TIME’S PERSON (S) OF THE YEAR….THE EBOLA FIGHTERS!
The Choice, They risked and persisted, sacrificed and saved. Editor Nancy Gibbs explains why the Ebola Fighters are TIME's choice for Person of the Year 2014
Not the glittering weapon fights the fight, says the proverb, but rather the hero’s heart. Maybe this is true in any battle; it is surely true of a war that is waged with bleach and a prayer.
For decades, Ebola haunted rural African villages like some mythic monster that every few years rose to demand a human sacrifice and then returned to its cave. It reached the West only in nightmare form, a Hollywood horror that makes eyes bleed and organs dissolve and doctors despair because they have no cure.
But 2014 is the year an outbreak turned into an epidemic, powered by the very progress that has paved roads and raised cities and lifted millions out of poverty. This time it reached crowded slums in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone; it traveled to Nigeria and Mali, to Spain, Germany and the U.S. It struck doctors and nurses in unprecedented numbers, wiping out a public-health infrastructure that was weak in the first place. One August day in Liberia, six pregnant women lost their babies when hospitals couldn’t admit them for complications. Anyone willing to treat Ebola victims ran the risk of becoming one.
Which brings us to the hero’s heart. There was little to stop the disease from spreading further. Governments weren’t equipped to respond; the World Health Organization was in denial and snarled in red tape. First responders were accused of crying wolf, even as the danger grew. But the people in the field, the special forces of Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the Christian medical-relief workers of Samaritan’s Purse and many others from all over the world fought side by side with local doctors and nurses, ambulance drivers and burial teams.
Ask what drove them and some talk about God; some about country; some about the instinct to run into the fire, not away. “If someone from America comes to help my people, and someone from Uganda,” says Iris Martor, a Liberian nurse, “then why can’t I?” Foday Gallah, an ambulance driver who survived infection, calls his immunity a holy gift. “I want to give my blood so a lot of people can be saved,” he says. “I am going to fight Ebola with all of my might.”
MSF nurse’s assistant Salome Karwah stayed at the bedsides of patients, bathing and feeding them, even after losing both her parents—who ran a medical clinic—in a single week and surviving Ebola herself. “It looked like God gave me a second chance to help others,” she says. Tiny children watched their families die, and no one could so much as hug them, because hugs could kill. “You see people facing death without their loved ones, only with people in space suits,” says MSF president Dr. Joanne Liu. “You should not die alone with space-suit men.”
Those who contracted the disease encountered pain like they had never known. “It hurts like they are busting your head with an ax,” Karwah says. One doctor overheard his funeral being planned. Asked if surviving Ebola changed him, Dr. Kent Brantly turns the question around. “I still have the same flaws that I did before,” he says. “But whenever we go through a devastating experience like what I’ve been through, it is an incredible opportunity for redemption of something. We can say, How can I be better now because of what I’ve been through? To not do that is kind of a shame.”
So that is the next challenge: What will we do with what we’ve learned? This was a test of the world’s ability to respond to potential pandemics, and it did not go well. It exposed corruption in African governments along with complacency in Western capitals and jealousy among competing bureaucrats. It triggered mistrust from Monrovia to Manhattan. Each week brought new puzzles. How do you secure a country, beyond taking passengers’ temperatures at the airport? Who has the power to order citizens to stay home, to post a guard outside their door? What will it take to develop treatments for diseases largely confined to poor nations, even as this Ebola outbreak had taken far more lives by mid-October than all the earlier ones combined?
The death in Dallas of Thomas Eric Duncan, the first Ebola patient diagnosed on U.S. soil, and the infection of two nurses who treated him, shook our faith in the ability of U.S. hospitals to handle this kind of disease. From there the road to full freak-out was a short one. An Ohio middle school closed because an employee had flown on the same plane as one of Duncan’s nurses. Not the same flight, just the same plane. A Texas college rejected applicants from Nigeria, since that country had some “confirmed Ebola cases.” A Maine schoolteacher had to take a three-week leave because she went to a teachers’ conference in Dallas. Fear, too, was global. When a nurse in Spain contracted Ebola from a priest, Spanish authorities killed her dog as a precaution, while #VamosAMorirTodos (We’re all going to die) trended on Twitter. Guests at a hotel in Macedonia were trapped in their rooms for days after a British guest got sick and died. Turned out to have nothing to do with Ebola.
The problem with irrational responses is that they can cloud the need for rational ones. Just when the world needed more medical volunteers, the price of serving soared. When nurse Kaci Hickox, returning from a stint with MSF in Sierra Leone with no symptoms and a negative blood test, was quarantined in a tent in Newark, N.J., by a combustible governor, it forced a reckoning. “It is crazy we are spending so much time having this debate about how to safely monitor people coming back from Ebola-endemic countries,” says Hickox, “when the one thing we can do to protect the population is to stop the outbreak in West Africa.”
Ebola is a war, and a warning. The global health system is nowhere close to strong enough to keep us safe from infectious disease, and “us” means everyone, not just those in faraway places where this is one threat among many that claim lives every day. The rest of the world can sleep at night because a group of men and women are willing to stand and fight. For tireless acts of courage and mercy, for buying the world time to boost its defenses, for risking, for persisting, for sacrificing and saving, the Ebola fighters are TIME’s 2014 Person of the Year.
Congrats! Sidenote: The Ferguson Protesters was runners up!
After that ‘so called’ PUNCH IN THE FACE’ Drake has a few words for Diddy!
Drake Emerges After Alleged Fight With Diddy Over ‘0 to 100′
Ish can esculate from 0 to 100 real quick when money is involved.
Earlier this week, news spread across the net quicker than a wildfire that Diddy had clocked Drake outside of a club in Miami. Although the details were so mangled, it would take an entire detective unit to decipher which parts of the story were authentic, the real deets are all starting to come together. And it looks as though it was all over a beat. Yesterday, Drake emerged on Instagram and sort of hit back at all of his critics when he posted the caption:
They’re either talking sh-t about you or stealing the sh-t you’re talking…either way the name been poppin
This came only days after Chris Brown blasted his ex-girlfriend Karrueche for flying to Toronto and going on dates with Drake while he was in jail, followed by the alleged fight with Diddy outside of Liv Nightclub in Miami.
Who was Drake’s cryptic message for? That we don’t know, but what we do know for sure is, an altercation did go down in Miami. According to a detailed account of the night by Miss Info, whose sources seem to be the most reliable on this story right now:
– Tension in the Room: Everybody loves DJ Khaled. But everyone hates everyone else. Khaled had folks like Busta Rhymes, Fabolous, Fat Joe, Miguel and more onstage with him, taking turns hyping up the crowd on the mic, and praising Khaled himself, the birthday boy. Meanwhile, on the lower level of the club, Lil Wayne had a table. And very separately, Birdman had a table. Weezy went public last week with his gripes with his longtime father figure, Birdman. On the entrance level, Diddy was holding court at his own table. While Puff often rolls with a presidential-sized entourage, our source says he had an unusually large crew of serious fellows with him, the sort that are more war-ready than primed for party time.
–The Cassie Factor: Early tweets after the “fight” included a stupid fire-on-the-flame tweet from comedian Lil Duval, who said “I heard Diddy swung on Drake for saying hello to Cassie.” He later admitted he “made that sh-t up.” Thanks, dude. Either way, it would be hard for anyone to flirt with Cassie because she was fully enveloped in Puff’s man-moat of security guards.
– Was There Contact?: Our source witnessed Drake and his crew moving near Diddy’s table, around 4am. There was a lot of commotion, pushing and shoving…but our source says it seems unlikely that Drake and Diddy ever got close enough to touch because of all the crew in between. But Diddy was highly agitated, even picking up a bottle to wave around. This seems to be his signature move…if you remember reports of him picking up a champagne bottle during the MTV VMA afterparty incident with J.Cole and Kendrick Lamar? And the old Steve Stoute champagne bottling of 1999? But afterwards Drake and crew left the club, and a few minutes later Diddy and crew left. But…there were some tweets that claim a separate fight happened outside of LIV.
Diddy allegedly felt he was being disrespected by Drake and punched him outside of the club, which caused him to go to the hospital for a dislocated shoulder (this hasn’t been 100 percent confirmed) And according to an update post by Miss Info:
According to an insider, the beat that caused this whole dispute is actually “0 to 100″ by Boi-1da. Apparently Diddy was given that beat first, eventually sent it to Drake to put a verse on it, but as we all know Drake released “0 to 100″ as a freestyle using the beat instead. Reportedly, the beat was made during a series of sessions in Miami where Puff flew Boi-1da down…but turned down the beat. Which would make it up for grabs. However… we are hearing Puff was furious when Drake released the “0 to 100″ freestyle, probably thinking all beats should hold ’til infinity for him. And just imagine how much more furious he was when Drake’s Grammy nomination for “0 to 100″ was announced just a few days before “the punch.”
The song’s producer Boi-1da actually hinted about this tension a month ago in an interview with SKEE TV. While explaining the 5 Do’s and Dont’s of Being A Producer, he said:
Don’t give the same beat to two artists. They’re gonna get pissed because one person is going to put a song out and the other person is going to have a song and they both like the song and then you don’t know what to do and they’re both gonna kick your ass. There’s ways to resolve it but it just depends on who you are dealing with so if you’re dealing with someone from the streets, I would say the best option to do is hide, witness protection or name change.
Fortunately for Boi-1da, his a$$ wasn’t the one that got kicked. “0 to 100,” meanwhile, has snagged two Grammy nominations. This is all we know for now for sure.
Former NFL Player Keith Carlos Becomes The First Male to Win America’s Next Top Model
Congrats are in order for former NFL player Keith Carlos, who has become the first male ever to win Tyra Banks’ modeling competition, America’s Next Top Model.
The 26-year-old is a former wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants, who fell into modeling back in 2011 after doing a photo shoot for Krave Magazine. From there, the rest is America’s Next Top Model history.
I’ve always been told I should model… but I was so attached to football that I never really immersed myself into it.[…]So once my career came to an end, I was like, “I’m gonna do something different. Those that know me know that I want to see everyone win in life and this is who I am to the core. We need more positive role models out there to change the direction our society is going. I’m glad I am the new trend setter for this generation! It’s a great responsibility and I’m STRONG enough to do so.
After beating out 30 women and men this week for the top honors, Keith posted a photo of himself with Tyra Banks on Instagram with the caption:
Wow! I’m honored and extremely overwhelmedwith LOVE. I would like to congratulate my new family members the cast of ANTM C21! They are all talented and they all will be VERY successful! This one is also for the MEN out there trying to succeed in a female dominated industry. This is for the youngin in urban America with a single mother, no guidance, and a chip on their shoulder. Those that know me know that I want to see everyone win in life and this is who I am to the core. We need more positive role models out there to change the direction our society is going. I’m glad I am the new trend setter for this generation! It’s a great responsibility and I’m STRONG enough to do so. THANKS TO #TEAMKeithCarlos I Love you all for riding with me the whole way! I’m glad I had this opportunity to make all my supporters proud. Thanks to my haters because you keep me motivated to see you pissed off at my successes. Thanks , Ken Mok and my other GREAT MENTORS ON ANTM for breaking me down and building me back up molding me into who I am as a model! Thanks to the whole Production, the beautiful women that casted me @carrieincasting and your time and efforts are very appreciated…………………………. Much Respect! R.I.P #MikeBrown #EricGarner and many others let’s break this cycle MEN!
The win has landed him a contract with Next Model Management and a feature in Nylon magazine.
Congrats!
Whitney Houston’s Family MAD Over "X Factor" Finalist Stacy Francis Allegedly Joining “R&B Divas: L.A.”
Whitney Houston’s family is MAD….yet again!
After denouncing LIFETIME’s Whitney Houston’s biopic telefim (Jan. 17th), the Houston Family is outraged over new reports that former “X Factor” finalist Stacy Francis (above) is allegedly joining the cast of TV One’s reality series “R&B Divas: L.A.”
So why is the Houston Family mad? You’ll recall, Stacy is the woman who allegedly got into an altercation with the iconic singer at a pre-Grammy Awards party in 2012, hours before her sudden death.
The 45-year-old aspiring singer and mother-of-two has never released a highly successful album (outside of lukewarm success from girl group Ex-Girlfriend), so it’s puzzling how she landed the gig…if true.
A friend supposedly close to the Houston family reportedly told the Daily Mail,
“The Houston family learned of this from one of the singers on the show and they're outraged! They were already furious about this upcoming Lifetime movie and now, they feel adding Stacy Francis to this show launched about Whitney is just another slap in the face.”
After the altercation, Stacey vocalized her account of what happened, which the Houston Family felt was her way of trying to capitalize off of the situation.
“Stacy definitely was trying to use her story about Whitney to get famous, the family felt.” said the insider.
Now…the Houston Family is boycotting the show and hopes Whitney’s fans will do the same. The source added,
“As far as Whitney's family is concerned, R&B Divas doesn't even exist to them anymore. They're hoping die hard Whitney fans don't tune in to watch it, the same way they hope they boycott the Lifetime biopic. They're tired of people disrespecting the legacy of a woman who gave this industry her all.”
There's no confirmation yet from TV One. But -- if true -- your thoughts?
Columbus Short Issues Apology To His Supporters, Owns Up To His Mistakes
Former “Scandal” star Columbus Short has been traveling down a road of destruction since news broke that he allegedly assaulted and threatened to kill his estranged wife Tanee McCall-Short. Once labeled a domestic abuser, he lost his role on one of the hottest primetime television shows, been involved in physical altercations with various people and was even on the run (espcaing to carnival in Barbados) after being served a bench warrant for being a no-show in court.
Now…the troubled star 32-year-old actor is feeling apologetic for his actions and wants to own up to his mistakes. In a letter he posted to Instagram, Columbus thanked everyone who has stood by him during a dark chapter in his life and he owned up to the “mismanagement of his mind, body and spirit.” But he never totally confesses tot he domestic abuse.
Check it:
Glad he's recognizing his mistakes and trying to make it right...if genuine. Think he’ll ever be vindicated?
Joe Budden Critique’s Stripper Jhonnie Blaze Head Game, Sparks Twitter Beef (Tweets)
VladTV recently provided exclusive trailers for Houston based dancer and new Love & Hip Hop: New York castmate Jhonni Blaze’s sex tape, the first of which showed the dancer’s oral skills on her scene partner. The video has clearly made its rounds throughout the industry, as New Jersey spitter Joe Budden has provided his own commentary, essentially saying Blaze’s head game is subpar, and that whoever taught her how to go down on a man shouldn’t have that privilege ever again.
Reports Vlad: Blaze soon responded to the shot, saying Joe’s finger game was just “OK,” implying they once had a thing going on as well. However, she later tweeted that she and Joe never slept together and that they have a joking, fun type of friendship. Take a look at what both of them had to say and see pics of Jhonni in the below.
WHOA!!!
Princess Love Allegedly Threatens Suicide After Ray J DUMPS Her!
Cops were called after "LAHH Hollywood" star Princess Love threatened to kill herself. You might ask yourself, what could possibly cause the young lady such distress? Two words. Ray J.
Thanks to a new report, we've learned that Ray J and Princess Love have allegedly broken up...and she didn't take it well AT ALL.
Ray J put in a frantic call to 911 and told the dispatcher that his ex was threatening to kill herself. He explained that he'd broken off their relationship (last night) and he was very concerned because A) there's a gun in her house B) he just went through the murder/suicide of friends Earl Hayes/ Stephanie Moseley. The R&B crooner didn't want to take any chances....
So what happened? Cops went to the house and didn't find Princess, however, we've learned that he has spoken to her since the 911 call and she is fine and unharmed.
Reality Show Executive Producer Carlos King Fiercely Defends Black Female Reality Stars In Open Letter!
Carlos King, executive producer of hit reality tv shows “Real Housewives of Atlanta” and “Hollywood Divas”, is speaking out against critics who accuse him of exploiting black women on national television for show ratings. Lately, it seems to be many more heated debates (some coming to blows--he even physically picked up and carried Porsha Williams out of the RHOA reunion after she fought Kenya Moore) between cast mates each show, which some say is a bad representation of the black community.
In a new open letter, the producer gives his take on unfair double standards that exist, how an individual's behavior does not represent a whole race, how reality stars should be looked it as regular people, and how the “RHOA” franchise opened the doors for every other reality show starring black women.
He also touched on the hurdles he has overcomes as a gay, black producer in Hollywood and more.
Here’s his letter in full:
I often get asked the question, "Do you have any guilt for perpetuating negative stereotypes of Black women on reality television?" And my answer is always a simple: No. I then always ask myself if my white counterparts get asked the same question, and I highly doubt they do, so why the double standard?
I am beyond blessed to have worked on two of the top reality shows in the history of the world; I executive produced Love & Hip Hop and I am currently the executive producer of The Real Housewives of Atlanta. Please take a look at my reality as a Black gay executive producer in Hollywood, and in doing so I hope that you'll come to understand the difference between being transparent and being stereotypical. Too often individual behavior is implied as a direct reflection for an entire race of people and justified as a stereotype. This is an unfair double standard that I must address.
I don’t agree that Real Housewives of Atlanta, Love & Hip Hop or any show that predominantly stars Black women is perpetuating any negative stereotypes. I think it’s unfortunate that when it comes to this minority group of Black women, they are held to this image and standard of positivity and have to hold themselves in a certain light when the basis of being a reality star is being transparent and showing your imperfections, showing who you are as a woman navigating through life and trying to survive like everyone else. I think it’s so interesting that as it pertains to Black people, every single thing that we do, we have to make sure that we’re representing everyone in our culture and are not allowed to represent ourselves and who we are as individuals.
I think there’s beauty in imperfection. I think there’s beauty in looking at yourself on the screen and saying to yourself, Wow that may have not been the smartest decision, but at the end of the day it was my decision, and I own that. When it comes to white reality stars, no one says, “Look at Kyle Richards on Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, she misrepresents us." Or, "Oh my gosh, look at Snooki on Jersey Shore, she makes Italians look bad.” I think that when it comes to the Black race, we give each other such a harder time, which is totally unfair because we fight for equality and being seen in the same light as others. But when we are awarded those same opportunities, we tend to be much more critical of one another. The amazing women that you see on screen have courageously shared their everyday reality with the world, and just like everyone else, they are entitled to make mistakes and have a bad day. That is not reflective of them being stereotypical in a negative way; it’s reflective of them being human.
While I think it’s important for mainstream America to see the very diverse representations of human beings that make up our world, we should be very mindful that not everyone on television is the designated spokesperson or example for their race. When you think of a show like Scandal, the show isn’t about a Black woman who’s having an affair with the white president of the United States. I think Scandal is about a Black woman who’s trying to navigate life by balancing her job, her relationship with her father and her coworkers, and just balancing being a woman who’s at the top of her game and one who sometimes makes unfortunate decisions.
I see it as Shonda Rhimes doing an excellent job at telling all of these amazing, interesting stories in such a compelling way that you don’t even think of race when you watch her shows. I think when it comes to mainstream America, they just want to be entertained.
At the end of the day, this is a very lucrative business and when you look at the ratings of these [reality] shows, you’ll see that they are a very in-demand television product. This is the reason that you’re seeing more African-American ensemble shows on television because cable networks have started to take notice and say, “Wait a second, there’s a demographic out here that really wants to see content starring Black females.” Black people are really interested in seeing a reflection of themselves on television and not only that, white folks like to see us, too.
For those who seem to speak poorly of these shows, I ask them to look at the reality of the ground that these shows have broken, the jobs they create and the opportunities they have created for us in Hollywood. For instance, Real Housewives of Atlanta paved the way for African-Americans to have more ensemble reality shows that reflect our culture. Without RHOA you would not have Love & Hip Hop, Hollywood Divas and the like. And let’s be crystal-clear: RHOA single-handedly changed the game when it came to Black women on reality television. This show has definitely set a very lucrative trend in television, and as long as RHOA is the No. 1 show on Bravo and continues to break records, you will see more Black female ensemble shows being created.
Being a Black gay man, I have my share of hardships and turmoil that I go through, but I like to look at the positives. The truth of the matter is that I’m able to really follow my passion and produce shows about women. I love telling a woman’s story. I want to do with reality television what Aaron Spelling did with dramatic series such as Dynasty, 90210 and Melrose Place. That’s my gift and being in the presence of so many women has definitely helped me to understand them more.
Women are crazy, but they are entertaining and crazy...in a good way. This is why we love watching them have debatable conversations on television. I remember talking to my Hollywood Divas cast, and I told them that nothing excites me more than to see women debate. Let me be clear: there’s a distinct difference between debating and arguing. I don’t have to see women fighting or getting physical with one another. That does nothing for me personally or professionally. However, there’s something about myself and my audience that just loves to watch these fascinating women debate and have a heated discussion.
It is my sincere hope that these women will be recognized for their unprecedented achievements in television and not be held to a standard that the average person can’t live up to. Their reality is just that — their reality. They should be applauded for being open to sharing their lives with millions of people and not looked down upon as negative or stereotypical simply for being human.
What are your thoughts? Seems to me this is a who lot of ‘GENERALIZING’ And to add if white folks jump off a bridge, should Blacks do it too?
Beanie Sigel Family Not Cooperating With Police
Earlier this week rapper Beanie Sigel was shot at 9am outside his brother-in-law’s house in Pleasantville, NJ shortly after dropping his kids off at school. While Beans’ lawyer insists he was not the intended target, the rapper’s family has been less than forthcoming in helping out with the police investigation.
Sources tell Page Six Beans brother-in-law, who was also injured in the melee but not shot, has been staying tight lipped as is the rest of the family.
Beans remains hospitalized in critical but stable condition. JUST DUMB! Dude give up this THUG LIFE!
Tracee Ellis Ross, and MORE get LOVELY For The NAACP Image Award Nominations
At the 46th NAACP Image Awards Nomination Announcement and Press Conference in Beverly Hills, "blackish" star Tracee Ellis Ross put on a cute dress by Honor and her Louboutins to make the big announcements:
She copped the Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series nomination for "blackish".
Cute look for her as always.
"How To Get Away With Murder" star Alfred Enoch hit the carpet before getting nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.
Selma and Dear White People star Tessa Thompson took the podium as well after being nominated for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture for Selma.
Looks like she wants to bring spring into this dreary winter in an Alberta Ferretti colorblocked dress and bold Oscar Tye shoes.
TV host Nichelle Turner was also there to provide special commentary.
FAB!
FABULOUS FOOTWEAR: Louis Vuitton Bland Ankle Boot
So Nice, This trendy "two-in-one" ankle boot combines mat calf leather on the front with richly colored glazed waxed calf leather on the back, while its tweed collar was inspired by hiking boots. A stylish and versatile choice, it also features a notched rubber sole and waxed heel
HOT!!!!!!!
Atlanta DJ Accused Of Hiring Friend To Kill His Wife
An Atlanta man named Andre Pugh, who works under the name DJ Awesome, has been arrested in a murder-for-hire plot against his wife. Tiffany Pugh, a mother of two, died Nov. 23, in what appeared to be a fatal robbery attempt.
Police say Pugh hired his childhood friend, Adrian Harley, to kill his wife. She was found shot in the head with a small child straddling her chest. The couple’s son and daughter were sleeping in another room at the time.
Andrew works at Club Onyx, in Atlanta. He was arrested at work last Saturday (Dec. 4), and booked on murder, conspiracy to commit burglary, and conspiracy to commit murder. He has since hired a lawyer. Harley was booked on the same charges, and has waved his initial appearance court appearance. Harley reportedly helped carry Pugh’s casket at her funeral.
The day of the murder Andre wrote on Facebook, “Why did they take my wife?! My kid’s mom?! Where did i go wrong?!” His page is flooded with condolences, and posts from friends maintaining his innocence. Andre also posted a message on Tiffany’s Facebook page that read in part, “I miss you love you and want you back so much.”
A friend of the victim, who remained anonymous, told a local news outlet that Andre’s Facebook behavior has been suspicious .”On Facebook, it didn’t seem like a grieving husband,” she said.
AND FINALLY FROM “THE CRAZY PEOPLE SHOPPING AT WALMART” FILES
‘BRIGHT WHITE’
I feel like at your age it’s useless to even have someone sit you down and explain the purpose of pants. Just keep doing you and we’ll keep taking pictures of you doing you.
HAVE A GREAT DAY ALL!!!
EFREM
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