 'kills Gaddafi's youngest son' - Africa - Al Jazeera English