In many ways, Lou Jing is a typical young woman from Shanghai. Pretty and confident, she speaks Mandarin heavily accented with the lilting tones of the Shanghai dialect and browses the malls of this huge city for the latest fashions.

But there is one thing that distinguishes this 20-year-old from her peers, something that has made her the unwitting focus of an intense public debate about what exactly it means to be Chinese: the color of her skin. Born to a Chinese mother and an African-American father whom she has never met, the theater student rocketed into the public consciousness last month when she took part in an American Idol–esque TV show, Go! Oriental Angel. (See pictures of modern Shanghai.)

The marketing gurus for the series could hardly have dreamed of a better promotional gimmick when they started to investigate the backgrounds of the dozens of pop-star wannabes to root out the competitors’ mushy stories of triumph over adversity that are a well-worn staple of the genre. Here was a tale guaranteed to attract eyeballs: a girl of mixed race, brought up by a single Chinese mother, struggling to gain acceptance in a deeply conservative, some would say racist, society.

The strategy worked — perhaps too well. In August, Lou’s appearance on the show not only boosted viewer numbers but also sparked an intense nationwide debate about the essential meaning of being Chinese. Over the past month on Internet chat rooms, where modern China’s sensitive issues are thrashed out by netizens long before they reach the heavily censored mainstream media, Lou’s ethnicity has been the subject of a relentless barrage of criticism, some of it crudely racist. Many think she should not have been allowed to compete on a Chinese show, or at least not selected to represent Shanghai in the national competition. She doesn’t have fair skin, which is one of the most important factors for Chinese beauty. What’s more, her mother and her biological father were never married; morally, the argument goes, this kind of behavior shouldn’t be publicized, so she shouldn’t have been put on TV as a young “idol.”

As recently as the 1970s, foreigners were largely barred from living in China, let alone marrying a local. China does not easily accept mixed-race children as true-blooded Chinese: as soon as a child is born, the parents are required to register with the authorities as to which of the 56 government-approved ethnic groups their child belongs; there are no mixed-race categories. Lou feels she is very much Chinese. “When I meet somebody for the first time, they’d often ask me how I can speak Chinese so well, and I tell them, ‘Because I’m a Chinese — of course I can speak my mother tongue well,’ ” Lou says defiantly. “I don’t like to be treated differently.”

As China undergoes an astonishing demographic shift and more foreigners make their homes in the Middle Kingdom, Lou is by no means the only one being treated differently. Recent decades have seen a surge in the number of mixed-race couples. According to the data offered by Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau, from 1994 to 2008, each year there have been about 3,000 more mixed-race marriages in Shanghai. But as the children of that first generation of mixed-race marriages come of age, their moves to gain acceptance in society — like Lou’s participation in the TV show — have exposed a deep-running vein of xenophobia in Chinese society. Last year, Ding Hui, a young man of African-Chinese ethnicity, caused a stir when he was called up to the national volleyball team, prompting much soul-searching about whether the athlete should be allowed to represent China alongside pure-blooded Chinese competitors. Eventually, Ding Hui did go on to play for the national team.

“As China continues to open up, this kind of phenomenon will become ever more prevalent,” says David Zweig, a professor of humanities and social sciences at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. “This is part of the process of internationalization, but we can only hope that Chinese people, including netizens and the people whose views tend towards extremism, can come to accept that there are many mixed-race people, both in China and worldwide.”

As for Lou, she found the whole experience more than a little disturbing. She did well in the show, ranking in the top 30 contestants before she was eliminated. Now she’s back to her normal life as a college junior — with a little new insight into her home. “Through this competition, it’s really scary to find out how the color of my skin can cause such a big controversy.”

First lady Michelle Obama continued to charm Russia on Tuesday, where she and the president attended a graduation ceremony at the New Economic School and a President Medvedev-hosted lunch at the Kremlin. President Obama did a bunch of business as well.

Mrs. Obama wore a black and white dress with a black flower brooch on Tuesday. She had also worn a black and white frock on the Fourth of July, and the same color combination to dinner with the Medvedevs on Monday night.

See the photos of Michelle Obama with Russian First Lady Svetlana Medvedeva, Sasha, Malia and others!

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This is very sad day for me , my niece, and I am sure for billions of people on the planet. A few hours ago I was taking a nap and my niece calls me hysterically crying. I thought someone in my family passed, I kept telling her to calm down and tell me what was wrong and she blurted out , “It’s Michael, Michael Jackson is dead!!!” . My niece isn’t someone who cries easily she is 30 years old (2 years younger than me ) and normally has emotions in check, but this was a huge blow. As you can imagine, this is gonna be very traumatic for the BILLIONS of fans of this legendary man. For all those haters who made his life hell, I am sure your happy right now. For the rest of us who loved and admired him, just play his music, watch is videos, and keep him in your hearts every time you dance….

Story & Photos From MSNBC.com

Michael Jackson has died at age 50 after being rushed to UCLA Medical Center, NBC News has confirmed.

Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Steve Ruda told the L.A. Times that Jackson was not breathing when paramedics arrived at his home and CPR was performed.

TMZ.com reported that he may have suffered cardiac arrest.

Jackson had been due to start a series of comeback concerts in London on July 13 running until March 2010. The singer, whose hits included “Thriller” and “Billie Jean,” had been rehearsing in the Los Angeles area for the past two months.

The shows for the 50 London concerts sold out within minutes of going on sale in March.

His lifetime record sales tally is believed to be around 750 million, which, added to the 13 Grammy Awards he received, makes him one of the most successful entertainers of all time.

He lived as a virtual recluse since his acquittal in 2005 on charges of child molestation.

There were concerns about Jackson’s health in recent years but the promoters of the London shows, AEG Live, said in March that Jackson had passed a 4-1/2 hour physical examination with independent doctors.

A life in music

Jackson was born on August 29, 1958, in Gary, Indiana, the seventh of nine children. Five Jackson boys — Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael — first performed together at a talent show when Michael was 6.

 
  
 
They walked off with first prize and went on to become a best-selling band, The Jackson Five, and then The Jackson 5.

Jackson made his first solo album in 1972, and released “Thriller” in 1982, which became a smash hit that yielded seven top-10 singles. The album sold 21 million copies in the United States and at least 27 million worldwide.

The next year, he unveiled his signature “moonwalk” dance move while performing “Billie Jean” during an NBC special.

In 1994, Jackson married Elvis Presley’s only child, Lisa Marie, but the marriage ended in divorce in 1996. Jackson married Debbie Rowe the same year and had two children, before splitting in 1999. The couple never lived together.

Jackson has three children named Prince Michael I, Paris Michael and Prince Michael II, known for his brief public appearance when his father held him over the railing of a hotel balcony, causing widespread criticism.

Here are some videos..R.I.P.

Jackson 5 Home Videos On SOul Train

Michael Jackson Master Dancer

Who Is It

Who Is It – Michael Jackson

Rock with you

Rock With You – Michael Jackson

One of my faves, “Stranger In Moscow”

Stranger In Moscow – Michael Jackson

She walked past students laughing, gossiping, napping and combing one another’s hair. Past a cellphone blaring rap songs. And past a substitute teacher sitting in a near-daze.Quietly, the 18-year-old settled into an empty table, flipped open her physics book and focused. Nothing mattered now except homework.

“No wonder you’re going to Harvard,” a girl teased her.

Around here, Khadijah is known as “Harvard girl,” the “smart girl” and the girl with the contagious smile who landed at Jefferson High School only 18 months ago.What students don’t know is that she is also a homeless girl.

As long as she can remember, Khadijah has floated from shelters to motels to armories along the West Coast with her mother. She has attended 12 schools in 12 years; lived out of garbage bags among pimps, prostitutes and drug dealers. Every morning, she upheld her dignity, making sure she didn’t smell or look disheveled.

On the streets, she learned how to hunt for their next meal, plot the next bus route and help choose a secure place to sleep — survival skills she applied with passion to her education.

Only a few mentors and Harvard officials know her background. She never wanted other students to know her secret — not until her plane left for the East Coast hours after her Friday evening graduation.

“I was so proud of being smart I never wanted people to say, ‘You got the easy way out because you’re homeless,’ ” she said. “I never saw it as an excuse.”

A drive to succeed

“I have felt the anger at having to catch up in school . . . being bullied because they knew I was poor, different, and read too much,” she wrote in her college essays. “I knew that if I wanted to become a smart, successful scholar, I should talk to other smart people.”

Khadijah was in third grade when she first realized the power of test scores, placing in the 99th percentile on a state exam. Her teachers marked the 9-year-old as gifted, a special category that Khadijah, even at that early age, vowed to keep.

“I still remember that exact number,” Khadijah said. “It meant only 0.01 students tested better than I did.”

In the years that followed, her mother, Chantwuan Williams, pulled her out of school eight more times. When shelters closed, money ran out or her mother didn’t feel safe, they packed what little they carried and boarded buses to find housing in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Ventura, San Diego, San Bernardino and Orange County, staying for months, at most, in one place.

She finished only half of fourth grade, half of fifth and skipped sixth. Seventh grade was split between Los Angeles and San Diego. Eighth grade consisted of two weeks in San Bernardino.

At every stop, Khadijah pushed to keep herself in each school’s gifted program. She read nutrition charts, newspapers and four to five books a month, anything to transport her mind away from the chaos and the sour smell.

At school, she was the outsider. At the shelter, she was often bullied. “You ain’t college-bound,” the pimps barked. “You live in skid row!”

In 10th grade, Khadijah realized that if she wanted to succeed, she couldn’t do it alone. She began to reach out to organizations and mentors: the Upward Bound Program, Higher Edge L.A., Experience Berkeley and South Central Scholars; teachers, counselors and college alumni networks. They helped her enroll in summer community college classes, gave her access to computers and scholarship applications and taught her about networking.

When she enrolled in the fall of her junior year at Jefferson High School, she was determined to stay put, regardless of where her mother moved. Graduation was not far off and she needed strong college letters of recommendation from teachers who were familiar with her work. Read the rest of the story fom the latimes.com

Don’t underestimate Halle Berry and Jamie Foxx when it comes to keeping it hot and heavy!

Over the past few weeks, photos have surfaced of the two Academy Award winners communicating (via their tongues) during Spike TV’s second annual Guy’s Choice Awards.

The impromptu kiss took place when Foxx presented the sexy actress with the Hottest Girl On the Planet award, which left many, including Brad Pitt, in awe.

If you thought the photos were an illusion, here’s the newly released video clip.

This is a classic case of a divorce gone really bad. Nas and Kelis’ financial
drama is gettin’ spread across the internet like crazy. Kelis is upset that she can’t afford the Gucci, Prada and Fendi while lounging in a private jet anymore. Pop the hood for more dirty money details
Kelis claims estranged hubby Nas has left her high and dry … not offering her a penny in the wake of her impending birth … and she says she’s broke — “I have run out of money.”

Kelis filed legal papers claiming Nas isn’t paying her support, pre-natal expenses — nothing, even though she claims he is filthy rich.

Kelis is asking the judge to order Nas to pay spousal support, child support, all pregnancy-related expenses, and one-half of all medical expenses after the child is born. She also wants $3,500 for the baby nurse after the child’s birth, and $20,000 for strollers, cribs and other baby supplies.

Kelis says, “My survival is based on [Nas'] will at this time. If he does not want to pay for an expense, it does not get paid.” The couple was married in 2003. The baby is due this month.

Kelis and Nas during better days

Kelis says she’s entitled to maintain the lifestyle to which she became accustomed during their marriage — they have five homes, fly first class, go to fancy restaurants, and on and on. Most interesting — “There were many expensive pieces [of jewelry] such as a princess-cut diamond tennis bracelet that was recently appraised for $190,000. My engagement ring is an approximately nine-carat cushion-cut diamond solitaire. I have numerous watches…such as Cartier, Rolex, Frank Muller and Chopard.”

Nas and KelisHer lawyer, disso-queen Laura Wasser, says in a separate declaration she’s asked Nas to ante up some $$$ for Kelis and the unborn baby but he hasn’t responded. So Nas is supposed to be supplying your luxury lifestyle for the rest of your life? Doesn’t sound right to us. We think she needs to worry about the baby and leave the other bullsh*t behind.

Before anyone gets their panties in a wad, let me make it clear that I am not hating on her or her obvious beauty..it’s Playboy I just can’t figure out. In the the fashion world, when they use an actual African model they use someone who looks African in most cases, because besides the image of  saggy breasted woman with bones through their nose that media likes to showcase African women as, most people who know anything knows that there are tons stunning dark skinned African women all over the world.

Does she not look like a typical super hot playboy type of African-American model next door? Where is the sizzle? Where is the African appeal? Just imagine if Playbody decided to name it’s first real Indian Playmate and when you see her pic she looks more like Cameron Diaz than Padma Lakshmi, it would make you wonder wouldn’t it? Especially if your Indian (from India)

It’s a shame that Playboy wasn’t brave enough to find an authentic looking African model to give this historic moment too. I guess I shouldn’t expect Hugh hefner to have the balls that the rest of the American mainstream media doesn’t have.. Here is the actual story and video

Many puns can come into play with the news of Playboy magazine czar Hugh Hefner selecting a naturally born African woman as his latest “Playmate of the Year,” but we will refrain.

On May 2, Tanzanian-born Ida Ljungqvist was named the 2009 Playmate of the Year at Las Vegas’s famed Palms Hotel & Casino. Our pals over at HipHollywood.com was there to catch all the happenings as it went down.

From left to right – singers Keyshia Cole, Leona Lewis. Fergie, Ciara, Mariah Carey, Beyonce, Mary J Blige, Rihanna, Carrie Underwood, Miley Cyrus, Ashanti, Natasha Bedingfield, and Nicole Scherzinger pose after performing “Just Stand Up”, the worldwide charity single benefiting Stand Up To Cancer. The song was created and produced by LA Reid and Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds, pictured in the center.

When I saw these recent photos of Stacey Dash  I was speechless. We all remember Stacey as Dionne the rich girl sidekick to Cher Horowitz in the 1995 mega hit and cult classic Clueless. This beautiful actress seems to almost be frozen in time.

She has always played charcters that were much younger than her actual age, which is 42! Yes, she is 42. From the natural look of her face and body it doesn’t appear that she’s had any plastic surgery and is aging quite gracefully.

This just proves that women over 40 are no longer limited to short soccer mom hair bobs and 90’s looking mom jeans. Way to girl girl! Enjoy the pics!

Stacey Dash in Playboy

Stacey Dash and her fine agless butt on the cover of ghetto King Magazine

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